Chapter Text
Jyn was used to living paycheck to paycheck. But she had never faced something like this. She’d been on her own for the last seven years, bouncing between rented rooms and decrepit apartments, but she always managed to have a roof over her head. This time, she was sure she was going to be sleeping under the bridge.
Thank God she ran into Bodhi that afternoon. He was Jyn’s old childhood friend, and she had not seen him since high school. He immediately noticed something was off. That’s what happens when you live next to each other for years.
Jyn spilled everything to Bodhi. He already knew about the death of her parents, so she told him about Saw, how he left, how she’s been working odd jobs ever since, just so she can have somewhere to sleep and enough to eat. She told him how, this very morning, she managed to get both an eviction letter from the landlord and an at-will termination letter from her boss, letting her go.
Bodhi listened carefully, and then said:
“You’re coming with me. I know a place you can stay.”
“Bodhi, I don’t–”
“It’s not a question, so don’t even start with me.”
And it wasn’t a question, nor was it an offer. He wasn’t giving her a choice. He sounded much more confident than the Bodhi she used to know, but, at the same time, he was the only person Jyn knew who would do something like this, selfless and caring.
They went to her soon to be old place to get her things. It was barely an apartment, it had a bed, a small kitchen and an even smaller bathroom. Bodhi could not hide the bewildered expression on his face, almost horrified for how little the apartment was and how few things she owned.
Jyn snapped him out of his trance. “Are you just gonna stand there, or are you going to help me?”
“Yeah, of course.”
There wasn’t really much to get. Jyn had moved so many times that she eventually figured out it was easier to always keep everything she owned in boxes and a backpack. All she had could be carried by two people, and so they did.
They took the subway and then walked two blocks until they reached an old but well maintained building. She couldn’t believe that, all this time, Bodhi actually lived so close to her. On the elevator ride to the 4th floor, Bodhi told her about his two roommates, Shara and Kes. They were having a baby and had just moved out, so it was kind of perfect that they met.
He also told her about the owners of the building, Baze and Chirrut, and how they rented the apartments to students and others who might find themselves in difficult situations, like Jyn. It was a kind of personal community housing program for them.
When they arrived at the door, panting from the weight of the boxes, Bodhi had a worried look on his face: “I forgot to tell you something.”
Jyn waited for him to continue, but he didn’t.
“Am I going to be a problem? Because I don’t want that, Bodhi. I can find another way.”
“No, of course not. It’s just… you remember Cassian, right?
Of course she remembered Cassian. Cassian Fucking Andor. The guy that sat in front of her in almost every class. The guy that had a permanent frown on his face, but had always cared for Bodhi. The guy she had a huge crush on throughout those four hellish years of high school. She felt a flush come to her cheeks.
“Yeah, what about him?”, she tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.
“Well, you remember how he and his mother never really got along, and she was always questioning his choice of friends and… doesn’t matter. Long story short, he’s crashing with me."
Once again, Cassian found himself at one of his friend’s houses. This time Bodhi took him in. He knew he couldn’t keep doing this, it was time for him to find himself a place.
And it started with something so, so stupid. Kes and Shara were having a baby and he bought them a present: a car seat. It was not groundbreaking, but it was useful, and little Poe would be safe because of his uncle Cassian.
Cassian asked his mother not to tell anyone about it, because it was supposed to be a surprise. But one day they went by the house and she blurted it out, just like that. Later, Cassian half jokingly told her she couldn’t keep a secret. But she took offense, called him disrespectful and proceeded to berate him. She said that if she wasn’t trustworthy maybe he should just stop talking to her. Even when he apologized and said he didn’t mean to hurt her, that it was just a passing remark, she said she couldn’t be around someone who thought so little of her.
And with that, Cassian decided to indulge her.
He could have stayed there and endured the 2 to 3 days of The Silent TreatmentTM. But Maarva Andor was one to always blow things out of proportion, and she had hurt him yet again. So he simply packed a bag and told her he would be staying with Bodhi for the week.
It wasn’t the first time something like this happened. This one time, while he was on his senior high school trip, his mother called him because of an incident with their dog, Bee. It was nothing serious, just a little allergic reaction. He gave her the instructions on what to do and then told her to take him to the vet. She insisted that he just came home.
When Cassian said he couldn’t just leave, because he had no way of going back home, and taking the dog to the vet was not a task she couldn’t do, she called him selfish and self-centered, told him he only cared about himself and that he was a bad person. It ruined his entire week.
Bodhi was also there when that happened. Even Jyn was there and listened to that phone call, somehow.
God, Jyn Erso. Now that was a name he hadn’t thought about in a while. Cassian always had a thing for her, but he never let it show. He also never managed to make a move. She was beautiful, with her bright green eyes and freckled pale skin. Despite her small frame, she could overpower anyone, especially anyone who even thought about picking on Bodhi. She was incredibly intelligent and, if he was being honest, she intimidated him a little. That is why he always chose to sit at the front, afraid he'd be too distracted by her. After that trip he never saw Jyn again.
Bodhi, however, always remained in his life. And Cassian was grateful for it, because if it wasn’t for him, he would have to stay in his mother’s house and wait out the storm, and he didn’t want that. It was better they gave each other a few days of rest.
He hadn’t talked to Bodhi yet, but Cassian was considering asking if he could move in. Kes and Shara left the week before, so he needed to find someone to split the rent. And Cassian was the perfect candidate. He already knew all of Bodhi’s little quirks, and he had a steady job as an elementary school teacher. Even Bodhi’s cat, Kay, liked him better than he liked Bodhi, which was a huge deal, because even though Bodhi called himself a father, that damn cat always chose Cassian’s lap.
He wasn’t anxious about asking Bodhi. Breaking the news to Maarva, however, made his stomach drop. And what about Kerri, his sister? Her relationship with Maarva was also very complex. And Cassian had always been kind of a buffer for them both. But since Kerri went away for college, and therefore she and Maarva spent less time together, they were getting along a lot better. They even went on an all-day shopping spree the last time Kerri came home, and did not fight once.
Nevertheless, Cassian decided to call her first. When he told her what happened and said he was thinking about moving out, Kerri let out an exasperated sigh.
“Finally, I was wondering if you would ever leave. By the way, I’m taking your room.”
“So you’re fine with this?”
“Cass, I can handle her. You don’t need to worry so much about me, you know?”
“I’ll always worry about you. There’s nothing you can do about that.”
“Ew, you’re the worst. Gotta go, I have to study. Love ya, bye.”
“Love you too, manita .”
Maarva once told him that worrying was a byproduct of love. He didn’t fully understand that until now. Because he was not only worried about Kerri. He also worried about his mother. With all her flaws, he still loved her, and she loved him. And she already had some minor heart issues that aggravated when his father, Clem, died. But she was not in need of constant supervision or assistance. And who knows, maybe she would understand that Cassian moving out was the best for both of them.
When Bodhi gets home, I’ll talk to him.
That was too much excitement for just one day. Jyn was going over the events in her mind: she got evicted, fired, ran into her oldest friend, found a new place to live, and was about to meet her high school crush, who she hasn’t seen in nine years, all in one day. That’s gotta be some kind of record.
She was not being fair to herself or to Cassian by calling him a “crush”. Because, first and foremost, they used to be friends. Not as close as her and Bodhi, but they always got along well. They all used to get together after school during the week, sometimes to study, other times just to forget about their troubled home lives.
Maybe that’s what bound the three of them together. They had very different upbringings, but, to various degrees, all of them struggled. Bodhi had always been open about everything: his dad leaving, his mother’s money problems, all of it. And he confided in both of them.
But Cassian and Jyn kept close to their chest. They were used to sharing the silence, and that’s what made her feel safe with him. It also helped the fact that he had those big brown eyes that seemed to understand everything about her, those eyes that she couldn’t look straight into for too long, afraid they would see too much. And he was not unpleasant to look at either.
Bodhi was still talking, completely oblivious to her racing mind: “I don’t know how long he’s going to stay, but I actually need another roommate, so it would be kinda cool if he just moved in… you wouldn’t have a problem with that, would you?”
Jyn can feel her heart in her ears, she’s feeling like a teenager again. And that’s not good.
Keep it together, Jyn.
“‘Course not.”
“Can you imagine? It would be just like old times, except now we can all drink without fear of getting caught.”
“Me and Cassian drank. You were too much of a chicken to do it.”
Bodhi shot her a glare and turned the key on the lock.
“TA-DA!... uh, watch out for the cat. His name is Kay.”
They walked through the door, it led right into the living room. Jyn almost gasped. It was the best apartment she had ever seen, it looked even better than the one she lived in until she was three. Until everything fell apart. Or maybe her memory was toying with her. No point in thinking about it now.
It had big windows, so the living room was completely sunlit. To her right was the kitchen, to her left, a hallway that led into the bedrooms and the bathroom. Jyn was smiling like she hadn’t in ages.
Struggling with the boxes, Bodhi wasted no time: “Let’s get you to your room first… Hey, Cassian!”
Jyn’s smile immediately faded. For a moment she almost forgot she had entered the same space as Cassian Andor. Her face felt hot, she was sure she was blushing. She almost didn’t notice that they were already in what was supposed to be her new room.
It was painted in a bluish green and it had a window almost as big as the ones in the living room. Jyn had never lived in a place with so much light. It also had a bedside table, a small dresser and a cramped annex that was supposed to be used as a walk-in closet. She couldn’t believe she was about to live here. With Bodhi.
“In a minute”, Cassian yelled from across the hall.
And Cassian.
Jyn’s heart was thumping, but she held on tightly and braced for impact. She heard his footsteps and tried to keep her breathing even. When he finally appeared at the door, he was clearly distracted, already talking to Bodhi, not expecting anyone else to be there.
“Glad you’re home, I need to talk to you about someth…” He stopped himself. His eyes catched hers. Those same brown, inscrutable, but knowing eyes. That dark brown, soft hair, with a little strand hanging above his forehead. He had a stubble and his voice sounded deeper. He looked even more beautiful than Jyn remembered.
“Hi.” Her voice sounded small.
“Hey.” He answered back.
If Cassian believed in it, he would say it was fate. On the day he thinks about Jyn for the first time in ages, she’s suddenly there, right before his eyes. And she almost looked holy. The natural light behind painted her pale skin with a light pink and golden hue. Her green eyes were shining like he had never seen before.
“Hi.” It was almost whispered.
“Hey.” Cassian realized he was staring.
Cálmate .
“How… how are you?” He saw the boxes and the backpack and immediately understood that Jyn was Bodhi’s new roommate. And eventually his roommate too. The thought terrified and exhilarated him at the same time.
Jyn opened her mouth to answer, but Bodhi cut in: “Jyn’s gonna live here!”
“That’s… that’s good.” Cassian tried to keep his voice even.
“And, because I need another roommate, I was thinking about asking you to move in as well.” Bodhi was visibly giddy about the whole thing, it was like he had it all planned out. “C’mon, you already spend so much time here… You practically live here! What do you say?”
Cassian made it seem like he was thinking about it. Both Bodhi and Jyn were looking at him expectantly. “Okay.”
Bodhi leaped and embraced them in a tight hug. It sounded like he was gonna cry tears of joy. “Can you believe it? The three of us, together again!”
Completely pressed against Bodhi’s chest, Cassian could hear Jyn’s muffled voice: “I’m not used to this.”
And so he answered: “Welcome home.”