I'll Be Here 1/?
A/N: Glitch and Cain, They were a match made in Yaoi Heaven. I don’t own Tin Man but man I wish I did.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Glitch wasn’t that stupid, sure he had only half of his marbles but even a dimwit could see the looks Cain gave him. They were mean and disdainful sometimes and other times there was the way they shone that confused the zipper head.
It had been three weeks since the end of the war and he could always be found laying in the garden at Finaqua, hands skimming over the blades of grass. Cain would visit him sometimes, well not the much anymore ever since his surgery had been scheduled.
When Glitch had told him the great news about his re-brainment he could have swore he saw the Tin Man flinch, or maybe not. He couldn’t really remember now.
Sitting up from his spot on the grass he twirled his hair in frustration. He hated forgetting, it always got him into trouble. Like that time...no wait was that a dream, a nightmare? Forgetting his thought he quickly laid back down and stared blankly at the sky, until a shadow covered his face.
“Hey Zipperhead.” came the voice of one Wyatt Cain
“Hi, the name’s Glitch! Have we met before?” Came the cheerful reply,
“Up ya’ get.” Cain said gruffly pulling the other up by the collar of his coat,
“Oh Hiya Cain! What’cha doing here?” He turned on his heel and faced the older man.
“Just passing through, decided to stop by.” Cain said looking anywhere but at Glitch.
“I’m getting my brain back today, or is it tomorrow?” he pouted slightly
“That’s today.’ The Tin Man commented stiffly
“Oh that’s great and you’re here!” A goofy grin stretched on his face,
“Yes, and you’re late. Let’s get a move on.” Cain grumbled pushing the other along.
-x-
When they arrived at the door of the hospital wing Glitch froze. Looking over at the man beside him with wide innocent eyes he said quietly.
“I’m scared.”
“That’s normal, people usually are before major brain surgery.” Cain said giving a rare, but small, smile.
“I just don’t want to forget you.” Glitch said “and my other friends.” he added quickly
“Come on, headcase, you won’t forget me. I’ll...Uh...we’ll be here after it’s over.”
“You promise?”
“Yes, I promise, now get in there.” Cain then pushed him through the doors following soon after.
The room was completely white, except for the silver table with the brown leather straps. Glitch was frozen not far from it, his shaking form slowly inching away and towards the door. When he finally did turn around he ran smack into Cain who caught they other in an awkward hug.
“It’s okay Glitch, I’m here.”
“I’m sacred” he repeated again clinging to the older man’s jacket.
“Come on, you’ll be fine alright. The Queen, DG and Azkadellia, are all here to help.” Cain said soothingly
With a childish nod, Glitch let Cain lead him to the metal table, where he was gently strapped down by an alchemist. But that was all he could remember.
While the surgery went on behind closed doors Wyatt Cain, Ex-Tin Man and now Head of royal guard was pacing back and forth frantically. He didn’t trust these alchemists, even if the Queen was in there watching over Glitch, or was it Ambrose now? He didn’t like it one bit.
Hours passed without a word and Cain was leaning heavily on a stone column when DG came running out of the doors towards him, looking quite frantic.
“Cain! Please you have to come, he’s screaming and won’t let any one near him. He’s asking for you, please!” she gasped, tears rolling down her face.
But before she had even finished the sentence he was gone, through the doors.
The alchemist had sewed him up a while ago, but couldn’t get close enough to the flailing man to undo the straps safely. The horror filled screams of the man on the table echoed off of the sound proof walls, causing everyone’s ears to ring.
Cain stood stunned for a second before rushing to Glitch’s side. He was met by faded eyes that seemed to be caught in a dream.
“Glitch” he said softly reaching out and touching the others cheek. “Wake up.”
As soon as the words left his mouth Glitch stilled and his eyes fluttered for a second before his whole body relaxed completely.
“Cain?” he mumbled, eyes opening once more.
“Good Morning Sweetheart.” Cain said softly, though you could feel the emotion in the words.
“I don’t want my brain anymore.” Glitch said in a cracked voice, “It’s scary.” Then he lost all sense of the world.
I'll Be here 2/?
Glitch had been asleep for hours, not moving. He just under the think covers of his bed and slept, like he was dead. Morning was quickly approaching and Cain stood silently on the balcony of the scientist’s room, leaning heavily on the railing. He could still hear Glitch’s screams, they were echoing inside his head, and it made his head hurt. Casting a look over his shoulder at the sleeping man, he sighed heavily. “By gods, he better be alright.” he whispered harshly, as he turned back to the rising suns. He felt like they had taken a step forward and then back again. It was frustrating to the Ex-Tin Man. When he heard the mumble from behind him, he turned to see Glitch talking quietly in his sleep, then slowly he started to turn his head, rather violently. Swallowing past the lump in his throat by the pleas of ‘Please, no.’, he stepped forward and lightly shook the sleeping man. “Glitch? Wake up,” Cain said lightly “Cain?” Came the unsure question, followed by wide brown eyes. “Hey, Headcase,” he said fondly. But he wasn’t ready when Glitch flung himself at him, clinging hopelessly to his chest. They sat like that silently, one trying to burrow deep into the other chest. It seemed completely normal to Cain, and he couldn’t figure out why. Almost as if this was a perfect moment, as Glitch fell into a peaceful sleep once more. Slowly Cain shifted the two of them, and decided to take a nap of his own, leaning on the headboard. Cain once read in a book, “Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future.”, and as he sat on Glitch’s bed this singular quote popped into his head. He had woken an hour ago, a minute, a day? He couldn’t really tell, time seemed to crawl. But he was completely content on staying here. -x- Days past and slowly Glitch became Ambrose, and he started to treat everyone more distant. Handshakes instead of hugs, nods instead of smiles, and Cain seemed to imagine that Glitch...no Ambrose didn’t have Rhythm. That, the soul that had, had the rhythm was gone, he imagined, lost within the never ending thoughts and plans. He had been pulled a side not three days after the surgery by the queen. “Mr.Cain , you must understand,” she said regally “you and Ambrose are from two very different worlds.” “What do you mean?” Cain said, brow knitted “Your classes, yours and Ambrose’s cannot mix.” She said looking at him sternly “It cannot be, I see the way you look at him, Mr.Cain and it is not meant to be.” “It didn’t matter before, so why now?” he snapped “He is my advisor once again, and I cannot have him distracted.” she left it at that and stood, and then walked out of the room. Gl...Ambrose didn’t speak to him anymore, never came near him, or Raw for that matter. As if they hadn’t saved the O.Z. together and as if Cain hadn’t fell in...no he hadn’t. He couldn’t, he was a Tin Man. “Hey Cain.” said D.G. when she found the man brooding over his morning coffee. “Hey kiddo.” he gave her a small waning smile “What’s going on, you and Glitch don’t talk to each other anymore?” the obviously confused girl asked. “D.G. do you know anything about class?” he said glaring at his coffee. “Well sort of.” “The queen made it clear, since I am a Working class citizen and Glitch ,obviously is nobility we can’t mix.” “Well who cares! It’s your life, not hers!” she snapped stomping her foot. “It matters to the entire O.Z., there is nothing we can do.” Cain set his coffee down and turned towards the door. “You better go talk to him, I’ll talk to my mother, me and Az will, you deserve to be happy too.” D.G. said to his retreating back. “I wish that were true kid.” he said without even stopping to think about what she had said. -x- Ambrose sat in a high back chair in the library, book balanced on his knee as he read. So he didn’t notice the two princesses as they walked in. Nor did he notice the queen following her daughters nervously. “Hiya, Ambrose” D.G. said happily making the scientist jump. “Hello, your majesties.” he said simply “Ambrose,” said the queen sitting in the chair across from him “what are your feeling towards Mr.Cain?” “He’s a good man and Tin Man, why?” he answered “Not your thoughts!” Azkadellia said simpily “Your feelings” “Well I love him.” he said in a Glitch-like way before he slapped a hand over his mouth. “What I mean is, er uh...” he looked confused for a minute. “See mother, Mr.Cain isn’t the only one.” but as Azkadellia said this the library doors flew open and Raw stood in the door. “Cain gone.” Ambrose sat stalk still, “He left?”