Keep You In Sight
Summary: Brasso wants you to stay safe, and stay where he can see you.
Pairing: Brasso/Fem!Reader
A/N: This is a birthday gift for my beloved friend @sherwood-forests 💜 A sequel to the other Brasso piece I wrote for her called "Port in the Storm". Takes place during the events of the Andor Season 1 Finale.
Tags/Warnings: Canon Typical Violence, Fluff, Slight Angst
Divider by @saradika
The rain pattered against your roof, the sound echoing through your whole house as you sat by the window looking out into the street. You hoped it would let up soon and wouldn’t continue to be like this tomorrow. The last thing you all needed was to have to trudge through mud. This was going to be hard enough as it was.
Brasso had stopped by to let you know what the plan was going to be for the next day. The Empire had put all sorts of stipulations in place as to what could be done and what couldn’t. They had said only 40 people could be present, which you knew would never hold up. Anyone who knew Maarva, which was almost everyone, would be there. You were sure of it.
Before he had left, Brasso had given you a quick peck on the cheek before quickly escaping into the rain to head home. Things had been a bit awkward since the first time he had kissed you. Despite the feelings rushing through the two of you, despite the first step already having been taken, you were both at a loss about where you stood. All you knew for certain was that you cared about him so much that your heart ached in his absence. That single peck had sent a shock down to your toes that you could still feel hours later.
You shivered and wrapped your arms around yourself, taking one final glance out at the rain before turning away from the window and walking towards your bedroom. You knew sleep wasn’t likely with how wired you felt, but the sooner you at least tried to sleep, the sooner tomorrow would come and you could all say a proper goodbye to Maarva and hopefully move on as a community.
A knock at your door the following morning grabbed your attention from where you were putting the finishing touches on your appearance for the day. You walked over and opened the door to reveal Brasso standing on the other side.
“Can I come in?”
You stepped aside and gestured for him to enter. You were surprised that he wasn’t in his uniform yet, and even more surprised that Bee wasn’t with him.
“Is something wrong?” you asked. “What’s going on?”
Brasso stopped, his gaze facing the interior of your place rather than you. You could see the tension rippling through his shoulders, even through his clothing. Moving around him to stand before him, you placed your hand on his arm gently.
“Brasso?”
“He came back.”
You felt your brow furrow in confusion as you tried to figure out what he meant. Who had come back? After a few moments of contemplation, you realized exactly who he was talking about.
Cassian.
He must have heard about his mother’s passing and come back to pay his respects, which was the last thing he should have done. Everyone would be better off if he stayed away and never came back, at least while the Empire had a presence on Ferrix.
“Is he insane? He’s going to get arrested, or even worse, killed. Did you meet with him?”
Brasso nodded, still avoiding your gaze. You felt anger and frustration bubbling up inside you at his confirmation. It was bad enough for Cassian to put himself at risk, but the fact that he continued to put others at risk was even worse. You bit your lip in an attempt to keep the angry words you wanted to shout from escaping.
“You’re upset, I can tell,” Brasso said, finally looking at you. “You always bite your lip like that when you get mad.”
Your glare must have been enough to confirm his suspicions. Brasso sighed and stepped towards you, taking your hand in his own and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“It’s alright. Nobody saw us.”
“You don’t know that,” you hissed, trying to pull your hand from his grip. “We still don’t know what’s happened to Bix. I don’t want to lose you too. Which is exactly what will happen if you do something stupid.”
Brasso refused to let go of your hand, tightening his grip and pulling you towards him. You struggled slightly, but eventually gave into his wishes and let him pull you to him. Once you were close enough, he released your hand and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you against him.
The awkwardness was nowhere to be found, only the warmth that had always been there. You returned Brasso’s embrace, burying your face in his chest. You could hear his heart beating against your ear, a reassuring sound that you hoped wouldn’t go away anytime soon. The two of you stood together, wrapped in each other’s arms, for several minutes before Brasso finally pulled away from the embrace.
“I should go get ready. I came to get you so we could arrive together. I don’t want you out of my sight when all those Imperials are around.”
“That will be hard since you’ll be marching with the funerary stone. This ceremony is more important than watching me, Brasso. I won’t be in any danger.”
Brasso lifted a hand to caress the side of your face, his eyes boring into yours. His statement about not letting you out of his sight felt a bit more serious than you thought it had originally been intended to be. The feelings bubbling up inside you were overwhelming, forcing you to break away from his intense gaze. You lifted your hand to place it over his.
“We’ll stick together as much as we can, I promise. Now let’s go show these Imperials what Ferrixian loyalty is all about.”
It was early afternoon, much earlier than the time the Empire had allotted, when the first clang of the anvil rang through the town. Everyone had gathered in the streets, preparing for the march down Rix Road. The Daughters of Ferrix and the band stood in their uniforms, ready to begin their trek to the center of town. You stood amongst the other townsfolk, waiting for the signal to begin walking.
“It’s time,” Brasso’s voice said from beside you.
You felt his hand brush softly against yours as he passed, a simple reassuring touch. Remembering his request that you stay where he could see you, you took a place on the edge of the crowd as it began to move, keeping him nearby.
The band began to play its mournful tune and the entire crowd of gathered people slowly moved down the street in an organized procession. Anyone that wasn’t marching themselves moved out of the way, allowing the crowd to pass unstopped. In the background, you could hear the clang of the anvil every so often, its deep resonating tone blending perfectly with the music of the band.
As the procession got closer to the center of town, you could see a line of troops clad in black blocking the street. The Empire was clearly unhappy with the change of plans and would not allow anything to go further than absolutely necessary. The crowd came to a stop, the music stopping along with it. Your eyes followed Brasso’s form as he walked through the crowd to the front, Bee wheeling along behind him.
Once he reached the front, the stone held in front of him, the band began to play again. Gone was the sorrowful tune they had been playing before, replaced by one much more upbeat. One that spoke of unity. The crowd began to move once again, walking straight towards the awaiting troops. Your voice joined the chant of “stone and sky”, repeating the words over and over with each step.
Just before reaching the wall of shields the Imperials had erected, the band began to turn, forming a circle around Brasso and Bee. Following the lead of the crowd, you line up outside the circle, never letting Brasso out of your sight. You felt his sentiment echo in your heart, feeling that need to keep him before you at all times. Once again, everyone came to a stop and the music came to an end. Those gathered, Ferrixian and Imperial alike, waited silently.
A soft whir sounded before a brilliant blue light shot up into the sky from the holoprojector on top of Bee. A giant image of Maarva Andor stood before the crowd. The sight was enough to pull your gaze from Brasso, wanting to honor the woman you had all gathered to remember, wanting to hear what final words she wanted to say.
You listened intently as the hologram of Maarva spoke. She spoke of the history of Ferrix, of how they had flourished. How everything had changed with the Empire. The fighting spirit you had always admired in her shone brightly in her expression as she told you all to stand firm and to fight against those that would push you down and trod upon you.
A shout pierced the crowd as an Imperial officer pushed his way past the shielded troops towards Bee, pulling his cloak from his shoulders to cover the projector, an attempt to silence Maarva’s call to action. He failed, however, to mute her final words.
Fight the Empire!
At those words, the officer shoved Bee over, knocking him on his side. You barely had time to react before you saw Brasso move forward, kicking the man in the chest and knocking him to the ground. You felt your heart stop as two troopers stepped forward to restrain him from attacking the man further. They didn’t get far before he swung Maarva’s brick at them, hitting one in the face.
You felt more than heard the yell he let out, surging forward with the crowd towards the line of troops. You had no weapons, but you could feel the energy of the angry crowd pushing you forward, willing you to do something. Willing you to follow Maarva’s call.
The troops fought back, keeping their shields up to prevent the crowd from getting too far. The loud tones of the anvil sounded above it all, encouraging the townspeople, rallying the fight. After some time had passed, you noticed Wilmon moving closer to the Imperials, his hand in his bag. Before you had a chance to react, he pulled something from it and threw it over the line of troops.
The first explosion nearly knocked you off your feet. The following ones from the grenades reacting did. Your ears rung, all sound around you disappearing. Smoke covered everything and you couldn’t see a thing. Including Brasso. A deep panic settled in your chest as you crawled across the ground, trying to get away from the center of the commotion. Eventually, you reached a wall and braced yourself against it.
Through the haze, you swore you could see a large red shape fighting off ones of white. You had no way of knowing who it was, no way of knowing if Brasso was safe or even if he was still alive. A figure appeared in your field of vision, one clad in red, but not the one you searched for.
“Come on, girl!” Jezzi shouted, pulling you to your feet. “We need to leave!”
You let her guide you into an alley, nearly running into another pair as you ascended the steps. You felt your knees give out and a sob of relief escaped your lips as you saw Brasso dragging Wilmon up alongside him by the collar. With his other hand, he tightly grabbed yours and the four of you ran as fast as you could to the edge of town.
When you reached the shipyard, you found Pegla waiting for you. He had pulled Bee from the chaos and placed him on a ship. Waving erratically, he ushered the rest of you aboard. Jezzi and Brasso worked together with Pegla to get the ship going as you guided Wilmon to sit on the floor of the cargo hold. It wasn’t long before another pair emerged from the edge of the shipyard, moving quickly towards the ship.
Cassian and Bix.
You helped Cassian maneuver the weakened Bix onto the ship and guided her down to sit beside Wilmon. You could hear shouting behind you, but paid no attention to it, hearing only “Gangi Moon” and Cassian’s shout to get you all out of there. Before you knew it, the ship was rising into the air and you, Wilmon, Bix, Jezzi, and Brasso were flying to Maker knows where.
Leaving the two on the floor, you moved towards where Brasso sat panting against the back of the ship. He looked up at you with the most relieved expression you had ever seen cross his face. He reached for you and pulled you down into a tight embrace.
“I thought I lost you,” he whispered into your hair. “I saw you go flying when the second explosion hit and then you disappeared and I couldn’t find you.”
No words could express the relief you felt when you saw him on the stairs, likely the same he felt at that moment if he thought you were gone. Unable to find anything to say, you squeezed your eyes shut and rested against his chest as he rocked you back and forth. You could swear you heard him muttering something else, repeating over and over like a mantra, but you didn’t dare hope he was saying what you thought you heard reach your still ringing ears.
I love you. I love you. I love you.
A/N: Give this a like, comment, and reblog and let me know what you think!
