Disclaimer: Though I am a fan of Star Wars I am not as well versed as many, so there very probably will be some discrepancies with my story. Please note that this entire story is a divergence from canon, so if you have a problem with some of my mistakes just think of it that way. Thank you!

13

lim·er·ence

The state of being infatuated with another person

Later on that night Jyn lay in her bed staring at the ceiling, she'd been given a tiny little room that was downstairs. The only thing in it was a small vanity and a slender trundle bed. But there was a mirror, which was a luxury that she hadn't had before in the room they'd rented.

Cassian had been dragged up stairs by Cyrus, "You don't mind sharing with an old man like me, right? For Propriety's sake." He'd said and cackled at the younger man's reluctance.

Jyn hadn't slept separately from Cassian ever since she'd woken up on Dagobah after they'd died on Scarif. She was used to his soft snoring and propensity to roll over several times in his sleep until he'd found a comfortable position. So now, in the distinct silence of being alone, she couldn't sleep.

She was about to get up and wander through the archives until she felt tired when three soft taps on her door drew her attention. She got out of bed and pressed the panel and the door slid open to reveal Cassian standing there sheepishly.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked and stepped aside to let him enter.

"No, not really. Old man Cyrus snores louder than the loudest ship in the Alliance." He joked, suddenly aware of just how cramped Jyn's quarter's were.

"Maybe we should go out into the archives." He suggested and Jyn laughed. "What?"

"It's just silly that you are uncomfortable now just because the room is small. It's adorable really." Jyn teased "Come on don't get shy on me now." She plopped down onto the bed and patted the spot next to her.

Cassian sat down with a sigh and Jyn smiled triumphantly. "I wonder how long we will be here." He finally mused aloud after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

Jyn shrugged "I don't know. I still have no idea what it is that we are supposed to do… besides I kind of like it here at the archives."

"Really? The dust made you sneeze all night and I'm pretty sure Cyrus is crazier than he lets on." Cassian asked surprised.

"He isn't that bad, he's ah… quirky. But he's nice. Besides I think I like it so much because it finally feels safe-no one really comes here and we have the ship right outside if we need to leave."

"True." Cassian hadn't thought of it that way, he gave Jyn a sideways glance and she was staring into the mirror that was mounted onto the vanity. "What are you thinking about?"

"Just how different I look from that picture from when I was captured by the Alliance."

"Well you are different," Cassian said in a matter-of-fact sort of way, "You learned to trust someone other than yourself and you fought for a cause. When I first met you you were perfectly happy just keeping your head down."

"And now I'm not?" She asked turning to face him, her hazel-green eyes meeting his deep brown.

"No. You're not. You are a new person Jyn Erso." He reached out and took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

Jyn smiled and leaned in, gently pressing her lips to his. It was a gesture that was still new to her but she knew she must have been doing something right because she felt his lips part under hers. She put her hands on either side of his neck and his hands found their way to either side of her waist and drew her closer.

After a few moments they broke apart, breathing heavily. Cassian pressed his forehead to hers and let out a shaky laugh "You are going to be the death of my self control Jyn."

They didn't kiss anymore after that, instead they lay back in her bed together. Cassian pulled the fluffy blankets up to their shoulders and Jyn lay her head on his chest and listened to the thump thump of his heart beat.

Later, Cassian would rise before the sun came up and would give her a drowsy kiss which she returned half-asleep before heading quietly up the stairs to the room he shared with Cyrus.

They fell into a routine over the next couple of weeks, the mornings were spent filling their study room with dusty boxes that were ready to be looked through. Then Cassian would make lunch for the three of them as neither Cyrus nor Jyn had any real affinity for cooking. After that there was a rest period where Cyrus would often doze off in his chair for a quick nap and Cassian and Jyn would head out into the dilapidated garden that was quickly becoming their own personal oasis.

Jyn would lay on the cobbled sandstone and stare up at the blue sky while Cassian worked on something or other in the ship.

Then they would head back inside and spend the rest of the afternoon going through boxes and inputting their data into the system before letting the filing machine do it's work.

Then at night, every night like clockwork, Cassian would show up downstairs in Jyn's room and she would let him in every night. Sometimes they kissed, as that was as far as Cassian would go despite Jyn's growing frustration, and other times they would lay together and just talk.

They'd long run out of stories from their childhoods and Jyn didn't know if it was because there wasn't a whole lot to tell or if they just spent that much time together. They'd often fall asleep talking but Cassian was always careful to rise before dawn, give her a kiss and head back upstairs.

Wash, rinse and repeat.

One afternoon, about three weeks after they had arrived at the archives Jyn was helping Cassian unearth a box when Lyssa popped her head into the room and gave Jyn a little wave.

"Lyra! It's been a while, I was wondering if you wanted to grab some lunch with me?"

"Sure I ah…" Jyn watched Cassian's face change to instantly cautious.

"Oh come on Raoul." Lyssa said giving him a playful punch in the arm "I'll have her there and back before you can say 'where is Lyra'."

"I'll be fine, I'll be back in an hour-two tops."

"Let the girl go." Cyrus said from the back "You'll get more work without her distracting you anyways."

Cassian felt his face warm and Jyn grinned at him and stood on her tip toes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before hurrying to join Lyssa.

Cassian watched them go, a conflicted and worried feeling filling his gut. But he shook it off and turned back to his boxes.

"That was delicious!" Lyssa gushed as they walked back to the inner city.

"Yes thank you for paying for me-you didn't have to."

"It's not problem Lyra I know that Cyrus probably pays you next to nothing."

"You know, I thought you'd be upset with me about the drama at Omar's." Jyn remarked as they rounded the corner.

"It hasn't been easy," Lyssa admitted, her normally relaxed features tightening "But Omar hired a new girl and she's learning very quickly."

"Still I am sorry, I never would want things to be hard for you Lyssa. You are one of the first friends i've made here."

Lyssa's face contorted then, surprising Jyn with the conflicted expressions that the woman next to her was making. Lyssa seemed to come to a decision and she grabbed Jyn's hand.

"You need to run." She whispered quickly.

"What? Lyssa what's going on?" Jyn asked, confused by the sudden change in the other woman's attitude.

"I'm sorry Lyra. They told me they would sell me if I didn't get you out here by yourself. I didn't want to but-" Suddenly Lyssa was jerked away from Jyn with a yelp.

"Thats enough out of you." A gruffly familiar voice growled at the now crying Lyssa. Linux stood before Jyn with Lyssa dangling from one meaty hand, Lyssa's fingers scrabbled at his fingers trying to alleviate the pressure on her throat.

Jyn turned to run but men had surrounded her, she reached down in hopes of finding her blaster and immediately cursed herself for forgetting it at the archives. Jyn looked right and then left, before deciding that a metal bar jutting out several feet above them would have to do.

She coiled her muscles and jumped at the wall, launching off of it and caught the bar in her two hands and pulled herself up. She perched there like a cat, looking down at them as she planned her next moved-she could probably get onto the roof from here and make her escape.

The men looked at one another as if they couldn't believe it and aimed their blasters at her.

"Hold on there sweetheart." Linux said with a chuckle "You wouldn't want me to hurt your little friend now would you?"

"Why should I care?" Jyn asked "She turned me into you lot."

Linux grinned up at her and squeezed, Lyssa gasped as her eyes bugged out of her head. Jyn cursed under her breath.

"Stop." She finally said, her shoulders slumping. It didn't matter if Lyssa had turned her in, the woman didn't deserve to be tortured.

Jyn dropped down to the ground in defeat and was immediately struck over the back of the head by the butt of a blaster.

As darkness closed in around her she heard Linux dropping coins into someone's palm, "She's a pretty one. Perfect for Jabba's palace don't you think?"

"I think she will do nicely." said the unseen voice.

"Sir what should we do about this one?" Called one of the mercenaries.

"Eh. Get rid of her somewhere we don't need her." This was followed by the sound of a blaster going off.

Then everything went black.

Author's Note:

This wasn't my strongest chapter but hey, its here! Sorry for the lack of updates, it has been a crazy couple of weeks with my return to university and my work has been packing on hours like crazy! Anyways more to come! It's getting closer and closer to the end of our tale and I just need to figure out how to connect a couple of bits of the story all together and bada bing badda boom we will have ourselves a completed fanfic!

Thank you as always for reading and reviewing, I hope you continue to do so!

-LittleMoonLover-