83 DAYS BEFORE
Crescent Darnell sat on the Rampion with the rest of the gang. Everything had been solved, and her life had changed so much over the last six months. Half a year ago she had never even seen Earth. Now she was living on Earth. Her current living situation was a little complicated, but no one minded. After going through kidnapping Kai and saving Scarlet and placing Cinder on the throne of Luna and Cinder and Kai getting married and uniting Lunars and Earthens…Things have been crazy. Cinder and Kai had decided to live in New Beijing as they had been before, but in the palace. Thorne didn't want to go back to America, Iko was Cinder's best friend, Wolf didn't want to live on Luna where he was raised to be a killing machine, Scarlet didn't have any family in France anymore, and Cress no longer had her satellite or her father, so everyone was without a place to live.
Cinder and Kai graciously offered to let everyone stay in the palace with them, since they had plenty of space and everyone was in need of a place to stay. It was a little weird at first, but everyone got comfortable rather quickly.
They all were busy most days. Thorne worked with the imperial military, designing new ships and tanks and war machines. Iko assisted Cinder in any way that she could, and also worked with Torin to plan and schedule events for Cinder. Scarlet liked to help out in the kitchen when she could, but she also was in charge of agricultural development and technologies. After spending years on her own farm, she worked to find more efficient ways to farm. Wolf was a Sergeant in the military, and also worked with Thorne occasionally. Jacin Clay and Winter opted to stay on Luna, but they both stayed in contact regularly. Cress got to do what she did best. Hack and code and stare at a screen when she was working. She programmed all of the palace's appliances, set up security measures, updated news feeds, and came up with new applications for the palace portscreens.
Now, sitting inside the Rampion with everyone, she felt kind of sad. Everyone was chatting, eating sandwiches and laughing, talking about new things going on.
"It was you that snuck into my bathroom!" Thorne exclaimed, pointing a finger at Iko. "You stole all of my fancy towels!"
Iko laughed. Meanwhile, Cinder and Kai were discussing upcoming political appearances, and the baby that was on the way. It was a boy, and they were beyond excited. Everyone was elated as well. Cress was going to be a non-biological aunt! It was very exciting.
Scarlet and Wolf had joined the conversation with Thorne and Iko. Cress stood up suddenly and everyone turned to look at her.
"I-I have to use the restroom," she said awkwardly. Everyone went back to their conversations, and she made her way to the lavatory.
She padded down the hall to the bathroom. She went inside and turned on the faucet. She splashed water on her face and took a deep breath. She didn't want to tell them. She couldn't tell them. She took deep breaths again as a knock came from the door.
"Cress?"
Thorne stood outside the bathroom with a concerned look on his face. He had noticed that Cress had seemed a little off today. The crew was spending time together for the first time aside from dinner in quite a while. He didn't want her to miss out and feel upset when she could be having fun with everyone else.
She opened the door slowly. Her hair had grown out from its cropped cut and now reached her shoulders. It was a bit longer, but it curled, so shoulder length was usual for her. Her eyes were strikingly blue after splashing the water on her face. Thorne swallowed, remembering a few nights before when she had came to his room very late at night. Three in the morning late.
He had heard a small and quiet knock at his door. At first he thought it was nothing, someone down the hall or the vents or something. But it continued two more times. Thorne got out of bed, boxers only, and opened up the door to his bedroom.
There she stood, in her light blue camisole and plaid pajama pants, tears streaked down her cheeks. She sniffed and wiped an eye.
"I-I'm sorry-y, Captain…" she sniffed again, her words struggling to get out. "I-I had a nightmare..."
Thorne pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. He used to do it out of convenience when she felt bad, but he knew it made her feel better and he would do anything to make her feel better. He also didn't mind. He really cared about Cress after all they had been through.
"Hey, it's okay." He said, then yawned. He let go of her only to grab her hand and walk with her over to his bed. He climbed up and pulled down the covers, opening his arms. "Come on," he said softly.
Cress shook her head. Thorne frowned. They had had a fallout right after things had been settled with Earth and Luna. She confessed her feelings and Thorne confessed his. They both liked each other, but Cress loved him. Thorne didn't think he was in love and ended up breaking her heart… She distanced herself from him ever since.
Thorne leaned over off of the bed and pulled her back onto it with him. He sat with his legs outstretched and his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest. He put his chin on her head.
"I'm sorry for doing this," Cress whispered, sniffing again. He could tell that she was ashamed and embarrassed.
"Hey," He rubbed her arms. "It's no big deal. Do you want to talk about it?"
Cress shook her head and leaned against him. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and she fell asleep in his arms.
It really got Thorne to thinking about this girl. They had traveled through the desert together, experienced Shell-trafficking first hand, kissed on a rooftop amidst gunfire and a rabid Wolf, and helped save Earth together with their friends. He'd seen every side there was to this girl, and she had gotten to know him very well, too. He did like Cress. He cared for her deeply. Five months ago he didn't think he was in love with her like she was with him, but now he was having different thoughts.
He wasn't the kind of guy to be tied down. He partied and played with the ladies. He toyed with their feelings and never settled. Commitment wasn't his forte. But this girl—Cress—was different. He would do anything to make her smile. He loved her voice. She could sing beautifully, and her laugh was absolutely adorable. She was the cutest thing he had ever seen, and their hardships had brought them together. She once said that she thought they were destined to be together; that it was fate. And he wasn't so sure of that then. But now, he wouldn't mind waking up to her next to him every morning.
He eventually fell asleep, his mind made up about how he felt about her. He did love her. But he had never said that to anyone. Ever.
So he decided to keep that information to himself for a while.
Standing in front of her in the Rampion reminded him of how he loved her. He did. But he couldn't tell her. Not now. Maybe not ever.
"Are you okay?" he asked, looking down at her with a frown. She tugged at a piece of her hair.
"Fine." She muttered, looking at the floor. She started to move around him. "We should get back to the others—"
"Cress?"
She stopped and looked at him.
"Captain?"
He was going to do it. Tell her! It was important that she knew, right? She deserved to know. He had kept this inside for days and let her feel uncomfortable about coming to his room so late at night after he basically crushed her heart. She needed to know!
"Uh," he rubbed the back of his neck. "well…" He ran a hand through his hair and then sighed.
"I need help with my portscreen," he said, getting it out of his pocket. "I've been having some trouble registering for some dating sites…"
A/N: YAY FIRST CHAPTER! OKAY. SO. This is post-winter. It will mainly be Cress and Thorne but of course the others will always be there! I'm toying with ideas of how this story will unfold, but I hope you liked the first chapter! Review, my lovelies!
