ubi concordia, ibi victoria
A/N: Some months ago, @lilhex and @18tpaz asked me to write her the medal ceremony with the Rogues. This has been sitting in my drafts for ages now and I’m still not entirely happy with it, but here goes. Sorry you had to wait!
--
She’s tiny, Jyn thinks, the princess in her pristine white.
Tinier than even herself (and only nineteen, she hears), but more regal and commanding than she could ever hope to be. Didn’t she also just lose her entire planet?
She doesn’t have to bow very low when the princess drapes the medal around her neck with a smile. Cassian’s bow is slightly more awkward -- she never quite realized how tall he was -- but his face is solemn and unreadable. Baze, the tallest of them, bends his head with good humor and surprising grace (he looks different too, out of his armor and his hair neatly braided back).
Chirrut and Bodhi are neither big men. When the princess gets to him, Chirrut places a closed fist on his heart and bows deep -- then tilts his head and smiles like he knows a secret when she moves on to Bodhi. Bodhi, who looks like he can’t quite believe he’s not dreaming.
“Thank you,” the princess tells him quietly, taking his hand between her own. He blinks at her like a surprised nocturnal bird, making gentle amusement crack her regal veneer ever so slightly.
When the cheers erupt in the ceremonial hall, Jyn thinks she understands how he feels. It doesn’t feel quite real. That they succeeded, they won. Trying to blink back tears she senses more than actually feels Cassian sidle up to her, coming to stand so close their shoulders nearly touch.
“Your father would have been proud of you, Jyn,” he says quietly. She takes a deep breath and boldly laces her fingers between his, unable to hold back a goofy grin when the floppy-haired smuggler standing at the front gives her a wink.
“I know.”
--
