Challenge Fic: On a Bright Cloud of Music 3/3
Story Title: On a Bright Cloud of Music
Author: Amedia
Rating: PG
Characters/Ship: Cain/Glitch
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Imagiquest. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: Dance!
Word Count: 3566
Author's note: This is pure crackfic inspired by the cliché discussion here. The cliché I chose: the formal dance! And a little bit of Cain wrestling with his feelings. It also incorporates candacestls's request at heartnbrain_req. There's also a bit of personal canon in there. The title is taken from the song "Shall we Dance?" in The King and I.
Part 1
Part 2
Part Three
"Cain! Cain, are you all right?" The voice seemed to come from very far away, but it carried an urgency that Cain could not ignore. "Cain, talk to me, please. Wyatt!"
Cain opened his eyes and found Glitch kneeling beside him, his face just inches from his own. For a moment he wondered woozily whether they were going to kiss after all. Then he noticed that Glitch was disheveled, covered in marble dust, his coronet askew, his face streaked with blood. Cain put a hand up and touched Glitch's cheek.
"You're hurt," he said.
Glitch shook his head. It made Cain dizzy just to watch him. "This isn't my blood," he said. "It's yours." Cain moved the hand to his own forehead and encountered a sticky mess; pulling his fingers away, he saw them covered with red. He stared at them for a long moment, watching them move in and out of focus, and realizing gradually that his head ached very, very badly. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" Glitch asked urgently.
Cain tried to focus on the rest of his body. "I think something fell on my leg," he finally said. He felt Glitch's hands gently moving down his body patting across his thigh toward his knee--and then a blaze of new pain. "Aaah!"
Glitch took his hand away. "It looks as if a chunk of the roof hit your leg and then rolled off." He looked around at the ruins of what had been a beautiful room. "How did we manage to fall in the least-damaged place?"
Cain chuckled. "I looked the room over before you came in. I've been doing it all evening. This was the structurally safest spot."
"But you didn't expect this to happen," Glitch said.
"Doesn't matter," Cain said. "Every room I go into, I look for the entrances, the exits, the weak points, the safe spots."
Glitch smiled. "I'm glad you do that. You saved my life, Tin Man." Cain reached out; Glitch took his hand and squeezed it.
Cain looked around the room, trying to move his throbbing head as little as possible. It was still lit, albeit dimly, by the lavender and silver magical globes. The exits were blocked by debris. He could hear a faint scratching sound from the direction of the main hall; presumably there were rescue efforts underway. There seemed to be plenty of air coming in from overhead, where the night sky was visible through shards of the roof. He calculated that the remains of the roof would not support rescue efforts from that direction, and hoped that someone could clear the exits inside, be it with manual labor or magic. The pain had begun to dissipate, the room was growing blurry, and Cain wanted nothing more than to rest. He allowed his eyes to close.
Glitch's voice wouldn't let him drift away. "But Cain ... how did this happen?"
Cain forced himself to think about the question. "I don't know," he admitted, forcing his eyes to open and focus on Glitch's worried face. "I didn't get to do as much of the hands-on security as I wanted. Queen's orders. But Kerrity was in charge of this section, and she's as good as they come."
Glitch's voice was suddenly sharp. "Kerrity? Camlyn Kerrity? Tall woman, about fifty?"
"Yes," said Cain, puzzled. "She's normally on the Queen's security detail, but she was lent to my section for this job."
"She was in prison when I was. Her cell was on the same hall as mine," Glitch said slowly. "Before ..." he pointed to the zipper. "The Sorceress let her out." He let the words fall with deliberate heaviness and did not elaborate.
"You think she was a collaborator?"
"There were very few ways out of those prison cells, Cain," said Glitch somberly.
"Why didn't this come out during her background check?" Cain hadn't done those checks; someone closer to the Queen had done them.
"Azkadellia's memories are unreliable, and I'm the only one from that block who survived," said Glitch. "Nobody asked me."
"They might have, eventually," said Cain. He gestured at the shattered ceiling. "This was a very conveniently timed disaster. Small enough to be blamed on stray renegades trying to disrupt the ball, but bad enough to get rid of the one person who was a danger to her."
"How would she know I was in here?" Glitch asked.
Cain started to laugh, but stopped as it made him dizzy. "All of my people knew exactly where everyone was, at every moment. And they knew you and I were meeting here at exactly 10:00. It's their job." He rubbed his eyes; the room seemed to be getting darker.
"How do you feel, Cain?" Glitch asked, bringing him back to the present.
Cain squeezed Glitch's hand. "I'm okay. Things don't hurt ... probably as much as they should. I'm starting to get cold."
"Shock," said Glitch, looking more worried than ever. He put Cain's hand down. "I'll be right back." He came back with one of the ornamental draperies and covered Cain up. "Better?"
"A little," Cain said.
Glitch thought for a moment, then climbed under the drapery himself and wriggled carefully closer, avoiding Cain's sore leg.
"Much better," Cain said, closing his eyes and relaxing into the warmth and the unspeakable pleasure of feeling Glitch's body pressed against his own. He felt the faintest sense of deja vu, but his mind was working too sluggishly to place it. He could now make out an indistinct buzz of voices outside the blocked exit; some of the debris must have been moved away. He fought back the encroaching unconsciousness that threatened at the edges of his awareness, concerned for Glitch. "But I understand if you don't want them to find you like this."
"I'd be honored," Glitch said, and Cain felt a hand on his cheek, and warm lips against his own. He smiled, and kissed Glitch back. It's all right now, he thought, and let the darkness finally take him.
Epilogue
Voices, again. Becoming more distinct. "Let me take a turn before you fall out of your chair from sheer exhaustion."
"Just a little longer, DG, please."
"Let's both stay, then. You can lie down on the cot and I'll wake you up as soon as he comes to."
"Promise?" Cain recognized Glitch's voice.
"Promise." That was DG.
"Glitch?" Cain asked. "DG?"
There was a swirl of motion and he saw both faces eagerly looking down at him. "How do you feel, Mr. Cain?" asked DG.
"Better," he said.
Glitch reached for Cain's hand and squeezed it. "You're going to be all right," he said.
"What about Kerrity?"
"She's awaiting trial," Glitch said quietly.
"Were there any other casualties?"
"Not unless you count the rest of us being sick with worry," said DG, smiling. She rose and added, "I'll let the doctor know you're awake. And the others. But we'll try not to bother you." She winked at Glitch and left.
Cain looked more closely at Glitch, who was still dressed in his formalwear from the ball, except for the jacket and coronet. He was paler than usual and there were dark circles under his eyes. "You look exhausted," Cain said.
"You tire me out," Glitch said, smiling.
Cain returned the smile. "Just you wait," he said.
Glitch leaned forward and kissed him again, tenderly. "I'll look forward to that, Tin Man," he said.
"So will I, sweetheart, so will I."
Author: Amedia
Rating: PG
Characters/Ship: Cain/Glitch
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Imagiquest. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: Dance!
Word Count: 3566
Author's note: This is pure crackfic inspired by the cliché discussion here. The cliché I chose: the formal dance! And a little bit of Cain wrestling with his feelings. It also incorporates candacestls's request at heartnbrain_req. There's also a bit of personal canon in there. The title is taken from the song "Shall we Dance?" in The King and I.
Part 1
Part 2
Part Three
"Cain! Cain, are you all right?" The voice seemed to come from very far away, but it carried an urgency that Cain could not ignore. "Cain, talk to me, please. Wyatt!"
Cain opened his eyes and found Glitch kneeling beside him, his face just inches from his own. For a moment he wondered woozily whether they were going to kiss after all. Then he noticed that Glitch was disheveled, covered in marble dust, his coronet askew, his face streaked with blood. Cain put a hand up and touched Glitch's cheek.
"You're hurt," he said.
Glitch shook his head. It made Cain dizzy just to watch him. "This isn't my blood," he said. "It's yours." Cain moved the hand to his own forehead and encountered a sticky mess; pulling his fingers away, he saw them covered with red. He stared at them for a long moment, watching them move in and out of focus, and realizing gradually that his head ached very, very badly. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" Glitch asked urgently.
Cain tried to focus on the rest of his body. "I think something fell on my leg," he finally said. He felt Glitch's hands gently moving down his body patting across his thigh toward his knee--and then a blaze of new pain. "Aaah!"
Glitch took his hand away. "It looks as if a chunk of the roof hit your leg and then rolled off." He looked around at the ruins of what had been a beautiful room. "How did we manage to fall in the least-damaged place?"
Cain chuckled. "I looked the room over before you came in. I've been doing it all evening. This was the structurally safest spot."
"But you didn't expect this to happen," Glitch said.
"Doesn't matter," Cain said. "Every room I go into, I look for the entrances, the exits, the weak points, the safe spots."
Glitch smiled. "I'm glad you do that. You saved my life, Tin Man." Cain reached out; Glitch took his hand and squeezed it.
Cain looked around the room, trying to move his throbbing head as little as possible. It was still lit, albeit dimly, by the lavender and silver magical globes. The exits were blocked by debris. He could hear a faint scratching sound from the direction of the main hall; presumably there were rescue efforts underway. There seemed to be plenty of air coming in from overhead, where the night sky was visible through shards of the roof. He calculated that the remains of the roof would not support rescue efforts from that direction, and hoped that someone could clear the exits inside, be it with manual labor or magic. The pain had begun to dissipate, the room was growing blurry, and Cain wanted nothing more than to rest. He allowed his eyes to close.
Glitch's voice wouldn't let him drift away. "But Cain ... how did this happen?"
Cain forced himself to think about the question. "I don't know," he admitted, forcing his eyes to open and focus on Glitch's worried face. "I didn't get to do as much of the hands-on security as I wanted. Queen's orders. But Kerrity was in charge of this section, and she's as good as they come."
Glitch's voice was suddenly sharp. "Kerrity? Camlyn Kerrity? Tall woman, about fifty?"
"Yes," said Cain, puzzled. "She's normally on the Queen's security detail, but she was lent to my section for this job."
"She was in prison when I was. Her cell was on the same hall as mine," Glitch said slowly. "Before ..." he pointed to the zipper. "The Sorceress let her out." He let the words fall with deliberate heaviness and did not elaborate.
"You think she was a collaborator?"
"There were very few ways out of those prison cells, Cain," said Glitch somberly.
"Why didn't this come out during her background check?" Cain hadn't done those checks; someone closer to the Queen had done them.
"Azkadellia's memories are unreliable, and I'm the only one from that block who survived," said Glitch. "Nobody asked me."
"They might have, eventually," said Cain. He gestured at the shattered ceiling. "This was a very conveniently timed disaster. Small enough to be blamed on stray renegades trying to disrupt the ball, but bad enough to get rid of the one person who was a danger to her."
"How would she know I was in here?" Glitch asked.
Cain started to laugh, but stopped as it made him dizzy. "All of my people knew exactly where everyone was, at every moment. And they knew you and I were meeting here at exactly 10:00. It's their job." He rubbed his eyes; the room seemed to be getting darker.
"How do you feel, Cain?" Glitch asked, bringing him back to the present.
Cain squeezed Glitch's hand. "I'm okay. Things don't hurt ... probably as much as they should. I'm starting to get cold."
"Shock," said Glitch, looking more worried than ever. He put Cain's hand down. "I'll be right back." He came back with one of the ornamental draperies and covered Cain up. "Better?"
"A little," Cain said.
Glitch thought for a moment, then climbed under the drapery himself and wriggled carefully closer, avoiding Cain's sore leg.
"Much better," Cain said, closing his eyes and relaxing into the warmth and the unspeakable pleasure of feeling Glitch's body pressed against his own. He felt the faintest sense of deja vu, but his mind was working too sluggishly to place it. He could now make out an indistinct buzz of voices outside the blocked exit; some of the debris must have been moved away. He fought back the encroaching unconsciousness that threatened at the edges of his awareness, concerned for Glitch. "But I understand if you don't want them to find you like this."
"I'd be honored," Glitch said, and Cain felt a hand on his cheek, and warm lips against his own. He smiled, and kissed Glitch back. It's all right now, he thought, and let the darkness finally take him.
Epilogue
Voices, again. Becoming more distinct. "Let me take a turn before you fall out of your chair from sheer exhaustion."
"Just a little longer, DG, please."
"Let's both stay, then. You can lie down on the cot and I'll wake you up as soon as he comes to."
"Promise?" Cain recognized Glitch's voice.
"Promise." That was DG.
"Glitch?" Cain asked. "DG?"
There was a swirl of motion and he saw both faces eagerly looking down at him. "How do you feel, Mr. Cain?" asked DG.
"Better," he said.
Glitch reached for Cain's hand and squeezed it. "You're going to be all right," he said.
"What about Kerrity?"
"She's awaiting trial," Glitch said quietly.
"Were there any other casualties?"
"Not unless you count the rest of us being sick with worry," said DG, smiling. She rose and added, "I'll let the doctor know you're awake. And the others. But we'll try not to bother you." She winked at Glitch and left.
Cain looked more closely at Glitch, who was still dressed in his formalwear from the ball, except for the jacket and coronet. He was paler than usual and there were dark circles under his eyes. "You look exhausted," Cain said.
"You tire me out," Glitch said, smiling.
Cain returned the smile. "Just you wait," he said.
Glitch leaned forward and kissed him again, tenderly. "I'll look forward to that, Tin Man," he said.
"So will I, sweetheart, so will I."