𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 ✧ 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜, 𝚝𝚘𝚘, 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜

[realists]

who: jyn & cassian & friends
what: housewarming party
when: mid-august
where: jyn & cassian's home
warnings:

--

It's not a very inviting text but since technically Jyn did invite the recipients to come to a location at a predetermined time, that counts as an invitation and Cassian cannot complain. The location is a small cottage home, space masonry covered in the same creeping leafy ivy as the rest of the moon, an overgrown garden on the side of the house being (what looks like violently) cut back to make room for the fresh plots of tiny herbs, each carefully labeled. There's a welcome mat and the door is open with the sounds of music drifting out of the screen door.

(Side note: none of that was there if early recon happened on the [LOCATION], so jot that down. This happened nearly overnight.)

Once inside, it's... shit, is it a party? Is it a party in Jyn and Cassian's new home that they got without telling anyone, moving in the cloak of night so that they could steal literally all of the furniture in their apartment that wasn't nailed down? Well, the shrimp dispenser is there in the kitchen and Jyn's wall of herbs are still there so that must be the case.

That's 100% what happened.

The kitchen is full of food, made by Cassian, and alcohol, and there is a small ginger cat prowling around and a small grey pile of fluff that occasionally makes a noise so it must be alive, the music is low enough to hold a conversation, and of course there is shrimp. Never ending bottomless shrimp. This is the extent of the party but be grateful that a year after Jyn and Cassian arrived in the Quarantine, they're inviting their, like, five friends to their home. Some people have never even seen the apartment, but that time has passed. Pour one out.

In addition to the food, there is one single cake, homemade, because turns out this party doubles as a joint birthday party. You know, for the birthdays neither of them told anyone about.

Yay! Party!

Comments

[realists]

Jim, there's one more thing.

[ he's already poked his head into the bedroom and guest bedroom (which is still boggling to jyn, to have more than one room, to have space that is her own that belongs to her, like honestly what the fuck) and the bathroom, so she figures she'll show him the one thing he isn't likely to find on his own. she touches one of the wall panels for the lights and a slim staircase descends from the ceiling, opening up the route to the attic.

jyn gestures, as if to say after you. it's a very small attic, only jyn would be able to stand up straight, but it has a beautiful skylight and a mattress somehow shoved in there by will alone, piled high with blankets and pillows so it resembles something of a nest, the whole thing illuminated by the setting sun and the fairy lights strung up across the ceiling.

quietly, so no one else at the party can overhear: ] It was my birthday present from Cassian.

[winscenario]

[ He's poked his head into just about every spot in the house, he's shameless and it's not like either Jyn or Cassian have told him to stop, so. You know, all in the family. He's obviously curious when Jyn calls him over, perking up and following her down the hallway, eyebrows raising when a staircase comes down from the ceiling.

He wastes no time climbing up, stunned into silence by what he finds up there. Though not able to sand upright, he still crawls in, sitting on the edge of the mattress and looking up at the window. ]

Wow. [ Smiling at Jyn, ] Victor never built me an attic room.

[ But he did recreate his lab from home just for him, which to a literature nerd like Jim, is about a hundred times better. ]

[realists]

Did you build Victor an attic room? [ jyn counters easily, perching on the edge of the opening. she knows cassian is the more romantic of the two of them because the compartmentalize their issues differently, but jim has no excuse. especially since he's cassian's go to for emotional advice. ]

Besides Cassian didn't build it, it came with the house. He filled it.

[ credit where credit is due. it's her favorite place on the entire moon, but he didn't build it. he's not a carpenter. ]

[winscenario]

Well, no, but I am building us a pool in our backyard.

[ And yes, he is literally taking part in the actual construction. Not that anyone's keeping score or anything. Besides, Lucy and their dog are bound to enjoy the pool more than the two of them, but anyway. ]

It's still a very nice spot. Very... you. [ Glancing at Jyn. ] Is this your actual room, or... more like a safe haven for when you want to be alone?

[realists]

Safe haven. You've already snooped in our room.

[ not that she cares, otherwise she would have stopped him. jim had already seen their apartment so he's already seen all the furnishings, now they're just in rooms. with some additional furnishings in the guest bedroom because they have that now, which is absurd. ]

It is the best room in the house though.

[winscenario]

[ Jim nods. It's true, he did, and he's not the least bit embarrassed about it. The possibility that Jyn and Cassian might have separate rooms doesn't even cross his mind, because they shared a bed before they moved here, and they're practically joined at the hip by now, anyway. ]

I agree. It's amazing. [ He looks up at the window again, all the stars clear in the sky. If he had a room like this in his house, he'd want to sleep there every single night. ]

[realists]

It's better in the morning, you can see another small planet at dawn just before it gets lost under the horizon. [ not to mention the capital world itself looks beautiful in the morning, all pastels under soft, dewy light. she loves the stars, but the sunrise is the absolute best.

too bad she's not a morning person by any means. ]

Do you miss it? Being out there.

[winscenario]

Sounds beautiful. [ But don't worry Jyn, he won't invade your very personal space just so he can watch that. He's always liked the night sky more, anyway— even though he is, in fact, a morning person. Bright and glowing and smiling the moment he opens his eyes.

He presses his lips at the question, letting his weight fall back on the mattress with a sigh. ]

Every damn day. [ He could've lied, but what's the point really? ] I have the shuttle, but... it's just not the same.

[realists]

[ disgusting. no wonder he and cassian are friends. morning people, ugh. ]

I didn't think I'd miss it, but this is the longest I've been in one place since I was... a teenager.

[ so like last week. ]

I miss new places.

[winscenario]

[ Jim thinks it too, but he doesn't say it. She's being open and honest and he wants to get as much as he can out of that. If he teases her, she might close in on herself again. ]

Yeah. You and me both. [ He sighs. ] Been thinking about doing a full trip around the moon. Find some new spots. There's one abandoned city, so there might even be others out there.

[ Tilting his head to look at her. ] You could come along if you want to.

[realists]

I'd like that. [ her nose crinkles up in thought. ] I don't get the appeal of flying, but I've always loved finding new places to explore.

[winscenario]

[ Jim scoffs playfully. How dare she not get the appeal, it's awesome. ]

Yeah, we're bound to find a lot of those during such a long trip, so you'd no doubt have a lot to entertain yourself. [ He smiles a bit at her. ] And I like being out there with you. You're good, and you've got my back. I trust you.

[realists]

[ it's not, but whatever jim (and cassian, and bodhi, and has, and hadder, why is she surrounded by pilots???) ]

Cassian finally signed off on my overly thorough flying lessons, so I can even be your copilot. [ they were exactly thorough enough, but they felt!!! so long!!! ] We can leave Victor and Cassian behind and run away together finally.

[ l m a o she can't even say it with a straight face, mouth twisting into a lopsided, surprisingly carefree smile ]

[winscenario]

[ Sounds like you have a type, Jyn. Just saying. ]

Oh, thank God! [ He sighs dramatically, placing a hand over his chest. ] I was starting to think it was never going to happen.

[ He grins back at her, chuckling a little. ] You have a really nice smile, Jyn.

[realists]

[ jyn rolls her eyes so immediately it can't be anything more than a default to jim being nice to her. ugh gross. ]

Contain yourself, Captain, we haven't run away yet.

[ she is still smiling though, so there's that. ]

[winscenario]

But I'm so happy, I don't know if I can.

[ Case in point, he boldly and shamelessly leans in to press a kiss to her cheek. She hates that, he knows. He also doesn't care. ]

[realists]

[ jyn doesn't, say, shove jim out the skylight or down the stairs because apparently murder amongst friends is rude according to what poe told her when she was a little girl. but she also doesn't jerk away or wipe her cheek with the back of her hand like she is still a little girl.

she simply accepts jim's affection without complaint for the first and possibly last time. ]

It's almost a year since we've known each other, you know.

[winscenario]

[ He's learning that when in small and interspersed doses, Jyn isn't averse to some gestures of affection. He wouldn't do this kind of thing in front of a lot of people either, or purposefully try to embarrass her. For now he's very glad that she doesn't push him away nor does she reject the gesture in any way. ]

Yeah, I know. I've been keeping track. [ He raises an eyebrow at her. ] Thought you didn't care about stuff like that.

[realists]

I don't, but I know you do.

[ and her gift to him, her anniversary gift to him is acknowledging that she did keep track of her friendship with him because it is very important to her. not many people can get her to open up or relax or be playful and jim is almost always successful. he pushes only as far as she's willing to go and she appreciates that so much.

this life that she's built on this little green moon, this is the life her father had wanted her to have. a life where she was safe and happy and free from war. it took too long but she finally did right by her papa. ]

I haven't known someone for this long in something like five years. [ hadn't bothered, had left before anyone could stick around, including jyn. even her prison sentence hadn't made it past seven months. ] Don't let it go to your head, but I'm glad it's you. And I'm glad you're my friend, Jim Kirk.

[winscenario]

[ He couldn't put to words how much that means to him. He knows how Jyn is— it's not that she doesn't care, or that there's nothing that matters to her, but there are things that matter, and things that just don't. The fact that what matters to him, by extension, matters to her, makes him happier than he can say.

He looks over at her, smiling, quietly watching her with fondness in his eyes. Wordlessly he reaches out and wraps his arms around her in a hug, kissing her temple almost tenderly. Sorry, she'll have to fight him if she doesn't want him doing that, because it's happening. ]

I'm glad you're my friend too, Jyn. [ He huffs a soft chuckle. ] You're more like a sister to me, at this point. Is that weird?

[realists]

[ jyn groans, but she lets jim hug her, going so far as to briefly curl her arms around his waist, patting his back idly. this can also be her present to jim. he is full up on presents for the next ten years.

hearing him call her sister twists something in her gut and for a moment she might even actively hold him, remembering the rumble of baze's low voice as he clapped his hand on her shoulder and said good luck, little sister. she'd been desperate to know what the significance of the words were when the holographic remnants of rogue one came to the moon earlier in the year.

baze had laughed at her, of course, because what else could "little sister" mean? ]

No.

[ she tucks her forehead against jim's shoulder, suddenly overwhelmed because she's spent so long making her feelings small and untraceable that even a small hint of emotion is still liable to make her stumble, and her fingers tighten against his shirt, unintentionally dragging this hug out longer than probably expected. ]

[winscenario]

[ Jyn's reaction is a little surprising, but at the same time not really. Jim doesn't seem too caught off-guard at least, even if it might be as much emotion as Jyn's ever expressed willingly in front of him, without trying to hide it or simply running away from him so he won't see it.

He doesn't point it out. He barely dares breathing for fear that she might pull away immediately. He lets his arms stay around her for as long as she lets him, petting the back of her head gently.

It's fine, really. He wishes he could just make her stop being so afraid of showing when she cares, but this is— it's good enough. To him, anyway. He's never really needed Jyn to tell him in so many words, and right now this gesture alone is worth more than anything she could've ever told him. ]

[realists]

[ ugh feelings!! jyn doesn't want any of them!! but they are here and she wants them to go away. she can't shove them down fast enough but jim is giving her ample opportunity to hide against him and she takes it.

eventually she draws back, mouth slanted in an idle frown. ]

Don't gloat. [ not that she thinks he would! but. just in case. ]

[winscenario]

[ Jim’s genuinely surprised that Jyn is accepting all this affection without protest, and even showing some of her own, but as they say: don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. He holds her for as long as he’s allowed, and lets her go the moment he feels her start to pull away. ]

I won’t! [ God why are y’all always giving him crap about that?? ] But I can still be happy about it, right?

[ Even if he can’t, well too bad. Happening anyway. ]

[realists]

[ it's weird! that he is happy for them. it's weird, for her, that anyone cares about her at all. someone caring about her this much is completely foreign. she doesn't think jim would gloat, not really, but it's still difficult for her to parse the difference between genuine happiness and someone's satisfaction that they found a weak spot in her. ]

Of course you can. I want you to be happy.

[ and that is weird too! she isn't used to caring about other people, much less caring about other people as much as she cares about jim. caring is A Lot. ]