candor1 | Open RP Post

From:

"No," he conceded, "I guess not."

Lightly, perhaps tentatively, his hand brushed her back, again. "We could check the HoloNet. I've been falling behind on the news." Angry as it made him, it was good to keep up with what the Empire made common knowledge, and how it spun them.

From:

shiningstardust

Talk about killing the mood.

But Jyn didn't deny the suggestion or even make one of her own. Instead, she sighed, and nodded her agreement. It wouldn't be relaxing, that's for sure, but it probably was important to know what was going on.

"Of course."

From:

candor1

He answered her sigh with an apologetic smile. "Just for a while. Then we can switch to something easier."

From:

shiningstardust

"It's not that I'm not interested - ", she started, absent-mindedly brushing her fingertips against his this time, almost without a second thought. "It's just that the news is always so dire, you know? There's never anything good to hear. Or at least ... the things they consider good, I ... don't."

Maybe that was a bit too honest, but once the words were spoken aloud, Jyn couldn't exactly take them back.

From:

candor1

Something silenced him. Either the feel of her fingers finding his, or those words.

There was little he hated more in the universe. Being undercover, identifying someone ripe for recruitment, and having to leave them behind. The only thing worse: having to stay undercover by browbeating them back to Imperial loyalty.

He couldn't do that with Jyn. He wouldn't.

But…

His fingers curled slightly back around hers. And he said very softly,]

I… shouldn't respond to that.

[But he didn't say he disagreed or that she shouldn't have said it.]

From:

shiningstardust

Jyn almost expected the silence - but was grateful for it, nonetheless. She could have received a lecture instead, a browbeating about doubting with the Empire was doing and the reasons why. She had almost expected it.

But instead she received the comforting contact of his fingers holding hers. And although the statement hadn't been the admission that he felt the same, the acknowledgement of how she felt was enough.

"I won't ask you to."

From:

candor1

"Thanks." I'm sorry.

His fingers twined closer with hers, his thumb finding its familiar path along the back of her hand.

He cleared his throat and used his other hand to reach the controller. "Okay. A little more business, for just a bit. Then something funny."

He called up a news holo—one of the slightly less jingoistic ones—and settled his sabacc face in place to see and hear how they were covering the week's expansions and conquests. No Alliance bases discovered, though, as far as they reported.

From:

shiningstardust

Jyn easily accepted the gentle, familiar touch. Familiar - how could it feel so familiar when they had really only known each other for a small handful of days, and were still well into the process of learning about each other?

"It's fine", she murmured, stretching her back before settling back against the cushions. "I'll probably fall asleep no matter what you put on. Those events are always so tiresome."

She watched the news quietly, and, as always, felt unimpressed by what was chosen to be reported, and the way the reports were skewed heavily to favor one side.

From:

candor1

He let the holo go on as long as he could easily stand, satisfied at things not reported on as well as making mental notes of what was. But at last, he reclaimed the controller and flipped frequencies. What entertainment was shown was just as restricted and skewed as the news was reported but...

He paused on a holodrama that claimed to be set on Sullust. Many holodramas heavily romanticized Outer Rim planets, using them as opportunities for new adventures and encounters, leaving out the bits about struggling to survive or resist the Empire. He should share no details about his real past, even those that could be explained away; but he couldn't help but let his lips curl at how they were portraying Sullust. Nothing like the reality, of course.

"This okay?" he murmured—as he slipped his arm further around her and brought them closer together.

From:

shiningstardust

Everything felt so ... monitored. Jyn wondered if there were more people like her, people who were starting to question the Empire machine. And if there were more people like her, what could they do about their suspicions, where could they go, if it came down to that?

Jyn was certainly thinking about it as Joreth changed the frequency from the news to something a little less disheartening and (supposedly) a little more entertaining. Still, she wasn't paying much attention to the holo more than she was in getting more comfortable as he urged her just a little bit closer.

"Mmhm. You're so warm."

From:

candor1

His breath caught a bit. He froze, not wanting to pull away nor press in further before finding out— "Is that good?"

From:

shiningstardust

"Very good", she confirmed, nodding slightly. "Comfortable. Means we probably won't need a blanket if we stay out here much longer."

A moment later, and far more quietly, Jyn offered -

"I like it."

From:

candor1

He exhaled his relief, letting his arm tighten a little, bringing them the rest of the way together. "I'm glad." Experimentally, gently, he leaned himself back into the corner of the cushions, making himself into a curve she could lean into, in turn. Both resting, together.

"I never used to like spending time alone in these rooms," he said softly. "Now… I think I could spend a day doing nothing but this."

From:

shiningstardust

Jyn easily accepted the invitation to curl up a little closer, to enjoy the warmth that he exuded, to share her own in turn. She sighed gently as she found a comfortable spot to rest against his side.

"Me neither. The quiet was always a bit too much. So - this is nice. I'd like to ... do it more often. Maybe tomorrow, since the most pressing thing we have to do is find ourselves a pet."

From:

candor1

He hummed quietly in agreement, sinking deeper into the cushions and softening his muscles and limbs so she could sink deeper into him, in turn.

"Oh… that reminds me. Did you talk to your uncle? About time off?" (For a honeymoon.)

From:

shiningstardust

And how could Jyn resist that temptation? The answer was that she couldn't, and soon enough, the holo was practically forgotten in favor of tentatively nuzzling against his shoulder.

"I did not speak to him, as such. But I'll put in the request tomorrow morning and see what happens from there. Did you speak to the Admiral?"

From:

candor1

"Yes. I can have up to two weeks." More time than he thought he should take, but very tempting… the first time the prospect of days without direction, without purpose, was appealing. "I just have to get back to him with exact dates."

From:

shiningstardust

Two weeks seemed an incredibly generous amount of time. And part of Jyn wanted to take every single second of it. It would allow she and Joreth ample time to truly get to know each other without work or other duties getting in the way.

It would feel, for all intents and purposes, almost like running away ...

"Do you want to take that much time, or no?"

From:

candor1

"…Yes. I want to. …But I don't think I should." He looked down, away from her. "Should probably make it one week. …But I thought your availability could help decide it."

From:

shiningstardust

"Why not take what the Admiral is so generously offering?", Jyn slowly asked. "It would give us some time to ... connect. And if we really wanted to, more than enough time to explore more than just Naboo. We could pick a few places to visit, if you wanted."

She sighed, carefully nuzzling a little bit closer, not too much all at once. "I can ask for two weeks and see what the Director will actually give me. Your call."

From:

candor1

Could he possibly justify it…? To Command, to Kaytoo, mainly to himself.

(Why had he even said it? It would have been the least of lies to cut the time down.)

Dangerous. This was so dangerous. She was. Because he wanted… to… connect. Not just physically. How long could he be with her and continue to lie…? Would he leave in the end without trying to take her with him…?

She nuzzled closer, only subtly, but enough for him to feel it… And with only meager resistance, his hand made its way up her arm, to cup the back of her head, the hinge of her jaw, and hold her there while his lips brushed against her hair.

"No," he said quietly. "Your call, I think. See what the director will give you, and then what we want to do with it."

From:

shiningstardust

Jyn tried not to get her hopes up, she knew very well how vindictive Krennic could be, and after tonight's debacle, she was certain that he wouldn't be very eager to do her any favors.

But perhaps ...

Surely it wouldn't do that much harm to hold onto a tiny sliver of hope for the gift of time.

Jyn closed her eyes and quietly enjoyed the touch of his hand as it traveled along her arm, paused at the back of her head, trailed along her jawline and held her steady as he took in the feel of her, the smell of her.

"Alright", she breathed, a soft agreement. "I'll put in the request and we'll go from there."

From:

candor1

He enjoyed the touch of… everything. Every point of contact between them.

"Maybe we should delay adopting a cat, in that case," he murmured, "till we get back. …Or it could travel with us."

From:

shiningstardust

So did Jyn. Even though she hadn't been able to articulate it using words. There was already something so comforting about the certainty that when she came home - and when had she started thinking of this apartment as home, anyway - they could share this.

She laughed softly, offering a gentle shake of her head just so that she didn't jostle either of them from their current position. "Could you imagine how ridiculous a cat on a leash would look?"

From:

candor1

Her laughter reverberated back through him. And felt spectacular.

He breathed laughter back. Then, with sudden inspiration, entered a search into the HoloNet for cat on a leash. The result was a HoloNet Kids! transmission with talking loth-cats.

"Well, that's ridiculous," he murmured, "not good for research at all." But he didn't turn it off.

(Before he'd had Kaytoo, Cassian would often turn on children's transmissions in the U-wing, as something to fill the dead air that was reliably free of… what he got too much of at work.)