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Cassian’s eyes darted back and forth between Kleya and Senator Mothma. He was distracted from cleaning the blasters and why was he even doing Melshi’s job? And where in the galaxy was K? He could’ve made the droid clean them. But no, he was stuck here, with a grumpy Kleya and then again, when was Kleya not grumpy?
Answer: When Mon Mothma walked into her line of sight.
It was unsettling, the way her face morphed from her ever present frown into a soft expression, the line between her brows disappearing, a very, extremely, small smile playing on her lips and… longing in her eyes. Or was it something else entirely? Kleya seemed to want to reach for Mon, but unable to tear herself away from an invisible grasp, stuck in place, doomed to admire from afar.
Kriff, he needed to stop watching Vel’s melodramatic shows. They were addicting. And proved to be useful in gaining insight on what exactly Kleya was thinking. Not an easy feat, not at all. Kleya’s mind was a fortress, her emotions? Unreadable. Most of the time. When she wasn’t grumpy like she had been today. So… everyday.
In any case, that fortress crumbled whenever Mon appeared. And Kleya showed more emotions then than she probably had her whole life. What’s more, positive emotions. None of that anger or snark, no mean smirk on her face. No, instead it was this. Whatever this was.
It could only mean one thing. And it had been nagging at Cassian ever since the safehouse. Granted he’d been out of sorts and worried about Wil. But he’d seen enough. The light touch of their hands, the silent questions passing between them, “Are you alright?”, the visible relief emanating from Kleya, the way Mon’s eyes flicked to Kleya during her conversation with Cassian.
And now this. Cassian grinned like he’d won the jackpot at tiles. “Oh, I knew it.”
“What?” Kleya asked, barely paying him any mind. She idly twirled a piece of blaster in her hand, eyes stuck on Mon who was chatting amicably with a few rebels. She’d made a point to walk around the base and make herself available as much as she could when she wasn’t thrown into meetings left and right. It made the Senator all the more liked by those who looked up to her. Vel had said to Cassian that Mon refused to be seen as an unreachable leader who couldn’t be bothered to learn about those under her command.
Cassian’s lack of answer earned him an annoyed glare and a click of the tongue before Kleya asked once more, this time in her usual aggressive manner, “What?!”
“You and Mothma.” Kleya remained silent but the blush rising on her cheeks was loud. This was perfect. “Called it back at the safehouse.”
“You want a medal?” Kleya didn’t even bother to deny it. He felt oddly touched by it. “Go bother Vel, you’re slowing the work down.”
He chuckled, knowing full well he was pushing his luck but he always was in search of danger and poking the beast beside him sounded like fun. Way more fun than cleaning blasters. “I am, am I? How many blasters have you cleaned while looking at the Senator’s ass?”
Kleya slowly turned to face him and he tensed, just a smidge. She was, after all, still terrifying and he probably shouldn’t have mentioned Mothma’s ass to her susceptible girlfriend. Partner? And honestly, he only said it to rile her up. Truth be told, Kleya was lost in Mon’s eyes and nothing else.
“Enough to shoot you in the leg.” The tip of her finger traced the outline of one polished blaster in a threatening manner. Cassian knew she could very well do it. Kleya turned back to her work, “Now make yourself useful, I want to get back to my actual job.” She grumbled then, ruffled feathers and all, “Can’t believe Vel asked me to do this to go on her stupid date with Cinta. What is this?” She gestured angrily at the base. “A couple’s retreat?”
“And yet you accepted, never thought I’d see the day where you and Vel would bond. It’s kind of cute.”
“One more word, Andor. One more.”
“Yeah yeah. Kriff, you’re like an angry tauntaun.” When Cassian caught sight of Kleya’s twitching eye he redirected the conversation. “So. You and Mon.”
She sighed loudly but didn’t stop her work, her distraction gone to yet another meeting. “We’re trying to keep it discreet. Mon is a private person, as am I and I don’t want every fool in this base to start gossiping.”
“Keep looking at each other like that in public and it’ll start soon enough.” He recalled something heard a few days ago. Might’ve already started. But Kleya didn’t need to know and go on a warpath.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’re not as slick as you make it out to be, Marki.” He leaned over and whispered conspirationally, “And I see everything.”
Kleya pushed him away, making him stumble and snort at the aggression. “And what do you see then, since you have the prescience of a Jedi?”
Cassian paused, making sure Kleya was listening. “You’re looking at her like she’s the most precious thing in the galaxy.” She froze. Ah ah. He hit a nerve. He just loved being right. “It’s… disturbing coming from you.” Cassian couldn’t help but add to deviate slightly, he knew Kleya didn’t enjoy being a target or having people picking at the well hidden, but present, cracks in her armor.
It worked. The spy’s posture relaxed almost imperceptibly and she huffed, affronted by Cassian’s commentary.
“First of all, fuck you. And second…” Kleya ducked her head and focused on a blaster part, face hidden behind a curtain of hair. “I don’t see how that’s any of your concern.”
Cassian let a smile appear on his face, “It’s how I looked at Bix…” He recalled and pretended not to feel how his heart thudded painfully in his chest. Cassian added, nudging Kleya who had peeked at him with passing understanding, “It’s how Vel looks at Cinta.”
She rolled her eyes, lips pulled down by a disgusted frown. “Okay, now you just want me to throw up.”
He let out a peal of laughter before asking, “Speaking of, does Vel know?”
Kleya shifted uneasily on her feet, a habit Cassian had never seen before in the normally controlled spy, but life on Yavin, the events on Coruscant, had changed Kleya, lessened her burden and allowed her space to lower her guard even if it was by a millimeter. No doubt Mon played a huge part.
“As dense as she is, she figured it out the moment Mon saw me in their cabin. The night I arrived.” From the faraway look she had on her face, Kleya seemed to recall this particular moment with fondness. A little light in this one night that would forever haunt her.
“Well… if Vel figured it out this fast… I’m afraid the whole base knows already.” And if the muttering between new recruits about the activities of a certain Senator and her spy Cassian heard a few days ago was anything to go by, it was indeed the case. “See? I told you, you two are obvious. Kind of embarrassing for you considering your background.”
Kleya hit him across the head. Too fast for Cassian to react.
To which Cassian answered appropriately. By headlocking Kleya. What? What else was he supposed to do? He couldn’t let her get away with everything, and unlike most people here, Cassian wasn’t scared of Kleya. Well, okay, just a bit. Maybe more than a bit, let’s say a healthy dose of fear. He’d seen so much shit in his life and yet Kleya was a whole different menace than the Empire. A very, immediate and closed range threat.
What ensued was a mix of grunts, the sound of shoes sliding on concrete, the rattle of blaster parts as they hit the table and from the corner of his eye, Cassian caught a few hands passing money.
The rebels were used to their antics by now and witnessed Kleya and Cassian at each other’s throats more than once which led to an unofficial and unsanctioned betting pool.
Rumors said even Mon Mothma participated and bet on Kleya every time without fault. None knew whether this was true or not except maybe the spy and she would never divulge any information concerning Mon.
So far, Kleya had only lost two times to Cassian and only because she’d been wholly distracted. And now he understood by what, or rather whom.
Kleya’s elbow connected with his stomach and he choked on his gasp. She then crushed her heel on his foot, making him double over in pain but he would be damned if he relented his grip.
In moments like these, when they both exchanged banter and fought like kids, Cassian was reminded of his sister, forever nameless in his mind and in Kleya, he felt like he found a piece of her again.
It was an odd feeling. When he first met Kleya, he never thought he would ever see the spy as anything more than a colleague. And Kleya probably thought of him as an asset at first too. Maybe now still, though he liked to think these moments where Kleya allowed herself to be playful meant she considered Cassian as something else entirely, no longer an asset.
They would probably never speak of this aloud. Then again, they didn’t need to. They weren’t vocal people, didn’t share easily what was on their mind, but they could read others well enough.
So this? This conveyed more than words ever would.
Someone cleared their throat behind the fighting pair and they looked back, Kleya still stuck in the crook of Cassian’s arm.
Was that a credit chip he spied in the Senator’s hand?
“Senator Mothma.” Cassian greeted fighting against a struggling Kleya.
Mon seemed entirely too amused by the situation, the lilt of her lips and the sparkle in blue green eyes could not be mistaken for anything else. And gods, Cassian felt, Kleya melt. She didn’t even try to put up a fight anymore, too enthused by Mon’s arrival. Hopeless, utterly hopeless. He needed to find Vel soon.
Yeah, he had a penchant for gossip and Sartha was all too happy to oblige.
“Kleya,” Mon spoke and the spy straightened slightly against Cassian. The way she said Kleya’s name revealed too much, then again maybe Cassian did have Jedi prescience. “I believe you are more than capable of freeing yourself, why is it that you’re not?” Wow, great vote of confidence there, not biased at all.
Kleya shrugged. “I wanted to let him think he had me cornered. He hasn’t won in a long time.”
“Wha-” Next thing he knew, Cassian was staring at the stone ceiling of the pyramid with Kleya and Mon both looking down at him.
One radiating smugness, the other sympathy and a great amount of amusement. It was good, seeing the Senator act this way, human like the rest of them. That sounded rude. Cassian had seen enough on Coruscant and later on Yavin to know Mon Mothma did not easily take off her Senator persona.
Cassian allowed himself a discreet smile. They were good for each other.
He laid there, staring at them both before raising his arms and giving them a thumbs up, thrilled at their bewilderment. “I’m rooting for you- ah!” He grunted when Kleya delivered a kick to his ribs. He clutched his bruised side and rolled over to push himself on his knees. “Rude.”
“I suppose we aren’t as discreet as we thought.” Mon said sheepishly. And yet another sight Cassian was probably not meant to view.
“That’s what I’ve been telling Marki-” Another blow, to the thigh this time, “Kriff! Stop that-” he scrambled to his feet with urgency, shuffling back so he was out of arms- and leg’s reach. “I’m going on my lunch break, this place is getting dangerous.” Cassian loosely saluted the Senator, “Always a pleasure, Senator.”
Mon nodded with a smile, “Please, just Mon will do, you’ve been having dinner with us enough to drop the formalities I should think.”
“Always a pleasure, Mon.” His eyes crinkled with his crooked smile and Kleya pushed him in the opposite direction with her foot. “Fine, fine, I’m going! Kriff…”
“Don’t forget to check your food, you never know.” Kleya called after him and Cassian made a mental note to do just that.
Mon watched him go before approaching her spy, just enough to graze Kleya’s hand with hers. Even if Cassian now knew, they weren’t about to expose their relationship to everyone’s eyes.
Kleya tangled her pinky with Mon's, making sure their hands were out of sight and scrunched up her nose in that adorable manner Mon was fond of. It meant the spy was frustrated at something. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Mon knew what she meant, so she didn’t bother to ask the obvious. “You love him.” She simply stated and Kleya clicked her tongue, annoyed but didn’t pull away. “You do, don’t even deny it.”
“Have you and Cassian been speaking? I swear you’ve both colluded to embarrass me today.”
Mon laughed gleefully, a sound she only made around her family. “No, I simply observe. And I’m happy to see you acclimating. There’s nothing more beautiful than seeing you free to spread your wings.”
Kleya pressed a hand against her face to hide her rising blushed and shivered when Mon passed a finger between her brows to erase her frown.
“Kriff but you’re adorable, Vel’s gonna have an aneurysm when I tell her.” They both jerked apart to see Cassian leaning on the table, chin resting on his open palms and an idiotic grin on his lips. He spared Kleya a glance, “I want to be best man.”
Mon’s heart stuttered in her chest at the implication.
What Cassian got in answer was a blaster part to the face and curses that followed him throughout the base as he fled. He missed Mon’s delighted laugh under Kleya’s colorful language.