Cress was walking down a hallway when she heard Scarlet's laugh coming from Wolf's room.

"So that's why all the canned tomatoes are gone! I was going to see if I could actually make something with them..." More laughter. Cress could pretty much hear Wolf's embarrassment and she smiled. Lately, he had been a lot happier, which made sense. It was much easier on everyone to feel the warmth he practically radiated whenever Scarlet was around.

Cress rounded the corner and saw Thorne walking towards her.

"Oh, good! I've been looking for you!" he exclaimed. Cress tried to ignore the small tap dance her heart was performing.

"Yes?" she managed to get out.

"It's time for the eye drops." Cress looked at her watch and laughed.

"It is! Who knew that you would be the one reminding me?" she teased. Thorne rolled his eyes.

"I do actually remember stuff every once in a while." Cress giggled, a sweet sound. Thorne's eyes seemed to brighten as he heard it... Or maybe that was her imagination.

"Come on, let's go," she said. They started walking to his room, Cress guiding him by the arm.

"Did you hear Scarlet and Wolf?" Thorne asked, a wicked grin on his face. Cress smiled and nodded, even though he was still blind. She wondered how he managed to make his way around the Rampion and how he recognized her. She pushed the question to the back of her mind.

"They're so sweet to each other... Why do you ask?" she inquired, suddenly curious. Thorne snickered.

"She was teasing him about the tomatoes and he would protest. Then every once in a while it would go silent." He stopped walking to double over in laughter. Cress blushed as she thought of Scarlet and Wolf kissing. Thorne continued. "And sometimes she would say something, and he'd retort, and they'd get into a debate, usually ending in him laughing at her. Sometimes vice versa." Thorne shook his head in astonishment, still chuckling. "I've never seen anyone have that effect on him before."

"Yeah, he's not nearly as scary as I thought he was," Cress sighed. Thorne laughed.

"I know the feeling." Thorne smirked. "The first time we saw them he was trying to eat her... granted, his brain was being controlled, but still." Cress widened her eyes and almost stopped in her tracks.

"Really?" she said in a shocked whisper. Thorne chuckled again.

"They've gone a long way, huh?"

They reached Thorne's room and she led him to a chair. Cress fished out the eye drops. She hovered over him, looking into the endless ocean that was the Captain's eyes. As usual, she let herself get lost in those eyes, almost drowning, before pulling herself back to the present and squeezing the dropper.

When she was done, she moved to put the dropper down but Thorne rested his hand against her cheek and his gentle touch held her where she was. A faint smile played across his lips.

"Captain?"

"You're eyes are beautiful," he murmured. Cress creased her brow in confusion.

"H-how can y-you see?" she stammered in embarrassment. So he had seen the couple of seconds she had gazed into his eyes before she put the drops in. She flushed. Thorne brushed a stray hair behind her ear.

"The drops are working, I suppose. From a far distance I can make out vague blobs, but things right in front of me..." He kept his voice low. His hand dropped from her face and rested on her hand. He curled his fingers around hers.

She stood, paralyzed, for a couple more seconds, blushing. Then she turned to set the dropper down on the desk, still holding his hand.

"Your eyes are this beautiful light blue. Almost clear. I didn't know that color existed." Cress turned back around, startled. "And they always have this sort of hope in them... Kind of like a light." Thorne laughed quietly, and Cress's heart fluttered. "I remember seeing you for the first time through a screen and wondering what the light was. I think I've kind of figured it out. But not entirely." The corner of his mouth quirked upward. "Though I suppose the mystery is what makes it so enrapturing."

Cress was stunned. Her eyes, enrapturing? Beautiful? Mysterious? She was suddenly acutely aware of how close she stood to him. Thorne laughed again.

"Don't look so surprised. You're a lot prettier than people realize. And I'm not just talking about appearance." A tear slid down Cress's face. No one had ever been so nice to her before. Of course, she didn't have many people to compare it to, but that didn't make it any less valuable to her.

"Captain..." Thorne brushed her tears away and stood up, brushing himself off.

"Don't cry." He grinned nervously. "What does crying do?" Cress let out a musical laugh through her tears, reminded of their time in the Sahara Desert.

"Dehydrates," she giggled nervously. Thorne's playful expression was suddenly replaced with something else... Something more intense. Something Cress couldn't quite discern.

Thorne tilted her face towards his... And kissed her.

Cress's eyes widened before they slowly closed, taking in the perfection of this moment. She slid her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

Thorne's lips were warm against hers and she could taste her own salty tears.

They had kissed once before this, and there was the same exhilaration, same happiness. But the feelings were enhanced somehow. The love that Cress had felt in that one instance on the palace rooftop now consumed her.

Thorne pulled back and looked her in the eye.

"Cress," he murmured. "I think I'm in love with you."


A/N: Thank you for your reviews and time spent reading. I really love hearing your thoughts. Anyways, this chapter is probably the one I'm most proud of throughout all my stories. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, and I think that the part where Thorne is describing her eyes is my favorite thing I've ever written.

Thank you all so much for reading! ~Aurum19