Chapter Text
Jyn adjusted her groggy eyes as she awoke to the blaring noises of her phone alarm. She groaned. It was 6am on a Saturday, and had to get up and ready for work. Where she had to deal with people. Greedy, idiotic, bitchy people. If she was lucky, she’d get to deal with only nice people today. But Jyn was never that lucky. At least it was two days before Christmas. Maybe, she’d have generous tippers in her section. Then again, she was never that lucky.
As Jyn rushed around her small and disorganized apartment, looking for her shoes, she grabbed a granola bar from the cupboard, as a quick breakfast. Biting into the bar, she groaned in irritation. She did not have time to be searching for those blasted shoes! What the hell did she do with them? Looking around her living room, she swore. Chewing down the last bite of her granola bar, she checked the bathroom. Not there. Fuck! As a last ditch effort, because she really needed to leave, she put on a black pair of sneakers. Hopefully, Krennic wouldn’t notice the white and blue logo on the side of each shoe.
She slipped on her coat and wrapped her favorite blue scarf around her neck. Jyn grabbed her purse off the kitchen table and made sure her phone and wallet were in her purse. Keys in hand, she bolted out the door. It was a relatively short walk to Lah’mu Diner and Bakery. But that did not mean that Jyn was not freezing during said short walk. Jyn walked briskly, burrowing her face into her scarf. She wished she had kept her gloves in her coat pockets and berated herself for taking them out of the pockets.
When she reached the corner of Tatooine Street and Coruscant Avenue, Jyn crossed the street, and picked up her pace. The cold was not the only reason to get to Lah’mu, after all. Jyn’s boss, Krennic, was not a lenient man. And lateness was his greatest pet peeve. If you gave Orson Krennic a reason not to like you, you’d better watch out. And he did not like Jyn. But she was a good employee. She was always on time, and always provided the ever needed fake smile to shitty customers. But still, Krennic did not like Jyn Erso. Probably because she always called him out on his bullshit. He really was just an ass. But she really didn’t want to give him a reason to yell at her. Especially if he caught her not wearing her non-slip shoes.
Though Jyn could use the money, she hoped that the morning would not be chaotic. It always was this time of year. People always came into Lah’mu Diner and Bakery looking for sweets and coffee for their Christmas parties. If Jyn had family to celebrate the holiday with, she supposes that she, too, would buy cinnamon rolls, bagels, and cookies from the bakery. They were really good, after all. But she figured that Bor-Gullet, her landlord’s fat cat, who pestered Jyn and the other tenants, did not need to eat a cinnamon roll.
She arrived at the Café at 6:29 on the dot. 'Thank god', Jyn thought. It looked like Krennic was already in a bad mood. She grabbed her punch card, and clocked in. She didn’t greet Krennic, and he didn’t either. Walking into the server aisle, she nodded to Melshi, the cook, and he nodded in return. Staring at the clock, Jyn sighed, but started to prepare for the day. She started by prepping the salad bar with its various dressings and ladles. By the time the diner opened at seven, Jyn had the coffee brewing, and was cutting lemons. Her first customer arrived ten after seven, and thus started her shift. By the time her co-worker Shara arrived, Jyn had done surprisingly well in regards to her tips. Perhaps, she’d be able to buy herself a nice Christmas present this year. After she paid her rent, of course…
She was wiping down a table when she heard Merrick’s voice, “Hey Luke! Happy Holiday’s! You dining in today?” Jyn tried not to look up from the table to look at the newly arrived customer. The urge was strong.
Luke Skywalker.
Jyn tried to convince herself that she did not just inwardly sigh at the sight of him. "Damnit", Jyn cursed under her breath. She had looked. What was she, a lovestruck teenager? But the sigh and flutter of her heart was real. Jyn admitted only to herself, that she had a tiny crush on him. Although, Shara always gave her a knowing look when she may have caught Jyn staring at him on occasion. He came in every Tuesday, Thursday and sometimes Saturday. He always sat in a booth by a window. And he was always by himself.
She appreciated this greatly. Not because she thought it might mean he was single and certainly not because she wished him to be alone. God, she hoped he wasn’t actually alone. Jyn knew what being alone felt like. But because if he was sitting alone it meant he was comfortable in his own skin; that he could face eating a meal by himself and not feel self conscious about it. Not everyone could do that.
Luke Skywalker was also polite. Almost too polite, if Jyn was being honest. But he always said please and thank-you when ordering, and again, Jyn appreciated this. Afterall, not all customers were courteous enough to use basic manners. She also noticed that he took to talking with, and sometimes eating with, Old Ben Kenobi, a regular customer of the Diner. Most of the employees thought Old Ben was crazy. Jyn thought that he was just a sweet old man, who reminisced about his war days frequently. She figured he just needed someone to talk to, and Luke appeared to be a good and eager listener.
Luke just seemed nice. And most of the men Jyn had ever known were anything but nice. Plus, he was cute. Sue her.
Luke Skywalker started coming into Lah’mu Diner and Bakery about two months ago. The only reason she knew his full name was because Shara had cashed him out one day, and took notice of his credit card. She told Jyn immediately after he left. Yeah... Shara definitely knew about her small crush on Luke Skywalker. ‘Goddamnit’, she thought. Aside from her brief observations, and knowing his name, Jyn didn’t actually know him. They’d never really spoken. In the two months since she first saw him, Jyn had only served him once. She had never been a great flirter, and she was at work. It seemed unprofessional to even try to attempt at flirting with him. Besides the morning she served him, he’d brought a book with him and had an intense look in his eyes while reading. It seemed awkward and rude to interrupt him.
As Jyn finished resetting the table, she noticed that he was seated in Maia’s section today, and she groaned. If he was in Maia’s section, that meant Krennic cut her almost two hours early. What the hell? It wasn’t like there wasn’t any business in the diner. Forgetting about Luke, she stormed into the server aisle and demanded to know where Krennic was at. Phasma answered.
“He went to the bank.”
“What? During lunch? On Saturday? That’s ridiculous! Maz isn’t even here yet!”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. The bank is closing early today and he put me in charge.” Jyn glared. She wanted to slap that self righteous smirk off her face. Repeatedly. As if being proud to be Krennic’s favorite was considered a good thing.
“Whatever, Phasma. You go ahead and tell yourself that. But we both know that the only reason he left before Maz got here, is because he doesn’t trust her to handle the deposits. Which is ridiculous. She’s not stupid or careless. And isn't it Saturday? The deposit was supposed to be made yesterday, right? Hmmm… and who opened yesterday? Was it Maz? Hmmm, wait. No. It wasn’t Maz, it was Krennic. That’s right, I remember now. I wonder why he didn’t go yesterday? Very peculiar…” Phasma glared at Jyn, and if looks could kill. But Phasma didn’t argue. She knew Jyn was right about the deposit.
Not able to make a proper retort, Phasma stalked off. Jyn smirked, knowing that Phasma thought highly of Krennic and hated to hear his work ethic be criticized. She looked to the clock again. She had better start her side work. But first, she thought she deserved a chocolate chip muffin. She walked towards the bakery.
“Hey, Jyn. What’s Up?”
“Oh, nothing much. You know, same old same old. Another day, another dollar. Ya, know.”
Merrick eyed her suspiciously. “What do you want?”
“What? Well, I never! Can’t I just come on over and say hello to the best baker at Lah’mu?”
Merrick rolled his eyes in exasperation, “You could, but you never do. So again, what do you want?”
Jyn sighed. “Okay, fine. Got any spare muffins? Maybe, chocolate chip?”
“You know I don’t.”
“Oh come on! Krennic’s at the bank. He’ll never be any the wiser.”
“He cut you early again, didn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
Merrick took pity on Jyn. “I don’t have chocolate-chip, but I do have blueberry.”
“Oh Merrick, you are the best. Did I ever tell you that you’re my favorite?”
Merrick grinned ruefully, “Never, Jyn. Not once.”
Merrick handed her the blueberry muffin, “Well, I definitely should have”.
“Yeah, ok. Just make sure Phasma doesn’t catch you. She'll definitely tell Krennic."
“Please, I’m the definition of discreet!”
Jyn ate the blueberry muffin happily. Merrick really was a good baker. When she finished eating, she checked on her last table. The young couple was finishing up their meal. That was good. ‘Maybe I can convince them to share some dessert’, she thought. She started cleaning her side work, but did so slowly. If Krennic wanted to be an ass, she’d at least make sure that he didn’t save hours on labor. And he would be pissed. ‘But hey’, Jyn thought, ‘I’m only trying to do a good and thorough job. Wouldn’t want your employees slacking off, now would you, Mr. Krennic?’ Jyn smirked to herself.
When she was done stocking the salad bar, she went back to her last table and tempted them with dessert. They readily agreed on splitting a slice of apple pie. As Jyn walked away from them, a young girl ran down the aisle, nearly knocking Jyn over. The young girl, probably five or six, was running towards her mother. The girl's mother lightly scolded her daughter for running in the restaurant, but smiled affectionately at the girl nonetheless. The girl had a toothy grin.
Up at the register, Jyn noticed a man paying his check. The mother and daughter stood at the door, clearly waiting for him. When he was done, he turned towards his family, and kissed his wife on the lips. The girl visibly giggled. She must have said something, because the father threw his head back in laughter and ruffled the girls hair. He gave her a kiss on her head, and she ran out the door. Both parents looked exasperated but smiled softly as they walked out of the restaurant. Jyn noticed they were holding hands.
She hadn’t realized she stood staring until Krennic, who had apparently gotten back from the bank, snapped at her to get back to work. She didn’t even retort. She just walked into the server aisle to fetch a slice of apple pie with two forks. After delivering it to her table, Jyn tried to shake the longingness she felt when she watched the little family. To the family, nothing was out of the ordinary. There was nothing truly special about it, but to Jyn, it made her feel whimsical to a time long forgotten. But it wasn’t forgotten. Jyn remembered, with vivid detail, going out to eat with her parents, helping her mother in the garden and her father teaching her math theories (though she didn’t understand any of it as a small child, but loved to listen anyway).
Jyn remembered.
And she wished she didn’t. Remembering that her family was happy once upon a time, made the heartache that followed that much more hurtful. Determined not to think about it, she prepared to give her table their bill so that she could go home and binge watch Parks and Recreation on Netflix.