Chapter 1
Dr. Jyn Erso stepped onto the elevator, clutching her cup of coffee like it was the only thing that mattered. She was rushing down to the pathology lab to chat with the pathologist about results for her patients. A lot of doctors in the hospital were more than happy to take e-mailed pathology reports and do consults over the phone, but Jyn was always most comfortable conversing face-to-face. There was something so anonymous and disingenuous about an e-mailed report. She liked for other specialists to remember that her patients were people that she cared about, not just another case.
And if it gave her an excuse to see Dr. Cassian Andor's handsome face… well, that was just an added bonus.
Pushing the button to go down the elevator, she leaned back and sighed. Jyn loved her career as a pediatric oncologist, but there were days where the cases would tear out your heart and stomp it flat. Today had the potential to be one of those days.
She was stirred out of her thoughts by the elevator's doors sliding open. Stepping into the pathology lab, she was greeted with the smell of formalin and tissue blocks. The odor didn't particularly bother Jyn, but she could see why many of her colleagues avoided coming down here. The groan from the far corner of the lab told her that her presence had been detected. She rolled her eyes at the source of the groan (Dr. Art Kay, a pathologist who found her an endless nuisance), and turned her focus to the quiet pathologist working steadily at his bench. The bench was well organized, with patient records stacked neatly on wire separators, and slides precisely laid out side-by-side.
Even with his back turned, Dr. Cassian Andor created a striking profile. Tall, lean, all sharp angles and edges. His eyes had a perpetual look of curiosity, and his unruly hair contrasted with his tightly-wound personality. Jyn had had a bit of a crush on Cassian for a while, although she hadn't admitted it to anyone, not even herself. Always wary of romantic entanglements, and even more leery of the idea of sleeping with a colleague, Jyn kept her feelings tightly locked down. Instead she settled for this- early mornings over cups of coffee in the pathology lab, collaborating on cases and chatting pleasantly. These moments with Cassian were the calm in the storm of her day. Spending hours being barraged with tense conversations, emotional parents, and frightened children was taxing, and Cassian's quiet, steadying presence was a welcome relief.
"Ugh, she's BACK," exclaimed Kay from over by the cryostat.
Dr. Cassian Andor smirked and shook his head, turning back to the lens of his microscope. If one was looking for proof that pathologists have no people skills, Kay would be Exhibit A. Kay had no concept of subtlety, and made no secret of his dislike for Dr. Jyn Erso. Jyn had thoroughly questioned Kay on one too many cases, something he considered an insult to his skill set, rather than a physician doing due diligence. After an argument broke out that Cassian felt sure would end with one of them having a scalpel to the heart, Cassian made the unilateral decision to handle all of Jyn's cases. Not that he minded. He had gotten off to a rocky start with the feisty pediatric oncologist, but Cassian now looked forward to her drop-ins at the laboratory.
"Good morning to you too, Dr. Kay!" Jyn replied in a faux-cheerful voice.
"Good morning, Dr. Erso," said Cassian, "Are you here to review results for your cases lined up today?"
Jyn grinned. "You know me too well."
Cassian waved her over to his bench. "Where do you want to start?'
Jyn rummaged through her notes. "Mmmm…. let's start with the Jarik case."
Cassian sighed, "This one has been disappointing. I looked at the latest bone marrow aspirate, and reviewed the blood smear myself after the hematologist looked at it. Hypercellular bone marrow with abnormally high proportion of lymphoblasts. Blood smear shows decreased red blood cells and increased lymphoblasts, with basophilic stippling on some red blood cells, indicating a non-regenerative anemia. Looking at this, it seems likely that Valerie has come out of remission with acute lymphoblastic leukemia."
"Damn it" Jyn murmured, "She just finished her course of maintenance chemo three months ago."
Cassian glanced over at her, saw the flash of disappointment in her eyes, and felt a tightening in his chest. He always hated to be the bearer of bad news, but it was especially hard when it was Jyn. She was so passionate about her patients, such a strong advocate- it was one of the qualities he admired most in her. Unfortunately, those qualities meant that she took the bad news harder than some might, though she would never show it to others. He waited quietly while she finished taking notes on his findings, then Jyn asked him to e-mail her a list of recommended follow-up diagnostics so that she could get started on a treatment plan to review with the family.
Jyn was finishing writing out notes for her fifth case, when she picked her head up and saw Cassian looking at her. Her heart raced when they made eye contact. She saw him pull the last file out from beside his microscope, and he murmured "I saved the best for last."
"Mia Hamrick?"
"I have here on my microscope a frozen section from the tumor Baze excised last week in surgery."
"And?!"
Cassian grinned and gestured to his microscope, "You tell me, Dr. Erso."
Jyn let out an excited puff of air, and hurried over to the microscope, with Cassian just barely sliding out of the way in time to avoid a collision. She looked in through the lens and adjusted the focus, stared for about a minute, then looked at Cassian, excitement sparkling in her eyes. He grinned back at her.
"Clean margins, Cassian? Am I seeing this correctly?!"
He loved it when Jyn said his name, his first name. It made him feel like they were more than friendly work colleagues, like he might have a chance with her. And if he came hard into his hand some nights thinking of her moaning his name, that was no one's business but his own.
"Cassian?"
He was stirred out of his reverie with a curious glance from Jyn and a touch to his hand. It tingled even after she pulled hers back. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"Yes, clean margins. Make sure to give Baze a big pat on the back for this one. Excellent job. Now that it has been excised cleanly, her prognosis should be quite good."
Jyn smiled, and scribbled a few notes in her notebook. She grabbed her coffee mug, thanked Cassian, and rushed back to the elevator. The air of the room cooled as the elevator doors slid shut- or maybe it was just him.
If you had told him a year ago that he would be nursing a serious crush on Jyn Erso, he would have laughed you out of his office.
1 year ago
Cassian was sitting at his microscope, quietly reviewing a frozen tissue section, when he heard the elevator open. He turned around, and saw a pretty brunette with bright green eyes step out.
"Is Dr. Andor here?" she asked, her mouth a thin line.
Cassian picked up his hand and waved. The woman marched over to his bench, and slammed a report on the table in front of him.
"I'm Dr. Jyn Erso, the new pediatric oncologist on staff here. This is a report that you did for one of my patients, Lily Kerns."
Cassian blinked at the report, and slowly opened it. His eyes scanned across the page, searching for any mistakes. He prided himself on his attention to detail in his reports, and rarely received complaints. Finally, he looked up at Dr. Erso.
"I'm sorry, I'm not entirely sure why you are bringing this report back to me. Do you disagree with any of my findings?"
"Lily is a sixteen-year-old girl who presented to Dr. Organa in gynecology for hirsutism, clitoromegaly, and abdominal swelling and tenderness. Dr. Organa found an enlarged left ovary on ultrasound, and removed it, then sent the ovary and aspirate of a growth on the ovary to you for examination. She asked me to consult on the case because she felt that it may be a Sertoli cell tumor. Your top differential based on histopathology was a stromal luteoma."
"And?"
"You're wrong. There is no way this could be a stromal luteoma. Wrong signalment, and the results on the sex hormone panel aren't consistent with that differential. You need to re-evaluate the frozen section and aspirate."
Cassian scowled, now genuinely irritated. "Dr. Draven, our chief of pathology, examined this section himself, and felt that it was most likely a stromal luteoma."
Jyn scoffed. "So do you automatically accept a differential just because that's what your superior says it is? You may as well be an automated slide reader."
Cassian slammed an open hand on the bench top, and stood up, glaring down at her with a stormy grimace on his face. Jyn met his gaze, fearless and unyielding, heat flaring in green eyes.
"I did a three-year residency and three-year fellowship in pathology. You don't know what you are talking about. You've suddenly taken an interest in my work when it's convenient to criticize me, but I live and breathe this every day. I can't afford to make mistakes."
Jyn was silent for a moment, a look of genuine disappointment in her eyes. It cut right through him, though he barely knew her. She shrugged her shoulders, and murmured, "Your diagnosis is incorrect- you can't talk your way around this."
She tossed another sheaf of his papers next to his microscope, spun on her heel, and walked back towards the elevator. Right before she stepped on, she called over her shoulder, "Some light reading for you. Look at the damn section again."
In the following hours, Cassian stewed on his disagreement with Dr. Erso. He initially didn't want to pull out the sections again, or read the papers she had left for him. Her demeanor, her presumptuousness, her assumptions about his motives and skill set, grated at him. But as Cassian continued to stew on it, he remembered the advice of one of his mentors, Dr. Carlist Rieekan.
"Cassian, the biggest danger to a patient is an arrogant physician."
With those words buzzing through his mind, he went to the freezer, and pulled out the sections cut from Lily's ovary. He grabbed his well-worn histopathology text, and mounted the section back on his microscope. He turned on NPR in the background, and leaned forward to the microscope lens. Zooming in, he glanced at the photos in his open histo text. Back to the microscope. Back to the book. Five minutes he carried on like this, before murmuring, "Mierda."
Dr. Erso was right. It was a Sertoli cell tumor. He put his head in his hand, and sighed heavily. Rolling his chair up to his desk, he pulled up the report that he had previously typed up. It was time to eat crow.
Jyn had just left the room with a patient and family, and took a deep breath, as if hoping a strong exhale could expel all the sadness that lingered in her body. This day was rapidly going to shit. Between her argument with the arrogant pathologist that morning, and having to tell a family that their child's cancer was no longer treatable, her first week in this new job was not going well.
Eyes closed, she felt a light touch on her shoulder. She opened them again to see a skinny man in scrubs and a ponytail standing to her left.
"Umm..Dr. Erso?"
"That's me."
"Hi, I'm Bodhi Rook. I'm one of the nurses on your floor."
"Nice to meet you. What's up?"
"Umm…Dr. Andor is in your office. Said he wanted to speak to you."
"Shit," Jyn swore. She blinked when she saw Bodhi cringe away from her. She put a hand on his arm, and said, "Thanks for letting me know, Bodhi. It really was nice to meet you. I'll be in my office if anyone is looking for me."
Jyn all but stomped back to her office, formulating acid retorts and sarcastic jabs in her head as she went. When she arrived at her office, she swept in and snapped, "What now?"
Dr. Andor blinked at her, then smirked. Actually had the nerve to smirk. Jyn stood in front of him, arms crossed, foot tapping impatiently. Slowly, Dr. Andor pulled out a couple of pieces of paper, stapled together.
"Dr. Erso, I came by to bring you my revised pathology report on Lily Kerns' case. It seems you were right- the histopathology was consistent with a Sertoli cell tumor."
Jyn let out a puff of air and rocked a little on her heels. She had not expected this. She took the report from Dr. Andor, carefully reading through his revised findings. When she was done, she looked back at him appraisingly.
"I'm not used to people admitting when they've messed up. Or sticking around long enough to correct their mistakes."
Cassian gave her a hint of a smile, just barely there. Holding out his hand to shake hers, he said, "Welcome home, Dr. Erso."
Present
"Empathy, Carrie. The key in these kinds of discussions is empathy."
Jyn was getting ready to do her morning appointments. She liked to take one resident with her into meetings with the family. She also had Bodhi with her- he was the best nurse on her floor, and he was incredible with the children and teens in their care. With the way Bodhi spoke and stuttered, some might make the mistake of thinking that he was fragile. Jyn knew that this wasn't true. Bodhi was a rock, the one who held children filled with fear and told them that everything would be okay. One of the slim few whom Jyn felt she could be vulnerable with.
Bodhi opened the door, the Wyatts right behind him looking quite nervous. Jyn gestured for them to sit down, and took a deep breath before having to explain to them that their three-year-old son's neuroblastoma had metastasized to his lymph nodes. The cancer had progressed further, making it more difficult to treat, especially from a surgical perspective. Jyn held hands, passed tissues, and reassured the family that they should not give up hope yet. "After all, strong recoveries are built on hope."
After reviewing new treatment options and diagnostics with the Wyatts, Jyn quietly opened the door to her office and quickly gestured for Chirrut, the grief counselor assigned to her floor, to come in.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt. Perhaps you would like to come have a cup of tea in my office, where we can discuss all of this some more?"
They nodded, and Chirrut gently escorted them out to his office at the end of the pediatric oncology ward.
Chirrut was another rock on her floor. Blind since the age of three, Chirrut's vision had been taken from him by pediatric retinoblastoma. While he recovered fully from the cancer, he never regained his sight. Rather than becoming bitter about it, Chirrut worked hard to help children struggling with similar experiences to his own childhood. In addition to serving as grief counselor for this floor, he also ran a martial arts program for children experiencing pediatric cancers and immune system issues. Chirrut's constant sense of positivity brightened the spirits of the entire floor, and he leant strength to families that desperately needed it.
Finally, they came to the one appointment that Jyn had truly been looking forward to that morning. When Mia Hamrick's parents walked in through the office door, Jyn couldn't contain her smile.
"I have great news about Mia. Histopathology results came back, and the tumor that we removed was excised with clean margins. Based on that, and how early we caught it, she should make a full recovery."
Mia's parents burst into tears, holding each other tight. Jyn had to look away; the moment was too painfully sweet for her. She had all but given up on the idea of finding someone who she could trust enough to love, and kids didn't seem to be in the cards for her either. It may be for the best. She wasn't sure what kind of mother she would be; she'd never had an example.
A touch to her hand pulled Jyn back out of her thoughts. Mrs. Hamrick was looking at Jyn from across the desk.
"Thank you, Dr. Erso. We really can't thank you enough."
Jyn smiled, and blushed a little, uncomfortable with the attention. "Shall we go see Mia?"
They made their way to the exam room where Bodhi and Mia were playing with the toy dolls she brought with her. Jyn's heart tightened for a moment when she saw that the dolls' heads were shaved to look like Mia's.
Jyn crouched down next to Mia, and gently said, "Hi Mia- how are you feeling today?"
Mia turned around and grinned at Jyn, showing off gaps where she had lost baby teeth. "I'm feeling good! But my head kinda hurts where they opened it up."
Jyn hummed sympathetically. "Can I take a peek?"
Mia nodded, but when Jyn began to examine the area around the sutures with her fingers, Mia had a sharp intake of breath. Jyn did feel like the site looked a bit inflamed, and it didn't escape her notice that Mia reached out and grabbed Bodhi's hand when Jyn prodded around the wound. She was a very brave little girl- she didn't cry before or after her surgery, and never cried when getting her blood drawn.
"I'd like for one of the wound care specialists to come up and take a look at the surgery site before you leave today."
"Can Bodhi stay with me? He's my favorite," asked Mia.
Jyn looked at Bodhi and nodded her head. Then Jyn turned back to Mia and said, "Bodhi can definitely stay with you. And because you've been so brave, today and every day, I brought a little something for you." Out of the pocket of her white coat she produced a little medal. It said "I beat cancer" around the circumference of the circle, and in the middle, Mia's name was inscribed.
Mia grinned, and let Jyn slip the medal around her neck, before throwing her arms around Jyn's waist. "Thank you, Dr. Erso. You're my favorite doctor here."
Jyn smiled back, gently placing a hand on the side of Mia's head that wasn't sutured closed. This was why she did what she did. Jyn hated sick adults, and frequently questioned her decision to become a physician during her clinical rotations in third and fourth year of medical school. But she had a huge soft spot for children- she loved their innocence, their imagination, their hopefulness. As soon as she did her pediatrics rotation in third year, she knew that her initial instinct to apply for pediatric residencies had been the right one. She had never regretted her choice.
Later, in the break room, Jyn quietly unpacked the Mexican food that she and Bodhi had delivered to the hospital. She passed him a massive chicken burrito, and then pulled out her own steak burrito, cradling it like her firstborn child. After a few minutes of eating in silence, Bodhi broke it (Bodhi always broke the silence).
"Are you going to the hospital mixer tonight?"
Jyn made a face, an impressive feat with the amount of meat and cheese stuffed in her cheeks. Bodhi snorted. "No, I don't think I'll go. I'd rather be home, reading, have a beer... or three. Plus, I am tired as hell. This week has been killer."
Bodhi rolled his eyes. "Come on Jyn, you NEVER go. Then I'm the awkward person sitting at the table, trying to hit on Luke Skywalker unsuccessfully while simultaneously observing Han and Leia eye fucking each other from across the table. Please come. It will be so much more fun with you there."
Jyn shook her head, swallowed, and said, "Why don't you just come back to my place? We can watch Netflix and get drunk together."
Bodhi glared. "You need to be more social. You've been in this hospital a year and the only people you really know well enough to talk to regularly about non-medical stuff are me and Leia. I don't even think you know half of the nurses on this floor."
Jyn piped up to protest, when Bodhi pointed his finger at one of the nurses walking by. "Who's she?!"
"Ummm… Winter?"
"No, Winter is one of Leia's nurses in L&D. Just admit it. You don't know her."
Jyn rolled her eyes, "Fine. I don't know her. But I'm not really a party type of person."
"Well, it's not that different than what you do most Friday nights. You'll just be drinking around other people instead of drinking by yourself."
"Fine. I'll go to the damn party. But I'm NOT getting dressed up."
Bodhi did a little fist pump. Unbeknownst to both, Dr. Cassian Andor had passed by the break room on his way to a meeting. And while he hadn't initially been planning to go to the mixer, he now felt like he had a very good reason to attend.
That evening, Cassian found himself at one of the bars down the street from the hospital. Music was blasting, people were out on the dance floor, and hospital staff members were laughing and drinking at the bar. He only had eyes for one staff member. Jyn was across the room, sitting at the bar with Leia Organa, an OB/GYN, Han Solo, an orthopedic surgeon, Luke Skywalker, a psychiatrist, and Bodhi Rook, a pediatric oncology nurse. Cassian knew all of them, but was having trouble getting up the nerve to approach their group. He took another swig of his beer, hoping that it might give him the courage to finally walk over to them.
Cassian rarely drank. While some people were exhilarated by the dizziness, silliness, and impulsivity associated with intoxication, he feared it. Inebriation made him feel like he had lost control. Him standing there, with a beer in hand, was just another representation of how Dr. Jyn Erso was constantly making him rethink his careful plans and strict rules.
Meanwhile, Jyn was strategically seated between Luke and Leia. Bodhi was seated to the right of Luke, and Han was to the left of Leia. She was hoping that this would keep Bodhi out of the eye-fucking crossfire, and that he might finally get a chance to really get things going with Luke. Jyn thought that they would make a great couple, if Luke could just figure out that Bodhi was interested. Most days, he seemed totally oblivious, like his head was in the clouds.
Leia nudged Jyn, and muttered, "Cassian Andor has been staring at you for the past 20 minutes."
"I probably have something in my hair. Or maybe it's just because I'm the only one here still wearing scrubs."
Leia rolled her eyes, "Stop being so damn thick. Han, don't you think Cassian wants to fuck her?"
Han leaned back, glanced over in Cassian's direction for all of two seconds, and then looked back at Jyn, leering. "Yeah, sure looks like it to me."
Jyn blushed bright red. Cassian was ridiculously hot, but she didn't really think he was interested in her like that.
This time Bodhi spoke up. "Jyn, go invite him over here. He looks so lonely! It'll be more fun if you're talking to him, instead of brooding at the bar."
Jyn didn't really want to get up, but Leia slowly pushed her off the barstool. "Go get em!" whispered Bodhi conspiratorially. Han had a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, while Luke seemed relatively placid about the whole situation.
With a sigh, Jyn gulped down the rest of her beer, then made her way towards Cassian. Leia whooped a little too loudly; she really needed to lay off the vodka sodas.
She made eye contact with him when he was a few steps away.
Cassian watched carefully, trying his best to appear nonchalant, as Jyn nudged her way through the crowd towards him. Her face was flushed with drink and the warmth of the bar, and her eyes sparkled. It left him a little breathless.
"Hey."
"Hi."
He observed as she shifted her weight, and her face reddened. He was sure it was from the heat emanating off the dance floor.
"Ummm…would you like to come sit at the bar with us?"
Elation expands behind his ribs at her invitation, his heart pounds a little faster, he can taste his excitement heady on his tongue. Trying to consciously ground himself in the heat of the moment, he directs his focus on Jyn. She was still shifting her weight, and took her bottom lip between her teeth hesitantly. Her eyes skittered around the room, avoiding contact- avoiding rejection, he recognized. This rare moment of shyness from the spitfire pediatrician was endearing.
"Sure." Cassian smiled, and trailed behind Jyn back towards her rowdy group of friends. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but he would follow Jyn almost anywhere if she asked it of him.
"What are we drinking tonight?" Cassian asked, a playful edge to his voice.
"Want to do shots of tequila?" proposed Jyn.
Cassian rolled his eyes. "So American," he huffed.
"Cassian, you got your citizenship last year. You are an American."
"American in name only! I wouldn't disgrace Mexico by taking shots of our favored drink."
Jyn pursed her lips, a little put out. "Okay. Well then. I'll take shots of tequila, and you can do shots of another liquor of my choosing."
Cassian grinned at her. "Fair enough. But I'll almost certainly drink you under the table."
She was never one to back down from a challenge.
"I can't believe that you actually hired a stripper for one of your pathology professors!"
Two hours later, Jyn was more than a little tipsy, Leia was sitting in Han's lap at the bar, and Bodhi had dragged Luke out onto the dance floor with him. Han had just finished telling a story about how he and Wedge Antilles had hired a stripper to come into class on the birthday of an uptight pathology professor back in their med school days.
"Believe it, sweetheart. It helped to get the stick out of his ass, anyways."
Jyn snorted. She had gone to medical school at Duke University on scholarship, so most of her "wild" stories were tame compared to Han's. She had spent a lot of her time in medical school studying… or sleeping. She glanced over at Cassian. He was looking at her with a smile that was almost dopey, though she had a hard time calling anything the methodical pathologist did "dopey."
"How about you, Cassian? Any wild medical school stories?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook his head, grinning. "No, nothing too wild. I was very studious. Although one time some friends of mine caught me sleeping in the library and managed to strip me out of everything but my underwear. They sent me on a scavenger hunt for it all the next morning. That was an embarrassing walk to my locker."
Jyn laughed a little too loudly, trying not to think of how sexy Cassian would look in his underwear. Attempting to clear her mind, Jyn looked out onto the dance floor. Bodhi and Luke were dancing goofily, trying out silly disco moves and laughing at each other. Cassian tapped her shoulder.
"Another?" He held up a shot glass of tequila to her, raising an eyebrow daringly.
"Oh, what the hell, why not," Jyn relented. Cassian poured a little salt on her hand- and she licked it up, holding eye contact with him. Tossing back the liquid, feeling it burn down the back of her throat, she could sense the heat of his gaze on her. He handed her a wedge of lime, and while she sucked down the sour juice he brushed a lock of her hair out of her face.
Breaking the tension, she called out to the bartender, "How about a shot of Jagermeister for my friend here?"
Jyn caught the subtle shift in Cassian's body language at the word "friend". It didn't seem that Cassian had too many of those- he mostly kept to himself. Kind of like her. It was no wonder that she kept to herself so often- when she and Cassian first sat at the bar, she spent a half hour excitedly discussing all her cases with him. It was only when Leia tugged her off to the bathroom that Jyn was gently reminded that it would be best to talk about something besides work. When she casually slid back onto the bar stool, she changed the subject to their tastes in music after a significant eyebrow raise from Leia.
Jyn learned that Cassian loved Pink Floyd, Radiohead, and David Bowie. They laughed about a story Jyn told of a time that she broke her nose while sleepwalking, and Jyn nearly choked on her water when Cassian tried to imitate the Frenchman from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Eventually, they had gotten roped into a greatly exaggerated retelling of Han Solo's medical school exploits. Throughout the evening, Cassian and Jyn had shifted toward each other, and now their hands were only centimeters apart.
Jyn glanced over at Han and Leia, who were making out against the bar. She peeked at Cassian out of the corner of her eye. He was still watching her, pupils wide, gaze scrutinizing in the best of ways. She sucked in a breath and looked back up at the line of glass bottles above the bar. Tendrils of desire swirled low in her belly. Maybe it was her best friend acting like a randy teen with her boyfriend, maybe it was the tequila, maybe it was because she hadn't had sex with someone else in over two years, but Jyn suddenly felt bold. Turning back to Cassian, she extended her hand.
"Care to dance?"
Cassian didn't hesitate to take her hand- she pulled him to the center of the floor, away from prying eyes on the edge. Something sultry played in the background, and Cassian pulled her back to his chest. She began to teasingly grind her ass against him, and she heard his soft groan in her ear. A bolt of pleasure traveled straight to her core. Snaking her arms around his corded neck, she tilted her head to one side, exposing the tender flesh. Cassian gently kissed and nipped her neck, rubbing his stubble along the back of it as he explored. Jyn gasped when he took the edge of her ear between his teeth. She turned around then, captured his eyes with her own. The heat in his gaze was unmistakable. Cassian tightened his grip on her, and she pressed her hips closer to his, communicating her desire. Jyn watched as arousal flickered across his face. In that moment, the fledgling tendre they held for one another sparked into a blaze. Cassian leaned forward, and Jyn met him, pressing her lips to his.
What started as a hesitant first kiss quickly grew into something wild. Cassian pulled her to him roughly, taking her jaw firmly in his hands, and Jyn nipped at his bottom lip in response. Spreading her thighs, she started to grind herself more aggressively against him, releasing a hiccup of pleasure when he pushed one of his legs firmly against her core. Something in the back of Jyn's mind said that this was probably getting a little too heated for a work event, but she was too tipsy to care.
Unfortunately, it appeared that Cassian's mind was in the same vein. He slowly disentangled their limbs, bringing his hands to a more chaste spot at her waist. Sighing, Jyn rested her head against the firm plane of his chest, and Cassian distractedly ran his fingers up her spine. They swayed like that for a moment, held by the weight of unspoken attraction, before being interrupted by another loud whoop from Leia at the bar.
They broke apart, and saw Leia, Han, and Bodhi all grinning at them. Luke had a little more discretion than the other three, but he had also had less to drink.
"Come on, Jyn! Let's do one more round of shots before the night ends!" called Leia.
Jyn looked back at Cassian, and he shrugged. She walked back towards the bar, where Leia was ordering up another round of tequila shots. Jyn reached for the shot glass when Leia slapped her hand out of the way.
"No! I have a fun idea!"
Jyn rolled her eyes. Leia's "fun ideas" when drunk often led to trouble.
"I want us to do body shots."
Jyn felt her face heating up, and she looked back at Cassian, whose eyes had widened. His face quickly settled into something inscrutable, only slightly betrayed by the way his pupils had fattened into deep black pools. Luke also looked a little uncomfortable. Bodhi, on the other hand, seemed ridiculously enthusiastic.
He broke the tension by announcing, "I'll do shots with Luke!"
"Alright, I'm in," Jyn announced. "Cassian, are you game? Or are you still feeling too snobby to do a shot of tequila?" Her heart skipped a beat as she waited for his response to her teasing dare.
He smirked. "I prefer the term 'refined'. But I'm in." She felt a little thrill of delight surge through her.
"So who goes first?" Bodhi asked
Leia grinned. "Jyn, Bodhi, and I will do the first round of shots, and Cassian, Luke, and Han can do the second round of shots. And I get to choose where the salt goes."
Jyn blushed furiously, even as her thighs pressed together in anticipation. She looked down for a moment, then gestured up to the bar at Cassian, his expression impassive except for a reddening on the tips of his ears. As he laid his lean body across the wood surface, her heart rate picked up.
How the hell did we end up here? When Jyn had approached him, face flushed and eyes wild, he had anticipated chatting with her, breaking down some of the walls that she maintained meticulously. The way their chemistry had escalated while they danced had his cock weeping in his pants like he was a teenager. He willed his body to cooperate, but the memories of Jyn pressing the length of her form against his on the dance floor made it difficult to maintain his equilibrium. He felt his self-control slip a little more at the thought of her mouth and tongue smoothing along his body. Han and Luke were also laying out on the bar, and Leia unceremoniously pulled open Han's button-up shirt to pour a line of salt across his abdomen. After she had popped a lime wedge into Han's mouth, she walked over to Cassian. Grinning deviously, she said, "Can you unbutton your shirt all the way?"
Cassian's fingers shook a little as he worked at the buttons, and he inhaled sharply when he realized that Leia was pouring the line of salt right above his waistband on his pants. She handed him a lime wedge, and moved on to Luke. Jyn grabbed a shot of tequila from off the bar, and he placed the wedge into his mouth.
Jyn couldn't help but giggle a little when she saw serious Cassian Andor trussed up on a bar with his shirt unbuttoned and a lime wedge in his mouth. But then she remembered that that would be her in a moment, and the snickers stopped abruptly.
"Okay, on the count of 3," Leia announced. "1… 2… 3!"
Jyn walked over, leaned forward, and gingerly licked the trail of salt off Cassian's lower abdomen. The sparse, coarse hairs on his stomach brushed against her lips. The taste of the salt had blended with the taste of Cassian's skin, and Jyn could almost savor his arousal on her tongue. She heard his sharp intake of breath, felt his abdominal muscles flex, and when she sat back up, saw how she had stimulated him. She threw back the shot of tequila, and after swallowing, leaned towards Cassian's face. He met her halfway, and she grabbed the lime from his mouth, siphoning down the tangy juice.
In the aftermath, she bit her lip, waiting for his reaction. Gooseflesh prickled up and down her arms in nervous anticipation. He slowly sat up, slid down off the bar, and walked towards her with that same sexy intensity in his eyes. Jyn looked up at him, gravitating towards the fervent energy rolling off his body in waves. He placed his hand against the back of her neck, starting to draw her to him. As she leaned forward, Leia loudly cleared her throat. They turned towards her.
"Jyn, it's our turn! Get up on the bar."
Jyn tried to push herself up on the bar, but found that she was too short to get all the way up. She looked to Cassian, and said, "A little help?"
He nodded, and put his hands on her waist, quickly lifting her up onto the bar. Han grabbed the salt shaker this time, and walked toward Leia, who was already pulling off her pretty pink blouse. Jyn's face reddened as she grabbed the hem of her scrub top and pulled it off, throwing it on the bar stool beside her. Cassian's eyes became impossibly darker as he drank her in. Jyn took a deep breath and laid back. Han walked over, and poured salt into Jyn's cleavage- she tittered, and wasn't quite sure if it was from the sensation or nerves. She accepted the proffered lime wedge, delicately setting it between her teeth.
Han started the countdown this time. At three, Cassian leaned forward over Jyn's body. She shivered when his breath fanned over her breasts, her nipples hardening in response. She closed her eyes as his tongue ran into her cleavage, licking up the grains of salt. When he pulled back to drink the tequila, she felt the air cool the trail he had left behind. Jyn's stomach fluttered as he leaned forward to take the lime wedge in his mouth
His lips glistened with lime juice as he pulled away, and Jyn's mind flashed to a fantasy of Cassian's face between her thighs, her slick shining on his lips and cheekbones. She flicked her eyes to her scrub top, but as she leaned forward to grab it, nearly toppled off the bar. She was caught just in time by Cassian, who gently lifted her off and set her on her feet.
"You okay?" he asked, assessing her intently.
Jyn nodded, still feeling a little wobbly. She pulled her shirt back over her head. Bodhi and Luke were grinning at each other like idiots on one side. On the other, Leia was making out with Han like they were the only two people there.
Jyn threw a peanut from the bar at them. "Get a room!"
"Oh, we will, sister," Han grinned lasciviously.
Leia enthusiastically wrapped her arms around his neck, and said, "Take me home, you scoundrel."
"You've got it, princess."
Han scooped Leia up in his arms, and Jyn watched as they stepped out of the bar and hopped into the Uber that they had called.
Bodhi tapped Jyn on the shoulder. "We're pretty beat, I think it's time to call it a night. See you Monday?"
Jyn smiled and nodded. Bodhi was turning around to leave, when she suddenly threw her arms around him. "Thanks for making me come out tonight, Bodhi."
Bodhi grinned at her affectionately. "That's what friends are for."
After Luke and Bodhi had made their exit, Jyn threw her arms out and exclaimed, "And then there were two!"
Cassian gave her the little half-smile that she was beginning to recognize as distinctly him. She stepped a little closer to him, and began playing with the collar of his shirt (she appreciatively observed that he hadn't buttoned it yet). They circled each other, slowly moving closer into the other's orbit. An invitation lingered in the air between them despite their mutual reticence. Stepping into the void, Cassian took her chin in his hand, tipping her face towards his. He leaned down, and Jyn stepped forward just enough that their lips met. Cassian ran one hand down her back, pulling her into him, and pushed the other into her hair, gently cupping the back of her neck.
When he pulled her forward, Jyn deepened the kiss, eliciting a moan from Cassian. She stroked his upper lip lightly with her tongue, before biting his bottom lip. He groaned- the way she shared herself with him was everything he had fantasized about. Cassian pulled back, and kissed behind her ear, down the side of her neck. Jyn sighed with pleasure, melting into his touch.
She leaned forward to peck him on the lips again. Then she stepped back, and grinned.
"Want to take this back to my place? It's just around the corner."
Cassian nodded, too overcome to speak, and followed Jyn out of the bar.