Cassian Andor was no stranger to waking up in strange places. It came with the job. It was completely normal for him to wake up in an unusual hotel, or on a mat on a dirty floor, on even on a cot in a hospital room. But waking up in a woman's bed was completely new.

True, his job did require a certain amount of playacting, and occasionally seduction. He was a government spy; it was what he did. He knew how to charm the pants off a woman. But he never fell asleep with her, so he never woke up in her bed. Never.

But there he was, in Jyn Erso's bedroom, with early morning light pouring in through the window. And there she was, with that same light making her soft hair shine, with the sheets pulled up around her.

He hadn't intended to stay the night. He hadn't intended to get so wrapped up in her that he couldn't remember his own name. How had a simple conversation in her living room ended with him waking up beside her the next morning? Had she drugged him?

An absurd thought, and he pushed it away immediately. It was more like he was drunk, anyway. At least, that's what it had felt like. But they hadn't consumed any alcohol. He'd been drunk on her. The thought sent a wave of self-loathing through him.

Cassian looked down at Jyn's sleeping form. Her head rested near his shoulder, so close that her nose grazed his skin. Her hand lay on his chest, her index finger over a scar he'd won in a knife fight in Cairo two years back.

He noticed for the first time a sprinkling of freckles over her nose. They made her look younger, somehow. Ha had to admit, for all the reservations he'd had about her when they'd first met, that she was a gorgeous woman. Naturally gorgeous, without makeup or plastic surgery or anything else.

Cassian tore his gaze from her and squeezed his eyes shut. He was getting distracted. No, he wasn't getting distracted, he'd been distracted since she'd first kissed him the night before. He swallowed back a curse as he ran a hand through his dark hair. He thought about the way she'd looked in the dim light, and the way she'd looked at him, and if she could see straight through him… and loved what she saw.

He was in deep trouble.

Jyn Erso was a criminal who just happened to have connections with someone the his superior needed. She had a talent for causing problems and creating fights out of nothing. But she'd gone with him on a suicide mission. She'd thrown herself headlong into danger for the same reason he did: To preserve and protect freedom. They'd fought together and nearly died together. Maybe that had bonded them in a way he hadn't planned for.

He'd been avoiding her for months after that mission, and now he knew why. She affected him in a way that no one else ever had, and it terrified him. He was losing himself to her. He couldn't need her, couldn't form a connection with her because his job wouldn't allow it. Personal connections made his work that much harder. He would become distracted in the field, and that led to capture or death. No, he could never love anyone, not even her.

But it was difficult to deny the stirring in his chest when he looked at her curled up next to him.

Cassian reached up and gently took her hand. He moved it slowly away from him, and scooted farther away from her so he wouldn't wake her when he sat up. He stretched, feeling the stiffness in his muscles, and stood. He pulled his pants on and quietly slipped out of her bedroom.

That was it, he decided. One night. It wouldn't happen again.

The look in her eyes as she gazed at him last night pierced his heart like a knife. Jyn was in love with him. He'd been a complete idiot for letting it get this far. Now he'd have to break her heart to stop things from escalating further.

The least he could do was make her breakfast first, right?

Cassian rummaged through her refrigerator and panty, and pulled out bread, eggs, milk, butter, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. He wasn't exactly a gourmet chef, but he could make French toast. He set a pot of coffee to brew, and sliced the bread. He put together the mixture of eggs, vanilla, milk, and cinnamon, and set the slices in the bowl to soak.

A violent vibration in his pocket indicated a very pissed-off friend. He knew who was calling before he saw the number: Kay Tuesso, a strategist-turned-field operative who was the closest thing Cassian had to a friend.

With a sigh of frustration, he answered. "Kay, what's up?"

"'What's up?'" the sarcastic voice replied. "What's up is you're not back on site yet, and you leave for Ukraine in four hours!"

"I didn't hear anything about an assignment in Ukraine."

"That's because you just got it. Draven's looking for you. He told me to find out where the hell you are. So where are you?"

Cassian glanced around the kitchen, and seized a believable lie. "I went to a bar last night," he said. "Got a hotel room after that. Needed a few hours to myself."

Kay wasn't fooled. "Don't even try lying to me, Cassian. You went to Jyn's last night to brief her on the complications regarding her citizenship in the US."

"Yeah, and I went to a bar after that." Cassian let a note of impatience creep into his voice. "I needed a stiff drink after talking to her."

"Where are you right now?"

"Eating breakfast at a diner."

"Then why don't I hear other voices in the background?"

"Because it's a run-down place and nearly empty. I'll be back in an hour or two. There's something I've got to take care of first."

"Like fixing whatever problems arose from Jyn-"

"Can it, Kay!" Cassian snarled. A wave of frustration crashed inside of him. He was done playing. "You know damn well I put my work before anything! In all the years you've known me, have I ever once jeopardized that? We both know I do my best when I'm cut off from distractions, and sleeping with Erso would be just that: a distraction! For the love of God, give me some credit."

Kay was silent a moment. "Very well. I'm sorry I doubted you. Return as soon as you can. I'll inform Draven of where you are."

Cassian hung up. He put his phone down and leaned against the counter, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. The anger subsided, leaving bitter self-loathing. First he had to handle Jyn, and then apologize to Kay. Ukraine was looking down-right attractive compared to the highly volatile situation he was in now.

"A distraction, huh?"

Cassian sighed again before turning to face Jyn. She stood with her arms crossed, wearing his shirt. It was, of course, too big on her, falling to her upper-thighs, and slightly transparent. Was she trying to drive him crazy?

"I'm sorry I woke you," he apologized. "Kay was just asking where I am."

"I assume you lied?" Her British accent was in welcome contrast to Kay's.

"Of course I did." He turned back to the food, and placed the slices of bread in the heated frying pan. He listened to the sizzle of the soggy bread cooking, and grabbed a spatula.

"Should I be preparing myself for something?" she asked. "I mean, you don't strike me as the kind of man to make anyone breakfast."

She certainly was sharp. He waited until the food was finished before responding. He poured the coffee and fixed it how she liked it, cut up an apple, and placed two slices of French toast on a plate. She sat down as he placed the food on the table before her.

Whatever way he said it, he knew it would hurt her. He could at least show her that he had enough respect for her to tell her the truth. "Jyn, what happened last night can't happen again," he said. "You know it can't."

Far from being crushed, she gave him an amused smile. "I thought you might say that." She took her fork and cut off a bite of toast with the edge of it before placing it in her mouth.

Cassian watched her for a moment. "Jyn, it was-

"A mistake? A distraction?" she guessed. "Incredible? An unusual break from the normal mantra of your life?"

He shrugged. "All of the above. But you admit that it was a mistake?"

"No, I don't think it was a mistake. For one, I really enjoyed something for the first time in years. And for another, I think you did, too."

He found himself unable to deny it. "Regardless, it was a mistake." He paused, meeting her eyes. "Jyn, there can't be anything more than professionalism between us. My occupation won't allow it. I can't have weaknesses."

"You think I'm a weakness?"

He paused for a beat. "Yes."

Cassian watched Jyn think through what he was saying. She still didn't seem saddened by it, or even perturbed. Maybe he'd read her wrong. Maybe that look in her eyes wasn't love, but simply the chemical reaction in the brain from being that intimate with someone after years of barely being touched. Perhaps he didn't have a place in her heart from which to break it.

"You're wrong," she finally said. It wasn't the desperate plea of a devastated girl, but the simple statement of fact. "It will happen again. I don't know when. It could be this morning, or next week, or a decade from now, but it'll happen."

Cassian sighed and shook his head. Wasn't she hearing what he was saying? "How do you know that?"

"Because you're still here."

The statement was almost like a deathblow. He couldn't argue against that; he was still there.

Jyn continued. "You fell asleep after I did, and you probably woke a good thirty minutes before me. You had every chance to get up and leave, like you leave the scenes of all the other mistakes you make, but you didn't. You stayed. You stayed to sleep next to me, you stayed to watch me sleep before you got up, you stayed to make me breakfast, and you stayed to explain why all of this was just one huge, monumental, blunder. You could have left a note. You could have run. You could have made excuse after excuse until we both believed them. But you didn't. You stayed."

Cassian stared at her for a long moment, contemplating the implications of her argument. The impulse to run gripped him, and he pushed it down. She was right.

"You know," Jyn said softly, "last night was only the fourth time I've seen you smile. I mean a real smile. And I'd never heard you laugh before, either." She stared into his eyes with something disturbingly like conviction. "Cassian, I'm not an idiot. I know you feel something for me."

Her bluntness unsettled him. She'd never been one to beat around the bush about anything, but this was bordering on impertinence. He told her as much.

She rolled her eyes. "At least one of us is. You can't even admit the obvious." She finished her breakfast and carried the plate to the sink. "I don't really care what you do when you leave," she said. "Just don't lie to yourself. You're better than that."

"I need my shirt back," he said, changing the subject. "I'm being deployed to Ukraine this afternoon, and it might cause suspicion if I go back to base without a shirt."

Jyn shrugged. "Alright." She walked back to her bedroom and closed the door. Cassian was thankful she hadn't taken it off in front of him. He cleaned up the dishes while he waited.

Her words played over in his mind as he picked them apart. Their insinuations, and then her blunt accusation would have been amusing if they hadn't been so true. Dammit, he never should have stayed this long.

He heard the bedroom door open and her bare feet pad closer. He sent up a quick prayer that she'd be in something at least relatively decent, and turned. He let out the breath he'd been holding. She was wearing a simple shirt and jeans, holding his shirt out to him.

He took it, and slid his arms through the sleeves, buttoning it up quickly. "Thanks," he grunted.

"Sure." She watched him for a moment. "Be careful out there."

"Always am."

"You never are," she argued.

He finished, and looked at her. Her green eyes sparkled in the light, and her messy hair was bathed in the golden rays shining through the window. She truly was gorgeous.

Neither of them said anything more. He hesitated just long enough to make his retreat seem reluctant before leaving her apartment. He looked back as he drove away, and swore he could see her watching him.

An unsettling feeling clenched his heart, and he knew that she'd been correct. Somehow, sometime, that would all happen again, and next time it would be much harder to put behind him.