It's Always Been You

Cinder lie in her bunk tossing a bolt from hand to hand. Thoughts of Kai were running, no cartwheeling around her head. She had been lying awake thinking of his lips on hers for hours. Eventually after about 3 hours of trying in vain to sleep, Cinder rose and decided to go sit in the control room. She tiptoed down the silent halls, trying her best not to wake the rest of the crew of the Rampion. Her metal foot scraping against the floors as she went. After an agonizing hobble down the halls, she found herself in the control room. Exhausted from her lack of sleep, she flopped down into the chair and gazed out into the dark sky flecked with winking stars. Her mind drifted to the war they had started, "I can't do this. I can't be the savior everyone wants me to be, too many people are relying on me. I am not a hero, I am not a princess, I am a mechanic. I am a cyborg. I am not what the lunars are looking for. I am a lie." The doubts flooded her mind. Cinder hugged her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on her knees. "What do you mean 'you are not what they are looking for'?" said a voice from behind her. She whipped around, instinctively putting her metal hand behind her back in an effort to conceal it. "How long have you been standing there?" Cinder demanded. "Only a few minutes," Kai replied looking at the floor and nervously running his fingers through his tangled hair. Cinder couldn't meet Kai's gaze so she just stared at the crate by the door. "I...uh...couldn't sleep." He mumbled to his shoes. "Neither could I. I..um...thought I could clear my head on the control deck." There was a moment of pause. "So here I am." Cinder instantly regretted trying to fill the silence. Kai chuckled. The low sound made Cinder's stomach turn. He crossed the room and leaned against a crate near to the chair she was curled up in. He looked at her from under the fringe of his long hair. She met his gaze and he immediately dropped his eye to the suddenly very interesting grain on the crate resting next to her.

"So...uh...how...um...are you doing?" Cinder inquired in a nervous, breathy whisper.

"Well, you know other than being kidnapped and on a spaceship in the middle of who know's where, while who know's what is happening in my kingdom I think I am doing pretty well." Again the soft, nervous, chucked rippled from his lips.

"Yeah... Sorry about that but you know I couldn't let you marry her."

"But, Cinder" she tried in vain to prevent the small intake of breath that passed her lips when he said her name. "there is no other way for me to protect my people. An alliance with Luna is necessary for the survival of the Eastern Commonwealth."

"What if there was another option, that would still provide the Eastern Commonwealth with an alliance with Luna?"
"What do you mean?" Sudden understanding dawned on his face. "So you have found Princess Selene! Where is she? I must speak with her."

Cinder drew in a long breath. He deserves to know. Regardless of if it means, he will hate me.

"Kai, there is something you have to know about the princess."

Kai's face now wore an expression of intense worry.

"What? Is she okay?"
"That depends on what you mean by okay. She is terrified, under pressure, and a cyborg. But I guess you could say she is 'okay'." By the end of her sentence, Cinder was speaking rapidly and breathing hard. She looked up at Kai and he looked equally worried and confused.

"It's me, Kai. I am Princess Selene. At least that is what people keep telling me. I just found out a week ago, and so much has happened. I have not quite come to terms with it yet. I mean how could I be"— She was suddenly cut off from her ravings by Kai's hands on hers—both of them. She looked down and let out a quiet sob. She had not realized that halfway through her ravings tears had begun to slither down her face.

Kai kept her hands enveloped in his and raised them to her face to wipe away the tears. She raised her head to look him in the eyes.

"It has always been you, Cinder" Whispered Kai before placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I see. Now that I am a princess you are finally into me." Cinder teased with a small smirk on her face that instantly disappeared when she realized that she might be right. Kai only smirked and said, "I think I was into you before even you knew you were a Princess."

With that, Cinder could no longer hold back. She reached up and felt Kai's neck and jaw under her fingers. She pressed her lips against his. He immediately responded, moving his lips with hers. His hands curling her waist and pulling her out of her chair as he stood. Her human arm made it's way around his neck, she was too nervous to touch him with the cold metal of her left arm. He dropped an arm from around her waist and intertwined his fingers with her glinting ones. Her small gasp at this tiny act broke them apart for a moment. But he gave her a small smile and cupped her face, again pressing their lips together. This time, there was desperation behind his lips. He was kissing her as if stopping would kill him. She deepened the kiss. He pushed her against the wall behind them. One hand moved to the wall next to her ear he pressed himself even closer to her. She laced her fingers in his hair, lightly she tugged on his dark hair. He groaned and she smirked into the kiss. They came up for some much-needed air. Only to let Kai's lips move to the edge of her jaw and travel up to her ear. He kissed every inch of her face and she shivered in anticipation. His lips eventually made their way back to hers. She lightly tugged on his bottom lip with her teeth. He moaned. Her hands traveled under the hem of his shirt and she felt his warm skin under her palm. His hands also found their way under her shirt on the small of her back pulling her even closer to him. They pulled apart and pressed their foreheads together. Cinder opened her eyes and found herself drowning in the sea of his eyes. She was rescued by his words. "God, I missed you Cinder." She laughed, rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes listening to his racing heart. His arms circled around her and held her tight. 

"I am never letting you go"