FIC: Breakthrough (Tin Man, Glitch/Cain) Adult
Title: Breakthrough
Rating: Adult (Smut)
Summary: Sometimes, when you lose, you win. Glitch/Cain
Notes: Many thanks to sopdetly for her fantastic beta! Originally posted to glitch_wyatt here.
Breakthrough
"Come with me." Glitch tugged on Cain's sleeve, not bothering to hide his flinch when he was answered with nothing but an icy glare. How many times would the man need thawing? "Please."
For two weeks, Glitch's brain had been fully back in his head, though he'd chosen to keep the name for one thousand sentimental reasons. For two weeks, he'd gladly worked from dusk until dawn on the endless list of projects vital to rebuilding the O.Z.
And for two weeks - or longer, maybe, and he was only noticing it now - Cain had been watching him when he thought Glitch wasn't looking. The way he looked at Glitch, as though he were really seeing him and liked what he saw, nearly made Glitch come undone every single time. Frequently, he wondered what the point of having a whole brain was, if the damn thing still glitched so easily.
But whenever he tried to approach Cain or get him alone so they could talk about it, he found himself shut out completely.
"Where are we going?" Cain allowed himself to be led, but his voice was still clipped, restrained. Guarded.
"Dancing," Glitch said, grinning; he had it all planned. If Cain didn't want to talk, they'd sort it out another way.
Cain stopped dead in his tracks, and for a moment Glitch worried he'd leave.
"Relax. I'm not looking for a fight," Glitch began and then corrected himself, "No, wait. Actually, I am. Looking for a fight."
"Are you sure they put your brain back in the right way?"
"You're assuming it was ever in right to begin with."
A badly-missed smile flashed briefly across Cain's face at that.
"I've been spending too much time in the lab, not getting enough exercise, and you're not much better off. So I figured we could spar a little. It'll be fun."
"Fun," Cain repeated dryly. "I don't think-"
"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
Cain's eyebrows rose slightly. They started walking again; this time, Cain led the way.
*
The exercise room they went to was not one of the castle's many large, lavishly-equipped training centers. Enough nightmares remained that neither man entirely trusted himself in a room filled with weapons and Longcoats.
Instead, they went to a private room, one that Azkadellia had originally created for her own exercise but was now open to friends and family. It was beautifully lit in a soft, even golden glow, but aside from a thick mat on the floor, it was empty.
Glitch unbuttoned his bright new coat, laying it on the floor. He rolled up his sleeves and took a fighting stance. "Ready?"
Cain hadn't moved, not even to take off his tan uniform coat. His expression was an unreadable mask.
Shrugging, Glitch gave no further warning before moving to attack. Excited by his intentions and the man before him, the rush of his blood set the pace of their dance. He struck with precision, noting with almost unconscious ease which targets were most easily blocked, and taking care to aim only for them.
Layer by layer, the ice melted as Cain fought back, the passion of his great heart burning through to the surface. Smoothly, he blocked everything Glitch threw at him with an economy of motion that was as stunning for its simple intensity as was for the power behind it.
They broke for a moment, circling each other. Cain paused to remove his coat, his eyes locked on Glitch's as the heavy material slid from his broad shoulders. Glitch stood back to allow him, aching to hold and to touch.
Then the coat was gone and they were circling once again. He attempted to divert Cain from the question he was about to ask with a carefully aimed punch, but it was difficult with Cain looking so…distracting. "Why-" Glitch began.
"Don't talk," Cain interrupted. He dodged the blow and went on the offensive, striking with a speed Glitch had never seen from him before.
"But-" He had to draw Cain out, bring him fully on the attack. He blocked Cain's arm, holding it motionless for a full quarter of a heartbeat, before spinning around and trying to sweep Cain's legs out beneath him. Cain jumped, turning in midair, and landed behind him.
Glitch ducked low just in time to avoid a hit to the shoulder. The rest of what he was going to say was lost in a flurry of blows, each carefully aimed well below his head.
Finally, Cain threw a punch at him that was just right, and Glitch turned slightly, moved with the blow and allowed it to throw him to the floor. As he was falling, he hooked his leg around one of Cain's and pulled him down right on top of him.
Glitch's head thudded against the mat rather harder than he'd anticipated, and his scar was still sensitive from his surgery. He winced and then lay still for a moment.
"Hey-" Cain said, pulling himself up just enough to lean over Glitch. Warm fingers attempted to brush Glitch's hair out of the way. "Hey, are you okay? Say something!"
"Don't hit me again, sweetheart - I'm awake. You've won this round." Glitch opened his eyes and smiled up at Cain, not wanting him to worry, even though it did feel nice to be touched like that.
Cain swallowed. His hand stopped moving in Glitch's hair but he stayed where he was, his eyes searching Glitch's face. "You know damn well I didn't win anything. You threw that match."
All of Glitch's careful planning evaporated like smoke; he found himself completely unable to meet Cain's eyes. What if he'd been wrong?
"Yeah, well maybe I - I wanted to lose," he forced himself to admit, allowing his gaze to rest on the hollow at the base of Cain's neck. "This time, anyway," he couldn't resist adding as several naughty ideas began to compete for attention in his overheated brain.
A seemingly endless moment of silence passed between them and Glitch fought a losing battle not to squirm.
"I wasn't going to say anything," Cain said finally, but he began to move, to bring his lips closer to Glitch's even as he said it.
Glitch managed to look up at that. Had Cain's eyes always been so blue?
Sheer force of will held him where he was, lest he do the wrong thing and scare Cain away. Apparently nothing in the O.Z. could make him keep quiet, however, because he heard his own voice babbling, "Of course I figured it out. I am a genius."
It was a good thing Cain knew when not to listen to him anyway.
"You can't want-" Another protest, this one hopeful and so very close that Glitch could feel Cain's breath with every word.
"But I've been trying to tell you I do. I really, really, real-" He never got any further, because Cain's lips were on his own, warm and soft. His kiss was sweeter than Glitch had imagined, thoughtful and almost shy. It could, Glitch thought happily, go on forever.
He barely noticed when his arms wrapped around Cain, his fingers burying themselves in ridiculously soft, short blond hair. Soon after they did, though, the kiss changed, became charged with need and a single gentle, unspoken demand: Don't stop now, don't leave.
Gradually, Cain's body came to rest on his own, heavy and thick and hard, shoulders and stomach and hips. Without breaking their kiss for even a moment, Glitch shifted to get one of Cain's knees between his own, and then he could feel Cain's arousal trapped in his skin-tight pants.
Cain moaned thickly into Glitch's mouth, and that's when any remaining hold Glitch might've had on awareness or sanity or anything that didn't consist of Cain now thrusting against him fizzled and popped and died out like a badly-fired synapse.
He ran his hands down Cain's back, feeling the dampness of the cotton beneath his fingertips. An almost-thought tickled his mind: that he ought to pause and help Cain take off his shirt - both of their shirts - because it was too hot this way. But there were more important things than thinking, and so instead he let his hands go lower, over the smooth strap of Cain's leather belt to grab at his firm ass, pulling Cain down to better rub up against him.
Cain inhaled sharply at the pressure and tightened his hold. They clung to each other, somehow managing to fall into a rhythm, dragging against one another with delicious, irresistible friction that somehow managed to become as necessary as kissing, as necessary as breathing.
It was too much after annuals of nothing and so much wanting. "Wait-" Glitch said, bordering on desperate, though he couldn't stop the rough thrust of his hips.
But Cain only held on more fiercely. "It's alright," he managed, barely audible for all they were still kissing, and Glitch understood without being told that he wasn't the only one too close too soon. "Let go."
Glitch pulled his lips away, just for a moment, because he couldn't breathe with spikes of pure pleasure shivering through his body. He rested his forehead against Cain's, looking down and watching them rutting against each other, only to look back up into Cain's eyes, now a deep, dark blue. That was all it took. Cain held him while his body shook and shuddered, while he came helplessly in his clothes.
"Let me," he said when he was able. Still euphoric, not wanting anything more in the world than to touch, he swiftly opened Cain's belt and unbuttoned his pants. Cain watched in silence, his still-dark eyes following Glitch's fingers, widening when they found and freed him from the too-tight cloth. Cain's hips snapped forward again, pressing into Glitch's hand, and Glitch wrapped his fingers around him and let Cain thrust into his hand while he squeezed and stroked.
Very soon, Cain's breath hitched and his hips pushed forward for the last time. Glitch watched his face, eagerly drinking in the details of Cain losing himself so completely, giving himself over in perfect trust. Glitch felt the mess of it, soaking into his shirt and already sticky pants and was oddly thrilled by that as well, by the reality of what they'd done.
He couldn't resist leaning in to kiss Cain again, nibbling at the corner of his mouth until Cain caught his breath and turned into the kiss.
"So what now, genius?" Cain teased gently, when their kisses once again threatened to go on too long.
One of these days, Glitch would remember that Cain was always listening. Still, he supposed it was a better name than zipperhead.
"I need a shower," he said and he couldn't help but smile. He wiggled to the side, out from under Cain, sat up, and held out his hand. "Come with me?"
"Anywhere you go."
Rating: Adult (Smut)
Summary: Sometimes, when you lose, you win. Glitch/Cain
Notes: Many thanks to sopdetly for her fantastic beta! Originally posted to glitch_wyatt here.
Breakthrough
"Come with me." Glitch tugged on Cain's sleeve, not bothering to hide his flinch when he was answered with nothing but an icy glare. How many times would the man need thawing? "Please."
For two weeks, Glitch's brain had been fully back in his head, though he'd chosen to keep the name for one thousand sentimental reasons. For two weeks, he'd gladly worked from dusk until dawn on the endless list of projects vital to rebuilding the O.Z.
And for two weeks - or longer, maybe, and he was only noticing it now - Cain had been watching him when he thought Glitch wasn't looking. The way he looked at Glitch, as though he were really seeing him and liked what he saw, nearly made Glitch come undone every single time. Frequently, he wondered what the point of having a whole brain was, if the damn thing still glitched so easily.
But whenever he tried to approach Cain or get him alone so they could talk about it, he found himself shut out completely.
"Where are we going?" Cain allowed himself to be led, but his voice was still clipped, restrained. Guarded.
"Dancing," Glitch said, grinning; he had it all planned. If Cain didn't want to talk, they'd sort it out another way.
Cain stopped dead in his tracks, and for a moment Glitch worried he'd leave.
"Relax. I'm not looking for a fight," Glitch began and then corrected himself, "No, wait. Actually, I am. Looking for a fight."
"Are you sure they put your brain back in the right way?"
"You're assuming it was ever in right to begin with."
A badly-missed smile flashed briefly across Cain's face at that.
"I've been spending too much time in the lab, not getting enough exercise, and you're not much better off. So I figured we could spar a little. It'll be fun."
"Fun," Cain repeated dryly. "I don't think-"
"Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
Cain's eyebrows rose slightly. They started walking again; this time, Cain led the way.
*
The exercise room they went to was not one of the castle's many large, lavishly-equipped training centers. Enough nightmares remained that neither man entirely trusted himself in a room filled with weapons and Longcoats.
Instead, they went to a private room, one that Azkadellia had originally created for her own exercise but was now open to friends and family. It was beautifully lit in a soft, even golden glow, but aside from a thick mat on the floor, it was empty.
Glitch unbuttoned his bright new coat, laying it on the floor. He rolled up his sleeves and took a fighting stance. "Ready?"
Cain hadn't moved, not even to take off his tan uniform coat. His expression was an unreadable mask.
Shrugging, Glitch gave no further warning before moving to attack. Excited by his intentions and the man before him, the rush of his blood set the pace of their dance. He struck with precision, noting with almost unconscious ease which targets were most easily blocked, and taking care to aim only for them.
Layer by layer, the ice melted as Cain fought back, the passion of his great heart burning through to the surface. Smoothly, he blocked everything Glitch threw at him with an economy of motion that was as stunning for its simple intensity as was for the power behind it.
They broke for a moment, circling each other. Cain paused to remove his coat, his eyes locked on Glitch's as the heavy material slid from his broad shoulders. Glitch stood back to allow him, aching to hold and to touch.
Then the coat was gone and they were circling once again. He attempted to divert Cain from the question he was about to ask with a carefully aimed punch, but it was difficult with Cain looking so…distracting. "Why-" Glitch began.
"Don't talk," Cain interrupted. He dodged the blow and went on the offensive, striking with a speed Glitch had never seen from him before.
"But-" He had to draw Cain out, bring him fully on the attack. He blocked Cain's arm, holding it motionless for a full quarter of a heartbeat, before spinning around and trying to sweep Cain's legs out beneath him. Cain jumped, turning in midair, and landed behind him.
Glitch ducked low just in time to avoid a hit to the shoulder. The rest of what he was going to say was lost in a flurry of blows, each carefully aimed well below his head.
Finally, Cain threw a punch at him that was just right, and Glitch turned slightly, moved with the blow and allowed it to throw him to the floor. As he was falling, he hooked his leg around one of Cain's and pulled him down right on top of him.
Glitch's head thudded against the mat rather harder than he'd anticipated, and his scar was still sensitive from his surgery. He winced and then lay still for a moment.
"Hey-" Cain said, pulling himself up just enough to lean over Glitch. Warm fingers attempted to brush Glitch's hair out of the way. "Hey, are you okay? Say something!"
"Don't hit me again, sweetheart - I'm awake. You've won this round." Glitch opened his eyes and smiled up at Cain, not wanting him to worry, even though it did feel nice to be touched like that.
Cain swallowed. His hand stopped moving in Glitch's hair but he stayed where he was, his eyes searching Glitch's face. "You know damn well I didn't win anything. You threw that match."
All of Glitch's careful planning evaporated like smoke; he found himself completely unable to meet Cain's eyes. What if he'd been wrong?
"Yeah, well maybe I - I wanted to lose," he forced himself to admit, allowing his gaze to rest on the hollow at the base of Cain's neck. "This time, anyway," he couldn't resist adding as several naughty ideas began to compete for attention in his overheated brain.
A seemingly endless moment of silence passed between them and Glitch fought a losing battle not to squirm.
"I wasn't going to say anything," Cain said finally, but he began to move, to bring his lips closer to Glitch's even as he said it.
Glitch managed to look up at that. Had Cain's eyes always been so blue?
Sheer force of will held him where he was, lest he do the wrong thing and scare Cain away. Apparently nothing in the O.Z. could make him keep quiet, however, because he heard his own voice babbling, "Of course I figured it out. I am a genius."
It was a good thing Cain knew when not to listen to him anyway.
"You can't want-" Another protest, this one hopeful and so very close that Glitch could feel Cain's breath with every word.
"But I've been trying to tell you I do. I really, really, real-" He never got any further, because Cain's lips were on his own, warm and soft. His kiss was sweeter than Glitch had imagined, thoughtful and almost shy. It could, Glitch thought happily, go on forever.
He barely noticed when his arms wrapped around Cain, his fingers burying themselves in ridiculously soft, short blond hair. Soon after they did, though, the kiss changed, became charged with need and a single gentle, unspoken demand: Don't stop now, don't leave.
Gradually, Cain's body came to rest on his own, heavy and thick and hard, shoulders and stomach and hips. Without breaking their kiss for even a moment, Glitch shifted to get one of Cain's knees between his own, and then he could feel Cain's arousal trapped in his skin-tight pants.
Cain moaned thickly into Glitch's mouth, and that's when any remaining hold Glitch might've had on awareness or sanity or anything that didn't consist of Cain now thrusting against him fizzled and popped and died out like a badly-fired synapse.
He ran his hands down Cain's back, feeling the dampness of the cotton beneath his fingertips. An almost-thought tickled his mind: that he ought to pause and help Cain take off his shirt - both of their shirts - because it was too hot this way. But there were more important things than thinking, and so instead he let his hands go lower, over the smooth strap of Cain's leather belt to grab at his firm ass, pulling Cain down to better rub up against him.
Cain inhaled sharply at the pressure and tightened his hold. They clung to each other, somehow managing to fall into a rhythm, dragging against one another with delicious, irresistible friction that somehow managed to become as necessary as kissing, as necessary as breathing.
It was too much after annuals of nothing and so much wanting. "Wait-" Glitch said, bordering on desperate, though he couldn't stop the rough thrust of his hips.
But Cain only held on more fiercely. "It's alright," he managed, barely audible for all they were still kissing, and Glitch understood without being told that he wasn't the only one too close too soon. "Let go."
Glitch pulled his lips away, just for a moment, because he couldn't breathe with spikes of pure pleasure shivering through his body. He rested his forehead against Cain's, looking down and watching them rutting against each other, only to look back up into Cain's eyes, now a deep, dark blue. That was all it took. Cain held him while his body shook and shuddered, while he came helplessly in his clothes.
"Let me," he said when he was able. Still euphoric, not wanting anything more in the world than to touch, he swiftly opened Cain's belt and unbuttoned his pants. Cain watched in silence, his still-dark eyes following Glitch's fingers, widening when they found and freed him from the too-tight cloth. Cain's hips snapped forward again, pressing into Glitch's hand, and Glitch wrapped his fingers around him and let Cain thrust into his hand while he squeezed and stroked.
Very soon, Cain's breath hitched and his hips pushed forward for the last time. Glitch watched his face, eagerly drinking in the details of Cain losing himself so completely, giving himself over in perfect trust. Glitch felt the mess of it, soaking into his shirt and already sticky pants and was oddly thrilled by that as well, by the reality of what they'd done.
He couldn't resist leaning in to kiss Cain again, nibbling at the corner of his mouth until Cain caught his breath and turned into the kiss.
"So what now, genius?" Cain teased gently, when their kisses once again threatened to go on too long.
One of these days, Glitch would remember that Cain was always listening. Still, he supposed it was a better name than zipperhead.
"I need a shower," he said and he couldn't help but smile. He wiggled to the side, out from under Cain, sat up, and held out his hand. "Come with me?"
"Anywhere you go."