Moonflower- A Lunar Chronicles Fanfiction

Chapter 31

    Space was beautiful. If you just sat back and looked at it it really was. Cynthia looked at the distant bright spots of stars in the inky black alone in the cockpit. The autopilot was taking them in toward earth, and Leo had gone to sleep like the empress. Cynthia thought about grabbing a bunk of her own, but she couldn't bring herself to even close her eyes. Not until she was home safe with her family and friends. Even then though, there was so much at stake. They had to get a new letumosis vaccine ready in case they couldn't bring down Thaumaturge Nyx in time. She buried her face in her hands, wanting it all to stop just for a moment so she could relax and enjoy the beauty before her.
    "That bad huh? I've always liked the view," said a voice from behind her.
    "Leo, you're up," Cynthia noted, surprised. It hadn't been long since he left after talking to his mom on the port.
    "I couldn't sleep. Not when there's so much left to do, and so many things left unsaid," he walked over the the pilot's seat across from her.    
    "I know what you mean," she said, nodding. "It's hard just waiting for the ship to land in New Beijing. It feels like the calm before the storm."
    "I think that's why I've loved flying so much. It's nice to just pause for a while and be apart from everything to think." He was looking her in the eyes, and it seemed to the princess that this wasn't really about being in the Rampion anymore. Things left unsaid.
    "And I have been thinking Thia." He started. "I've realized I need to apologize."
    "For what Leo? You've been nothing but helpful through all of this. I wouldn't have been able to get out of there without you, and it's not your fault you were captured."
    He looked like he was struggling to get out his words. "No, that's not it. I haven't been fair to you. You're one of my best friends and I don't want to lose that."
    Cynthia waited, not completely sure of where he was going with this.
    "Thia, on Luna I couldn't stop thinking about you. I was so worried about what might happen to you, and even in that suspension tank all I could think about was getting back to you. And that's not fair to you because we've always been such good friends. I don't want you to feel like you owe me something, and you deserve so much better than just an academy pilot."
    He was rambling now, but Cynthia could hear the truth in his words. Somehow they only made her smile.
    She took his hand. It felt different from last time when her parents had just left and his hand was her only lifeline of hope. This was a different kind of hope, one she wanted to explore.
    "Leo, you should know by now that you're not just an academy pilot, not to me."
    The room was silent, but every twitch or movement was charged. Cynthia could tell this time that it was not either of their bioelectricities. It was only a few moments, but they seemed to stretch as they sat there trying to figure each other out. Leo's eyes were dancing, catching all the glittering light from the room, and Cynthia tried to read them but found it nearly impossible.
    Then Leo stood, his hand still holding Cynthia's, pulling her up with him. He took a step closer to her, and cupped her cheek with his other hand.
    "I'm still getting used to you actually being here. It all feels like a dream. I thought I'd be in those thaumaturge labs forever. I thought I'd never get to say any of this to you. I thought..."
    Cynthia didn't want him to worry anymore. She leaned in, knowing exactly what she wanted.
    "There's a leak in one of the back-up pipes in the engine room," called Cinder's voice from the hall.
    The moment broke as tangible as shattered glass. Cynthia let go of Leo and sat back in her chair. She glanced over at Leo and saw he'd done the same, his cheeks pink.
    The empress walked in half an instant later still talking. "I was sleeping for a while but I kept hearing a whine that sounded like a leakage so I went to go check. I guess I was so tired I missed it the first time. I don't think there's anything I can do right now except duct tape," she explained scrunching her face in thought.
    "That... that's alright. We'll be back in New Beijing in about an hour. We can get it fixed up at home," Leo stammered, his words coming in bursts.
    Cinder really looked at the both of them then. Cynthia's hands were clasped tightly together, and Leo's were two. They were both sitting stick straight and rigid in the same position. The empress raised a suspicious eyebrow at them.
    "Right, well..." she began, seeming to have almost forgotten why she had come in in the first place. "Leo could you show me where your father might keep the tape in here? He never trusted me with stuff like that. Like I'm the one who would mess up his ship." She rolled her eyes and started out the door.
    "Yeah sure." Leo hopped up from his chair and made his way to the cockpit door. "Hold that thought," he whispered to Cynthia with a grin before he disappeared from the room.
    The princess looked back out the window. Earth was getting very close now. The blue of the seas and the white puff of clouds became more and more vivid as they descended on the watery planet. But if she looked hard enough, Cynthia could still see the stars twinkling from their inky pool of space right behind her home planet. She couldn't explain it, but they seemed to shine even brighter than before. Beautiful.