Goodnight Sweetheart (4/10)
Part 4! This one was written in bits and pieces because I've been having a really bad writing block lately, sorry if it's not very cohesive X'D
At a quarter to seven, Cain put the last of his reports down and called it a day.
He put everything on his desk away and locked the door to his small office as he headed out. The place they had given him to work with when he wasn't out in the field was right above his room, so he had time to run down for a quick, calming shower and a change of clothes. Though short-lived, the tepid water helped sooth his nerves as it trickled down his body and the thought of seeing Glitch made him more earnest than anxious.
He made it to the entrance hall just as the grandfather clock at the back of the room stroke seven. At this time of night mostly everyone who resided in the palace was elsewhere, tending to matters far more bureaucratic than hunting down longcoats and filling reports of the fact. The place, deserted as it was at the moment, was as spacious and finely furnished as every other room in the palace, and perfectly symmetrical with a couple of marble pillars flanking the double grand staircase in the far center. Two elegantly crafted fireplaces glowed at each end of the hall; above both roaring fireplaces was an imprint of one of the suns in marble, etched into the large frame. There were also portraits of old monarchs and nobles lining the walls, though none of the current Queen. It was all very lavish and once again Cain caught himself thinking that if this was only the Central City Palace he couldn't imagine what the Northern Island Palace would be like when it was restored.
Once again he was reminded of how out of place he felt here when he wasn't on the job, that he didn't really belong in this world of castles and formal balls; and that Glitch did. Even headcased, it was clear that this was Glitch's place-had been all his life-and Cain wondered what that might mean for the future; he couldn't exactly picture himself in palace life...
But no, he was getting ahead of himself, uncharacteristically losing track of his thoughts and letting them go on tangents that he hadn't dared think about for annuals. Simple, normal things like where he would live and who he would be with in the near future. For once in the last eight annuals he was allowing himself to think of these things and it scared him.
Running a hand through his hair, he stopped that train of thought before it got any farther. Tonight was for Glitch. And if he was lucky, he would sort these things out with his friend's help.
Glitch, however, was nowhere in sight yet, and Cain stood for a moment at the foot of the stairs awkwardly admiring the carpet. He was giving the zipperhead the benefit of the doubt instead of immediately assuming he had forgotten about their date. But when the hour grew closer to eight than to seven and Glitch still hadn't appeared, Cain started to fret. As he scampered back up the stairs to search for Glitch, who surely couldn't be working at this hour without Raw, every worry from a bad glitch to cold feet flashed through his mind. He had just gotten to the top of the stairs and turned the left corner when Glitch's lithe but solid figure crashed right into him.
"Oof!" Glitch's expressive face scrunched up and he rubbed his nose with one hand before he looked up at him and his eyes widened, "Oh, Cain!"
"Hey there, zipperhead." Cain said, letting his arms fall from where they had reflexively grabbed Glitch's shoulders, and rubbed his sore jaw, "Nice to see you too this fine evening."
"I didn't forget!" he said quickly, then amended, his voice growing fast and keen without missing a beat or taking a breath, "Well I did, I was doing something this afternoon... I don't remember what-But then I got back to my room and I found all the post-it notes-you know, the little sticky papers DG gave me-that I made this morning to remind myself I was suppose to meet you here at seven. So then I jumped in the bath but it was so relaxing that I forgot why I jumped in the first place. And then when I got out I saw the post-it's again, and by then it was really late. But I got dressed and here I am. Sorry." He finished with an apologetic smile and his arms outstretched to his sides, then took a huge breath and let it out.
Cain couldn't help but smile back as he looked down at him. He was dressed simply, in only black slacks and a white shirt-of which at least two of the top buttons were in the wrong hole-under a deep chestnut coat.
"It's okay, Glitch. Really." he said, stepping sideways, "Ready to go?"
"Yep!" Glitch gave him one of his brilliant smiles and they headed down the stairs and out the palace together.
The lights of the bustling buildings and the tall street lamps were their only illumination as they walked through the palace grounds into the city. The first moon was out but obscured by dark, billowing clouds. And before they had made it anywhere close to the restaurant Cain had had in mind, or even the city square, they could hear the low rumble of imminent thunder.
"Um," Glitch said, touching Cain's arm and looking up, "Do you think it's going to-?"
He was cut off by the sudden but not surprising clap of thunder and the downpour that followed. The night air went from dry and cool to drenched and ice cold when the rain fell on them all at once, as if some god had decided to throw a bucket of freezing water at them. Glitch yelped and laughed as they tried to cover themselves as best they could while running to the nearest shelter across the street. He took a wrong step and stumbled on the last stride, and would have fallen face first onto the cobblestones had it not been for Cain's quick, steadying arm.
"Careful, sweetheart."
"I'm fine." Glitch muttered, blushing as he opened the door in front of them.
To their luck, the establishment seemed to be a small diner-one of those quiet, local places where there were only ever a few regulars-and Cain was secretly pleased. A young woman tending tables was surprised when she saw them enter and recognized who they were. She quickly led them to a booth in a private corner by the window and offered them menus. Cain watched as Glitch vaguely eyed it before tossing it aside and looking up at the girl when his face seemed to light up with an idea.
"Oh, do you have muglug?"
"Yes, we do." Their waitressed nodded shortly as she took out a pen and pad,
"Then I'll have that!" Glitch said with an eager but wistful smile, then turned to Cain, "Cain?"
"I'll have the same," he said as he handed the menus back, "I've never tried muglug. Don't see why not do it now."
"Right away."
They were left alone with the sound of heavy rain as she left with their order, and Glitch jabbered about muglug until he was stopped by an abrupt sneeze.
They had been lucky enough to run into the right place but not enough to make it without getting drenched.
"The one night I go out without my hat." Cain said with mock annoyance that he wasn't really feeling. Their drinks, an ale that Glitch assured him was traditionally served with muglug to compliment the taste, arrived before the aforementioned soup just as the rainstorm outside seemed to get more intense.
"Hmm," Glitch hummed casually as he looked out the window, "You know, for some reason I don't think we'll be seeing fireworks tonight."
Cain felt the urge to promise that he would just have to take Glitch out another time, but they both laughed despite being soaking wet and their night not going exactly as planned.
"Is that-is that hail?" Glitch asked through a fit of giggles,
"It was sunny today, for the gods' sake!" Cain shook his head and took a drink from his glass to hide his smile at the ridiculousness of the situation. He had been planning to take Glitch out to some fancy crowded restaurant and somehow tell him he loved him, but instead they were in a plain diner talking about the weather; and one way or another it was all fine, just because he was with him.
"It's like even the O.Z.'s weather is topsy-turvy lately..." Glitch said, his voice taking a suddenly quiet bittersweet tone as he kept looking out the window.
When the two steaming bowls of muglug arrived, however, Glitch's face lit up like it was Christmas as he breathed in the spicy smell. He picked up his spoon, only to immediately put it down and grab the ceramic dish in both hands instead, taking a swig directly from the bowl.
"Mm..." Glitch sighed happily, "I haven't had muglug in...annuals."
"Isn't it too hot?" Cain asked, ignoring Glitch's commonplace lapse of memory as he took his own bowl in his hands to follow Glitch's example.
Glitch shook his head slightly, "It's perfect!"
The taste of it hit Cain as he tilted the bowl and drank. Whatever otherworldly ingredients that were in muglug seemed to have the perfect chemistry to mesh in his mouth like nothing he had ever tasted before. It was hot, but not unbearably so, and it pleasantly warmed his throat as it went down.
They tried talking about easy, casual things for a while as they ate their impromptu meal; until eventually the topic of their jobs came up.
"So how did your day go?" Glitch asked before taking a drink.
It was an innocent enough question but they both knew what they days entailed now that the witch was gone, and Cain told him about the runaway alchemists and longcoats and how they had recaptured them all. At first Glitch looked a little startled that it could have been so easy for them to escape without anyone noticing, but he quickly changed attitudes and smirked at Cain.
"I don't know why you don't let me go out there with you, Cain. Just because I'm a headcase doesn't mean I couldn't help you guys kick some longcoat ass."
"As much as I love your dancing skills, I doubt they'd be very useful against guns, sweetheart."
"Well, I still want to help... Just to know you're okay."
"That's actually the same reason I'd rather you stayed in the palace." Cain said softly, slipping his hand into Glitch's across the table.
"You know, this need of yours to do everything yourself and save the world alone while protecting others is all indicative of-"
"Why don't we leave your psychology lessons for at least the fourth or fifth date?"
"...I'll hold you to that." Glitch said as a small smile curved his lips.
"What about you?" Cain asked as he went to drink what was left of his muglug, "What did you do today?"
"Well, after I left your room this morning I went to the brain room and Kalm tried to help me connect to Ambrose but it wasn't really working and then..." He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, then repeated the same loop before gazing away sheepishly, looking embarrassed that he had glitched and forgotten.
"It's okay... Glitch," Cain said hesitantly, "are you alright?"
Glitch's eyes drifted back to him, a small frown and an uncertain smile on his face, "What do you mean? I'm fine."
"You were having headaches last night?" Cain prompted,
"I've always-"
"Had headaches, I know. But I had never seen you like you were last night... I just wanted to make sure."
"I haven't had more though, I think." he tried to shrug it off, "And I feel fine, Cain, honestly."
Before either of them could say anything more, Glitch's hands shot up to cover another sneeze.
"But I might be getting a bit of a cold," he laughed, "We should probably get out of these wet clothes."
"That's a good idea."
Once they had both finished their dinner and paid the bill, they slipped out of the little cozy diner and into the street on their way home. Somehow the sudden storm had lessened in the time they were inside and was now down to a harmless drizzle that they mostly ignored. Cain wasn't nearly as good with words as he'd like to be sometimes, so he focused his affection on touch, holding Glitch close as they walked.
In the palace, everything was just as still as they had left it, the only sounds or movements they were aware of were their own as they strode through the halls with the same yearning of the previous night. Except this time they did reach Glitch's room and managed to lock the door behind them.
"I know tonight didn't go as planned," Cain said in a low voice, leaning closer, "But I hope it wasn't meaningless?"
Glitch smiled and shook his head lightly, "Oh just come here."
Locking his arms around Cain's neck, Glitch kissed him passionately and told him everything they hadn't said aloud through the kiss. Cain kissed him back just as deeply, hands slipping under the chestnut coat and pushing it off as he led them back toward the bedroom with clumsy steps. But still, they fell back onto the bed without breaking contact once.
When they eventually had to break apart for breath, Cain shifted to kiss Glitch's neck and fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. Under him, Glitch was squirming and making keen little noises until they came to a sudden stop and Cain felt him go rigid.
"Glitch?" he looked up in concern and saw his pale face twisted in pain and his eyes shut tight.
"Damn it." Cain swore under his breath, already moving to get out of the bed and use the phone in the other room to call for a doctor. With everything that had gone on during the day and his own senseless nerves about tonight, the possibility of another bout of headaches had nearly escaped Cain's mind. Whatever it was that had made Glitch stop him from getting Raw last night didn't seem to factor in now, because Glitch wasn't objecting this time and merely let him go before turning sideways on the bed. Before leaving the room, Cain cast another quick worried glance at him and put one of his hands on top of Glitch's at his temple, only now realizing how hot his skin was.
He was too quiet. His cheeks were flushed and his eyelids fluttered in a blind daze. But Cain's alarm only grew when Glitch arched up with a sharp gasp and started convulsing uncontrollably. Rushing forward and kneeling next to him, all Cain could do was restrain him as best he could without hurting him and yell for help as Glitch thrashed on the bed.
At a quarter to seven, Cain put the last of his reports down and called it a day.
He put everything on his desk away and locked the door to his small office as he headed out. The place they had given him to work with when he wasn't out in the field was right above his room, so he had time to run down for a quick, calming shower and a change of clothes. Though short-lived, the tepid water helped sooth his nerves as it trickled down his body and the thought of seeing Glitch made him more earnest than anxious.
He made it to the entrance hall just as the grandfather clock at the back of the room stroke seven. At this time of night mostly everyone who resided in the palace was elsewhere, tending to matters far more bureaucratic than hunting down longcoats and filling reports of the fact. The place, deserted as it was at the moment, was as spacious and finely furnished as every other room in the palace, and perfectly symmetrical with a couple of marble pillars flanking the double grand staircase in the far center. Two elegantly crafted fireplaces glowed at each end of the hall; above both roaring fireplaces was an imprint of one of the suns in marble, etched into the large frame. There were also portraits of old monarchs and nobles lining the walls, though none of the current Queen. It was all very lavish and once again Cain caught himself thinking that if this was only the Central City Palace he couldn't imagine what the Northern Island Palace would be like when it was restored.
Once again he was reminded of how out of place he felt here when he wasn't on the job, that he didn't really belong in this world of castles and formal balls; and that Glitch did. Even headcased, it was clear that this was Glitch's place-had been all his life-and Cain wondered what that might mean for the future; he couldn't exactly picture himself in palace life...
But no, he was getting ahead of himself, uncharacteristically losing track of his thoughts and letting them go on tangents that he hadn't dared think about for annuals. Simple, normal things like where he would live and who he would be with in the near future. For once in the last eight annuals he was allowing himself to think of these things and it scared him.
Running a hand through his hair, he stopped that train of thought before it got any farther. Tonight was for Glitch. And if he was lucky, he would sort these things out with his friend's help.
Glitch, however, was nowhere in sight yet, and Cain stood for a moment at the foot of the stairs awkwardly admiring the carpet. He was giving the zipperhead the benefit of the doubt instead of immediately assuming he had forgotten about their date. But when the hour grew closer to eight than to seven and Glitch still hadn't appeared, Cain started to fret. As he scampered back up the stairs to search for Glitch, who surely couldn't be working at this hour without Raw, every worry from a bad glitch to cold feet flashed through his mind. He had just gotten to the top of the stairs and turned the left corner when Glitch's lithe but solid figure crashed right into him.
"Oof!" Glitch's expressive face scrunched up and he rubbed his nose with one hand before he looked up at him and his eyes widened, "Oh, Cain!"
"Hey there, zipperhead." Cain said, letting his arms fall from where they had reflexively grabbed Glitch's shoulders, and rubbed his sore jaw, "Nice to see you too this fine evening."
"I didn't forget!" he said quickly, then amended, his voice growing fast and keen without missing a beat or taking a breath, "Well I did, I was doing something this afternoon... I don't remember what-But then I got back to my room and I found all the post-it notes-you know, the little sticky papers DG gave me-that I made this morning to remind myself I was suppose to meet you here at seven. So then I jumped in the bath but it was so relaxing that I forgot why I jumped in the first place. And then when I got out I saw the post-it's again, and by then it was really late. But I got dressed and here I am. Sorry." He finished with an apologetic smile and his arms outstretched to his sides, then took a huge breath and let it out.
Cain couldn't help but smile back as he looked down at him. He was dressed simply, in only black slacks and a white shirt-of which at least two of the top buttons were in the wrong hole-under a deep chestnut coat.
"It's okay, Glitch. Really." he said, stepping sideways, "Ready to go?"
"Yep!" Glitch gave him one of his brilliant smiles and they headed down the stairs and out the palace together.
The lights of the bustling buildings and the tall street lamps were their only illumination as they walked through the palace grounds into the city. The first moon was out but obscured by dark, billowing clouds. And before they had made it anywhere close to the restaurant Cain had had in mind, or even the city square, they could hear the low rumble of imminent thunder.
"Um," Glitch said, touching Cain's arm and looking up, "Do you think it's going to-?"
He was cut off by the sudden but not surprising clap of thunder and the downpour that followed. The night air went from dry and cool to drenched and ice cold when the rain fell on them all at once, as if some god had decided to throw a bucket of freezing water at them. Glitch yelped and laughed as they tried to cover themselves as best they could while running to the nearest shelter across the street. He took a wrong step and stumbled on the last stride, and would have fallen face first onto the cobblestones had it not been for Cain's quick, steadying arm.
"Careful, sweetheart."
"I'm fine." Glitch muttered, blushing as he opened the door in front of them.
To their luck, the establishment seemed to be a small diner-one of those quiet, local places where there were only ever a few regulars-and Cain was secretly pleased. A young woman tending tables was surprised when she saw them enter and recognized who they were. She quickly led them to a booth in a private corner by the window and offered them menus. Cain watched as Glitch vaguely eyed it before tossing it aside and looking up at the girl when his face seemed to light up with an idea.
"Oh, do you have muglug?"
"Yes, we do." Their waitressed nodded shortly as she took out a pen and pad,
"Then I'll have that!" Glitch said with an eager but wistful smile, then turned to Cain, "Cain?"
"I'll have the same," he said as he handed the menus back, "I've never tried muglug. Don't see why not do it now."
"Right away."
They were left alone with the sound of heavy rain as she left with their order, and Glitch jabbered about muglug until he was stopped by an abrupt sneeze.
They had been lucky enough to run into the right place but not enough to make it without getting drenched.
"The one night I go out without my hat." Cain said with mock annoyance that he wasn't really feeling. Their drinks, an ale that Glitch assured him was traditionally served with muglug to compliment the taste, arrived before the aforementioned soup just as the rainstorm outside seemed to get more intense.
"Hmm," Glitch hummed casually as he looked out the window, "You know, for some reason I don't think we'll be seeing fireworks tonight."
Cain felt the urge to promise that he would just have to take Glitch out another time, but they both laughed despite being soaking wet and their night not going exactly as planned.
"Is that-is that hail?" Glitch asked through a fit of giggles,
"It was sunny today, for the gods' sake!" Cain shook his head and took a drink from his glass to hide his smile at the ridiculousness of the situation. He had been planning to take Glitch out to some fancy crowded restaurant and somehow tell him he loved him, but instead they were in a plain diner talking about the weather; and one way or another it was all fine, just because he was with him.
"It's like even the O.Z.'s weather is topsy-turvy lately..." Glitch said, his voice taking a suddenly quiet bittersweet tone as he kept looking out the window.
When the two steaming bowls of muglug arrived, however, Glitch's face lit up like it was Christmas as he breathed in the spicy smell. He picked up his spoon, only to immediately put it down and grab the ceramic dish in both hands instead, taking a swig directly from the bowl.
"Mm..." Glitch sighed happily, "I haven't had muglug in...annuals."
"Isn't it too hot?" Cain asked, ignoring Glitch's commonplace lapse of memory as he took his own bowl in his hands to follow Glitch's example.
Glitch shook his head slightly, "It's perfect!"
The taste of it hit Cain as he tilted the bowl and drank. Whatever otherworldly ingredients that were in muglug seemed to have the perfect chemistry to mesh in his mouth like nothing he had ever tasted before. It was hot, but not unbearably so, and it pleasantly warmed his throat as it went down.
They tried talking about easy, casual things for a while as they ate their impromptu meal; until eventually the topic of their jobs came up.
"So how did your day go?" Glitch asked before taking a drink.
It was an innocent enough question but they both knew what they days entailed now that the witch was gone, and Cain told him about the runaway alchemists and longcoats and how they had recaptured them all. At first Glitch looked a little startled that it could have been so easy for them to escape without anyone noticing, but he quickly changed attitudes and smirked at Cain.
"I don't know why you don't let me go out there with you, Cain. Just because I'm a headcase doesn't mean I couldn't help you guys kick some longcoat ass."
"As much as I love your dancing skills, I doubt they'd be very useful against guns, sweetheart."
"Well, I still want to help... Just to know you're okay."
"That's actually the same reason I'd rather you stayed in the palace." Cain said softly, slipping his hand into Glitch's across the table.
"You know, this need of yours to do everything yourself and save the world alone while protecting others is all indicative of-"
"Why don't we leave your psychology lessons for at least the fourth or fifth date?"
"...I'll hold you to that." Glitch said as a small smile curved his lips.
"What about you?" Cain asked as he went to drink what was left of his muglug, "What did you do today?"
"Well, after I left your room this morning I went to the brain room and Kalm tried to help me connect to Ambrose but it wasn't really working and then..." He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again, then repeated the same loop before gazing away sheepishly, looking embarrassed that he had glitched and forgotten.
"It's okay... Glitch," Cain said hesitantly, "are you alright?"
Glitch's eyes drifted back to him, a small frown and an uncertain smile on his face, "What do you mean? I'm fine."
"You were having headaches last night?" Cain prompted,
"I've always-"
"Had headaches, I know. But I had never seen you like you were last night... I just wanted to make sure."
"I haven't had more though, I think." he tried to shrug it off, "And I feel fine, Cain, honestly."
Before either of them could say anything more, Glitch's hands shot up to cover another sneeze.
"But I might be getting a bit of a cold," he laughed, "We should probably get out of these wet clothes."
"That's a good idea."
Once they had both finished their dinner and paid the bill, they slipped out of the little cozy diner and into the street on their way home. Somehow the sudden storm had lessened in the time they were inside and was now down to a harmless drizzle that they mostly ignored. Cain wasn't nearly as good with words as he'd like to be sometimes, so he focused his affection on touch, holding Glitch close as they walked.
In the palace, everything was just as still as they had left it, the only sounds or movements they were aware of were their own as they strode through the halls with the same yearning of the previous night. Except this time they did reach Glitch's room and managed to lock the door behind them.
"I know tonight didn't go as planned," Cain said in a low voice, leaning closer, "But I hope it wasn't meaningless?"
Glitch smiled and shook his head lightly, "Oh just come here."
Locking his arms around Cain's neck, Glitch kissed him passionately and told him everything they hadn't said aloud through the kiss. Cain kissed him back just as deeply, hands slipping under the chestnut coat and pushing it off as he led them back toward the bedroom with clumsy steps. But still, they fell back onto the bed without breaking contact once.
When they eventually had to break apart for breath, Cain shifted to kiss Glitch's neck and fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. Under him, Glitch was squirming and making keen little noises until they came to a sudden stop and Cain felt him go rigid.
"Glitch?" he looked up in concern and saw his pale face twisted in pain and his eyes shut tight.
"Damn it." Cain swore under his breath, already moving to get out of the bed and use the phone in the other room to call for a doctor. With everything that had gone on during the day and his own senseless nerves about tonight, the possibility of another bout of headaches had nearly escaped Cain's mind. Whatever it was that had made Glitch stop him from getting Raw last night didn't seem to factor in now, because Glitch wasn't objecting this time and merely let him go before turning sideways on the bed. Before leaving the room, Cain cast another quick worried glance at him and put one of his hands on top of Glitch's at his temple, only now realizing how hot his skin was.
He was too quiet. His cheeks were flushed and his eyelids fluttered in a blind daze. But Cain's alarm only grew when Glitch arched up with a sharp gasp and started convulsing uncontrollably. Rushing forward and kneeling next to him, all Cain could do was restrain him as best he could without hurting him and yell for help as Glitch thrashed on the bed.