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: 1,831
Spoilers: Whole miniseries
Summary: Re-connecting as a family after so many annuals apart is not going to be easy.
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, 12. The New Journey Begins, 13. Dip in the Road, 14. Surprise Detour, 15. Detour Becomes a new Road, 16. Idyllic Travels, 17. Abrupt Halt, 18. Broken Road, 19. Two Roads Merging, 20. Changing Direction, 21. Travels, 22. Clearing the Road, 23. Dead End, 24. Overgrown Road, 25. More Road to Travel, 26. Intersecting Road
The Road Less Traveled
27. Rediscovering the Road
Glitch stared up at the ceiling of the bedroom she'd been given for the night. She'd gotten so used to sleeping outside on the hard ground that sleeping inside on a soft bed felt uncomfortable to her. Sighing in frustration, she pushed the covers back and got up. Shivering in the cool night air, she pulled the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her, leaving the room. As she tiptoed down the hall to the kitchen in search of a snack, she heard quiet voices coming from the room she knew Wyatt and Adair were sharing. A little tentatively, she tapped on the door. The voices fell silent and she could hear movement before Wyatt's voice called, "Come in!"
"Sorry to bother you, but I couldn't sleep," she started babbling the moment she opened the door. "So I decided to go to the kitchen for a midnight snack even though it probably isn't even really midnight and--"
She stopped short, blinking, when she realized Wyatt was standing before her, wearing a pair of light blue pajama bottoms, smiling softly and patiently. "It's okay, Sweetheart. Come on in and join us."
"Okay." Glitch followed him to the large bed, where Adair was propped against the headboard, wearing only a pair of gray pajama bottoms. "Hi, Adair."
"Hello, Precious," he replied, a fond smile on his face, as Wyatt stretched out next to Adair.
A little hesitantly, she climbed onto the bed and sat next to the former Tin Man. Wyatt smiled sleepily as he commented, "You've always had trouble sleeping somewhere new."
"What did I usually do about it?" she asked, drawing the blanket tighter around herself.
Wyatt answered, his voice amused, "Before we became a triad, you usually had something to eat."
"What about after?" Glitch glanced from one to the other.
Adair smiled nostalgically. "We had fun 'exhausting' you."
"Oh?" She stared at him in confusion. "What did you do to exhaust me?" The two men just looked at her. After a moment, she blushed as it hit that she'd been married to them. "Oh! We had sex, didn't we?"
Adair laughed as Wyatt replied, "We prefer to call it 'making love', but yes."
"Jeb and Alexius came from somewhere, after all," Adair added, grinning.
Glitch rested her hands on her stomach. "Inside me?"
"Well, yes, but they needed help to get inside you in the first place." Adair looked amused.
She sighed and shook her head, sure there was something important she was missing. "I wish I had all my marbles back. I'm sure I'd understand better then."
"Az said we can try putting your brain back in," Wyatt reminded her soothingly, reaching out to pat her knee through her blanket. "Provided all three of us agree it's best."
Adair stared at Wyatt in surprise. "Really? The other half of Amber's brain is still in good condition?"
"It was being used to run the Sun Seeder," Wyatt explained, seeming not to notice when Glitch carefully slipped her hand out from under her blanket to take hold of his. His hand tightened briefly around hers, so she knew he'd noticed. "You probably noticed that the double eclipse lasted longer than usual several days ago."
Adair nodded as Glitch shifted to lie next to Wyatt, still holding his hand. "Yeah, we did. What happened, exactly?"
"The Sorceress tried to use Amber's Sun Seeder to lock the suns into place behind the moon," Wyatt told his husband, his fingers twining with Glitch's.
She closed her eyes as Adair answered dryly, "Obviously, she didn't succeed."
"Obviously," Wyatt's voice was sarcastic and dry.
Apparently, the former Tin Man's response amused Adair, because the taller man chuckled. It was followed the sound of kissing and Glitch barely opened her eyes to watch. Smiling at the obvious love and affection between the two men, she slowly drifted off to sleep. Her hand was still twined with Wyatt's.
* * *
Wyatt woke to find himself holding Glitch in his arms, just as he had the past few mornings. What was different this time was Adair spooned against his back, his breathing steady and even against the ex-Tin Man's neck. He'd have liked nothing more than to stay between them and drift back to sleep, but he knew it wasn't going to happen. Wyatt carefully eased out from between the other two and tiptoed over to the dresser to change into a shirt and pants. He paused at the bedroom door and glanced back at the bed. Much to his amusement, Glitch and Adair had already gravitated towards each other, her head nestling against his chest and his cheek resting on her hair. That's a good sign...
Wyatt made his way to the kitchen where Alexius was seated at the kitchen table, reading a book. She looked up when he entered, smiling shyly when she saw him. "G'morning."
"Good morning." He smiled back and checked the coffeemaker. As he'd expected, the coffee in the pot was still hot and strong. As he poured himself a cup, he asked Alexius a question that had been niggling at him since the previous evening, "You grew up in an orphanage?"
"Yeah." Her answer was frustratingly brief, but he hadn't known Amber Rose for so many annuals without developing some patience.
He put the coffee pot back and sat down at the table. "How did you end up here? Did Howard and Roberta adopt you?"
"The Sorceress wanted to use all of us orphans for labor," she explained, her voice disturbingly pragmatic and the look in her brown eyes far too mature for a girl of only twelve annuals. "The headmistress didn't want to see that happen so she sent us to whoever took us in."
He nodded, smiling, "And my brothers took you in."
"Me and lots of other orphans," she confirmed, nodding her head. When a lock of her wavy hair fell into her eyes, she made a frustrated noise and brushed it back. "The others are already doing their chores."
Wyatt raised an eyebrow, strongly reminded of Amber Rose in that little gesture Alexius had made. "Why aren't you doing your chores?"
"Aunt Berta said I didn't have to, since you, Mom, Raw, Jeb, and Princess DG are here." Her brown eyes flashed and she lifted her chin defiantly.
The act of lifting her chin made it easier for him to see the necklace she wore. Keeping his voice casual as he got up to begin gathering ingredients for breakfast, he said, "That's a real pretty necklace you're wearing. Did someone give it to you?"
"The headmistress said I was wearing it when I was brought to the orphanage," Alexius sounded exasperated, as if she'd had to explain it more than once.
His heart skipped a beat as he mixed up batter for waffles. "It's possible your mother gave it to you before she sent you to the orphanage."
"How would you know?" She sounded confrontational, not that he blamed her.
He finished pouring batter onto the waffle iron. "Your father and I gave her a necklace very like that one an annual before Jeb was born. If it's the same one, there should be an inscription on the back that says 'Precious Sweetheart'."
Alexius remained silent for a long moment, presumably checking that he was right. Finally, she asked, "You and Dad gave this to Mom?"
"Yes, we did." The answer came from the kitchen doorway, where Adair stood with Glitch at his side. Both looked sleep-tousled, but awake. While Glitch sat down at the table, Adair went over to the coffeemaker to pour coffee for the two of them.
"I don't understand what's going on." Alexius sounded confused and frustrated as Wyatt removed the first waffle and poured batter for the next one. "You and Mr. Cain greeted each other as if you're married, but then how could I have been born if you two were? Is Mom a surrogate?"
Wyatt turned and watched as Adair sat down beside Glitch at the table, setting one of the coffee cups in front of her. She sipped it cautiously before smiling and taking a larger sip. She answered her daughter's question, "No, if what Wyatt and Adair have told me is correct, all three of us love each other very much. You and Jeb are proof of that love."
"You mean Jeb is my brother?" He turned quickly to check the waffle iron to hide his smile at the dismay in Alexius' voice. Wyatt had wondered if she'd developed a crush on his son.
Jeb answered the question from the doorway. "Half-brother. We have the same mother, but different fathers."
"Oh." She excused herself a few moments later and hurried from the room.
Wyatt listened as the others talked. Glitch asked a question, clearly addressing her husband and son. "Was that good or bad?"
"It's a lot for her to take in," Adair explained soothingly. "Give her time."
Jeb added his voice, "I'll talk to her. Maybe I can help her understand how your relationship works better than you three can."
"What makes you think you can explain it better?" Wyatt kept his voice mild as he finished pouring the last of the batter on the waffle iron.
His son was grinning when he turned to look at him. "Because I can offer a similar perspective that you three can't."
They watched him go in silence. Glitch was the first to speak up, "I really wish I could remember all this."
"There's a good chance you will if you agree to have your brain put back," Wyatt reminded her gently, removing the last waffle.
"It's not guaranteed, though?" Adair asked as his husband carried the waffles to the table and set the three plates down.
He shook his head, retrieving the butter and syrup while he was still up. "Unfortunately no, but we'd have the Queen and the Princesses helping with their magic."
"You're really going to trust Az to help?" Adair looked skeptical as he began spreading butter on his waffle. "She's the reason Glitch is like this in the first place."
Glitch answered the question herself, smiling softly. "Azkadee wasn't the one in power all these years, Adair. She was possessed by a witch and she was the one in control."
"Not everyone is going to see it that way," Adair replied, looking from Glitch to Wyatt.
The blond nodded. "Az is painfully aware of this. She already offered to abdicate her right to succeed her mother."
"What did the Queen think of that?" Adair took a bite of his waffle.
Glitch answered the question. "She wants Azkadee to wait until the O.Z. has had a chance to recover and rebuild from the mess the Sorceress made of it."
"I suppose that makes sense." He sounded thoughtful. "Best to make the decision after having time to calmly consider it."
Glitch nodded, taking a bite of her waffle. "That's exactly what the Queen feels."
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. If anyone's curious about what the necklace looks like, here's a picture.
Pairing/Characters: 'Ambrose', 'Lavender Eyes', Ahamo, Wyatt Cain, 'Adora' Cain; 'Lavender Eyes'/Ahamo, Wyatt/'Adora'/'Ambrose'
Rating: G
Fandom: Tin Man
Word Count: 1,831
Spoilers: Whole miniseries
Summary: Re-connecting as a family after so many annuals apart is not going to be easy.
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, 12. The New Journey Begins, 13. Dip in the Road, 14. Surprise Detour, 15. Detour Becomes a new Road, 16. Idyllic Travels, 17. Abrupt Halt, 18. Broken Road, 19. Two Roads Merging, 20. Changing Direction, 21. Travels, 22. Clearing the Road, 23. Dead End, 24. Overgrown Road, 25. More Road to Travel, 26. Intersecting Road
The Road Less Traveled
27. Rediscovering the Road
Glitch stared up at the ceiling of the bedroom she'd been given for the night. She'd gotten so used to sleeping outside on the hard ground that sleeping inside on a soft bed felt uncomfortable to her. Sighing in frustration, she pushed the covers back and got up. Shivering in the cool night air, she pulled the blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her, leaving the room. As she tiptoed down the hall to the kitchen in search of a snack, she heard quiet voices coming from the room she knew Wyatt and Adair were sharing. A little tentatively, she tapped on the door. The voices fell silent and she could hear movement before Wyatt's voice called, "Come in!"
"Sorry to bother you, but I couldn't sleep," she started babbling the moment she opened the door. "So I decided to go to the kitchen for a midnight snack even though it probably isn't even really midnight and--"
She stopped short, blinking, when she realized Wyatt was standing before her, wearing a pair of light blue pajama bottoms, smiling softly and patiently. "It's okay, Sweetheart. Come on in and join us."
"Okay." Glitch followed him to the large bed, where Adair was propped against the headboard, wearing only a pair of gray pajama bottoms. "Hi, Adair."
"Hello, Precious," he replied, a fond smile on his face, as Wyatt stretched out next to Adair.
A little hesitantly, she climbed onto the bed and sat next to the former Tin Man. Wyatt smiled sleepily as he commented, "You've always had trouble sleeping somewhere new."
"What did I usually do about it?" she asked, drawing the blanket tighter around herself.
Wyatt answered, his voice amused, "Before we became a triad, you usually had something to eat."
"What about after?" Glitch glanced from one to the other.
Adair smiled nostalgically. "We had fun 'exhausting' you."
"Oh?" She stared at him in confusion. "What did you do to exhaust me?" The two men just looked at her. After a moment, she blushed as it hit that she'd been married to them. "Oh! We had sex, didn't we?"
Adair laughed as Wyatt replied, "We prefer to call it 'making love', but yes."
"Jeb and Alexius came from somewhere, after all," Adair added, grinning.
Glitch rested her hands on her stomach. "Inside me?"
"Well, yes, but they needed help to get inside you in the first place." Adair looked amused.
She sighed and shook her head, sure there was something important she was missing. "I wish I had all my marbles back. I'm sure I'd understand better then."
"Az said we can try putting your brain back in," Wyatt reminded her soothingly, reaching out to pat her knee through her blanket. "Provided all three of us agree it's best."
Adair stared at Wyatt in surprise. "Really? The other half of Amber's brain is still in good condition?"
"It was being used to run the Sun Seeder," Wyatt explained, seeming not to notice when Glitch carefully slipped her hand out from under her blanket to take hold of his. His hand tightened briefly around hers, so she knew he'd noticed. "You probably noticed that the double eclipse lasted longer than usual several days ago."
Adair nodded as Glitch shifted to lie next to Wyatt, still holding his hand. "Yeah, we did. What happened, exactly?"
"The Sorceress tried to use Amber's Sun Seeder to lock the suns into place behind the moon," Wyatt told his husband, his fingers twining with Glitch's.
She closed her eyes as Adair answered dryly, "Obviously, she didn't succeed."
"Obviously," Wyatt's voice was sarcastic and dry.
Apparently, the former Tin Man's response amused Adair, because the taller man chuckled. It was followed the sound of kissing and Glitch barely opened her eyes to watch. Smiling at the obvious love and affection between the two men, she slowly drifted off to sleep. Her hand was still twined with Wyatt's.
* * *
Wyatt woke to find himself holding Glitch in his arms, just as he had the past few mornings. What was different this time was Adair spooned against his back, his breathing steady and even against the ex-Tin Man's neck. He'd have liked nothing more than to stay between them and drift back to sleep, but he knew it wasn't going to happen. Wyatt carefully eased out from between the other two and tiptoed over to the dresser to change into a shirt and pants. He paused at the bedroom door and glanced back at the bed. Much to his amusement, Glitch and Adair had already gravitated towards each other, her head nestling against his chest and his cheek resting on her hair. That's a good sign...
Wyatt made his way to the kitchen where Alexius was seated at the kitchen table, reading a book. She looked up when he entered, smiling shyly when she saw him. "G'morning."
"Good morning." He smiled back and checked the coffeemaker. As he'd expected, the coffee in the pot was still hot and strong. As he poured himself a cup, he asked Alexius a question that had been niggling at him since the previous evening, "You grew up in an orphanage?"
"Yeah." Her answer was frustratingly brief, but he hadn't known Amber Rose for so many annuals without developing some patience.
He put the coffee pot back and sat down at the table. "How did you end up here? Did Howard and Roberta adopt you?"
"The Sorceress wanted to use all of us orphans for labor," she explained, her voice disturbingly pragmatic and the look in her brown eyes far too mature for a girl of only twelve annuals. "The headmistress didn't want to see that happen so she sent us to whoever took us in."
He nodded, smiling, "And my brothers took you in."
"Me and lots of other orphans," she confirmed, nodding her head. When a lock of her wavy hair fell into her eyes, she made a frustrated noise and brushed it back. "The others are already doing their chores."
Wyatt raised an eyebrow, strongly reminded of Amber Rose in that little gesture Alexius had made. "Why aren't you doing your chores?"
"Aunt Berta said I didn't have to, since you, Mom, Raw, Jeb, and Princess DG are here." Her brown eyes flashed and she lifted her chin defiantly.
The act of lifting her chin made it easier for him to see the necklace she wore. Keeping his voice casual as he got up to begin gathering ingredients for breakfast, he said, "That's a real pretty necklace you're wearing. Did someone give it to you?"
"The headmistress said I was wearing it when I was brought to the orphanage," Alexius sounded exasperated, as if she'd had to explain it more than once.
His heart skipped a beat as he mixed up batter for waffles. "It's possible your mother gave it to you before she sent you to the orphanage."
"How would you know?" She sounded confrontational, not that he blamed her.
He finished pouring batter onto the waffle iron. "Your father and I gave her a necklace very like that one an annual before Jeb was born. If it's the same one, there should be an inscription on the back that says 'Precious Sweetheart'."
Alexius remained silent for a long moment, presumably checking that he was right. Finally, she asked, "You and Dad gave this to Mom?"
"Yes, we did." The answer came from the kitchen doorway, where Adair stood with Glitch at his side. Both looked sleep-tousled, but awake. While Glitch sat down at the table, Adair went over to the coffeemaker to pour coffee for the two of them.
"I don't understand what's going on." Alexius sounded confused and frustrated as Wyatt removed the first waffle and poured batter for the next one. "You and Mr. Cain greeted each other as if you're married, but then how could I have been born if you two were? Is Mom a surrogate?"
Wyatt turned and watched as Adair sat down beside Glitch at the table, setting one of the coffee cups in front of her. She sipped it cautiously before smiling and taking a larger sip. She answered her daughter's question, "No, if what Wyatt and Adair have told me is correct, all three of us love each other very much. You and Jeb are proof of that love."
"You mean Jeb is my brother?" He turned quickly to check the waffle iron to hide his smile at the dismay in Alexius' voice. Wyatt had wondered if she'd developed a crush on his son.
Jeb answered the question from the doorway. "Half-brother. We have the same mother, but different fathers."
"Oh." She excused herself a few moments later and hurried from the room.
Wyatt listened as the others talked. Glitch asked a question, clearly addressing her husband and son. "Was that good or bad?"
"It's a lot for her to take in," Adair explained soothingly. "Give her time."
Jeb added his voice, "I'll talk to her. Maybe I can help her understand how your relationship works better than you three can."
"What makes you think you can explain it better?" Wyatt kept his voice mild as he finished pouring the last of the batter on the waffle iron.
His son was grinning when he turned to look at him. "Because I can offer a similar perspective that you three can't."
They watched him go in silence. Glitch was the first to speak up, "I really wish I could remember all this."
"There's a good chance you will if you agree to have your brain put back," Wyatt reminded her gently, removing the last waffle.
"It's not guaranteed, though?" Adair asked as his husband carried the waffles to the table and set the three plates down.
He shook his head, retrieving the butter and syrup while he was still up. "Unfortunately no, but we'd have the Queen and the Princesses helping with their magic."
"You're really going to trust Az to help?" Adair looked skeptical as he began spreading butter on his waffle. "She's the reason Glitch is like this in the first place."
Glitch answered the question herself, smiling softly. "Azkadee wasn't the one in power all these years, Adair. She was possessed by a witch and she was the one in control."
"Not everyone is going to see it that way," Adair replied, looking from Glitch to Wyatt.
The blond nodded. "Az is painfully aware of this. She already offered to abdicate her right to succeed her mother."
"What did the Queen think of that?" Adair took a bite of his waffle.
Glitch answered the question. "She wants Azkadee to wait until the O.Z. has had a chance to recover and rebuild from the mess the Sorceress made of it."
"I suppose that makes sense." He sounded thoughtful. "Best to make the decision after having time to calmly consider it."
Glitch nodded, taking a bite of her waffle. "That's exactly what the Queen feels."
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. If anyone's curious about what the necklace looks like, here's a picture.
