Archive of Our Own

 Error 450 : the glass around your heart is breaking

She rolled on a side, stretching an arm to search for the small alarm clock she kept on the bedside table. She couldn’t find it, as usual. Jyn opened her eyes, shielding them from the gentle rays of the sun coming in from the window, and as soon as she was able to focus she realized something. That wasn’t her bed, and that wasn’t her room.

“The fuck…”

She sat on the soft mattress, looking around, it took her a while to remember the night before.

Cassian. That was Cassian’s house. They went out and talked, and talked, and talked some more until the time for lunch passed, and so did the time for dinner. And Cassian brought her in this fantastic bakery and they had pie and they drunk wine and… Oh, right, he didn’t want her to go home on her own, crossing the entire town alone, so he had offered her to sleep in his bed and he had slept on the couch.

“Such a gentleman” she had laugh, but she really had thought it was a kind gesture.

 Jyn stood up and looked around, it was a small loft; the bedroom was separated from the rest of the living area by a huge library filled with books, some she had read, some she had never heard of. There was an impressive kitchen area, but that didn’t come as a surprise; there was also a small balcony, connecting the living area to the bedroom, illuminating the entire apartment.

She found her purse and phone on the table next to kitchen area, there was a bright yellow post-it beside her belongings. “There are freshly made pancakes on the counter, please don’t set the house on fire by cooking”. She smiled.

Cassian writing was tidy and clear, she decided she wanted to keep it and put the post-it in her bag.

There was a soft smell of food filling the room and the pancakes looked tempting. She opened the window, letting both, the sun and a sharp breeze, inside; then she sat on the wooden chair, her knees up to her chest, breathing the fresh air.

She had been wanting to taste Cassian cuisine for a while.

From: Jyn
Those were the best pancakes I’ve ever tasted.
Thank you.

From: Cassian
You’re welcome.
Although I must say I’m not surprised.
Slept well?

From: Jyn
I was about to say that I was sorry you had to sleep on the couch
But maybe you deserved it.
But yes, I did. Your bed was super comfy.
Thanks. Again.

From: Cassian
Don’t mention it.

From: Jyn
How do I close the door?

From: Cassian
Just pull it behind you.
No one will enter, beside I have the only key.

From: Jyn
Roger, roger.

He smiled at his phone, putting it away before the office meeting started.

Bail Organa had been working on something for a while. The Coruscant buildings affair was a huge problem for the firm, as they knew something fishy was going on but there was no evidence whatsoever of any illegal operation. Leia was suspecting that the Palpempire was bribing someone; they had their hands deep in every sort of illegal and dangerous shit, and she just knew they were involved in this. But without proof there was nothing they could do.

Not even stop the eviction.

“I’m sorry Cassian,” said Bail, smiling sadly, “I know you were really invested in this, son.”

He shook his head, without saying a word; he always felt a sense of uneasiness every time that Bail called him ‘son’, maybe it was just because he was a father figure for him. It was Organa who had took him in after his parents’ deaths, and he was also the one who was always present in his life, supporting him in every decision he had made.

“I just thought that maybe this time we would be able to… I don’t know. Find something,” he said.

Bail shrugged and put a hand over Cassian’s shoulder.

“I know too well how you feel, how about we discuss this further over dinner? Breha would love to see you, you know?”

He nodded, unable to deny Breha anything. Cassian still remembered his mother, but it was a faded memory, unlike that of Breha, who had been with him most of his life. He remembered her reading to him, cooking for him, teaching him the many secrets of a kitchen. She used to run a restaurant and although she was always so busy she always had the time for him.

His eyes caught Leia’s and he sighed.

“Yes, I’ll be there at seven”.

From: Jyn
You got plans tonight?

From: Cassian
I thought you were at work

From: Jyn
Should have, but Bodhi got a new waitress ‘in training’ and he wants to see how she does in the evening.
She’s going to break everything.

From: Cassian
So, I guess you went home?

From: Jyn
I thought you stalkers were supposed to know everything about your victims.

From: Cassian
Ugh. I’m going to kill you, I swear.

From: Jyn
Duh, I’m shivering already.
But seriously.
You got plans?

From: Cassian
I’m having dinner at my parents’.

From: Jyn
Oh.
Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb!

From: Cassian
You’re not.
You are more like a pleasant distraction.

From: Jyn
And you should cherish your time with them.
I have to go anyway.
The pizza man’s here.

From: Cassian
Better hurry, I don’t want to interfere in this true lovers reunion.

From: Jyn
Don’t mock pizza.
Pizza is love.
Pizza is life.
I’m gonna fight you for this.

From: Cassian
You are going to fight the world one day, Jyn.

From: Jyn
For pizza?

From: Cassian
Just go and eat, asshole.

“So… you just stayed at his place?” asked Baze, snorting in disappointment.

“Well, yes. It was better that crossing the entire town at night.”

“She’s not wrong,” noted Chirrut, slicing his pizza.

“I know she’s not, but she slept at his bloody house, what if he was a killer?”

“I had a good feeling about him,” Jyn laughed, passing a slice to her friend and sat on the floor of her empty apartment “Besides I can defend myself, you taught me well, remember?”

Baze nodded in approval, there was a mixture of proudness and happiness in his faint smile, and Chirrut had to hold a chuckle. Not that it mattered, his husband was way too used to his mockery and was an expert when it came to noticing those kinds of things.

“Why?”

“Your face”.

“You’re are fucking blind, Chirrut, you asshole,” Baze grunted.

“But I know you better than I know myself, my old friend”.

Jyn smiled, their flirtatious banter was a comforting presence in her life and she loved them so very much for never being embarrassed of showing who they were in front of her. Together with Bodhi, Chirrut and Baze were the only family she had left, and Jyn valued them more than she valued anything else in the world.

They were her anchors and her guides. It was thanks to them that she had found the strength to go to college – to at least try, the strength to leave her old life of losses and abandonment behind to start a new one in the big the city.  

“Thanks for helping me moving out the last things, guys.”

“Don’t mention it,” Chirrut waved his hand in her direction, “but the problem remains, what are you going to do?”

“Well, I guess I’ll stay at Bodhi’s for a while… just until I find somewhere else to go.”

“You know that our door is always open, don’t you?” Baze reminded her in a soft voice, just a moment before starting the second bottle of beer.

“I know and I’m grateful, really. But I couldn’t possibly intrude…”

“It wouldn’t be an intrusion, Jyn. You shine like a little star in our lives, you are family.”

She had to hold herself back from starting to cry like a five years old child. Chirrut had always, always known what to say to her to make her feel better, to make her feel loved. She smiled, sinking her nose in the beer can. She knew she wouldn’t accept, but she felt happy, as happy as she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Somehow it was strange because she would have never believed that such a desperate situation would have brought something positive in her life. But first that Cassian guy had appeared out of nowhere, like some strange force had pushed him into it, her brother was being as adorable as ever, and now all this love. She wasn’t sure she was ready for all of that. Well, not that Cassian was something important, he was just a someone she met by chance, with which she enjoyed talking (maybe just a bit too much) and that was really good at cooking, like ridiculously good (and also happened to have offered her his bed to sleep into).

“Anyway, kiddo, do plan to see him again?” Baze asked, and she couldn’t really understand if he was just honestly curious about the guy or if it was a not really well hidden threat to his life.

“Well, I’m not sure. It’s not like I plan things”.

“You don’t say…”

From: Cassian
Is everything all right?

From: Jyn
I was about to ask the same thing.
You disappeared.

From: Cassian
So did you.

From: Jyn
True, why you asking, anyway?

From: Cassian
I went to the Rogue One but it was close for “family problems”.

From: Jyn
Oh, right.
That’s me. I’m the family problem.
We moved all my stuff in the new apartment today.

From: Cassian
I’m sorry to hear that.
I swear we tried everything we could.
But it seems there’s nothing we can do to prevent the eviction.

From: Jyn
Thanks, dude.
No need to apologize, tho.
It wasn’t your fault in the first place.

From: Cassian
Still, a lost cause is a lost cause. Not good for the firm.
You still unpacking?

From: Jyn
Yes.
Too many boxes and just one little me.

From: Cassian
I could help if you want…

From: Jyn
My kitchen is a mess.

From: Cassian
Well, I didn’t ask you to hire me as your personal chef

From: Jyn
Good thing.
I’m hella broke.

From: Cassian
Do you have food?

From: Jyn
I do have noodles, yes. And a pack of Oreo.
Oh, and some apples.

From: Cassian
Give me your address.
Now.

From: Jyn
I thought you spies knew everything

From: Cassian
Did I level up?
From stalker to spy?

From: Jyn
Do you feel honoured? Because you should.
Sending the gps position.

From: Cassian
I’ll be there for dinner.

From: Jyn
Wait, shall I cook the apples? Or the Oreo?
Cassian?
CASSIAN?

He was 50% sure she would be mad, 40% sure she’d roll her eyes and tell him she was a functional adult (and even if they had known each other for barely a month he already knew this was a lie), there was only a small 10% of probability that she would thank him.

He rang the bell, looking at the scraped corridor walls and the dripping ceiling. It wasn’t the best building in town, and most certainly it wasn’t the best neighbourhood, but judging from Jyn’s words that was what she could afford. He could relate, despite the stable presence of Bail Organa in his life, there had been moments of struggle (mostly cause by his stubbornness), when he could barely pay his rent and he had to accept every pitiable work he could find.

The door opened slowly and a suspicious Jyn looked out.

“Oh, it’s you,” she smiled for a brief moment, before noticing the bags he was holding in his arms, “what the hell are those?”

“You said your kitchen was a mess…”

“Yes, but I didn’t ask you to buy me groceries!” she protested, “I’m a perfectly functional adult, entirely capable of buying his own food and take care of a house.”

She let him inside, taking one of the bags from his hands and guiding him to the small kitchen (that was also a living room that was also a bedroom).

“What’s in your fridge?” he asked, sarcastically.

“That’s not… Oh, right, I told you before, crap. Thanks, I guess,” she muttered, “but you do still remember I can’t cook, don’t you?”

“Well, then it’s a good thing I can”.

He smiled and took his jacket off, Jyn grabbed it and gently put it on a chair, while pointing him out where to put the groceries.

“I was hoping your fridge was big enough, good old rental system never disappoints you! You might not have the best neighbour, but you can always be sure that every house has conditioned air and a big fridge.”

She laughed, sitting in front of him, on the opposite side of the counter. The kitchen was small, separated from the rest of the apartment area by the narrow counter that was also meant to be used as a table. There was a small sofa on a side right in front of a tiny wall decorated with a television, behind that was the bed.

“Not many surfaces to cook on,” he noticed.

“Which is not a problem, since I don’t cook”.

He cut the onion and the peppers as Jyn sat looking at him.

“Are you going to cry?”

“Why on earth?”

“Onion, they always make me cry”.

“Nope, not going to happen,” he smiled, “Breha taught me how to properly cut one when I was ten, I’ve never cried for that since then.”

“Who’s Breha?”

“My moth- She’s Bail Organa’s wife. They took me in when I was just a kid and helped in many ways.”

“Is she good at cooking?” Jyn tucked her legs up to her chest, leaning over the chair’s back.

“You have no idea. She had this huge restaurant, three Michelin’s star. It was fantastic,” he said, his voice was nostalgic and filled with love. Jyn felt a hint of jealousy. “I used to spend hours in that place and she loved to teach me all her tricks and her dishes. She’s the one who taught me how to cook.”

It took a while for Jyn to fully understand what he had said.

“Wait. You learned to cook from a three-star chef? What the actual fuck, Cassian. What are making me?”

“Nothing fancy. It’s just chicken quesadillas, it will pair up wonderfully with the beer I brought. And there’s a small cake in the fridge, if you happen to still be hungry after.”

“Such a caring soul, and he can even cook. I wonder why you are still not married.”

He laughed, entertained by the tone of her voice and the not so hidden sarcasm she used. For a brief moment the amused expressions of both Leia and Shara came to his mind, but he quickly casted them aside to answer Jyn.

“Well, my almost sister would say that I’m still not married because I’m a grumpy antisocial who usually avoids any human contact because he’s totally inept at interacting with people.”

She handed him two plates for the quesadillas and smiled.

“You don’t look antisocial to me.”

Cassian took the plates and gently put them on the small table in front of the sofa as Jyn grabbed the beers.

“Wait, that’s to short –”

“We’ll sit on the floor, not a big problem,” he smiled, “anyway you say that just because you have never seen me interacting with others”.

“Should I be flattered?”

“I just feel comfortable talking to you, words come out in a natural way. I like your presence and the way you act with others”.

She blinked, looking at him a for a moment.

“Wait, are you saying you like me?” she asked, caught off guard, “For my personality?”

“I know, I was surprised too”.

Jyn sat down next to him, slowly taking one of the quesadillas, and started to eat. Cassian stared for a moment, looking at her expression brightening up as the spicy flavour invaded her mouth. She looked delighted. She looked beautiful.

“Oh. God. This is so good,” she cried in awe.

She loved food, every type, every cuisine. She couldn’t cook anything, but she loved to eat. There was nothing better than eating, not even sex. Not even wine. Not even sleep. Well, maybe, the last one was debatable.

“And Cassian?”

“Yes?”

“I like you too,” she smiled.

“For my personality?” he laughed.

“No, just for being you. You know?”

It was his turn to remain speechless; he thought she would reply with a joke and he found himself unprepared for a truth like that spoken with such an uncommon candour. He put down his plate and slowly leaned towards her, kissing the corner of her cheek with unusual kindness, right at the end of her mouth. He sensed her smiling under his lips and looked her in the eyes. They were dark and bright, Cassian could see himself reflected in them and, for the first time in years, he liked what he was seeing.

Jyn turned her head towards him, tilted it and pressed her lips on his. They were soft and gentle, she tasted like peppers and home, not Bails, non Brehas, but his own real home, in Mexico, where his father used to call him chiquito and his mother used to sing to the stars, where he grew up. She was kind and rough at the same time and she kissed him like it was the first and the last time they’ll ever kiss.

It started as a slow caress, an awkward and somehow clumsy movement of lips, as if it was their first kiss – and somehow it was, just not ever, not entirely. It looked like they had forgotten how to do it and were learning it all again, from the very beginning, from the start. They laughed and smiled and kept smiling while kissing and kissing while smiling until they forgot how to breath too and had to split.

“I...” she laughed, again, hiding her mouth behind one of her hands.

“Just eat, Jyn, it will get cold,” he laughed back.

“Does it matter? Don’t we have time?” she said, “besides, you can always cook again, later…”

“Later? After what?” he asked, slightly confused.

“Just later, Cassian”.

Jyn smiled and kissed him again.

From: Cassian
How was class?

From: Jyn
It was okay, I guess.

From: Cassian
Jyn… tell me you didn’t skip it.
Again.

From: Jyn
It was just Shakespeare.
I didn’t skip it, btw.
I had a presentation, so I couldn’t skip.

From: Cassian
Why didn’t you tell me?

From: Jyn
I didn’t think about it, I guess
Sorry. This sharing stuff thing it’s a bit new for me.

From: Cassian
What are you apologizing for?
…
Dork.

From: Jyn
Asshole

From: Cassian
What was your presentation about?

From: Jyn
Julius Caesar

From: Cassian
I’ve read that

From: Jyn
I know, it’s in your library.

From: Cassian
How the hell-
Wait, are you at my place?

From: Jyn
Maybe?
Yes?
I can leave if that bothers you.

From: Cassian
I gave you the keys.
I like having you around.

From: Jyn
That’s good.
Because we need to talk.

From: Cassian
What’s wrong?

From: Jyn
Can we get Chinese food?

From: Cassian
Is that what you want to talk about?

From: Jyn
Well, yeah.
Before you go all chef and gourmet cuisine.

From: Cassian
Do I have to choose now?

From: Jyn
I think it can wait until you come home.
Your sister’s here too, btw

From: Cassian
WHAT THE FUCK
TELL LEIA TO FUCK OFF

From: Jyn
Well, rude.
I asked her to stay.

From: Cassian
I don’t want her to stay

From: Jyn
Well, that’s too bad.
‘cuz she looks adorable.
Also she brought wine.

From: Cassian
She basically bought you.
Are you drinking it?

From: Jyn
Yup.
We are bonding over High School Musical.
Just be glad I’m not asking why you possess a copy of that movie.

From: Cassian
HSM is great and I will not be shamed for it.

From: Jyn
Come home loser, before we bop to the top without you.

He looked at the phone screen, smiling faintly. She really was something incredible and Cassian would have never imagined that someone so vital and beautiful and sarcastic would be interested in dating someone as boring and sketchy as he was. He couldn’t believe Jyn liked him and if someone had told him a couple of months prior that things would have turned out that way he would have grunted, cursed and snorted. In that order.

First of all because he wasn’t that type of man who dated. He tried it, he hated it.

Second, he would have never believed he’d give a girl his apartment keys. Ever. Most surely not after a couple of months of acquaintance.

Third, Cassian avoided feelings like a beaten dog avoided human touch. He didn’t want to care, because not caring was easier.

Now he was discovering a new side of his personality, a side that did care, a side that felt things and that wanted to share everything with someone else, and that was confusing and beautiful and destabilizing.

“Oi, are you done daydreaming? Want to come for a bite with me and Shara?” Kes asked, patting him on a shoulder.

“No, thanks. Jyn’s waiting.”

“Oh, the mysterious girl you lost your head for?”

“I didn’t lose my head and she’s not a mistery.”

“Don’t be annoying, Andor. You taking her somewhere nice?”

“I don’t fucking know, she’s at my place with Leia. We’ll order Chinese, okay?”

Silence. Kes slowly started to smile and chuckled.

“Oh, God. I must tell Shara you have a girlfriend. She’s never going to believe me”.

“She’s not my girlfriend. We are just seeing each other. What are you? Five?” Cassian hissed, heading toward the exit.

“She with your sister. In your flat. Of course she’s your girlfriend.”

“Look, Kes, I really don’t want to punch you in the face. And no, she’s not, we never discussed this. I just like her, I like having her around or being with her and doing things together and talk and watch movies.”

“Dude, that’s a girlfriend,” Kes laughed, avoiding a friendly kick. “Ok, ok, got it. But I might want to know her if you happen to decide you are not just dating. God, I really must tell Shara.”

Cassian groaned.

“I hate you.”

Jyn wasn’t expecting Cassian’s sister to show up.

Well, she hadn’t been expecting a lot of things in her life, yet they appeared to continue happening, as if she was cursed or some shit. First her mother’s accident, then her father’s mysterious death, Kennink getting all hers and Bodhi’s rightful inheritance, her landlord kicking her out and everything. And it wasn’t like Leia’s presence was nearly as bad as anything she had experienced prior, but she wasn’t ready. Dating Cassian was stilly something new, fresh, and she wasn’t quite prepared to meet anyone from his family.

And she was nice and kept smiling and trying to put Jyn at ease, but Jyn wasn’t a fool and she could read the perplexity and the concern hidden behind Leia’s eyes. Of course, the daughter of Bail Organa was too polite and too educated to show anything of the sort, but she was quite used to read people, their gestures, their body language and she could see how worried Leia was for Cassian.

“I brought wine” she had said, startled at her presence.

And she had moved to let her inside, because she knew who Leia was, there a picture in Cassian’s room and he had been telling her stories of their childhood and their adoptive mother, because of course Leia was adopted too. Apparently the Organas couldn’t have children on their own, they had tried – Cassian told her – but she was just too weak, and after she almost died during the fifth miscarriage Bail decided that his wife’s life was more important that any desire of children they could have, so they adopted Leia. When Cassian become a part of the Organa’s family he was already seven years old, his parents had died and Bail couldn’t just leave him on his own.

She realized that he must have been a guide for Leia since she was a little kid, a real older brother; he had told her how he used to pick her up at school and teach her how to drive and take her to piano classes. Leia’s concern over their relationship didn’t come as a surprise, but her willing to meet her despite Cassian being so stubborn about external influences in their dating… well, that was a surprise.

“I really like Cassian”.

Zeke was just singing about how much he loved to cook and everyone was going “No, no, no, stick to the stuff you know”, Leia included, when Jyn blurted out with that and maybe it was the wine, maybe she was just anxious, or maybe it was just the truth and she wanted to tell.

“I know,” Leia acknowledged, “I figured as much or you wouldn’t put up with his shit. I was just… I just thought you two were going a bit too fast”.

Jyn bit her lip, trying not to answer too impulsively.

“We are just dating”.

“You have his loft’s keys. He never gave them to anyone, and he has yours. And you have been dating for what? Two months? Three?”

“They are just keys. It’s more for emergencies and stuff.”

“Yet, you seem to trust each other enough to share them. Look, I understand, I didn’t mean to criticized, I’m the last person who can do that, my boyfriend is ten years older than me. I was just curious to see who was Cassian’s girlfriend.”

Leia smiled, kindly, and Jyn’s eyes widened is surprise.

“I’m not his girlfriend,” she protested, with a bit too much intensity “I told you, we are just dating”.

The other girl laughed, she laughed so hard that she had to wipe out tears from the corner of her eyes.

“Of course, you are, Jyn”.

She got up from the sofa and put her glass in the sink.

“I’d better go before he arrives, but you know what? You two should talk. And if you ever want to talk with me, despite my intrusion, here’s my number.”

She left a small piece of paper on the table and took her jacket, as Jyn followed her with her eyes, a bit lost by that sudden change of plans.

“But- Wait-”

“Don’t worry, just talk to him and text me.”

In a swirl of clothes and doors she was out of the apartment, one minute she was there the next one she was gone, like a bird on the sill of a window.

“Oh god,” she moaned, looking at the bottom of her glass of wine.

She knew Leia was right, she had to talk to Cassian, to at least try to understand where things were going. But in the end, did she want to know? Did she even know what she wanted from him? From the future?

Jyn sighed, leaning on the armchair and looking out of the window. Would it have been such a terrible thing to let Cassian in? Not in the house, of course, that was his house. In her heart. To be his girlfriend. To do whatever it was that a girlfriend did, not that she knew. She had never let anyone get as closer as Cassian was now.

“I am an asshole,” she muttered.

“Maybe, but you are my asshole”.

Cassian entered the room, she hadn’t heard him opening the door, but she smiled as soon as she saw him.

“Hi, I’m afraid Leia’s gone”.

“I won’t cry over that, what song are they at?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I got distracted”.

Cassian took his jacket off and got closer to Jyn. He leaned over her, kissing her temple and stealing her glass of wine with one hand.

“Make some space,” he said, gently pushing her with his ankle.

“There’s the sofa, you, dork”.

“Indeed, but maybe this dork wants to sit next to you,” he smiled, she laughed.

“Ok, ok, go and sit on the sofa, I’ll take another glass and the rest of the bottle. I promise I won’t go anywhere”.

They should have ordered Chinese food, but food seemed like a distant problem in that moment. Jyn kept thinking about Leia’s words, unaware Cassian thoughts were flowing in the same direction because of Kes’. His stare followed her every movement and she could feel it, but it wasn’t distracting nor it was annoying. He wasn’t studying her, he wasn’t examining her. Cassian was just looking.

He looked at her, admiring the way she walked, the way her hair fell on her forehead, how she frowned and contracted her eyebrows searching for a clean glass. He was memorizing her, he was adoring her. And as Jyn turned slowly towards him it was the look in his eyes that struck her heart and made it skip a beat.

Cassian eyes were shining with something she dared not define, a feeling she was scared to see because what if she was wrong? What if she was just imagining what she wanted more than everything else in the world?

“I think I love you, Jyn Erso.”

She froze and stared at him for a couple of seconds. It was incredibly annoying how often was caught off guard by this man, and she realized she liked to be caught off guard, she liked how he was able to surprise her every time, taking her breath away. She put the glass on the table and stepped towards him, the television was still on while Gabriella, almost as nervous as Jyn, tried to start singing Breaking free.

“Excuse me?”

“I think I love you,” Cassian was smiling. It was a faint and nervous smile, and Jyn heart melted some more just by looking at him.

She was standing in front of him now, looking right into his eyes as he kept sitting on the sofa. She wasn’t sure she knew the right answer to such a massive and important expression of feelings – at least it was massive and important and deep to her who had never been in love before.

“Say it again,” she insisted.

“I love you,” this time his voice was firmer and softer, Cassian stretched out his arms, embracing her ankles and gently laid his forehead on her stomach, “You don’t have to say it back, Jyn”.

She caressed his hair, entwining her fingers in the soft brown curls, and breathed.

“I-”

“It’s okay,” Cassian assured her, gently pulling her on his lap, “You don’t have to say it until you feel comfortable saying it, and if you’ll never feel comfortable enough it will be okay anyway”.

There was something reassuring and incredibly sad in his words, but there was also truth and acceptance, acceptance for his feelings, for hers, for whatever might happen in the future. Jyn rubbed her nose on Cassian’s beard and smiled on his cheek, she wasn’t planning to make him wait for too long.

“Can we stay like this for a while?” she asked, as Cassian hold her in his arms, leaning back on the sofa, gently stroking her shoulders and her hair.

“Until you get bored or tired of my annoying presence,” he smirked, “But I have to inform you that we just missed the best part of the movie”.

“I already have a dork here, Cass, but if you want we can watch it again from the start. Just let me grab the remote.”

He laughed, kissing her neck and smiling – he just couldn’t stop smiling, she was too much to bear, so much more than he deserved, so much more anyone deserved.

“Do you think,” he started, “you could stay here just a little longer?”

“Until you get tired of my annoying presence,” she mocked him.

“Not sure why, but I’m starting to think that’s not going happen anytime soon”.