Open RP Post

[candor1]

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[shiningstardust]

It should have been criminal, how much Jyn was enjoying the softy affectionate little touch, not to mention how much she didn't want to have to give it up just quite yet.

Whatever she was expecting to hear, it was not that, and her expression shifted and changed into something so utterly surprised and delighted, and she couldn't hide it - nor did she want to. She probably looked every inch her age as she tried to process the prospect.

"You're ... serious?"

[candor1]

He looked at her with extreme enjoyment of her disbelief, but also a little worry that he might have heard something wrong. "If you were? About wanting one?"

[shiningstardust]

He hadn't heard anything wrong. Jyn had always wanted a pet growing up, but had never been granted the opportunity to care for one. She shook her head and absentmindedly squeezed his hand. "I am! I just - you'll think it silly or maybe even sad, but ... when I was growing up, treats or presents were really only given if I followed my directions and was good. So ... there's some little part of me wondering what I could have possibly done to deserve it."

[candor1]

He didn't think it silly. He definitely found it sad. Not of her; him, too. He'd also grown up knowing that not all kids got loved and praised just for existing. Some of them had (eternally) to earn it. (Doomed to fail.)

Equally automatically, he squeezed her hand, back.

"You deserve it," he said. "Trust me."

[shiningstardust]

It was the past, and Jyn tried not to dwell, but sometimes, those memories were too heavy to simply brush away. And while she wasn't sure that she was truly deserving of such a lovely gift, she'd have to try to be from now on.

"Thank you", she murmured, her voice brimming with a strange new fondness, one that she had never expected being able to feel. "You don't know how much it means to me."

[candor1]

That tone of her voice… he turned to look at her fully, his free hand coming up automatically to the side of her face, gently touching her cheek.

But he shook himself, and his hand dropped away—as did the one holding hers, and he flashed a rueful smile. "Hope you still feel that way when we're disagreeing on what to name it. For now… time to get out of these formal things, yeah?"

[shiningstardust]

For a moment - just one small moment, Jyn wondered if this was the moment that they kissed. But she didn't make a move, and neither did he, and all too suddenly, she was without any contact whatsoever, dizzy with possibilities.

She breathed out a shaky, soft chuckle and shrugged, so reluctant to step away, no matter how uncomfortable her dress and heels. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it", she answered, sharing a quick smile before she ducked her head down, her cheeks a faint, warm pin. "You want to go first, or shall I?"

[candor1]

He gestured for her to go ahead. "Mine's easy. After you."

(He could use the moments alone with his transponder to check in with Kay. They were overdue for a meeting.)

[shiningstardust]

"This one is easy, too", she laughed, finally taking that first step toward the bedroom, and then another. "There's a zipper down the side. Fathoms easier than that wedding dress."

"Okay - ", she sighed, rolling her shoulders back to get rid of some of the tension still holding tight. "I'll be right back."

[candor1]

He pulled off his jacket and put himself languidly over the sofa, smiling back at her, until she passed into the next room and closed the door.

Immediately, Cassian grabbed his transponder and sent a brief message to Kaytoo in Mon Calamari Blink Code*. A-L-L--W-E-L-L--M-E-E-T--P-E-N-T-A-D-A-Y*--0-6-0-0

[shiningstardust]

The first thing Jyn did was kick off her infernal heels and take down her hair. Once those tasks were done, she could concentrate on getting out of her dress - too showy, too ostentatious, not her - and get into her usual nightclothes. But only after she washed her face did she think she was ready to head back out into the living space.

She was being ridiculous, she chided herself, for looking forward to it. It had only been a small handful of days, she had always been okay (relatively speaking) being alone.

But now ...

She shook her head and lightly stepped from the bedroom to the living area. "All yours."

[candor1]

Cassian's transponder was safely back in his pocket by the time Jyn reemerged.

"Thanks," he said, standing, picking up his discarded jacket, and shooting her another smile as he passed her en route to the bedroom.

(It occurred to him, somewhere in there, to wonder what a formal outfit she'd actually chosen for herself would look like.)

He changed and, as ever, folded his dress uniform perfectly. The clothes he changed into were more exercise clothes: soft and breathable, not designed to be lived in, but counting on access to washing. He left his feet, still less usually, bare.

He came back out, not feeling tired out in the least. Rather, the opposite: looking forward to whatever the evening held with Jyn.

[shiningstardust]

Jyn headed toward the comfortable kitchen before sitting down - needing a drink of water to clear the cloying taste of whatever it was that she'd had at the party.

But by the time Joreth returned - looking almost as relaxed as Jyn felt, now that both weren't expected to put on a performance for an audience, she was curled up in the corner of the couch, just waiting.

"Better?", she asked, smiling from over the rim of her glass. "Come on, we have to decide what we're going to do for the rest of the night."

It wasn't early. It wasn't late. And for once, she wasn't so tired that all she wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep.

[candor1]

"Much." He crossed to the couch and sat on the other end—not crowding her, not too far away from her either. "Um… I dunno. There's always holos. Or dejarik. Or… what do you do in your free time when you're on your own?"

[shiningstardust]

It was a comfortable distance - and Jyn didn't want to seem needy by moving any closer. Personal space, and all that. "Work - ", she answered, shrugging. "Study. Sometimes I'll watch the odd holo, sometimes I read. Sometimes, when I can't sleep, I visit a gym and train. Although I don't know that I have the energy for it tonight. What about you?"

[candor1]

"Similar," he said. "I don't feel like sparring either—though that's an idea for later. What are you reading?"

[shiningstardust]

"Mm, we'll put it on a list for another time. Besides, I feel like I've gone through a few rounds after ... that", she replied, sighing. "Oh, nothing fun, I assure you. Just ... wanting to learn programming. My uncle says it's a waste of my time, but I don't think so."

[candor1]

Cassian braced his elbow on the back of the couch; leaned his head against his own hand there, so he was leaning closer to Jyn without looming in at her. "May I ask…? I've never been a woman in Imperial space, and I've been mostly on my own. Is it… usual? For an uncle to claim so much control over a niece's life?"

[shiningstardust]

Jyn smiled again, but there was little resembling any sort of contentment in it. "Honestly? I don't know. My mother died in an accident when I was young, and my father was lost in his grief. The Director had been a close friend since their Academy days, and ... I didn't have any other family to live with. So ... while my father went away to recover, he was put into guardianship over me."

She shrugged, glancing down at her hands, resting in her lap. "I'm perfectly capable of taing care of myself, but ... well, you spoke with him tonight. He's still ... invested."

Obsessed.

[candor1]

Cassian looked down at her hands, too. He didn't know what to say.

"Well," he said finally. "Like I said before. You can always use me to bolster your taking care of yourself, in his eyes. I think frustrating his… investment would give me particular satisfaction."

[shiningstardust]

When she glanced back up, her expression had shifted again. A smile, small, but real nonetheless. "I appreciate your willingness to help me frustrate him. I'll admit - I take a little bit of pleasure in doing the exact same thing."

"I would, I think, like to feel free to live my own life now, you know? I'm grateful for all that he's done for me, but ... I don't want to feel beholden to him forever."

[candor1]

Cassian brittlely wondered how much Krennic actually had done for Jyn, versus how indebted she'd been made to feel.

But all he did was unbrace his arm, and reach out to touch her hand. "That sounds good to me."

[shiningstardust]

Jyn sometimes wondered the exact same thing. Was her father really too busy to visit his only child - his only remaining family - or was he being kept away? And who else had Krennic tasked with watching over her?

But all she did was accept the touch and lean a little closer, almost as though she was seeking out the comfort all the more.

"I think I kind of like you, you know."

[candor1]

…



Cassian had been undercover before.

He'd been in relationships while undercover before.

Hell, he'd been in another relationship while under this cover, before.

No other protestation of love or commitment had ever knocked him flat the way that statement from Jyn just did.

What is wrong with you… this is not the mission… she is not…

Slowly, he spread his hand on hers. Then, not hiding the tremor in his touch, hyperaware for the barest hint of protest from her, he moved his hand up her arm, to her shoulder; then slipped around both her shoulders, as the rest of him shifted closer to follow.

[shiningstardust]

For a moment, Jyn kept completely still, not wanting to break the moment and lose the tentative contact. She only really found her breath again as she felt his hand as it moved from fingers touching to creeping from hand to shoulder and finally curled around her shoulders, motivating both of them to get a little closer, to cuddle much like they did while in bed.

"I didn't want to like you", she admitted softly, although she was sure he was already aware. "I wanted to hate you, just on principle alone. But I don't - I don't think I ever really did."