It had been a long time since Jyn had cried, but nothing had ever made her want to whimper before - until now.

She stood nearly naked in the dressing room, staring in horror at the...contraption in front of her. Okay, maybe she was being melodramatic. It was a dress. And at least it wasn't ridiculously skimpy. But it was dark red and long with thin straps, a deep cut in the front that would do little to hide what little she had in the chest area, and a sheer material at the bottom that did nothing to hide the scandalously high cut up the thigh underneath. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd worn a dress, much less something this nice.

And they expected her to wear it and be able to walk in it with high heels? She was honestly terrified that she might step on the bottom and rip it off entirely.

"Almost done?" Imwe called from the other side.

Jyn gritted her teeth and snatched the hanger. He knew damn well that she wasn't almost done. The man just liked pushing her to the edge. He seemed a lot more confident than Cassian that she wouldn't strangle him after all of this was said and done.

As she put on the dress, she couldn't help but let her thoughts drift to her partner. She knew why he had chosen her for this assignment. She was the only one that fit the bill or at least came close. It wasn't that he thought she was attractive or talented enough to play the role of beauty queen. There just wasn't another option. Given one, he would've gladly taken it. Instead, he was stuck with her. He'd been on plenty of missions before, but this was his first time running an op himself. He needed to look good. If she messed up, it would be on his head.

Damn him. He knew she wouldn't be able to leave him hanging like this. He also had known just how to manipulate her. When they'd gotten word that there was a bomb threat hanging over the pageant, the FBI had jumped to intervene. It might be some dumb beauty thing, but there were innocent lives in danger. She couldn't just sit back idly and watch people get hurt.

Once the dress was on, she wiggled her feet into the shoes and did her best not to tip over. For some reason, being a few inches taller made her feel like her entire world was off balance. Okay, there, now she was done. She took one look at her reflection and cringed. She looked like an idiot. No way anyone was going to fall for this schtick and think she was the winner of a state beauty pageant. The judges were going to eat her alive and that was if the other women didn't get to her first.

"Alright, I'm coming out," Jyn announced as she pushed the door open and wobbled out.

She'd been expecting Imwe and Malbus to be there, but was also greeted with the sight of Cassian next to them. Normally, her partner was absolutely impossible to read. She had grumbled more than once over the fact that he was like that with even her and they'd been working together for years. It was as if he didn't want anyone to have a single idea of what he was thinking, as if they might use it against him. She'd gotten to know him better than most during the years of their partnership, but he still prefered to remain totally impassive and blank.

Right now, however, there was no mistaking the shocked look on his face. His eyes were wide, his eyebrows raised, his mouth parted slightly, and his face was completely open. It had the instant effect of making her blush almost dark enough to match the color of her dress and she hated him for it. He honestly hadn't thought she had it in her; he'd thought her too hopeless, too unattractive, too little. She bet he was questioning right now if this was the same woman that had gone in the dressing room.

It just made her feel humiliated. Either he'd thought that she wasn't attractive before or had now suddenly come to the realization that she was a woman. It made her feel like less of a person. Even worse, she couldn't tell what she wanted more. For him to see her as a beautiful woman or for him to ignore it altogether and look at her like she was just another capable agent.

"Not an entirely helpless case then," Imwe decided, "although I can feel the awkwardness radiating from you."

"Yeah, well, it's not very comfortable," Jyn shot back. She fiddled with the front of her dress, overly concerned that it wasn't doing a good job hiding anything. She couldn't even wear a bra with this thing. Really, she didn't have much up top, but she'd had trouble keeping them from falling out when putting the dress on. "It feels like it's not covering me at all."

"It's not supposed to feel like a blanket," Imwe sighed. "Think of it as water."

When Jyn glanced back up, Cassian snapped his mouth shut and averted his eyes from her. One of his typical impassive expressions fell over his face, but she thought that it looked a little forced for once. He placed his hands behind his back and straightened up, looking totally professional once again. If she hadn't seen him a few seconds ago, she never would've noticed a difference in his behavior.

"It must be doing something for you, however," Imwe continued in that annoyingly amused voice of his. "Agent Andor has certainly been rendered speechless."

Cassian smiled and this time she caught the tightness in its edges. "I'm needed elsewhere, I'm afraid. We need to make sure we have the proper bugs and equipment packed before we set up shop at the hotel. I just wanted to check in."

"Still think I'm the best fit?" Jyn asked.

His eyes shot to her and she did a little spin for him, doing her best not to topple over. When she turned back to face him, he was still staring at her. The smile had left his face, replaced by an unreadable look. She couldn't tell if he was relieved, irritated, or tired. Maybe he was disappointed. He never liked to show her that look; it made him feel bad. Instead, all he did was give her a little nod and was then on his way, leaving her to the torturous whims of Imwe and Malbus.

"I think he's reevaluating a few of his life choices," she heard Malbus mumble to Imwe. It took everything in her power not to storm back into the dressing room. Actually no, that was a lie. All it took were the damn shoes. She couldn't do any storming in these, not without some practice first, which she would most undoubtedly get.

"I look ridiculous," Jyn grumbled as she maneuvered her way through the hotel lobby. People bustled all around her, many of them pushing carts that carried large suitcases, and employees trying to get a handle on things. She had never seen so many women in bright colored dresses in her life. After all, she'd never gone to her prom in high school. This was completely out of her element.

"You look fine, Jyn," Cassian's soothing voice came from the earpiece, "just relax."

"Easy for you to say," Jyn harrumphed. "You're not the one wearing three inch heels trying to walk on carpet."

He didn't say anything to that, but she could just picture him grinning and she wanted to smack it off his face. Oh sure, he was getting a lifetime's supply of laughs out of this, him and all the other guys on the team. They were all cozy back in the room they'd sequestered for a base, snacking on junk food and take out, while she was slowly forgetting the taste of bread and beer. It wasn't fair. None of Cassian's undercover ops were this torturous, although they were a lot more dangerous. The only real danger she was in right now was a sprained ankle.

At least Imwe hadn't forced her into another long dress. She was still getting used to walking around in it. Instead, she was wearing a floral dress that rose just an inch or two above knees with capped sleeves and a modest neckline. They had determined that she did not have much in the chest area, but also this was a luncheon where she would have a chance to meet the other contestants for the first time. Malbus said it would be best if she did not look too intimidating, which she didn't think was a problem, except for her natural glare and frown.

"Please remember to smile, Jyn," Imwe's voice said.

Jyn plastered a smile on her face and replied tersely, "I am ."

"Smile, not cringe," Imwe corrected.

Ignoring him (but also trying to smooth her expression), Jyn pushed the door open into the conference room and slipped inside. She weaved her way through the tables, avoiding just barely bumping into the many other women already sitting down. Her eyes kept wandering to their sashes, which labeled them for everyone to see. It made her feel slightly ill, thinking of tags, but that might've also been the small breakfast she'd been allowed.

When she reached out to snatch a doughnut, Malbus sharply said, "Don't even think about it," and she pulled her hand away, just barely avoiding a scowl crossing her face. By the time she made it to her assigned table, she was imagining ten different ways to dispose of a body. She sat down, a little more harshly than intended, but it just felt so good to get off her feet.

"Oh, you must be the new Kansas!" one of the women immediately gushed.

"I can't believe what happened to Leslie," another woman said in a delicate voice.

A redhead smirked as she examined her nails. "Hey, I'm not complaining. Less competition. No way I'm gonna lose to a state runner-up."

"You're Miss Indiana," the last woman replied dryly. "I wasn't even aware you were competition." While the other women smiled behind their hands as the redheaded woman flushed, the one that had stood up for Jyn reached out a hand. She was younger than Jyn by a few years, the youngest in the competition, with a tightly coiled, dark-haired bun to the side that brushed her shoulder. "We're not all catty, I swear. I'm Leia."

"Kestral," Jyn replied, shaking the girl's hand.

"That's an unusual name," the first woman, Miss Georgia according to her sash, pointed out.

"My parents had their head in clouds when they had me, I guess," Jyn said, cursing Cassian for the hundredth time for the cover ID that he'd given her. Honestly, Kestral Dawn - what a ridiculous name. She sounded like a stripper at a space-themed club, not a beauty queen.

"All our parents are if they thought getting us into this life at an early age was a good idea," Leia added. It took Jyn less than a second to decide that she liked Leia and another to remember that Miss New York was one of the top contenders for the crown. She'd won so many beauty pageants at such a young age. It was easy to see why the other women automatically deferred to her, even if she was younger and smaller.

Her forlorn looks to the barely touched breakfast table must have been obvious because Miss Georgia pat her hand and gave her an understanding look. "We always want what we can't have at the worst times."

No shit. Right now Jyn wanted a dozen doughnuts, a cup of coffee, and to punch her partner in the face.

It frustrated Jyn to no end at how nervous she was. She'd conducted hundreds of interviews, walked directly into enemy territory, been shot at, stabbed, and more - and yet the idea of the coming days had her stomach twisted into knots. No matter how much she wanted to eat, she could barely stomach anything. Not only did she have flounce about on stage, but she would be interviewed for everyone to see and be forced to perform a special talent like some sort of performing monkey.

She highly doubted that excellent marksmanship or hand-to-hand combat would serve as a talent on stage.

"Can you sing?" Imwe asked. Cassian snorted from his spot in the corner, but didn't even bother looking up to give her an apologetic look. He alone had heard her sing karaoke one night when she'd gotten too drunk celebrating the closing of a large case. It hadn't been pretty. "I'll take that as a no."

"What about dance?" Malbus threw out.

"I can barely walk in heels," Jyn snapped. "How do you expect me to twirl about in these things?"

"You have to have some talent," Imwe stressed.

Jyn shrugged her shoulders. "I can dismantle a Desert Eagle and put it back together while under duress in thirty seconds flat." She caught Cassian nodding his head, though whether it was to her claim or a notation in the files they had begun to prepare, she wasn't for sure.

"One that preferably isn't tied to violence," Imwe sighed.

Slumping in her chair, Jyn tried to think back, but could only feel the telltale spiral of disappointment. She was going to fail the mission. She was completely useless. All that knowledge and all those skills she'd perfected over the years and all of them were pointless. She'd get kicked out of the competition for being nothing. She couldn't even smile as well as the other girls. None of their smiles looked fake or forced. What was wrong with her?

"You did color guard in high school, didn't you?" Cassian pointed out.

The old memories came swarming back to her, most of them not pleasant. Still, she nodded her head reluctantly. She had done color guard and she'd liked it. Even better, she'd been really good at it. Not that it counted for much of anything really. It wasn't exactly the coolest thing to do in high school. One of the football players had mocked her and she'd hit him so hard with her baton that he'd been forced to sit out the game the next night.

"Can you still twirl?" Cassian asked.

"Maybe."

Cassian picked up Imwe's seeing staff and politely asked, "May I?"

Imwe nodded his head and before Jyn could even blink, Cassian threw the stick at her. She snatched it out of the air, a little surprised, but with ease. It weighed differently than a twirling baton in color guard and was longer, but it was close enough. She'd preferred using a rifle while in color guard, but she figured that it would look poor in taste to use one here. Still, she stood up and began to twist the seeing stick around her fingers. A little rusty, but it came back to her as if she'd done it last week, shocking even her.

"Well aren't you full of surprises, Agent Erso?" Imwe mused. "How does she look, Baze?"

Malbus assessed her briefly before answering, "Like a natural."

Try as she might, Jyn could not ignore the spark of pride that came with the compliment nor did she miss the smile on Cassian's face before he returned to the file. It didn't look like it was filled with mocking, as she had expected. In fact, it almost looked pleased. More than pleased, happy . But that was ridiculous. He was still most likely cursing his luck at being stuck with her.

"Shit, shit, shit!"

Jyn was in a flurry. Her hair was perfectly done and her makeup on point, thanks to the stylists, but she was running far behind. All the other girls were ready in their outfits and putting on the finishing touches before they walked on stage, practicing their smiles in mirrors, and chatting with the other contestants. Meanwhile, Jyn was running like a chicken with its head cut off, heels in one hand as she clutched her bathrobe around her with the other.

She'd slept in late. She'd never slept in late before. How? Why?

It didn't matter. All that mattered was that she had to get ready, which meant putting this dress on as fast as possible. She nearly tripped over the back of another contestant's dress, earning her a sharp glare and word that had her flinching for the first time in years. By the time she reached her assigned dressing room, she all but threw herself inside and willed her heart to slow down. Her face was red from embarrassment and she was breathing heavily. Honestly, she wished a hole would open up underneath her and swallow her whole.

She couldn't do this. She couldn't. She'd gone on stage a few times already, carrying a foam torch and cut out of Kansas, wearing the same dress as all the other girls, but this was different. She was supposed to wear a dress that showed off her particular style of elegant fashion, except the words "style", "elegant", and "fashion" had never been in her vocabulary before. Malbus had picked out the dress and it was no doubt beautiful, but it definitely wasn't going to be her. It couldn't be.

None of this was her. She was a fake. She was going to wash out of the competition. She'd probably put the dress on wrong and everyone was going to laugh at her the second she stepped out on stage. Filled with anger and humiliation, she clutched the clothes hanger so tightly that it almost snapped in her hands.

"Jyn?"

Oh, great, it was Cassian, probably come to check on her because she was running late. She was going to ruin his operation if she didn't get her shit together.

Taking a deep breath, Jyn called back, "Yeah?"

"You, uh, ready in there?"

Jyn looked at the dress. No, she wasn't. "Just another minute." Quickly, she got rid of her bathrobe and tore the dress off the hanger. She wiggled into it as quickly as she could, but it was proving difficult. It was a plain black dress, which she was grateful for, but it clung to her figure tightly, showing off curves she'd done her best to ignore for years. The problem was that it was strapless and she could get to the back zipper without dropping it and spilling out of the damn thing entirely. "I-I need help."

"Help?" His voice was slightly higher than normal. "You want my help?"

"Yes," Jyn snapped, "I can't get the damn thing zipped."

After a moment of silence, making Jyn think that perhaps Cassian had run off to find another woman, the curtain pulled back and Cassian stepped in behind her. She caught the closed off expression on his face from his reflection in the mirror, but noticed how he held himself just a few inches away from her, as much as he could in the small dressing room, like he was apprehensive. That was dumb though; she'd never known him to be scared. Still, he held his hands up like he wanted her to be able to see them and he didn't know where to put them.

"It's in the back," Jyn told him. "I can't reach it."

"Ah" - Cassian's eyes flickered down - "right."

Her entire back was exposed to him. She might've been more embarrassed if she wasn't so preoccupied with the thought of being on stage. His hands fell down out of sight. The second he grabbed the zipper, his knuckles brushed against the bare skin of her back and she jerked upright as a tingle ran up her spine. He mumbled an apology, his voice deep enough to where she could practically feel it rumbling in his chest behind her, and then began to pull the zipper up at a painstakingly slow crawl. Every time he accidentally touched her, she felt as if she was being shocked. Not in an unpleasant way, just...uncomfortable. Unexpected.

When he was finally done, Jyn took a look at her reflection and sighed. She couldn't take a deep breath, not with the way it fit around her middle. What the dress lacked in ornateness, it made up with the way it hugged her, pushing her breasts up so that they didn't look as if she hadn't gone through puberty yet. In fact, with her hair done, brown curls hanging over her bare shoulders, she looked almost…

"I look like a doll," Jyn mumbled. "Painted and ridiculous."

Cassian's eyes were locked onto her reflection. Something was swimming in them, something she almost didn't recognize as she'd never seen him look like that before at her. She had seen it before, just not directed towards her, and this time, she really did feel caught off guard.

"No, you look… You look beautiful."

When she turned to glare up at him, he was already looking down at her. She was taken aback by just how close he was standing next to her. She could smell the cheap hotel bodywash he'd used this morning. Try as she might, she tried desperately not to react, especially when he put a hand on her shoulder and his thumb caressed the bare skin there, but it forced a light gasping sound out of her and she leaned towards him.

"Jyn," he breathed - and she swore that she was mad at him, swore that he was only looking at her like this because she was done up like the kind of woman he liked to look at, swore it didn't bother her in the slightest. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing underneath the scruff, and it should not have done anything for her, but she felt nearly breathless and for once it wasn't because of the dress. "You're going to be late."

Reality came crashing down on her hard.

"Shit!"

Jyn snatched her shoes and brushed past him out of the dressing room. As she ran towards the curtain, she had to hobble in an attempt to put the shoes on while not stopping. She barely made it, slipping in behind Leia and Miss New Jersey, and was out on the stage before she could even think about what had just happened.

The blush on her face though had nothing to do with being on stage and everything to do with Cassian Andor. Damn him. What was wrong with her?