Echoed Lullabies (Lunar Chronicles x Reader)

Chapter 121

The maglev train squealed to a stop. As soon as the doors opened, I zoomed out and bolted up the steps, where I emerged into the port.

My eyes scanned the rows and rows of ships. Please don't be gone, please don't be gone, please don't—

I spotted the Rampion.

I took off, tearing across the port, racing by each and every ship that was lined up in neat columns, each stride bringing me closer and closer to the people I loved.

The hatch was still open. I flew into the cargo bay and nearly knocked over Scarlet.

She righted me, hands gripping my elbows. "Y/n? What are you doing here?"

"Where's Thorne?" I panted.

"In the cockpit," she replied, confusion still etched across her face. "He's getting ready for takeoff. Why—"

"Thanks!" I breathed, running further into the Rampion. I maneuvered my way through the familiar halls until I reached the doors that lead to the cockpit.

I took a moment to calm my breathing and steady my heartbeat. Though I soon realized it was futile. My heart was thundering against my ribcage, but for another reason besides running across the port.

When I was ready, I pressed the code into the keypad on the side of the wall.

The doors slid open.

Thorne was behind the pilot's seat, resting his hands on it with his head down. Upon hearing the sound of the doors, he lifted it.

"I really hope that's you with the coffee, Scarlet, because I've been dying for—"

When he turned and saw me in the doorway, he stopped. "Y/n?"

I swallowed. "I want to go with you. If—if your offer is still available that is."

He stared at me.

"I can help with distributing the antidote," I said in a hurry, "especially in New Beijing. I grew up there, so I know those who might need it most. The poorer cities, specifically. I...I can help," I repeated lamely.

There was no response. He just continued staring.

After a few moments of silence, I nodded. "Right. Nevermind, then. I guess you and Scarlet and Wolf have it covered. I'll just—"

I cut off when Thorne crossed the space between us in two steps.

And pulled me into a kiss.

I stood there in shock for a moment, before it evaporated and I reciprocated the affection. Thorne's hands rested on the side of my waist, and he pulled me against him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

I didn't realize how much I missed him until that moment. How much I wanted to be with him. How much...how much I loved him.

I smiled into the kiss.

"Twenty-three," Thorne said against my lips, before pulling back completely.

"Hm?" I opened my dazed eyes.

Thorne looked guilty and worried, which made some of the euphoria fade away.

"How many times I've told a girl I loved her. I've been trying to remember them all, and I'm pretty sure the answer is twenty-three."

I blinked, a slow, fluttering stare. My lips pursed in a question that took a while to form. "Why...why are you telling me this right now?"

"Because I need you to know I never meant it. I said it because I thought that's what you're supposed to say, but it didn't mean anything. And it's different with you. This is the first time I've been scared. Scared you'll change your mind. Scared I'll screw it up. Aces, Y/n, I'm terrified of you.

"Here's the thing." Thorne's thumb brushed against my ribcage in a gentle caress. "You deserve better than some thief who's going to end up in jail again. Everyone knows it. Even I know it. So, what scares me most"—he twisted a lock of my hair between his fingers—"is that someday even you will realize that you can do better."

"Thorne..."

"Not to worry." He kissed the lock of hair. "I am a criminal mastermind, and I have a plan." Clearing his throat, he started to check things off in the air. "First, get a legitimate job—check. Legally buy my ship—in progress. Prove that I'm hero material by helping Cinder save the world—oh, wait, I did that already." He smiled. "Oh, and I have to stop stealing things, but that's probably a given. So I figure, by the time you realize how much I don't deserve you ... I might kind of deserve you." His grin turned smug. "And that's how that speech from before was supposed to go."

"It was a good speech," I admitted.

"I know." Stepping closer, he kissed my forehead. Goose bumps erupted down my neck.

"Thorne?"

"Y/n."

I couldn't not say it, although I realized he was right. It was scary. Much scarier than it had been the first time I'd almost told him, when I had been deliriously half-conscious and bleeding out on the floor. It was different now. It was real. "I'm in love with you."

As soon as I spoke the words, I knew them to be true. I knew they were true a long time ago. But now...now that the war was over, and now that Luna was ridden of her tyrant queen, there was more opportunity. And there would be drawbacks, of course. I would need to work through what I'd learned of my...upbringing. And the effects of the war weren't going to turn off overnight. But now I had Thorne. And he had me.

And now, finally, finally, I felt as though I truly had a chance to be happy.

He grinned. "I should hope so, after all that." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against my temple. "And I love you too."