DIAGNOSTICS CHECK COMPLETE. ALL SYSTEMS STABILISED.
Cinder awoke slowly but steadily. This time around there was little confusion about where she was and what had happened.
She opened her eyes and was pleased to note she could see once more. When she tried raising her cyborg hand however, it was heavier than usual.
"How do you feel?"
Cinder turned her head. Kai sat next to her, his eyes soft as he studied her. His hand held hers- which explained the sudden weight- and Cinder squeezed it lightly.
"Better than you look."
Sporting some bandages, Kai's left cheek was still in bad shape. But there was no dried blood anymore and he had managed to clean up a little.
"Charming," Kai said with a boyish grin. "I think I liked you better when you were unconscious."
An orange dot appeared in her vision. "You sap."
"Ah, you can tell. So I should probably tell you that the last time the pistachio mochis were gone-
"-you ate them. I didn't need a lie detector to tell me that."
Cinder sat tentatively up. The back of her neck tingled and she could feel some bandages there so she was careful not to move her neck too much.
"So, everything went well? I have everything back?"
"You tell me. But Cress and Iko tested everything as far as they could and Jacin checked on your vitals. Everything seems to have worked out really well."
Cinder turned her hand. The flashlight worked and the screwdriver whirred to life. She could feel the other fingers responding as well. There was something else she noted. Kai's bioelectricity. He never got a chip, despite everyone urging him to. Now, Cinder could feel his presence. There was some underlying worry but overall, he seemed calm. It was soothing.
"It's good to have you back, Cinder."
"I've actually never left. I just wasn't complete, I guess." She grinned at him, her hands reaching for his and she pulled him closer. "Any other things you want to come clean about?"
He stepped between her legs. "I might have lost some money to Thorne during the last Peace Ball. Because of the bet you told me not to make."
"Is that so?"
She could feel the brush of his lips on her temple. "And I might have cancelled that boring meeting with the ministry of transport three weeks ago."
"You told me they cancelled," she said, only pretending to be exasperated. Why should she be when she could focus on placing small kisses on his jaw instead?
"I know but I preferred to stay in bed with you," he said with a slight pout.
Cinder couldn't help but smile, as his hands found the small of her back. "Are you often cancelling meetings for such trivial reasons?"
A short pause during which Cinder's hands travelled up his arms, his shoulders and the back of his neck. "I'd rather not comment on that."
Because then he would have to lie. "Kai, you're a terrible emperor."
"Can you blame me?"
But Cinder didn't answer. Instead she closed the gap between them and kissed him. The worry, the fear, the desperation of the last few hours, weeks and even the last year, fell away from her. She pressed herself closer to Kai, trying to project every bit of love into that kiss. His lips moved sensually against hers and Cinder's heart began to race. Her hand found his uninjured cheek and she stroked it lightly, as she changed the angle to deepen the kiss even more.
A few minutes went by – three minutes and forty-eight seconds as her internal processor informed her more or less helpfully – before they parted a little.
She could feel Kai's breath on her lips. "We should return to the others. And also leave this place before the cyborgs find a way in."
Cinder stole another kiss before nodding in agreement. "You're right." She smiled up at Kai. "Thanks for being here when I woke up."
"I hope your gratefulness is enough to get me off the hook for lying about that cancelled meeting." He offered her his hand and while she was perfectly capable of standing on her own, she still liked the gesture enough to take it.
"We'll see about that. Maybe you can take my place during the meeting with the ambassador of New Zealand. The one who always has a stuffed nose and sneezes the whole time."
Kai laughed. "I'll tell you what, I'll join your meeting. At least that way, we both might catch a cold from him. And we can both stay in bed while we recover."
"And that's all you want to do in bed, recover? I doubt Torin will believe that."
"Ah, I'll handle Torin, no worries. Cinder?" The slight change in his voice made Cinder turn around. When he had her full attention, he raised her cyborg hand to his lips. She couldn't feel it but her heart sped up nonetheless. "I'm not happy that you are the same person once more. Cyborg, Lunar and so much more than that."
Cinder was surprised that the bright orange from the lie detector didn't blind her.
"There they are. Took you long enough."
Before Cinder could retort, she was engulfed in many hugs all at once. It was both awkward and timid, all of them careful not to accidentally grace her neck.
"Okay, space everyone." Jacin took Cinder a bit to the side and gave her a scrutinising look. "How are you feeling? You shouldn't feel any pain but try not to move your head too much for the next forty-eight hours."
"Please, after the make-out session in there, she's probably feeling like she floated off to Alpha Centauri," Thorne drawled before proceeding to fist-bump Kai.
Cinder blinked. "How would you even know that?"
With a blush so faint, it was hard to spot under his tanned skin, Kinney pointed to one of the monitors behind them that looked like it showed someone's heart rate.
Her heart rate.
It now beeped steadily but a few minutes ago it must have spiked quite a bit. Cinder laughed at that, feeling more carefree than she had in a long time. She found the electrode she hadn't noticed until then and peeled it off and the heart monitor dropped to once continuous signal that Jacin turned off. "You know you could have turned it out before now, right?"
"And miss out on you trying to break our record for longest kiss? You came close but not quite, eh, Cress?" Thorne wrapped his arm around Cress's shoulder, placing a kiss to her head.
Cress rolled her eyes and sent an apologetic look at Cinder. "Everything is working?"
Before Cinder could answer, Iko stepped closer. "Of course, we did all the tests. I tell you, no one could have done a better job than us," she said, flipping her blue braids, not caring that they whacked Kinney in his face. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm ready to leave this dingy lab behind. We decided to accompany you to Scarlet's farm, lay low for a while. What do you say, are you ready?"
There would have to face lots of new problems – the missing shells, the espionage at the palace, the riots – but Cinder wouldn't have to face it alone. And she would face it as herself.
She regarded her group of friends.
Iko, her eyes warm yellow as she smiled at Cinder.
Kinney standing next to her, earnest and steadfast.
Jacin, giving Cinder a nod but she could see the faintest smile tugging on his lips.
Thorne with one arm around Cress as he winked at Cinder in best imitation of his famous prison shot.
Cress, looking happier than she had since they met, her eyes bright and sparkling.
And Kai, steadfastly at her side, taking her cyborg hand in his.
But she also knew that she had more friends who also would always support her. Scarlet, with her keen sense for justice and quick temper. Wolf, always loyal to the ones he cared about. And Winter, with a heart so big it spanned the distance between Earth and Luna. Torin and Tressa and so many more.
They were all there for her.
And she would be there for them as well. It was time to go and face their next battles.
Cinder raised her arm, loaded one of the projectiles into her index finger and took a look at everyone. "I'm ready."
A/N: So, there you go, that's it. My first completed multi-chaptered fic. Mostly due to the fact that it was only twelve chapters. Tbh, I'm kinda relieved I didn't go for the long version. I would have liked to explore the other characters and relationships, get into more detail about the missing shells, the politics on Earth and Luna and life after the revolution but I think overall, it might not have made for an interesting fic. The condensed version though, I hope, was a good compromise.
For everyone who took the time to review, THANK YOU SO MUCH. Really, it meant the world to me to know that at least a few people read and liked this story. Every review motivated me to continue so I hope you enjoyed the ending as well.
As always, the biggest thank you to my beta, kiminicricket. Not only for correcting all those nasty little grammar mistakes but also, for letting me brainstorm or keeping an eye on any plot holes.