At Last I See the Light (Lunar Chronicles Fanfic)

Chapter 1: West Coast

Cress

The scene was the same as she had left it. In the distance, everything was chaos, a mess of swirling energy being thrown between both sides. It was quite obvious they were losing the battle. Cinder was pinned down, Iko remained on the ground with no signs of returning to her feet. Blinking away the tears, Cress stood, waiting. All of the sudden, Thorne's hands twirled her around and dipped her, but it was different then when it really happened. There was a look in Thorne's eyes that she'd never seen before. It was a tangle of fear and pain -

"Cress," Thorne whispered into her ear, "Cress, wake up."

"Wha-" she started, trying to force the image out of her mind.

"I think you were having another bad dream."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," she sighed. She knew Thorne pretended not to care, but every time she stared into his soft blue eyes, Cress could see a twinge of empathy.

"It's fine, you really didn't even wake me up. I... couldn't sleep. You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so." She didn't even realize she was crying until he wiped her face with his sleeve. Cress tried to hold them back, but it was too late. She closed her eyes again, wishing Thorne was oblivious to just how weak she was.

"Shhh, it's okay, I'm here," Thorne said, pulling her against him. His eyes were frosty as his focus stayed locked on the wall that encased the small bed of the Rampion's living quarters - just on the edge of melting. As if somehow he was in her dream, he muttered under his breath, "Then again, maybe that's not such a good thing."

"Thorne..." she started, unable to find the right words, "It wasn't your fault." He stayed silent beside her. Cress could sense he was still awake, but at the same time, her eyelids began to droop. All at once, the exhaustion washed over her and it was next to impossible to keep her eyes open, especially in the warmth of Thorne's arms.

"Yes it was, Cress. Aces, you should've just shot straight through my head," Thorne whispered to himself after Cress started to doze off.

It used to be so easy to drift to sleep aboard the Rampion, but ever since the Revolution... It was like every time he closed his eyes he heard the screams, saw his hands moving, no longer under his control. After a while, the pain became too much to bear and he slipped out of bed and headed to the cockpit.

It's amazing how bright the stars shine at night. Kinda like little rips in the sky, leaking bursts of heaven through to Earth. He quickly shook the thought from his mind. Stars Carswell, you're not supposed to think deep thoughts.

Before he knew it, the clock on the dash read 0400 and his legs ached with restlessness. Same as he left, Thorne crept back into the small bottom bunk where Cress was tangled in a wrap of all the blankets on the ship. As soon as he sunk down onto the mattress, she tossed the other half of her blanket over his shoulder and cuddled up under his arm. Thorne placed a soft kiss on her forehead and closed his eyes for the first time in a long time.

* * *

"Time is 0800, good morning Rampion crew!" Little Iko (Cress' new and improved version of her programming used for Little Cress) exclaimed from the wall speakers.

"'Morning, sunshine," Thorne whispered, pulling her into a hug.

"Good morning, Ca...ah...ah-" She started, but was interrupted by a sneeze.

"You feeling okay? You're a little warm." He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, and then to his own.

She began coughing, but that didn't stop her from answering in a raspy voice, "Well you're pretty hot yourself, Cap'n" she sniffled, with a wink. Her small fingers wrapped around the palm feeling her head. She was burning up and clearly not thinking straight.

"Well yes, I know that," he answered, "I uh... I'll be right back, you just wait here, okay?"

"Whatever you say," she muttered delusionally. Then she proceeded to bury herself back in the mound of blankets.

Thorne made a cup of coffee and tossed some cold water on his face. Then threw on a sweatshirt over his loose fitting tee and slipped on a pair of long socks. He didn't bother changing out of his flannel pants. Carefully, Thorne warmed up a mug of water and made Cress' favorite - tea with a little bit of vanilla and honey. She was already sound asleep by the time the tea was ready, so he moved the little makeshift nightstand in the corner over to the edge of the bed and placed the warm tea on a coaster.

"Thanks," Cress' small voice called as he made his way back to the kitchen.

"No problem." After some rummaging through the cabinets, he found some tissues and a pack of cough drops from last time they were stuck in Europe and both had the flu.

"Hey." Cress cleared her throat, "I'm fine, really."

"I know, and you probably are, but just try to get some rest, I'll bring you some water."

"Thorne, it's probably just a cold."

"I know," he whispered, planting a kiss on her check before getting a bottle of water.