Leia Organa was a whirlwind, full of restless energy, and in that moment she was cursing like a sailor and bickering nonstop with one of her current companions. Cassian chuckled and felt instantly better at the sight of her.
She was her father's, Bail Organa, right hand and the second in command of the Rebellion, after Mon Mothma and Bail himself. She had proven herself a very capable leader, as much as her father, and she had started to put into practice her remarkable qualities and skills long ago, despite being only nineteen at present. Bail trusted her to the point that she filled in for him in the Rebellion whenever he was absent, and she had earned the position by her own merits.
She was an expert in politics, diplomacy and leadership, having been raised as a princess, daughter of the queen of Alderaan and her husband, but, unlike her parents, she was a natural-born fighter. From an early age, she'd learned how to fight not only with words, but with her body and weapons as well. Despite her short height (she was even shorter than Jyn), she kicked asses hard, and she had the advantage of others' tendency to underestimate her skills because of her delicate appearance. Cassian had seen her in action on more than one occasion, making some bullies bite the dust, and it was absolutely impressive. In that regard, she and Jyn were alike, because Jyn was also one of the toughest fighters he'd ever seen. He still remembered the trip to Jedha and how she'd knocked down a full battalion of stormtroopers. His jaw must have dropped to the ground at the sight.
Leia was a walking contradiction. Her upbringing as a member of the Alderaanian royalty had provided her with a refined education and taste for fashion. She was always impeccably dressed, and even when she wore practical clothes, there was a natural elegance in her way of carrying herself. She styled her long brown hair in elaborate Alderaanian hairstyles. There were ancient traditions on her adoptive planet (because she'd been adopted by Bail and Breha when she was a baby) concerning the hair, to the point that each style had a specific meaning. More than once Cassian had teased her about that. He loved bantering with her, because she gave as good as she got, and he'd always had a soft spot for feisty women.
But her elegance ran parallel to her easy ways and tough manners. She didn't mind one bit dealing and mingling with people from all walks, and anyone who hadn't come to know her well yet, would feel a bit shocked by her blunt use of language, which she only moderated when she exercised her diplomatic skills. But one soon got used to her tendency to curse and use swear words in her everyday conversations.
And as another manifestation of her many contrasts, in a few aspects she was very mature for someone so young, and that was why Cassian often forgot that she was twelve years younger than him, and that she was only fourteen when he'd first met her. But on the other hand, it was evident that she was just a girl. Her recklessness, optimism and tireless energy gave away her extreme youth.
And Cassian had noticed when she had developed a crush on him, shortly after he'd joined the Rebellion five years earlier. It didn't take a greatly observant person, because she'd been as subtle as a bantha in a glassware shop. Of course, as the clever girl she was, she'd known from the start that her infatuation was completely hopeless, because he'd never involve himself with a minor, but even if she had been of age, he wasn't interested. There was another short brunette, green-eyed instead of brown-eyed, who held his heart and senses and he simply couldn't give up completely on his hopes that one day he would have a chance with her. No matter how remote that chance was. No matter how much he told himself off or how much he tried to persuade himself that it was impossible. He wasn't ashamed to admit that he was unattainable for women because there was only one woman for him, though he never confessed that secret to anyone. Not even to Kay after he entered his life permanently.
As Leia was nothing if not practical in her views of life (if not so much regarding fashion), she soon overcame her delusions and Cassian felt immensely relieved. From then on, they developed a strong friendship.
"Cass!," she cried out as soon as she saw him in the middle of the usual bustle of the hangar bay, and ran to him, leaving hanging the stranger she was quarreling with.
A few other peculiarities of hers were that she didn't mind one bit getting her hands dirty, she usually forgot that she often wore finery and she didn't care for trivialities like watching her manners in public. Like in that case, running with a total disregard for dignity, with her skirts swirling behind her, just to meet an old friend. Cassian's smile widened as she crashed onto him and hanged from his neck in an impetuous embrace.
"I'm glad to see you too, Lei," he gasped, because she literally had stolen the breath from his lungs with her effusive greeting.
She let go of him, smiling widely as well. "You old bat, it's been a long time, in which nook have you been hiding?" That was one of her usual jokes for when they reunited after a while apart from each other. They both had their duties for the Rebellion and couldn't see much of each other, especially in the last year.
"You know, the usual thing. Doing this or that," he answered, deliberately vaguely. That was his usual teasing response to her joke.
"Indeed. Very busy it seems. But I haven't been idle either myself, in case someone accuses me of spending my time polishing my nails," she fakingly admonished.
"Oh, and who would accuse you of that, Lei? A boozer ewok?," he retorted.
"Fair point," she retorted back. Then she regained her composure and got serious. "I've been recruiting people," she informed, turning to her companions. Apart from her shadow droids, the eccentric pair consisting of the inseparable C-3PO and R2-D2, three other men and a wookie had come to base with her. "Guys, this is Captain Cassian Andor, an old friend," she introduced, and he bowed his head at the strangers, who returned his gesture. "And this is Ben," she said, pointing at the oldest man, who wore what looked like a Jedi robe, what was strange, given that Jedis had been extinct for a long time, or that was what Cassian had heard from an early age. "Luke." Leia waved at the youngest, who had the appearance of a teenager with light blond hair and bright blue eyes, the epitome of innocence. "Chewbacca." The wookie grunted in what must be the Shiriiwook sound for "hello" or something like that. "And Han." The previous warmth in Leia's voice had suddenly dropped several degrees when addressing the last man in the group of newcomers. Cassian didn't miss the glare she shot at the tall handsome man, who sported an air of indifference and annoyance.
"Ben isn't an expert pilot, but he is training Luke as a Jedi and that's why he's agreed to come here, so the boy can go on learning. But Luke himself is an excellent pilot, the best I've ever seen in spite of his youth," Leia praised, and the boy blushed at the compliment.
"Hey!," Han complained. "What about Chewie and me? You've brought us here to scratch your royal back, Your Highness?," he needled. Cassian understood with amusement why the pair had been bickering right before she'd noticed his presence. The man seemed to infuriate Leia to no end and he looked like he enjoyed getting a rise out of her, to which she reacted in her typical feisty fashion. Knowing her, Cassian braced himself for witnessing her formidable display of bad temper.
Leia stabbed Han in the chest with her forefinger. "You almost made us run into an ambush, you idiot! Consider yourself lucky that the Rebellion is so much in need for pilots that they would even take you into account as an option!," she nearly screamed.
"But I got us out of trouble in the end, didn't I? I told you, The Millennium Falcon is the fastest ship in the galaxy, and Chewie and I are the ones who pilot her! That should say something about our skill, don't you think?," Han rebuked back, as red in the face as Leia.
"Yes, that Chewie deserves heaven for putting up with you!"
"I haven't heard him complaining!"
Actually, Chewie chose that moment to let out a roar of irritated protest. For the looks of him, his patience had been tested dangerously by the other two, and must have reached his limit. Cassian bit the back of his lips to keep himself from smiling.
"Well, he's complaining now, you jackass!," she spat triumphantly, and Han shot a glare at his furry friend.
"That's because no one can stand your uptight ass, Your Highness!," Han spat in return.
"And you wouldn't even be here if we weren't in an emergency! You've only agreed to come because Chewie is the brave one of the two and he would rip your arms off if you ran away like the cowardly rat you are!"
At that offhanded compliment, Chewie got puffed up like a bird ruffling its feathers. He didn't seem to mind that it went at the expense of his human friend. Cassian could hardly suppress the laughter at the absurd situation.
"Excuse me for not looking forward very much to rushing to a certain death, Your Highness! Not all of us are so altruist and self-sacrificing as you!" The heavy sarcasm in Han's tone might have filled an entire room, Cassian was sure.
"I'd volunteer if I were a better pilot and if I had a much better aim from a ship, but I'm afraid that those are the only two things at which I'm less skilled than you!" Leia was positively reaching her boiling point at that rate.
Han then leered at her up and down, provokingly. "Come to my bed and I'll show you who's better or worse at something else if you're willing to get off your pedestal, Your Highness," Han challenged in the rudest way imaginable.
Cassian was certain that Leia would have slapped the bigmouth if Ben hadn't intervened to stop the heated fight. He grabbed her wrist as gently as possible but the gesture made it clear that they'd all had more than enough of Leia and Han's quarrelling.
"Enough, you two. Han, shut up. Excuse me, Princess," he placated politely, with a slight roll of his eyes, after letting go of her hand. She glared at Han one last time before turning to Cassian again. "We'd better get acquainted with the place, don't you think, guys?," Ben asked the others, wisely seeking to put distance between the quarrelers.
It looked like it had been a long trip back from wherever they'd been, if that was how Leia and Han had spent their time in close proximity.
"Go over there and ask for the quartermaster," Leia directed, with her face still flushed from her abating fury. "I've warned in advance that you all were coming, so there will be no trouble for you to get settled. See you later, Ben, Luke, Chewie." She pointedly ignored Han, who did the same. "And you Threepio and Artoo, are dismissed." At that, the golden humanoid protocol droid bid farewell with his trademark unctuously polite manners, and his short astromech partner bipped in what sounded like shameless relief. After all, they had also had to put up with shouting matches in the confinement of a ship.
"The nerve of that man! If it weren't for the urgency of the situation, I would have told him where he can stick it," Leia ranted in renewed anger as she watched the group of men and wookie walking out of the hangar. She then tried to make a visible effort to recover her composure.
"I'm under the impression that you've already told him that, Lei," Cassian couldn't resist teasing her a bit.
She huffed. "Not enough, by a long shot. He's lucky that I haven't killed him yet." She took several deep breaths to calm herself. "I won't let that jerk ruin the rest of my day if I can do anything about it. Everything is madness currently as it is. Well, Cass, how are you doing?"
They began to head for the temple and Leia hanged on to his arm. "It's been one hell of a year, to tell the truth. And now this," Cassian commented with a heavy sigh.
"Yeah. It's terrible. But at least Galen Erso is genuine. His designs are accurate, according to our engineers. Now we have to gather together all the best pilots we can find and plan an attack on a weapon of mass destruction. Piece of cake." Leia glanced sideways at him. "How's your folks? Kerri okay?"
"Yeah. She's out there recruiting pilots, like you requested," Cassian answered.
"Bix's pregnancy is going smoothly?"
Cassian nodded. "As smoothly as it can go, according to her. She and Brasso told me to give you their regards."
"Same here. I love that couple. But then, you've always had good taste choosing friends. I'm living proof of that," she teased.
"I don't know. I'm beginning to doubt it," he teased back.
She swatted his arm playfully. "And Jyn? What a coincidence that she's Erso's daughter, don't you think? It makes one almost consider turning into a believer in the Force," she added with a lilt in her voice. "And you can't fool me. I'm not a busybody, not much more than normal, but I've suspected for a long time what you feel for her. Even if I've never met her, the way you've sometimes spoken of her is very telling, Cass. You're an excellent spy, but I'm your superior in rank for a reason."
"Because everyone is afraid of you?," he needled.
"That too," she retorted, deadpan. "Don't come the comedian with me, dude. Don't try to mislead me. She's the reason why you're the Ice Captain, isn't she?"
Cassian almost choked at her sharpness. "What?"
"Don't play dumb. You're well aware that everybody here calls you by that nickname behind your back. But I'm not judging you, I'm just stating the obvious. You love her, don't you?"
Cassian snorted in slight irritation. Not that the fact that everyone around him seemed to notice his feelings for Jyn bothered him much. He wasn't ashamed of the truth. But am I really so transparent? Some spy I am, he thought sarcastically. "I fail to see what that has to do with anything."
"Of course it has to do with everything. That way you have a strong reason to survive this and come back. Don't you dare die on my watch, buddy," she admonished, pointing at him with her finger. "You haven't told her, I suppose. About the mission. Luke and the others don't know either. I only told them that we're in an emergency and in need of the best pilots, and warned them not to divulge anything. We all have to be very careful with what we let transpire. I'm not so sure that Han won't open his big mouth and fuck up, that's why I'll keep an eye on him," Leia said, pursing her lips.
"Good luck with that," Cassian replied. "And no, I haven't told anyone. But Galen has guessed what we're doing, of course. After all, he's who knows best how to blow up that thing."
"Yeah, it's no surprise. Well, it's always great to see you, Cass. Now let's go back to the harsh reality. I'll see you around."
She waved her hand at him and hurried to the command center, unfazed by the fact that everybody around them could see Bail Organa's princess daughter and general of the Rebellion running like a lothcat chasing game.