March to the Sea

Cress

Cress opened her eyes and searched the bed. Thorne wasn't there. She would've asked where he was had not walked in carrying a tray with scrambled eggs and orange juice on it.

"Good morning." he smiled. "We've got a long day ahead of us so eat up. Today, we're going to the American Republic."

Cress stretched her short arms and yawned. "Thanks. You know, it's funny that you mentioned the American Republic since... Nevermind."

"No. What were you going to say?" Thorne asked. Everybody hated the 'nevermind' conversations, Cress included.

"Okay. Well," she took a bite of the scrambled eggs. "you're family lives there and you've never let me meet them."

"You're not meeting my parents." he crossed his arms.

"Why not?" Cress whined as she got up from the bed. "Can't I meet the family who raised my boyfriend?"

He sighed. "They wouldn't want to see me and I don't want to see them." His arms found their way around Cress's waist as he pulled her into an embrace./p
"Please?" Cress gave him her cutest smile.

With another sigh, he nudged her face up to his. "Fine." he said before kissing her. With every kiss, Cress knew that he was hers and she was his. And yet she couldn't help wondering if in another world, he would've been with that architect, Kate Fallow. She dismissed the thought. Carswell loved her.

"So what time do we go?" Cress piped up after she finished devouring her breakfast (which was deliciously made due to Thorne watching some cooking tutorials in his spare time).

His expression said that he had forgotten about the entire conversation. "Huh?"

"To your parents."

"Oh. I don't know. We're going to be a bit busy today. Maybe another day?" he suggested.

"Carswell, is there a reason you don't want me to see your parents?" Cress persisted.

"They're in jail." he was all too quick to respond.

Cress knew he was lying. All those months she'd spent researching about Thorne hadn't gone to waste. "Do you honestly expect your biggest fan to believe Kingsley Thorne, ex pilot of the American Republic Fleet 186, and his wife are in jail?"

"Rich people can be criminals too, Cress." he patted her head.

Cress wasn't going to give up there. "Carswell Thorne, former thief, helped saved Earth from having to deal with Levana as Empress genius at non-bioelectric manipulation, won't take me to visit his family. Is he embarrassed? Perhaps. Is it making him less attractive?" Cress saw Thorne's ears perk up in the middle of her dramatization. "Physically, obviously not. Personality wise-"

He fidgeted with his cybernetic finger then mumbled. "Alright."

"Really?" Cress asked excitedly.

He nodded with annoyance. "Uh huh."

"Thank you so much!" A kiss. "I'll go check if their address has changed."

Cress didn't understand how she did it. She thought she'd never convince him. But she was grateful none the less.

It took Cress 10 seconds of clicking on her portscreen to figure out that the Thornes hadn't left their lavish house.

"Cress," Thorne asked. "Do we have to go?"

"Yes." Cress dismissed his doubt. "Here are the coordinates."

"Cress.." he whined.

Cress pursed her lips. She had to go. From what Thorne had told her, he was never close to his parents. But she wanted to change that. She was going to change that. Maybe after saving the world, his family would finally accept the ex thief as their son again.

"Carswell," she said softly. "if it doesn't go well, I'll make sure we never go back again. And if it goes well, I would have succeeded in making sure you make amends with your family. Just please, do this for me."

He didn't respond. Instead, he walked to the Rampion's controls and typed in the coordinates. In a few short minutes, they were lifting up away from the meadow in the European Union that they'd been parked in. They headed closer and closer to the stars. Cress should've hated the stars since she spent most of her childhood locked up with the stars, but they never failed to her breath away.

Besides, Cress couldn't hate stars because Carswell always playfully told her that her freckles were just like the stars.

Stars above, she loved him.

She turned on her portscreen and looked at her comms. She skipped past the information on when the comm was sent.

You have been formally invited to His Imperial Majesty Emperor Kaito of the Commonwealth and Ambassador Selene Linh-Blackburn of the Republic of Luna's wedding.

Cress raised an eyebrow. This was way too formal for her friends.

Just come to the palace at 3:00 on the day of the 128th annual ball. From there, we'll then give you the information on when and where.

Lots of love,

Cinder and Kai

That seemed slightly more like her friends. It had been a few months since Scarlet and Wolf got married and since Cinder and Kai had gotten engaged. Cress wasn't thinking of that... Yet. Cress hated to think as if Thorne wasn't her soulmate but sometimes she wondered if her friends were right to just marry the only person they've ever loved. Maybe they should've tried other people first.

"I love you, Thorne." she whispered in an attempt to forget her crazy thinking.

"Hmm? Did you say something?" he looked up from the controls.

"No." Cress said quickly. She slowed down. "Nothing of importance."

Thorne

Thorne loved her. That's why he was doing all this, taking her to the very people that kicked him out years before. He still remembered Kingsley Thorne's harsh words.

"Carswell, you're a disgrace to this family. I don't want to see your face here again." Kinglsey Thorne growled at him.

"But Father-" Thorne would always try to interrupt.

"We always did so much for you and this is how you repay us?" Thorne's mother glared at him.

"No, you did it for yourselves. You never did anything for me." Thorne's fingers clenched around the Rampion's controls.

"Watch it, boy." All Carswell remembered was suddenly finding his father's fist in his jaw, knocking him to the ground. Thorne was shocked. He knew his father had been close to doing this before but he always thought that Kingsley Thorne was too high class for this. Then his father was kicking him. A mix of tears and blood was splattered on Carswell's face.

"Kingsley," Carswell's mother said in a soft tone that was on the verge of gentle but somehow was just as harsh as before. "Don't let the neighbours see this." Carswell was left lying on the ground. Eventually, a maid came around to kick him off of their property. Thorne swore to never go back and yet here he was, going back.

"Are you okay?" Cress asked.

Thorne's fingers unclenched when Cress pulled him out of his memory. "Yeah. I was just remembering them."

"If you really don't want to go, we don't have to."

"You want to go. So we'll go." Thorne said with false determination. He was really hoping she'd continue until she "convinced him" that it was okay not to go.

"Thank you for this." Cress sat beside him and laced her fingers with his. Carswell could do this. He could go see his parents again... Right?

Thorne knocked at the door. A holograph intercom appeared. His mother stared at him through a netscreen she probably had installed in the master bedroom.

"Carswell," her eyes widened but not with joy. "... And friends." her eyes shifted to Cress who was holding hands with Thorne.

"Hello, Mrs Thorne. It's absolutely amazing to meet you." Cress smiled.

Thorne's mother smirked. "Your father won't be happy about this." she said before the door clicked open. A maid greeted Thorne and Cress and led them to the guest seating room while Thorne's mother made her to see them. It was just as unnecessarily lavish as Thorne remembered. The room was mainly blue and white but the ceiling was painted to look like the galaxy. It took Cress's breath away. It was one of the things that made Thorne want to travel space.

"Carswell," his mother seemed to breathe in before she said his name.

"Hello." No. He wasn't going to say mother. That woman was far from being his mother. The most mother-like thing she'd done for him was give birth to him.

"Mrs Thorne, my name is Cress. I'm your son's-" Cress started.

"I know what you are." Mrs Thorne looked at Cress from head to toe- which wasn't much, given Cress's height. "And I know who you are. We still see you guys on headlines. It's so annoying."

"Well, it's an honor to meet you. Carswell doesn't talk a lot about you but I know you're lovely." Cress smiled. Well, on the records that Cress went through, his mother did seem lovely.

His mother didn't smile. She just tapped a maid's shoulder and told her to go summon Kingsley Thorne.

"Do you still have Boots?" Thorne asked. Boots was his childhood cat... Android cat. One that obeyed his parents without question, just like they liked things to do. Carswell was never one of those things.

"No. When people realized this was the home of the Carswell Thorne, they broke in and took the thing, not that we wanted to keep it." she rolled her eyes. "Fools." Carswell was a little disappointed but he'd learned not to show his disappointment to his parents. Cress tighted her grip on Thorne's hand.

"I thought I told you to never show your face her again." Kingsley Thorne growled.

"Mr Thorne! I've heard so much about you!" Cress held out her hand for Kingsley to shake but he ignored it. "You were pilot of the American Republic Fleet 186, right?"

"Hello, father." Thorne spat the word with all the anger that he'd had for his father over the years.

Mr Thorne pushed past Mrs Thorne and held Carswell by the collar, one Cress picked out for him for special occasions. "Get out, boy. You're still a disgrace to this family." Kingsley got his fist ready, fear rushing through Carswell's veins, but Cress stopped him with a quick kick to the crotch.

Carswell grinned. "Aces, Cress, that was a smart move."

Kingsley Thorne fell to the ground in pain and let go of Carswell.

"Sorry!" Cress squeaked. Thorne grabbed her hand and ran upstairs with her. "Where are we going?"

"I need to grab something." Yes. He did. They ran into his parents bedroom. Thorne went through his mother's jewelry box until he found it. Then, they ran back downstairs and left the house. Kingsley yelled curses at them but they were already getting into the Rampion, already getting closer and closer to the stars.

"Cress?"

"Yeah?"

"I should've explained to you why I didn't want to go." he sighed and retold the story of his parents kicking him out.

Cress kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have insisted we go."

The stars were beautiful. It was the perfect moment. He put the Rampion on autopilot and stood up.

"I have something to tell you." Thorne's voice wobbled like it usually did when he was nervous, and that didn't happen a lot. He knelt at the ground, pulled out the ring he'd "borrowed" from his mother's jewelry box and held it out to her with shaking hands. "Spades, I'm really scared. But Cress, ever since I met you, I'd felt something special around you." Cress gasped quietly and Thorne's cheeks went red. Was she going to agree? Was it too soon? "Will you marry me?" The ring's holograph turned on and filled the room with stars and Earth off in the distance.

"Yes."

I tried to do a oneshot. Sorry it's shitty and really really rushed. I can't write fluff. I tried, okay?

Why is it called March to the Sea? Well, when I was reading Winter, I think I listened to that song a lot and now my brain associates it with Cresswell.

And Tyler says "I see a spaceship in the sky" in the song so maybe he sees the Rampion?

I don't know. It's a great Twenty One Pilots song, though, and that's a great band and this is a great series and yeah.

Hope you liked this story.

-Timelady