#can. can you tell dungeon meshi has taken over my mind | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sunnyrosewritesstuff · 2 months ago

Text

Customer Service: Where Character A works Customer Service at a restaurant/business and Character B and their child are customers. Character A first notices a really cute kid only to notice that, hey, the parent is actually very beautiful too. What the hell?

So this is actually my first Dungeon Meshi fic and the fact that it's a modern AU is a nice little callback to my first Bagginshield fic being a modern AU oneshot. So I hope you guys enjoy and I did these characters justice.

Cooking is Better with Company

Ship: Pots n' Picks (Chilchuck/Senshi)

Rating: G

Warning(s): N/A

Words: 2534

Senshi’s dream had always been to own his own restaurant. Nothing too fancy. Just a small place full of comfort food for families to come and gather. It had taken a long time. Lots of clawing and fighting in his youth to get here, but finally The Golem’s Garden Bistro came to be. Senshi had a few hired hands to wait on the customer, but as for making the food? That pleasure belonged solely to him. Because of it, there wasn’t often a chance to go out and greet a customer personally. So when one found him, he was more than a little caught off-guard.

“Whatcha doing?”

Senshi turned around, eyebrows jumping high on his head at the sight of the adorable little blonde girl with a wide grin.

“Making bread.” He answered.

Somehow her grin grew even wider. “Can I help?”

Senshi hesitated. Clearly she belonged to someone in the dining room, and he would imagine they were looking everywhere for her. However, it has always been hard to resist a sweet little one.

“Okay, but then you need to go back to your family. Alright?”

“Kay!” She squealed before running over to where Senshi stood.

Senshi looked around for something for her to stand on before finding a footstool Falin had to use sometimes to reach the top shelf in the storage room. She still stood a bit shorter than the countertop, but at least she was able to peer over it to see what Senshi was doing. They made sure to wash her hands clean, as all good cooks do, he explained. Then he would pull off bits of dough to have her squish into a ball and put in the pan. They continued on in this way, finding their own little rhythm as Senshi put the rolls in the oven to cook.

“Now while we wait, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?”

She took a deep breath before launching into the longest spew of words in the shortest amount of time that Senshi had ever heard. Apparently her name was Puckpatti, and she had a mom, a dad, and two sisters. Her favorite color was purple, and her favorite animal was dragons. Senshi smiled and hummed or agreed in the appropriate place as he took the rolls out of the oven, and listened to her tell him about her favorite class at school and why. That’s when the kitchen door opened once more. Senshi looked over expecting to see Laios or Marcille back for their orders, but instead it was another little girl with red braids staring back at them before turning and shouting into the dining room.

“I FOUND HER, PAPA! SHE’S COOKING IN THE KITCHEN!”

It wasn’t seconds later that the door banged open again and a small red headed man came running in. Senshi blinked in surprise. He had one of those boyish faces that belied his age if the strands of gray in his hair was anything to go off. His eyes were dark and soul-sucking, even caught in a panic like he was now. Senshi didn’t know if he had ever seen a more beautiful man in his life.

“Patti! Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” He cried, gripping the young girl by her arms.

“But Papa, I was making rolls with Mr. Senshi.” She cooed.

“And you!” The man turned towards Senshi. “What do you think you’re doing? I’ve been half scared out of my mind and you’re back here keeping my daughter from me!”

“But I…” Senshi began before he was cut off.

“No!” The man snapped, holding his hand out in front of him. “Don’t even bother making excuses. If this is the kind of business you’re running, you’ve seen the last of us! Come on Patti.”

“But Papa, you haven’t tried one of our rolls.” Patti pouted.

The man hesitated at seeing her hurt expression before grabbing one of the finished rolls off the counter. He took a large angry bite only to melt a moment later in bliss. Senshi felt himself blush having never gotten to experience someone’s reaction to his food firsthand. The man finished off the roll, licking the butter off his fingers, when he realized Senshi was watching him. His face turned a delightful shade of red before he grabbed both his daughters by their hands.

“Say goodbye, Patti.” He grumbled.

Not the least bit put out by her father’s mood, the little blonde turned back to Senshi with a wide grin.

“Bye, Mr. Senshi! See you next time!”

With that the door closed behind the family, and for a moment Senshi just stood there utterly bewildered by the whirlwind that he experienced. It was a shame he never caught the man’s name, but he figured he was probably never going to see him again anyways. No use lamenting over something he would never get to have anyways. Senshi finished up the bread and moved on to making potstickers. For the first time, he found himself actually aware of the silence closing in around him. Perhaps it would be good for him to interact more with the customers. He didn’t realize how starved he was for chatter until Patti burst into his life. Resolved to make more of an effort to get out of the kitchen every once in a while, Senshi went back to pouring his all into his food.

***

The next day came and went, and Senshi never left the kitchen. Nor the day after that, nor the day after that. Turns out it was hard to break the habit now that he had it, and the temporary loneliness he had felt had now passed. It had been nice getting to know Patti, but he was fine. Everything about his life was fine. It was almost exactly one week later as Senshi was frying up some tempura when he was greeted by another little voice.

“Hello, Mr. Senshi! Can I help?”

He turned, expecting to see Patti, but this was a different little girl with dark hair and a soft, shy smile. Senshi had learned his lesson though.

“Why don’t you run back to your parents?” He offered instead.

Suddenly, her smile turned into a pout with puffed out cheeks.

“Patti got to cook with you!” The little girl complained.

Senshi blinked. “You’re Patti’s sister?”

“Yeah! My name’s Flertom.” She introduced, her smile returning for only a moment before she looked up at him with big pleading eyes. “Please, Mr. Senshi. I just want to help for a little bit.”

Senshi really should say no. There was no way he would let the little girl around the fryer anyways. Besides that, he didn’t want to give her father any more reason to come back here, puffed up and irritated…Of course, now that he thought about it, it would be a great way to see him again. Senshi finally relented, catching Laios to have him give the ‘small red headed man’ a message that his daughter was back here.

Senshi knew that would buy him at least twenty minutes as Laios could get very distracted, so he had Flertom help him dip the tempura in its batter, and then he carefully put it in the fryer for her. Her eyes grew big when they came out all nice and golden brown, and he praised her work on making sure the coating was even. Sure enough they had just finished when the door flew open.

“Flertom! What are you doing?! You said you were just going to the bathroom.” The man demanded.

“I did.” She explained, hopping off her stool. “And then I came in to help Mr. Senshi. Try a bite, Papa! It’s so good.”

Senshi held out a section of the tempura to the man who’s dark eyes seemed to be trying to glare holes into him. Finally, he snatched the piece and popped it into his mouth. His expression all but melted as he turned his head away from Senshi.

“It’s very good.” He grumbled.

“I’m glad you like it!” He stated happily. “And I’m glad you came back.”

The man turned and opened his mouth like he was going to say something, before shaking his head and grabbing Flertom’s hand. She waved goodbye to him all the way until the door shut behind them. Senshi let out a small laugh. He was starting to get used to these little visits. He wondered what the man’s favorite dish was? Maybe he could have it ready for him next time.

***

Senshi waited the next week for some adorable little girl to poke her head in his kitchen, only to be disappointed. He even poked his head out into the dining room a couple of times, but couldn’t catch sight of the family. Maybe he really did scare him off for good that time. Senshi tried to find his rhythm again around his disappointment, but he was reminded again of the loneliness of his situation. Even Marcille was asking after him to make sure everything was okay. Senshi’s food still was amazing, he would never sink so low to serve a subpar meal, but he started to realize he didn’t have a life outside of this restaurant. Perhaps he should take Laios up on his offer to play tabletop with them at some point?

In any case, Senshi didn’t have much hope for the next week until he turned to see three beaming faces staring up at him.

“Hello, Mr. Senshi!” The girls greeted in unison.

Senshi chuckled in relief. “Welcome back! Does your father know where you are?”

“He is aware.” A voice sighed.

Senshi turned to see the red haired man enter the kitchen, rubbing the back of his head as he refused to make eye contact.

“Don’t suppose you could use some helping hands? They were rather insistent.”

Senshi beamed brightly before assuring him he would love to have the company. Senshi and the other man helped the girls wash their hands before Senshi set them up with making rolls, asking Patti if she remembered how. She assured him she did, and Senshi watched for a little bit before feeling confident that the girls would be able to shape the rolls with no problem. He handed over his knife to the father.

“How handy are you at chopping vegetables?”

“Less than I care to admit, but yeah. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

Senshi watched him for a moment before coming up behind him and moving his hand into a more optimal position. The man tensed t before allowing Senshi to manipulate his movements.

“You won’t wear yourself out this way.” Senshi explained, moving away.

“Yeah, thanks.” The man stated, his cheeks reddened.

Strange. Senshi didn’t think it was that warm in here. Of course, he’s certainly gotten used to it over the years.

“I’m Senshi, by the way.” He introduced as he molded the dumplings.

“Chilchuck.” The man responded.

Chilchuck. It suited him.

“You weren’t here last week.” Senshi remarked as casually as he could.

“Yeah, their mother wanted to take them on a trip last weekend so we switched around my weeks with them.”

Senshi blinked as he zoned in on the placement of his words. Their mother. Switched weeks. He had a better idea as to Chilchuck’s relationship status at least. Something that certainly settled nicely within him.

“And you come here every time you have the girls?” Senshi asked in genuine awe.

Chilchuck seemed to take it as more of a criticism as his hand tightened around the knife in his hand.

“It’s good food in decent quantities at an affordable price.” He snapped. “It’s not like I take them out for fast food all the time.”

Senshi tried to repress a shudder and failed. Oh no, he certainly couldn’t do that. Nutrition was important for the little ones, and it was something Senshi always prided himself in his food. Good tasting and good for you. Senshi spared a glance towards Chilchuck who still seemed to be bitter over the conversation. He felt a small smile grace his lips. He was clearly a good father, he just didn’t seem to know how to ask for help.

“I could teach you.” Senshi offered.

“Teach me?” Chilchuck repeated, his brows furrowed.

“To cook.”

Chilchuck smirked. “You mean my superb chopping skills haven’t wowed you yet.”

Senshi kindly pushed him aside as he took the knife out of his hand and had the vegetables chopped within seconds. The smaller man blinked in surprise as Senshi dumped the ingredients into his stir fry without spilling a single onion.

“You’re getting there.” He encouraged.

The corner of Chilchuck’s mouth curled. “Show-off.” He accused.

“Mr. Senshi! Mr. Senshi!” The girls cheered. “We finished!”

Senshi put the slightly protesting Chilchuck in charge of the stir-fry despite his exclamations of it being hot as he checked on the girls’ work. He held his thumb up.

“Well done! Now it just needs a brush of butter and to go into the oven.”

They cheered and giggled and promised to watch the oven closely and let him know the minute the rolls developed a nice brown top. Senshi slid in beside Chilchuck, gently extracting the pan and spoon from him as he tossed everything into the air and caught it again before plating it up. He called out for Laios, Fallin, and Marcille to take the dishes out to the customers, which they did only after giving the family in Senshi’s kitchen an odd look.

“I noticed you’re not open on Mondays.”

Senshi spun around to see Chilchuck had his hands crossed behind the back of his head, his eyes staring off into the distance.

“Got to go home at some point.” Senshi responded.

Chilchuck smirked at him before he averted his gaze again. “I was thinking…it might be a good time to take you up on your offer.”

“What offer?” Senshi replied automatically as he began steaming the dumplings he made.

He could feel the annoyance rolling off Chilchuck’s tongue without even turning around to look.

“The offer to help me learn how to cook.”

Senshi blinked in surprise, his movements stilling. Oh.

“I would like to be able to make something for when the girls aren’t around and it would probably be easier on my wallet in the long run.”

Senshi spun around catching sight of the fetching pink spreading out across Chilchuck’s cheeks. He grinned happily as that feeling of loneliness evaporated completely.

“I would truly enjoy that.”

Chilchuck smiled for a small moment, his eyes bright and shining, when the girls declared the bread to be done. Senshi rushed over to take it out of the oven, and as the smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the air, he found himself with four identical gazes of near-drooling reverence. Considering orders had slowed down, Senshi set them up a little spot out of the way where they were able to enjoy the bread and dumplings they helped make. As the family made little pleased noises with every bite, Senshi vowed to determine what their favorite foods were and make it for them as long as he was able.

#tropetember #dungeon meshi #pots n picks #modern au #my first fanfic for these two!

17 notes · View notes

joeybelle · 7 years ago

Text

Starlight - Chapter 18

Relationship: Cassian Andor x Original Female Character

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Romance, Pre-Rogue One, Hurt/Comfort, Foul Language, some Smut in this chapter, Explicit Content

“Well, Doctor, you’re not winning, but you’re losing quite spectacularly,” Melshi said, grinning at her over the cards he was holding up. The dim lights, the crappy pop music in the background, and the sharp smell of cheap alcohol gave the whole scene an air of depravity.

“Shut up,” Cora mumbled, throwing him a dirty look, her own cards displayed on the table for everyone to see. He was right, she had lost. And quite spectacularly, to use his words, her pile of credits dwindling at a rapid pace despite her best efforts.

They had gathered in the makeshift bar down in the catacombs as soon as everyone’s shifts ended. There weren’t as many people as the first time she crashed their party, but enough of them to organize a game of Sabacc, along with a few bystanders who didn’t want to play, but made cheering on the players their second job. Cora couldn’t get the excitement, but then again she had never been a fan of gambling.

She couldn’t say she understood Sabacc very well. Cassian had taken her aside early that evening and explained the rules, as slowly and as simply as possible, but thanks to the constant interference from Meshi and Lewella (who were convinced they knew better), she ended up being very confused. However, Cassian had been very patient and explained the same thing a million times, even though it became clear early on that Cora was just as dumb as a piece of rock. She’d get a hang of it as she started playing, they finally decided, thinking probably, than if they waited until she learned all the rules they wouldn’t start playing anytime soon. So they dealt the cards and threw her head first into the game.

From what she understood, the game went like this: the aim was to have in your hand cards that totaled 23, -23, or three cards that put together would make the number 023. The cards had values ranging from zero to 15 and -15, some being numbered cards (1-11), some being ranked cards (whose value she kept forgetting and had to ask Cassian again and again). In the beginning you were dealt two cards, then a round of betting, then another card would be dealt (or you could chose not to get a card, or change one card, but you could never discard one, which was annoying), then another round of betting, and it went like this for at least 4 rounds while the main pot was being built, which meant more money to lose for her. After that, one of the players decided to call the hand, another round of betting and then everyone revealed what they had in their hand. Having 23, -23 or 023 was a certain win, but that didn’t happen often, so whoever had the closest to 23 or -23 would win. If at this point you had in your hand cards totaling more than 23, less than -23 or exactly zero they say you ‘bombed out’, which meant that aside from losing the game you also had to pay a penalty. Which sucked, because Cora had bombed out a few times already.

Luckily, they agreed not to use real money this time, since she would be learning and they would have an unfair advantage over her, even though Lieutenant Selfa argued that you never really learn unless you feel the sting of losing real money. But as soon as Cora disclosed that she had no money anyway the argument was settled pretty quickly, so Melshi, who owned the Sabacc set, procured a stack of tokens that could be used instead of credits. And also a big bag of candy he equally split between the players because ‘people should still feel like they’re winning something’.

Well, Cora was losing. Big time. It seemed like the whole concept of beginner’s luck had decided to take a vacation in a sunny place, so the plastic tokens and piles of candy were leaving her grasp at an alarming rate. Even with Cassian leaning on the back of her chair, looking at her cards over her shoulders, her losing streak couldn’t be broken. She was cursed, she decided.

“I did have a good hand before the shift,” she whined, frowning at her cards as if that could change anything. The shift, a random pulse that could occur any time during the game, was meant to make the whole thing more interesting by changing the values of all the cards in the game, except for those placed face up in the Disruptor Field. Cora hated it, because whatever hand she was building could be lost at any point and she had to start all over again with new cards and renewed frustration.

“Yeah,” Cassian agreed, studying her cards and scratching his beard. He had been giving her advice throughout the game, but he still couldn’t stop the disaster. Nothing could.

She had let him drag her into this madness simply because she wanted to spend some more time with him, but this game ended up not being such a good idea. She didn’t really want to show everyone how stupid she could be with things she wasn’t familiar with, not when there was alcohol involved and everyone joked and she was tired. Cora sighed in frustration. She wished once again that she’d been a little braver and asked Cassian to skip the game and just spend the evening doing something else. Not that she disliked the game, on the contrary, she thought it could be really nice to play with friends, but she just wasn’t in the mood. The certainty that Cassian was going to leave in the morning had stripped her or any sort of enthusiasm.

“At least you didn’t bomb out this time,” Lewella laughed, pointing at Cora’s cards that totaled 7 points, but the laughter soon turned into a hopeless whine. “Unlike me.” With a sigh she let the cards drop on the table and paid the penalty of 500 fake credits and three candy pieces in a secondary pot that Cora couldn’t remember how you won. Idiot something?

“So Melshi wins again?” Intelligence Agent Rodma Maddel asked, eyeing Melshi’s pile of plastic chips with more than a little envy. He had the most wins, with Lieutenant Selfa, who Cora just met tonight, close behind.

“Not so fast,” Selfa said, revealing his own cards. “Show your cards, Melshi. Let’s see what you got.”

Melshi started grinning and Cora knew they would bicker for a while, they had been doing it throughout the game, so she turned her attention towards Cassian, who was casually resting his forearms on her shoulders, making her hyper aware of his presence. She wondered if he did it intentionally, or was he naturally a bit of a tease and didn’t even realize it. He noticed her staring and raised an eyebrow. “It’s all your fault I’m losing,” she said, poking his cheek with a finger, making him pull back a little.

“And how is it my fault?” he asked, totally unperturbed by the accusation, a tiny smile in the corner of his mouth.

“You’re bad luck,” Cora concluded, mirroring his smile.

“I remember you telling me I was lucky. Have you changed your mind, Doctor?” he said in a low voice, that could easily be lost in the colourful assortment of noise that surrounded them. “But it’s ok, if you don’t want my help anymore...” He smirked, knowing full well that she wasn’t sure what the numbers on the cards were without his help.

“No, no! I want your help, but I want it to actually be… helpful,” she demanded, aware that he couldn’t make miracles happen, but asking nonetheless.

“You’d better do what she says, Andor, and try not make her angry,” Lewella said, leaning back into her chair to take a better look at Cassian. “She’s got dirt on you and she’s not afraid to use it.”

“Does she?” asked Jav Mefran, who was seated right next to Cora. He was a really nice man (with an odd obsession for rainforests and penchant for alcohol) that had helped her move Ben from the dungeons to her room a few months back.

“She doesn’t,” Cassian promptly denied, but Cora was silently nodding.

Mefran started laughing and refilled some of the empty cups on the table. Cora’s was still almost full, since this time no one forced her to down it all in one gulp, nor did she feel like drowning her embarrassment in alcohol, so she refrained from drinking too much. The memory of the hangover she had the first time was still fresh in her memory and she still found the taste revolting. However she found out that the candy Melshi had split between them had a strong and unfamiliar taste, perfect for masking the stench of jet juice, so she kept popping them into her mouth when she thought no one was looking.

“If I don’t, then how come you’re helping me tonight?” she asked Cassian, smiling innocently at him.

“I thought I was doing it out of the goodness of my heart.”

“Cassian, you have no heart. Wait, no, that is Melshi,” Lewella said, throwing a piece of candy at Melshi’s head, narrowly missing him.

“Leave me out of whatever that is,” Meshi yelled from the other end of the table, still pretty deep in his debate with Selfa.

“Don’t deny it, Andor, I heard the word blackmail this morning.” Lewella turned back to Cassian. “And you should know that I offered to buy whatever she has on you, but she said that as long as you’ve agreed to pay the price she asked, she’s not gonna sell. That’s real friendship,” she said, lifting her cup. “And you should cherish it because every other person around this table would sell you for a crate of Corellian Brandy. Wait, even a bottle would do it for me.” She took a big gulp of alcohol. “That’s loyalty!” she emphasized.

“Well, tell that to Draven,” Cora mumbled, rubbing the spot on her wrist where one of the bracelets used to be.

“Listen to me, if you have something on Cassian, hold on to it, and never let him go,” Mefran said, an all knowing grin on his face. His greying beard made him look like he actually knew what he was talking about, especially when he used a fake academic tone and pointed at you with his index. “He’s a very useful individual, if you can control him.”

Cora felt Cassian’s arms leaving her shoulders as he straightened his back. She didn’t turn around to see him, but she could imagine the dirty look he was throwing Mefran. “What are you teaching her, Mefran?”

“The important things in life, my boy,” the older man replied. “Listen to me,” he told Cora, leaning closer to her. “Don’t let him go. Never ask for a big thing in exchange of what you have on him. Start with small things, tell him they add up and if he plays by your rules, you’ll eventually set him free. But never do so. Soon enough he’ll do whatever you want, because you’ll always tell him that the next time will be the last time and he won’t waste all those years of efforts he put into it.”

“Years?” Cassian seemed appalled by it, and Cora couldn’t help but laugh. An evil, maniacal laughter. “Please don’t give her ideas.”

“I have to nurture my evil gene. Now, we can start with 200 credits because I am all out of tokens,” she said, wiggling her fingers towards Cassian, who pretended he didn’t hear her.

While she wasn’t paying attention it seemed that the argument at the other end of the table was over and Melshi was once again the winner, so he cleaned the table of tokens. Now, after counting, she was only left with three pieces of candy and around 150 fake credits, not nearly enough to play a round of Sabacc. “Or I can sit this out and let someone else play, since I suck anyway.”

“I can lend you some tokens, if you promise to pay me back later 50 actual credits for them,” Melshi offered, gesturing towards the huge pile of tokens he had won that night. He looked really proud of himself.

In exchange, Cora threw him a displeased look. “I appreciate your entrepreneurial spirit, but I wouldn’t be able to pay you back since I have no solid source of income,” she said, rather full of bitterness. She wasn’t much of a spender - there wasn’t much to spend on in the military anyway - but she still wished she had at least some pocket money. She still resented the Alliance for confiscating her 20000 credits.

“You’ll have a paycheck soon enough,” Lewella said, shrugging. “They can’t continue not paying you now that you’re not a prisoner anymore. But that doesn’t mean you have to make a deal with Melshi.”

Cora suddenly became hyper aware of the new bracelet she had on and made an effort not to play with it. It was thinner and looser than the others had been, dangling on her wrist. It was silver and didn’t look like handcuffs anymore, but it was still a weird new feeling. She compared it with the one Lewella was wearing and noticed they were very similar models. The biggest difference was that Cora couldn’t take it off.

However, she noticed she was feeling a little relieved, now that the initial annoyance had passed. She was making baby steps, but she had been stupid thinking that gaining her freedom would be easy. When she left, she thought the moment she would be out the star destroyer’s gates she’d be free, but now she knew that she’d never be free from the Empire unless it fell and crumbled. They would always be looking for her, and you can’t really be free if you have to hide who you are forever. At least here she was safe. For now.

“See, 50 credits isn’t that much…” Melshi pressed, despite the glare Lewella was throwing him.

“I refuse to make deals with you. I have a feeling it’s quite counterproductive.”

“Oh, come on!”

“Can we hurry and play another round because it’s getting late,” Lieutenant Selfa interrupted them. That made Cora look at the clock and realize that it was indeed pretty late. They had started playing around midnight and they’d been playing for a while, so Cora calculated how many hours of sleep she could get if she went to her room now: finding her way through the corridors, then changing, taking a shower, falling asleep… not too many.

“I think I’m going to to head back now, I have an early shift tomorrow,” she said, trying to get up, but Lewella’s hand appeared on her shoulder and firmly pushed her back down.

“So do I, but you can’t bail on the last game of the night,” Lewella threatened. “One more round and we’re all going to bed.”

Cora groaned. She was already tired, the turmoil of the day having drained her of energy, and she would rather sleep than lose another game. She could only be humiliated so many times in one single evening. “Still no credits,” she mumbled, pointing at whatever was left of her pile.

“Well then you can bet on something else,” Melshi suggested, the grin on his face hinting at nothing good.

“I am not betting my clothes,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest, throwing him an icy glare.

“What? No. That’s for another time,” he laughed, “when there’s more alcohol involved and you actually know how to play, so you won’t say I’m taking advantage of you.”

“Mhm.”

“No, I mean you can bet a favour. Whomever wins, gets a favour from you, nothing big, though. And if you win the game, you’ll get a favour from me, anything you want. Sweet deal, isn’t it?”

“Nope. I still don’t trust you.”

“Don’t break my heart, Cora.”

“What heart?” Lewella grinned and Cora snorted.

“Well then, if that’s how you wanna play, I’ll be nice and accept your shoes.”

“Or,” Lewella sighed, “she can have half my tokens.” She split the pile in half and pushed a part in front of Cora. “Settled. Now let’s play and go to bed, because this is the third night I’ve been losing sleep and it’s beginning to show.”

“What have you been doing Lew?” Cassian laughed, taking a seat besides Melshi.

“None ya business. Are you playing?”

“Yeah,” he replied, tapping his fingers on the table.

“Wait!” Cora exclaimed, realizing what that meant. “Who’s gonna help me?”

“You said I was bad luck, maybe you’ll be luckier on your own.” The smirk on Cassian’s face making her frown.

“Doubt it. But let’s do this,” she sighed, feeling dejected before even starting. It wasn’t a good feeling knowing you suck at something, and even worse when others were there to witness it.

“Alright! Let’s do this!” Lewella exclaimed, with renewed enthusiasm. She seemed to have unending reserves of energy, that she tapped into at the most random times.

Melshi expertly shuffled the cards and started dealing them. Cora grabbed hers, and and studied them: -11 and 3. She felt too tired to think of a strategy, so she decided she would just let the cards come until she would bomb out, she had nothing to lose anyway. Or she won the game, if the gods of luck decided to have mercy on her today.

The game wasn’t that hard, after all she had studied medicine for many years and she wasn’t that stupid that she couldn’t learn how to play a card game, but there was this luck component that annoyed her. After the second round of betting the pulse changed the values of all the cards in her hand. She didn’t even bother counting the new total, instead she shifted her attention towards the other players.

They were all surprisingly lively for the late hour. She assumed that by now they would have grown tired and mellowed out a little, but since Cassian entered the game they seemed invigorated. Especially Lewella, who kept saying that she would win this game because the God of Sabacc was on her side.

It was the first time she’d seen Cassian play. If you’d only known him during work hours you would have never assumed he could be so relaxed, smiling and bantering with his fellow players. Contrary to what Cora had imagined, he wasn’t the reserved player with an unreadable face, but instead was constantly boasting and exchanging insults with Melshi. She assumed the alcohol had played a part in that too, the slight flush on his cheeks hinting at this. They all had work in the morning, so there was substantially less alcohol involved than last time, but it was enough to loosen the tongues and lift the spirits.

“So, Cora, you losing or winning this time?” Melshi asked, winking at her.

“No idea, I haven’t looked at the cards since the last shift.”

“Oh, relying solely on luck, that’s a dangerous thing,” Mefran shared some of his wisdom.

“You know what they say, Mef, go big or go home,” Rodma laughed. “And speaking of going big, let’s finish this game,” she said, pushing her whole pile of tokens towards the main pot. “Last round.”

“I will go big then immediately after I will go home,” Cora laughed, pushing her pile to the middle too. “I’m all out of fucks to give.”

“So this is how you girls wanna play?” Melshi asked, and from the sudden drop in enthusiasm, Cora assumed his cards weren’t that good. Still, he pushed everything to the middle and everyone else followed.

And then they started showing their cards. Jav Mefran had bombed out, Rodma had -17, Selfa had 15, Melshi had 17, Cora had, surprisingly 20, a number that could have won her the game but both Cassian and Lewella had 22 points which called for a Sudden Demise. When two players have an equal winning hand both of them have to draw a card and the best new total would be the winning hand.

“So it’s just you and me in the end, Andor,” Lewella said, leaning back into her chair. “So many years of friendship on the line. And it all comes down to only two cards,” she said, dramatically, as if they had never betted against each other before.

“Let the best one win?” Cassian said, pushing the pack of cards towards her, a smirk playing on his lips.

Cora’s stomach did a double flip, becoming much too aware of how good he looked that night. He looked well rested, something that wasn’t that usual for him, his beard and hair were trimmed and his uniform, although still pretty worn out, looked clean. This seemed to be the most put together version of Cassian she’d seen until now. She tried imagining him dressed up in formal wear, but the image in her head was too ridiculous to be taken seriously.

“I’m better than you no matter the result,” Lewella said, making an obscene gesture towards him.

“Or you can both bomb out and Cora wins,” Melshi butted in, a shit eating grin on his face. Cora assumed that seeing his friends lose and not seeing her win was giving him so much pleasure.

“Or you can shut up.” Lewella threw him a dirty look before pulling out a card.

“But I already lost. Can I still win?” she asked as Cassian pulled a card from the deck and put it face down on the table, without even looking at it. This air of nonchalance with which he handled the cards was so different from his normal stiff demeanor, and Cora found herself staring once again.

“If both of those idiots bomb out the next best hand wins. Yours in this case,” Melshi explained.

“Awesome!” Cora said, her face erupting into a grin. So there was still a minuscule chance for her to not be a total failure tonight. “I hope you guys lose,” she confessed.

“Wow, Cora. After I lent you fake money so you could still play, this is how you repay me?” Lewella pretended to be hurt.

“If I don’t win I can’t pay you back.” It was a lie, she just wanted to win so she could feel better about herself.

“It’s ok, you can just pay me back 50 real credits from your first paycheck from the Rebellion,” she said, turning her card over, and counting the points once again.

“Can’t we let the girl win just this once?” Melshi asked, seeming to care a lot about Cora now that he had no chance of winning. “Since it’s her party after all. Let’s not be dicks and kick her ass every time.”

“If you were a tiny bit more condescending, I’d think you’re related to Draven,” Cora snorted.

“How do you know I’m not?” Melshi said, grinning widely. “He could be my daddy for all I know.”

“Too young,” Mefran laughed.

“Well, Cora, your wish came true,” Lewela said, crossing her arms over her chest and throwing a really dirty look in Cora’s direction.

“I’m sorry,” she said, patting her dejected friend’s shoulder, even though she was laughing inside. Now that she had a real chance at winning, the game suddenly became a little more enticing. “I’m going to share my candy with you if I win. And if I don’t I will just join you in suffering.”

Lewella rested her head on the table, groaning. “I hate you. But,” she said, getting up again, “now that you cursed me, you better win.” The icy glare she threw Cora made her swallow her giggle. It was funny how much Lewella seemed to care about this game.

Cassian, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care about it at all. But he had been really excited while explaining the rules to her, so Cora assumed he was just pretending to be as laid back as he was.

“So, Doctor,” he said, playing with the face down card on the table, “speaking of favours…”

“You’re not getting a ‘get-out-of-hospital-free’ card if you win. No way,” she said.

“Does he really need one?” Rodma asked, laughing. “You may have to win a ‘keep-him-in-hospital’ card if you want him to stay.”

“It’s ok, I have sedatives and restraints for that,” she chuckled. “There is no favour to win, Captain, just a bunch of fake credits and candy.”

The idea of having Cassian owe her a favour was really enticing at that point, but the mischievous look in his eyes made her think twice before risking to owe him one. She was sure he could get creative in his demands, even though, if they were of a certain nature, she was sure she wouldn’t mind that much.

“Are you sure?” Mefran asked, scratching his beard. “It would be a pretty big deal to win. Plus, the game would actually have a purpose.”

“Pretty sure.”

“You’re a coward,” Lewella added.

“I’m not a coward, I’m cautious,” Cora explained, but Lewella didn’t seemed convinced. “Look at him, would you risk owing him a favour?” They both glanced at Cassian who was currently looking surprisingly harmless.

“I’ve done dumber things in my life,” Lewella sighed, and Cora made a mental note to ask her one day what those were. Knowing her, they would be pretty outrageous and funny stories.

Cassian still looked suspiciously innocent. He seemed to have changed his demeanor in the blink of an eye. He was a spy, she remembered, and one of the best. He was supposed to be able to trick people into liking and trusting him. She wasn’t going to fall into his trap.

“Still no,” she said, pursing her lips.

“As you wish,” he said, flipping the card. Everyone leaned over the table to take a better look. It was a -2, which meant his new total was 20. He had won. The bastard had won.

“I have a feeling you cheated,” Cora frowned, leaning back into her chair. “You were way too sure of yourself. You knew you were going to win.”

“I didn’t cheat,” he defended himself. “And I didn’t know I was going to win.”

“You did,” Cora threw him a dirty look.

“Did you see me cheat? Did anyone see me cheat?”

There were a few shrugs and mumbles, but no one backed Cora up. “I still think you cheated.”

“You’re just a sore loser, Cora,” Melshi said, starting to clean the table, so everyone got up and followed his example.

“I’m allowed to be a sore loser. I lost every game tonight,” she mumbled, while putting the mugs aside so Melshi could gather the Sabacc set.

“I’m a loser too,” Lewella whined, leaning onto Cora’s shoulders, being the drama queen she always was.

“Yes. Now get off of me because you’re heavy,” Cora said, trying to shake her off.

“Heartless,” Lewella mumbled.

They finished cleaning up in record time, everyone eager to be done with it and be off to bed. No matter how much they enjoyed drinking and gambling they were all very aware that they had work in the morning. Cora especially, even though she was more aware that she won’t be seeing Cassian for god knows how long after tomorrow. She hadn’t expected something like this to matter so much, after all she was used to be away from the people she cared about, but here she was, moping because her crush - she couldn’t even call him boyfriend - was going away on a mission.

They turned off the music and the lights and left the room. The corridors resounded with their jokes and laughter, a sound so foreign in the usually silent underground. They were walking in almost complete darkness, the only light coming from Rodma’s flashlight, but it was enough for Cora to see the steps and turns and not fall to her face. Lewella had latched onto her arm and was making small talk with Lieutenant Selfa. Cassian was a few steps behind her, walking in silence. She could feel him more than she heard him, because even after drinking a few shots of liquor he was still as silent as ever.

Cora wished once again that she could spend a few moments alone with Cassian. Walking through the dark corridors reminded her of the time he walked her home. Her head was a lot clearer this time, but she still wanted to kiss him until she was out of breath. Unfortunately, she remembered how he didn’t kiss her this morning in the elevator, so maybe he wasn’t that interested in her anymore.

“This is where I leave you,” she announced, once they arrived in the lit part of the catacombs. Her room was opposite from the elevators, so she had to say goodbye now. “Thank you all for the party, I had a lot of fun. And now I know how to play Sabacc, a skill I will hopefully never need…”

“You never know,” Melshi said, waving her goodbye. “Maybe one day your life will depend on it.”

“Gods, I hope not…”

“See you tomorrow!” Lewella gave her a bone crushing hug. “I’ve heard we’ll have a supply shipment so arm yourself with patience.”

“Awesome,” Cora groaned, already knowing that it would be a terrible shift.

“Maybe if you get bored of working in the med bay you can request a transfer to Storage, you’re already used to the place,” Cassian offered, gaining a death glare from Cora and a stifled laugh from Lewella.

“I am pretty sure I can hide your dead body in C3 and no one would ever find it,” Cora threatened.

“You may be right,” he agreed. “But you’d have to kill me first.”

“Doable. Anyway, take care tomorrow,” she said, once Lewella had turned around and wasn’t paying attention. “I have enough work without having to patch you up.”

“One minute ago you’re threatening to kill me and the next you’re telling me to be careful?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t want them to deprive me of the pleasure of murdering you myself,” she said, trying to somehow hide how much she actually worried.

He chuckled. “I’ll try my best,” he said taking a few steps down the hall.

“And make sure Lewella goes to bed. I have a feeling that if you leave her alone she’ll find someone willing to drink with her until morning. And that wouldn't be a problem but I need her to be functional tomorrow,” Cora said, earning an obscene gesture from Lewella and a nod of approval from Cassian.

And so they were gone. She could still hear the rowdy bunch as she opened the door to her room. She felt a little lonely, she admitted. She always had roommates, right until she moved to the Star Destroyer, and no matter how much she loved the comfort of living alone, it was sometimes too silent. The only sound in the underground room was the constant whirring of the ventilation system and the quiet clicking noise Ben’s tank was making.

She looked at the alarm clock and realized it was terribly late, but the nervousness that had been ever present since morning hadn’t subsided, so even if her body and mind were aching for rest she knew it would be hard to fall asleep. A shower would help, she hoped.

She lazily took off her clothes and discarded them into the laundry basket. Before she stepped into the shower, she took a peak in the mirror. She had lost some weight, she noticed. Either that, or the lack of physical exercise was making her lose her shape. She knew she should be hitting the gym from time to time, but without it being mandatory it was hard to find the time or energy to do it. The scar was still visible on her back, a bright, angry pink staining the scarred area. She scrunched her nose and stepped into the shower.

She spent longer that necessary just letting the water run through her hair and over her body, the sensation calming her nerves and easing the tension in her muscles. It was one of those very few moments of peace, when even the voice in her head had quieted down. When she stepped out, all warm and clean, she was ready to sleep. What she wasn’t ready for was a knock on her door.

At first, she thought it was her imagination, the knock more of a soft tapping than a loud and furious bang. But then came the second knock, just as weak as the first, but as clear as day, so all doubt was gone. Over the time she had gotten used to recognizing all sounds that were out of the ordinary, and a knock on her door in the middle of the night was certainly out of the ordinary. Unless it was an emergency. She hastily wrapped herself into a towel and hurried to the door, hoping she wouldn’t trip and fall in the process.

She relaxed once she opened the door and saw Cassian on her doorstep. Not that he couldn’t be the bearer of bad news, on the contrary, if anything bad happened she expected to see him, but there was something about the casual almost laid-back way he leaned on her doorframe and the smirk in the corner of his mouth that convinced her an emergency wasn’t the purpose of this late night visit.

She leaned on the other side of the door copying his stance, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Long time no see,” she said, smiling cheekily at him.

“I may have cheated,” he admitted, and even though she didn’t expect him to be ashamed, she certainly didn’t expect him to look so damn proud of it.

“May have?” she asked, arching an eyebrow. “That’s a little vague, Captain. Not much of a confession.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t do something as despicable as cheat on a card game,” he chuckled. His eyes drifted to the exposed skin above her towel, a shadow of lust darkening his eyes. “But I may have influenced the result a little bit.”

She could feel herself starting to blush, a warm feeling taking over her body. He came back, and she could tell from the way his eyes lingered on her cleavage that he wasn’t here for another round of Sabacc. It was another game he wanted to play, one that she liked to think she was at least a little better at. One that she actually wanted to play.

“A little bit,” she repeated, extending her hand and straightening a barely visible wrinkle on his jacket, then letting it fall over his rank badge, following its outline with the tip of her finger.

“A little bit.”

“Aha, so you had to make sure I didn’t win. So I had to owe you a favour,” she said, pretending to be upset, even though she was sure it wasn’t very credible acting. “And now you couldn’t sleep because this was clouding your conscience, Captain?”

“Or maybe,” he said, catching her hand in his, making her heart skip a beat, “I couldn’t sleep because you didn’t wish me ‘goodnight’.”

There was a certain softness to him, one that she hadn’t really noticed before. It made him look younger, it made him look gentle, something that didn’t usually come to mind when you saw his usual frown and serious demeanor. That, coupled with the seductive way he was looking at her, made him really hard to resist. Not that she ever thought of resisting him, quite the opposite.

“Well, you didn’t wish me goodnight either,” she teased.

“Perhaps I didn’t want the night to end,” he said, bringing her hand up to his lips and placing a tentative kiss on the palm of her hand.

She grinned, the anticipation making her heart beat faster, and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him into her room. “Then you should come in,” she offered, taking a few steps back towards the center of the room. “And stay for… a coffee... that I definitely don’t have.”

He laughed, but gladly followed her inside, the door automatically closing behind him. The only light in the room was coming from the open door of the bathroom and the tiny light bulb in Ben’s tank, creating an accidental atmospheric lighting that was quite pleasant.

He didn’t waste any time and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her closer. Cora eagerly fell into his embrace; the ache for his touch was almost physical, so she pressed herself into his chest and put her arms around his neck, burying her fingers into his soft hair. He took a moment to really look at her, before he did anything else. She could see her own desire mirrored in his beautiful brown eyes, but also something else, she noticed as she started getting lost into his gaze. A sort of longing, maybe.

Slowly and almost hesitantly he pressed his lips to hers. It was a tender kiss at first, so different from the few they had shared before, an almost chaste brushing of lips that sent shivers down her spine, but the gentleness lasted only a few seconds, and as lust took over it turned into a hungry, almost desperate kiss. He lightly bit her lip prompting her to open her mouth just enough for him to gain access. In response, she dug her nails into his scalp and scratched the back of his neck. He grinned and kissed her even harder.

Her towel, already precariously tied around her, had given in and was now slipping off, only held in place by their bodies pressing together. Cassian took advantage of the sudden revealing to explore the roundness of her now bare ass, kneading her flesh with the fervour and neediness of someone who hadn’t touched anyone else in a long time. Cora gasped, his hands finally where she wanted them, finally touching her like she had dreamt of for so long.

She could feel him getting hard, his growing erection pushing into her hip, so she brought a hand between his legs and started stroking him through the coarse material of his trousers, making him swallow hard and squeeze her ass every time she applied a little more pressure.

When they broke the kiss, they were already panting. Their hearts were racing, adrenaline running through their veins, minds clouded by lust. Cassian’s hair, savagely mistreated by Cora’s restless hands was now sticking up. His cheeks were flushed and his lips parted, pink from all the biting and sucking. She couldn’t help but giggle at the sight. He was a really handsome man, she thought. Yes, a little rough around the edges, but it was those edges she liked so much. Especially in moments like these when he wasn’t all serious and composed.

She took a few steps towards the bed, the towel falling to the ground leaving her completely naked before him. She could feel him looking, even as she turned around, and was thankful for the dim light in the room, that hopefully didn’t accentuate all her imperfections. Yet, despite her insecurities, she still wanted him to look. She wanted him to look and she wanted him to like her just as much as she liked him.

He followed her and placed his hands on her back, his fingers gently tracing the outline of her scar. She kept her head down so hopefully he couldn’t see how furiously she was blushing. “You’re very beautiful,” he said, his voice a low whisper in her ear as he pulled her closer to his chest, his jacket feeling rough against her back, but it didn’t matter. He started kissing down her neck, sucking and nibbling at the delicate skin. Cora felt like she was melting under his touch, her mind a little blurry, her whole body burning with lust.

“You’re not half bad yourself,” she managed to articulate between shaky inhales. His hands had brushed over her stomach and then gone up to cup her breasts. He gently caressed her nipples, making them perk up under his fingers, his touch feeling almost like electricity on her skin. She could feel his erection rubbing over her ass through his trousers, and she could only imagine how uncomfortable that must have been. “Although, a little overdressed for the occasion,” she added.

“Mm,” he moaned into her neck. “That can be fixed.”

Cora felt a little lost when he broke the embrace, cold air suddenly rushing over her burning skin, but couldn’t help but laugh at how fast he discarded his jacket and kicked off his boots. Speak of the skills you pick up as a soldier: fast to dress up, even faster to undress.

“Almost there,” she said, as she grabbed his shirt and helped him pull it over his head. “Much better.”

It was now her turn to let her hands roam over his chest, enjoying the way his skin felt under her fingers. He kissed her forehead tenderly before bringing her lips back to his in another heated kiss. She unclasped his belt and undid his trousers, finally freeing his penis from its confines. She heard him let out a breath of relief as she did so, and the take in a sharp inhale as she touched him. He felt hard and hot as she started moving up and down, agonizingly slow at first, passing her hand over his length, insisting on his tip, then going down again, still too slow to give him the relief he wanted. She could feel him trying to push back, desperate for more friction, but she decided to tease him a little longer.

“Come on, Cora,” he growled, his gruff voice sending a wave of pleasure through her.

The first time they had sex it was impulsive and rushed, hiding in a cramped room on a spaceship, hurrying to finish so they could get back to base. There was no gentleness, just an almost animalic need to find relief. So this time she wanted to enjoy it, she wanted to really taste him and feel him and let herself come undone under his touch. Who knew if they’d ever have the time to do it again.

She let go of him for a second and brought her hands back to his chest, and in one sudden motion she pushed him onto her bed, meeting very little resistance from him.

“Feisty,” he said, as she climbed on top of him.

“This morning you were complaining that I had mellowed out,” she said, leaning over him to place a few soft kisses on his chest.

“Not complaining anymore,” he said, and then noticed the necklace that was now dangling between her breasts. “You’re still wearing this?” he asked, grabbing the chain.

“Yes.” She sat onto his lap, splaying her hands across his abdomen, idly caressing his scars. “I fear that if I take it off, someone will come and erase my precious memory.”

He laughed and sat up, letting go of the chain. “You think I’d just barge into your room late at night and go through your stuff?” he asked, placing a row of kisses onto her collarbone.

“I think you’d knock first,” she said, but she completely lost her train of thought once his mouth closed over one of her nipples and his attention shifted towards her chest. Her breathing became a little more ragged. She started mindlessly rocking her hips into him, trying to find some friction, but getting almost none. It didn’t take long for him to take the cue and push a hand between her legs, gently pressing it over her clit, giving her exactly what she was looking for. She was already wet enough for him to easily slip two fingers into her. She wasn’t able to think straight anymore, so she just grabbed onto his shoulders and shifted a little to give him better access.

She didn’t know for how long he kept doing that, before she felt herself get hoisted in the air and placed with her back on the bed. She pulled him into a kiss, but he wiggled out of her grasp, leaving a trail of kisses down her chest and abdomen, his stubble pleasantly tickling. He kissed the inside of her thigh, moving down agonizingly slow, a punishment, she thought, for her half assed handjob she gave him earlier, painfuly delaying the moment when his lips would finally meet her sex. And when they did, his tongue reaching deep between her folds, tracing a hot, wet line until finally settling on her clit, she had to bite the back of her hand to stop herself from moaning.

She kept silent even though there was no one that could hear her, but habits die hard. She kept her eyes shut, her breathing becoming more laborious with every flick of his tongue, clutching onto the sheets every time his fingers curled inside her and touched one of her sweet spots. He settled into a steady rhythm of licking and sucking and thrusting his fingers inside her that was threatening to bring her to orgasm much too soon.

“No… not like this,” she moaned, feeling herself dangerously close to coming. “I want you.”

He didn’t need another invitation. He stood up to get rid of the trousers that were already slipping off his hips and he was back on top of Cora in no time. She watched him with a dazed smile on her face and kissed him deeply once he was back in her arms.

Much to her relief, he didn’t waste any more time and entered her in a single thrust, filling her completely. She moaned despite her best efforts and grabbed onto his shoulders for support, angling herself to meet his thrusts. He started slow, but didn’t take long for him to pick up the pace, closing his eyes as pleasure gripped his body, losing himself in the moment. Cora wasn’t thinking straight anymore either, her mind completely taken over by ecstasy, feeling like she had no control over her body anymore. The only thing she could focus on was how good he felt inside her, how much she needed him to get her off.

It didn’t take long for her to fall apart under him, waves of pleasure washing over her, making her shudder and clench around him. He came shortly after her, his whole body tensing up and finally relaxing. He collapsed on top of her and stayed like that for a while, his face buried in the crook of her neck, his breath tickling her skin. She still held onto his shoulders, holding him close, stroking the skin on his back. It was comforting just staying like that, limbs entangled, skin slick with sweat, minds pleasantly numb.

When he finally rolled over she wasn’t ready to let him go just yet, so she moved closer and snuggled into him. He would be leaving tomorrow anyway, and she didn’t know when she’d see him again and if she’d ever have the opportunity to do this again, so she decided to allow herself to be as clingy as possible.

He didn’t seem to mind, instead pulled her closer and kissed her forehead, a gesture so tender she couldn’t help but feel overcome with happiness. They didn‘t say anything for a long time, they just laid there in silence. Maybe there was nothing to say, or maybe there was too much and none of them knew how to start. Cora was grateful for it, delaying the moment when she’d have to face her feelings, as always. Right now she was happy and content and that was all that mattered. Tomorrow was another day and she’d deal with it then.

She could feel weariness quickly taking over, her eyelids getting heavier and heavier, her body pleasantly warm and snug in his embrace. Before she fell asleep, she looked over to Cassian expecting to see him sleeping, but noticing he was wide awake, staring at the ceiling. She shifted a little, grabbing a sheet and covering them both before nestling in his arms again.

“Go to sleep, Cassian,” she mumbled, placing a kiss on his collarbone and then resting her head on his chest.

He pulled her close and nuzzled into her hair, his fingers lazily tracing her spine. “Do you want to leave?” he asked, his voice merely a whisper.

Leave where, in the middle of the night, she asked herself, blinking in confusion. It took her a minute to figure out what he was really asking: if she wanted to leave the Rebellion. A cold shiver ran down her spine when she realized what that could mean. Was he offering to help her escape? He could take her away, if he wanted. Taking her bracelet off wasn’t such a problem and he had the means to leave the base unseen. But that would mean risking his career and his place in the Alliance, and all the trust they had put in him, and if they’d find out what he’d done, she didn’t think they’d just forgive him. Would he be willing to risk it all just to set her free?

And there was a second question she had to ask herself, did she really want to leave? He could take her away someplace safe and drop her there, let her be free, but she realized that she didn’t really want that anymore. She didn’t want to be alone anymore. And she was pretty sure that even if she asked him to stay with her, change their names, leave this war behind and start a new life, the both of them, he’d probably say no.

“Not tonight,” she mumbled, stifling a yawn. “Lewella will kill me if I leave her alone tomorrow,” she joked, trying to diffuse the tension.

He chuckled, and relaxed a little. Cora did the same and in no time she found herself starting to doze off, her worries forgotten for now in the safety of his embrace. She fell asleep in mere minutes, so she never knew if he’d eventually fallen asleep too.

Previous chapter

Masterlist

#cassian andor #cassian andor x ofc #cassian andor x original female character #rogue one #star wars

9 notes · View notes