Hi friends! Welcome to another fic from my tired brain. I just wanted to write something cute and happy, and this is what happened. There were a couple of things I questioned, specifically if Cress, two years into her relationship with Thorne, would call him Thorne. The alternatives - Carswell and Captain - felt odd, though, so I went with it. Because a lot of fans are unaware of the post-Winter graphic novel series, I decided not to include it in this timeline, so none of the events from those books are mentioned in reference to Cress's past. I think that's it! I hope you enjoy this silly little work. As always, the Lunar Chronicles is not mine, and this is a work of fiction borrowing the likenesses of its characters. Happy reading!
Cress could not believe her eyes. Or her ears. Or her nose, or her mind, or any of her other sensory interpreters, for that matter. Because, stretching out in front of her, was the most beautiful Earthen sight she'd seen yet. Swaying around her feet were thousands - maybe hundreds of thousands - of flowers in all varieties. A soft breeze played with her hair, making it float up around her face, and she could hear a trickling stream somewhere nearby. A lovely forest was situated about a half-mile away, full of ancient, gargantuan trees with sunbeams falling through their branches. The sun itself was shining high up in the sky, casting a pleasant warmth over her face, and she could see hills near the horizon, climbing into the sky and seeming incredibly majestic. She felt a single tear drip down onto her cheek, and suddenly, he was at her side.
Captain Carswell Thorne. He reached out a warm, calloused hand and brushed the drop from her cheek, his stunning face contorted with concern.
"Aces, Cress, are you alright?" he said, and his voice, tense with worry, was somehow still smooth and charming.
She looked up at him, beaming, and all of the concern slipped from his face, turning into a chuckle. He wrapped an arm around her tiny form and spun her around, and she let out a breathless laugh at the sensation of weightlessness. He was grinning mischievously as he set her down, the kind of grin that meant she was in for some teasing.
"You know, Cress, I'd be really worried about your crying if it didn't happen every single time you see anything. I mean, seriously, you cried when you saw a spider for the first time. A spider!" Cress let out a watery chuckle, and his smile brightened at the sound.
"In my defense," she replied, "those were tears of terror."
He raised an eyebrow, then lowered it again.
"Alright, I'll believe that. It was kinda big for a spider."
She rolled her eyes affectionately, then turned her head away from him and back towards the awe-inspiring sights around her.
She and Thorne had a few days off from their vaccine distribution mission, and they had taken a visit to the Kaas Plateau, a preserved area from the second era, to have a picnic. Nestled in the flowers near her feet was a basket packed with a meal and a blanket, and, at Thorne's insistence, a large umbrella. The weather was lovely, of course, but Thorne had said that storms could sneak up on you and it was better to be prepared than soaked to the skin. She had complied begrudgingly, but she was secretly proud of his thinking ahead.
Inhaling a deep breath of the sweet summer air, she plopped down on the chequered blanket and began to sort through the contents of the basket. Pulling out china plates - Thorne had insisted on "only the best for his girlfriend". She'd laughed at the time, but she couldn't quite hide the rosy blush on her cheeks - and sparkling steel silverware, she pawed through the containers as Thorne settled down next to her. She'd made sure to prepare the food because she didn't trust him not to accidentally include something expired - truly, she had no idea how he'd gone so long without their friends there to help out; then again, he had ended up in jail, so there was that.
Smiling as she removed the plastic containers of sticky rice, steamed vegetables, and glass noodles, she glanced up at him next to her, leaning back with his face to the sun, a soft smile playing on his lips. The grass was scratchy through the blanket beneath her and the bees were buzzing loudly, but they might as well not exist as she examined his features and wondered for the thousandth time how it was possible that things had ended up the way they did - that the rebellion was a success, that he liked her too, that they could live this incredible life together.
It had been two years since Cinder had been crowned queen of Luna, and she and Thorne had lived happily, flying across the planet together, distributing antidotes, and visiting their friends whenever possible. Cress thought back to the way she had been before, trapped and lonely, fighting for a side that didn't know she existed. She frowned, pausing her arrangement of the dishes, and Thorne looked down at her.
"Cress? What's wrong, love?" He murmured. It brought an immediate blush to her face, and she hid behind her golden hair as her eyes turned to the task before her.
"Nothing," she mumbled, quirking her lips into a smile, "I was just thinking."
"Yeah?" Thorne said, brushing a lock behind her ear and tilting her chin to face him, "What about?" He looked so earnest, so concerned, and she couldn't help but smile.
"You know, your eyebrows get all scrunched when you're worried," she giggled, "it's adorable."
Laughing, he swatted at her. "I'm serious! What's going on in that head of yours?"
She sighed, glancing up at him, and took another deep breath in. "I guess I just think a lot about what would've happened if you hadn't found me." Thorne frowned. "Would I have been stuck in that satellite forever? Would you or Cinder or Winter or anyone have gotten hurt or killed? Sometimes I wish I'd found a way to leave, a way to help sooner." Cress exhaled, spooning their food onto plates. These thoughts often gnawed at her in the dead of night, demanding her attention. Was she a little bit of a failure?
"Stop that," Thorne demanded, frowning at her. He gathered her up into his arms, placing her on his lap and cupping his hands around her cheeks. "You were incredible, you were already helping us before we even knew it. You were the reason we didn't get caught so many times, and the rebellion wouldn't have even been possible without you. Look at me, Cress," he murmured, and she did, staring hopefully into his shining blue eyes, "you are perfect, and you did everything you could. I wish we could've rescued you sooner, if anything." Now it was her turn to swat at him, and he laughed, burrowing his face into her hair and placing a kiss on the top of her head.
The trees around them swayed and the birds sang, and Cress would've been happy to stay like that forever, just the two of them curled up together, enjoying the warmth of the sun and each other. She was reluctantly climbing out of his lap to tend to the food when a droplet of something landed on her shoulder, and she looked up. Then another, splashing onto her cheek.
"Thorne," she smiled, "is that rain?"
He looked up, flabbergasted, and a drop fell into his eye. Wincing, he concurred, "Yes, it definitely seems like it. Dammit, there goes our picnic."
"What are you talking about?" Cress giggled, leaping to her feet and holding her arms out as the drops began to fall more heavily. "It's perfect!"
"Cress," Thorne rose to his feet beside her, smirking, "is this your first storm?"
She nodded excitedly, and he chuckled. "Well, then let's enjoy it!"
Thorne scooped her up, running back into the field as she laughed and smacked his shoulder. He set her down as the rain began to pour, and she held her face up to the sky, delighting in the feel of the raindrops on her skin. It was a regular occurrence for earthens, but Cress, trapped in a satellite for pretty much her whole life and living on a spaceship after that, had never had such luck. She felt magical as she spun under the blackening clouds, her dress becoming dark and heavy with water.
The flowers trailed around her knees, and she stared out across the landscape, stunned. It was darkened by the sheets of rain falling hard against the ground, but to her, it was a million crystals cascading from the sky, sparkling in the nonexistent light. She heard Thorne traipsing over behind her, and she turned, beaming.
"It's incredible!" She cried, and he laughed, looking around as though seeing it for the first time.
"It is, isn't it?" He smiled, and then stepped closer to her, holding out his hand. "Dance with me?" She stared at him, uncomprehending. Laughing, he took her left hand and set it on his shoulder, placing her right palm in his. "Don't worry," he beamed, "I've had lessons."
As the rain fell around them, the sky churning and thunder booming, they twirled. Cress's hair was soaked and sticking to her shoulders, and Thorne's boots squeaked as they turned, but it didn't matter.
The sky hummed as a flash of lightning lit up their faces, and Cress jumped, alarmed. Of course, she knew what lightning was, and she had seen clips of storms plenty of times on her portscreens, but it was entirely different in person.
Chuckling, Thorne tucked a piece of her behind her ears and reclaimed her hand with his. Leaning forward, he murmured,
"Don't worry, I'll protect you."
She would've laughed at any other time, but as Cress looked up at him and saw the honesty in his eyes, that he was perfectly serious, she just smiled instead. Stepping into the warmth of him and wrapping her arms around his waist, she looked up to meet his eyes.
"I know you will." She whispered.
She placed a kiss on his chest, reveling in the way his hands combed through her hair as the rain continued to fall. It had been a quiet night aboard the Rampion when Thorne had learned how much she still cherished the comfort of brushing out her hair and asked her if he could do it for her. It became a regular thing for them, as natural as breathing.
From the corner of her eye, she saw a break in the clouds, a small ray of sunshine, and smiled. Tipping up Thorne's jaw to follow her gaze, she gestured to it.
"Looks like our storm's almost over," Cress murmured, smiling at his disappointed frown.
"We'll just have to make the best of it," Thorne nodded, looking down at her with a smile. He pulled her to him again, placing his chin on her head and wrapping his arms around her. They stayed like that, not minding the rain as it continued to soak their already-sopping clothes, and Cress marveled yet again at how every day with him felt like magic.
As the clouds began to lighten, Cress pulled away, tracing Thorne's jaw with the tips of her fingers and brushing through his shaggy hair. He leaned his cheek into her touch, and she smiled, glowing inside.
"I suppose we'd better go clean up," Thorne said ruefully, and she giggled, nodding. Grabbing his right hand with her left, she tugged him forward, and they walked back through the now-muddy field, approaching their ruined picnic with unregretful smiles.
The day may not have gone the way they'd planned, but Cress thought it was perfect. When they collapsed into bed later that night, intertwined under the covers, Cress couldn't help it, and she pressed a soft kiss to his lips.
"I love you," she murmured. When he said it back like he always did, a smile in his voice, she burrowed closer, and her dreams that night were full of flowers and laughter and the beautiful sound of the storm.