Skyfall and Stardust

By Laliel

Note: Rogue One spoilers. Duh. And I own nothing.

Jyn expected to feel the sweet sensation of triumph for clearing her father's legacy and upholding his reputation sweep over her, given the years of bitterness and sorrow she had built up around his name, but it was remarkably faint. It was over, but so much more revolved around this moment than just her father. And now, was the man who had imprisoned Galen truly dead? She didn't think so, for she had caught the slight rise of the chest on the white clad form crumpled on the platform, but he soon would be. Cassian's blaster bolt had struck with lethal accuracy. What now? What could be done? She shifted her weight in the quiet dark of the repulsorlift, her own blaster wound sending fire coursing through her nerves. Steady and warm against her head she could feel Cassian's heart beating, more rapidly than it should as his own life leaked out of his side and dripped onto her arm that she had wrapped about his waist for support.

For the first time she felt understood. Not having to run anymore, hide from the Empire, live as a hitch-hiker through the stars. It was almost peaceful. She glanced up at Cassian and caught his warm brown eyes in the flickering light, they, too, had a peace she had not seen in the rebel before. This moment had brought them both to a place beyond their own grief and violence. She chose to not look away as he shifted her ever so slightly closer. His breath warmed strands of her tangled bangs, one his own arms was wrapped firmly around her and drew her up slightly on her toes.

The doors slid open with an abrupt snap-hiss. But the moment was not lost, for Cassian leaned down and touched his drying lips to her temple. It was shimmer-silk light, so brief and yet filled a chasm Jyn didn't even know she had. She had been alone for so long, living without personal relationships or touches that she often wondered if that part of her had died. Apparently not, as her cheeks warmed and her heartbeat sped up for a moment.

She helped him struggle out of the lift into the bright daylight, with the warm tropical air scented by the sea's saltiness. All around were the remains of battle, with rebels and storm troopers bodies littering the ground, their blood mingling together amid flakes of ash. Larger structures and crashed ships smoldered and leaked acrid smoke into the atmosphere, swirling on the breeze. There was no movement, no sound, like the stillness before a massive storm. There was so much devastation and death, yet the promise of hope in that one transmission had made it all worth so much more than their own lives.

"Do you think…" She broke off and looked up at Cassian, who was studying the sky above, then the coastline so near to them. An abrupt flash of light and intensity shook the earth far out from shore and the ground seemed to roll away from their feet. It ended just as suddenly as it began. Cassian looked down at the petite brown haired whirlwind that had overtaken his life so suddenly. "No. We are alone."

She set her mouth in the firm determination he had learned she possessed and pointed to the nearby place where sand and ocean swirled and danced in harmony. He nodded and they set off as quickly as their respective injuries allowed. They arrived at the edge and knelt down by the water, finally resting before the destruction swirling closer. She turned to him and reached out towards his side, she wanted to help. "Don't…there is no point." His voice was so quiet, but he did not sound hopeless. There was just the assurance that for these two people tomorrow was never going to come, so what was the point? "You know, I don't think you ever told me about Stardust."

A smile toyed around Jyn's lips as she adjusted her position, bringing Cassian closer. Those warm brown eyes sparkled down at her. "My father called me that, from the time I can first recall anything…he said I was as unpredictable and lovely as stardust. You can see it from afar, but you cannot possess it without being lost to it."

"I think I am…" It made her heart skip a beat, so simple a statement yet filled with so much potential that neither now had the time for. She gave him another quirky smile and reached up to touch his wounded cheek. This time his lips found hers and although it was brief, the feel, the taste was intense, unsparing. She pulled away when he began to cough briefly and rested her head on his shoulder and listened as his breathing shifted, it had a slight gurgle to it. Perhaps his lungs had been damaged after all…

"Alright, I confessed to you. So what did they call you?" The firestorm was coming so much closer, the winds and scorching light and heat were beginning to lick at every thought and moment. It was Cassian's turn to smile, albeit with a bittersweet tinge to it. "I was alone after I turned six, but the people who found me called me Skyfall. They said I could survive the end of anything, even the sky." He drew an intake of air in a small chortle and groan. "I guess I proved them wrong." The sky was so bright now and each second seemed to drag out. He gave her another glance as if to see where her mind was at. She cocked her head and put on her most defiant expression. For them, death was the end, but for the Rebellion it was new beginnings. "Your father would have been proud of you, Jyn." He reached out his hand and she clasped it, feeling the ridge worn onto his palm from years of wielding a blaster. She knew he could also feel the calluses worn into hers from the same cause, reflections of where their souls had been living.

Jyn wished she could say so much more, but time had run out like sands from a glass. Cassian wrapped his arms solidly around her petite frame and she did the same, their hearts beating together for that long, final moment before the wave of white-hot destruction arrived. And at the end of all things, Skyfall and Stardust did not give up, they believed in a new hope.