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It's V-Day! (At least for some parts. Shush, you.)
Title: Two Of
Characters/Pairing: Glitch/Cain
Rating: PG-13 (for angst, implied things)
Words: less than 3,000.
Summary: Where one goes, the other follows.
Notes: For the Valentine's Day challenge over on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
glitch_wyatt issued by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kseda. Prompts provided by avari_maethor - I got them all in!!
~*~
There was only one place Glitch knew that Cain would go.
As he exited his car and approached the silent, desolate cabin standing small and mostly hidden in the middle of the clearing, Glitch would hardly know anyone had been there since the last time he had seen it. When he and DG had first been drawn by the sounds of a beating, one that they had missed by ten annuals.
No sounds came from the residence this time, outside or in. No smoke from the chimney despite the freezing winter weather outside, no creaking of footfalls on rotting wood. Dying flowers lined the base of the structure.
Were it not for the fresh boot prints in the snow on the porch, Glitch would never had guessed Cain had been there at all. But there they were, giving away all the secrets Glitch was clearly not welcome to discover.
When Cain had disappeared from the Central City estate, everyone assumed he had simply decided to get back to his former life, to clean up the mess that had been left behind in favor of vengeance. It was decided that he would be left alone, as he had given no notice when he left, nor any indication as to where he planned to go.
But Glitch knew, and Glitch suspected that DG and Raw knew as well. And Jeb...well. Glitch didn’t dare ask the traumatized young man his feelings on his childhood home.
The door had no lock; it took only the lightest touch to push it open. There was only a short, harsh groan from the hinges. The inside was as still as the outside; the only difference being that it was much darker out of the sun.
It had been a home, once. Small details here and there betrayed its former responsibility and Glitch felt like a voyeur, peeking into a part of Cain’s life that he had no right to witness.
On the mantle, a cracked picture frame held a moment captured in time; a tiny Jeb laughing as he was held firmly in place on his father’s back. A deep indigo clay vase in the center of the kitchen table held long-dried lilies, their stems bent unnaturally over the sides. Tucked in the corner of the counter was a dust-coated wine bottle.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Glitch picked up the bottle and wiped the dust from the label with his thumb. 1156. “Good annual,” Glitch mumbled to himself, though he really had no idea if it had been or not. It just seemed like the thing to say.
The sound of a gun’s hammer being cocked behind his ear made him freeze, his breath catching in his throat.
“Mind telling me what you’re doing in my home?” Cain’s low, soft tones were a striking contrast to the threat of his weapon.
Glitch turned his head just a little, enough to see Cain’s face. And when he saw the look of shocked recognition throw the other man off for a brief moment, Glitch realized that Cain had not even recognized him from behind. He allowed a tiny smile to curve his lips as he answered. “Maybe I was searching for a good bottle of wine.”
Cain’s mouth twitched as he released the hammer on his gun and lowered it to his side. “Well, you won’t find that here.” He nodded at the bottle in Glitch’s hand. “I drank half of one of those at my wedding, spent the next morning puking it back up. That one was left over; Adora wanted to keep it as a souvenir. Figured I needed a reminder now and then to sample the wine before I buy it.”
“Why, Mr. Cain, I do believe that’s the most you’ve ever said in one fell swoop,” Glitch let his smile grow and he set the bottle carefully back into its corner, right where the clean circle had been left in the dust.
Tucking his gun safely back into its holster, Cain shook his head ruefully and stepped up to where Glitch stood. He waited until Glitch met his eye and raised his hand, his palm coming to rest on the soft skin of Glitch’s cheek. “How’ve you been, sunshine?”
Glitch huffed a gentle laugh. “Sweetheart.”
“What?” Cain blinked at the answer.
“That’s what you called me that day in the tower.”
Cain smiled warmly. “You remember that?”
“It’s not as if people are lining up to bestow me with affectionate nicknames these days,” Glitch replied with a raise of his eyebrows, but softened his words with a press of his cheek against Cain’s hand. “I’ve missed you.”
“Yeah,” Cain responded simply, then let his hand drift up to brush over the short strands of Glitch’s hair. “I didn’t recognize you – you cut your hair.”
Glitch flinched unexpectedly and looked away, his expression darkening. “Something like that,” he muttered, turning to look out the dusty window over the sink. He shook himself after a moment and looked back at Cain with haunted eyes. “What were you doing out there, anyway? It feels like the snow is ready to start up again, it’s so cold.”
“Getting some wood for the fireplace,” Cain took Glitch’s lead and let the subject change for now. “Ran out overnight and spent half the day trying to break through the ice that’s taken over the well. Feel up to taking a long walk?”
“Sure,” Glitch rubbed his hands together, perking up. “I was wondering when you’d planned to turn the heat on.”
~*~
The trip out to the fallen tree Cain had been working on was done in near silence, save for the few odd comments Glitch made as he found something fascinating to point out in the woods. Falling in the snow only once, Glitch considered his journey quite successful as he helped Cain gather the freshly cut firewood and pile it only the small, rusted wagon Cain had dragged out for that purpose.
By the time the sun had set, Cain had managed to get a solid fire going in the cabin, had helped Glitch out of his wet, stiff clothes and into a slightly-too-large set of dry, warm ones that had been Cain’s at some point long ago, and settled the both of them in front of the fireplace with a large quilt taken from the linen closet. It was clean but had the musty scent of age.
“You’ve been here for almost two months,” Glitch said to the flickering flames. “Doesn’t the dust bother you? And the way things are, you know, just like you left them?” He was comfortably ensconced within Cain’s body, leaning back against his chest and resting his arms on solid thighs. It was like they had never been apart.
Cain sighed, his breath warm against Glitch’s throat. “Every time I go to put something away, or to clear off a layer of dust, something stops me. A memory of Adora sewing Jeb’s torn shirt in that chair. A little handprint that the dust decided to leave alone. And I just – “
“It’s like disturbing a grave,” Glitch whispered knowingly.
“Yeah.” Cain shifted a little, tucking his arm more firmly around Glitch’s waist. “You never answered my question earlier. How’ve you been?” He pressed his nose against Glitch’s short hair as a silent reminder of the rest of his inquiry.
“I couldn’t stay there anymore,” Glitch admitted outright. “Not after you were gone.”
Cain could feel the tension in Glitch’s body and he ran his hands down Glitch’s arms, soothing him. “What happened?”
Glitch released a sharp breath, his fingers tightening their grip on Cain’s legs. “They’re afraid of me,” he said in a flat voice that wasn’t his. “Of what I made, of what I know. They were scared of how unstable my mind is and...they tried to fix me.”
“Gods,” Cain closed his eyes tight as they burned with self-hatred. I left him there, he thought angrily. “I’m so sorry.”
“Not your fault,” Glitch squeezed one of Cain’s knees gently. “I know why you left.”
Cain shivered, tightening his hold on Glitch again. “I just needed more time,” he whispered brokenly. “Adora...”
“You never had a chance to grieve,” Glitch finished for him, leaning his head back to rest on Cain’s shoulder. “I know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Glitch shook his head once, hard.
“What did they do to you?” Cain forced himself to ask, his cheek rubbing against Glitch’s as he spoke.
Glitch cleared his throat. “I don’t really know, to be honest,” he replied with a tiny shrug. “It was a few weeks ago. I fell asleep in the sitting room one night, sharing some wine with the Queen. Next time I woke up was two days later, my head had been shaved and DG was sitting next to my bed looking like a guard dog on the prowl.”
“She didn’t know, did she?”
“She never would have let them at me without my knowledge,” Glitch confirmed. “Raw came back from his hospital assignment, which apparently was just a distraction to get him out of the palace, and found out what they had done. He was furious, so was DG when she realized what was going on.”
Cain raised his free hand and stroked his fingers down the length of Glitch’s zipper. “Did they hurt you?”
“No,” Glitch sighed, closing his eyes wearily. “They figured out pretty quickly there was nothing they could do to ‘fix’ me like they wanted. Like the council wanted. Raw worked with the resident doctor to make sure no new damage had been done and they did manage to reroute some of the synapse paths so I don’t have many glitches anymore. Well, they were getting better anyway, as you know, but this was just for good measure.”
“I’m glad you came here,” Cain confessed into Glitch’s throat. “You’ll stay?”
“Yeah,” Glitch nuzzled his shorn head against Cain’s cheek affectionately. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be. If you’ll have me.”
Cain growled softly. “You have to ask?”
“I kind of do, actually,” Glitch shifted to look at Cain sideways. “I shouldn’t have invaded your privacy and for that, I apologize.”
“No harm done,” Cain assured him warmly. He pressed a kiss to Glitch’s ear. “I’ve missed you, too.”
Glitch grinned playfully. “So, what have you got around here for putting together a romantic supper?”
Cain breathed out a laugh, truly relaxing for the first time in months. “Actually, that’s where you’re in luck. There’s a town not far from here where I’ve always gotten supplies. Been keeping up with some basic groceries, if nothing else. Nothing fancy, mind you.”
“Sounds perfect,” Glitch nearly purred. “I could use something simple and homey.”
“You warmed back up?”
“You bet!” Glitch gave a peck to Cain’s cheek before he leaned forward to extract himself from his warm cocoon. “Come on, let’s see what you’ve got.”
~*~
Both men knew from bitter experience that life was far too short and ephemeral to let even the most painful snags keep them from what they wanted, what they both needed.
Cain fell asleep that night in Glitch’s arms, his head tucked under Glitch’s chin and his cheek pressed against the cloth where his tears had dampened it. Glitch hadn’t said a word, had simply held him as he wept. And if neither made mention of it again, or if they both simply forgot the months they spent apart, it was all for the best.
~*~
Glitch stretched hugely as the first rays of sunlight found their way past the streaks of dust and dirt on the bedroom window. “I love mornings,” he moaned contentedly before rolling over and latching onto Cain’s lax body.
There was a muffled chuckle that gave away Cain’s wakefulness. “You always were awake before the rest of us on the road and I don’t think I ever got to see you sleep in back at the palace,” Cain said sleepily, sliding an arm under Glitch and pulling him close. He planted a lazy kiss on Glitch’s mouth. “Sleep well?”
“Better than ever,” Glitch grinned and nuzzled Cain’s nose with his own. “I love you. Still.”
Cain pretended to give that some serious thought. “You know, I never quite figured out when you started.”
“At the same time I realized you loved me,” Glitch replied matter-of-factly.
“And when did you know that? Hell, even I didn’t know until just before...”
Glitch shifted, lifting a hand to trace Cain’s jaw. “Just before you came back here?”
“Yeah,” Cain admitted reluctantly. He should have known Glitch would figure it out; that Cain had left in a cloud of guilt, for having found happiness before giving his wife the mourning she deserved.
“I knew you loved me when you admitted your refusal to let me sleep by the window was for fear of a stray bullet,” Glitch supplied readily. “When the riots after the renewal were at their worst. You didn’t have to do it...and I hate the fact that you did.”
Cain frowned, thinking back to that time and wondering why Glitch would feel that way. “It’s my job to protect and serve,” he finally said.
“It was my job as well,” Glitch pointed out softly. “And the fact that you put my well-being ahead of yours...well, it’s just not right.”
Knowing that Glitch would stand firm on this and deciding let it go for now, Cain just sighed and smiled. “All right. Next time we’re in a war zone, you’re more than welcome to act as my security blanket. How’s that sound?”
“It sounds wonderfully fair,” Glitch grinned and made a little growling noise, climbing over and pinning Cain to the bed. “Now, I do believe we’ve got some lost time to make up...”
~*~
By the time the two men found their way out of bed, it was late morning and they were both famished. Cain dug out some clean clothes and made quick work of cleaning up in his washroom before returning to find Glitch dancing around the room while getting ready himself. Cain stood in the doorway leaning against the frame watching the way Glitch’s body moved, as impressed and captivated as the first time.
“Oh!” Glitch’s startled exclamation broke Cain’s attentive focus. “I’m missing a sock.”
A short search of the room turned up nothing so Cain simply dug another clean pair from his own drawer and tossed them to Glitch. He sat on the bed and contented himself with watching the rest of the show.
As they moved through the small cabin together, effortless and at ease with one another’s presence, Cain realized exactly what had kept him from cleaning up the cabin and returning it to livable condition. With just him there, it had not felt like a home – but more like a tomb. Now, with another warm, living body occupying every square centimeter of the structure, Cain knew it was time to get to work turning it into the home he and Glitch needed.
Because there was no way in all the realms he was allowing Glitch to return to the city.
“All right, I’ve made a grocery list and a list of things we will need to get a start on cleaning up this place,” Glitch announced as he stuffed the last of his breakfast toast into his mouth.
Cain glanced at the lists and raised his eyebrows. “You realize how much this is going to cost?”
Glitch waved him off. “One thing we will not need to worry about is money,” Glitch told him as he walked over to grab his coat. “Even though I turned down the offer of back pay as a reward from the Queen, I still hold a few dozen very lucrative patents on things I invented as side projects. You’ll be a kept man, Mr. Wyatt Cain.”
“Is that so?” Cain shook his head with a laugh. “And do you intend to spend the remainder of our days chasing fireflies in the fields and fishing in the lakes?”
“If you’re a good boy, you may even get the occasional surprise date at a fancy restaurant. You got a problem with that?” Glitch shot back as he shrugged into his long coat, a new one made of velvet the deepest shade of green. He paused for a moment then reached into his inside pocket. “I almost forgot,” he muttered to himself.
Cain watched as Glitch detoured over to the fireplace and placed a very familiar object on the mantle. The little wood horse with the silver bullet embedded in its side stood proudly next to an identical one already on the dust-coated surface, another one Cain had made annuals ago. He felt his chest tighten at the sight of the pair – one whole, if a bit dusty and alone, the other damaged in its attempt to save a life and left with a silver scar.
“Some things are just made for each other,” Glitch informed him knowingly, suddenly at Cain’s side once again.
Cain reached out and pulled Glitch to him, holding him tight for a long time before pulling back just enough to kiss him deeply. “That they are,” he finally managed.
~*~
End
Title: Two Of
Characters/Pairing: Glitch/Cain
Rating: PG-13 (for angst, implied things)
Words: less than 3,000.
Summary: Where one goes, the other follows.
Notes: For the Valentine's Day challenge over on
glitch_wyatt issued by kseda. Prompts provided by avari_maethor - I got them all in!!~*~
There was only one place Glitch knew that Cain would go.
As he exited his car and approached the silent, desolate cabin standing small and mostly hidden in the middle of the clearing, Glitch would hardly know anyone had been there since the last time he had seen it. When he and DG had first been drawn by the sounds of a beating, one that they had missed by ten annuals.
No sounds came from the residence this time, outside or in. No smoke from the chimney despite the freezing winter weather outside, no creaking of footfalls on rotting wood. Dying flowers lined the base of the structure.
Were it not for the fresh boot prints in the snow on the porch, Glitch would never had guessed Cain had been there at all. But there they were, giving away all the secrets Glitch was clearly not welcome to discover.
When Cain had disappeared from the Central City estate, everyone assumed he had simply decided to get back to his former life, to clean up the mess that had been left behind in favor of vengeance. It was decided that he would be left alone, as he had given no notice when he left, nor any indication as to where he planned to go.
But Glitch knew, and Glitch suspected that DG and Raw knew as well. And Jeb...well. Glitch didn’t dare ask the traumatized young man his feelings on his childhood home.
The door had no lock; it took only the lightest touch to push it open. There was only a short, harsh groan from the hinges. The inside was as still as the outside; the only difference being that it was much darker out of the sun.
It had been a home, once. Small details here and there betrayed its former responsibility and Glitch felt like a voyeur, peeking into a part of Cain’s life that he had no right to witness.
On the mantle, a cracked picture frame held a moment captured in time; a tiny Jeb laughing as he was held firmly in place on his father’s back. A deep indigo clay vase in the center of the kitchen table held long-dried lilies, their stems bent unnaturally over the sides. Tucked in the corner of the counter was a dust-coated wine bottle.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Glitch picked up the bottle and wiped the dust from the label with his thumb. 1156. “Good annual,” Glitch mumbled to himself, though he really had no idea if it had been or not. It just seemed like the thing to say.
The sound of a gun’s hammer being cocked behind his ear made him freeze, his breath catching in his throat.
“Mind telling me what you’re doing in my home?” Cain’s low, soft tones were a striking contrast to the threat of his weapon.
Glitch turned his head just a little, enough to see Cain’s face. And when he saw the look of shocked recognition throw the other man off for a brief moment, Glitch realized that Cain had not even recognized him from behind. He allowed a tiny smile to curve his lips as he answered. “Maybe I was searching for a good bottle of wine.”
Cain’s mouth twitched as he released the hammer on his gun and lowered it to his side. “Well, you won’t find that here.” He nodded at the bottle in Glitch’s hand. “I drank half of one of those at my wedding, spent the next morning puking it back up. That one was left over; Adora wanted to keep it as a souvenir. Figured I needed a reminder now and then to sample the wine before I buy it.”
“Why, Mr. Cain, I do believe that’s the most you’ve ever said in one fell swoop,” Glitch let his smile grow and he set the bottle carefully back into its corner, right where the clean circle had been left in the dust.
Tucking his gun safely back into its holster, Cain shook his head ruefully and stepped up to where Glitch stood. He waited until Glitch met his eye and raised his hand, his palm coming to rest on the soft skin of Glitch’s cheek. “How’ve you been, sunshine?”
Glitch huffed a gentle laugh. “Sweetheart.”
“What?” Cain blinked at the answer.
“That’s what you called me that day in the tower.”
Cain smiled warmly. “You remember that?”
“It’s not as if people are lining up to bestow me with affectionate nicknames these days,” Glitch replied with a raise of his eyebrows, but softened his words with a press of his cheek against Cain’s hand. “I’ve missed you.”
“Yeah,” Cain responded simply, then let his hand drift up to brush over the short strands of Glitch’s hair. “I didn’t recognize you – you cut your hair.”
Glitch flinched unexpectedly and looked away, his expression darkening. “Something like that,” he muttered, turning to look out the dusty window over the sink. He shook himself after a moment and looked back at Cain with haunted eyes. “What were you doing out there, anyway? It feels like the snow is ready to start up again, it’s so cold.”
“Getting some wood for the fireplace,” Cain took Glitch’s lead and let the subject change for now. “Ran out overnight and spent half the day trying to break through the ice that’s taken over the well. Feel up to taking a long walk?”
“Sure,” Glitch rubbed his hands together, perking up. “I was wondering when you’d planned to turn the heat on.”
~*~
The trip out to the fallen tree Cain had been working on was done in near silence, save for the few odd comments Glitch made as he found something fascinating to point out in the woods. Falling in the snow only once, Glitch considered his journey quite successful as he helped Cain gather the freshly cut firewood and pile it only the small, rusted wagon Cain had dragged out for that purpose.
By the time the sun had set, Cain had managed to get a solid fire going in the cabin, had helped Glitch out of his wet, stiff clothes and into a slightly-too-large set of dry, warm ones that had been Cain’s at some point long ago, and settled the both of them in front of the fireplace with a large quilt taken from the linen closet. It was clean but had the musty scent of age.
“You’ve been here for almost two months,” Glitch said to the flickering flames. “Doesn’t the dust bother you? And the way things are, you know, just like you left them?” He was comfortably ensconced within Cain’s body, leaning back against his chest and resting his arms on solid thighs. It was like they had never been apart.
Cain sighed, his breath warm against Glitch’s throat. “Every time I go to put something away, or to clear off a layer of dust, something stops me. A memory of Adora sewing Jeb’s torn shirt in that chair. A little handprint that the dust decided to leave alone. And I just – “
“It’s like disturbing a grave,” Glitch whispered knowingly.
“Yeah.” Cain shifted a little, tucking his arm more firmly around Glitch’s waist. “You never answered my question earlier. How’ve you been?” He pressed his nose against Glitch’s short hair as a silent reminder of the rest of his inquiry.
“I couldn’t stay there anymore,” Glitch admitted outright. “Not after you were gone.”
Cain could feel the tension in Glitch’s body and he ran his hands down Glitch’s arms, soothing him. “What happened?”
Glitch released a sharp breath, his fingers tightening their grip on Cain’s legs. “They’re afraid of me,” he said in a flat voice that wasn’t his. “Of what I made, of what I know. They were scared of how unstable my mind is and...they tried to fix me.”
“Gods,” Cain closed his eyes tight as they burned with self-hatred. I left him there, he thought angrily. “I’m so sorry.”
“Not your fault,” Glitch squeezed one of Cain’s knees gently. “I know why you left.”
Cain shivered, tightening his hold on Glitch again. “I just needed more time,” he whispered brokenly. “Adora...”
“You never had a chance to grieve,” Glitch finished for him, leaning his head back to rest on Cain’s shoulder. “I know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Glitch shook his head once, hard.
“What did they do to you?” Cain forced himself to ask, his cheek rubbing against Glitch’s as he spoke.
Glitch cleared his throat. “I don’t really know, to be honest,” he replied with a tiny shrug. “It was a few weeks ago. I fell asleep in the sitting room one night, sharing some wine with the Queen. Next time I woke up was two days later, my head had been shaved and DG was sitting next to my bed looking like a guard dog on the prowl.”
“She didn’t know, did she?”
“She never would have let them at me without my knowledge,” Glitch confirmed. “Raw came back from his hospital assignment, which apparently was just a distraction to get him out of the palace, and found out what they had done. He was furious, so was DG when she realized what was going on.”
Cain raised his free hand and stroked his fingers down the length of Glitch’s zipper. “Did they hurt you?”
“No,” Glitch sighed, closing his eyes wearily. “They figured out pretty quickly there was nothing they could do to ‘fix’ me like they wanted. Like the council wanted. Raw worked with the resident doctor to make sure no new damage had been done and they did manage to reroute some of the synapse paths so I don’t have many glitches anymore. Well, they were getting better anyway, as you know, but this was just for good measure.”
“I’m glad you came here,” Cain confessed into Glitch’s throat. “You’ll stay?”
“Yeah,” Glitch nuzzled his shorn head against Cain’s cheek affectionately. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be. If you’ll have me.”
Cain growled softly. “You have to ask?”
“I kind of do, actually,” Glitch shifted to look at Cain sideways. “I shouldn’t have invaded your privacy and for that, I apologize.”
“No harm done,” Cain assured him warmly. He pressed a kiss to Glitch’s ear. “I’ve missed you, too.”
Glitch grinned playfully. “So, what have you got around here for putting together a romantic supper?”
Cain breathed out a laugh, truly relaxing for the first time in months. “Actually, that’s where you’re in luck. There’s a town not far from here where I’ve always gotten supplies. Been keeping up with some basic groceries, if nothing else. Nothing fancy, mind you.”
“Sounds perfect,” Glitch nearly purred. “I could use something simple and homey.”
“You warmed back up?”
“You bet!” Glitch gave a peck to Cain’s cheek before he leaned forward to extract himself from his warm cocoon. “Come on, let’s see what you’ve got.”
~*~
Both men knew from bitter experience that life was far too short and ephemeral to let even the most painful snags keep them from what they wanted, what they both needed.
Cain fell asleep that night in Glitch’s arms, his head tucked under Glitch’s chin and his cheek pressed against the cloth where his tears had dampened it. Glitch hadn’t said a word, had simply held him as he wept. And if neither made mention of it again, or if they both simply forgot the months they spent apart, it was all for the best.
~*~
Glitch stretched hugely as the first rays of sunlight found their way past the streaks of dust and dirt on the bedroom window. “I love mornings,” he moaned contentedly before rolling over and latching onto Cain’s lax body.
There was a muffled chuckle that gave away Cain’s wakefulness. “You always were awake before the rest of us on the road and I don’t think I ever got to see you sleep in back at the palace,” Cain said sleepily, sliding an arm under Glitch and pulling him close. He planted a lazy kiss on Glitch’s mouth. “Sleep well?”
“Better than ever,” Glitch grinned and nuzzled Cain’s nose with his own. “I love you. Still.”
Cain pretended to give that some serious thought. “You know, I never quite figured out when you started.”
“At the same time I realized you loved me,” Glitch replied matter-of-factly.
“And when did you know that? Hell, even I didn’t know until just before...”
Glitch shifted, lifting a hand to trace Cain’s jaw. “Just before you came back here?”
“Yeah,” Cain admitted reluctantly. He should have known Glitch would figure it out; that Cain had left in a cloud of guilt, for having found happiness before giving his wife the mourning she deserved.
“I knew you loved me when you admitted your refusal to let me sleep by the window was for fear of a stray bullet,” Glitch supplied readily. “When the riots after the renewal were at their worst. You didn’t have to do it...and I hate the fact that you did.”
Cain frowned, thinking back to that time and wondering why Glitch would feel that way. “It’s my job to protect and serve,” he finally said.
“It was my job as well,” Glitch pointed out softly. “And the fact that you put my well-being ahead of yours...well, it’s just not right.”
Knowing that Glitch would stand firm on this and deciding let it go for now, Cain just sighed and smiled. “All right. Next time we’re in a war zone, you’re more than welcome to act as my security blanket. How’s that sound?”
“It sounds wonderfully fair,” Glitch grinned and made a little growling noise, climbing over and pinning Cain to the bed. “Now, I do believe we’ve got some lost time to make up...”
~*~
By the time the two men found their way out of bed, it was late morning and they were both famished. Cain dug out some clean clothes and made quick work of cleaning up in his washroom before returning to find Glitch dancing around the room while getting ready himself. Cain stood in the doorway leaning against the frame watching the way Glitch’s body moved, as impressed and captivated as the first time.
“Oh!” Glitch’s startled exclamation broke Cain’s attentive focus. “I’m missing a sock.”
A short search of the room turned up nothing so Cain simply dug another clean pair from his own drawer and tossed them to Glitch. He sat on the bed and contented himself with watching the rest of the show.
As they moved through the small cabin together, effortless and at ease with one another’s presence, Cain realized exactly what had kept him from cleaning up the cabin and returning it to livable condition. With just him there, it had not felt like a home – but more like a tomb. Now, with another warm, living body occupying every square centimeter of the structure, Cain knew it was time to get to work turning it into the home he and Glitch needed.
Because there was no way in all the realms he was allowing Glitch to return to the city.
“All right, I’ve made a grocery list and a list of things we will need to get a start on cleaning up this place,” Glitch announced as he stuffed the last of his breakfast toast into his mouth.
Cain glanced at the lists and raised his eyebrows. “You realize how much this is going to cost?”
Glitch waved him off. “One thing we will not need to worry about is money,” Glitch told him as he walked over to grab his coat. “Even though I turned down the offer of back pay as a reward from the Queen, I still hold a few dozen very lucrative patents on things I invented as side projects. You’ll be a kept man, Mr. Wyatt Cain.”
“Is that so?” Cain shook his head with a laugh. “And do you intend to spend the remainder of our days chasing fireflies in the fields and fishing in the lakes?”
“If you’re a good boy, you may even get the occasional surprise date at a fancy restaurant. You got a problem with that?” Glitch shot back as he shrugged into his long coat, a new one made of velvet the deepest shade of green. He paused for a moment then reached into his inside pocket. “I almost forgot,” he muttered to himself.
Cain watched as Glitch detoured over to the fireplace and placed a very familiar object on the mantle. The little wood horse with the silver bullet embedded in its side stood proudly next to an identical one already on the dust-coated surface, another one Cain had made annuals ago. He felt his chest tighten at the sight of the pair – one whole, if a bit dusty and alone, the other damaged in its attempt to save a life and left with a silver scar.
“Some things are just made for each other,” Glitch informed him knowingly, suddenly at Cain’s side once again.
Cain reached out and pulled Glitch to him, holding him tight for a long time before pulling back just enough to kiss him deeply. “That they are,” he finally managed.
~*~
End
