curiously_cora | A Date With Mister Cain.

Current Location: Compound

Entry tags:

cain,
coraline

A Date With Mister Cain.

Coraline hadn't really expected to win Cain. She'd bid on him because he was her very important island person. The news that she had won him, though unexpected, had made her extremely happy. Not as happy as she was to win Bill but still very happy. She was going to make him play dress up, maybe have a tea party and line dance with her. Cain was probably going to hate her but she didn't mind because she was going to have lots of fun.

Pulling on the apron over the blue dress, Coraline tied the string in a nice neat bow. Coraline pulled her wellington boots off and put on the neat black shoes from home that her mother had bought her for school. Finishing her hair with a black ribbon, Coraline picked up her catbag and headed off towards the Compound where she had asked him to meet her.

Today was going to be Brilliant.

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He'd talked with Glitch before he left and informed his...Whatever, that no matter what happened, he was not allowed to laugh when Cain got home. So with that in place, he made his way to the Compound to meet with Coraline, eyeing her warily as he approached.

"Alright, kid, nothing too fanciful, right?" he began with a warning.

Coraline was wearing shoes, actual shoes and not just her wellies like normal. Coraline gave Cain an innocent smile and held out her hand for him.

"Define fanciful," Coraline said slowly. "Don't worry, it won't hurt much."

Coraline looked him over and grinned happily. "Costume first, I think. Do you like mine?"

"My what?" Cain echoed, giving her a wary look, but it fell away with a sigh as he took hold of her hand and let her lead him wherever she wanted. "It's a very nice costume, kid. I'm sure Az and Wendy would be jealous of it."

"Costume." Coraline replied eagerly, a happy smile on her face. Leading him into the Compound she took him down to the Clothes Box, she'd hidden some of the clothes a few days prior but she wanted to see if it would give her anything nicer. With sparkles on. "They probably wouldn't, not Az anyway. She's a proper princess."

Coraline pulled the bundle out from her hiding place and held the pink, flowery cowboy hat out for him. She also had a pink waistcoat somewhere. "Here you go." Coraline said, holding it out for him with a giddy smile.

Cain just looked at her dubiously, but then just took a good deep breath, sighed, and nodded as he switched his normal hat for the pink one, putting his on Coraline's head. "You're just lucky I like you as much as I do."

His hat was probably messing up her hair but that didn't bother Coraline too much. Well, a little bit but it was his hat and she'd treasure it as long as it was on her head.

"I was going to make you wear a really pretty dress or breeches but Adam said not to be too mean. I think he was secretly glad that I won you and Bill." Coraline said, her face lit up with glee. "Bill and me are going to go on a date."

Coraline found the waistcoat a few moments later and held that out too. "I'm very lucky that you like me Cain, it makes me very happy."

Cain sighed as he took hold of the waistcoat and studied it for a long moment. "Am I supposed to wear this?" he asked, not sure if he was even going to fit. And he was more than glad that Coraline at least acknowledged that they were not on some kind of 'date', not when the only feelings he had toward her were paternal.

"If it doesn't fit you, I can always find something else." Coraline said, her smile almost manic at the prospect of dressing him up. If she had make up, she'd be painting his fingernails and covering him in blusher. She sadly didn't. "It'll look nice, it'll bring out the colour in your...eyes."

Coraline may have sniggered just a little bit at that point.

Cain just handed the waistcoat right back to her. "I'm ceding to your feminine knowledge of how it goes," he said, never minding that he helped Adora with her dresses for annual upon annual. "You go ahead and put it on me."

"Okay!" Coraline said happily, taking the waistcoat and slipping it over his arm. He was like a giant barbie doll, not that she played with barbie dolls. Not at all. "You're going to have to come down to my level Cain, I'm not that tall yet."

Coraline was so extraordinarily happy. "And after this, we're going to play horsey." Coraline said, smiling brightly. "And eventually I'll give you back to Glitch."

Cain couldn't help the small and tense smile on his lips at her joy at all this, so he slowly sank down into a crouch, so he wouldn't get any of the waistcoat dirty. "Horsey and then returned to Glitch," he agreed. "Wherein he's going to laugh. A lot."

"No, he won't. And I'll distract him if you want, with hugs and kisses and questions." Coraline said pulling the waistcoat over his arms, it was a very pretty shade of pink and not too hideously bright on the eyes. If Coraline was the type of girl to wear waistcoats, she wasn't, then she would have loved a smaller version of it. Coraline pulled his other arm through the waistcoat and set about hooking it into place (she'd chosen a waistcoat without buttons.) "Glitch is very nice, I like him a lot. He let's me ask questions and he gives the best hugs, you can tell her really means them."

Cain couldn't help his smile at that as he let her go at him, feeling the clothing a little tight considering he still had everything on beneath. "You met him then?" he said, glad for that. "And he is a good man. And I'm glad you like him, because he's going to be in my life for a good while from now on."

Speaking of which, he still owed Az that conversation.

"Yes, twice now. I asked him for hugs and he gave me them without any questions and he stroked my hair." Coraline made a small face at the thought of anyone touching her hair. Coraline patted the waistcoat down and smiled. He looked very pretty. "Are you getting married? I want to be a deputy bridesmaid, I can wear cowboy boots and a really bright star badge."

Coraline made a motion with her hands for him to turn around so she could climb onto his back.

Cain sighed at the dress, seeing as he was only doing this because he didn't want to upset Coraline's plans by not doing it and he'd feel like an absolute jerk. "Maybe someday," he conceded. "I've proposed, but we're waiting on a couple of things, so it won't be for a good long time."

He turned and crouched over, bracing himself so he could carry her weight with his good shoulder.

"That's alright, I can wait and when I marry Bill you can give me away." Coraline said, a smile on her face as she climbed onto his back. She was careful not to put any pressure onto his bad side and wrapped her legs around his middle securely. Coraline adjusted his hat on her head and held on tightly. "Okay horsey, giddyup."

"Kid, I'm gonna marry Glitch," Cain promised, standing at full height and being very careful as he held onto her. "But I'd be honored if I got to give you away." He started to giddyup, just like she'd said, heading in a direction that was somewhat remote so not many people would have to see him.

"I'd ask Adam but he'd wear those awful trainers or say something embarrasing and well...he can make a speech instead or something. Plus you'd probably get the fatherly glaring down properly," Coraline said, nudging his waist. "I know what you're doing, I want to go to the Rec Room first and then outside and I'll let you graze. Do you think they have any brushes I can use to brush you down?"

"I don't have much hair to brush down," Cain sighed in a show of protesting for the sake of protesting, but he started off for the Rec Room, even going so far as to give a neighing sound as he shook out his lips, glancing up to make sure she was enjoying herself.

"You've got enough, a good coats worth and I'll brush you down and you'll be all smooth and shiny." Coraline said, grinning with an untold amount of glee. If he'd had just slightly longer hair she would have braided it and tied ribbons in it. "You're much better than a real horse, although if it was a talking Horse then you'd be in trouble."

Cain just shook his head the slightest bit as he went, keeping his smile good and small as he lifted her into the rec room and resettled her on his back. "Okay, now that we're here, what do we do?"

"We get to parade around the room, maybe jump a little bit and then I get to put a pack on you." Coraline said, looking at the books on the shelves. Adam always made sure she didn't bring too many books back to their hut but her bedroom was almost finished now which meant that she'd have her own space and her own room. She was going to fill it with toys and books and fun things. "So I think trotting would work."

Cain 'trotted' and sighed as he did, thinking that he was going to have words with George and Shari for seconding him for this and then with Glitch for not winning him. "Alright, get your books," he grumbled, easing close to the shelf.

Coraline laughed happily as Cain trotted around. A pleased smile on her face as she waved his cowboy hat in the air before placing it back on her head. Coraline chose some books in welsh and ones with gory bodies on the front cover and a particularly heavy one about bones and anatomy. Coraline put them into her much abused catbag and handed it to Cain before clambouring back onto his back.

"You're the best," Coraline said happily.

Cain took hold of the book and kept his free arm a bit tighter to her leg, giving her knee a light squeeze. "What can I say, I'm a sucker for kids," he admitted, a bit truthful about that for the first time in a long time.

"You really are but for kids and soldiers. I've met Joe, he let me paint his leg." Coraline said, smiling at the thought of the older gruffer man. She still hadn't met Gene or George but that didn't mean she didn't know who they were. Coraline was getting very good at spying.

Cain chuckled warmly at that, giving Coraline a squeeze on the leg. "I carved that leg for him, you know," he pointed out, imagining the job she did. "Will I see smiling faces if I go take a look at it?"

Coraline nudged his side in retaliation for the leg squeeze. "It's a very nice leg," Coraline said, grinning as she leant her head on his good shoulder. "No, I painted his flag on it but it might've come off by now. I only used paint I made, not proper paint but it was very pretty. Maybe I'll paint smiley faces next time. Big yellow ones."

"We'll see if Glitch can't invent you something with a more permanent base, huh?" he offered, taking her along with him as he headed for the door. "Right, we got your books. Now where to, little miss?"

"That'd be really neat, I mean I miss mum and dad all the time but it's the really stupid things I miss the most." Coraline said, waving her arm ahead of her directing him towards the Compound exit. "Like chips from the chip shop wrapped in newspaper or paints and chalks and glitter. I keep raiding the clothesbox for sequins but it's not the same."

Coraline paused and sighed. "I really miss Miss Spink and Miss Forcible and Mister Bobo. Miss Spink and Miss Forcible would keep me company whilst my parents were busy and they were always busy."

Cain trotted his way over to the exit and bowed his head to make sure Coraline wasn't getting hit. He listened patiently, seeing as he never did have much to say anyhow, and as he went outside, he gave her a tiny bounce to cheer her. "Yeah, but you've got lots of friends here, right? A girl like you, I can't see you being lonely."

Coraline had been very lonely at home but her adventures in her head, when she would escape to deep amazonian forests or the deserts in the Middle East, mostly made up for any lack of friends her own age that she had. The other kids didn't understand her at home and all the friends she did have were all a lot older than her. And they all called her Caroline.

"I've got friends here," Coraline said smiling at the little bounce.

"I'm glad you have friends here," Cain said, genuinely. "You met Wendy yet? Or Az? They're a little older than you, but I think you'd all get along well enough." And it'd keep them where Cain could see them and not have to worry too much.

"Where'm I going, Coraline?"

"Around the playground and then um-home." Corlaine said, patting his pink hat covered head. "I've met Azkadellia, we sat under a tree and talked. She was very nice, she told me you rescued her from a bad place. I want to look like her when I grow up, her hair is really pretty."

Cain was still impressed that Az did her hair as much as she did. "That's nothing compared to how it looked when she was older, kid," Cain assured, recalling the way Azkadellia had looked all too well.

He headed for the playground, getting a bit tired in the shoulder, but he hitched her up carefully again and kept going.

"Was she really beautiful when she was older?" Coraline asked, a slight hint of wistfulness in her tone. "You can put me down if you're getting tired. Dad says I'm really too big for piggybacks now but he still gives me them sometimes."

"It's just the shot," he admitted, easing her down for a moment as he re-adjusted the dressings and picked her back up again, carrying her like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder and smiling quietly all the while. "There we go. Better."

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A Date With Mister Cain.

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