A/N: This is my first fanfic so here we go. I loved Winter, but I felt that there were not enough chapters written in Thorne's POV. I mean there was literally one chapter. So I felt that there needed to be more development in Cress and Thorne's relationship on his side. This is the moment when Thorne sees Cress for the first time since he became blind. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Lunar Chronicles and any dialogue comes directly from Winter by Marissa Meyer

Winter: Chapter 9

In Thorne's POV:

The first things Thorne noticed when he woke up were the sharp lines of the ceiling and walls in the captain's quarters of his Rampion. Shaking off his sleepiness, he sat up with a jolt and stared into the mirror opposite of his bed. After months of black nothingness, he was almost blinded by the colors he saw in the reflection. His brown hair was disheveled, and, unlike his usual self, he wasn't clean shaven. Thorne threw off the covers and grabbed his razor and headed towards the bathroom.

He watched as strips of shaving cream flecked with tiny hairs hit the bottom of the sink. Thorne could practically see the waves of excitement rolling off his shoulders as he thought about all the things he was now able to do. He would be able to do his part in their plans; he would be able to fly…

He would see Cress for basically the first time.

Thorne's heart skipped a beat, and he nearly cut himself. Cursing, he reminded himself that he was just her friend. Nothing more, nothing less. She deserved so much better than a petty thief like himself. Stopping the small ache in his heart, Thorne finished getting ready.

"Evaporated milk…kidney beans…tuna…more tuna…oh!" Cress's sweet, gentle voice carried down the hall, "Pickled asparagus!" Thorne's feet stopped and he felt a pang of anxiety. He took a deep breath, remembering that he couldn't show any of his deeper feelings. He headed towards his friends and leaned against the wall of the cargo bay.

"He'd better plan on giving all this stuff back," Thorne saw Kai holding up one of his stolen Venezuelan dream dolls.

"Sure I'll give it back Your Majesticness. For a proper finder's fee," he said drawing the room's focus to himself. He quickly scanned the room and saw that everyone looked about the same. Then Thorne saw her.

Stars she was beautiful.

A blush was already starting to form on Cress's cheeks. He had only known her for a few minutes before he lost his vision in the satellite crash. Back then her hair was tangled, dirty, and hung past her knees. He had cut it once they landed on Earth, but he had been blind. Thorne knew that Iko had fixed it into some kind of a hairstyle. It was now short and the golden waves of hair fell just below her chin. She was smaller than he remembered. Her big, startling, blue eyes were surprised when she realized he could see again. Thorne's mind flashed back to their time in the desert and how her voice, so scared but filled with determination for his sake, kept them going when all hope was lost, how her beautiful singing voice echoed in his ears as he frantically searched for her, and finally their kiss on top of the rooftop. They were going to die and he delivered on a promise, but it turned into something bigger than he ever thought would happen.

She was so fragile, scared, but that's what made it feel vulnerable yet pure. He felt a need to protect her. But after listening to Dr. Erland, her father, Thorne started second guessing himself. Who was he? A captain? A crook? A selfish, arrogant human being? And there she was, so kind, so believing, so naïve. He wasn't a hero. He didn't deserve someone like her. Thorne gave her a trademark half-smile and said, "The short hair," he gave a small nod, "It works."

She grabbed the ends of her hair; her awkward reaction to his complement warmed his heart.

"Oh!" a new voice surprised Thorne, "Captain! You can see!" A girl with dark skin, long legs, and braids tipped with different shades of blue flung herself into his arms.

"Iko?" he asked, "Aces. I really know how to pick them, don't I?"

"Sight unseen," she replied flipping her hair.

He laughed, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Cress's smile falter though her blush continued to grow deeper. He ignored her and kept his smile up. Thorne walked over to the crate next to Cress. She stiffened.

"Excellent," said Cinder, "I was beginning to worry we wouldn't have a pilot for when it's time to take Kai back to Earth. Now I just have to worry about not having a competent one."

Playing the part he countered with, "Oh, Cinder, I've missed seeing your face when you make sarcastic comments in an attempt to hide you true feelings about me."

Thorne watched Cinder roll her eye as she said, "Please."

"See that eye roll? It translates to 'How am I possibly keeping my hands off you, Captain?'"

"Yeah, keeping them from strangling you."

"How come no one told me I had such steep competition?" Thorne turned to see Kai grinning with his arm crossed. Considering, he lived in a palace all his life, Kai seemed to fit in well with the rest of the crew. But seeing him in the military uniform and not his ornate palace outfits was slightly odd.

He saw as Cress, still blushing, spun towards the door when one of her cans flew off the stacks in her arms. Without thinking, he grabbed it out of the air. She didn't even have time to gasp. A silence stretched between them. Thorne couldn't help himself; he looked at her, studied her. Cress froze and looked up at him.

He grabbed another can and said, "Lightning-fast reflexes. Still got them. Want help?"

"No-thank-you-I've-got-it," she replied, slurring her words together, her anxiety ridiculously charming.

He hesitated but obeyed saying "All right. If you insist." He put the can back in her arms. Thorne watched her rush out of the room, and his eyes lingered on the door before he heard a dreamy sigh.

He turned to see as much sympathy as an android could muster in Iko's eyes.

"You should go after her."

He looked at her and smiled. "You don't deserve her," was the nagging thought in the back of his mind.

"She'll be fine," he said "She'll be better off without you," he thought.

Thorne had moved on. He was cool, confidant. He again ignored the longing in his heart.