“Glitch.”

“Yep?” Glitch says, whirling about to face Cain, keeping up his pace but now walking backwards. Cain had his serious face on. Glitch was confused, and tried to think back, to recall what could have happened to merit it. But it didn’t make sense, everything had gone so well, exactly to plan—!

“You know you’re the brains, right?”

Glitch beams. “Cain, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me!” he says, “Why—”

“Yea well, you can’t be both.”

Glitch blinked. “Both what?” he asks.

“The brains and the brawn,” Cain says, the same serious, deadpan look on his face. But something’s off. The eyes aren’t right. And then Glitch remembers.

When Cain’s face is serious, but the eyes are crinkled just a little bit and his mouth wants to pull to the side, Cain’s joking. Of course! How could he have forgotten!

Glitch tries to play along with a serious face of his own, something haughty and sardonic, but he’s walking backwards and his smile ruins it. “My dear Cain, I’m terribly sorry if I just happened to take them all out before you had the chance to catch up.”

“Someone had to save the girl.”

“Oh, of course, that’s what they always say!” Glitch says, rolling his eyes. But walking backwards catches up to him, and his heel catches a stone in turn, and he tumbles to the ground with an “oomph!”.

“What are you guys doing back there,” DG asks—she’s further up the road, hands on her hips. She’s quick to get over having been captured, though she’s still in a bad enough of a mood over the fact she even had to be rescued in the first place.

“Nothing to worry about, princess,” Cain says, and now there’s a smirk—a full fledge, honest smirk!—as he offers his hand and helps Glitch back to his feet.

“Well, it really is a fair trade, after all;” Glitch continues, dusting himself and making certain everything is still in its place, “Getting to be the brawn as well as the brains in exchange for getting to save the girl. Again. We could always switch you know; you brain and brawn for a bit and I’ll grab the girl next time around—”

And when Cain gives a low laugh, Glitch feels like he’s won something, but he can’t imagine what.