AS A YES – Thanks, friend ❤ My first prompt fill!
“What do think about the new guy?”
Cassian had been watching the makeshift cantina fill up from
his corner of the room and shifts over when Jyn prods his knee. He turns
slightly so he can slide out the other side quickly if needed. He hums
thoughtfully but does not answer Jyn’s question. She sighs and turns towards Baze
who has joined them at the table.
“Where’s Chirrut?”
Base simply shrugs, “He
is talking with young Skywalker, they are on their way here.”
“What do you think
about him?” Jyn turns the full force of her gaze on Baze. Cassian sighs quietly
beside her, he thinks he knows where this conversation is going.
Again, Baze shrugs, “I don’t.”
Jyn starts to drum her fingers in frustration, leaning
against Cassian’s side.
He doesn’t pull away and wonders when he allowed himself to
get comfortable enough to let someone touch him so casually.
Let’s face it, it’s not someone. It’s only Jyn. Jyn.
He has only known her a few months but it only took the days
between Eadu and Scarif for him to know that she would change his life, one way
or the other. After Scarif, between the dark of pain and the light of healing,
he made the decision to convince her to stay with the Rebellion.
To stay with him.
When he was recovered enough to be discharged from the
medbay, he discovered that he did not need to convince Jyn of anything. She had
chosen to stay and so had Baze, Bodhi, and Chirrut. It helped ease the loss of
K2, having people who cared about him around.
But she had chosen to stay with the Rebellion and he
convinced himself that it was not for him alone.
So, he stays silent, ready accept whatever she is
willing to give.
As long as she stays.
For so long he’d refused to acknowledge his loneliness, the
desire for a connection. Connections were for other people, not people like him.
He had thought of his life as utterly apart from others carefully maintaining
his distance.
And all along, like a powerful underground river, his need
for love flowed until it had found the right place to come up into the light.
His need for Jyn betrayed everything he thought he had believed in. Distance,
disassociation, barricades. It couldn’t last. The connection had to be severed
and this river had to dry up.
Because needing her this much scared him beyond reason.
But it’s hard to ignore the press of her thigh against his,
the casual way she rests her hands against his arm, the way she leans in close
creating a small bubble of space for them and them alone.
And it’s hard on nights like tonight, when he’s tired and
slightly annoyed. He sighs again and shifts slightly to pull his leg away from
hers and casually reaches across the table for his drink.
Jyn turns to look at him again and he hopes his movement
seems casual enough but knows she will notice. “Cassian, what do you think
about Luke?”
Cassian hesitates before answering her, “Why’s it so
important what we think?”
Jyn makes a noise in her throat that expresses her exasperation,
“Bodhi seems a little too attached and I want to make sure he’s a good guy.”
She mumbles something else under her breath before turning back to Baze.
Cassian knows he is going to regret it but he says it
anyway, “Bodhi is pretty capable of making his own friends, Jyn. I am sure he’s
fine.”
Jyn glares at him, “What? We can’t watch out for each other?
I mean, what do we know about this guy?
Cassian closes his eyes for a minute but she’s not done. “He
magically appeared out of nowhere with the plans and we’re all supposed to just
believe whatever he tells us?”
“Well he did kind of…destroy the Death Star.” Baze leans
over the table and pats Jyn’s hand. “I’m getting a drink and will wait for
Chirrut over at the bar.”
He’s a smart man.
Cassian toys with the
bottle before asking Jyn, “What’s this about?”
Jyn leans back against her chair, arms crossed in defeat. “I
just want to make sure Bodhi knows what he is getting in to, that’s all?”
“And what is he getting into?”
“Well,” Jyn blushes and he is captivated by it. “Romance and
stuff.”
“I see.”
And he does. He knows that Jyn is uncomfortable with how
much she cares about them, uncomfortable with how quickly she came to rely on
them and is still feeling her way in this new, post-Scarif world.
Much like him.
He decides to take a chance, let her make a choice.
“Have dinner with me?”
‘What?” Jyn looks up at him in surprise. “We do. Have
dinner, that is.”
“I mean, have dinner with me.”
He leans closer and reaches up to place his hand gently behind
her neck. She gasps quietly as he leans even closer, never removing his eyes
from hers waiting for permission. She watches him, leaning closer in assent. His
lips touch hers, softly at first, then with more pressure until his mouth fully
covers hers in a possessive and demanding kiss. She tastes like a mix of her
drink and strawberries. The thought passes through his passion induced haze, “Jyn
tastes of strawberries” and then “when was the last time I tasted strawberries?”
He knows he will always associate them with her.
He’s also wondering if this was the best time and place for
this but decides that it’s too late to turn back now and why would he?
His tongue tangles with hers for a moment, and a wicked
thrill shoots through him when she responds with equal passion. She seems to
want to touch and taste just as much as he does. It takes everything he has to
pull back and break the kiss. He traces a finger down her face and she smiles
softly at him.
“So, is that a yes?”
say you love me 