Jyn licked the ice cream and shut her eyes as she felt the cold taste of the sugary cream flood into her mouth, overtaking all her senses.
She smiled and opened her eyes.
"Is this not the most delicious thing you've ever tasted?" she said, turning to the figure on her left.
They were sitting on the grass in a large park that had been labelled on multiple signs as 'Hyde Park'. Cassian had looked at the various notes he had written on a small piece of paper when they had first passed through the gates and insisted that Jyn walk with him to a small van that had the shape of a confection she had never seen before fastened on top of its roof.
Ten minutes later they were sitting side by side, eating the delicious dessert out of a wafer cone, basking in the May sunshine.
"If I have ever had anything better I do not remember it," Cassian replied in-between licks.
Jyn saw him look down at the cheap watch he had purchased. She kept telling herself she ought to get one, but always ended up forgetting. Ever since they had begun living a life that for once did not depend on urgency Jyn rarely found herself checking the time. She had started to draw in her spare time, something she had always wished she could do but was merely alright at. Now she had all the time in the world to try and improve it, and no one really needed a watch for that.
"Let's go," he said.
"Already?" she replied. "But our ice creams-"
"We can eat it on the way," he said. "I have another thing planned for you."
He stood to his feet and held out his hand to her. She took it willingly and only after they had walked several steps did she realise that neither of them had let go of the other. For some strange reason she did not mind. So many years keeping people at arms length and for whatever reason she did not mind holding Cassian's hand as they strolled through the park together. It was like he had said in a world that seemed to be a lifetime ago. It was like being home.
"I was hoping we'd catch the seven fifteen train back home," he said. "But I looked up places to eat and I found one I hope you'll like."
Jyn thought she understood why he was doing this. He could not have missed her hours at the table drawing memories from her childhood, could not have missed her face glued to the television any time the six o'clock news appeared. She yearned for experience, for travel, all the things that required them to have jobs, to have money.
They strolled for around thirty minutes through bustling streets and beneath bright screens feature advertisements the kind she had seen in her childhood on Coruscant before Cassian stopped. Jyn looked up at the sign.
'Herman ze German'
"What's this?" she said, her eyebrows furrowed.
She followed him inside, listening as he spoke.
"It's a hot-dog and fries place," he said.
"A what?"
"It's a kind of a sausage in a bun with sauce on top," Cassian said quickly. "But I looked up ratings of places, and people really seem to love it here."
Jyn had enjoyed discovering new food since their arrival to this strange world, much of it had been delicious, the flavours different and yet familiar to so many foods she had loved as a child. One of her favourites had been fries and she sat in the underground seating area waiting as Cassian ordered, peering around her curiously at the meals other customers were eating.
"Five minutes," she heard him say, as he slotted into the seat opposite her. "They'll bring the food."
She nodded.
"Cassian," she said quietly. "So. This TV weatherman."
Since he had seen the figure on the television, the one that even Jyn could not deny sounded like his old droid, Cassian had been reluctant to talk about it, and she understood why. For a very long time the droid had been his only friend, a figure that represented companionship and Jyn knew the demise of Kaytoo had hit him hard. She suspected that was why he had pushed so hard for a pet, that somewhere deep down it was as much for him as her. But now it had been several days, and if this weatherman was some strange incarnation of their friend, Jyn wanted to get to the bottom of it.
"I was probably imagining it," he said.
She shook her head. He had done digging, she knew it, but here he was, afraid that he would hope. She needed to him to know that he had the right to hope.
"It was my turn to do some digging," Jyn said. "You're not imagining it at all, Cass. I think it is him."
The hope in his face when he looked up at her almost broke her heart.
"How do you know?"
"This weatherman, his name's Kay Toussant! Kay Toussant! Can't you imagine Kaytoo laughing to himself when he gave that name? But - wait, listen to me. He was this homeless man a couple of months ago who saved this reported being hit by a car. They chat away and she realises the man's pretty damn funny. Sounds like Kaytoo, huh? Well, turns out she's someone that works for this television network and as a wild card she asks him to audition because they're hiring a new weatherman. Fast forward a couple of days later and -"
"He got the job."
"Exactly," said Jyn, a smile on her face. "Sounds like him, doesn't it? But Cassian, the timeline adds him. This paper - I saved the article, he said he'd only been homeless a couple of weeks before he was found. He said he'd lost absolutely everything. Sounds like he's become quite a bit of a local celebrity."
"Kay Toussant," said Cassian quietly, his voice filled with awe. "Do you really think -"
"Two hotdogs, one fries and one cheese fries?"
The waitress looked down at both of them and Cassian gestured at the table.
"Yes, thank you."
Jyn reached forward and plucked one of the cheese fries, not caring that it was so hot that it threatened to burn her fingers.
"Yes Cassian," she said, feeling even more pleasure because lord, were these fries delicious. "Yes, I really think it is him."
