jyssian having a late-night conversation
“Wait,” Cassian says, getting up suddenly from the bunk where he and Jyn have been lying for the past two hours, sharing a bottle of Corellian brandy between them. “Wait - I want to show you something.”
He stumbles off the bunk and lurches towards the door, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Where are you going?” Jyn says, sitting up; her face burns hot as the alcohol spreads through her, buzzing under her skin with a pleasant numbness. Four hours in hyperspace, five hours left, Bodhi at the helm, already bored of sabacc – she didn’t think Cassian would want a drink, thought him maybe a shade too uptight or neurotic. How do rebel assassins unwind? But, to her delight, he put down the datapad and poured the first glass.
“I left it in the galley, I’ll be right back,” Cassian says. He opens the door and slips out.
The door slides shut.
Jyn swings her legs over the edge of the bunk, hands between her knees, blinking as her head grows heavier. She stares at the door, swept up in the wake of Cassian’s exit, and the silence grows.
She waits. The pleasant feeling starts to slip, its hold on her senses weakening, and Jyn swallows, suddenly sitting very still. A knot lodges itself in her throat. The door looms in front of her – no less than six feet away, but closed nonetheless, and behind it a promise Cassian threw over his shoulder like it was nothing, nothing at all – I’ll be right back, he said, right back, right back –
Jyn swallows. Her heart lunges in her chest, like something yanked her forward, a hitch deep in her body. All she can think about is waiting. Day after day, in a closed bunker, fueled by a faith stronger than hunger and sleep that someone would come back for her, blaster pointed towards the door just in case it was the wrong someone.
It’s fine, she thinks, lifting her hand to Lyra’s kyber crystal, clutching it tight. Eyes fixed, unwavering, on the door. It’s fine… and then no one came back at all –
The door slides open. Cassian stands in the doorframe, clutching a wrapped package in his hand, his eyes crinkling as he smiles at her. Then his smile fades, vanishing into a look of confusion.
“Is something wrong?”
His presence washes over her, an earnest wave of warmth.
“No,” Jyn says brightly, “Just thinking.”
Cassian gives her a brief look, thoughtful and shrewd. Then, her response properly weighed, he lets it go. He tumbles back onto the bunk next to her.
“I picked this up on D’Qar…” he says, and she leans her head onto Cassian as he starts unwrapping the package. His shoulder dips to accomodate her and they lean against each other. The tightness in Jyn’s body releases, and she smiles, half-listening, watching his hands move, content to merely feel him solid beside her. As simple as that – and just enough.
