Work Text:
Cassian pressed “Send” on the email, bracing himself for the response. He estimated he had thirty seconds until impact and began counting them down.
At “Thirteen,” Kay noticed the counting, and looked up from where he had been pouring over a binder of city statutes. “What are you doing?”
“Twelve,” Cassian muttered, eyes on his watch, when the door to the office space flew open. She must have run, he thought to himself.
“The hell is wrong with you?” a slightly out of breath Jyn demanded. “No new programs? No new initiatives? How do you expect me to do my job? I don’t sit around and tell you how to run your department.”
“That’s because we, as contracted consultants, do not have a specific department to run,” Kay corrected. “And if you wanted to argue about the specifics of city shutdown procedure, you should have tried to schedule a meeting, instead of just bursting into our office.”
“Yeah well somebody,” Jyn said, with a pointed look at Cassian, “Doesn’t respond to my meeting requests.”
“Well since the government has shut down, one employee,” Cassian said, with a pointed look at Jyn, “Has tried to schedule fifty meetings with me. Can you guess who?”
“I’m at least trying to get work done, and not using this shutdown like a vacation. Kes and Melshi literally put a kiddie pool in the courtyard.”
“And how much easier our lives would be if you joined them,” Kay sighed. “Jyn, you should consider yourself lucky we’ve even allowed employees back in the building at all. Which, let the record state, I did not want to do, I just had no choice because you kept breaking in every morning.”
“If you lock the door, I’m going to pick it. If you won’t respond to my emails, I’ll march down to see you myself. You can try and tell me you’re not letting me start any new initiatives, but I’m just going to figure out how to get around you and do what needs to be done.”
“Yes, you proved that well enough with your little Yoda concert stunt. I still haven’t been able to figure out where you got the money to hire him back at the last minute.”
Jyn was surprised to hear Kay say this, assuming someone had told him by now. But she looked to Cassian, and he gave her the smallest shake of his head, a move so subtle she wouldn’t have noticed had she not been looking at him right then. Not fully knowing why she was covering for him, she said to Kay, “Well, it didn’t come from a city account, so don’t worry about it.”
“It’s irregularities like that, though, that are precisely why we are freezing government operations until Luke, Cassian, and I are able to complete a full audit.”
“So until that’s complete, all departments are solely in maintenance mode.”
She narrowed her eyes at Cassian. “Do they just keep you around to interject and be the one to deliver the bad news?”
“Actually, we take turns,” Kay explained. “In our last gig, consulting in Mandalore, I was the, quote, ‘bad cop.’ So it was Cassian’s turn to assume those responsibilities once we came to Yavin.”
“And then Luke’s job is to keep everybody happy so we don’t receive death threats.”
“Oh really?” Jyn crossed her arms. “And how’s that worked for the two of you so far?”
“It has a fifty percent success rate.”
-
“Couldn’t you get funding from an external donor?” Bodhi asked, as he and Jyn left City Hall’s small cafe, sipping their coffee as they walked. “I set up the vaccination program as a collaboration between the public health department and the hospital, so I can rely on their funds when we’re short here.”
“Believe me, I’ve tried. But none of the donors in town will even come near me. Ever since Krennic became president of the Chamber of Commerce, no one’s dared donate to any of the environmental protection initiatives in town, just because it’s connected to me. That bastard.” She took a sip of her coffee as they turned the corner. “Speaking of bastards…”
“Bodhi Rook! Jyn Erso!” Luke exclaimed. Next to him, the only greeting Cassian gave was a curt nod. “How are two of my favorite City of Yavin employees doing?”
“Not good, Luke,” Jyn said. “I can’t make any of my plans happen with this maintenance freeze going on.”
“That is awful, and I truly feel for you. There must be something we can do. Cassian, is there something we can do?”
“…No.”
“Damn. Well, we tried. Bodhi Rook! Could I speak to you for a moment?”
Bodhi nodded, and he and Luke walked further down the hall for some space.
Leaving Jyn and Cassian standing next to each other, in awkward silence. Cassian tried for small talk, beginning with, “So, this weather we’ve been having-“
“Save it,” Jyn interrupted. “I get that we need to be cordial, but we don’t need to stand here and pretend we’re friends.”
“Fine,” he replied stiffly, and they began to walk.
“Don’t follow me,” Jyn snapped. “Go somewhere else.”
“But my office is that way-"
Jyn turned on her heel, even if it was sending her in a direction now out of the way. But this new path also set her towards Bodhi and Luke, and the tail end of their conversation.
“Great,” Bodhi was saying with a smile. “It’s a date, then.” Luke smiled too, and leaned forward to give her brother a quick kiss on the cheek.
Jyn wanted to scream.
-
Kes and Melshi really had interpreted the consultants’ directive to “Work only on existing programs” as “Do as little work as possible” and set up their own oasis in the City Hall courtyard. Besides the kiddie pool they’d dragged in (along with, after a series of loud disagreements, a schedule alternating every 30 minutes whose turn it was to soak their feet; currently, it was occupied by Shara), they had folding chairs, a speaker playing music, and a fan plugged into a dangerously long series of extension cords.
“Welcome to the pool party!” Kes called out, as Bodhi (and Jyn, right on his heels) joined them outside.
Shara pulled out a bottle of sunscreen and tossed it to Bodhi. “Got the good stuff for us, it doesn’t leave a white cast. Jyn, you can get the gringa bottle from Leia, I think she took it back to her office.”
“We have more important things than SPF to worry about!” Jyn insisted. Shara, Kes, and Melshi gasped.
“Boss,” Melshi said seriously, “Take that back right now. You don’t want to age like milk. Gross, curdled, white milk-“
She turned her full attention to Bodhi, who was humming as he applied sunscreen. “You’re going on a date. With Luke. Luke Skywalker. Co-town killer. Are you out of your mind?”
“Oh, that’s great!” Shara exclaimed. “When is it?”
“Tonight,” Bodhi beamed.
“Is everyone just going to ignore that I said it’s with one of the co-town killers?”
“I don’t see what the big deal is, Jyn,” Bodhi huffed, clearly aggravated with her. “Other than his job, you like Luke. Everyone likes Luke. Most importantly, I like Luke. I’ve already made out with him, hung out as friends a couple times. And besides, he’s not the one slashing all the budgets, Cassian is.”
“They’re all in it together! Luke’s just nice to cause a distraction for Cassian and Kay. They’re all in on the conspiracy together!.”
“Jyn, relax,” Kes said. “Put on the sunscreen, grab a cup, go fill it with one of the flasks Baze doesn’t think we know he’s hidden around City Hall.”
“I can’t relax. Who knows how long this shut down will take, how much worse the pollution and environmental degradation will get in town, if I can’t implement any of my new policies and programs.”
Bodhi sighed as he added his name to the pool sign-up. “Well Jyn, unless you find someone to charm a couple hundred thousand dollars out of, it’s not happening with this budget.”
Jyn stared at her brother for a moment, before her face broke out into a wide, mischievous, cat-like grin. “Bodhi, you’re a genius.”
He groaned. “You’ve never said that without following it up with a terrible plan.”
“I can’t charm anyone, but you can. You’ve already got Luke wrapped around your finger. Convince him to fund my programs on your date tonight.”
“Absolutely not. I really like him, so I’m not going to ruin it and talk about the budget.”
“Don’t think of it as ruining, but enhancing your date. What’s sexier than discussing how to end the post-capitalist hellscape we’re living in with innovative sustainable development policies?”
“Anything,” the others said in unison, while Jyn answered her own question with, “Nothing.”
Bodhi rolled his eyes. “You let me know when your ‘environmental planning strategy’ actually seduces someone. Meanwhile, I’m going to do things my way and not talk about work on a first date. You know, like a normal person.”
-
Luke, ever early, was talking to Han as he waited for Bodhi to arrive at the bar. “You need a shot of liquid courage, kid?” Han asked. “A sip of the good whiskey does wonders at knocking off the first-date nerves.”
“Han, I appreciate it, but I’m not nervous! I’m genuinely excited to get to know Bodhi more. And, I love first dates! I love connecting with someone, engaging them, being surprised by them. I’ve never had a bad date. They’ve all been great, or phenomenally great.” Bodhi entered the Falcon then, and as he walked over to them, Luke’s smile grew even bigger. “And I have a phenomenally great feeling about tonight.”
Han led them to a table in the corner, removing the scribbled “Reserved” sign with a flourish. “Here you go, lovebirds. As neither of you fully remember, this is about where you aggressively made out your first night together.”
“Wow, I didn’t realize Han was such a romantic,” Bodhi deadpanned to Luke, as Han left them to themselves.
“I think, despite his attempts to hide it, he is one of the more caring people I know. Of course, he would kill me if he heard me say that.” Luke leaned forward intently. “But enough about our friends. Tell me about your day. I want to hear everything.”
-
Back at the motel, Cassian was almost out the door when Kay stopped him. “Where are you going?”
“Just…getting some fresh air.”
“I need you to wait at least three minutes,” Kay demanded. “I have to take my multivitamin.”
“The one that’s a-"
“Yes, the one that’s a choking hazard.” Kay pulled out a vitamin the size of a potato.
-
Across town, Kes was texting Jyn more and more frantically the longer she went without answering.
Just because you thought it was hilarious when you got a fake mustache and sat at the table behind us when shara and I went on our first date, do! not! do! that! to! bodhi!
…
I know you meant well but it was weird
…
jyn
…
JYN
…
Answer me, goddamn it!!!
…
Okay you suddenly turning off read receipts isn’t suspicious at all
…
Stop ignoring my calls too!
-
Bodhi and Luke were well into the date, and laughing together, when Bodhi leaned forward and asked carefully, “Can I ask you something personal?”
“Why am I so positive all the time?” Luke guessed. When Bodhi nodded, he leaned in closer. “I never knew my parents. They abandoned me when I was only a day old, just dropped me off at the family farm in Tatooine. I was raised by my aunt and uncle there. They were good people. They made a lot of mistakes, but they meant well, and raised me like their own. One thing Aunt Beru always told me was that if we just stayed positive and looked on the bright side, we’d get through anything. So here I am, over ten thousand days later, still just always trying to find that silver lining.” After taking a sip of his drink, he asked Bodhi. “Can I ask you a personal question? What’s it like to have a sister?”
Bodhi laughed. “Most of the time? Annoying as hell.” Luke laughed too, until Bodhi grew more serious. “But honestly, as much as we get on each other’s nerves, I know we’re always there for each other. My parents died when I was young, and the Ersos, their friends, took me in. I was this scared little orphan, and a tiny Jyn decided she needed to protect me, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. Then a couple years later, Lyra died and Galen disappeared, so this time Jyn was the orphan and I needed to protect her. Her godfather became our guardian then, but he was…uh…not the most nurturing father figure. So it became me and Jyn, raising each other. Always having each other’s backs.” The moment was interrupted by Bodhi’s phone, blaring The Clash’s “London Calling.” Jyn’s ringtone. He groaned. “I take back everything, I’m not talking to her right now.”
“You should pick up,” Luke said quietly. “Make sure she doesn’t need anything,”
“She doesn’t-“ Bodhi started to say, but looked at Luke’s hopeful face, how he probably wished he had a sister or brother to annoy him on dates. Luke would pick up the phone. Bodhi sighed as he stepped away from the table. “I’ll just be a minute.” A safe distance away, so Luke couldn’t hear, Bodhi picked up and said immediately. “This better be good! My date is going great, we’re connecting, he’s sweet-“
“Yeah yeah yeah,” Jyn cut him off. “Any chance you’ve asked him about the budget?”
“Yes, because it’s so easy to bring up the city’s operating budget when you’re talking about your favorite movies. Real first date questions like that.”
“ ’Jurassic Park, parks are so awesome, the Parks department needs money.’ See, I did it in three moves.”
“Well if it’s that easy, you come here and do it yourself,” he said sarcastically.
“Fine,” Jyn said, surprising Bodhi when she popped up from behind the bar.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Han never locks the back door, I get in that way all the time.” Ignoring Bodhi, she started walking towards the table. “Luke?” she said with fake shock. “What are you doing here?”
“Bodhi and I are on a date!” Luke replied excitedly. “And it is going phenomenally well.”
“Thanks, of course I’d love to join you two,” Jyn said, pulling over a chair. Bodhi saw something over her shoulder, and his eyes grew wide, but she kept talking, despite her brother’s fervent attempts to get her attention. “I’m so glad I caught you here, because Luke, I’ve been needing to talk to you about-“
“Well, well, well,” a fourth voice said accusingly. Jyn turned, and her eyes narrowed.
“Cassian!” Luke announced, as if the night was only getting better. “What a surprise!”
“That’s right,” Cassian said with fake shock. “You were coming here tonight for your date with Bodhi. And hey, Jyn is here, joining you both on this romantic occasion. How about that?”
“It’s fantastic,” Jyn insisted, before getting up and pulling Cassian away by the arm. “Can I talk to you for a second?” As they stepped away, she hissed, “What are you doing here?”
“Just confirming a suspicion,” he replied tightly, the forced lightness that was in his voice just a second ago completely gone.
Their faces were inches apart, whisper-yelling at each other so they could argue without being overheard by Bodhi and Luke.
“What are you insinuating? I had nothing to do with this date.”
“Uh huh,” he replied, unconvinced.
“I don’t how it is where you’re from, but it’s actually considered good luck in Yavin to have a friend third wheel your first date. Thanks to me, they’ll probably get married.”
She noticed his accent grew thicker as they whispered. “I don’t know exactly what your game plan is, Jyn, but you’re obviously up to something. You’re not good at being sneaky.”
“Yes I am.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am, I’m amazing at being sneaky.”
“Clearly, you’re not.”
“What am I supposed to do, prove it to you?”
“I’d like to see you try.”
Jyn raced to come up with a retort, suddenly aware of the lack of space between them. “Well, you-“
“Hey, guys,” Luke interrupted from the table. “Let’s all just hang out together. The more the merrier, right?”
Jyn and Cassian looked back at each other, staring as if daring the other to step down from the challenge. But when neither of them did, they turned back to Luke, and said in unison, “Right.”
-
Behind the bar, the landline no one could figure out how to disconnect rang. Lando picked it up. “This is the Falcon, and this is the handsomer co-owner speaking. What kind of evening are you in the mood for, and what can I do to make that happen?”
“I don’t have time for this, Lando. Get Han, tell him Shara needs to talk to him-“
“Shara Bey-by, how are you tonight? Kes still treating you right?”
“Lando. This is important. Get Han, tell him to not let Jyn come in, Bodhi’s on a date-“
“Bodhi? On a date? I can’t believe he’d betray me like that. You know, we made a pact that we’d get married when we were 35 if we’re both single then? Of course, we still got a while to go. And, we made that pact when we were twenty. And, he didn’t technically say yes. But, he didn’t technically say no-“
Shara hung up, cutting off Lando’s rambling.
-
“You know,” Luke said, beaming at Jyn and Cassian, “I’m so glad you two ended up joining us, because I cannot think of two people who need to get along better. You have so much in common.”
“That’s nice, Luke, but we couldn’t possibly-“ Jyn started, before Luke cut her off.
“No, you do. Jyn, I know we don’t know each other as well, but I’ve heard so much about you from Bodhi. You and Cassian both love mixed martial arts workouts, low-budget sci-fi, you’re very dedicated to your jobs, you were orphaned around the same age-“
“Luke,” Cassian said sternly, cutting him off. His face didn’t seem to portray much emotion, but Jyn noticed he gripped his beer bottle tightly enough that his knuckles turned white.
“Cassian,” Luke replied calmly, as if this was a conversation they’d had a million times before. “It’s healthy to talk about things, instead of just bottling them in. Especially with people who have shared experiences.” Luke gestured again between Cassian and Jyn.
“How about Jyn and I go somewhere else, then- somewhere not your date- to talk about our trauma?” He made as if getting ready to leave, making eye contact with Jyn, trying to get her to join him.
But Jyn wasn’t going to let him win so easily. “Why Cassian, I’d love to, believe me, but let’s save that for some other time. Don’t want to put a damper on Bodhi and Luke’s date.” (“Great, because we haven’t already,” he leaned over to mutter to her. She elbowed him under the table, while keeping a smile on her face towards Luke.) “Let’s keep the conversation light. What’s everyone’s favorite movie?”
-
Shara and Kes walked into the Falcon, and made a beeline to Han at the bar. “Where are they-“
“Just the two people I was hoping to see,” Han said, as he made a series of drinks. “Look, I’m not mad, but I am disappointed. You both knew a piece of golden City Hall gossip, and neither of you thought to tell me before the four of them waltzed into my bar?”
“We tried to warn you about Jyn-“ Kes started, before Shara cut him off and turned to Han.
“What do you mean, ‘the four of them?’ ”
“Oh, don’t play innocent with me, Bey. Like you weren’t there when this double date got set up.”
“Double date?” they asked incredulously, as Han pointed across the bar to the table with a smiling Luke and frustrated Bodhi on one side, and an arguing Jyn and Cassian on the other.
“When-“
“How-“
“Nah, I’m just playing you,” Han interrupted. “Jyn came in to crash the date, but by the time I noticed and was about to stop her, Cassian was already here to try and stop her. I’m just keeping the drinks flowing over there to watch the two of them duke it out.” He placed the drinks on a tray, but before he left with them leaned over the bar to conspiratorially whisper, “But, just between us, for two people not on one half of a double date, those two sure are awfully focused on each other.”
-
They were arguing about Jurassic Park.
“Of course it’s a park,” Cassian was insisting. “You’re saying all the characters in that movie are wrong when they call it a park? Everyone calls it a park. The movie is about a park.”
“Theme parks are not parks,” Jyn argued back. “They are corporate corruptions of a vital public service. By definition, a park is a public space, and the exclusivity of an entrance fee makes it inaccessible to the public.”
Luke leaned over to whisper in Bodhi’s ear, “I didn’t realize they were such nerds.”
Bodhi smiled. “This is your fault. You’re the one hoping they’d get along.”
“I guess I should be careful what I wish for.”
-
“I’m going to get her,” Shara said. “Cassian too. I don’t care if we technically report to him now. I’m dragging both of them out of here.”
“Hold on,” Kes stopped her. “Maybe that’s not necessary.” They watched. Jyn and Cassian, so wrapped up in their own argument, totally unaware of Luke and Bodhi acting like they were in their own little world. “Maybe, we don’t need to do anything, because they’ll distract each other.”
-
Next, Luke made the mistake of remarking to Jyn, “You really are passionate about parks.”
“They’re the backbone of society!” Jyn insisted, before launching into a monologue. “Parks have been called the country’s ‘greatest idea,’ but it’s so much more than that. Our capitalist society’s arrogance to assume we’re separate from nature, as if it’s some thing we can just use and abuse, is entirely false. We are part of our ecosystems. And as the only organisms that have actively engaged in the destruction of the environment, then it’s our responsibility and duty to protect it. Parks do that. They’re common spaces where all are welcome, where true inclusion and accessibility can be achieved. They connect us with nature, remind us of the importance of living alongside, not working against, the environment. And, regular use of parks increases individuals’ support of environmental regulation and policies that fight urgent problems like climate change. My mother, Lyra, was an environmental activist. Probably the fiercest one Yavin’s ever seen. She dedicated her life to fighting for equity in environmental policy, saving this environment and all the communities that call it home. She may have died young, but her movement never died with her. That’s why I fight for the parks, that’s why I fight for the environment. I don’t want to be caught up in the political bargaining and closed door deals. I want to get shit done. Because outside City Hall, it’s all ultimately a matter of life and death.”
She took a deep breath. Cassian was staring at her intently, but she couldn’t quite read him. It frustrated her, how he kept his emotions so hidden. She looked back at him, trying to find a break, but couldn’t. She decided she’d have to get better at that, she didn’t trust someone she couldn’t read. Bodhi, she knew better than anyone, and could see he was wearing an expression begrudgingly proud of her- still mad at her for crashing the date, but proud of her and her opinions. Luke, despite how new they were to each other, she could read like a book. Probably because he openly had tears in his eyes now.
“That,” he said with a sniffle, “Is literally the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Thanks,” Jyn said flatly.
“No, I’m serious, that was beautiful, and eloquent, and I have never heard anyone paint the environmental crisis so perfectly. You are a gifted orator, and-”
“You might want to stop,” Bodhi said, “Jyn’s really uncomfortable with compliments.”
“Fine, I’ll stop, but I could go on.” Luke turned back to Jyn. “But, Jyn Erso, I promise I will do everything I can to save your parks department and environmental justice initiatives. Whatever it takes. Even if I have to rework the entire budget myself.”
“Oh, great!” Jyn said, surprised it was that easy. She turned to Bodhi, and said without thinking, “Mission accomplished, then.” She lifted her drink for a celebratory toast, but everyone was still staring at her. Bodhi looked like he wanted to murder her. Cassian looked smug. And Luke looked hurt. That’s when she realized she fucked up.
“What do you mean, ‘mission accomplished?’” Luke asked.
“Uh,” Jyn said, clearing her throat. “Bodhi and I thought-“
“You thought,” Bodhi interjected angrily.
“Fine, I thought,” she corrected, “That it’d be nice if this evening became about the parks budget. So, Bodhi invited me-“ a swift kick came to her from under the table “-I invited myself, to talk about it. And, uh, I’m really glad you responded the way you did.”
Luke looked stunned. “So all of this, then, was just a ploy to get more money for the budget?” He turned to his date. “And you knew, Bodhi Rook?” He got up to leave.
“Luke, wait-“ Bodhi called out, following him out of the bar.
-
Shara watched Bodhi and Luke rush out of the bar. “I think we miscalculated,” she said to Kes.
-
“See, Jyn?” Cassian said, turning to her. “You’re not that sneaky.”
“Everything was fine until you got here. Just because you couldn’t trust one night out-“
“For a good reason! You fucked this up.”
“What the hell did you two do?” Han demanded, coming up to the two of them.
They both began arguing, at the same time, how the other ruined the date.
“Jyn can’t let anybody do anything without meddling, so she got here first and made their date all about her-“
“Cassian’s so concerned with cutting everything away that he didn’t realize some of us actually have something we’re fighting for-“
“Actually, I don’t want to hear it!” Han cut them off. “Both of you are being horribly selfish. And that’s coming from me.”
-
Bodhi caught up to Luke in the parking lot. “Wait, Luke, I can explain.” Luke turned to him wordlessly, but when he didn’t interrupt or pull away, Bodhi took it as a sign to continue. “I love Jyn, and I’d usually do anything for her, but I’m trying to get better about boundaries. She wanted me to use the date to try and get money in the budget out of you. But I refused, because I really like you, and didn’t want to fuck this up. But she came here anyway, I have no idea where Cassian came from, and it all got fucked up anyway. I am so sorry. And I’m mad at both of them, but I promise, I never wanted the night to be like this.” Hoping it would be enough, he reached for Luke’s hand, and tenderly held it. Luke didn’t pull away. “Can you forgive me?”
Luke paused for a moment, staring at their hands linked together, before looking up at Bodhi and nodding. “No need to forgive, if it’s not your fault. Can you forgive me for being a dumbass?”
Bodhi laughed at how ridiculous it sounded, which made Luke laugh too. “What?”
“Everyone always says it, I’m too naive, I should have known better when the two of them showed up. I’m sorry I let them join us, instead of telling them to fuck off.” He gave Bodhi’s hand a squeeze. “Looks like I need to work on boundaries too.”
Bodhi smiled. “Why don’t we start now?”
-
Cassian and Jyn were now briefly united along a common front: arguing with Han.
“Real rich, coming from you, Solo-“
“Don’t act like you’ve never meddled-“
“At least I don’t act like I know better than anyone, unlike you two-“
“Listen up!” Bodhi announced as he stormed back into the bar, hand in hand with Luke. He pointed to Jyn and Cassian. “Both of you are godawful meddlers. You need to get your heads out of your own asses and realize what a pain in the ass you are to the people all around you. It’s true, you two are alike- because you’re both fucking idiots.” He gestured for Luke to go. “I’ll let you do the honors.”
Luke cleared his throat, before solemnly announcing, “Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor- kindly, fuck off.”
“Proud of you,” Bodhi grinned, before leaning down, putting his hand behind Luke, and kissing him. Wolf-whistles and cheers emerged from the drunk bar crowd.
“How could you?” Lando called out from a distance. Bodhi, without lifting his head, stuck out his middle finger in that direction.
When he pulled away from Bodhi a moment later, Luke sheepishly said, “Is this a bad time to mention I have to share a room with Cassian and Kay at the motel?”
“We’ll go to my place,” Bodhi said, before turning to Jyn. “You’re not coming.”
“I can just stay in my room-“
“No. I don’t care if you sleep at the bar, sleep at the office, crash on Kes and Shara’s couch-“
“What makes you think we want her?” Kes piped up.
“-but I have the house tonight.” He and Luke turned and left, before Jyn could try and argue again.
“And I don’t want y’all here either,” Han added. “Dameron, Bey, you’re in charge of Erso-“ they jumped forward, each grabbing Jyn by an arm and starting to pull her out to their car “-and I’ll make sure Andor gets back to his robot.”
“You mean Kay?” Cassian asked, a bit indignant at Han also pulling him along like a little kid.
“I really don’t think he cares what we call him.”
-
The next morning, Jyn knocked on Bodhi’s office door. After he shouted, “It’s open,” she stood in the doorway.
“I’m here to apologize,” she announced.
“This better be good.”
“You know how much this work matters to me, but I acknowledge all these changes and budgets cuts have been making me act a bit erratically-“
“A bit?”
“Fine, I’ve gone batshit crazy.”
“That’s better.”
“And how I reacted to your date was really unfair to you. And Luke, too. Shara made me call Leia, and she laid into me about taking advantage of Luke. But I took advantage of you too. You’re my brother, and I know you’d do anything for me, but I abused that. Because as your sister, I also need to be able to do anything for you.” She took a deep breath. “Remember how Saw used to tell us, ‘Go big, or go home?’ ”
“Isn’t that what he’d shout at one of his anarchists’ protests before setting a car on fire?”
“Yeah, I’m changing the context up a bit. You’ve put up with so much shit from me, so I owe you a big gesture in return.” She pulled from behind her back the piece of paper she’d been holding and handed it to Bodhi.
“ ‘Jyn, you’re being an asshole,’ ” he read from it.
“That is your ‘Stop being an asshole’ coupon. Valid with: me. Expiration date: never. Anytime I’m being an asshole, not respecting your boundaries, just hand me this and I’ll stop whatever I’m doing.”
He looked at her quizzically. “And you’ll stop? Just like that?”
“I’m not saying it’ll be easy. But I’m going to try.”
“’Do or do not, there is no try,’” Bodhi quoted solemnly. But he cracked a smile and got up to give Jyn a hug. “Thank you. And don’t worry, I promise I’m going to get a lot of use out of this.”
“I figured you would. That’s why I got it laminated.” She pulled back from the hug. “I need to apologize to Luke now, too.”
Bodhi grinned widely. “I was hoping you’d say that. C’mon, I’ll go with you.”
-
Bodhi, his arm looped through Jyn’s, led them to the basement, as opposed to the office space the consultants shared on the second floor. “Where are we going?”
Bodhi looked a bit nervous. “Oh, um, nothing special, just that Luke said he had to do some work in the basement today, so I figured it’d be easier to meet him down here.”
“Jyn Erso!” Luke said, appearing from around a corner, and looping his arm on Jyn’s other side, effectively trapping her between them. She grew more convinced that this wasn’t going to be a simple apology.
She figured she’d try anyway, get it over with and get out of whatever this weird situation was. “Hey, Luke, how are you today?”
“Fantastic,” he said, as they began walking down the hall. Vaguely, she thought she heard someone banging on a door, but couldn’t tell where it was coming from. “I am in a phenomenal mood today, though to be honest, I am very tired. Thanks to your brother, I got no sleep at all last night.”
“Gross,” Jyn said automatically, before continuing. “Luke, I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of your kindness. And I’ve already promised Bodhi I’m going to stop meddling. But if there’s anything else I can do to make it up to you- to make it up to you both, really- just let me know.”
“Actually,” Luke said with a mischievous grin, “There is one thing.” He and Bodhi stopped suddenly, threw open a door, and shoved a caught-off-guard Jyn inside.
“What the hell?” she exclaimed, pushed into the dark room and unexpectedly colliding with another body. The other person wrapped their arms around her to catch her reflexively, but the impact of her push threw both of them into the opposite wall.
“Carajo,” she heard a now-familiar voice curse.
“Fuck,” she said just a beat later, realizing that meant the arms she was currently caught in belonged to-
“Cassian Andor!” Luke announced, turning on the room’s light as he and Bodhi blocked the door. “Jyn Erso! Welcome to the City Hall basement, room 0012!”
Seeing each other in the room’s harsh fluorescent light, Jyn and Cassian pushed away from each other, and scrambled to stand.
“For those of you unfamiliar with Yavin City Hall,” Bodhi explained, looking like he was having the time of his life, “Room 0012 is regarded as the worst office assignment possible. With barely enough space for a desk, no cell reception, and absolutely no A/C, no one has wanted to work in the lovely little hellhole for fifteen years.” Jyn sneezed, as if on cue. “Which, explains the dust.”
“Hopefully, then, that’ll be some encouragement for you two,” Luke continued. “Since our date was ruined not only by you two being dicks, but you two being dicks to each other, Bodhi and I aren’t letting you out of this office until you can get along.”
“This is a war crime,” Cassian muttered darkly.
“Technically, no,” Luke said brightly, before he and Bodhi slipped out, locking the door behind them.
“Bodhi!” Jyn yelled, banging on the door. “What happened to not being assholes to each other?” She fiddled with the doorknob and lock too, for good measure.
“It won’t budge,” Cassian explained, leaning against the wall as he watched her. “I already tried when they trapped me in here first.”
“Right,” Jyn replied darkly, “Because if the great Cassian Andor can’t do it, why should the rest of us mere mortals even bother trying.” His only response was a shrug, as Jyn fished a bobby pin from her hair and began trying to pick the lock.
After twenty minutes, she thought to herself that Cassian might be right. Not that she would admit that to him.
-
Forty minutes in, Jyn was dripping in sweat, and adjusting her bun higher, so the hair would stop sticking to her neck. Cassian, she noticed, was still sitting stubbornly in his blazer and tie. He has to be dying, she thought. “Aren’t you dying?” she decided to ask. “No one around here dresses up that much anyway.”
“It’s professional,” he replied tightly.
“Yes, because we’re so professional here, the office where you get locked in the basement to solve co-worker disputes.” He rolled his eyes, but still didn’t budge. “What are you, scared I’m going to call HR if I see your forearms?”
He stood to remove his blazer and tie, clearly just to prove her wrong, before neatly folding both articles of clothing.
“Oh no, he’s stripping!” Jyn called out sarcastically.
“Maybe this place should have an HR department,” he grumbled.
“Like they ever solve your problems. No, HR departments only exist to protect the company, not the employee.”
“So no system at all is a better idea?”
“That’s why we have unions! Let me guess, you’re anti-union too?”
“Hey! Don’t accuse me of that!”
-
At hour two, Shara and Kes came with Bodhi to check in on them. “So we put them here, in Room 0012, until they’re able to get along-“ approaching the door, the three of them could already hear Jyn and Cassian arguing about HR departments and labor unions, so all three turned and walked back out, as Bodhi, without missing a beat, finished “-so they’ll probably be there a while.”
-
At three and a half hours, Jyn and Cassian were stewing in silence, angry to learn that their views on labor politics actually aligned pretty well. There was only one chair behind the desk, which both of them refused to take, so they sat on the edge of the desk, as far apart as possible, staring at the door straight ahead.
“Did you honestly think I was a Republican?” Cassian asked eventually, breaking the silence.
“To be fair, the only thing I knew about you politically was that you were a hard-ass for cutting government spending.”
“Because it’s my job. You don’t actually think I enjoy it?”
“Why else would you do it, then?” She answered her own question. “Right, Ferrix.”
“Ferrix,” he repeated solemnly.
They fell into awkward silence again, until Jyn asked, “What was it like? Growing up there?”
“Beautiful,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “The town’s way up in the mountains, and we’d get great summers, but winter was always the best time of year. We’d get our first snow in October, and then the slopes would be perfect for skiing all the way through March. The lakes too, they’d freeze over and everyone would skate, play hockey. People came from all over just to experience winter in Ferrix.” He paused. “And then I went and ruined it with Ice Town.”
“Ice Town?” Jyn exclaimed. Cassian nodded. “That’s what you named the thing that’d end up ruining your life? Ice Town? That’s the dumbest name I’ve ever heard.”
“I didn’t think then it’d ruin my life! The town economy was in shambles, I was only 18, I thought it was a great idea that’d save everything. And that the name was cool.”
“Why build a winter sports complex, anyway, if you could already do those activities on public lands?”
“That was my original idea, to just build up the infrastructure to support our parks. But everyone was skeptical of the boy mayor, so I needed to partner with people who did have legitimacy. My mistake was trusting land developers. They promised they’d do everything sustainably, bring jobs to the town…and because I trusted them, I signed off on all these tax breaks for them. And it bankrupted the town. Their construction polluted all the snow. And I got impeached. Totally deserved it too.” He sighed. “You have to be distrustful in this line of work, Jyn. Because if you get screwed over, everyone relying on you gets screwed over too. I admire your ideas, believe me, but you’re too optimistic about how much you can actually change.” He looked at her, and they made eye contact for the first time in a while. “I can’t let you ruin Yavin like I ruined Ferrix.”
“Well, maybe I’m different,” she said, turning to face him. Challenging him.
He held her gaze. “Fine, Jyn. You’re different. What would you have done instead?”
-
Luke took Leia and Kay by 0012 next. “See, they’re in there! Not kidnapped, or missing, or dead in a ditch.”
“I still think this is an extremely questionable manner of employee mediation,” Kay said.
Leia put her hand on Luke’s shoulder. “Luke, I am so proud of you for adapting so quickly to Yavin culture. You fit right in here.”
He blinked back tears. “Leia, that is literally the nicest compliment you could have given me.”
Kay took the pads of paper and pens he had brought with him and slid them under the door. “Please, get at least some work done,” he shouted to Cassian and Jyn.
-
It sounded like someone was outside the door, but because the thick wood muffled all sound, Cassian and Jyn couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. But when paper and a pen slid from underneath the door, Jyn grabbed it, and began sketching out a plan. “You can build a sustainable community without relying on land developers. It just takes careful planning, and a community-based framework…”
-
“So the purpose of the launch event, then,” Cassian asked another thirty minutes later, studying the roughly-sketched diagrams, “Is to increase community awareness of sustainable practices, so they know what to demand from the government and local businesses?”
“Exactly,” Jyn said. “Yavin has a long history of small-scale, sustainable farming that we could return to. By making sustainable agriculture, sustainable land use, and public parks our main focus, we could protect the local environment in a way that empowers the community, and creates space for economic growth through sustainable, environmental-focused tourism. Unlike Ice Town, which was short-sighted, this plan incorporates five-, ten-, and twenty-year plans to keep our sustainable development on track.”
Cassian nodded, saying as much to himself as he was talking to her, “This could work.” He rolled up his sleeves, literally, as he started muttering about budget projections, searching for another pen.
At the flash of his skin, Jyn thought back to her earlier taunts, and said to herself, He does have nice forearms. Immediately followed by, The heat’s making me delirious. She decided the rolled-up sleeves bit was just an objectively attractive motion, it was just her mind confused at seeing Cassian Andor, of all people, do it. She pushed those thoughts away and handed him her pen.
He began writing down a long line of numbers, before asking her, “So what are you imagining for the launch event? And when?”
“We’d do it in the fall. And hold a traditional, Yavin-style harvest festival.”
-
Luke and Bodhi were the last people left in City Hall that evening. Or, almost the last. As they walked down the basement’s hallway, they saw light spilling from underneath room 0012, and a gentle murmur of voices coming from behind the door. Too low to make out specifically what was being said, now that those voices weren’t shouting at each other.
“I didn’t think they could actually do it,” Luke said, impressed. “Should we let them out now?”
“Let’s not interrupt them just yet,” Bodhi said, surprising even himself. “I’ll just unlock the door, but not go in there. They can leave whenever they’re ready.”
Luke nodded, and gave Bodhi’s hand a squeeze before walking upstairs to grab the last of his things from the office.
Bodhi unlocked the door slowly, just barely cracking it open. Jyn and Cassian didn’t seem to notice, as they continued to talk. But with the door cracked, Bodhi could now overhear a snippet of their conversation.
“Are you sure about this?” Cassian asked, concern clear in his voice.
“Absolutely,” Jyn said with conviction. “For the important things in life, you gotta go big, or go home.”
“Well,” Cassian replied, “You definitely don’t strike me as the type to go home.”
-
They spent another few hours finishing up the plan. They had noticed immediately when Bodhi unlocked the door, but waited until he left before they went upstairs, in search of a laptop to create the presentation on. They sat in the consultants’ office, Jyn stealing a granola bar after rummaging through Kay’s desk, running through every detail one more time.
“I don’t want to keep asking this and annoy you-“ Cassian started.
“Don’t worry, you already have,” Jyn quipped. Cassian ignored her and continued.
“-but are you really sure about this?”
“Yes. More than anything else in a while.”
“What about me?” She looked up at him when he asked that. “Do you trust me to work with you on this?”
“That’s-“ Jyn started, racking her brain for platitudes of assurance, before deciding to settle on the truth. “That’s the hard part. No, I don’t trust you. But I don’t think you trust me either. And trust needs to go both ways.” She stuck out her hand. “How about this, instead? I promise to learn to trust you.”
He looked at her hand carefully before shaking it, as if trying to decide if doing so would accidentally trigger a bomb. He went forward with the motion anyway. “I promise to learn to trust you, too.”
-
The next morning, everyone filed into the conference room for another all-staff meeting. When Luke arrived, he asked Kay to step outside and speak with him for a moment before the meeting began.
“Tell me you’re not going to lock me in a closet,” he said to Luke once they were outside. “Actually, I don’t think that would end very successfully for you, given that I am much larger in size.”
“Understood,” Luke agreed. “But, I wanted to talk to you about ethics. I am now dating Bodhi Rook.”
“Please don’t expect me to offer congratulations, this creates so much paperwork for me.”
“I’ll split it with you, then. Just tell me what I need to do so I can keep everything above-board and ethical.”
Kay huffed. “While romantic and sexual relations between members of the same government are frowned upon, technically such rules would not apply to you as you are a consultant, not an employee of Yavin. Still, due to the nature of our work, and dependence on collaboration, it does raise questions of favoritism. Doubly so, given that your romantic partner also has a close family member in City Hall.”
“I will quit if I need to! Because I feel that strongly about Bodhi Rook-"
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, that will hardly be necessary.”
“Okay, great! Between you and me, I wasn’t wanting to quit my job anyway, that just seemed like the romantic, movie-gesture thing to do.”
“Luckily for us all, we do not live in a movie. But, I do need to ensure your relationship does not impact your work, so I am going to transfer all collaboration with the Public Health and Parks departments to Cassian, since he, unlike you, is not compromised by romantic entanglements.”
“Thank you, Kay!” Luke exclaimed, hugging his friend. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me!”
Kay awkwardly reached his hand to pat Luke on the head. “Er, yes, of course. Don’t mention it.” They stood there for a moment, Luke refusing to let go of the hug. “You do realize we still have a meeting to join?”
-
Luke flashed a thumbs-up at Bodhi before sitting down, as Kay walked to the front of the room to open the meeting.
“Thank you, everyone, for joining us today to discuss solutions for Yavin’s budget. I was originally envisioning this as a town hall format, but Jyn Erso emailed me and said she had a plan to present. So, we’ll start with that.”
Jyn took a deep breath as she walked to the podium and switched to the previous night’s slideshow on the presenting laptop. She felt oddly nervous, looking at her friends and co-workers watching her expectantly. Cassian, in the front row, betrayed no emotion, but gave her a slight nod of encouragement. She nodded back, and began.
“Yavin is home to a unique natural environment, and an even more unique community of people…”
She then launched into her detailed plan to redo the parks, improve infrastructure, boost local businesses, and build the town’s reputation as an ecotourism destination, all hinged upon the success of a Harvest Festival in the upcoming fall. A plan that would not only meet their sustainable development goals but solve the immediate budget crisis too. Throughout the entire presentation, all of her slides and all of Cassian’s graphs, she saw the room taking notes. Even Baze, in the back corner, stayed awake for the whole thing.
“We need to create opportunities for the community to not just survive, but thrive,” Jyn concluded. “We can lead with powerful innovations that truly change the lives of everyone in Yavin for the better. And we can do this just by starting with the Harvest Festival.”
The room was silent as everyone processed the information that had been thrown at them. “What if it doesn’t work?” Kay asked directly.
“It will,” she insisted.
“But what if it doesn’t?” Luke followed up, gentler.
“Then…you can balance the budget by eliminating the Parks department.”
The room erupted into chaos. Everyone was shouting at Jyn and over each other, saying she couldn’t do that, this wasn’t worth sacrificing her job over.
“We have to do this!” she tried to shout over the noise. “It’s time to go big, or go home.”
Cassian stood up then, and walked to stand next to her at the podium. The room immediately went silent. “Jyn’s right,” he said to the room. “The bit-by-bit strategy my co-consultants and I have been utilizing is ineffective. It’s not allowing us to get anything done. But, if we did something big, like the Harvest Festival, that would give this city government the momentum to save the budget, and change the town for the better.” He paused, before adding, “That’s why I not only fully support this plan, but also helped Jyn design it.”
“The two of you did this?” Leia asked incredulously. “Together?”
“And as you can see, neither of us murdered each other,” Jyn responded. “Surprising, we know.”
“Believe me, I don’t want the Parks program to be eliminated,” Cassian said. “I want this to be a success. In co-leading the project with Jyn, I will do what it takes to make sure everything runs efficiently and smoothly. I promise.”
“So,” Jyn said, turning to Leia and Kay, the toughest critics to convince. “What do you think?”
Kay spoke first. “I think there are one thousand, three hundred, and forty-five ways this plan could go horribly astray.”
“I think,” Leia said, “That I am cautiously optimistic. The policy is solid, but I’m concerned about you two co-leading the project. You couldn’t even stand to be in the same room as each other until you got locked in the basement yesterday. Do you really think you can make this work?”
“Honestly?” Cassian said, looking at Jyn. “I have no idea. But I do know how important it is that we at least try.”
“’Do or do not,’” Jyn corrected him. “’There is no try.’” He looked at her blankly. “C’mon, it’s an old saying, don’t tell me they didn’t have that one in Fest.”
“Well,” Leia said, standing to face the room. “We’re a democracy, so we’ll settle this like one. Who all is in favor of the Erso-Andor Harvest Festival plan?”
After a brief moment of hesitation, every hand in the room shot into the air.