Tin Man Fic: Somewhere I Belong
Title: Somewhere I Belong
Author: gatechic
Characters/Pairing: Wyatt and Jeb.
Rating: G
Summary: Post-series. After the eclipse, Wyatt and Jeb begin a journey in search of themselves, where they belong, and their relationship. This is from Jeb's POV.
Word Count:914
Disclaimer: Tin Man characters belong to the SciFi Channel, RHI, Steven Long Mitchell and Craig W. Van Sickle. But Travis, Isabelle and Garrett belong to me. I also borrow from L. Frank Baum, Gregory Maguire and Rachel R Cosgrove (Payes). This is purely for fun and I'm not making a penny off of this.
A/N: This was written for round 9 at tm_challenge.
It’s been almost an annual now since the Outer Zone was saved from the Sorceress’s plan of total destruction. Even though it was a victory and we should be happy, it was bittersweet nonetheless. For a lot of us, our lives would never be the same.
I’ve been living with my father in a proper home with a roof that doesn’t leak. Living in a cabin and staying in one place for long periods of time was foreign to me. With mother, we were always on the run and I had very little in personal belongings. I could only keep what I could carry.
Then after…
I stayed with the Resistance group that found and freed me. My home became a place made of cut wood turned into poles, a roof made of camouflaged canvas to hide us from Mobats and my bed was a blanket covering the dirt and leaves, which are now only a nuance to sweep off the porch.
Reconnecting with my father hasn’t been easy - for either of us. We both were restless, feeling like we had to do something, paroniod behavior like constantly looking over shoulders or peering from the windows looking for the enemy that wasn’t coming for us anymore. He was once a Tin Man, but not anymore. I was just a boy when he was taken from me, but not anymore. We were both Resistance Fighters, but not anymore.
Who were we now and where do we belong?
Those are questions we’ve been trying to find the answer to for a long time now. I have a feeling, we’ll be seeking those answers for the rest of our lives. It’s not easy to reinvent yourself after you’ve spent the last eight annuals in a war or locked up in an iron suit. We can’t pick up where we left off. We had to make a new beginning and in order to do that, we had to discover who we are, now that the fighting is over - mostly.
During this process of self-discovery, I was so angry with father one day, I shouted, “I wish mother were here!”
I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. My words were like a knife that cut through his already fragile heart and deep into his soul.
I saw his eyes - which had had anger in them - begin to fill with remorse. Grief pushed the anger from his face, and softened his features as he bowed his head.
How could I be so damn selfish? Dad must wish that mother was here every single day, every waking moment and possibly, even in his dreams that haunt him during the night. There are nights I can hear him calling out her name, sometimes in distress and other times, in sorrow.
I reached out and pulled him into an embrace. I didn’t need to say the words, my embrace conveys my apology. His body jerks as the tears flow and my own tears follow. I guess those hurtful words needed to be said so we start to heal and be able to move on to the next phase.
Yesterday, the Royal Messenger delivered some letters. Father received more letters from DG, Glitch, and Raw. DG’s letters always contain a drawing of some kind, either of the O.Z. or the Other Side. Father always reads Glitch’s letters second because it’s usually him explaining what DG said in her letter about something he did or forgot or any Glitch related glitches. I watch father nod as he reads Raw’s letter. Apparently, he’s returning to his people. Looks like Raw is finally starting his own search.
In this batch of letters, there’s one from the Queen, making her usual offer to father about returning to duty as the Chief of Police in Central City. Father sighs as he sets the letter on his lap and gazes at the fire - without the blue smoke.
Before we left the Tower, she asked him to head security for her family. Without hesitation, he turned her down - graciously of course. “I found my son, he’s the only family I have left, I won’t abandon him again.” I don’t think I’ll ever forget his words. Mostly because it surprised me, I thought he would accept it. But he chose me over the Royal Family. Family is most important.
I know what he’s thinking as he stares, mesmerized by the fire. He’s trying to put together the right response denying the offer. With DG, it would be a simple ‘No’. But this is the Queen and a simple ‘No’ would not be adequate.
Truth was for now, he’s content to work around the cabin, help our neighbors, spend time together by the lake fishing, and tending to the crops he planted. Father is taking this ‘retirement’ phase of his life seriously.
And me, well, I’m trying to not look back, but to look forward, and to realize that I don’t have to be Jeb Cain, the Resistance Fighter anymore. I’m just, Jeb Cain.
I pray that the gods will help me find where I belong in this world. I’m broken, father is broken and we have pieces missing from our lives. Our search to find those pieces is a daily effort and it can be both satisfying and tiresome because we shout, we cry, and then we hug.
We forgive.
We search some more.
We heal some more.
We both know, that’s what mother would want.
__________________________________________________
Thank you!
Companion fanmix can be found here.
Companion icons here.
Yes, I'm spamming. Deal with it.
Author: gatechic
Characters/Pairing: Wyatt and Jeb.
Rating: G
Summary: Post-series. After the eclipse, Wyatt and Jeb begin a journey in search of themselves, where they belong, and their relationship. This is from Jeb's POV.
Word Count:914
Disclaimer: Tin Man characters belong to the SciFi Channel, RHI, Steven Long Mitchell and Craig W. Van Sickle. But Travis, Isabelle and Garrett belong to me. I also borrow from L. Frank Baum, Gregory Maguire and Rachel R Cosgrove (Payes). This is purely for fun and I'm not making a penny off of this.
A/N: This was written for round 9 at tm_challenge.
It’s been almost an annual now since the Outer Zone was saved from the Sorceress’s plan of total destruction. Even though it was a victory and we should be happy, it was bittersweet nonetheless. For a lot of us, our lives would never be the same.
I’ve been living with my father in a proper home with a roof that doesn’t leak. Living in a cabin and staying in one place for long periods of time was foreign to me. With mother, we were always on the run and I had very little in personal belongings. I could only keep what I could carry.
Then after…
I stayed with the Resistance group that found and freed me. My home became a place made of cut wood turned into poles, a roof made of camouflaged canvas to hide us from Mobats and my bed was a blanket covering the dirt and leaves, which are now only a nuance to sweep off the porch.
Reconnecting with my father hasn’t been easy - for either of us. We both were restless, feeling like we had to do something, paroniod behavior like constantly looking over shoulders or peering from the windows looking for the enemy that wasn’t coming for us anymore. He was once a Tin Man, but not anymore. I was just a boy when he was taken from me, but not anymore. We were both Resistance Fighters, but not anymore.
Who were we now and where do we belong?
Those are questions we’ve been trying to find the answer to for a long time now. I have a feeling, we’ll be seeking those answers for the rest of our lives. It’s not easy to reinvent yourself after you’ve spent the last eight annuals in a war or locked up in an iron suit. We can’t pick up where we left off. We had to make a new beginning and in order to do that, we had to discover who we are, now that the fighting is over - mostly.
During this process of self-discovery, I was so angry with father one day, I shouted, “I wish mother were here!”
I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. My words were like a knife that cut through his already fragile heart and deep into his soul.
I saw his eyes - which had had anger in them - begin to fill with remorse. Grief pushed the anger from his face, and softened his features as he bowed his head.
How could I be so damn selfish? Dad must wish that mother was here every single day, every waking moment and possibly, even in his dreams that haunt him during the night. There are nights I can hear him calling out her name, sometimes in distress and other times, in sorrow.
I reached out and pulled him into an embrace. I didn’t need to say the words, my embrace conveys my apology. His body jerks as the tears flow and my own tears follow. I guess those hurtful words needed to be said so we start to heal and be able to move on to the next phase.
Yesterday, the Royal Messenger delivered some letters. Father received more letters from DG, Glitch, and Raw. DG’s letters always contain a drawing of some kind, either of the O.Z. or the Other Side. Father always reads Glitch’s letters second because it’s usually him explaining what DG said in her letter about something he did or forgot or any Glitch related glitches. I watch father nod as he reads Raw’s letter. Apparently, he’s returning to his people. Looks like Raw is finally starting his own search.
In this batch of letters, there’s one from the Queen, making her usual offer to father about returning to duty as the Chief of Police in Central City. Father sighs as he sets the letter on his lap and gazes at the fire - without the blue smoke.
Before we left the Tower, she asked him to head security for her family. Without hesitation, he turned her down - graciously of course. “I found my son, he’s the only family I have left, I won’t abandon him again.” I don’t think I’ll ever forget his words. Mostly because it surprised me, I thought he would accept it. But he chose me over the Royal Family. Family is most important.
I know what he’s thinking as he stares, mesmerized by the fire. He’s trying to put together the right response denying the offer. With DG, it would be a simple ‘No’. But this is the Queen and a simple ‘No’ would not be adequate.
Truth was for now, he’s content to work around the cabin, help our neighbors, spend time together by the lake fishing, and tending to the crops he planted. Father is taking this ‘retirement’ phase of his life seriously.
And me, well, I’m trying to not look back, but to look forward, and to realize that I don’t have to be Jeb Cain, the Resistance Fighter anymore. I’m just, Jeb Cain.
I pray that the gods will help me find where I belong in this world. I’m broken, father is broken and we have pieces missing from our lives. Our search to find those pieces is a daily effort and it can be both satisfying and tiresome because we shout, we cry, and then we hug.
We forgive.
We search some more.
We heal some more.
We both know, that’s what mother would want.
__________________________________________________
Thank you!
Companion fanmix can be found here.
Companion icons here.
Yes, I'm spamming. Deal with it.