Author's note

Ad-Jacin-t to You: Part Nine

Crescent Moon: Morning Star King *star emojis*

Captain Thorne: I'm happy that I'm not waking up hungover. Weird feeling.

Captain Thorne: But my parents were confused that I came home at some reasonable time and sober. Weird feeling for them too.

Crescent Moon: They love my influence.

Captain Thorne: Let's party and get drunk next time.

Crescent Moon: Yeah, because that worked out great last time.

[Crescent Moon sends photos from Thorne's infamous house party. A series of drunk dancing and sleeping on couches].

Captain Thorne: Point.

Crescent Moon: I accidentally slept in my makeup. Don't tell Winter or she'll force me in a face mask. We did clay masks once and I think it worked since my face was begging for moisturizer afterwards.

Captain Thorne: I purposely slept in my crown. Tell everyone.

Crescent Moon: Will do :)

Crescent Moon: I'll see you later.

-o-

Cinder awoke when the morning sun hits her eyes through the blinds. She opens her eyes and peers around the room from under the sheets. Kai's bedroom in his family home looks different with the sunlight peeking inside, brighter. It looks more like a hotel room: occasionally lived in but not for long. She imagines that when his father was still alive, it looked less kept together. Kai isn't a messy person but at least it'd look more like a bedroom. She hasn't been to his room at Torin's house and now she's wondering if he's treating it like his own bedroom or the guest room.

Kai stirs in his sleep next to her and Cinder smiles. She brushes back her hair, trying to put it back into a messy ponytail but her hairband isn't on her wrist. Cinder stretches up, trying to see if it's on the floor but all she sees is a mess of their clothes. Spades, she hates having her hair down but at least last night was the absolute best.

Cinder glances over and sees Kai's Star King Crown on his bedside table. She stretches over carefully not to wake Kai as she snatches it. Holding her breath and her laughter in, she puts the crown on his sleeping head but that's when he starts coming to.

"Aces," Cinder mutters, putting the crown on his head anyways.

"Good morning to you too," Kai responds groggily, sitting up more and readjusting his crown.

They stare at each other, Kai from leaning against the headboard and Cinder from lying flat on her stomach. Eventually, they give in and start laughing.

"I know you don't have food here so do you want to grab a bite or just wait till you get back?" Cinder asks.

Kai shrugs. "Doesn't matter. Either outcome results in us getting grilled when we get home."

"Oh, stars, let's leave them to wonder for much longer. Besides, I have to find my hair tie."

Kai laughs a little as he leans down to kiss her. Cinder grips the sheets tight in her fist, draping them over her shoulders. Finally, she breaks from his embrace and climbs out of bed. She picks up her clothes from the ground and throws them on, still no sign of her hair tie. She has to accept that it's gone forever.

"You could just go home like that," Kai states.

Cinder glances at her outfit. Dishevelled hair and her now-wrinkled jumpsuit from the dance. "This sends all kinds of messages, Kai Rikan."

"Here." Kai tosses her his crown.

When she puts the crown on top of her messy hair, Cinder fakes a curtsy to top off this improved look.

-o-

Winter has been eyeing the toaster so long she lost track of time. She's waiting for the next batch of waffles since the first few were either burned or too soft that eventually burned when they were put back in. She blames Levana and Cinder for always changing the settings and never putting them back. It's not like Winter returned them either and nobody in the house cared enough to pick a fight over it.

She jumps when the waffles pop out and she carefully picks them up to plop on a plate. Winter turns around and puts the plate on the kitchen island where Jacin's sitting with their ice cream. They take their waffles and scoop some cookies and cream ice cream on top. Before it melts, they take a forkful and shove it in their mouths, trying not to choke when they lock eyes and want to laugh at the other's stuffed mouths.

"My tongue is burning but I'm also getting brain freeze," Winter says.

"Worth the dance," Jacin responds.

She dips her finger in her ice cream and pokes Jacin in the face to get a rise out of him as he grabs for a napkin.

"Not cool," Jacin states.

She gets another dollop and taps his nose, scrunching hers. "Very cool. Our first kiss nearly went like this."

-o-

"Then Kai and Thorne danced together as Star Kings."

"None of their girlfriends won?"

"No! Everyone was surprised! Cinder was salty that Thorne stole her crown, more so than Cress about Kai."

Wolf awoke to the sound of a conversation happening in the kitchen nearby and the smell of coffee brewing. His body is stiff from lying on the couch in his tux and he almost falls to the floor when trying to get up. He saves face by managing to sit up and stretch his arms and back. He still feels like he could pass out but the more he comes to the waking world, he hears Scarlet and his mom chatting about the dance but they stop when they see him standing at the entrance. He notices that Scarlet has a plate of food and is wearing what looks like some of his clothes and that she was alive enough to have been already awake for a few hours. Just like his mother. They didn't even make him any breakfast or leave the coffee pot on the keep warm setting. He really does live here.

"Morning, babe," Scarlet greets happily before sipping her coffee.

"Finally, you're awake!" Maha yells in a tone that he can't decipher as joy or anger but it's mostly the latter. "You didn't tell me your Scarlet was staying over and then you don't offer her a change of clothes or your bed? I didn't raise you to be like that. Making me look bad."

Wolf glances at Scarlet who shrugs as she eats her scrambled eggs. He wasn't sure what conversation they had while he was asleep but it looks like he didn't want to know.

"And she was sleeping on our couch in her pretty dress, not even a blanket," Maha mutters disgracefully in Hebrew. "Stars, Ze'ev, what am I going to do with you?"

"I'm going to bed," Wolf states, leaving them.

Wolf is happy he doesn't understand Hebrew when his mom curses at him as he walks to his room. He does smile when he hears Scarlet ask for a translation so she could use it when needed