Yo…first Tin Man fic, but I've done plenty of fanart. The name is Goldbryn at DeviantArt, Dark Bryn at Y!Gallery, and Goldbryn on LJ and the GlitchWyatt LJ Community. That Community is AWESOME!!!

Hope you all enjoy it!

Disclaimers: I don't own Tin Man and quotes from "Finding Nemo" are not mine but those at Disney/pixar.

"Don't Want To Forget"

He was leaving!? Leaving? He couldn't be leaving!

Glitch tore through the palace halls, dodging random bystanders and the few servants that were working tirelessly to get the unused palace back in working order. He cut through the main hall, ignoring the stitch in his side. He had to get there before he left. He just had to!

It had been only a week after the downfall of the witch, and everything was starting to piece itself back together.

He had thought everything was going to be okay, that everything was going to end happily ever after. But that wasn't true.

The doors burst open as he barreled through them, stumbling down the steps and into the front gardens. His lungs burned, his sides hurt, and knew his legs would protest in the morning, but he was so close.

So close.

His shoes slipped and he skidded across gravel, tumbling over himself in his haste. He righted himself and shot off towards the stables.

If he was leaving, it'd be on horseback.

Please, Cain, don't be leaving…

The stables were nearing closer and his heart plummeted to the pit of his stomach when he recognized the tall figure standing next to a large and very burdened mare.

Glitch let out a dry sob as he continued forward, praying that his eyes were lying, and that Cain was just passing by the horse and not actually leaving like he'd been told.

Cain just couldn't leave. He couldn't!

Cain had been his life line, his light in the darkness. The tin man was cold and distant, but he had never felt more complete in his own skin than when he was next to him. Even with half a brain, his glitching was more bearable when he had Cain by his side to bring him back to himself.

This couldn't be true.

By the time Glitch had reached Cain, the tin man was putting the finishing touches on the large packs and saddlebags draped over his horse. He looked up slightly surprised as Glitch slid into view, nearly falling over his own feet as he did so.

"Hey, calm down there Sweetheart, what's your rush?"

"Tell me it's not true!" He shouted without any real thought or pretense.

Cain stared blankly at him, the amused glint in his eye vanishing as he continued to take in Glitch's heaving, gasping form.

"Cain, answer me!" He said, his voice close to hysterical now. All signs were pointing to something he didn't want to believe, but he wouldn't until they came from those lips.

"What am I supposed to say?" Cain frowned slightly, borderline confused. Glitch squeezed his eyes shut.

"That you're not leaving." He wouldn't look up—didn't want to face the truth.

"Well that would be a lie." Glitch's stomach churned and he suddenly felt sick.

He mumbled something incoherently, his lips pressed so tight together they barely moved.

"What?" Cain asked stepping closer and tilting his head.

"Please," came the choked whisper, and Glitch realized that at some point since he got there he had started crying. "Please don't go."

Cain stared in shock and confusion at the bowed head of his friend. He opened his mouth a few times to say something, but words died on his lips.

"I have to Glitch." He finally said, taking another step forward.

"No." The single word was more of a plea than a demand. "You can't go…"

"Glitch, I don't really…"

"No!!" he yelled, his cheeks flushed and tears streaking their way down his pale face. "I need you here, please." He was begging now and he didn't care. He had to say everything in his heart—had to make Cain understand.

"Glitch," Cain stepped forward, close enough to reach out and touch the headcase, but he didn't.

"Please don't go away. Please? You're the only one who can put up with me…in annuals, you're one of the only people who have stuck with me." His voice hitched and he scrubbed at his face, his eyes still plastered on the ground, refusing to look up. "I—I remember things better when you're around. I remember names and dates and things we all did. I remember..." He clenched his teeth, fighting his way through the wracking sobs that now forced their way into his body. "I remember who I am." He was surprised when he felt arms wrap about his slender form, fingers pressing into the back of his neck and between his shoulder blades. He wanted to stop, to pull away, but the tears kept coming and he buried his face in the crook of Cain's neck as he continued on. He knew once he had started that he would have to finish. "Please don't leave, Cain. I remember so much when you're with me—I don't want to loose that. Everything I need to know is here, always here because when I look at you, I can feel it." The arms got tighter, his own hands clenching fistfuls of Cain's vest and shirt, holding on as though his life depended on it. "And I, I look at you and...and I'm home. Please." He choked out. "I don't want you to go away. I don't wanna forget."

The silence that followed that was deafening, and Glitch found that while he felt better for having told Cain everything that he felt for the tin man, the icy pit in his stomach churned even more.

The arms that had wrapped around him suddenly pulled away and he found himself wanting to grab at them, to pull them back. But they never left completely.

Cain held him only far enough away so he could duck his head and see Glitch's red and tear streaked face.

Glitch looked up and, with a jolt of surprise, realized that Cain's eyes were red; his own cheeks slightly pink and damp.

"How could I ever leave you Sweetheart?"

Glitch's mouth dropped open, desperate hope shining in his eyes. "But I was told…"

"I am leaving." He stated firmly then smiled lightly. "But it's not my choice." Glitch frowned now. "It's in service to the Queen, and I'll only be gone a short time. I am a Tin Man after all." Cain's hands lifted to run fingers across Glitch's cheeks, slipping past his ears to tangle in the soft and unruly curls that Glitch seemed to prefer over his shorter, neater hairstyle. "I'm not going to be gone for long." he whispered, pulling Glitch closer and brushing his lips over his forehead, right under the base of the zipper. Glitch sighed then sniffled— His whole escapade seemed absurd at the moment. "So don't you dare forget me when I'm gone, ya got that?"

Glitch let out a breathy laugh and found himself drowning in the laughing blue eyes that would be in his minds eye for months to come. "So long as you come back, I'll never forget you."

Cain smiled—an actual smile. It lit up his face and he pulled Glitch forward, bridging the gap between them and kissing him thoroughly.

Glitch sighed against his lips, his arms wrapping around the tin man, his tin man, as he tried to press their bodies even closer together.

Yeah…There was no way he could ever forget this.