Moonstruck- A Kaider Fanfiction

Chapter 11

A/N: Here's another 1500 word chapter just for you! It was actually just an accident it turned out so long, but what can I say? I LOVE Cresswell. They may be my favorite TLC ship. XD

Thanks for reading!

-Theresa

The gardens were quiet and serene compared to the lively movement and chatter of the ballroom. Cress gripped Thorne's hand a little tighter as a breeze blew through the trees and over her bare shoulders. It was much cooler now that the sun had gone down, and the breeze sent a shiver down her spine. It was a little strange for Thorne to want to leave the party, but she had been wanting to spend a little time alone with her captain. While she was having a great time at the wedding, and she loved seeing all her friends so happy together, it was a little disconcerting to be around so many people when she and Thorne had been traveling alone for so long. All the guests were also people she used to spy on from her satellite for Levana, which definitely made things awkward. She was glad for this laid-back moment with Thorne in the gardens.

Kai had once told her that the gardens were a great place to come and think or just be at peace, and Cress could see why he would say this now. The dainty pink cherry blossoms and oddly shaped bonsai trees provided a feeling of calm and serenity. She liked that there was one noiseless place in the midst of a bustling palace, even if it was a little chilly at night.

Thorne looked over to Cress when she squeezed his hand and briskly removed his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. The jacket was almost down to Cress's knees, but she felt special to be wrapped in the jacket he had just been wearing. Thorne had changed so much in the past three years. Together they had traveled the world, and bit by bit Cress had seen his rough exterior chip away until she found the real Thorne, the caring, gentlemanly, dedicated Thorne she had known was there the entire time. He was her hero, though she had never mentioned the hero topic to him again. She knew he was changing for her, and it made her heart fill with warmth every time she thought about it.

Aboard her satellite Cress had been in love with the swashbuckling misunderstood thief of a man named Captain Carswell Thorne. Now she could see she was wrong about that man. He was indeed the arrogant troublemaker that the world had believed him to be at the time. But back then he had not believed in a goodness inside him. Before she had met him Thorne believed himself to be worth nothing to anyone but himself, and he had no one that believed in him or cared for him. Now, however, Thorne had those things. He had loving friends who cared for him. He had been ecstatic when Kai had chosen him for his best man. And, of course, Thorne had her. She didn't believe he was a completely honorable man yet, only a naive girl would believe such a thing, but she knew he was a changed person, one capable of giving love now that he had received it himself, and when he had told Cress he loved her, she knew he wasn't lying like he had been to all the other girls he had told before, because she knew he would never lie to her.

And she loved him back with all her heart. It was impossible not to love someone willing to change to be the perfect person for you when they had been perfect all along, they had only needed to look inside themselves.

Presently, Thorne and Cress were making rounds through the garden, and Thorne was surprising her with his knowledge of the different plants living in the garden.

"It was the second class at the academy, and the last one I took" he told her with a shrug and a wink, but the wink was only half-hearted, and Cress began to wonder if something was wrong.

They then found a bench at the edge to the garden facing the full moon. Cress and Thorne sat down, and Thorne wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders and she snuggled into him with her head on his chest. Cress had stopped fearing the sight of the moon long ago, especially when she moved to earth and it seemed so small and distant. Now it was the beautiful sight to her that all the earthen poets and writers described. There was something magical about it reflecting the sun's light down on the earth and the pure color of the white light.

Thorne was also admiring the moon that night. "You know Cress," he said pulling her in closer to him, "You have really made me appreciate the quieter things in life. I thought once that it was best to be the loudest, the most outgoing, the most popular, but you've shown me there's beauty in the details that normally go unnoticed. Spades Cress, you've even got me talking all sappy like a second era crooner,"

She giggled at his joke, but again she noticed as it fell flat on his tongue, as if he was... No, not Thorne. If there was something Carswell Thorne never was it was nervous, right?

The situation got even stranger when her took his arm away from her shoulders and instead clasped both her hands in his.

"Thorne is everything alright?'

"That's just it Cress. My life is alright. In fact, my life is exactly what I want it to be. I'm a respected, actual captain, I have the best friends a guy could ask for and the best ship, and it's all thanks to you," Cress blushed, but he wasn't done. "These past three years since the revolution I've been working on myself Cress. I've been working to be the person you want me to be, the person you've seen inside me all along. I know I'm not perfect yet, in fact, I don't think I will ever be worthy of everything you've done for me, much less your love, but I thought today might be as good a time as any to ask..." He trailed off and lowered himself from the bench to get down on one knee.

"Thorne?" Cress said, she was absolutely shocked. She knew what he was doing, she had seen it on all the net dramas and read about it in all the books she had ever read, but she had never in a million years expected it.

"Cress, you've made me a better person, and I've realized how much I need you in the time we've spent together. You once called me a hero, and I have done my best everyday since then to be a hero worthy of you, but the truth is, you're my hero too Cress, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so I guess what I'm asking is," he began to fumble through his jacket that Cress had given back to him when they had sat down at the bench. Cress didn't know how she hadn't noticed it when she had been wearing the jacket, but he pulled out a small velvety case and flipped it open. His other hand was trembling in hers now, and she squeezed his hand with tears in her eyes, urging him on.

"Crescent Darnel, will you marry me?" He said with an air of finality, as if it was the only thing he had thought about all day.

Cress looked at the ring, the perfect color and style she could have ever wished for, and then back up at the man who knew her well enough and loved her enough to pick out that ring and say all those things that made her fall in love with him all over again. The tears started running down her cheeks as she nodded furiously.

"Yes of course I'll marry you," she said and then pulled him to her to kiss him. The passion was as real as it had been in that empty room of the palace in Artemisia all those years ago, but now their kisses were more excited. They were actually getting married.

Thorne pulled away first, still holding Cress's hand, his face still close enough for her to feel his breath, "So do you want to wear the ring? I wasn't sure you would like it, but it seemed like something you would..."

"I love it Thorne," Cress said and then she kissed his cheek. He slipped the gold band on her finger and they admired it on her from all different angles. It really was beautiful.

Together they stood to return to the party. Thorne offered Cress his arm, and she took it gladly.

"Are we really getting married captain?" She whispered, still in shock.

"Hey, I'm not the one who said yes," he said with a smile that couldn't be wiped off the entire night