Chapter Text
for strong-bottle-of-jyn
The babble sounds through the baby monitor, soft and quiet, but enough to wake two well-trained soldiers still adjusting to the safety of peace. Cassian scrunches his eyes closed as he reaches out across the warm bed to wrap his arm around Jyn’s waist, silently drawing his wife up against him as they both listen for more sounds, holding their breaths as they wait for the fateful cry.
“She’s going to go back to sleep,” Jyn murmurs, lips brushing against his neck with the words.
“Mhmm” he hums into her hair, his own voice still thick with sleep. He’s tempted to look at the chrono beside their bed to see just how little rest they’ve actually had since she first went down, but he resists. If he opens his eyes, he’ll be officially awake and as the monitor maintains its silence and Jyn cuddles closer against him, sliding her legs around his own, he has no desire to get up.
“And if she is up,” Jyn continues, her nose trailing up the stubble of his neck to place half a kiss on his chin, “it’s your turn.”
His brow furrows, but he keeps his eyes closed.
“I don’t know about -” he starts, but her mouth finds his, the kiss soft and short.
“Yes it is,” she whispers, lips barely leaving his, before he kisses her this time. They continue with this languid battle, far kinder than the ones they used to fight, until something, maybe exhaustion or love, leads him to concede.
“Ok, my turn,” he mumbles, though at this point he’s almost positive their kid must be fast asleep again. Jyn celebrates her victory by nuzzling into his shoulder, her breathing soon evening out into a peaceful sleep. Cassian tucks his chin atop her head, melting into the bed as he slips back into the sort of deep, dreamless sleep only true exhaustion can create.
And then the crying starts.
He allows himself one deep breath, and quick peek at Jyn who is far too still and whose breath is far too measured, before dragging himself from the warm covers, his bare feet hitting the cool floor without a sound.
“Buenos días, mi querida,” he murmurs over the sound of his daughter’s cries, gently scooping her from her crib into his arms. “¿Que tal? Cuéntame.”
After a relatively smooth change, he’s always been quick and efficient, he cradles his little girl to his chest, his warmth and the rhythm of his bouncing soothing her cries. He watches as her blue eyes, already showing hints of her mother’s green, slowly close, sliding into the serene face of sleep. His body continues to rock back and forth in a gentle rhythm, as his mind tries to fathom the wonder of that face. Years spent fighting for a better future - and now he holds it in his arms. A smile tugs at his lips as he places a kiss lightly to the top of her head.
Faint footsteps catch his attention, but he does not feel the instinct to whip around like he once did. Instead, he stays swaying as Jyn comes up behind him to wrap her arms around his waist.
“You should be sleeping,” he whispers, but he feels her shake her head against his back.
“I can sleep later,” she responds. She doesn’t have to explain. He knows how many moments she missed with her family, can count them as easily as the moments he missed with his.
He turns to wrap a free arm around her, and Jyn brings her own up to rest alongside their daughter, encompassing her. She tilts her head up to place a faint kiss on his lips, before leaning her head against his chest to look down at the sleeping child between them.
They’ll take every second they can with their own little family, even if it means a bit of sleep deprivation.