Fanfiction: Tin Man (G)
Title: The Road Less Traveled
Pairing/Characters: 'Ambrose', 'Lavender Eyes', Ahamo, Wyatt Cain, 'Adora' Cain; 'Lavender Eyes'/Ahamo, Wyatt/'Adora'/'Ambrose'
Rating: G
Fandom: Tin Man
Word Count: 2,706
Spoilers: Whole miniseries
Summary: Their journey together begins.
Notes/Warnings: AU! lionille wrote The Curious Case of the Mysteriously Missing Lady-in-Waiting In Training and andrealyn wrote The Path Not Taken and the two fics together gave me the idea of writing a fic where Ambrose/Glitch is born a woman and stays one. *grin*
Beta and plot-hole-poker: umbralillium
Sounding board: unicorn_catcher
Previous Chapter(s): 1. Rocky Beginning, 2. Smoothing the Way, 3. Hidden Bumps, 4. Getting Over the Bumps, 5. Roadwork Ahead!, 6. Repairing the Road, 7. Good Road, 8. Hairpin Bend, 9. At a Crossroads, 10. Choosing a Road, 11. Changing Direction
The Road Less Traveled
12. The New Journey Begins
Wyatt and Adair were summoned to an audience with the Queen just a few days after giving Amber Rose her ring. As they waited to be admitted, Wyatt fidgeted with his coat and vest, constantly adjusting them. Though he knew Adair had to be as nervous as he was, the other man still tried to cheer him up. "We've done nothing wrong. Amber Rose said herself that the Queen approves of our relationship."
"I know, but why would we be summoned to an audience?" Wyatt asked as Adair caught his hand and twined their fingers together.
Adair only shook his head. "I don't know, but people get summoned for good and bad reasons. I'm pretty sure the reason for this one is good."
"I sure hope you're right," Wyatt muttered just as the doors opened.
A footman appeared and gestured for them to enter. "Her Majesty will see you now, Mr. Walker, Mr. Cain."
"Thank you." Adair nodded and they entered the throne room together, still holding hands.
They approached the throne and sank to one knee. "Mr. Walker and Mr. Cain, your Majesty."
"Rise, Gentlemen," the Queen ordered them in her steady, measured tones. Exchanging nervous glances, they did so, all the while not quite looking at the Queen. "Come with me." After a moment of surprise, they followed her from the throne room. As they walked along various corridors, the two men glanced at each other curiously. Where are we going?
Eventually, they reached a pair of arched wooden doors with the Queen's symbol carved onto them. At a touch of her hand, they swung open and she gestured for Wyatt and Adair to follow her inside. As the door shut behind them, a young voice shouted, "Mother!"
"My precious Azkadellia." The Queen caught her daughter when the latter threw herself at her mother. "Have you behaved for your father and aunt?"
The Princess nodded, catching sight of the two men. "Who are these men, Mother?"
"Your Uncle Adair and Uncle Wyatt," the Queen replied, indicating each man as she said his name. "They're Auntie Rose's husbands."
Wide brown eyes stared at them and Wyatt shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. The Princess pulled away from her mother so she could curtsey properly to them. "A pleasure to meet you, Gentlemen."
"An honor, Princess." Adair bowed gallantly to her.
Wyatt quickly followed his husband's example. "A large honor, Princess."
"Did I do that right, Mother?" Azkadellia asked as they straightened up.
The Queen nodded, fondly stroking her daughter's hair. "Yes, Az, that was very well done. Now you can go play with them."
"Thank you, Mother!" After a brief hug, the Princess darted over to the men and, taking their hands, dragged them further into the rooms that Wyatt was only just beginning to realize were the Royal Family's private quarters.
Blue eyes met brown behind the Princess' back, both pairs conveying the fact that they were in way over their heads. Clearing his throat, Adair asked, "What's going on?"
"We're going to play with Auntie Rose and Father," Azkadellia explained matter-of-factly. "Mother said we could."
Wyatt raised an eyebrow as they entered an adjacent room. Well, we don't have to worry about missing work, then. What the Queen says goes...
"Your mother isn't coming, Azkadee?" Amber Rose sounded distracted as she fiddled with some sort of construction on the floor of the rather large playroom.
"No, but she brought some guests, Auntie Rose." Azkadellia led them over and plopped down on the floor beside the construction that Wyatt now realized was a model of the palace built out of miniature logs.
"Oh? Who?" Amber Rose looked up as she spoke and stared in surprise up at Wyatt and Adair.
Wyatt was the first to crouch down, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Hello, Amber."
Adair followed suit, kissing her forehead. "This is as much a surprise for us as it is for you."
The Royal Advisor looked at her adopted niece. "It was your idea, wasn't it?"
"No." The Princess tried to look innocent, but even Wyatt could see that it was feigned.
A smile slowly began to appear as Amber Rose turned to face the Princess. "You know what the penalty is for lying, don't you?"
"No!" The Princess shrieked and started to dash across the room.
Wyatt stared as his wife dashed after the Princess and started to get up to go after them. Adair laid a hand on his husband's arm to stop him. "Adair!"
"It's all in fun, Wyatt," Adair told him an undertone, nodding towards the two.
Looking closer, he realized that Amber Rose was tickling the Princess, who was shrieking with laughter, even as she writhed in the Royal Advisor's grip. "Sorry. Guess it's the Tin Man in me."
"We're not in danger here, Wyatt." Adair kissed his temple. "Relax."
He nodded, just as the King Consort appeared at one of the other doors, holding the six-month-old Princess Dorothygael in his arms. "What's going on?"
"Oh!" The tickling stopped promptly and Princess Azkadellia straightened up. "Did we wake Deege up, Father?"
He shook his head as his elder daughter walked over to hug him carefully. "No, I was just feeding her, but the noise was making her fussy."
"It's my fault, Ahamo," Amber Rose told him as Azkadellia gently eased her sister into her arms. "I was tickling Azkadee and making her laugh so loud."
The King Consort smiled and patted her hand. "It's quite all right, Amber Rose. It sounded like you two were having lots of fun."
"We were!" The Princess nodded, gently stroking her sister's back. "Mother brought Uncle Adair and Uncle Wyatt to play with us."
At his daughter's gesture, the King Consort looked over at Wyatt and Adair, both of whom bowed briefly. "Ah, yes, Violetta mentioned she'd be inviting you two to join us."
"Knowing Vi, it was disguised as an order," Amber Rose commented, brown eyes gleaming with amusement. "No, summoned for an audience, and then brought here."
Adair laughed at that. "Yes, that's it exactly."
"I don't understand why, though," Wyatt admitted quietly.
The King Consort stepped forward, resting his hands on the Tin Man's broad shoulders. "As Amber Rose's husbands, you two are now family."
"What does that mean, exactly?" Adair asked the question this time.
Wyatt jumped when he felt Amber Rose slip between them, her arms around their waists. "It means, my darling husbands, that you are practically brothers to Queen Violetta and King Consort Ahamo. Not only that, but you are also adopted uncles to Princess Azkadellia and Princess Dorothygael."
"Which means?" Wyatt glanced at Adair across their wife's head, and then down at her.
She smiled and stretched up a little to kiss the tip of his nose. "You'll figure it out." She turned and kissed Adair's cheek. "Both of you."
* * *
The trip to the Cain Ranch was at once too long and too short for Amber Rose's liking. They rode horses because the Cain family was rather traditional and it gave them an excuse to take their time. Amber Rose didn't mind. She enjoyed the chance to camp out with both her husbands and they made love under the stars more than once. Still, as they approached the ranch, she wished they could have taken a little longer to get there. She had no idea what Wyatt's family would think of him having a husband and a wife. From things Adair and Wyatt had let slip, when they'd first become lovers, the Cain family had not been pleased. They'd wanted him to marry a woman and continue the family line. "Luckily, Frederick's marriage made it a moot point. We have several nieces and nephews now."
"We're almost there." Wyatt and Adair reined in their horses and Amber Rose did the same, following their gazes down to a cozy ranch in the hollow of a natural valley. The great house, a smaller frame house, bunk house, stables, and barn were grouped together around a yard with a pasture containing a large herd of horses taking up most of the land.
Amber Rose glanced at Wyatt, seeing love and longing in his eyes as he gazed down upon his childhood home. She reached over to cover his hand with hers, drawing his attention. "You loved it here, didn't you?"
"Yes." He smiled sheepishly, releasing the reins of his horse long enough to squeeze her hand. "It wasn't enough, though. I wanted to do more with my life than raise horses."
Adair reached over from his place on Wyatt's other side to pat his shoulder. "A part of you will always belong here, however."
"Let's keep going while we still have daylight." His voice gruff, Wyatt urged his horse onwards down the trail.
Amber Rose guided her horse to fall in step with Adair's. "He's never been much for talking about his emotions, has he?"
"Not for all the time I've known him," Adair agreed, his smile fond as they watched the straight back of their husband.
She chuckled, reaching over to pat Adair's arm. "Good thing he can share his emotions in other ways."
"Oh, yes." Adair nodded, brown eyes gleaming with amusement. He glanced at her, his expression turning sober for a moment. "Just as a warning, Wyatt will try to insist that we not do anything more than cuddle while we're here."
Amber Rose raised an eyebrow, a smile twitching at her lips. "Try? I take it you've convinced him in the past that it's all right?"
"Well, actually, I teased him to the point of him taking action, but I suppose it amounts to the same thing." Adair chuckled and she couldn't resist laughing along with him. She could just imagine what the brunette had done to tease the blond.
As they got their mirth under control, Wyatt called back, "What's so funny back there?"
"Nothing at all, Wyatt," Adair answered quickly, an innocent smile plastered on his face.
Their husband gave them a skeptical look, but turned back around in his saddle to continue leading them down the trail. Amber Rose and Adair traded conspiratorial looks before urging their horses to pick up the pace.
By the time they arrived in the yard, a couple had emerged from the great house to greet them, and another had emerged from the smaller frame house. While they stood and watched, Wyatt dismounted from his horse and moved to help Amber Rose down from hers, even though she could have easily dismounted on her own. Once Adair had dismounted from his horse, a teenage boy appeared to take the horses to the stables. The man who'd appeared from the great house stepped forward, a dark eyebrow arched inquiringly above curious blue eyes. "It's good to see you, Wyatt."
"Hello, Frederick." Wyatt smiled as he and his older brother shared a manly hug. "It's good to be here again."
"Hey, Wyatt!" The other man grinned when the blond turned to him. This hug was accompanied by backslapping. "Good to see you."
Wyatt returned the backslapping with a chuckle. "Hi, Howard."
"I recognize Adair, but who's the lovely lady?" Howard nodded to Amber Rose, who'd stayed close to the brunette's side.
The redheaded woman with Howard poked him with her elbow. "Don't go getting ideas, Howard. She's not your type."
"You have no reason to be jealous, Bobbie, and you know it." Howard turned and pulled his wife into a warm kiss.
While he was doing so, Wyatt gestured to Amber Rose and Adair. "Frederick, Isabelle, Howard, Roberta, you of course remember Adair." Four heads nodded, even as puzzlement expressed itself in blue, green, and gray eyes. "Since our last visit, Adair and I asked Amber Rose to be our wife and she accepted."
"Wait, our?" Frederick asked this, blue eyes wide with surprise. "She's with both of you?"
Amber Rose caught Wyatt's hand with her free one as Adair answered the question. "Yes. We both fell in love with her and she fell in love with both of us. It seemed natural to ask her to share our love and our lives."
"Couldn't you have just picked one?" Isabelle asked the question, tugging absently at the end of her brown braid, gray eyes plaintive.
Wyatt's voice was hard as he answered, squeezing Amber Rose's hand almost painfully tight. "No. You know we can't dictate to our hearts. I love Adair and Amber Rose. If you cannot accept that, then we'll go back home instead of staying."
"Now, Wyatt, you know us better than that." Roberta shot a green-eyed glare at her brother-in-law and his wife. "You've just surprised us, that's all."
Howard added his voice to his wife's, blue eyes sincere, "At least give us until tomorrow to get used to the idea of you having a husband and a wife."
"I'm not sure if we should," Wyatt answered slowly, turning to look at Adair and Amber Rose. "What do you two say? It's as much your decision as mine."
Adair answered first, his voice firm. "Let's give them the time."
"It'd be silly to turn right around and head home when we just barely got here," Amber Rose added, glad that Adair's opinion matched hers.
Wyatt gazed at both of them before nodding and turning back to his brothers and sisters-in-law. "Fine, we'll stay until tomorrow at least. If you still can't accept Amber Rose, then we'll leave by lunchtime. Fair enough?"
"That's fine." Howard shook Wyatt's hand solemnly.
After a moment of hesitation, Frederick shook his brother's hand as well. "You always did have to do things your own way, Wy."
"Thanks, Fred." Wyatt nodded.
At a gesture from the eldest Cain brother, they trooped inside. As they followed the others, Adair leaned down to whisper, "Wait until we meet the nieces and nephews. They won't care that we're both married to Uncle Wyatt. You'll just be another playmate."
"I hope you're right," Amber Rose whispered back.
Adair kissed her temple and they continued on in silence for the moment. After they'd been shown to their room and left to unpack privately, Wyatt's broad shoulders slumped. Without a word, Amber Rose and Adair went to him, hugging him on both sides. She kissed the underside of his jaw while he kissed his cheek. "At least you don't have to deal with my parents."
"That bad?" Amber Rose asked, resting her head against his shoulder.
Wyatt chuckled humorlessly. "The first time I brought Adair, Father flat-out told us to turn right around and go back home. Howard insisted that we have a chance to rest before we started back. We ended up falling asleep in the foreman's house."
"I still say he put something in our food to make us fall asleep," Adair interjected with a quiet chuckle at that point.
Wyatt shrugged. "By the time we woke up, it was too late to head back, so we spent the night. After breakfast the next day, Adair and I were just about to saddle our horses when Mother came to us and told us Father had changed his mind."
"Or had it changed for him," Adair interposed, grinning now.
Wyatt conceded that with a smile. "So we were able to stay anyway. After that, we were always welcome here."
"Until today," she commented quietly, absently stroking his chest through his shirt.
Adair leaned across Wyatt to kiss her forehead. "Give them time. They may not understand, but they will accept us."
"I hope you're right." She was just about to kiss each of them when she yawned. "Oh, I'm sorry."
Wyatt laughed softly, guiding her to the large bed. "No need to be sorry. It's been a long journey today. You go ahead and rest."
"Yes, dear." She smiled softly as her husbands helped her out of her coat, hat, and boots. With only a little fussing, they tucked her under the covers.
Wyatt smoothed her hair back from her forehead. "We'll be nearby when you wake up."
"Don't worry." Adair kissed her cheek. "Sleep well."
She smiled sleepily at them. "Thanks."
Amber Rose fell asleep soon after, still not sure if she'd been wise to come with them on this trip.
End Chapter
A/N2: For the record, if people want a visual image for Adair, picture Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds. For lots of pictures of him and the actor in other roles, go here. I have a hair fetish, so this picspam made me very happy. I especially like the season two hair. That's about how I visualize Adair's hair. Amber Rose is pretty much Alan Cumming with longer hair and boobs. I made a series of "dolls" of Amber Rose that you can find here.
Pairing/Characters: 'Ambrose', 'Lavender Eyes', Ahamo, Wyatt Cain, 'Adora' Cain; 'Lavender Eyes'/Ahamo, Wyatt/'Adora'/'Ambrose'
Rating: G
Fandom: Tin Man
Word Count: 2,706
Spoilers: Whole miniseries
Summary: Their journey together begins.
Notes/Warnings: AU! lionille wrote The Curious Case of the Mysteriously Missing Lady-in-Waiting In Training and andrealyn wrote The Path Not Taken and the two fics together gave me the idea of writing a fic where Ambrose/Glitch is born a woman and stays one. *grin*
Beta and plot-hole-poker: umbralillium
Sounding board: unicorn_catcher
Previous Chapter(s): 1. Rocky Beginning, 2. Smoothing the Way, 3. Hidden Bumps, 4. Getting Over the Bumps, 5. Roadwork Ahead!, 6. Repairing the Road, 7. Good Road, 8. Hairpin Bend, 9. At a Crossroads, 10. Choosing a Road, 11. Changing Direction
The Road Less Traveled
12. The New Journey Begins
Wyatt and Adair were summoned to an audience with the Queen just a few days after giving Amber Rose her ring. As they waited to be admitted, Wyatt fidgeted with his coat and vest, constantly adjusting them. Though he knew Adair had to be as nervous as he was, the other man still tried to cheer him up. "We've done nothing wrong. Amber Rose said herself that the Queen approves of our relationship."
"I know, but why would we be summoned to an audience?" Wyatt asked as Adair caught his hand and twined their fingers together.
Adair only shook his head. "I don't know, but people get summoned for good and bad reasons. I'm pretty sure the reason for this one is good."
"I sure hope you're right," Wyatt muttered just as the doors opened.
A footman appeared and gestured for them to enter. "Her Majesty will see you now, Mr. Walker, Mr. Cain."
"Thank you." Adair nodded and they entered the throne room together, still holding hands.
They approached the throne and sank to one knee. "Mr. Walker and Mr. Cain, your Majesty."
"Rise, Gentlemen," the Queen ordered them in her steady, measured tones. Exchanging nervous glances, they did so, all the while not quite looking at the Queen. "Come with me." After a moment of surprise, they followed her from the throne room. As they walked along various corridors, the two men glanced at each other curiously. Where are we going?
Eventually, they reached a pair of arched wooden doors with the Queen's symbol carved onto them. At a touch of her hand, they swung open and she gestured for Wyatt and Adair to follow her inside. As the door shut behind them, a young voice shouted, "Mother!"
"My precious Azkadellia." The Queen caught her daughter when the latter threw herself at her mother. "Have you behaved for your father and aunt?"
The Princess nodded, catching sight of the two men. "Who are these men, Mother?"
"Your Uncle Adair and Uncle Wyatt," the Queen replied, indicating each man as she said his name. "They're Auntie Rose's husbands."
Wide brown eyes stared at them and Wyatt shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. The Princess pulled away from her mother so she could curtsey properly to them. "A pleasure to meet you, Gentlemen."
"An honor, Princess." Adair bowed gallantly to her.
Wyatt quickly followed his husband's example. "A large honor, Princess."
"Did I do that right, Mother?" Azkadellia asked as they straightened up.
The Queen nodded, fondly stroking her daughter's hair. "Yes, Az, that was very well done. Now you can go play with them."
"Thank you, Mother!" After a brief hug, the Princess darted over to the men and, taking their hands, dragged them further into the rooms that Wyatt was only just beginning to realize were the Royal Family's private quarters.
Blue eyes met brown behind the Princess' back, both pairs conveying the fact that they were in way over their heads. Clearing his throat, Adair asked, "What's going on?"
"We're going to play with Auntie Rose and Father," Azkadellia explained matter-of-factly. "Mother said we could."
Wyatt raised an eyebrow as they entered an adjacent room. Well, we don't have to worry about missing work, then. What the Queen says goes...
"Your mother isn't coming, Azkadee?" Amber Rose sounded distracted as she fiddled with some sort of construction on the floor of the rather large playroom.
"No, but she brought some guests, Auntie Rose." Azkadellia led them over and plopped down on the floor beside the construction that Wyatt now realized was a model of the palace built out of miniature logs.
"Oh? Who?" Amber Rose looked up as she spoke and stared in surprise up at Wyatt and Adair.
Wyatt was the first to crouch down, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Hello, Amber."
Adair followed suit, kissing her forehead. "This is as much a surprise for us as it is for you."
The Royal Advisor looked at her adopted niece. "It was your idea, wasn't it?"
"No." The Princess tried to look innocent, but even Wyatt could see that it was feigned.
A smile slowly began to appear as Amber Rose turned to face the Princess. "You know what the penalty is for lying, don't you?"
"No!" The Princess shrieked and started to dash across the room.
Wyatt stared as his wife dashed after the Princess and started to get up to go after them. Adair laid a hand on his husband's arm to stop him. "Adair!"
"It's all in fun, Wyatt," Adair told him an undertone, nodding towards the two.
Looking closer, he realized that Amber Rose was tickling the Princess, who was shrieking with laughter, even as she writhed in the Royal Advisor's grip. "Sorry. Guess it's the Tin Man in me."
"We're not in danger here, Wyatt." Adair kissed his temple. "Relax."
He nodded, just as the King Consort appeared at one of the other doors, holding the six-month-old Princess Dorothygael in his arms. "What's going on?"
"Oh!" The tickling stopped promptly and Princess Azkadellia straightened up. "Did we wake Deege up, Father?"
He shook his head as his elder daughter walked over to hug him carefully. "No, I was just feeding her, but the noise was making her fussy."
"It's my fault, Ahamo," Amber Rose told him as Azkadellia gently eased her sister into her arms. "I was tickling Azkadee and making her laugh so loud."
The King Consort smiled and patted her hand. "It's quite all right, Amber Rose. It sounded like you two were having lots of fun."
"We were!" The Princess nodded, gently stroking her sister's back. "Mother brought Uncle Adair and Uncle Wyatt to play with us."
At his daughter's gesture, the King Consort looked over at Wyatt and Adair, both of whom bowed briefly. "Ah, yes, Violetta mentioned she'd be inviting you two to join us."
"Knowing Vi, it was disguised as an order," Amber Rose commented, brown eyes gleaming with amusement. "No, summoned for an audience, and then brought here."
Adair laughed at that. "Yes, that's it exactly."
"I don't understand why, though," Wyatt admitted quietly.
The King Consort stepped forward, resting his hands on the Tin Man's broad shoulders. "As Amber Rose's husbands, you two are now family."
"What does that mean, exactly?" Adair asked the question this time.
Wyatt jumped when he felt Amber Rose slip between them, her arms around their waists. "It means, my darling husbands, that you are practically brothers to Queen Violetta and King Consort Ahamo. Not only that, but you are also adopted uncles to Princess Azkadellia and Princess Dorothygael."
"Which means?" Wyatt glanced at Adair across their wife's head, and then down at her.
She smiled and stretched up a little to kiss the tip of his nose. "You'll figure it out." She turned and kissed Adair's cheek. "Both of you."
* * *
The trip to the Cain Ranch was at once too long and too short for Amber Rose's liking. They rode horses because the Cain family was rather traditional and it gave them an excuse to take their time. Amber Rose didn't mind. She enjoyed the chance to camp out with both her husbands and they made love under the stars more than once. Still, as they approached the ranch, she wished they could have taken a little longer to get there. She had no idea what Wyatt's family would think of him having a husband and a wife. From things Adair and Wyatt had let slip, when they'd first become lovers, the Cain family had not been pleased. They'd wanted him to marry a woman and continue the family line. "Luckily, Frederick's marriage made it a moot point. We have several nieces and nephews now."
"We're almost there." Wyatt and Adair reined in their horses and Amber Rose did the same, following their gazes down to a cozy ranch in the hollow of a natural valley. The great house, a smaller frame house, bunk house, stables, and barn were grouped together around a yard with a pasture containing a large herd of horses taking up most of the land.
Amber Rose glanced at Wyatt, seeing love and longing in his eyes as he gazed down upon his childhood home. She reached over to cover his hand with hers, drawing his attention. "You loved it here, didn't you?"
"Yes." He smiled sheepishly, releasing the reins of his horse long enough to squeeze her hand. "It wasn't enough, though. I wanted to do more with my life than raise horses."
Adair reached over from his place on Wyatt's other side to pat his shoulder. "A part of you will always belong here, however."
"Let's keep going while we still have daylight." His voice gruff, Wyatt urged his horse onwards down the trail.
Amber Rose guided her horse to fall in step with Adair's. "He's never been much for talking about his emotions, has he?"
"Not for all the time I've known him," Adair agreed, his smile fond as they watched the straight back of their husband.
She chuckled, reaching over to pat Adair's arm. "Good thing he can share his emotions in other ways."
"Oh, yes." Adair nodded, brown eyes gleaming with amusement. He glanced at her, his expression turning sober for a moment. "Just as a warning, Wyatt will try to insist that we not do anything more than cuddle while we're here."
Amber Rose raised an eyebrow, a smile twitching at her lips. "Try? I take it you've convinced him in the past that it's all right?"
"Well, actually, I teased him to the point of him taking action, but I suppose it amounts to the same thing." Adair chuckled and she couldn't resist laughing along with him. She could just imagine what the brunette had done to tease the blond.
As they got their mirth under control, Wyatt called back, "What's so funny back there?"
"Nothing at all, Wyatt," Adair answered quickly, an innocent smile plastered on his face.
Their husband gave them a skeptical look, but turned back around in his saddle to continue leading them down the trail. Amber Rose and Adair traded conspiratorial looks before urging their horses to pick up the pace.
By the time they arrived in the yard, a couple had emerged from the great house to greet them, and another had emerged from the smaller frame house. While they stood and watched, Wyatt dismounted from his horse and moved to help Amber Rose down from hers, even though she could have easily dismounted on her own. Once Adair had dismounted from his horse, a teenage boy appeared to take the horses to the stables. The man who'd appeared from the great house stepped forward, a dark eyebrow arched inquiringly above curious blue eyes. "It's good to see you, Wyatt."
"Hello, Frederick." Wyatt smiled as he and his older brother shared a manly hug. "It's good to be here again."
"Hey, Wyatt!" The other man grinned when the blond turned to him. This hug was accompanied by backslapping. "Good to see you."
Wyatt returned the backslapping with a chuckle. "Hi, Howard."
"I recognize Adair, but who's the lovely lady?" Howard nodded to Amber Rose, who'd stayed close to the brunette's side.
The redheaded woman with Howard poked him with her elbow. "Don't go getting ideas, Howard. She's not your type."
"You have no reason to be jealous, Bobbie, and you know it." Howard turned and pulled his wife into a warm kiss.
While he was doing so, Wyatt gestured to Amber Rose and Adair. "Frederick, Isabelle, Howard, Roberta, you of course remember Adair." Four heads nodded, even as puzzlement expressed itself in blue, green, and gray eyes. "Since our last visit, Adair and I asked Amber Rose to be our wife and she accepted."
"Wait, our?" Frederick asked this, blue eyes wide with surprise. "She's with both of you?"
Amber Rose caught Wyatt's hand with her free one as Adair answered the question. "Yes. We both fell in love with her and she fell in love with both of us. It seemed natural to ask her to share our love and our lives."
"Couldn't you have just picked one?" Isabelle asked the question, tugging absently at the end of her brown braid, gray eyes plaintive.
Wyatt's voice was hard as he answered, squeezing Amber Rose's hand almost painfully tight. "No. You know we can't dictate to our hearts. I love Adair and Amber Rose. If you cannot accept that, then we'll go back home instead of staying."
"Now, Wyatt, you know us better than that." Roberta shot a green-eyed glare at her brother-in-law and his wife. "You've just surprised us, that's all."
Howard added his voice to his wife's, blue eyes sincere, "At least give us until tomorrow to get used to the idea of you having a husband and a wife."
"I'm not sure if we should," Wyatt answered slowly, turning to look at Adair and Amber Rose. "What do you two say? It's as much your decision as mine."
Adair answered first, his voice firm. "Let's give them the time."
"It'd be silly to turn right around and head home when we just barely got here," Amber Rose added, glad that Adair's opinion matched hers.
Wyatt gazed at both of them before nodding and turning back to his brothers and sisters-in-law. "Fine, we'll stay until tomorrow at least. If you still can't accept Amber Rose, then we'll leave by lunchtime. Fair enough?"
"That's fine." Howard shook Wyatt's hand solemnly.
After a moment of hesitation, Frederick shook his brother's hand as well. "You always did have to do things your own way, Wy."
"Thanks, Fred." Wyatt nodded.
At a gesture from the eldest Cain brother, they trooped inside. As they followed the others, Adair leaned down to whisper, "Wait until we meet the nieces and nephews. They won't care that we're both married to Uncle Wyatt. You'll just be another playmate."
"I hope you're right," Amber Rose whispered back.
Adair kissed her temple and they continued on in silence for the moment. After they'd been shown to their room and left to unpack privately, Wyatt's broad shoulders slumped. Without a word, Amber Rose and Adair went to him, hugging him on both sides. She kissed the underside of his jaw while he kissed his cheek. "At least you don't have to deal with my parents."
"That bad?" Amber Rose asked, resting her head against his shoulder.
Wyatt chuckled humorlessly. "The first time I brought Adair, Father flat-out told us to turn right around and go back home. Howard insisted that we have a chance to rest before we started back. We ended up falling asleep in the foreman's house."
"I still say he put something in our food to make us fall asleep," Adair interjected with a quiet chuckle at that point.
Wyatt shrugged. "By the time we woke up, it was too late to head back, so we spent the night. After breakfast the next day, Adair and I were just about to saddle our horses when Mother came to us and told us Father had changed his mind."
"Or had it changed for him," Adair interposed, grinning now.
Wyatt conceded that with a smile. "So we were able to stay anyway. After that, we were always welcome here."
"Until today," she commented quietly, absently stroking his chest through his shirt.
Adair leaned across Wyatt to kiss her forehead. "Give them time. They may not understand, but they will accept us."
"I hope you're right." She was just about to kiss each of them when she yawned. "Oh, I'm sorry."
Wyatt laughed softly, guiding her to the large bed. "No need to be sorry. It's been a long journey today. You go ahead and rest."
"Yes, dear." She smiled softly as her husbands helped her out of her coat, hat, and boots. With only a little fussing, they tucked her under the covers.
Wyatt smoothed her hair back from her forehead. "We'll be nearby when you wake up."
"Don't worry." Adair kissed her cheek. "Sleep well."
She smiled sleepily at them. "Thanks."
Amber Rose fell asleep soon after, still not sure if she'd been wise to come with them on this trip.
End Chapter
A/N2: For the record, if people want a visual image for Adair, picture Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds. For lots of pictures of him and the actor in other roles, go here. I have a hair fetish, so this picspam made me very happy. I especially like the season two hair. That's about how I visualize Adair's hair. Amber Rose is pretty much Alan Cumming with longer hair and boobs. I made a series of "dolls" of Amber Rose that you can find here.