i just want to preface this chapter with a small note: i am aware there is an unbalanced power dynamic between cassian and jyn because he’s “technically” her handler. i tried to reduce this as much as possible, especially now that they’ve taken the next step forward. jyn doesn’t think of cassian as anything except her partner and hasn’t thought of him as her boss in a long time (that role has been given to draven). both are consenting individuals and jyn is in no way being coerced. despite that, the dynamic remains and i wanted to make a note of that before you got into the chapter.
on we go!
Jyn wakes to the feeling of a blade being pressed to her neck.
“Don’t move or I’ll slit your throat,” an unfamiliar voice rasps from the darkness of her bedroom. As she wakes, blinking rapidly to clear the film of sleep from her eyes, she begins to make out someone else’s shape hovering over her while she lays on her back, unmoving. “You’ve been ratting us out, you bitch.”
When she swallows, throat moving underneath the knife, she can feel the cut of the steel against her vulnerable skin. The tiny pushback has consequences; a cut and a bead of blood bubbles up in a thin line on her throat. New, recently sharpened, likely hasn’t been used much. It’s fitting for a Partisan, especially one that isn’t high up in the chain of commands. Fresh recruits don’t get good gear until they’ve proven their worth – this feels more like an extremely sharp kitchen knife, not a blade for a soldier like the ones she remembers carrying.
(Doesn’t mean it can’t do damage.)
So maybe this is one of those tests. Based on the current circumstances – the insults, the talking instead of killing right away – she assumes this would-be assassin is a newbie. Stars know that Jyn had to do her fair share even as Saw’s adopted daughter, but she’d never been sent out to assassinate anyone in cold blood; that’s not to say that it doesn’t happen, merely other ways to show loyalty to the cause. Either times are tough enough that there’s no other jobs or this particular newbie is overeager and confident. Either way, she’ll be using that to her advantage.
She doesn’t move into action right away, deciding to lay still as ordered and play along until a better opening arises. The nearest weapon is on her nightstand. She’s grown complacent in the weeks that she’s been living here – this is the first attack she’s experienced thus far – and given up sleeping with a blade underneath her pillow. Stupid. She’s never safe – she should know that by now. Working with the police has made her soft.
Though she’s been lulled into a false sense of security, this isn’t surprising. In the year that followed Saw’s abandonment, people had came after her in droves, eager to get a piece of the traitor that had left them. It’s been a long time since someone’s come after her like this, but she hasn’t truly let her guard down. Now that Saw’s dead, someone’s likely figured that they need to clean up all loose ends; it would make sense to take Jyn out of the picture.
“Now,” the Partisan hisses, pressing the blade harder against her throat. Her breathing comes shallower now to prevent further damage. If she moves even the tiniest bit, the knife will dig further into her skin. “You’re going to tell me what you’ve told the police so far and then I’m going to kill you.”
from Tumblr https://leaiorganas.tumblr.com/post/188371677943
say you love me 