Fic: "A Horse of a Different Color," 1/1, Tin Man, DG/Cain
It's the obligatory shmoopy post-series fic that I had to write to get this 'ship out of my system! Note, on second viewing, Tin Man isn't QUITE as fun as it was the first time around, but I chalk that up to being tired and also to really picking up on Zooey cocking her head and staring a lot.
I still love Neal's hat. And on that deep note, I'm probably going to bed soon. Big damn spoilers in the story, if anyone cares.
Title: "A Horse of a Different Color" 1/1
Author: monimala
Fandom: Tin Man
Rating/Classification: PG, DG/Cain, post-movie tag, angst, sap, 'shippiness, etc.
Disclaimer: The Sci-Fi Channel owns all.
Summary: 1475 words. Probably the first of several filler fics in this vein. DG wants to find the man who literally rode to her rescue on a white horse.
She leaves Az with their parents, still hugging and trading "I'm sorry"s, so she can check on the others.
She finds Glitch in the brain room, pressed against the glass, staring at the amorphous pink thing still attached to wires, attached to what can now be a sun seeder again. "I can't get it back inside, DG," he tells her, mournfully. "It won't go." She hugs him again, whispers, "I'm so sorry," and adds another "thank you."
Raw is in the dungeons, freeing what's left of the prisoners. She laughs when she sees that her little mouse friend from her own captivity is now riding shotgun on his shoulder. "Will all be light now," he tells her, gruffly. "Because of you."
She doesn't know if she believes that. But with Mom, and Dad, and Azkadellia, maybe they can turn the O.Z. into what it once was. Maybe. Maybe they'll make up for all the time they lost.
Finding Cain is harder, more of a challenge. She finds Jeb first, taking control of the men who used to be the witch's and are now theirs again. He's almost her age. Back in the other world, he'd probably stop by the diner and she'd think he was cute and they'd go the movies and probably get pulled over by Gulch on the ride back to the farm. But they're not there. They're not there and she wants to find his father, who actually, literally, rode to her rescue on a white horse. Not that she needed it, but still. It's the thought that counts.
He stares at her for a long time. Long enough to make her shift from foot to foot and think, 'Oh, get over it, it's not like I'm signing on to be your stepmother.' She doesn't voice that out loud. Maybe she doesn't need to. Finally Jeb just nods and points up the hall, telling her that the last time he saw him, his dad looked to be headed out of the tower.
She remembers Cain asking her --no, begging her-- to get out of this alive. To save herself. She remembers how he hugged her… tightly but not too tightly. Most of all, she remembers how he looked at his wife's grave, and something knots in the pit of her stomach. Something regretful, because it's too soon, and something certain, because it's still right. Before they came back here, she could have kissed him. She wanted to. Instead, she called him 'Mr. Cain,' and accepted his advice and his warnings like he was some wise warrior and she the young knight he was sending off to battle. She *really* should have kissed him, and she plans to rectify that now.
After a half hour of thorough searching around the grounds, DG is relieved to see that he hasn't left like Jeb thought. That he's just hiding out in one of the newly abandoned cells, stretched out on a makeshift cot. "We do have bedrooms upstairs, you know," she notes, wryly.
He peers at her from beneath the brim of his hat, just the one blue eye visible. "Didn't want to disturb the family reunion." Flashes a smile. "Someone told me it's the only thing that’s important."
"It's still true," she shrugs, sitting down on the edge of the cot, deliberately making him scoot over until he hits the wall. "The thing is, you didn't take into account that I have a very strange and large family. It includes robots, a zipperhead, a couple of viewers, a dog that's sometimes a man, and… you. You're my family, too, now, Cain."
"DG," he whispers, sitting up halfway. The hat slips back off his head, falls to the floor, and now she can see both of his eyes… and the look on his face. The same, stricken one he gave her in the woods. "I spent ten years locked in that suit… ten years seeing the same thing over and over again. I am not exactly the picture of mental health. Glitch thinks I need therapy and he's probably right."
"Then it's a good thing I took a psychology course at the community college." She hugs him. Like she has so many times in the past few days, full of relief and affection and comfort. He clasps her instinctively and his palm moves restlessly up and down her spine. Like he's afraid to let it linger now that there's no chance of either of them dying horribly. "I'm not going anywhere. Get used to it," she laughs, softly.
"You're barely older than my son," he whispers against her cheek, tacking on, "Kid," as if to prove his point.
"And your son is not my type, so don't even think about trying to set us up," she counters, covering his fingers with her own, stalling his hand at the base of her spine, where her shirt and her pants don't quite meet. The skin there is bare, and the tips of his fingers are warm and perfect. He strokes without her having to encourage, and then he's sliding beneath her waistband, brushing lightly against the curve of her butt.
Cain groans, muffling the sound against her neck before he chuckles, helplessly. "I… I think I'd have to kill him if he looked at you twice… so, believe me, matchmaking is the last thing on my mind."
"What's the first thing on your mind?" She doesn't know why she's bothering to ask. She knows. It's the first thing on hers, too.
It's too soon.
It's still right.
Cain kisses her like he should have an hour ago upstairs. Like he should have yesterday in the woods, crushing her to him, locking her legs around his waist. He kisses her and she thinks that this is why she was really meant to come here. Not just to rescue Az from the witch and find her mom and dad, but to rescue *him*. She was meant to unlock him from that suit. Because he tastes like desperation and fear and ten years without anyone to love him and all she wants to do is tell him, "It's okay. It's okay, you have me now, and I can love you."
When he pulls back to breathe, that's exactly what she does.
He clutches her so tightly that she practically starts to suffocate, and when he realizes that, he tries to push her away. Fortunately, she's had more than a little practice standing her ground… er, sitting it.
"Kid," he says, hoarsely. "Kiddo, you can't."
"Too late, Tin Man," she shrugs, pressing her lips to his impossibly square jaw.
She dated enough guys back in Omaha to know that this is when they cut and run. The minute feelings come into the equation they're out and over the rainbow. But Cain is different. She always knew he was different. From the first time she saw him. From the second time, when he was washed of all that silver-grey grime and clean-shaven. Practically shining like he was actually made out of polished tin.
He takes her face in his hands, gives her that wise warrior look even though the last thing she wants right now is to learn a lesson. "DG, I have gained and lost my wife a million times. Up until a few days ago, I thought I might still be married. I…I thought I was being disloyal to Adora just being near you. But I promised the Mystic Man I'd keep you safe and I never break a promise."
"And now?" This is what she wants to know, right? What she came looking for? "What about now?"
He smoothes her hair away from her face with the edge of his thumb. She knows he used to touch his wife this way, a long time ago, and she's selfishly glad that he's touching her this way now. Selfishly glad that he promised the Mystic Man, that he came to save her, that he's here with her.
She doesn't wait to hear his answer. She kisses him again instead, curving into his lap and circling her arms around his neck and basically making it impossible for him to let go of her without hurting her. She knows he would never voluntarily hurt her.
Fortunately, it turns out he has no intention of letting her go.
He slides them both down to the cot, rolling so she's beneath him, and returns her kiss a dozen times over. Until they're *both* practically suffocating and it doesn't matter because it feels so good, so right. *He* feels so right. He's more home to her than any other place in the O.Z. One that no amount of magic will make her forget.
"I promise I'm not going anywhere," he sighs against her lips. "Get used to it."
Lucky for them both, she already has.
--end--
November 23, 2007
I still love Neal's hat. And on that deep note, I'm probably going to bed soon. Big damn spoilers in the story, if anyone cares.
Title: "A Horse of a Different Color" 1/1
Author: monimala
Fandom: Tin Man
Rating/Classification: PG, DG/Cain, post-movie tag, angst, sap, 'shippiness, etc.
Disclaimer: The Sci-Fi Channel owns all.
Summary: 1475 words. Probably the first of several filler fics in this vein. DG wants to find the man who literally rode to her rescue on a white horse.
She leaves Az with their parents, still hugging and trading "I'm sorry"s, so she can check on the others.
She finds Glitch in the brain room, pressed against the glass, staring at the amorphous pink thing still attached to wires, attached to what can now be a sun seeder again. "I can't get it back inside, DG," he tells her, mournfully. "It won't go." She hugs him again, whispers, "I'm so sorry," and adds another "thank you."
Raw is in the dungeons, freeing what's left of the prisoners. She laughs when she sees that her little mouse friend from her own captivity is now riding shotgun on his shoulder. "Will all be light now," he tells her, gruffly. "Because of you."
She doesn't know if she believes that. But with Mom, and Dad, and Azkadellia, maybe they can turn the O.Z. into what it once was. Maybe. Maybe they'll make up for all the time they lost.
Finding Cain is harder, more of a challenge. She finds Jeb first, taking control of the men who used to be the witch's and are now theirs again. He's almost her age. Back in the other world, he'd probably stop by the diner and she'd think he was cute and they'd go the movies and probably get pulled over by Gulch on the ride back to the farm. But they're not there. They're not there and she wants to find his father, who actually, literally, rode to her rescue on a white horse. Not that she needed it, but still. It's the thought that counts.
He stares at her for a long time. Long enough to make her shift from foot to foot and think, 'Oh, get over it, it's not like I'm signing on to be your stepmother.' She doesn't voice that out loud. Maybe she doesn't need to. Finally Jeb just nods and points up the hall, telling her that the last time he saw him, his dad looked to be headed out of the tower.
She remembers Cain asking her --no, begging her-- to get out of this alive. To save herself. She remembers how he hugged her… tightly but not too tightly. Most of all, she remembers how he looked at his wife's grave, and something knots in the pit of her stomach. Something regretful, because it's too soon, and something certain, because it's still right. Before they came back here, she could have kissed him. She wanted to. Instead, she called him 'Mr. Cain,' and accepted his advice and his warnings like he was some wise warrior and she the young knight he was sending off to battle. She *really* should have kissed him, and she plans to rectify that now.
After a half hour of thorough searching around the grounds, DG is relieved to see that he hasn't left like Jeb thought. That he's just hiding out in one of the newly abandoned cells, stretched out on a makeshift cot. "We do have bedrooms upstairs, you know," she notes, wryly.
He peers at her from beneath the brim of his hat, just the one blue eye visible. "Didn't want to disturb the family reunion." Flashes a smile. "Someone told me it's the only thing that’s important."
"It's still true," she shrugs, sitting down on the edge of the cot, deliberately making him scoot over until he hits the wall. "The thing is, you didn't take into account that I have a very strange and large family. It includes robots, a zipperhead, a couple of viewers, a dog that's sometimes a man, and… you. You're my family, too, now, Cain."
"DG," he whispers, sitting up halfway. The hat slips back off his head, falls to the floor, and now she can see both of his eyes… and the look on his face. The same, stricken one he gave her in the woods. "I spent ten years locked in that suit… ten years seeing the same thing over and over again. I am not exactly the picture of mental health. Glitch thinks I need therapy and he's probably right."
"Then it's a good thing I took a psychology course at the community college." She hugs him. Like she has so many times in the past few days, full of relief and affection and comfort. He clasps her instinctively and his palm moves restlessly up and down her spine. Like he's afraid to let it linger now that there's no chance of either of them dying horribly. "I'm not going anywhere. Get used to it," she laughs, softly.
"You're barely older than my son," he whispers against her cheek, tacking on, "Kid," as if to prove his point.
"And your son is not my type, so don't even think about trying to set us up," she counters, covering his fingers with her own, stalling his hand at the base of her spine, where her shirt and her pants don't quite meet. The skin there is bare, and the tips of his fingers are warm and perfect. He strokes without her having to encourage, and then he's sliding beneath her waistband, brushing lightly against the curve of her butt.
Cain groans, muffling the sound against her neck before he chuckles, helplessly. "I… I think I'd have to kill him if he looked at you twice… so, believe me, matchmaking is the last thing on my mind."
"What's the first thing on your mind?" She doesn't know why she's bothering to ask. She knows. It's the first thing on hers, too.
It's too soon.
It's still right.
Cain kisses her like he should have an hour ago upstairs. Like he should have yesterday in the woods, crushing her to him, locking her legs around his waist. He kisses her and she thinks that this is why she was really meant to come here. Not just to rescue Az from the witch and find her mom and dad, but to rescue *him*. She was meant to unlock him from that suit. Because he tastes like desperation and fear and ten years without anyone to love him and all she wants to do is tell him, "It's okay. It's okay, you have me now, and I can love you."
When he pulls back to breathe, that's exactly what she does.
He clutches her so tightly that she practically starts to suffocate, and when he realizes that, he tries to push her away. Fortunately, she's had more than a little practice standing her ground… er, sitting it.
"Kid," he says, hoarsely. "Kiddo, you can't."
"Too late, Tin Man," she shrugs, pressing her lips to his impossibly square jaw.
She dated enough guys back in Omaha to know that this is when they cut and run. The minute feelings come into the equation they're out and over the rainbow. But Cain is different. She always knew he was different. From the first time she saw him. From the second time, when he was washed of all that silver-grey grime and clean-shaven. Practically shining like he was actually made out of polished tin.
He takes her face in his hands, gives her that wise warrior look even though the last thing she wants right now is to learn a lesson. "DG, I have gained and lost my wife a million times. Up until a few days ago, I thought I might still be married. I…I thought I was being disloyal to Adora just being near you. But I promised the Mystic Man I'd keep you safe and I never break a promise."
"And now?" This is what she wants to know, right? What she came looking for? "What about now?"
He smoothes her hair away from her face with the edge of his thumb. She knows he used to touch his wife this way, a long time ago, and she's selfishly glad that he's touching her this way now. Selfishly glad that he promised the Mystic Man, that he came to save her, that he's here with her.
She doesn't wait to hear his answer. She kisses him again instead, curving into his lap and circling her arms around his neck and basically making it impossible for him to let go of her without hurting her. She knows he would never voluntarily hurt her.
Fortunately, it turns out he has no intention of letting her go.
He slides them both down to the cot, rolling so she's beneath him, and returns her kiss a dozen times over. Until they're *both* practically suffocating and it doesn't matter because it feels so good, so right. *He* feels so right. He's more home to her than any other place in the O.Z. One that no amount of magic will make her forget.
"I promise I'm not going anywhere," he sighs against her lips. "Get used to it."
Lucky for them both, she already has.
--end--
November 23, 2007