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Fic: Don't Touch the Shimmery Liquid 11/12
Title: Don't Touch the Shimmery Liquid 11/12
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: DG, Cain and Jeb (mention of the Queen, Ahamo, the Warden, Az, Glitch and Raw)
Rating: PG
Summary: If you don't know what something is, keep your hands OUT OF IT!
Warning: post-series *inspired by (but not so much an answer to) impish_dragon's bunny.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The Warden is mine. But you can have her. She scares me.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve
More Tales: the first tale | the second tale | the third tale | the fourth tale | the fifth tale
Cain opened the door quietly and peeked into the room before entering. Sighing quietly, he stepped into the room and set his bag down and glanced over to the bed where DG was fast asleep. His lip quirked into the slightest smile at the sight of her, curled up with his finally-broken in pillow - which he had missed the last two months - on his side of the bed.
He moved into the bathroom after pulling out his nightclothes and returned a few minutes later, giving DG another glance. Moving over to the side of the bed, Cain slowly pulled on the pillow as he nudged DG toward her side of the bed. As she rolled over, Cain put his pillow back in its usual spot and smirked as his head shook with a silent laugh.
Trying to not shift the mattress enough to wake DG up, Cain slipped into bed and looked up at the ceiling. He was glad to be back in Finaqua - not that two months of sleeping under the stars wasn’t fun, but he was too old to ‘rough it.’ And, there was definitely something to be said for a soft mattress over the hard ground.
---
Word had arrived from Central City that some skirmishes had broken out in the Eastern Guilds and, as part of his now-Royal duties, Cain’s presence was requested - not only for morale, but because he was an experienced soldier. Jeb was already on his way and Ahamo would meet Cain at the fork in the road, midway between the city and Finaqua. Together, they would travel east and rendezvous with Jeb.
Cain knew it would be a chore getting out of the palace without DG - and was he right, because she pitched a fit when he told her to stay put - and he’d considered not telling her at all. Granted, he realized that, for the sake of their cover story, he best not up and disappear one night.
And, as expected, DG did not take the news well. Of course, Cain’s timing may have played a part in her reaction. He knew waiting until the last minute to tell her was a bad idea, but...
“But, I can help-” DG said, trailing after Cain. His duster and fedora were on and he was breezing down the main hallway of Finaqua, trying to get out of there as quickly and as drama-free as possible. Of course, where DG was concerned, drama was sure to follow. Groaning, Cain stopped and closed his eyes as his jaw instinctively clenched.
He turned to face DG and his hands moved to her shoulders. “No.”
“But-” she protested as Cain pushed her backward against the nearest wall. Before she could protest, however, Cain’s lips were on hers and she had gone rather weak in the knees. He pulled away and DG blinked, for once at a loss for words.
Cain blinked and glanced down at DG. She was looking up at him in confusion, as he’d just pushed her toward the wall. Cain shook his head - as well as the vision his mind had just created - and sighed. “Please, DG... Just stay here.”
DG opened her mouth to respond, but Cain beat her to it. “Look, last place we need you to be right now is in the middle of a potential battlefield. Not to mention: your mother would kill me. And it’s probably not that bad, either. We’ll go, we’ll smack ‘em around a little bit... and we’ll head home.” Cain raised his eyebrows to DG, waiting for her to acknowledge his demand-worded-as-a-request.
She nodded and looked away, not wanting to let him see that she didn’t want him to go. It wasn’t like she needed him around. She was a Princess of the Outer Zone for goodness sake! She didn’t need Cain around to get through her day. It wasn’t like she spent every waking hour in his presence anyhow.
She could survive without Wyatt Cain.
---
At some point in the evening - or morning - DG shifted from her side to her back. Her left arm sort of flopped against Cain’s torso and he opened his eyes with a slight start. His eyes moved right and he saw DG - still fast asleep - and smiled, remembering that he was finally home. Taking another breath, Cain’s eyes were almost closed when he spotted it.
DG was wearing the ring he’d given her all those months ago.
Granted, she was wearing it on the wrong finger. He slowly took her hand in his and, while watching to see if she stirred, managed to pull the ring from her finger. He carefully moved the ring to the proper finger and noticed that it slid on rather easily. A moment later, Cain understood why DG had the ring on her middle finger, as the small silver band slid forward to her knuckle and twisted so that the stone had almost disappeared between her fingers.
He had to hold back a chuckle as he slipped the ring off DG’s finger and replaced it on her middle finger. As he did, her fingers instinctively closed around his hand and she sighed softly. Cain smiled and leaned over to press a kiss to the side of her head.
---
By the third week, DG was miserable. In fact, she was so miserable that she’d stopped terrorizing the Warden. It was no fun when she didn’t have Cain there to back her up and run interference. She spent most of her days in the library, continuing to read up on the history of the Outer Zone and learning princess-y ways of being royal; or she would walk around the full length of the lake, sit on the swing or hang out in her father’s old cabin.
It wasn’t that she missed Cain... she just missed having someone to talk to. The house staff wouldn’t sit and talk to her - as it wasn’t proper - and even if he didn’t understand her, Cain would at least pretend to be interested in her stories of the Other Side. DG wondered why she was still at Finaqua when she could be just as miserable in Central City.
At least Glitch, Raw and Az would be around to keep her company in Central City.
By the end of the third week, DG had reread the lists from her mother twice, and even gone so far as to rewrite the lists - mainly because all of her notes had covered the pages and she was finding it hard to read her own writing, as well as her mother’s - and had decided to head for the library and give the pages another glance.
She was that bored.
Digging through the drawer she’d placed the pages in, DG found the envelope and pulled it out. With a heavy sigh, she undid the clasp and grabbed hold of the thick stack of papers, tilting the envelope to let gravity help remove them. She noticed something slip out of the envelope with the pages and leaned back to see what had dropped to the floor.
DG leaned over and reached for the small piece of scrap paper and realized it was the extra addition to the first delivery. DG frowned as she gave the thing a once-over, contemplating the best way to unfold it. As she found the loose edge, DG moved from the desk to the window seat and managed to open the small paper. Taking a moment to flatten it against her leg, DG glanced at the writing to see that her original assumption was correct.
It was from Glitch.
Actually, she noted, it seemed to be a note from both Glitch and Ambrose. There was a definite shift in the handwriting, not to mention tone and sentence structure. She breathed a smile as she glanced over the story about Raw eating soup, Az’s nightmares and the headaches from having his brain back inside his head. Ambrose’s notes included detailed information about the reintegration procedures and how they weren’t working to his liking, as well as her mother’s progress on reclaiming the throne, not to mention the headaches from having his brain back inside his head.
DG smiled as she reached the end of the page and turned it over, having noticed the text printed on the other side. It would figure that Glitch would write a note on a piece of paper without checking to see if both sides were blank. She hoped it wasn’t part of some royal document and didn’t catch the words at first.
Her full attention went to the back side of the note from Glitch when she saw the words container and bond.
...the existence of such a device is rumored.
The idea of a container that can magically discern
the compatibility of two hearts is nothing more
than a romanticized tale told to the young in the hopes
of perpetuating the idea that there exists a bond between souls.
The probabilities of two compatible hearts being in the
same place at the same time - let alone in the vicinity
of the container - are astronomical, to say the least.
DG read the page over twice before looking up to the empty library and raising an eyebrow as she contemplated the words. It sounded like the kind of crap some carnival fortune teller would have on a pamphlet, trying to justify their crystal ball-voodoo.
Snorting lightly, DG pushed herself up from the seat and headed for the door, forgetting that she was going to read the lists again. As she moved into the hallway, DG glanced at the paper again and headed down the hallway. By the time she reached the swing, DG’s brain was starting to consider that not only was her ‘Jar-o-Matrimony’ actually a soul mate-detector, but that Cain and her parents knew that already. DG’s eyes went wide and her head shot up.
Did that mean she and Cain were... meant to be?
---
DG let a slight groan slip as her brain reached that point of awake and rolled from her right side to her left. Her right arm moved with her and reached for the pillow. When DG realized the pillow was not only not there, but that whatever was in its place was warmer and... not a pillow, her eyes snapped open and she sat up enough to prop herself on her elbow.
She could see Cain there, and she could obviously feel Cain there, but that didn’t stop her brain from trying to convince itself he was a figment of her imagination. Patting his chest in a few places, DG’s eyes went wide when his hand caught hers and one eye squinted open. Cain turned his head as a yawn made his whole body shake and blinked as his head turned back to DG.
“Oh, thank God!” she breathed and flung herself across his chest, hugging him tightly. Cain let a smile slip as his arms moved around DG. But before he could complete the hug, DG had lifted up just enough to turn her head toward his and kissed him. Cain’s eyes shut, his eyebrows went up and he found himself flustered for the first time in... well... ever.
DG pulled back suddenly, eyes wide, and pushed herself away from Cain. “Sorry,” she said quickly, turning her head into her pillow to hide her embarrassed flush. Cain simply glanced at the ceiling and had to force himself not to smile at her ‘outburst.’
“When did you get back?” he heard a moment later and turned to see DG looking at him with a concerned expression.
“Um,” he stammered. “Either, very late last night... really early this morning.” DG’s expression didn’t change.
“And everyone-” He gave her a half-grin and nodded.
“Everyone’s fine.” She sighed in relief.
“Good.” Cain’s grin widened as he watched DG look everywhere but at him. Well, he might as well do it now, as she opened the door. Besides, if she was wearing the ring, he had a feeling that she was...
“Hey,” he said, shifting slightly so that he was now leaning on his own elbow and facing DG properly. “There’s something I need to tell you,” he drew out slowly. DG wondered what the bad news was. After all, he’d just said everyone was fine, so unless he had news from Central City... She glanced at him and noticed his eyes dart away quickly, as if he was reconsidering telling her; sparing her feelings or something.
“What?” she huffed. “I’m a big girl; I can take it. Don’t get all-” she said with a wave. Cain pursed his lips for a moment and nodded. Locking his eyes on hers, Cain moved so quickly that DG hadn’t realized he was kissing her until her lungs were suddenly void of oxygen.
---
Cain had been in the field for almost six weeks and was rather stir-crazy. He did enjoy being part of the solution to the current problems in the Eastern Guild - it was really just a big misunderstanding that they had been able to clarify in no time - but he had come to realize that he truly missed the boring old day-to-day of life at Finaqua.
He missed DG.
It was four days after leaving Finaqua and meeting up with Ahamo that he’d realized the fact. And six weeks after that, when sitting with Jeb around the campfire - trying to tell his son a joke about a princess and a game with a ball - that he missed her confusing and completely random stories.
“What?” he asked Jeb, seeing the young man’s expression. Jeb shook his head and looked down to hide the smile spreading across his face. “Son?”
“Father?” Jeb said, lifting his head just enough to look at the fire, but not enough to make eye contact. Cain huffed and straightened, so Jeb did the same. At Cain’s raised eyebrow, Jeb couldn’t hold the smirk back and huffed a laugh.
“Why are you still here?” Jeb asked him a moment later. Cain blinked and gave his son a questioning look. Jeb motioned to the camp and clarified: “Everything is fine here; we’ve got it under control. So, why are you still here?” he asked again, slowly. Cain frowned and looked at the fire. He knew what Jeb was hinting at and, honestly, wasn’t sure of the answer. That wasn’t true...
He was afraid of the answer.
“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Jeb said sternly. “And, if you’re waiting for my approval, well-” Cain’s eyes shot up to Jeb’s at that. Jeb shrugged and shook his head. Pushing himself up, Jeb stepped over to his father’s side and placed a hand on Cain’s shoulder. Leaning over slightly, Jeb ordered: “Go home.”
Squeezing Cain’s shoulder, Jeb added quietly: “Tell your wife that you’ve fallen in love with her.” He smiled and patted Cain’s shoulder as Cain stared at the flames with a blank expression. The next morning, Jeb smiled when his lieutenant informed him that Cain had left, heading west, just before sunup.
---
DG’s eyes fluttered open as Cain pulled away from her, his hand still holding her face. He smiled as his eyes locked on to hers and he sighed. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while.” DG’s eyes darted away, but she didn’t look away. Clearing her throat silently, she couldn’t even get the sentence out with a straight face.
“I’ve wanted you to do that for a while,” she said quietly and her eyes returned to his. Cain reached for her left hand and pulled it up to rest against his chest.
Glancing down at her ringed finger, Cain smiled again and looked up as he stated: “I seem to have fallen in love with you, Princess.” DG gave him a shy smile and leaned toward him, resting her cheek to his.
“I love you, Tin Man,” she said in a near-whisper before pulling back just enough to be in range of those lips and that smile. Cain let go of her hand and, in one swift motion, caught her face in his hands and the both of them moved back down to the bed as one. DG’s brain functioned just enough to note that if there was an opposite of CPR, this must be it, because it felt like Cain was sucking all the air out of her.
As Cain moved over her, DG’s hands ran along his sides, causing him to shiver slightly. He pulled away from her and sat up, reaching across himself to catch the hem of his shirt with his right hand and pulling his shirt off from left to right in one swift motion.
“Nice move, Cena,” DG said with a smirk. Cain’s eyebrow went up and she shook her head. “He’s a wrestler.” Nodding to the area of him left arm, she added: “Takes his shirt off the same way. Gotta say... it’s an impressive move,” she said with a half-nod. “Almost as impressive as the eff-you,” she said, staring off distractedly.
“Is that what it sounds like?” Cain asked, leaning forward and planting his palms on either side of her and putting all his weight on his hands.
“Fireman up,” she stated, making a face. “It’s his finishing move. Now,” she pointed to Cain. “His submission move, the ess-tee-eff-you; that’s just what it sounds like,” she said with a nod. “I’ve always been a Ric Flair fan. Finger-four leglock just looks painful,” she said with a grimace. “I watched with Dad. He's a Hulkamaniac, which, now that I think about it,” she said with a frown. “We weren’t even there for the whole Hulk exper-” Cain frowned as DG’s expression went blank and she frowned.
“What?”
“I missed WrestleMania...” she said, as if he would understand the severity of the offense. “Hope Undertaker won,” she said with a shrug. Cain cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.
“Your undertaker wrestles?” DG blinked and looked up to Cain.
“He’s not actually an undertaker. He’s the-” DG shook her head, realizing that Cain had no clue what she was talking about. “It’s a... character. It’s like a giant soap opera,” she said with a shrug. Cain’s eyebrow didn’t budge. “Y’know, like: My baby was just kidnapped by the girl who lives across the hall who’s actually my daughter and is sleeping with my husband but the baby’s not even mine because I was in a coma for six months and when I woke up I thought that my brother was my husband because his mother told him he was switched at birth but she admitted on her deathbed that she lied and my best friend is actually my brother’s son’s daughter from an affair and-”
Cain was more surprised that she’d been able to get that all out in one breath, not that he’d followed any of what she just said. “-and it takes eight weeks for three-and-a-half hours to go by and every commercial break gets you one of the oven faces.” Cain just stared at her. She nodded and looked off to her left.
“Did I turn the oven off?” she asked, making a face. Next, she turned her head to the right and made another face. “I think I left the oven on...” Turned to look at Cain, DG smirked and nodded. “No, I turned the oven off.”
“Princess,” Cain said sharply. When DG caught his eye, Cain sighed and stated: “Ess-tee-eff-you.” DG’s eyes went wide and she gasped.
“Did you just tell me to-” Cain nodded and the slightest smirk crossed his face.
“Yeah. And now, I’m gonna show you my submission move.”
The Three Faces of the Soap Take by Nathan Fillion
Author: Erin (erinm_4600)
Characters, Pairing: DG, Cain and Jeb (mention of the Queen, Ahamo, the Warden, Az, Glitch and Raw)
Rating: PG
Summary: If you don't know what something is, keep your hands OUT OF IT!
Warning: post-series *inspired by (but not so much an answer to) impish_dragon's bunny.
Disclaimer: The original characters belong to L. Frank Baum and their respective actors. The current characters belong to Sci-Fi, the movie folks and their respective actors. The Warden is mine. But you can have her. She scares me.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve
More Tales: the first tale | the second tale | the third tale | the fourth tale | the fifth tale
Cain opened the door quietly and peeked into the room before entering. Sighing quietly, he stepped into the room and set his bag down and glanced over to the bed where DG was fast asleep. His lip quirked into the slightest smile at the sight of her, curled up with his finally-broken in pillow - which he had missed the last two months - on his side of the bed.
He moved into the bathroom after pulling out his nightclothes and returned a few minutes later, giving DG another glance. Moving over to the side of the bed, Cain slowly pulled on the pillow as he nudged DG toward her side of the bed. As she rolled over, Cain put his pillow back in its usual spot and smirked as his head shook with a silent laugh.
Trying to not shift the mattress enough to wake DG up, Cain slipped into bed and looked up at the ceiling. He was glad to be back in Finaqua - not that two months of sleeping under the stars wasn’t fun, but he was too old to ‘rough it.’ And, there was definitely something to be said for a soft mattress over the hard ground.
---
Word had arrived from Central City that some skirmishes had broken out in the Eastern Guilds and, as part of his now-Royal duties, Cain’s presence was requested - not only for morale, but because he was an experienced soldier. Jeb was already on his way and Ahamo would meet Cain at the fork in the road, midway between the city and Finaqua. Together, they would travel east and rendezvous with Jeb.
Cain knew it would be a chore getting out of the palace without DG - and was he right, because she pitched a fit when he told her to stay put - and he’d considered not telling her at all. Granted, he realized that, for the sake of their cover story, he best not up and disappear one night.
And, as expected, DG did not take the news well. Of course, Cain’s timing may have played a part in her reaction. He knew waiting until the last minute to tell her was a bad idea, but...
“But, I can help-” DG said, trailing after Cain. His duster and fedora were on and he was breezing down the main hallway of Finaqua, trying to get out of there as quickly and as drama-free as possible. Of course, where DG was concerned, drama was sure to follow. Groaning, Cain stopped and closed his eyes as his jaw instinctively clenched.
He turned to face DG and his hands moved to her shoulders. “No.”
“But-” she protested as Cain pushed her backward against the nearest wall. Before she could protest, however, Cain’s lips were on hers and she had gone rather weak in the knees. He pulled away and DG blinked, for once at a loss for words.
Cain blinked and glanced down at DG. She was looking up at him in confusion, as he’d just pushed her toward the wall. Cain shook his head - as well as the vision his mind had just created - and sighed. “Please, DG... Just stay here.”
DG opened her mouth to respond, but Cain beat her to it. “Look, last place we need you to be right now is in the middle of a potential battlefield. Not to mention: your mother would kill me. And it’s probably not that bad, either. We’ll go, we’ll smack ‘em around a little bit... and we’ll head home.” Cain raised his eyebrows to DG, waiting for her to acknowledge his demand-worded-as-a-request.
She nodded and looked away, not wanting to let him see that she didn’t want him to go. It wasn’t like she needed him around. She was a Princess of the Outer Zone for goodness sake! She didn’t need Cain around to get through her day. It wasn’t like she spent every waking hour in his presence anyhow.
She could survive without Wyatt Cain.
---
At some point in the evening - or morning - DG shifted from her side to her back. Her left arm sort of flopped against Cain’s torso and he opened his eyes with a slight start. His eyes moved right and he saw DG - still fast asleep - and smiled, remembering that he was finally home. Taking another breath, Cain’s eyes were almost closed when he spotted it.
DG was wearing the ring he’d given her all those months ago.
Granted, she was wearing it on the wrong finger. He slowly took her hand in his and, while watching to see if she stirred, managed to pull the ring from her finger. He carefully moved the ring to the proper finger and noticed that it slid on rather easily. A moment later, Cain understood why DG had the ring on her middle finger, as the small silver band slid forward to her knuckle and twisted so that the stone had almost disappeared between her fingers.
He had to hold back a chuckle as he slipped the ring off DG’s finger and replaced it on her middle finger. As he did, her fingers instinctively closed around his hand and she sighed softly. Cain smiled and leaned over to press a kiss to the side of her head.
---
By the third week, DG was miserable. In fact, she was so miserable that she’d stopped terrorizing the Warden. It was no fun when she didn’t have Cain there to back her up and run interference. She spent most of her days in the library, continuing to read up on the history of the Outer Zone and learning princess-y ways of being royal; or she would walk around the full length of the lake, sit on the swing or hang out in her father’s old cabin.
It wasn’t that she missed Cain... she just missed having someone to talk to. The house staff wouldn’t sit and talk to her - as it wasn’t proper - and even if he didn’t understand her, Cain would at least pretend to be interested in her stories of the Other Side. DG wondered why she was still at Finaqua when she could be just as miserable in Central City.
At least Glitch, Raw and Az would be around to keep her company in Central City.
By the end of the third week, DG had reread the lists from her mother twice, and even gone so far as to rewrite the lists - mainly because all of her notes had covered the pages and she was finding it hard to read her own writing, as well as her mother’s - and had decided to head for the library and give the pages another glance.
She was that bored.
Digging through the drawer she’d placed the pages in, DG found the envelope and pulled it out. With a heavy sigh, she undid the clasp and grabbed hold of the thick stack of papers, tilting the envelope to let gravity help remove them. She noticed something slip out of the envelope with the pages and leaned back to see what had dropped to the floor.
DG leaned over and reached for the small piece of scrap paper and realized it was the extra addition to the first delivery. DG frowned as she gave the thing a once-over, contemplating the best way to unfold it. As she found the loose edge, DG moved from the desk to the window seat and managed to open the small paper. Taking a moment to flatten it against her leg, DG glanced at the writing to see that her original assumption was correct.
It was from Glitch.
Actually, she noted, it seemed to be a note from both Glitch and Ambrose. There was a definite shift in the handwriting, not to mention tone and sentence structure. She breathed a smile as she glanced over the story about Raw eating soup, Az’s nightmares and the headaches from having his brain back inside his head. Ambrose’s notes included detailed information about the reintegration procedures and how they weren’t working to his liking, as well as her mother’s progress on reclaiming the throne, not to mention the headaches from having his brain back inside his head.
DG smiled as she reached the end of the page and turned it over, having noticed the text printed on the other side. It would figure that Glitch would write a note on a piece of paper without checking to see if both sides were blank. She hoped it wasn’t part of some royal document and didn’t catch the words at first.
Her full attention went to the back side of the note from Glitch when she saw the words container and bond.
...the existence of such a device is rumored.
The idea of a container that can magically discern
the compatibility of two hearts is nothing more
than a romanticized tale told to the young in the hopes
of perpetuating the idea that there exists a bond between souls.
The probabilities of two compatible hearts being in the
same place at the same time - let alone in the vicinity
of the container - are astronomical, to say the least.
DG read the page over twice before looking up to the empty library and raising an eyebrow as she contemplated the words. It sounded like the kind of crap some carnival fortune teller would have on a pamphlet, trying to justify their crystal ball-voodoo.
Snorting lightly, DG pushed herself up from the seat and headed for the door, forgetting that she was going to read the lists again. As she moved into the hallway, DG glanced at the paper again and headed down the hallway. By the time she reached the swing, DG’s brain was starting to consider that not only was her ‘Jar-o-Matrimony’ actually a soul mate-detector, but that Cain and her parents knew that already. DG’s eyes went wide and her head shot up.
Did that mean she and Cain were... meant to be?
---
DG let a slight groan slip as her brain reached that point of awake and rolled from her right side to her left. Her right arm moved with her and reached for the pillow. When DG realized the pillow was not only not there, but that whatever was in its place was warmer and... not a pillow, her eyes snapped open and she sat up enough to prop herself on her elbow.
She could see Cain there, and she could obviously feel Cain there, but that didn’t stop her brain from trying to convince itself he was a figment of her imagination. Patting his chest in a few places, DG’s eyes went wide when his hand caught hers and one eye squinted open. Cain turned his head as a yawn made his whole body shake and blinked as his head turned back to DG.
“Oh, thank God!” she breathed and flung herself across his chest, hugging him tightly. Cain let a smile slip as his arms moved around DG. But before he could complete the hug, DG had lifted up just enough to turn her head toward his and kissed him. Cain’s eyes shut, his eyebrows went up and he found himself flustered for the first time in... well... ever.
DG pulled back suddenly, eyes wide, and pushed herself away from Cain. “Sorry,” she said quickly, turning her head into her pillow to hide her embarrassed flush. Cain simply glanced at the ceiling and had to force himself not to smile at her ‘outburst.’
“When did you get back?” he heard a moment later and turned to see DG looking at him with a concerned expression.
“Um,” he stammered. “Either, very late last night... really early this morning.” DG’s expression didn’t change.
“And everyone-” He gave her a half-grin and nodded.
“Everyone’s fine.” She sighed in relief.
“Good.” Cain’s grin widened as he watched DG look everywhere but at him. Well, he might as well do it now, as she opened the door. Besides, if she was wearing the ring, he had a feeling that she was...
“Hey,” he said, shifting slightly so that he was now leaning on his own elbow and facing DG properly. “There’s something I need to tell you,” he drew out slowly. DG wondered what the bad news was. After all, he’d just said everyone was fine, so unless he had news from Central City... She glanced at him and noticed his eyes dart away quickly, as if he was reconsidering telling her; sparing her feelings or something.
“What?” she huffed. “I’m a big girl; I can take it. Don’t get all-” she said with a wave. Cain pursed his lips for a moment and nodded. Locking his eyes on hers, Cain moved so quickly that DG hadn’t realized he was kissing her until her lungs were suddenly void of oxygen.
---
Cain had been in the field for almost six weeks and was rather stir-crazy. He did enjoy being part of the solution to the current problems in the Eastern Guild - it was really just a big misunderstanding that they had been able to clarify in no time - but he had come to realize that he truly missed the boring old day-to-day of life at Finaqua.
He missed DG.
It was four days after leaving Finaqua and meeting up with Ahamo that he’d realized the fact. And six weeks after that, when sitting with Jeb around the campfire - trying to tell his son a joke about a princess and a game with a ball - that he missed her confusing and completely random stories.
“What?” he asked Jeb, seeing the young man’s expression. Jeb shook his head and looked down to hide the smile spreading across his face. “Son?”
“Father?” Jeb said, lifting his head just enough to look at the fire, but not enough to make eye contact. Cain huffed and straightened, so Jeb did the same. At Cain’s raised eyebrow, Jeb couldn’t hold the smirk back and huffed a laugh.
“Why are you still here?” Jeb asked him a moment later. Cain blinked and gave his son a questioning look. Jeb motioned to the camp and clarified: “Everything is fine here; we’ve got it under control. So, why are you still here?” he asked again, slowly. Cain frowned and looked at the fire. He knew what Jeb was hinting at and, honestly, wasn’t sure of the answer. That wasn’t true...
He was afraid of the answer.
“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Jeb said sternly. “And, if you’re waiting for my approval, well-” Cain’s eyes shot up to Jeb’s at that. Jeb shrugged and shook his head. Pushing himself up, Jeb stepped over to his father’s side and placed a hand on Cain’s shoulder. Leaning over slightly, Jeb ordered: “Go home.”
Squeezing Cain’s shoulder, Jeb added quietly: “Tell your wife that you’ve fallen in love with her.” He smiled and patted Cain’s shoulder as Cain stared at the flames with a blank expression. The next morning, Jeb smiled when his lieutenant informed him that Cain had left, heading west, just before sunup.
---
DG’s eyes fluttered open as Cain pulled away from her, his hand still holding her face. He smiled as his eyes locked on to hers and he sighed. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while.” DG’s eyes darted away, but she didn’t look away. Clearing her throat silently, she couldn’t even get the sentence out with a straight face.
“I’ve wanted you to do that for a while,” she said quietly and her eyes returned to his. Cain reached for her left hand and pulled it up to rest against his chest.
Glancing down at her ringed finger, Cain smiled again and looked up as he stated: “I seem to have fallen in love with you, Princess.” DG gave him a shy smile and leaned toward him, resting her cheek to his.
“I love you, Tin Man,” she said in a near-whisper before pulling back just enough to be in range of those lips and that smile. Cain let go of her hand and, in one swift motion, caught her face in his hands and the both of them moved back down to the bed as one. DG’s brain functioned just enough to note that if there was an opposite of CPR, this must be it, because it felt like Cain was sucking all the air out of her.
As Cain moved over her, DG’s hands ran along his sides, causing him to shiver slightly. He pulled away from her and sat up, reaching across himself to catch the hem of his shirt with his right hand and pulling his shirt off from left to right in one swift motion.
“Nice move, Cena,” DG said with a smirk. Cain’s eyebrow went up and she shook her head. “He’s a wrestler.” Nodding to the area of him left arm, she added: “Takes his shirt off the same way. Gotta say... it’s an impressive move,” she said with a half-nod. “Almost as impressive as the eff-you,” she said, staring off distractedly.
“Is that what it sounds like?” Cain asked, leaning forward and planting his palms on either side of her and putting all his weight on his hands.
“Fireman up,” she stated, making a face. “It’s his finishing move. Now,” she pointed to Cain. “His submission move, the ess-tee-eff-you; that’s just what it sounds like,” she said with a nod. “I’ve always been a Ric Flair fan. Finger-four leglock just looks painful,” she said with a grimace. “I watched with Dad. He's a Hulkamaniac, which, now that I think about it,” she said with a frown. “We weren’t even there for the whole Hulk exper-” Cain frowned as DG’s expression went blank and she frowned.
“What?”
“I missed WrestleMania...” she said, as if he would understand the severity of the offense. “Hope Undertaker won,” she said with a shrug. Cain cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.
“Your undertaker wrestles?” DG blinked and looked up to Cain.
“He’s not actually an undertaker. He’s the-” DG shook her head, realizing that Cain had no clue what she was talking about. “It’s a... character. It’s like a giant soap opera,” she said with a shrug. Cain’s eyebrow didn’t budge. “Y’know, like: My baby was just kidnapped by the girl who lives across the hall who’s actually my daughter and is sleeping with my husband but the baby’s not even mine because I was in a coma for six months and when I woke up I thought that my brother was my husband because his mother told him he was switched at birth but she admitted on her deathbed that she lied and my best friend is actually my brother’s son’s daughter from an affair and-”
Cain was more surprised that she’d been able to get that all out in one breath, not that he’d followed any of what she just said. “-and it takes eight weeks for three-and-a-half hours to go by and every commercial break gets you one of the oven faces.” Cain just stared at her. She nodded and looked off to her left.
“Did I turn the oven off?” she asked, making a face. Next, she turned her head to the right and made another face. “I think I left the oven on...” Turned to look at Cain, DG smirked and nodded. “No, I turned the oven off.”
“Princess,” Cain said sharply. When DG caught his eye, Cain sighed and stated: “Ess-tee-eff-you.” DG’s eyes went wide and she gasped.
“Did you just tell me to-” Cain nodded and the slightest smirk crossed his face.
“Yeah. And now, I’m gonna show you my submission move.”
The Three Faces of the Soap Take by Nathan Fillion
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