Chapter 9: Skin
Jyn woke up to the sun coming in through her little window and warming up her sheets. It took a moment for her to remember the events of the day before. As soon as she did, she looked over expecting to see Cassian but instead seeing an empty bed.
Was what happened even real?
Flustered she got out of bed and went into the kitchen. Everything seemed normal. She checked her comm to see if she had any messages. None. Panic set in just as the front door opened. Cassian walked in carrying a bag not noticing Jyn until she jumped into his arms.
"Good morning." He said, " I was just getting some breakfast."
"Sorry," Jyn said, stepping back. "I thought you were not real, or gone or something." Cassian set down the bag and pulled her close to his chest. They stood there for a moment, listening to each other's breathing.
"What did you get to eat?" Jyn asked, her voice muffled in his shirt.
"Some russett bread and yorun oats." He replied.
She looked up at him with a creased brow, "Those things aren't really breakfast foods." Cassian laughed.
"Nabooan cuisine is beyond me."
Jyn opened the bag and sat at her little two-person table next to the small window. Cassian joined her and looked outside. A boy around the age of thirteen appeared to be building a stick structure on the side of the street.
"Who's that?" Cassian asked, watching him build higher and higher.
"I think that's my neighbor. His mother works at the market."
Cassian turned back to Jyn. "How often does the Queen send you on missions?"
"A few times a week."
"And you said you saved her life?"
"Yeah, I had just gotten to Naboo. So around three months ago. And I was sitting at a random cantina and Sosha walked in and ordered a drink. A man came up to her and offered her a brued root, told her it was a delicious snack or something like that."
"And she believed him?"
"Well she took it into her hand and almost put it into her mouth! I ran and stopped her before she could do it."
"She seems a bit naïve."
"No, see the thing is, she knew what she was doing. She was trying to get the guy for selling illegal poisons. But since I interfered I ruined her plan of nabbing him."
"I don't see how she would be happy about that." Cassian laughed at Jyn.
"Well at first she was upset but then she thought about it and was actually grateful that I even noticed." Jyn finished eating her bread and got up to put the rest away.
"Things were simpler on Lah'mu. It was like being a kid again." Jyn looked outside to the boy who built things all day.
"Lets go outside, it's nice." She suggested.
The two explored Theed, walking along the canals and visiting Jyn's favorite spots. Temples stood over the masses, honoring long dead monarchs and traditions. Stormtroopers patrolled the streets and kept the city up to Imperial code. The citizens were all but free.
"Sosha tells me about all the restrictions they put on her and her administration." Jyn told Cassian while looking up at the lavish palace. "They removed the Naboo Security Force's starfighter pilots and heavily policed anti-imperial activity."
"It seems like a very divided planet." Cassian remarked.
"It is. The Nabooans are not the only ones living on this planet. The Gungans live here too. I met a very interesting one once."
After a long day out, they returned back to Jyn's place. The sun had gone down and the little apartment was dark and still.
"So why did the rebellion send you to Naboo?" Jyn asked, putting away the groceries they had picked up.
"They didn't." Cassian replied as he stood in the doorway between her bedroom and the kitchen.
"What?"
"I didn't join the rebellion."
A moment passed. Jyn looked puzzled.
"I…I couldn't do it."
"Well what have you been doing since you left Lothal?"
Cassian's dark eyes found Jyn's. "Looking for you."
Jyn was struck with a feeling she had only felt once, when the rebellion plucked her from jail and interrogated her.
What makes me so special?
"Why?" She asked, knowing the reasons why she wanted to find Cassian were probably the same.
"I have felt a calling to you, even before we were reborn. When I see you, everything we are fighting for makes sense. This is what we fight for." He gestured to Jyn and to himself while getting closer to her. "This is the connection some people never find."
He was within a few inches of her face now. Jyn lifted her hand to trace his lips with her finger before kissing them. They started off slow, memorizing every touch, every heartbeat. Cassian moved to kissing her neck, his beard scratching her skin and causing a tingling that she felt throughout her entire body. They started removing jackets and shirts, every inch craving the skin of the other. Jyn's breast band unraveled and Cassian embraced them each tenderly, kissing each nipple and driving Jyn crazy. He kissed her mouth, sinking into her while they moved to the bedroom.
Jyn's hands roamed freely down Cassian's chest, feeling the taut muscles, and reaching his pants. She unhooked them and pulled them down over his hardness. The limp fabric fell to the floor. Cassian kicked them off and laid Jyn down on the bed, trailing little kisses and light touches starting from her neck and working his way down. He reached her lower stomach, removing her pants and underwear with one swift tug, revealing her dark brown curls and strong thighs.
Jyn suddenly felt bare, moving her arms inward and playing with Cassian's hair. He kissed her stomach, kissed her inner thighs, and kissed her folds, gently feeling her wetness with his fingers and his tongue. Jyn arched in pleasure, letting go of Cassian's hair to grip the sheets next to her. He brought himself up to join his lips to hers sloppily, pressing himself closer to her and settling between her legs. He entered her slowly, Jyn moaning through the pain in his kiss.
"Are you alright?" Cassian breathed, still inside her. Jyn nodded, her arms wrapped around his body, the pain lessening as he rocked away and back again. They moved gently together, breathing into each other, sweat slickening their bodies. Every movement was building to something sensational. The whole universe could have collapsed and they wouldn't have known. Entire lifetimes may have passed before they came back to reality, panting with pleasure and comfort.
Cassian breathed heavily into Jyn's neck while she grazed her hand along his smooth back. After a minute or so he shifted his weight to lie beside her. They looked at each other, letting out small chuckles with small kisses. Cassian brushed Jyn's dark hair out of her face, now unkempt and spread across the pillow.
"I'm glad you found me." Jyn whispered. Cassian smiled.
"Me too."
