i know places. rogue one: a star wars story. cassian andor/jyn erso. they cling to each other like they did on Scarif, before Bodhi and his stolen ship. they speak in silence, have from the beginning; it shouldn't be this easy.
It should've ended like this:
Cassian and Jyn disappearing into the white light of the blast.
(instead, it begins like this:
The beach and hearts beating in sync while awaiting death, and suddenly Bodhi and his stolen Imperial ship; Rebels shouting as they drag them on the sand; the Zeta-class transport heaving dangerously to the side, overcrowded with fighters and bucking under the strong winds; someone giving Chirrut basic first aid as Baze refuses to let go of him; relieved faces and grim ones.
Bodhi is a quick learner; he punches the hyperdrive while in atmo.)
Everything changes after Scarif.
Hope, then despair when the plans are lost and Alderaan is annihilated, and hope again when a Force-sensitive young farmer brings them back and manages to destroy the Death Star.
What started out as a disorganized guerilla against a galaxy-wide dictatorship becomes a unity of ideals; scattered forces and divergent opinions unequivocally rally with the Alliance under one goal. Ships and equipment are supplied, people join the ranks in mass. It is a relief to see such enthusiasm spreading so rapidly, even though everyone knows they're outmatched. Still, there's hope.
Rebellions are built on hope!
People celebrate the Death Star's destruction accordingly. Along with Solo and Skywalker, the surviving members of the Rogue One team are awarded medals during a big ceremony on Yavin IV.
Cassian and his fellow comrades fresh out of medbay decide not to keep them; hanging them on the small memorial in the rec room of the Great Temple, they honor those who gave their lives on Scarif (oh K-2, my friend, you would hate all of this), and the people of Alderaan, already forgotten in the joyous commotion.
"They won't be forgotten," Leia Organa says behind them. "They'll never be forgotten."
The Rebellion army relocates to Hoth.
They barely have time to strip Base One bare, ships overloaded with equipment and men and women. Cassian spends most of his time in Command Center, Jyn and Baze help with ammunition and weapon inventory before departure. Chirrut is a patient teacher with Skywalker.
Cassian and Jyn cross paths in corridors with promises to talk later, always later.
The five of them are assigned to Solo's Millenium Falcon for the trip.
"What a piece of junk," Jyn mutters loud enough to be heard. "We'll never make it to Hoth in one piece."
The hyperdrive fails twice; Jyn spends her time in the bowels of the ship, trying to understand the maze of conduits and electric cables while that Wookie won't stop howling. Chirrut laughs and translates. Cassian and Han have a shouting match in the cockpit while Bodhi slides in the pilot seat and tries to fly the ship; Baze just grunts in a corner.
A bigger ship takes pity on them and tractors them the rest of the way.
Echo Base is cold inside out; despite brave attemps to keep the place remotely warm, the cold sips in the hastily made base. The blast doors of the north and south entrances do little against the frigid nights and howling winds, and the heaters scattered through the maze of corridors, rooms and hangar decks sputter what little warmth they can produce.
So, on the first night here, Jyn leaves her bunk and slides in bed next to Cassian.
"I'm cold," she says at his sleepy Jyn? and snuggles against his side, throwing her blanket on top of his.
He readjusts the worn curtain giving his bunk a modicum of privacy in the crowded dorms; everyone else may be asleep but the room is crammed with bunks, wall to wall and floor to ceiling.
He should miss his private room on Yavin IV, but he doesn't; Jyn wouldn't be in his bed.
It's a tacit agreement (promises to talk later, always later); she shares his bed every night, silently slipping out of her bunk when everyone's turned in for the night.
Legs tangled, she takes his arm to wrap it around her waist and falls asleep to the feel of his breath against her neck.
"Your hearts resonate in harmony," Chirrut says one day when the five of them manage to have lunch together.
His companions look up at him but he just smiles cryptically.
People start to talk and Cassian gets worried but either Jyn isn't aware of the gossip or she just doesn't mind. Personal space is a foreign concept whenever the other is involved, and has been from the beginning. Always seemingly in orbit around each other, they become an item whenever someone mentions them; Cassian and Jyn, Jyn and Cassian.
If Han Solo and Leia Organa are famous for their public arguments, Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso are known for their formidable accomplishments together, on and off-base.
"Is it hard?" Luke asks around a mouthful during one breakfast.
"What's hard?" Jyn responds.
"Being married and in the Rebellion."
Bodhi's fork stops right before his open mouth, nervously glancing between Luke, Jyn and Cassian. The two of them are suddenly staring at each other. "They're—they're not married," Bodhi explains when it looks like none of them is going to answer.
Jyn is the first to snap out of it. "Right," she mumbles as she gathers her tray. "Not married."
Cassian sighs as his eyes follow her; so much for not minding the gossip.
Unsurprisingly, she stays in her bunk that night.
But the war wages on and they're sent on a sabotaging mission that goes awry, the now legendary duo crumbling under its own weight. While they manage to escape, it's a pretty close call and she has to help Cassian off the ship and to MedBay.
Along with a twisted ankle, he took a pretty bad blow to the ribs, but thankfully the medical droid assesses that they're not broken. "Feels like they are," he smiles ruefully, trying to deflect the heavy tension in the room, and her grip on his hand tightens. "Hopefully that'll get me a day or two off."
Her face hardens. "Don't joke about this. You almost died."
He sobers immediately, the first non-monosyllabic sentence she's uttered in days. His voice insistent but soft when he speaks, "I wasn't going to leave you behind, Jyn."
She shakes her head. She should be mad; she should tell him things that would make him go away but she can't. Somewhere between Yavin IV's Command Center and the beach on Scarif, they have become each other's cause. "You know, that's a stupid thing to do."
I'm not used to people sticking around when things go bad.
The door slides open, Draven immediately spotting them across the room and they know the moment is over. "I know. But there are people out there who'd do anything for you, Jyn," Cassian tells her while he still can.
(Welcome home.)
He's surprised to see her slip in his bunk later that night. He's propped up with both a sad flat pillow and his rolled-up winter coat, so she sits at the foot of the mattress, her legs pulled to her chest.
"Thank you for saving my life," she says after a while.
She can see the corners of his mouth lift in the dimness. "You're welcome."
Suddenly the sight of him is too much and, at the same time, not enough; in another life, they might have taken their time.
(or maybe not.)
The kiss is tenderness; an elevator ride and an embrace on the beach and the disappearing horizon.
His hands slip underneath her shirt and find warm skin; the rustling of the clothes they try to shed is loud in the relative silence of their dorms. Someone on the other side of the room coughs; Baze's bunk over them creaks as he tosses and turns. Metal pipes groan in the corridor.
He takes his time, tries not to wince at the pain in his ribs despite the painkillers he took earlier; instead, he watches the way her loose hair fan out on the flat pillow, listens as she exhales sharply through her nose as he runs his hand lower, and lower still.
(they cling to each other like they did on Scarif, before Bodhi and his stolen ship. They speak in silence, have from the beginning; it shouldn't be this easy.
Are you with me?
All the way.)
—end.