Chapter Text
“He's staring at this pilot again, isn't he?“
- “'Course he is, that's what he does all th-“
“I'm not staring, I'm just, you know, I'm...looking around. That's all.“ Cassian took another sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair, but not without keeping his eyes on something – or rather someone – behind his friends.
“You know, people are usually moving their heads or at least their eyes when they're 'looking around'.“ Baze said, trying to block Cassian's view with his head. He stopped, when he heard a soft chuckle at his side and looked to his left. “Mr. Îmwe-Malbus, you have something to say about that?“
Cassian rolled his eyes when Baze said that name, but couldn't hold back a smile. Having been engaged for ages, his friends Chirrut and Baze were finally married for two weeks now. Since their wedding, Baze couldn't stop calling his husband by his new name even though that was a fact Baze would never admit, no matter how many times it was stated by others.
Cassian's smile faded promptly when he heard Chirrut saying, “I just wanted to add that also your heart usually doesn't start beating faster when you're 'looking around' a place you've been working at for five years now.“ When Cassian took a quick look at him, he saw that Chirrut halfheartedly tried to hold back a smile Cassian would have categorized as triumphant.
“First of all: My heart beats just in the right pace,“ Cassian twisted his mouth and suddenly started to let his eyes wander over the airport hall, from one shop to another, over several passengers and airport employees, and back to their desk and the three mugs on it, outside of the small café they were meeting at. “And second, I'm working at a bakery, I don't see as much of this airport as you would probably think.“
- “We're sitting here everyday since we know each other,“ a voice said behind him. He turned around to see their friend Jyn standing there with a grin on her face. „And that's since you've started working here, so for...what did you just say, Chirrut? Five years? I think it was five years.“ Letting herself fall onto the chair next to Cassian, she said, “Tell me you at least know his name by now.“ She looked at him, but he just shook his head.
“Bodhi Rook.“ Chirrut said. They all turned their heads to look at him. Sensing their surprise, he shrugged. “I hear things.“ he said simply. Before anyone could reply something, he added, “I also heard he's a bit shy. Anxious sometimes.“
- “Where did you-“ started Baze, but Chirrut ignored him.
“You should take the first step.“ he continued, now pointing at Cassian, who just frowned.
- “The first step?“ he asked. “I neither work at the ticket service like you, nor – he looked at Baze and Jyn – as security, which means I have no idea how I could ever get closer to him, let alone how to take the first step. Should I go to him and ask something like, 'Hey, you wanna taste my baguette?'?“
Jyn giggled and opened her mouth to say something Cassian didn't really want to hear. “Oh shut it,“ he said quickly and stood up. “I'm going back to work.“ Starting to move, he chose to ignore Baze, who called “And if you'd work at the ticket service or as security, what would your first step look like then?“ after him.
After the laughter had faded and he was out of sight, Cassian sighed and rubbed his forehead. Of course he knew that his friends only meant well, but he still couldn't help being a bit angry with them, although it was crystal clear that Baze's small implication in his last question wasn't so wrong. Even if Cassian worked at the ticket service or as security, he wouldn't have been able to take the first step. Hell, he could have been the damn airplane and still wouldn't have done anything about it.
Still - it was easy for them to talk like that, he thought. Baze and Chirrut were so happy together that basically nobody, Cassian had ever talked to at the airport, remembered them before they were a couple. In fact, it was sometimes confusing for him that there once even had been a time where they hadn't known each other.
Jyn on the other hand just wasn't interested in any kind of romance and was happy all alone. “Friends are enough for me.“ she once simply stated and that was that. She liked to note that this in no way meant she'd be a bad advisor regarding romance stuff. In her opinion, not being interested in such kind of things just made her a better person to ask for advices. And if Cassian was being honest, she was probably right about that.
Opening the door to the bakery, Cassian's thoughts wandered to the pilot – Bodhi Rook. It was true, he had looked at him – looked, not stared. Everybody had at least once. The first day Bodhi Rook had set a foot into this airport last month, it had seemed like every single head in the hall had turned to glance at this unfairly good looking man in his uniform, while Chirrut was laughing about all of them. Granted, Cassian thought now, everybody except him had stopped looking in time before crossing the line to being creepy.
Chirrut's words about Bodhi being shy and anxious sometimes came to Cassian's mind. He could imagine that being true. Whenever he and his friends saw Bodhi before he was walking to the airplane, he looked so tiny and lost that Cassian once accidentally stated out loud that he would like to give him a hug – a statement that Baze, Chirrut and Jyn made him regret immediately. But everytime that Bodhi wandered through the hall after he came from a flight, he looked taller and proud and like everything was exactly the way it should be.
With his back turned to the hall outside, Cassian just couldn't help but shake his head at himself. He wondered why he was thinking so much about this stuff at all, but made a sidenote that this was something he wouldn't ask his friends, because he knew their answer, and he also knew that he would have to confess to himself that they were right.
“Excuse me?“ a soft voice said behind him. „I'd like one of these, please.“
Cassian turned around and blushed a bit when he looked directly into the big brown eyes that belonged to Bodhi Rook.