(Note: A very loose interpretation of the 'Masquerade' theme.)

None of it felt real.

None of it ever felt real anymore.

Prison. Running from the militaries of the entire Earthen Union – and Luna's, too. The Lunar Special Operatives. Rescuing Cress. Losing Scarlet. Losing Cress and Thorne. Finding them again. Stopping the wedding. Kidnapping Kai. The kiss. Saving Scarlet. The revolution. The kiss.

None of it felt real. Not even Cinder.

She pressed her head against the chair, desperation in her features, "I don't love him. I don't love Kai."

Cress's abrupt laugh startled her, "Yeah, okay."

"I don't," she repeated. But if her optobionics could turn on her, the orange light would flicker repeatedly. She was a liar, and she knew it.

Scarlet huffed from the hospital bed, where she would be until she was no longer considered malnourished, her hair as wild as ever. "It's okay to admit it. Everyone knows anyway, including the entire Earthen Union. Merde, probably even all of Luna. Except him. He's as oblivious as the stars, that man."

"I don't have anything to admit."

"Mmm," Cress hummed, "false. If you're not taking the Lunar throne and you refuse to be with Kai, what are you going to do?"

Cinder shrugged, habitually scratching at the scar tissue of her left wrist. "What I've always wanted to do. Get out of New Beijing. Go where no one knows me."

It was Scarlet's turn to laugh, "Oh, please. That's impossible. You're Cinder Linh. Princess Selene, for Luna's sake. You're doomed for life."

"I know," Cinder grumbled, burying her face in her hands. "I just want everything to stop. Just for a day. I want to feel human again."

Cress smirked, "What better way than to do the most human thing imaginable?" Cinder tilted her head in confusion. Cress sighed, "Fall in love. Which you already are in love, so it's just a matter of letting it happen!"

"Cress is right," Scarlet said. The two hadn't met until after the revolution, but they'd gotten along really well. Something to do with their contrasting personalities, Cinder assumed.

Cinder pinned her gaze on a spot in the ceiling tiles, in a dark corner tucked away from the harsh fluorescents, "You two are not helping."

They all heard a familiar beep from the other side of the room's door, indicating that someone was coming in.

Wolf pushed through the door first, holding a wrapped sandwich in his hand as he moved immediately to Scarlet's side, taking the seat that was all but attached to her bed. Next was Thorne, holding two sandwiches, a bottled water, and a bag of chips, and he sat next to Cress on the floor, kissing the top of her head and offering her the food.

And then came Kai.

His ears were a light pink as he made eye contact with Cinder.

"Hi," he murmured, taking a cautious seat in the chair adjacent to hers. He handed her the small salad she'd requested and a bottle of water.

"Thanks," she replied, her voice as small as his.

Thorne craned his neck to look at them, "Are we ever going to break this awkwardness, or are we all stranded forever on this 'we're in love but won't admit it' island?"

Cress punched his shoulder, her voice a harsh whisper, "Carswell!"

Thorne put an arm around her and received a few more blows to his side, but he didn't react to them. "You two are so stubborn, honestly."

If looks could kill, Thorne wouldn't have stood a chance against even Kai, let alone Cinder.

Thorne rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Oh, come on. You two are masquerading around like you aren't absolutely head-over-heels for each other. It's kind of depressing."

"Thorne," Wolf growled.

He threw his arms up, "Why are we all trying to hide it?"

Just then, a med-droid rolled in. "Visiting hours are over. All visitors are asked to return to the waiting room until they resume again at 0800 tomorrow. Thank you."

Everyone exchanged coded glances and got up to leave, except Wolf. Scarlet reached over and ran a hand through his messy hair, "Hey, it's okay. I'll be here in the morning."

With a resigned sigh, Wolf kissed her forehead and left without looking back.

Cress and Thorne said their goodbyes and left as well, mentioning something about heading to the hotel next to the hospital for the night, they'd be back in the morning.

Cinder squeezed Scarlet's hand and whispered a "goodnight", noticing how short Kai's goodbye was when he followed her out. She opted to stay at the hospital, watching as Wolf paced the hallway, tense, as if Scarlet was going to disappear again.

She settled into a chair and rolled her head back, pulling up news feeds on her retinal display, trying to shut everyone else out.

Kai sat down next to her, much to her dismay.

"I'm returning to the Eastern Commonwealth in the morning," he told her. "The hover will be here at 0700." He hesitated, dropping his eyes, wondering if she was even listening. "Will you be staying on Luna?"

She sent away the news feeds and rolled her head towards him, "I haven't decided what I'm doing."

"Come back with me," he said, his voice hardly above a whisper. "You don't have to stay with me – uh, at the palace – in New Beijing. Just, you can come to Earth. I'm sure you can go anywhere and they'll love having you there. You're welcome anywhere in the world and on Luna now."

Cinder pressed her lips into a line, shutting her eyes, "I just – I don't know, Kai."

He set his head back against the chair, his eyes focused on a cross section of ceiling tiles. The bags under them continued to get deeper and deeper. "Do you love me, Cinder?"

She sat up quickly, snapping her head towards him, her hands gripping the armrests of the chair, "What?!"

Kai didn't react, "Thorne and Wolf, they – they wouldn't drop it. They keep telling me that we should stop hiding our feelings from each other. I think it's time we just get out with it."

"Kai-"

"No, Cinder. Really. We can't keep pretending that nothing happened between us. I can't keep pretending like you're not important to me, that I don't – that I don't love you."

"You love me," she muttered incredulously. Her orange light didn't blink, but she tried to ignore that fact. "We hardly know each other. And what next, Kai? We have a whirlwind romance? Get married, have babies? Rule the EC, pretend like none of this ever happened?"

He dropped his head, staring at his hands in his lap, "This'll stay with us forever. Of course we won't pretend like it never happened. But will you really let it define you and your future?"

"It'll define my future whether or not I allow it to." Cinder shot him a glare, "I don't know what to do, Kai. I'm barely seventeen, and I'm a damned heroine and everyone loves me! It's great, really. I love being the center of attention and the highlight of every news article." She buried her face in her hands, "I'm lost, Kai. What can I do? It doesn't matter what I do or where I go next, because I'll always be Princess Selene. I'll always be the cyborg teenager who overthrew an oppressive monarchy. I can't be normal anywhere."

He reluctantly wrapped an arm around her and she gave in, resting her head on his shoulder. He didn't smell like soap anymore, but even he made the smell of the sterile hospital seem tolerable. "You're just Cinder now. Just Cinder."

She squeezed her eyes shut. Of course she loved him. He was one of the few people who treated her like her own person, not a heroine. Not a savior. A teenage girl who just wanted a chance to breathe. He'd accepted her completely as she was – no questions asked.

"You saved the world, Cinder. That's a lot to take in, I know. Come back. Stay in the palace, take a break. Get away from everything and settle down for a minute."

She laughed, "That – that's stupid. Think of the rumors."

"They don't have to be rumors."

Cinder stiffened, "Kai."

"All I'm saying is, what other choice is there? Winter took the throne, and you don't know Luna like you know the Commonwealth. Like I said, you don't have to come back with me. Just come back."

She snaked an arm around him and let herself nuzzle his neck. She just wanted to cry. Why couldn't she just cry? "I'll think about it."

"No more secrets, right?"

"No more secrets."

"No more masks?"

She opened her eyes, tightened her grip.

"No more masks."