Chapter Text
It had been quite a while since Jyn had gotten such a big paycheck. She had taken a job on Iyo, a moon in the Mid Rim that had no strategic advantages but was well known for its comfortable climate and beautiful landscape. That was the reason why many wealthy people in the galaxy had chosen it as a place to live. The main city, Lehda City, was one of the most luxurious cities you could imagine. Jyn had never expected that she would ever get to see a place like this. But several weeks ago, she had ended up as a hired smuggler for a rich eccentric who was looking for some very rare and very illegal additions to his collection of wildlife creatures from several planets.
He had hired a small crew that Jyn had become a part of for the time of the job. Jyn preferred to work alone and she hadn't trusted the other hired smugglers, but their boss had payed each of them individually and so no one had a reason to betray the group until the end of the job. They had been paid a small percentage upfront and yesterday, after they had delivered the goods, they had received the rest of their money. It was a good thing that the job had paid so well or else Jyn wouldn't have joined a team of unknown strangers. She had felt very uneasy around them but it had worked out in the end and afterwards everyone had left the planet in a hurry, except for her. Jyn had a room in the city to stay for another night or two. After every job, she liked to wait a few days before flying out, just to make sure no one was tracking her down.
One of the two suns of Iyo had already disappeared and the other one was about to set as well. It was getting darker and Jyn was walking down the streets of Lehda City enjoying the warm air and doing something she rarely indulged in: sightseeing. The city was made of white and black durasteel and huge glass panels. It was quite a beautiful sight. The only downside to Lehda was that everything was so damn expensive.
Jyn couldn't stay here for long or else she would run out of her hard earned money pretty fast. Her feet carried her into a bar that was much nicer than most of the ones she had seen on other planets. The interior looked just as luxurious as the outside and was dimly lit by red and blue lights. Inside, it was just crowded enough to still be comfortable. The prices were probably astronomically high so Jyn decided that she would only buy herself one drink and then go back to the hotel. Tomorrow she would need to buy herself passage to another system to look for work. Maybe she would go back to Nar Shaddaa, it was an easy place to find a job as a criminal. The downside to it was that every time Jyn thought about the moon her mind automatically drifted to a certain rebel she had met there months ago. She hated that her thoughts would still turn to him even after all this time since they had seen each other.
Jyn shook her head to get rid of the memories and turned to make her way to the bar to get a drink. Suddenly she felt someone bumping into her, the sudden force of it almost knocking her over. She turned around to tell that asshole off when she recognized the face that looked down at her. The expression on Cassian's face had to mirror her own pretty closely. His mouth was agape and his eyes were wide as they were sweeping over her face.
“Jyn?” he asked in disbelief and she managed to pull herself together to quickly shake her head.
“Shh, that's not my name here!” she hissed at him and grabbed his arm to pull him away from the crowd and to a table in a corner of the room.
They sat down and stared at each other in an uncomfortable silence for a while until a pretty Twi'lek waitress came over to them. After they had both ordered and the waitress had left them alone with their drinks, Cassian leaned closer to Jyn to speak in a hushed tone.
“So what alias are you using here?” he wanted to know and Jyn hesitated for a moment. After he had left Nar Shaddaa, she had realized that in the heat of the moment Jyn had revealed her real name to him, a mistake she had never made before and one that she regretted immensely. She had expected someone to come knocking on her door and lock her up, so she had left Nar Shaddaa as soon as possible and changed her pseudonym again. Now it was already too late though, since Cassian knew her true identity and she knew his.
“Lana Beniko. What about you?” Jyn had to admit that she was very curious about the reason why he was here. He was probably on a mission for the Alliance, she thought.
“Theron Shan.” He muttered although he didn't look at her when he said it.
Something about the way he spoke the name felt suspicious to Jyn. “Who is that?”
Cassian gave her a confused look but she didn't let him off the hook so easily and simply raised her eyebrows at him. The Rebel Captain actually seemed to feel uncomfortable about the topic, Jyn realized.
“He was a former spy for the Galactic Republic.” he admitted and it almost looked like he was about to blush. Jyn couldn't help but grin at that. Even Cassian seemed to have someone he was secretly looking up to. She didn't comment on it though since she didn't want to scare him off. And wasn't that quite an epiphany? That she was excited to see him and didn't want him to leave so soon?
Cassian was saved from the embarrassing moment by his beeping commlink. As he took the call in a hushed voice, Jyn took the chance to look at him a little closer. She noticed that he was wearing different clothes than last time, clothes that looked new and kind of expensive. He was probably trying to blend in, Jyn thought and took a look at his face. He looked just like she remembered him, tense and tired. And he is still good-looking, Jyn caught herself thinking, annoyed with her own thoughts.
Cassian seemed to be annoyed as well, talking into his communicator with a frown. “No, K2, I haven't found someone yet. No, it's not that simple, I cannot just walk up to someone and ask. I need to trust them at least a little bit.”
Jyn took a sip from her drink but didn't try to mask her interest in the conversation or the fact that she was listening in on it. “
If you need to trust them, you will never find someone. You sound distracted, what happened?” Jyn could hear the voice from the other person and she wondered if it was still the same droid from Nar Shaddaa that Cassian was talking to.
“Nothing, I just... I met someone I know from... Never mind.” Cassian shot Jyn a look that showed how uneasy he felt about her listening to the conversation but she just gave him a smile that wasn't all that innocent.
“Who did you meet? Is it a female? Why don't you ask them to help you?” came the mechanical voice and Cassian seemed a little alarmed at the question.
“Stop asking! I'll call you later!” he hurried to say and quickly turned off his commlink.
“What was that about?” Jyn asked curiously, frowning a the question from K2. “What does he mean 'ask her to help you'?”
Now Cassian seemed really annoyed at the situation. He took a huge gulp from his drink and sighed.
“Nothing. It's just...” he didn't finish and instead ran his hand through his hair, looking quite stressed. Jyn didn't like that expression on his face.
“Just spill it out already!” she said and rolled her eyes at him. Cassian locked his gaze with hers, giving her an intense look that made her heart jump.
“I am on an undercover mission for the Alliance.” he started and Jyn tried to show no reaction to his words or the fact that he was trusting her with that information. “There is a party tomorrow evening. It's an important opportunity to gain information about weapon sales to the Empire.”
He took a break to nip on his drink, it seemed like the next words took him an enormous effort to admit. “I will attend the party under an alias and... well it would be a good cover to come with a date.” Cassian shook his head with a frown, he looked pretty unhappy and Jyn had to fight down a smile at his uneasiness. “So I've been trying to...”
“Pick up someone?” Jyn finally failed at containing the huge grin and Cassian shot her an annoyed look.
“Yes.”
She couldn't help but start laughing at that. It took her a few minutes to get herself back under control and she was wiping a tear from her eyes when she finally recovered her breath. Cassian was leaning back in his seat with his arms crossed. He had watched her with a grumpy expression but then started to smile as well. It seemed her joy was contagious.
“Laugh all you want. It would be a huge help to have someone as a date 'cause it will look a little suspicious if I come alone.” Cassian was back to being serious as he finished his drink. “K2 suggested I ask you.”
Jyn felt all the amusement die at that. She was sure the look on her face must have been quite funny but Cassian didn't laugh. Instead his eyes were firmly fixed on hers and she felt something like a shiver run up her spine at the way Cassian was looking at her.
“What? Why?” she blurted before she could stop herself.
“Because coming with just anyone might be a risk in its own, if I can't trust them and if they realize something about my cover is off. I cannot tell some stranger about my mission.” Cassian shrugged while he was playing with the empty glass on the table.
Jyn understood his reasoning but why would he ask her to help him? Did that mean he trusted her more than a stranger?
“I don't think you trust me that much either.” she stated trying not to break eye contact first.
Cassian looked quite conflicted as he took some time to choose his next words.
“You are right. I don't trust you completely. After Nar Shaddaa, I looked up all the information I could find on you. Your criminal records are quite impressive by the way. But... you saved my life on Nar Shaddaa. Probably twice.”
“Probably?” she interrupted him, but he kept going even though his lips turned up at that.
“What I'm trying to say is that I trust you more than a lot of people I've worked with in the past.” He didn't meet her eyes again after finishing his words and Jyn was kind of glad for that.
She knew the confession had been hard for him to admit, but at the same time she wasn't sure if he was being truthful or just trying to flatter her so she would agree to help him. The thing that irritated her most though was that he had looked her up. Jyn wasn't sure if she felt happy or angry at that. It felt a little bit like he had violated her privacy, but what could you expect from a spy? On the other side, he had cared about her enough to violate her privacy, Jyn thought. Or maybe that was just his job. After Nar Shaddaa, Jyn had been having trouble getting him out of her head and she had wondered if he had the same problem or if he had forgotten her right away. He had kissed her before he left, that much was a fact. But that moment seemed like forever ago and Jyn wasn't even sure if it had meant anything to him.
She realized that she had said nothing for quite a while when Cassian shook his head at her and made a move as if he was about to get up.
“Sorry, I know that's a really stupid favor to ask of you. Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have bothered you with that.” Before he could move away from their table, Jyn's hand shot up to grab onto his arm, pulling him back.
“I'll do it.” she said without thinking about it.
The words were out of her mouth before her brain had time to catch up, and she was just as surprised as Cassian.
“What? Really?” The look he gave her was a little suspicious and it kind of hurt to see it on his face. “I can't offer you anything in return. The Alliance can't pay you.”
Jyn's eyes widened at his words. It was enough to make Jyn's blood boil over in a blink.
“Wow. Fuck you! I offer you my help and you go and insult me for it?!” She was out of her seat and at the door before Cassian had any time to process what just happened.
Outside on the streets, Jyn started to walk back to the hotel. It was already dark but the air around her was still warm. She felt like she was about to explode. How dare he treat her like...like a prostitute or something. Although she took money for her services, it had never been for being someone's date at a party. She was paid for stealing things, forgery sometimes, but she had never done any social services for money. So even though Cassian wasn't wrong for assuming that she wanted to get paid for a job, it had still hurt to see him so surprised at her offer to help him. As if he hadn't expected her to do something nice for free.
It took Jyn a while to walk back to the hotel, but she didn't mind. It actually helped her to calm down again. By the time she reached the building, she almost regretted storming out and ending the conversation like that. Maybe she had overreacted a little bit. She still thought she was right to be angry at Cassian, but now she realized that she might never get the chance to see him again. Fuck, she had always been a little too impulsive for her own good.
Jyn took a moment to look up at the stars, shaking her head at herself. She could go back to the bar to see if Cassian was still there, but she knew that her pride would never allow her to do that. She turned to enter the hotel, just as a voice spoke up behind her.
“Jyn!” She turned and saw Cassian coming up to her. He must have been following her all the way since she left the bar.
“I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, I promise. I just... I assumed you would want to get paid, I mean, not like that but... you know.” He was running a hand through his hair and didn't meet her eyes, but she could tell that she was embarrassed and serious about his apology. His flustered appearance made her smile despite herself.
“It's okay. Getting payed would have been nice. But I didn't offer my help because of money.” she clarified and Cassian nodded in understanding.
“I'm sorry. It would be... great if you could help me out. Again.” Her eyes crinkled at his way of saying 'thank you'. He really had trouble expressing his gratitude.
“Alright, so what do I need to do?” she asked and Cassian looked around to make sure there was no one around.
“Can we talk in your room?” he asked and she nodded, walking in front of him as he followed her inside and up to the room she was staying in.
It was a nice hotel. Not too expensive but Jyn had indulged in a more luxurious place than usually. When Cassian closed the door behind them, he let out a low whistle.
“This is nothing like the place you had last time.” he said and grinned at Jyn who didn't hold back her smile this time.
“Just finished a lucrative job.” she explained and sat on her bed as Cassian took a chair.
“I'm afraid working for the Alliance doesn't come with a paycheck.” He was still looking around although Jyn couldn't tell if he was just checking out the room or looking for something else.
“So what's your cover story?” she asked and he turned his attention back to her.
“My alias, Theron Shan, is supposed to be the son of the owner of a company that buys and distributes weapons. So I will try to talk to some of the people that work in the business and get information about who they sell their weapons to and if anyone is selling them to the Empire. And in that case, what kinds of arms and if there are any new weapons around that we should know about.”
Jyn listened to his words, already trying to pick his plan apart for any weaknesses.
“Isn't it a risk to name yourself after a former spy? What if someone recognizes the name?” she wanted to know.
Cassian didn't seem too happy about her contribution, probably because he knew that there was some truth to her concerns.
“Unlikely. No one outside of intelligence services knows about him anymore.”
Hopefully, Jyn thought.
“I've used the name before and never got into trouble.” Cassian finished and shot her a look.
“So if I join you, what would be my role?” Jyn asked.
Cassian seemed a little embarrassed at her inquiry, but didn't hesitate to go on.
“Well, it would look suspicious if I took someone I've just met to a party like this, so we should say that we have been together for a few years at least.”
Jyn thought about that. Their cover had to be good enough, or they would get into serious trouble.
“I could play your fiancee.” she said and tried not to blush at her own words.
Cassian seemed surprised at her idea but nodded.
“That's um... Yes, that's a good idea.” he coughed and Jyn almost laughed at his reaction. They talked some more about the details before Cassian said that he needed to leave and get back to his ship before his droid came looking for him.
“I can come here and pick you up tomorrow.” he hesitated before he continued without looking at her. “And you will need to get appropriate clothing for the party. You should go to one of the shops and ask them for something that's considered to be... fashionable here. But nothing too flashy.”
Jyn was glad that he was avoiding her eyes because she could feel herself blush at his words. He opened the door and stepped outside, shooting her a quick glance and wished her goodnight before he closed the door behind himself.
Jyn let herself fall back onto the bed, letting go of the breath she had been holding in. Damn, what had she gotten herself into this time?