Between the Lines
Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine.
Title: Between the Lines
Characters: Glitch/Cain
Rating: G
Summary: Some of Cain’s mail is stranger than usual today.
Warnings: Unabashed fluff, because if you can't post it at this time of year then WHEN?
A/N: The formatting on this sucker was a beeyotch! I did get to play with a brand new html tag - ‘pre’- which keeps multiple spaces in tact between words, plus font color, strikethrough, and italics, whee! Let me know if it makes anything look wonky or causes scrolling. I have much ♥ for the Preview window, without which this would have never ever made it to completion.
Dear Mr. Cain,
Dear Wyatt,
Hello, Wyatt
Hi, Cain!
Hello, Cain, I hope this finds you well.
I think of you a lot every day a hundred times a day often
and wonder how you are getting on.
I miss you so much very much so much I could die.
I miss you and Raw and DG. I feel completely lost around here without
the three of you.
I watched the Crenniline Phenomenon last night from the roof. I counted ten
shooting stars in an hour. I don’t suppose you saw it. The lights from
the city would have been too bright. I would have asked you to visit but
I didn’t realize it was coming up until I was leafing through an
almanac someone left in the library and by then it was after seven p.m.
Someone called me an idiot yesterday before they realized who I was.
Things are going fine here.
I got lost eight times yesterday, which is, at least, two fewer than
the day before.
The palace is becoming more familiar to me every day.
Everything I ever owned was destroyed by ignorant rabble minions.
The queen has graciously offered to fund the restocking of my workshop,
so one of these days I will be making a trip to the bookseller in
Central City.
I’m scared to go to the city by myself again. I hate cities.
I expect I will come up when the weather is warmer.
If any of your duties take you to Finaqua, give DG a hug for me.
my regards. She writes me every week, but
I can’t seem to answer her letters.
My heart aches for the want of you.
but I’ve been busy and forget to write. You know me. I’d forget my head
if it wasn’t zipped on…. ha ha!
Anyway, I hope you have a good day in the city. Keep safe.
Yours truly,
Your friend,
Glitch
Ambrose
Glitch
~
Wyatt Cain walked through and around the palace relentlessly, not stopping to admire any of the views. He strode through the herb garden, the perennial garden, and the courtyard with the fountain. He traversed many a marble hall, the solarium, the kitchens, and the ballroom.
He eventually found his quarry in the cobblestone corridor that joined the Gazebo of Lotus Ponds with the Hall of Contemplation. Glitch was sitting in an open alcove window under a spray of wisteria and reading a book. His back was up against one stone column and he had a foot propped up on the other, and for a moment Cain could almost see him as he must’ve looked when he was young and relatively carefree and in some university somewhere studying things Cain knew nothing about.
“Hey, Glitch.”
Sunlight flashed off metal as Glitch looked up, his face lighting. He unfolded himself out of the archway, tossing his book to the side. “Cain!”
They began a mutual approach, meeting up in the middle of the corridor, and for a moment Cain thought Glitch was going to throw his arms around him, but the former advisor stopped short at the last second, as if suddenly thinking that Cain might not want any unseemly public displays of gratuitous hugging.
Cain stepped forward and enfolded him in an embrace instead. Glitch squeezed back tentatively.
“Did you get my letter?” he asked against Cain’s shoulder.
“I got both of them,” Cain said gently.
“What?” Glitch drew away in confusion, his brows knitting, an expression which always made him look tired.
“The first one was very polite and to the point, but the second one was a lot more interesting.”
“Cain, I don’t understand.”
“You wrote out a rough draft before you wrote the actual letter, right?”
“Yes, but….”
“Well, you must have been pressing on top of that first draft while the ink was still wet, because it stuck to the back of the second one.”
All the color drained from Glitch’s face until he was as white as the papers he’d sent to Cain. “I folded it all up before I went to bed so the maid wouldn’t read it before I found an envelope!” He raised his hand as if to cover his mouth.
“No, no, it’s OK,” Cain said quickly.
“I can’t remember what I wrote,” Glitch began frantically, more to himself than Cain, eyes going distant as if trying to scan the past.
“Well, I brought it with me.” Cain covered the spot over his lapel pocket where both pages were tucked away safely over his heart. “You can read it in the car while I drive us back to Central City.”
“But.. why…”
“Well, we don’t want to keep DG waiting, for starters. I didn’t hear back from Raw yet but I’m sure he’ll be there, too.”
“Be where?”
“Well, it occured to me that I do have an apartment, you know. I can host visitors. And it's not just you, we could all do with some time together, I think,” Cain assured him gently, wrapping a companionable arm around him and steering him along the corridor back the way he’d come. “And you need to visit a certain bookseller with a no doubt sizeable number of platinums, am I right? DG’d probably love to go with you, and we can all have a nice dinner somewhere.”
“Wow, that must’ve been some letter I didn’t mean to send.”
“It was just honest. That’s a refreshing trait in the world, Glitch, don’t work so hard to cover it up. Not with me. You can always be honest with me.”
They walked along in pleasant silence for a moment, then Glitch spoke up suddenly. “Does this mean you want to hear about my undying and unrequited love for you?” he asked.
“Not ever,” Cain said firmly. But his arm stayed draped around Glitch, and he pulled him close enough to his side that he knew Glitch could feel his laughter.
“But it’s undying,” Glitch persisted, a teasing smile playing at his lips.
“But not unrequited.”
Glitch’s footsteps faltered, as if he would have stopped, but Cain continued along and Glitch followed.
“Leave it be for now, Sweetheart,” he said quietly. “We’ll discuss it tomorrow, when DG goes back to Finaqua and Raw goes back to his circuit.”
“You expect me to concentrate on books and sightseeing now after springing this on me? When did you come to this conclusion, anyway? I mean, my feelings have always been obvious enough to anyone with a half a brain, but what made you realize?”
“Because my heart’s been aching for want of you, too.” He made the pronouncement solemnly, echoing Glitch’s phrase from the letter, and stared straight ahead down the corridor.
“Yeah, but missing someone’s not really the same as…”
Cain stopped walking. “Glitch! We’re having a moment here!” he explained in exasperation. “Shut up and kiss me.”
He turned to look at Glitch, who offered him a grin that was one part apology, two parts amusement, and one hundred percent Glitch.
He leaned in to press his lips to that grin, and found that it tasted every bit as sweet as it looked.
Every bit as sweet as he'd imagined.
"I'll have to write to you more often," Glitch remarked as soon as he was able.
"Yeah, and you can hand 'em to me when you're done," Cain replied. "Cause, Sweetheart, I ain't ever leavin' you again."
Title: Between the Lines
Characters: Glitch/Cain
Rating: G
Summary: Some of Cain’s mail is stranger than usual today.
Warnings: Unabashed fluff, because if you can't post it at this time of year then WHEN?
A/N: The formatting on this sucker was a beeyotch! I did get to play with a brand new html tag - ‘pre’- which keeps multiple spaces in tact between words, plus font color, strikethrough, and italics, whee! Let me know if it makes anything look wonky or causes scrolling. I have much ♥ for the Preview window, without which this would have never ever made it to completion.
Dear Mr. Cain,
Dear Wyatt,
Hello, Wyatt
Hi, Cain!
Hello, Cain, I hope this finds you well.
I think of you a lot every day a hundred times a day often
and wonder how you are getting on.
I miss you so much very much so much I could die.
I miss you and Raw and DG. I feel completely lost around here without
the three of you.
I watched the Crenniline Phenomenon last night from the roof. I counted ten
shooting stars in an hour. I don’t suppose you saw it. The lights from
the city would have been too bright. I would have asked you to visit but
I didn’t realize it was coming up until I was leafing through an
almanac someone left in the library and by then it was after seven p.m.
Someone called me an idiot yesterday before they realized who I was.
Things are going fine here.
I got lost eight times yesterday, which is, at least, two fewer than
the day before.
The palace is becoming more familiar to me every day.
Everything I ever owned was destroyed by ignorant rabble minions.
The queen has graciously offered to fund the restocking of my workshop,
so one of these days I will be making a trip to the bookseller in
Central City.
I’m scared to go to the city by myself again. I hate cities.
I expect I will come up when the weather is warmer.
If any of your duties take you to Finaqua, give DG a hug for me.
my regards. She writes me every week, but
I can’t seem to answer her letters.
My heart aches for the want of you.
but I’ve been busy and forget to write. You know me. I’d forget my head
if it wasn’t zipped on…. ha ha!
Anyway, I hope you have a good day in the city. Keep safe.
Yours truly,
Your friend,
Glitch
Ambrose
Glitch
~
Wyatt Cain walked through and around the palace relentlessly, not stopping to admire any of the views. He strode through the herb garden, the perennial garden, and the courtyard with the fountain. He traversed many a marble hall, the solarium, the kitchens, and the ballroom.
He eventually found his quarry in the cobblestone corridor that joined the Gazebo of Lotus Ponds with the Hall of Contemplation. Glitch was sitting in an open alcove window under a spray of wisteria and reading a book. His back was up against one stone column and he had a foot propped up on the other, and for a moment Cain could almost see him as he must’ve looked when he was young and relatively carefree and in some university somewhere studying things Cain knew nothing about.
“Hey, Glitch.”
Sunlight flashed off metal as Glitch looked up, his face lighting. He unfolded himself out of the archway, tossing his book to the side. “Cain!”
They began a mutual approach, meeting up in the middle of the corridor, and for a moment Cain thought Glitch was going to throw his arms around him, but the former advisor stopped short at the last second, as if suddenly thinking that Cain might not want any unseemly public displays of gratuitous hugging.
Cain stepped forward and enfolded him in an embrace instead. Glitch squeezed back tentatively.
“Did you get my letter?” he asked against Cain’s shoulder.
“I got both of them,” Cain said gently.
“What?” Glitch drew away in confusion, his brows knitting, an expression which always made him look tired.
“The first one was very polite and to the point, but the second one was a lot more interesting.”
“Cain, I don’t understand.”
“You wrote out a rough draft before you wrote the actual letter, right?”
“Yes, but….”
“Well, you must have been pressing on top of that first draft while the ink was still wet, because it stuck to the back of the second one.”
All the color drained from Glitch’s face until he was as white as the papers he’d sent to Cain. “I folded it all up before I went to bed so the maid wouldn’t read it before I found an envelope!” He raised his hand as if to cover his mouth.
“No, no, it’s OK,” Cain said quickly.
“I can’t remember what I wrote,” Glitch began frantically, more to himself than Cain, eyes going distant as if trying to scan the past.
“Well, I brought it with me.” Cain covered the spot over his lapel pocket where both pages were tucked away safely over his heart. “You can read it in the car while I drive us back to Central City.”
“But.. why…”
“Well, we don’t want to keep DG waiting, for starters. I didn’t hear back from Raw yet but I’m sure he’ll be there, too.”
“Be where?”
“Well, it occured to me that I do have an apartment, you know. I can host visitors. And it's not just you, we could all do with some time together, I think,” Cain assured him gently, wrapping a companionable arm around him and steering him along the corridor back the way he’d come. “And you need to visit a certain bookseller with a no doubt sizeable number of platinums, am I right? DG’d probably love to go with you, and we can all have a nice dinner somewhere.”
“Wow, that must’ve been some letter I didn’t mean to send.”
“It was just honest. That’s a refreshing trait in the world, Glitch, don’t work so hard to cover it up. Not with me. You can always be honest with me.”
They walked along in pleasant silence for a moment, then Glitch spoke up suddenly. “Does this mean you want to hear about my undying and unrequited love for you?” he asked.
“Not ever,” Cain said firmly. But his arm stayed draped around Glitch, and he pulled him close enough to his side that he knew Glitch could feel his laughter.
“But it’s undying,” Glitch persisted, a teasing smile playing at his lips.
“But not unrequited.”
Glitch’s footsteps faltered, as if he would have stopped, but Cain continued along and Glitch followed.
“Leave it be for now, Sweetheart,” he said quietly. “We’ll discuss it tomorrow, when DG goes back to Finaqua and Raw goes back to his circuit.”
“You expect me to concentrate on books and sightseeing now after springing this on me? When did you come to this conclusion, anyway? I mean, my feelings have always been obvious enough to anyone with a half a brain, but what made you realize?”
“Because my heart’s been aching for want of you, too.” He made the pronouncement solemnly, echoing Glitch’s phrase from the letter, and stared straight ahead down the corridor.
“Yeah, but missing someone’s not really the same as…”
Cain stopped walking. “Glitch! We’re having a moment here!” he explained in exasperation. “Shut up and kiss me.”
He turned to look at Glitch, who offered him a grin that was one part apology, two parts amusement, and one hundred percent Glitch.
He leaned in to press his lips to that grin, and found that it tasted every bit as sweet as it looked.
Every bit as sweet as he'd imagined.
"I'll have to write to you more often," Glitch remarked as soon as he was able.
"Yeah, and you can hand 'em to me when you're done," Cain replied. "Cause, Sweetheart, I ain't ever leavin' you again."