I finally got it done! Been struggling with writer's block, and managed to pull this off after a few Livejournal drabbles.

I still own nothing. Unless you're selling these guys, in which case I am definitely buying!

The problem arose: How were they going to transport a caravan of robots from Ambrose's mansion to Cain's cabin? Fortunately, the advisor happily volunteered to formulate a solution. They all gathered back in the laboratory, either on two legs or two wheels, to cluster around the chalkboards which Ambrose unveiled with a flourish of dusty curtains. He took up a piece of chalk and began to scribble, fragments of some bizarre scientific code appearing across the surface, clearly inspired.

Cain and Yinn looked at each other, trying to gauge if the other had any clue as to what Ambrose's advanced logic meant. Not that their lack of understanding phased the inventor in the least. The advisor was mumbling to himself as he filled up the board, the pair able to hear clips of words whenever Ambrose's volume increased. "..Robots.. ..No, no.. ...Wildfire!... ..Oven..?"

After five minutes of the man carrying on, Cain finally spoke up. "Ambrose? You come up with something yet?"

"Indeed!" The man swept over the board one last time with his chalk, beaming proudly to himself. Ambrose's expression was positively smug when he turned back to the pair, a dusty finger pointing to the schematic on the board. "I just figured out how to make that self-cooking oven that I was developing operate! It's been bothering me for months. Ha!" Placing the chalk down, Ambrose brushed his hands together, accomplished.

Yinn reached both hands up, massaging at his temples. Cain recognized that gesture from his own history with the former headcase. It was good to see that the Glitch Experience effected everyone universally. The tin man was impressed by how patient the young man remained, as he said pleasantly. "Congratulations, Ambrose. But how does that solve the issue of getting the robots to Mister Cain's cabin?"

"Oh, that?" Ambrose quirked an eyebrow, before waving a hand airily towards the depths of the lab. "I just figured that we could put them in Grandfather's car and drive along the trail. That should put us within half a day's walk to Cain's cabin -- they should be able to manage the terrain beyond that point just fine."

"Car?" Cain eyed the advisor dubiously, before turning in the direction that the man pointed. He saw a large mound covered in one of those cloths, and he headed over with Yinn trailing along behind. Ambrose paid them little attention, as he took out a small pad of paper from the inside of his jacket pocket, in order to copy down what he'd written on the board.

The tin man gripped one side of the cloth, nodding Yinn towards the opposite end. "You grab that side, kid. Let's get a look at this thing."

Working together, they managed to uncover the automobile, an intimidatingly big silver vehicle. It reminded Cain of the long cars used by the palace, just as fancy as that variety, even complete with the tiny silver appointments. The tin man let out a low whistle, impressed. "This is yours, Ambrose?"

"You bet." The advisor had finally come over to join them, looking at the car with a satisfied nod. He grinned over to the blond, arms crossing. "Didn't I mention the fact that I am considered filthy rich? Perhaps the size of the house wasn't hint enough?" Ambrose's arms unfolded as he reached down, brushing off a few specks of dust from the windshield.

"Well, I mean.. I figured that you weren't hurting in the pocketbook," Cain confessed, eyes roaming up and down the length of the car, "but I didn't know that you were THIS well off. Makes my old salary as a tin man seem pretty paltry in comparison."

Ambrose patted him comfortingly on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I've rather grown accustomed to living more simplistically. I would take your cabin over all this empty space any day." He turned, waving the group forward. "Yinn and Robots, into the car. Cain, go get my luggage."

Cain scowled. "What? Why do I have to go get your luggage?"

"I have all these robots to fit inside this car. You think it's going to be easy? Besides, everyone knows that you like doing the 'manly' stuff." Ambrose was flagging him away with both arms.

The tin man considered putting up an argument. Let the advisor get his own luggage! Cain determinedly lingered in his spot for another minute, watching Ambrose get the doors of the car opened. Then the advisor paused and quirked an eyebrow at the blond. Cain twitched, sighed defeatedly, and went to go get the luggage, wondering exactly when he had let himself start getting cowed by the other man.

Yinn volunteered to stay with the car once they had reached the point where they could drive no further. The young man got himself comfortable in the plush seats of the back while Cain and Ambrose got the robotic cargo unloaded. Anasia walked gracefully along behind them, fortunate enough to have legs instead of wheels. Cain was rather amused to find that Ambrose was handling the terrain with less ease, tripping over stumps at random intervals. They had to stop to unwedge the robots now and then, but mainly found that the trip wasn't so difficult.

Cain's cabin was just as they had left it, in the process of being repaired. Ambrose's hand shovel was still sticking out of a mound in the garden. The inventor approached the cabin with less hesitation than before, looking around them to evaluate the tasks that still needed to be completed. "Okay, robots. Stand at attention!"

The service robots, minus the one Cain had shot, rolled together to stand in a perfect line. They even saluted with one arm each. Ambrose walked back and forth in front of them, hands clasped behind his back, officious in manner. "Robots: Initialize Custom Program Function. New Specified Location -- Cain's cabin. Task -- clean, repair and maintain Cain's cabin. Understood?"

"Affirmitive!" Chorused back to him, before the service robots began wheeling around the area to begin carrying out their orders.

Ambrose smiled to himself. "Why do the labor when the labor can be done for you? This is far more ideal." He walked over to where Cain stood, the tin man nervously watching the mechanical creatures moving around his cabin. Anasia lingered nearby, and Ambrose addressed her directly. "Anasia, I am leaving you in charge of things here. Please make certain that the service robots stay on task. I would like the work to be completed within at least two moon cycles."

"Affirmative." The robotic woman responded, curtseying to the advisor. "Any other orders that I should be expected to carry out, Master Ambrose?"

"Just one." Ambrose murmured, glancing towards Cain before pointing to the iron suit sagging in the front lawn. "I want that thing put somewhere that Cain and I will never have to see it again. Think you can handle it?"

Anasia turned towards the suit. "Affirmative."

Cain's face grew tense as his old prison was brought up, eyes following along after the robotic woman as Anasia approached the opened suit. He saw her bend forward in order to examine it, before her delicate hands took hold of the metal in two places. It had taken three men to carry that suit. In one motion, that petite woman had yanked it up out of the ground. Cain blinked in surprise as he watched Anasia lift it up over her head. Even Ambrose looked impressed. "I didn't know she was that strong.. I figured a few of the robots would help her."

He snatched hold of Cain's sleeve, dragging the tin man out of the way as Anasia went walking past them with the iron suit suspended over her head. The blond blinked slowly. "Is she doing what I think she's doing?"

"I think so.."

Both of the men blinked as the robotic woman walked out onto the small fishing pier on the edge of the lake beside Cain's home. Anasia threw it out towards the water as if it weighed no more than a small rock, a giant splash of water rippling through the lake. It bobbed a few times, before the water consumed it, sinking the heavy iron down out of sight. Ambrose cleared his throat, clapping lightly. "Uh, well done, Anasia. Well done."

"You didn't have to have her do that." Cain murmured, drawing the advisor's attention away from where Anasia was walking back from the lake in the direction of the cabin.

Ambrose glanced up to him, a faint smile appearing. "Yes, Cain, I did. Though I had hoped for a more climactic ending to that cursed thing. Melting it down into nothing with a blowtorch would have given me more satisfaction, to be perfectly honest. That thing is like a trophy of all your suffering. If I were strong enough to bend iron, I'd have broken it to pieces with my own two hands to get that sad look off your face."

Those words had Cain staring down at his lover, not knowing what to say in answer. Finally, his expression softened, as he reached up to touch a pale cheek with the backs of his fingers. "You know... this is definitely one of those times when I want to shut that mouth up with a kiss."

Ambrose laughed softly, his smile turning impish. "Mister Cain -- are you propositioning me in front of my robots?" The advisor leaned in so that he could lace his arms up around Cain's neck, mouth reaching up for that promised kiss as he murmured quietly, "Give me a reason to stay quiet, then, tin man."

The close of the evening found them back at the palace in Central City. Ambrose had gone straight to the Queen in order to formally introduce Yinn to the court, explaining that he was going to appoint the young man to a position as soon as he thought up one. Everyone that he'd introduced Yinn to had taken kindly to him, which Ambrose had expected. He gave Yinn directions to his lab, and saw to it that the young man was given satisfactory quarters.

Everyone was concerned with Ambrose's early return. They anticipated that it would return to the frightening atmosphere that it had been before he'd left, with Ambrose ready to begin his wedding plans again. Cain feared that maybe they had not been gone long enough. Yet the advisor surprised them all. Once he had settled the matter with Yinn, Ambrose had declared that he was off duty for the remainder of the week. He had not even mentioned anything about the wedding, which gave them all a collective feeling of relief.

He spent the rest of the week exploring the city with Cain, the pair of them content to take their vacation close to home. They'd had enough of travel for the rest of the annual. When they ran out of places to visit in the city, then they spent their time in Ambrose's lab, where Cain kept a watchful eye on the inventor while Ambrose tinkered with devices that sputtered fire. It made the tin man nervous.

Something had been bugging Cain since their reunion. His mind kept turning back to when they had argued/apologized in front of Ambrose's old home. Cain wracked his brain trying to pinpoint what it was which was haunting him about it. Finally, on the last day of their vacation from work, the tin man figured it out. He slid off of his stool beside Ambrose's table, grunting. "Hey. You going to be all right for a bit if I step out for a walk?"

"Well, of course." Ambrose blinked at him from behind a device that enlarged his eyes to the size of apples. "I'm just doing detail work right now. Is something the matter, Cain?"

"No, nothing." He shrugged, grabbing his hat up to place it on his head. "I'll see you in a while. Get your work done, sweetheart."

"Okay.." The inventor blinked after Cain as the tin man stepped out. Then he dismissed it with a shrug and turned back to his task.

Ambrose had searched through every corner of the palace to try and track down Cain when the tin man had not returned to his laboratory. Hours had passed with no trace of the blond. It was causing the advisor some considerable worry. Where had Wyatt Cain vanished to?

He had inquired with the kitchen staff as to whether or not Cain had been at the dinner which Ambrose himself had missed. They would only tell him that they had seen the blond, but that Cain had also not been present for dinner. Ambrose was left scratching his head in confusion, which was rare for him. Why had Cain visited the kitchens but not gone to dinner?

There was one last place that he hadn't looked, which was the most likely spot. He made his way to the suite that he shared with Cain. By now, Ambrose was starting to work himself into a fit, hands twisting in front of him as he searched the darkened corridors along the way towards their door. Cain should have known better than to make him worry like this. What had Cain been thinking?

Ambrose could see light underneath the door. So this was where the law man had been hiding all this time? The advisor was already thinking up the perfect tirade to unleash upon his lover before he even burst through the door, tone of voice dire, "Wyatt Cain, you--" As he saw the inside of their suite, Ambrose's perfectly constructed lecture vanished as the advisor's mouth fell open.

There were flowers throughout the suite, standing in vases or simply sitting on the furniture in a colorful spread. The fire was lit, along with a few candles along the mantle, adding to the soft texture of light. It was an unexpectedly romantic scene to enter into. Ambrose, however, was able to dismiss these little touches, as his attention settled on the image that stood out most inside the room.

Cain was sitting in one of the chairs facing the door, his hat absent, blond hair lovely in the light of the candles. His blue eyes were locked on the advisor, something playing through them which Ambrose did not dare to place. He did not even look away from the tin man as he closed the door behind him, eyebrows raising, waiting for the blond to explain.

Awkwardly, Cain began a hesitant speech. "Ambrose. I.. well." He blinked at the advisor.

"Was that it?" Ambrose asked quietly, allowing himself some dry humor in the face of Cain's eloquence. He relented, gesturing around the room. "Who helped you with all of this?"

"DG. It was her idea. Azkadellia and her helped set everything up. I don't know the first thing about this romantic sort of stuff." Cain explained with a shrug.

"I was going to say.. This is a bit beyond your grasp." Ambrose pointed out, as he stepped over in front of the law man's chair, picking up a small gathering of roses which had been placed on their coffee table. "Girls are usually better at setting this kind of scene. I suspect it's the influence of romance novels. Though that doesn't solve the mystery of why you allowed the princesses to decorate our suite as if it were some chambermaid's dream come true."

"Look, it.." Cain stopped. Then he tried again. "Ambrose, I wanted to.." That line of words also halted to a stop.

Ambrose smirked over to the blond, inhaling the scent of the roses. "Glitching, Cain? Need me to smack you out of it?"

The blond firmly shook his head, as that teasing gave him the courage to just get it out. Cain drew in a deep breath to steady his nerves, before charging forward in his awkward fashion. "I am not a romantic guy. Never have been. This kind of stuff seems like a bunch of silliness to me. But this is the kind of atmosphere that these things are supposed to be done in. I..." He trailed off, then reached over to snatch one of Ambrose's hands, tugging the advisor down. "Could you sit down or something? You're intimidating the hell out of me."

With a shrug, the advisor sat himself on the edge of the coffee table without removing his hand from Cain's. Ambrose studied him, confused on just about everything which had happened since he had stepped into his suite and into this surreal sub-reality with a blushing Cain and his flowers. "Okay. I'm sitting. You were saying?"

Cain found that it was easier to focus on the hand in his grip, rather than Ambrose's amused face. Ironically, the blond found his attention drawn to the band of silver on his ring finger. He spoke gruffly. "My marriage was the most important thing in my life. It still is important to me, and it always will be. When I married Adora, I promised that it was going to be forever. I am not the kind of man to break my promises. I will never marry again."

His eyes finally crept their way up to Ambrose's face, blue locking with brown. "I will never get married again, but.. I just wanted to say that I would be honored if you would spend the rest of your days with me, Ambrose Andersen."

"Cain..." The advisor whispered, shock coloring his face. Ambrose intently examined the blond, letting the man's words run through his mind. He slowly smiled, sweet and warm, towards his lover.

Then Ambrose promptly smacked Cain over the head with his cluster of flowers, snapping. "That's for making me nearly worry myself to an early grave!"

"Ouch! Damnit! What did you go and hit me for, you crazy headcase?!" Cain rubbed ruefully at his head, yanking the flowers out of Ambrose's hands before the man could become more creative with how he used them for abuse.

"Crazy?! Are you trying to imply that it's insanity for me to worry about you?!"

"Why bother worrying if you're just going to waltz in here and hit me?!"

"Oh, you want me to hit you, do you?! Fine!"

The sounds of crashing was audible through the door where DG and Azkadellia stood listening. They backed off with a wince, as DG drawled sheepishly to her sister. "Well. We were probably hoping for too much by expecting sweet words and sappy endearments. But I guess this is more perfectly suited to them. It looks like they're going to live dysfunctionally ever after."

-Fin-