Once back at the hotel, Jyn hid the lightsaber inside the closet. When Cassian gave her a questioning look, she simply told him it was better than hiding it with the blaster. He admitted that it was.

His shoulder stung. It had been struck sometime during the scuffle at Zeal's mansion, and some of the cuts had opened again. She noticed him touch the area around it gingerly. She watched him for a moment before sitting down beside him.

"Take it off," she said.

Cassian smirked. "Excuse me?"

She rolled her eyes and nodded at his shoulder. "Let me see the cut."

He chuckled, but obediently removed his shirt. The bandage over his shoulder was sloppy, and soaked through. Jyn scooted closer and gently removed it.

The silver light of the room glinted off the shards of glass embedded in his skin. She opened her mouth to ask what had happened, decided she didn't want to know, and closed it again. She fetched another bandage, a pair of tweezers, and a clean, wet cloth.

Cassian's eyes didn't leave her face as she tended to the collection of small cuts. She was so focused that she didn't notice. Or maybe she was just pretending not to notice. He wanted to ask her a million questions. Where she was yesterday, where all those clothes came from, and whether there had there been any truth to her claim of not wanting a relationship between them, just for starters. But something told him that all of that was better left in the past, so he didn't mention it.

"Did you really kill that man's son?"

The question caught him off guard. Jyn refused to look at him. Cassian stared at her for a full minute. He could lie. He could tell her that it had been an accident. But this secret had him sick to his stomach. Now that it was out in the open, he knew that lying would risk his own destruction.

So he said, "Yes."

The truth etched a void inside his heart, hacking at the already massive crater he'd done his best to hide. The image of the tiny body with a thin wisp of smoke curling up from its heart shot through Cassian's mind, and he flinched. He looked away from her, preparing himself for the worst.

Jyn finally looked him in the face. The pain in his eyes nearly broke her heart. That sort of grief came only from years of regret. She'd planned to ask why, but didn't matter. It was in the past. He was a different man now.

Xong had said his son had been killed three years ago. That must have been the mission Cassian had mentioned before. The assassination mission. The one that had permanently changed him. The one that had made him end what he'd had with Leia, and close himself off from any kind of personal intimacy. Knowing the effects that that terrible crime had on him, she couldn't find it within herself to turn away.

"You're a good man, Cassian," she whispered. He merely scoffed. He knew his crimes more personally than she ever could. Of course he didn't believe that he was a good man.

Cassian's eyes were downcast, staring at nothing. "Look at me," she requested. He didn't. She placed a hand under his chin and lifted his head up so he had to. The raw emotion in his dark eyes sent a pang through her chest. The words she wanted to say caught in her throat. She swallowed hard. "Cassian, you're forgiven."

Jyn wrapped him in a soft embrace. After a moment, she felt his arms close around her waist and back, pressing her closer. She slid a hand up and down his bare back, doing her best to offer comfort and reassurance.

The fact that she was comforting him after learning of that terrible mission was a miracle of the Force. She'd done the impossible: she'd forgiven him. And while it wasn't her life that he'd ruined with that horrific act, any amount of forgiveness was appreciated.

Cassian breathed in the scent of her hair. He concentrated on her warmth, her heartbeat, her breathing. Jyn's hair was a mess. He pulled out the clips keeping the fancy braid tucked around in a complicated shape, and unwound the knots with one hand. She closed her eyes. He heard her sigh, and smiled. He weaved her hair over his fingers, combing through the soft locks. They stayed like that for what felt like a blissful eternity.

The simple intimacy of the moment drew a confession out of him. "I love you, Jyn Erso."

His voice was barely above a whisper. The sentence made her heart skip a beat. She'd known he loved her since he saved her from the terrorist camp, and she'd suspected it before that. But hearing him admit it with such a quiet intensity was very different.

She drew back just far enough to face him. He gazed back at her. Cassian tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He trailed the backs of his fingers across her cheekbone and down her jaw. He set his hand on her cheek and leaned in slowly.

Their noses brushed as he closed the space between them and pressed his lips to hers.

Cassian completely lost himself to her touch. Her fingers slid over his neck and shoulders, and he felt her push him back. He tangled a hand through her soft hair and ran his other hand down her back and side. He deepened the kiss, and heard her moan.

Jyn trailed her hands over his chest. She felt him adjust the zipper of her dress and pull it down. His fingers grazed her skin, sliding up and down her spine, before slipping under her sleeve and pulling it down her arm. He glided his hands over her, touching everywhere he could reach.

"Captain!"

They broke apart. He stared up at her, trying to catch his breath. It took him several seconds to make sense of the position they were in. Jyn was half lying on top of him. Her dress was hanging off one shoulder, and his hand rested on her thigh underneath the shirt. Her hair cascaded down over her shoulders, tickling his face. The only coherent thought he could form was of how utterly beautiful she was.

"Cassian!" Wait. He knew the voice. K was trying to contact him.

Jyn realized who it was, too, and sighed in frustration. "Your pet droid wants you."

Too drunk on her to give a damn, Cassian growled, "Who cares?" and pulled her back down into another heated kiss.

"Cassian!"

With a painful jolt, Cassian remembered just who it was that was trying to contact him. With enormous effort, he pushed Jyn away enough to curse and say, "I'm sorry." She slid off of him. Cassian sat up and started to explain. "If he doesn't hear from me, he'll come looking."

She managed a tight, reassuring smile. "It's okay."

"This won't take long," he promised.

He grabbed the datapad from the bedside table as K-2 shouted his name more violently. He pressed a key and snapped, "Force, K, what's wrong!?"

"Finally! I've been trying to reach you for several minutes."

Knowing K expected an excuse, Cassian said, "Well, I was…" He glanced back at Jyn, trying to think of the right lie. "…busy."

"I see. You've got the relic, then?"

"Yes."

"And is Jyn still angry with you for nothing?"

"No!" Jyn answered herself.

"Oh, there you are! Well, you should know that Cassian was quite distressed by what you said yesterday. He called Leia to talk him down from a suicide attempt, and-"

"K, stop talking!" Cassian barked.

Jyn's eyes snapped back to Cassian. She watched him nervously run a hand through his hair while he avoided her gaze, and knew that K-2 wasn't exaggerating. Her heart clenched. She'd pushed him that far?

"What are you calling about?" Cassian demanded.

"We can finally tell you the location of the new base. Brace yourself: It's on Hoth."

Cassian let out an aggravated sigh. Hoth was his least favorite planet in the galaxy. He despised the cold. It caused stabs of pain where there normally were none, and a deep-set ache in his back. That, and he found incessant white aggravating.

"Return as soon as possible," K continued. "Draven is growing impatient, though the lightsaber should put you back in his good graces." He paused. "Bodhi is out of the bacta tank. There is no residual tissue or muscle damage. He'll be able to fly again within the week."

Cassian managed a smile, imagining Bodhi's relief when he'd heard that news. He glanced at Jyn, and saw her relief as well. "Glad to hear that," he said.

"You haven't said anything about when you'll return," K observed. "Is that intentional?"

Cassian looked at Jyn. She knew that he was asking her to answer that question. She thought for a moment. "We'll look into hiring a ship tomorrow," she promised.

"Alright. So have you both worked out whatever ridiculous fantasy you've built together?"

Cassian smirked. "Goodbye, K." He didn't give the droid time to respond before turning the communicator off. He turned back to Jyn with a roguish grin. "Where were we?"

He had hoped to divert her attention from K-2's comment about him being suicidal, but it seemed she was not so easily distracted. The guilt in her eyes made him want to deny every implication of K's statement. "Cassian," she said slowly, "I'm so sorry."

He sighed, and ran a hand over his face. He hesitated a moment. "It wasn't just you," he assured. "It was a buildup of many different things, most of which I've been dealing with… or refusing to deal with for years. Don't feel guilty, alright? It wasn't you."

He closed most of the space between them again. She stared at him for a full minute. Jyn reached out a hand and placed it over his heart, as if she needed to know that it was still beating. He placed his hand over hers and pressed it against his skin for a moment before lifting it to his lips and pressing a kiss into her palm.

"I'm alright," he promised.

She wrapped her arms around him again. "Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered.

"I didn't want you to worry," he answered. "And I didn't want you to feel responsible."

"That's a terrible excuse."

"I know." He admitted.

They held each other for a while longer before Jyn drew back and said, "I've got something to show you."

She walked to the closet, drew something from the top shelf, and walked back. Jyn held out a small, silver object. Cassian took it and examined it in the dim light.

"My mother's ring," he whispered. He recognized the blue stone and the writing on the inside of the silver band in Fest, his first language.

Jyn nodded. "Leia gave it to me. I meant to show you before, but…"

He turned it over in his hand. "She told me she lost it."

"She said she kept it because it reminded her of another version of you."

"Before I lost myself to the Rebellion," he finished knowingly.

Cassian remembered the day he'd given it to Leia. How she'd said she could never take such a priceless item. He'd told her it was a gift, that his mother would have loved her and wanted her to have it. It had seemed so important then. He'd returned from Omnibus a different man, one who didn't have time to worry about rings or memories or love. He hadn't asked Leia what she'd done with it until only a few months ago, and her answer hadn't seemed genuine. Now he knew why.

He thought further back, to the day his parents had been murdered. At six, he was too young to really remember what they'd been like. He remembered his mother's smile as she read him bedtime stories and dried his tears, and that had been enough. He'd taken the ring from her finger before she was even cold. What made him do it, he still wasn't sure. Maybe some part of him knew that later on he would need it.

He took Jyn's hand and slid the ring onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly. It had been too small on Leia. He kissed her hand and looked at her. "I know it's a little… insulting, being given a ring I've already given away, so I promise to get you another one."

She looked confused. "Wait… I'm giving this back to you," she explained.

"I know. Thank you. But I want you to have it for now." He thought of his mother, and what he imaged she would have wanted for him. Cassian couldn't help but chuckle even as the thought hurt him. "I doubt my mother ever thought I'd fall in love with someone like you."

"'Fall in love'?" she teased. "Well, I hope I haven't disappointed her."

He shook his head. "The woman who conquered her past and captured the plans for the Death Star? The woman who has finally, after so many years, made me happy? No, I don't think you would have disappointed her."

Jyn smiled, and thought of her own mother. "I think my mother would have loved you almost as much as I do."

Cassian doubted the same could have been said of her father, but he put that thought away for future examination. He kissed her hand, and then her mouth.

They fell asleep in each other's arms that night, and decided to make it a habit.


Four days later, Cassian walked through the frigid corridors of Echo Base. He had completed the mandatory paperwork detailing the mission (leaving out the fact that it hadn't really been a mission, of course), and was seeking out the Princess.

He caught sight of Luke Skywalker, and called him. Luke turned and smiled that overexcited, boyish grin of his. "Captain Andor," he said. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for Princess Organa," Cassian replied. "Have you seen her?"

"Yeah, I think Leia's in the control room."

Cassian nodded curtly. "Thank you." He turned and marched in the direction of the control room.

He heard raised voices shouting back and forth. The closer he came, the more discernable the words were. He recognized Leia's sharp voice and Solo's sarcastic tone. Cassian rounded a corner and saw the two debaters in front of the entrance to the control room. He leaned against the icy wall and crossed his arms. Interrupting seemed unwise.

It took several minutes for Solo to glance in Cassian's direction. When he did, he turned back to Leia and snapped, "Your boyfriend's waiting for you."

Cassian didn't comment, leaving the denial to Leia. She turned, saw him, and whirled back to face Solo. "Captain Andor is a friend," she seethed.

"Yeah, right! Why don't you… Ah!" Solo waved a hand in frustration and stormed off, knocking into Cassian's shoulder in the process.

Cassian didn't react. He kept his gaze on Leia. "Great guy you've there," he joked.

"Don't you start, too!" she ordered. Cassian held his hands up in submission. "Han's a self-absorbed agitator who thinks everyone else exists to stroke his ego!"

He thought it best to not mention all the times he'd warned Leia about Han Solo. Instead, he changed the subject by unhooking the pouch encasing the lightsaber from his belt and handing it to her. "The artifact you requested."

"Have any trouble getting it?"

He shrugged. "Nothing Erso and I couldn't handle."

"Good work, Captain Andor," she said.

Cassian nodded respectfully, hands clasped behind his back.

"There's a ship I'd like you to look over, Captain," Leia said. "Since your transporter was destroyed on Yavin, your team will be in need of a new one. Follow me, please." Cassian obediently followed the Princess through the arctic hallways of Echo Base. Once out of earshot of anyone important, Leia got to the more vital questions. "How'd it go?"

Cassian thought back to the days he and Jyn had spent together, and the even more incredible nights. "Well," he replied.

"And…?"

He looked at Leia and smirked. "You know I can't tell you too much. Jyn wants to keep it private, and I agree with her."

"And I respect that. I still want to hear about it, though. It's been a long time since you've looked so happy."

"Don't remind me." He saw the open door leading to the hanger, but Leia guided him past it. "Aren't we going to look at ships?"

"You can do that later. Right now, you need to report to your team, Captain Andor." Cassian hid a smile. She escorted him to the door of a conference room. He could hear snippets of conversation from inside. "Report to the hanger first thing tomorrow morning. No later than 6:30, understood?"

"Understood."

Leia nodded, and walked back the way she'd come. Cassian looked into the room. He leaned against the freezing doorframe, watching his team interact.

Bodhi was pouring everyone drinks, spilling the sparkling liquid every now and then. He was gesturing excitedly, telling the story of how his arm had been injured.

"…siding was ripped from the ceiling by the explosion. I shoved Draven out of the way, but it was too late for me! The shrapnel sliced open my arm. I'm pretty sure Draven's still pissed that I got blood on his jacket. Before I knew it, Baze came charging in-"

Chirrut sat in a chair, wearing his bright smile. Baze sat beside him on the table, feet resting on the floor. K-2 stood to one corner, interrupting Bodhi and correcting his exaggerated details. Jyn sat on Chirrut's other side, listening to Bodhi with a smile so genuine Cassian could only describe it as radiant.

Despite the freezing temperature of the wasteland they now inhabited, Cassian felt a heat warm his chest and spread from there. He knew it had to be pride. Pride, and love. When he'd been chosen to escort Jyn Erso to find Saw Gerrera what seemed an eternity ago, he had no idea that the miscellaneous team they'd assemble together would end up being the closest thing to a family most of them had ever had.

"Captain." Chirrut's voice carried through the room, effectively drawing everyone's attention to the previously unnoticed spectator. "Come, join us!"

Bodhi grinned, not at all put off by the interruption. "I'll pour you a glass, Cassian. I was just getting to the best part." Cassian walked in and took the seat beside Jyn. Bodhi finished filling the glasses, and handed them out. "So there I was! Bleeding out, barely able to hear the sounds of battle, when out of nowhere-"

Cassian felt a light pressure against his gloved hand, and looked down to see Jyn's fingers entwining with his own. He glanced at her, and saw her looking at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to be inconspicuous.

He realized the room had gone silent, and looked around his team. All of them were staring at him and Jyn.

"I thought we were passed this," K-2 stated.

"For the love of the Force, we know you're together," Bodhi said with a smirk.

Cassian rolled his eyes, and wrapped an arm around Jyn, drawing her against his side. "Better?"

Everyone but Baze nodded. Cassian knew, given the man's threats before they'd left on the trip, that Baze would take more time to get used to the idea of his little sister being in any sort of relationship. He'd have to watch his step for a while.

"So tell us about the trip," Bodhi said.

"But not in too much detail," K-2 warned. "I may just break the laws of nature and vomit."

"You both seem happier," Chirrut commented. "The Force moves differently around you now."

"We stole a lightsaber," Jyn said.

"Turns out, Jyn's pretty good with one," Cassian added.

"Tell us about the lightsaber," Bodhi asked enthusiastically.

They glanced at each other, deciding where to start.

"Well, after we got the news about Yavin, Leia sent a message offering us a mission on Craine. We were told to retrieve a lightsaber from an Imperial sympathizer," Cassian began.

They spent the rest of the evening drinking, telling stories, and laughing. It was well into the night before, one by one, they filed out.

As K-2 left to recharge, Cassian and Jyn once again found themselves alone. Deciding to do the responsible thing and get some sleep, they made their way through the frozen corridors to the soldier's quarters.

Thanks to the dwindling number of troops after the destruction of Yavin, Cassian once again had his own quarters. They found it easily enough.

"So," Jyn said once they reached his room, "I guess this is goodnight."

"Actually, I was wondering if you'd like to stay," Cassian replied.

Jyn pretended to think. "Well… I suppose just for tonight. Until we get used to the freezing climate."

They never did get used to the freezing climate, not even after the base was destroyed and they had to relocate again. It became a pattern, as regular as clockwork. It warded off their demons, protected from nightmares, and healed their scars one by one. The enigma that surrounded them finally fell into place, and developed into a peace that Chirrut said could only come from the Force.