She climbed higher and higher, her breath ragged and shallow. "Please, please, please." She whispered quietly, like a mantra. Around her she heard shouting and gun shots but she ran, knowing she had to hurry. She had to get to the ship. She had to get to Cassian. She urged her muscles to go faster. "Come on, come on…" She pushed herself, she would make it, she was so close…
Thud. Then there was nothing.
The first thing she knew when she woke up was pain. It felt like fire, all across her body. She groaned, trying to figure out what happened. She was running and then… they must have knocked her out. She realised she was in a sitting position, with her arms and legs somehow bound to a cold construction. A chair? She blinked, trying to clear her head.
"Ah, I see you've decided to join us." A blurry figure appeared in her line of vision.
"Bast." She spat out and found that she could taste blood. What did they do to her?
"I see you remember me. You gave us quite the chase today."
"Why does… why does it hurt?" She asked, cursing herself for sounding weak.
"I'm afraid we had to start the fun without you since you were… indisposed. Meeting with you is always a pleasure, though do I apologise for the circumstances."
"What will happen to me?" She asked shakily.
"You will die here and before you do, you will tell us all you know about the Rebellion."
He smiled and she felt goosebumps all over her body. She believed him. She knew she was going to die. Cassian wasn't an idiot - he was probably long gone and he wouldn't have been able to get her out either way. But she'd be damned if she'd help Bast. She wouldn't break. "Like hell I'll tell you."
"Oh, you won't have a choice." She had expected him to leave the dirty work to the lower ranks but she should have known he wouldn't have passed this chance to hurt her. She was special, well, special to him. They had met many times and he knew her better than any other imperialist. It was just her luck that he was one of the most intelligent, powerful and cruel generals of the lot.
She closed her eyes as he picked up the knife. "Don't worry, you won't die anytime soon."
A moment later the screaming began.
Cassian was waiting for her, the ship ready to take off. His heart was beating quickly and he tried to steady his shaking hands. This was usual. On most missions they ended up fleeing and she always was the one to finish their job or distract the troopers while he got the ship ready. And he hated it. He hated that it was always her who was put at risk. Of course, she was better than him, more skilled and more capable but he always ended up feeling guilty that he was safe while she was out there.
So far she had always come back. He feared that one day she wouldn't.
K2 wasn't much help, always telling him the odds of her getting killed. Cassian was grateful that today the droid chose to stay silent, he was sick with worry as it is. He tried to calm down. Soon she'll come running in, they'll take off and as usual, he'll hug her. He'll hold her close and she'll shake, the adrenaline wearing off. Then the moment will end and they'll laugh it off and go back to being best friends.
She didn't come running in. She didn't come back.
"K?" He turned to his friend determinedly.
"Yes, Captain?"
"Let's go." K-2 sighed with irritation.
"Sir, I must inform you that the chance of saving-"
Cassian exited the ship.
She had lost all track of time. She also had lost a lot of blood. At first she had tried to feed Bast false information, hoping he would believe it and lessen the pain. It didn't happen. He had managed to read through all her bullshit and she payed for it. And so she started sharing unimportant or old information. Little tidbits that wouldn't hurt the rebellion. She told herself she could stand strong, however with every question was closer to breaking. Maybe he'd be satisfied with what she was giving him.. Maybe they'll kill her soon.
They didn't. They broke her body so many times and they were close to breaking her mind. Bast was feeling comfortable, constantly talking to her about his plans for her. There was no way to get away, the walls were closing in on her. She either stayed quiet, or rambled without stop. All she felt was fire. She didn't feel individual parts of her body. She didn't feel her broken leg, cut hip or fractured breastbone. It all blended into a burning pain. She just wanted to die.
She passed out from the loss of blood and Bast took a break.
Meanwhile, Cassian was scared. He had overheard that she was in room 731B - that she was still alive - but the way the troopers had talked about her suggested that soon it would be too late to save her. Maybe it already was.
The plan was simple. Kill the troopers guarding her and get out of this hellhole. K-2 and Cassian agreed that the captain would would have to be the one to carry her, since K-2 would struggle with being gentle and might end up hurting her even more.
They were lucky, it seemed that the station hit a lull and the general that was interrogating her left to get a break. The room was guarded with but a couple troopers.
"Let's go!" Cassian whispered. K-2 walked in. The troopers immediately aimed their blasters at him.
"The general say I'm to take the prisoner to room 2107."
"Identify yourself! What is your number?" K-2 sighed.
"Every time. Lying isn't my strong side." He quickly knocked down the troopers. Cassian ran in. "We have 2 minutes before they realise she's gone."
Cassian froze and felt his heart drop when he saw her. She was… hurt. He couldn't even estimate the damages done to her. Her limbs where hanging in unnatural angles and she was covered in blood. The little skin he saw was blue and purple and he was sure those were burns he saw on her arms. He stood still, eyes wide, staring at her, not being able to move. K-2 pushed him forward, bringing him out of the trance. The droid rushed forward, and started to work on her restraints. She was bound to a metal chair by metal clasps on her legs and arms. There was a click and she fell onto the ground, sprawled. Cassian's heart ached for her but he had to concentrate on getting her home.
He lifted her up without much difficulty (thanking the Rebellion for making sure he was fit) and nodded to K2. They rushed out and ran towards the ship. He felt how broken her body was and just held her tighter as they raced through the station. Her eyes opened slightly and she muttered something that sounded like his name. His heart panged and he shushed her soothingly, letting her know he was there. That he'd always be there.
They managed to get to the ship unseen. No sooner had they reached it than the alarms went off. Cassian lay her on the bed, strapping her so she wouldn't roll off as K2 started the ship. Thankfully, they managed to launch without further difficulty and soon were on their way to Yavin IV.
His eyes watered as he held her hand. He had bandaged her up as much as he could so she wouldn't lose anymore blood, but now that he had nothing to occupy him, he could only sit there thinking about how just mere hours ago they've been laughing together. How she'd been okay and next to him. He lay his head on hers and breathed in raggedly.
"I'm so, so sorry." He stroked her knuckles with his thumb, desperately needing contact. "You'll be okay, everything will be okay, we'll be okay." He whispered brokenly.
She lay unconscious for four full days. Cassian spent his time tinkering with the ship, trying to take his mind off of the fact that she had been tortured!, however the image of her battered body kept him up at night.
When she finally woke up, he felt relief until they told him he couldn't see her because of the multitude of examinations she had to undergo.
Finally, after days of worrying, a medic came and told him she was ready. Cassian rushed to the ward and when he entered, stood rooted at the doorway. She wasn't a pleasant sight. She was asleep and it was clear they had cleaned her up and helped her to the best of their abilities, but all he saw were the many cuts. Some were just slight nicks, barely breaking the skin, but many where visibly deep, already stitched up. Her skin was an ugly purple colour and she lay with her foot stiffened. They couldn't put it in a cast because of many other injuries on it. Her torso was bandaged tightly and Cassian stared at her, his breathing heavy. Broken ribs. Broken leg. Cuts, bruises, burns. He tried to steady his breath. She was okay. She was going to be okay.
She was sleeping peacefully, so he sat down next to her, determined to be there when she opened her eyes.
Two hours later she woke up. She groaned and he was so surprised that he almost fell of his chair.
"Cassian?" She lisped out his name and he felt his heartbeat quicken. She was going to be okay.
"I'm here." He grasped her hand and smiled. "How are you feeling?" She grimaced.
"Awful, but alive. How… how am I alive? What happened?"
"Me and K-2 got you out. The general who was… interrogating you," Cassian had to stop himself from wincing, instead focusing on keeping his eyes on hers. "He took a break after you passed out." She frowned, a look of fear on her face at the mention of her torturer. She quickly pulled on a mask, one that he immediately recognised and saw through. He would remember to look out for her. She sighed, smiling at him half jokingly.
"I'd hit you if I could. You were supposed to leave me." He shook his head seriously.
"We're a team. There was no way I was going to leave you. I'll never leave you."
She sighed, too tired to argue. He did save her. "Thank you."
"You scared the shit out of me. I thought you were…" His throat ran dry and he pushed away the thought. "Never do that again, please." He lowered his head, trying to shake of the memory of the fear he felt when he thought she was gone. She squeezed his hand.
"Hey, we're a team. We go out together or not at all. I'm alive and will be okay. I promise to be more careful."
"Thank you." He looked into her eyes and suddenly hugged her tightly. He needed to feel her presence. She embraced him and nuzzled her face into his neck. They held each other for a long moment, needing the comfort. He was the first to pull away, albeit reluctantly. She smiled at him.
"Thank you. Thank you for saving me, for always being there for me. I love you and K2 so much. Thanks for being my best friend."
He felt warmth in his chest and felt suddenly felt the need to communicate how much he cared for her, how much she meant to him. Slowly, he leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers. His hands cupped her cheeks and his heart soared as she responded. The kiss was gentle, filled with love. They withdrew from each other only when they started lacking air. They grinned at each other. Cassian laughed and hung his face.
"Well, that was amazing."
"It was good, wasn't it?" She smiled, making him swell with joy.
"Definitely. Want to do it again sometime?" He was greeted by laughter as she ruffled his hair.
"As soon as I get out of here."
"When you get out of here, I'm taking you for a date." He leaned in. "That sound good?"
"I can't wait." He kissed her again.
My first Cassian Andor fic :) Hope you enjoyed it!