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Cress
Cress tried not to flinch as the medics lowered her into the wheelchair. They were very careful. It had taken her days to even convince them that she could survive longer than ten minutes outside of the ER. But still, every tiny jostle, every slight wobble as she was slowly sat in the chair, even the simple action of sitting back in her seat sent a twinge through her gut. And with each twinge, Cress couldn't help but wince.
Honestly, it made her feel a bit, well, weak. It wasn't painful or anything. Not in the slightest. It was just a very small, almost imperceptible tightening of her gut around the fresh scar on her stomach. Nothing but a phantom sensation as her body repaired the last of the damage inflicted by-
Thorne's knife darted forward, a silvery blur of death. The world seemed to slow down around Cress, and she felt the knife pierce through her in agonising slow motion. She was certain she could hear the tear of the fabric as the point pierced her suit. A scream of pain rose up in her throat as it cut into her flesh, though it quickly died in the face of the numbness that spread throughout her entire body as the knife easily passed through muscles and veins. Someone screamed, an anguished, pained noise, as her legs suddenly ceased to function and she collapsed to her knees. Almost without her noticing, her own hands came up to cover the hole that was steadily draining away her life force. The blood that pushed against her fingers was warm and thick, and an involuntary shudder ran down her spine at the feel of it oozing through her fingers and over her skin.
A harsh sob drew her attention upwards. There, wet and dripping red with her own blood, was the knife that was to blame for her death. Looking into the anguished, teary face of its unwilling wielder, Cress couldn't help but feel nothing but pity and sorrow for him. The blade cut down, a morbidly beautiful red and silver arc of death. Once again instinct made the decision when thought would not, forcing her to grab the hand clutching the knife, staying its momentum.
Her heart pulsed through every fibre of her being, her body's continued desperate chant against the death that seemed closer than ever before. The desperation, the complete and true desire to just survive, to continue living, it filled her, consumed her.
Something was glowing, and fear clutched at Cress's heart. Was that it? Was that the final omen for her death?
The air crackled and sparked, and Cress felt the hairs on her arms stand on end from the static. The light grew brighter, and Cress, on impulse, shut her eyes against the glare.
There was a cry of pain.
And then… darkness.
Cress blinked and shook off the memory, gripping the armrests of the wheelchair tightly as if to steady herself. That was all in the past now. She'd better learn to let go of it if she wanted any hope of recovering.
She sighed. Easier said than done.
Cress thought, after all the weeks she spent with the Rampions, she knew her way around the base pretty well, certainly well enough to find the elevators without assistance. But, as it turned out, headquarters was a lot more of a maze than she remembered. Then again, she hadn't really used the elevators that much, usually opting for the stairs. And she spent most of her time working on hacking the Lunar's files in the computer labs. Come to think of it, she hadn't explored much of headquarters at all. Well, that solves the mystery on how she managed to get herself lost so quickly.
She glanced around and pushed her chair forward a little. Maybe if she found another Rampion, one who'd been around longer and had actually explored the building, she could ask them for direct-
"Cress?"
Cress started and squeaked with surprise at the sudden query. There was a slight woosh of air, and then a familiar (and very welcome) face appeared next to her.
"What are you doing out of the ER? Are you okay?" Thorne asked, his brow creased with worry.
Cress nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah, my wound is all healed up now, so the medics said I could leave. I have to stay in this wheelchair for now, so I don't open up my stitches."
Thorne winced. "About that… Cress, I just want you to know that I'm so, so sorry. I just, wasn't strong enough to fight Levana and before I knew it, I was charging at you and you were bleeding out and-"
"It's okay Captain." Cress said hastily, cutting off his rant. "It wasn't your fault. Levana is-was-really powerful. She could control hundreds of people at a time. At the battle she pretty much took control of the entire Rampion force with no effort at all! You can't exactly be expected to be able to fight something like that. It wasn't your fault."
Thorne sighed. "That would be easier to believe if it wasn't my hand holding the knife that skewered you."
"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you didn't want to do it. You were fighting with everything you had to stop yourself from doing it. Levana was just too powerful, simple as that. There's no-need for you to apologise."
"If you say so." Thorne said, but the slightest hint of a smile curled at his lips.
Cress sagged with relief. Thank the skies. The last thing she wanted was Thorne blaming himself over this.
"Hey, uh, do you remember the way to my room from here?" Cress asked sheepishly, "I'm… kinda lost."
Thorne's tiny smile grew into a smirk as he chuckled. "How do you get lost going to your room?"
"This place is huge! And has a lot of hallways!"
"Yeah, but you've been living here for weeks. Surely you must have figured out how to get to your room from the infirmary?"
"Not through the elevators I haven't!"
Thorne shook his head and sniggered. "Well, lucky for you, I actually know my way around here. Want me to push you along?"
Cress glanced down at the wheels. Her arms were getting pretty tired, but she didn't want to be a bother… "If you don't mind?"
"'Course I don't." Thorne said, gripping the handles of the chair and walking forward. "It's the least I can do after…"
His voice trailed off, fading into silence, and Cress didn't need to turn her neck around to see the smile slip from his face.
"Captain please, stop blaming yourself." She told him softly, "You had no control over your actions, it wasn't your fault. I know it feels that way, and believe me, I know what it's like to feel responsible for others' suffering. But you have to stop blaming yourself for something you couldn't help, otherwise you'll just be hurting yourself."
Thorne hummed unsurely. "It's just… hard."
Cress twisted her neck around to face him. His normally sparkling blue gaze was dull and pinched. "I know. But for your own sake, just try."
Thorne sighed. "It's just… you could've died Cress. I nearly killed you. I couldn't live with myself if you'd just…" he snapped his fingers. He was more than frowning now. It looked like his entire face was screwed up with misery.
Cress gently placed her hand on his, covering his fingers. "But I didn't." she reminded him, smiling gently, "So please, stop blaming yourself."
Thorne barked out a bitter laugh. "Easier said than done Cress."
"I know." She murmured, "But please, just try?"
Thorne lifted his gaze to meet hers, and Cress felt her breath catch in her throat. Had he ever looked at her quite like this before? No, she didn't think he had. Well, not in real life anyway. Maybe in her fantasies she'd imagined him staring at her with that warmth, that desperation practically glowing out of his eyes, but never in the real world had he looked at her like that.
Eventually, the tiniest smile graced his lips. "Only if you promise not to die anytime soon."
Cress laughed breathlessly. "Promise."
Thorne's smile widened into a grin. Great skies Cress loved that grin. "Well then. Looks like we have a deal."
Cress nodded. For some reason, her voice just didn't want to work right now.
Thorne leaned closer, just a little. "Are you sure you're okay? You look a little flushed."
"It's, um, just a little hot, that's all." Cress stammered.
Thorne cocked his head to one side, the sparkled of laughter returning to his eyes. "Really?"
"Mhmm." Was all Cress could manage. He seemed a lot closer all of a sudden.
He cocked his head to one side, studying her. Cress, for the most part, focused on remembering how to breathe.
"Hey, would you mind if I tried something real quick?" He asked suddenly, "I know we just made that deal where you won't go off and die and I'll try not to blame myself, but, well, this is really only something I can try when you're alive and I don't really want to let this second chance go to waste."
Cress shifted in her wheelchair. "Um, what is it that you want to try?"
Thorne didn't answer, only tilting her head upward. His hand slid from under her chin to cup her cheek. Cress found her thoughts hyper focused on how warm his palm felt against her skin.
Then, he did something Cress was almost certain he'd never do outside of the fantasies she conjured in her head.
He leaned forward and kissed her.
A/N: Cresswell is finally here! It's official! Rejoice!
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