[okay so MAYBE the party at taako's house wasn't too terrible. it was an exhausting social routine, especially because there's no relief that comes from taking off a persona in the after, but he's also still warm from the alcohol and jyn's arm keeps brushing against his as it's done all evening, so right now he has zero complaints as he unlocks the door to their apartment. as soon as they're inside, he abruptly realizes he called it theirs and promptly ignores it.]
[it's extra nice to come home, because maybe there's a patch of soreness in his spine, a tiny pinch that usually comes with a long day on his feet. he's had worse out beyond the wall, but some days it just acts up for no explainable reason. he's very good at hiding it, and definitely did so all night, but it's very easy to let himself slump just a little bit once they're in. jyn knows about it, so it doesn't matter! it does make it too awkward to pull off his shoes though, feeling too stiff to lean over, so he just sort of lazily kicks them off instead of the usual careful routine.]
We should drink some water, before we go to bed. [no hangovers pls and thank. not that they're wasted, but he's still thinking about tomorrow.]
[ bending over to unzip her own little ankle boots, jyn kicks them off before nudging cassian's shoes into the right place with her toes. her own shoes remain askew. ]
You need to sit down, [ she counters, the kind of determination in her voice that means she will sit his ass down for him if he doesn't do it himself. ] You're limping.
[ and she knows it's not his leg because she knows the different ways he limps. he's being ginger. the same way she just refuses to use her arm when she's overworked it, his gait changes when his back is sore. she suspects no one else notices it, but she also knows that she gets to see the most of cassian's vulnerabilities without the spy façade.
jyn knows she could be more subtle, gentler about it -- coax him into sitting down instead of demanding it and pointing out his weakness, but she isn't going to coddle him and let him weasel out of it. ]
[he opens his mouth to protest that he is not limping, but it's a goddamn lie and he knows it, because he literally just noted so many things about his back hurting. he's limping. she always notices.]
[he sighs, maybe more dramatically than he needs to, mostly because he doesn't want to smile over the way she tucks his shoes where he likes them. he probably wouldn't like her being subtle about it anyway. he would 100% weasel out of it.]
If I sit down, you are getting us water. [that is his demand in return. he walks gingerly (fine, she was right about that too) to the couch and gently lowers himself down on it, grateful for the instant relief that comes with it.]
I'm fine. [just preemptively cuts off the rest of her concern.]
New house rule, [ jyn decides, even as she does move to the kitchen to pour them each a glass of water because she was going to drink something anyway. ]
No lying.
[ he's limping, therefore he isn't fine. he wouldn't hesitate to call her out on not being fine so she isn't going to let him slide by. this new rule will probably bite her in the ass eventually, but here they are. ]
[he gives her a pointed look, knowing full well she is not thinking about the consequences on her own end.] It's not like we usually lie to each other.
[but he waits for her to come back with the water before attempting to...follow the new rule, he supposes.] I will be fine. I just need rest. Better?
[it's a usual soreness. it's going to be fine by the morning at the latest, in an hour or so at the earliest! it mostly depends on how much stress he puts on it for the rest of the night.]
[ barely better. setting her drink down on the coffee table (what a terrible name?), she sits down next to him, looking ready to spring up at a moment's notice. she nudges his hip with the back of her hand. ]
[he's already shifting from the touch of her hand before she even tells him to move over, albeit with that same sort of careful movements. he doesn't flinch or anything of the sort, but only because he takes his time, which makes the soreness in his spine all the more obvious and he kind of hates it.]
[he leans forward to grab his own water, jaw tightening at the way the stretch pulls a little too hard, but he gulps down a few sips to avoid having to say anything.] It had to at least have been worth the food to go, right?
I never said it was bad. Up, Cassian, I said budge up. [ which is a strange thing to ask and she can understand why he simply moved over to make room for her instead of moving up to make room for her because why. ]
[he does not move up or forward. he looks at her instead, blinking once because cassian is very good at reading people but he has absolutely no idea what she's angling for here.]
Delighted. [ said in such a dry tone that he can hear her eyes rolling even if he can't see it as she settles behind him, one leg tucked underneath her and the other leg alongside his.
her hands settle on his back, fingers splayed toward his hips with her thumbs pressing gently against where his wounds used to be. she's careful there, but when her hands move she presses into stiff, knotted muscle with enough pressure to probably cause a flare of pain before the relief of released muscle chases after it. ]
[he figured she wanted to get behind him but it's not until he feels her hands on his back that he finally realizes why. and oh. okay. this is new.]
[but not a bad new? she uses just the right amount of pressure for it to work and he actually lets out a tiny sigh when the first muscle pops. yeah okay. this is fine. it's nice. she can keep doing that and he can keep ignoring the strange flutter in his stomach as her hands move over his back.]
I did, [ jyn mutters, because she considers "budge up" to be asking, carefully kneading a particularly tight muscle. after a moment she pauses and follows the muscle up the line of his back until it tapers off near his neck, listing off the human back muscles in her head-- ]
Latissimus dorsal, no, dorsi, something fascia, trapezius...
[ --and under her breath, until she feels like she can accurately smooth out the knots in those muscles. ]
You did not. Asking me to move explains nothing. [if his voice is a little distracted it is because of her hands. he is trying very hard not to make any sound but the cracks and pops are such a huge relief that he keeps sighing softly every now and then.]
[her voice is lulling him into even more of a relaxed state, even if the words are purely scientific.] Are you naming the muscles?
I used to. [ she's been out of practice for some time, evidenced by her stumbling over some of them, but it's all tucked away in there somewhere. ]
I taught myself. If you know how the body is built-- [ she applies a painful amount of pressure to the knot for a handful of seconds before she feels it give way under her fingertips, smoothing her fingers soothingly over the same spot. ] --you know how to break it.
[he leans away from her a little when the pressure hurts, but he sinks back towards her when the relief follows soon after. he really should not shiver too when she says she basically knows how to break every bone in his body, and yet. yet!! he trusts her though. he's also suddenly extra aware of her leg pressing against his.]
Of course. [yeah that's all he's got right now, however impressed and teasing it manages to be at once.] Apparently you know how to help it too.
Side effect. [ her hands glide back down to work on his lower back but the impediment of his shirt is more obvious where it bunches up into his pants and it is not working in her favor. she plucks at it idly with two fingers. ]
[shirt. she's asking him to take off his shirt. he knows what rationality might say, but he's still warm from the alcohol and warm from her hands and maybe that makes him more compliant. maybe he's just always more compliant when it comes to jyn. besides, his back hurts and this is working.]
Okay. [sure, why not. he unbuttons the vest and tugs it off without issue. the other shirt he unbuttons a little more slowly, untucking it from his pants and sliding his arms out of the sleeves. pulling it away from his shoulders, he sets it neatly beside the vest on the couch and swallows a little nervously, because his back is covered in scars. most are older, though the reminders of scarif are clearly newer. it makes him feel exposed, especially with her so close behind him, but it's... jyn.]
[ jyn thinks nothing of her request until it's put into action and then he's taking his shirt off and somehow jyn didn't realize that would happen. she hums thoughtfully before she settles her hands in their original spot, fingers splayed toward his hips, thumbs pressed to the scars from scarif, pale against his deep tan. ]
I'm impressed you didn't fold it, [ she teases lightly as she looks over the scars on his back like it is a map she can orient herself on. she breathes in deep before her hands press in with the same pressure as before firm, but careful. ] I suppose it's meant to be hung.
[ light, casual. this is not going to be A Thing. ]
[somehow cassian didn't realize this was going to happen either? or maybe he just assumed it would be fine. she practically leeches onto him all night anyway, he's no stranger to her touching him.]
[he draws in a sharp breath when her hands press into his bare skin, and oh fuck maybe this was a mistake?? he can't believe he didn't think this all the way through.]
I'll hang it later. [it's fine, they're fine. the pressure is even better without two layer barrier, so it was clearly a perfectly normal suggestion. he is very very careful with his breathing as her fingers move up his back.] Your hands are cold.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
action | nighttime, november 18
[it's extra nice to come home, because maybe there's a patch of soreness in his spine, a tiny pinch that usually comes with a long day on his feet. he's had worse out beyond the wall, but some days it just acts up for no explainable reason. he's very good at hiding it, and definitely did so all night, but it's very easy to let himself slump just a little bit once they're in. jyn knows about it, so it doesn't matter! it does make it too awkward to pull off his shoes though, feeling too stiff to lean over, so he just sort of lazily kicks them off instead of the usual careful routine.]
We should drink some water, before we go to bed. [no hangovers pls and thank. not that they're wasted, but he's still thinking about tomorrow.]
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You need to sit down, [ she counters, the kind of determination in her voice that means she will sit his ass down for him if he doesn't do it himself. ] You're limping.
[ and she knows it's not his leg because she knows the different ways he limps. he's being ginger. the same way she just refuses to use her arm when she's overworked it, his gait changes when his back is sore. she suspects no one else notices it, but she also knows that she gets to see the most of cassian's vulnerabilities without the spy façade.
jyn knows she could be more subtle, gentler about it -- coax him into sitting down instead of demanding it and pointing out his weakness, but she isn't going to coddle him and let him weasel out of it. ]
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[he sighs, maybe more dramatically than he needs to, mostly because he doesn't want to smile over the way she tucks his shoes where he likes them. he probably wouldn't like her being subtle about it anyway. he would 100% weasel out of it.]
If I sit down, you are getting us water. [that is his demand in return. he walks gingerly (fine, she was right about that too) to the couch and gently lowers himself down on it, grateful for the instant relief that comes with it.]
I'm fine. [just preemptively cuts off the rest of her concern.]
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No lying.
[ he's limping, therefore he isn't fine. he wouldn't hesitate to call her out on not being fine so she isn't going to let him slide by. this new rule will probably bite her in the ass eventually, but here they are. ]
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[but he waits for her to come back with the water before attempting to...follow the new rule, he supposes.] I will be fine. I just need rest. Better?
[it's a usual soreness. it's going to be fine by the morning at the latest, in an hour or so at the earliest! it mostly depends on how much stress he puts on it for the rest of the night.]
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[ barely better. setting her drink down on the coffee table (what a terrible name?), she sits down next to him, looking ready to spring up at a moment's notice. she nudges his hip with the back of her hand. ]
Budge up.
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[he leans forward to grab his own water, jaw tightening at the way the stretch pulls a little too hard, but he gulps down a few sips to avoid having to say anything.] It had to at least have been worth the food to go, right?
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Move forward.
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Why?
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[ still no explanation for how. ]
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[he still does not move.]
You are not giving me anything to go on here. The how would be good to know.
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[ her eyebrows lift like YOU LET ME KEEP YOUR BLASTER JUST BUDGE THE FUCK UP ]
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[with a very loud sigh, he shifts forward and opens up more space.]
There. Happy now?
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her hands settle on his back, fingers splayed toward his hips with her thumbs pressing gently against where his wounds used to be. she's careful there, but when her hands move she presses into stiff, knotted muscle with enough pressure to probably cause a flare of pain before the relief of released muscle chases after it. ]
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[but not a bad new? she uses just the right amount of pressure for it to work and he actually lets out a tiny sigh when the first muscle pops. yeah okay. this is fine. it's nice. she can keep doing that and he can keep ignoring the strange flutter in his stomach as her hands move over his back.]
You could have just asked.
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Latissimus dorsal, no, dorsi, something fascia, trapezius...
[ --and under her breath, until she feels like she can accurately smooth out the knots in those muscles. ]
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[her voice is lulling him into even more of a relaxed state, even if the words are purely scientific.] Are you naming the muscles?
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Yes. [ two fingers run down next to his spine before her hand returns to the knot she's still working on. ] Erector spinae.
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[he lets out a very quick and quiet laugh when she just keeps going.]
Do you know all of them? [there's a how she knows in there too.]
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I taught myself. If you know how the body is built-- [ she applies a painful amount of pressure to the knot for a handful of seconds before she feels it give way under her fingertips, smoothing her fingers soothingly over the same spot. ] --you know how to break it.
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Of course. [yeah that's all he's got right now, however impressed and teasing it manages to be at once.] Apparently you know how to help it too.
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Can you get rid of this?
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Okay. [sure, why not. he unbuttons the vest and tugs it off without issue. the other shirt he unbuttons a little more slowly, untucking it from his pants and sliding his arms out of the sleeves. pulling it away from his shoulders, he sets it neatly beside the vest on the couch and swallows a little nervously, because his back is covered in scars. most are older, though the reminders of scarif are clearly newer. it makes him feel exposed, especially with her so close behind him, but it's... jyn.]
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I'm impressed you didn't fold it, [ she teases lightly as she looks over the scars on his back like it is a map she can orient herself on. she breathes in deep before her hands press in with the same pressure as before firm, but careful. ] I suppose it's meant to be hung.
[ light, casual. this is not going to be A Thing. ]
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[he draws in a sharp breath when her hands press into his bare skin, and oh fuck maybe this was a mistake?? he can't believe he didn't think this all the way through.]
I'll hang it later. [it's fine, they're fine. the pressure is even better without two layer barrier, so it was clearly a perfectly normal suggestion. he is very very careful with his breathing as her fingers move up his back.] Your hands are cold.
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