Cresswell: The Lunar Chronicles

Chapter Fifty Five

Cress and Thorne ended up staying at the palace way longer than they had intended to. They had initially planned on leaving within a week of Cinder and Kai's wedding to give them some space and alone time, but Cinder and Kai both waved them off saying there was plenty of room in the palace for the four of them.

Besides, Iko was dying to move on to planning the next Rampion Crew wedding, which Cress felt a little guilty about and was afraid Cinder would think she was stealing her time in the spotlight.

"Oh please, I hate being in the spotlight." Cinder rolled her eyes, nudging Cress.

February thirf, Thorne got an alert for a minor breakout of the plague in the United Kingdom. He and Cress left immediately for Luna to stock up on antidotes before beginning their familiar routine, though they were left with very little time to any kind of apartment investigating.

It took them almost four weeks to finish the distributions, and from the UK they headed towards Washington State in the Republic. It was raining when they landed.

"I'm taking this as a sign." Cress squealed as she peered through the window in the cockpit.

"Come on, let's check some of the local listings," Thorne said after he had sent a comm to the park authorities asking if they could leave the Rampion there. He stood up, grabbing Cress's hand and starting toward the galley. He turned on the netscreen and pulled up a list of neighborhoods across the state, plugging in the budget they had talked about and immediately weeding out the "unsafe" areas despite Cress's repeated reminders that they were the most affordable.

"I don't care how affordable they are, we're not living in fear of our lives because it's less expensive." Thorne retorted. "Besides, we've earned ourselves a luxurious place to live."

Cress giggled, trembling with excitement. She hugged his arm, peering at the apartments being listed. "Ooh, that one's cute."

"Which one?"

"Down two—that one."

"It is cute. It's ground level though."

"No good?"

"Not with the rain."

"Oh... right, floods."

"What about this one? Private balcony... two bedrooms, two baths..."

"Is there a jet tub?"

Thorne laughed. "A jet tub?"

Cress nodded.

"No. Doesn't look like it."

"Ah well." Cress gasped. "Aces look at the kitchen!"

"Yeah it's nice."

"Ooh, I like this one!"

Thorne added it to their consideration list before they continued to peruse the listed ads.

When they were finished, they had found eight different apartments that were both safe and affordable and they both liked.

"I'll see about getting some appointments to go see them."

Cress nodded. She glanced back out the window, at the still pouring rain. "Wanna go for a walk?"

"In the rain?"

She shrugged, grinning. "Yeah."

"Okay, sure. Let me put on my other boots."

Cress nodded, darting into her room and coming back out in her rain boots and blue hoodie.

"Umbrella?"

"No, let's get all wet."

Thorne laughed, taking her hand as the ramp lowered. They stepped out into the rain, which was coming down in sheets. It was only a matter of minutes before they were both soaked.

"So are you going to ever tell me where we're getting married?" Cress asked. "Cause, you know... we're supposed to leave for wherever we're going in a week."

Thorne grinned, pleased she had no idea what he was planning and even more pleased that so far things were falling into place.

"Come on! How will I know what kind of shoes to wear? Or if I need a sweater?"

"Bring some of everything, just in case." Thorne winked.

Cress groaned. "A hint. Just a hint."

Thorne heaved a dramatic sigh. "Let's see... it involves tents."

Cress frowned. "Tents? Like camping tents?"

"That's all I'm saying."

"Wait, wait, no—you have to clarify otherwise it doesn't count as a hint."

Thorne pulled her against him, kissing her wet hair. "Sorry, Damsel."

"I hate surprises!"

"You'll like this one, I promise."

Cress leaned into him and though she tried to scowl, a smile broke through and she giggled instead. "I can't believe we're getting married in less than two weeks."

"Me either."

"And then we get to come home to a brand-new apartment." Cress sighed. "Being a grown up is fun."

Thorne laughed.

They walked around the block, every now and then Cress remarking on how something was "so beautiful" or "so pretty." He was glad that her love for Earth hadn't worn off and she still found things just as amazing and wonderful as she did the first time she'd seen them.

By the time they returned to the Rampion, the rain had slowed down just a little.

While Cress was changing into some dry clothes, Thorne quickly did the same and then heated up some hot chocolate for both of them.

"I have a headache now." Cress laughed as she curled up on the sofa beside him.

"Why?"

"From the cold."

Thorne handed her a cup of chocolate, reaching around her for the blanket thrown on the back of the couch.

Bright and early the next morning, Cress and Thorne started out on their quest for an apartment. The first three were immediate no's, but the fourth, fifth, and seventh were definite possibilities.

Thorne could tell Cress's favorite was the fifth. It was the biggest of the three with a large bedroom and bathroom with a jetted tub, a conjoined living room/dinning room/kitchen that gave the whole place a very cozy feeling. It was on the top floor, which he really liked, and the view was amazing.

As soon as they returned to the Rampion, Cress set to work writing out pro-con lists for each of their favorites while Thorne ordered some takeout.

"So what do we think?" He asked, sitting beside her and peering over her shoulder.

"Well." Cress started, already sounding very matter-of-fact. "Five is still my favorite, but the downsides are that it's the most expensive and the kitchen counters are too high."

Thorne smirked to himself.

"Seven, however, had reasonably placed countertops, a good size living room, but the bathroom is tiny and there's no balcony."

"What about four?"

"Four was okay. That's the thing. There wasn't anything overly bad, but there also wasn't anything overly good either. It was just... okay."

"Then it sounds to me like number five is the lucky winner."

Cress grinned, but he could tell she was trying to stifle it. "What do you think?"

"5 was my favorite, too."

"Yeah?"

Thorne nodded. He nudged her. "So what do you think? Should we put down a deposit?" 

Cress sucked in both her lips, trying not to smile. She nodded.