open ✧ the time to fight is now

[realists]

☒ ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴsᴘᴀᴍ ☒ ᴘʀᴏsᴇ ☒ ᴘɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs ☒ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴏʀᴅʟʏ ☒ ᴏᴠᴇʀғʟᴏᴡ

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[evasives]

Cassian laughs, a little. "Deserts are not so interesting. I don't want to worry about keeping hydrated either." No divorce concerns here, Jyn. "The cold ones are worse, worrying about water and hypothermia."

He makes a thoughtful noise. "I might like to visit Fest one day. I don't want to live there, but I don't remember much either. Temperate still sounds like our best bet, for both of us."

[realists]

Her nose scrunches up at the mention of his home planet, because snow, but she relents because love. "If we don't stay long."

She can't say she wants to ever visit Vallt. Maybe Coruscant, once the war is over, but Vallt was never really anything she ever considered home, even if it is where she took her first wailing breaths. She has absolutely zero memory of it.

[evasives]

His face softens a little, at her agreement. "A few day, at most. Honestly I'm not even expecting to find anything familiar. I just never thought the chance to go back would ever fall into my lap."

He's still not sure it will but - it's nice to think about, like it's nice to think about being able to do it with Jyn.

[realists]

"In that case, I'll make sure to put it in your lap." For herself, Jyn won't ask for any favors from the Rebellion, but for Cassian she would move mountains, plateaus, entire planets. If it means begging a transport off Mon Mothma for a couple days in Fest, whatever, she'll do it.

(And she'll do it secretly, not telling Cassian until the ship arrives on Lah'mu.)

"Once your leg is better. You'll be giving me a piggyback through the snow."

[evasives]

He steals a glance at her face, only half fighting off the smile that's trying to make its way on his. Cassian isn't used to people going to bat for him so hard, but when Jyn decides to do something, she goes all out. It flips his stomach to think of her going hard for his sake, whatever the reason.

"Pick a warmer planet for that. We'll have so many extra layers on Fest, and it will be even more slippery than the mud here."

[realists]

"Mustafar?" That's a joke. She is joking. Cassian was right that they should aim for something with a temperate climate because Jyn would hate the volcanic heat of Mustafar as much as she hated the oppressive humidity of Scarif as much as she hates cold in any form.

"There's some fields, over that ridge--" She gestures to a hill to the left of the house. "--because of the way the hills sort of surround it, it gets protected from most of the mist." Which means it's dry! "The grass smells sweet, like... starfruit or those big red berries that grew on Yavin."

[evasives]

He snorts. He knows it's a joke, but. "Have you ever been to Mustafar?"

Cassian looks over in the direction she's pointing, hobbling along and glad the house is finally in sight. He really wants to sit down. "Are you saying you want a piggyback ride through the supposedly dry field, or that you want to live on a planet like this one?"

[realists]

"Not yet I haven't." She looks up at him with a teasing smile. Not yet.

She isn't actually sure where she was going mentioning the dry valley, she only wanted to point out it wasn't all foggy mist all the time, but she decides it would have been neither of those options anyway. "If you want to take more walks outside, we can go over there."

We because now that she has gotten over her abandonment issues (for the most part, for this specific scenario) she has also decided to take part in his physical therapy.

[evasives]

"And probably won't for a while." He hasn't even been there yet. It's too big a stronghold for the Empire, and the Rebellion hasn't had a reason to send him yet.

Cassian looks out over the drier land and tries to pretend his face doesn't soften at her use of the word 'we,' like she's casually putting herself into the equation. To stay, with him here, to help him. Any of the concerns he had about her leaving have been washed away just because she used we. "It would be better than staying cooped up inside all the time. I do want to." A beat. "Maybe we can keep swimming sometimes too."

Since he can only go swimming with her around, it's more acceptance of her involvement in said physical therapy.

[realists]

"Yeah?" She bites back a small smile, unconsciously ducking her head against his chest as they continue toward the house. Soon they will be able to spray the mud off and change into dry clothes and eat. So soon.

"I'd like that." All of that. Walking, swimming, probably Mustafar eventually, if only for the sake of saying she's been.

[evasives]

Oh. He likes that. It makes him smile to feel her tucked against him, and he wonders if this could become something common.

"I'd like it all too," he says, not sure if he's glad the house finally comes into view or if he's disappointed they'll have to break apart once they're inside. "Do I get to know what you're going to cook, or is it a surprise?"

[realists]

"It's a surprise," she decides, if only because she doesn't know what she could begin to cook them for a snack now that she's thrown the gauntlet down and fussed enough to defend the honor of her cooking.

It's gonna be toasted cheese.

She pulls them to a stop when they reach the grass in front of the house. "Alright. Take your pants off." Jyn. She chokes a bit when she's realized what she's said. "Because they're muddy. Take your muddy clothes off and I'll hose you off and then you can do the same to me and I'll run in to get us dry clothes."

[evasives]

A surprise is not reassuring in the slightest, but he's distracted by her quick and easy command to take off his pants. He'd stumble if he were on his own, but instead his arm just tightens around her shoulder, the only sign he was maybe caught off guard.

It's not that Cassian is particularly modest; being in the rebellion doesn't allow that kind of thing most of the time. But it's Jyn, and they've just talked about becoming - together. So he still hesitates for a second.

"I'll need to -" he trails off, because it's hard to admit he'll still need her to support him for this. At least in his room there's furniture and walls to lean on. He grits his teeth and lets go of her shoulder to fumble with the drawstring, shucking them downward to let gravity do some of the work.

But he grabs her arm and doesn't look at her as he tries to finagle them off the rest of the way, his bad leg making it slower than usual and feeling frustrated by it, because it should honestly be far simpler, and yet!! It's not. For two seconds he seriously considers whether or not it's even worth putting new ones back on.

[realists]

She doesn't mind supporting him and she shows no sign of pity or frustration with his slow going, really the only fluctuation in her expression is a brief crease between her eyebrows when he looks like he's in pain. It's not like this could be helped, he'd have to take his dirty clothes off anyway.

Still, he's wet and his underwear are sticking to him in a way that makes her heart race in her chest and she pointedly looks up and away, watching the movement of his shoulder before he stills enough for her to assume he's done.

She glances at his face. "If this was reversed, what would you say to me? About getting better."

[evasives]

He's more focused on getting his pants off with minimal pain that it takes him a moment to notice the way she practically jerks her head away from him. He frowns, then abruptly remembers he's in his soaking underwear and ah, that's why. For some reason, it makes him feel sheepish.

Cassian blinks at her and her question, then wrinkles his nose, like he's unhappy to be called out like this. "That it takes time. That you'd need to be patient." He huffs quietly. "It doesn't mean it's not hard to feel infantile."

[realists]

"If that were the case I would be undressing you." Oh my... Jyn makes a face like why does she keep saying things the wrong way, nothing is coming out the way she wants it to, that isn't what she meant! She just meant babies can't really dress themselves, what with not being able to hold up their heads.

"I just--" She huffs. "You're going to have to help me out of my shirt, anyway, because I actually can't undress myself right now." The idea of raising her arm over her head makes her want to cry a little so she was already going to ask for help. Now, she's just going to be slightly more vocal about it.

[evasives]

That's two rounds of sentences that come out wrong, but the second is the one that gives him pause and turns his ears a little red. But then she huffs and it's easier to be amused, because he is.

And it helps having her admit they're in a similar boat. Cassian is too used to be solitary. He also focuses on that part rather than the actual idea of helping her out of her shirt. "We should probably just stick to button down shirts for a while." His back is still a hindrance too, though mostly only in the mornings and at night.

[realists]

"Maybe that's why Jedi always had those robes." Easy on and off. For what reason? Who knows, maybe a grand entrance to meet Anastacia's Grandmother, maybe for tending to wounds. Maybe just because they were hella extra, over-dramatic fucks.

But right now they're looking pretty smart. Living in bathrobes sounds like a great idea. "Wanna help me with my shirt now or do you need a minute to cope with my asking for help?"

Play it off as her inability to accept help instead of giving Cassian a few more moments to steal himself for standing on his own.

[evasives]

"It does sound like they were quite prone to injury." Should the style make a comeback?? At least while they're on Lah'mu maybe.

He sees what she's doing and appreciates it. There's even the hint of a smile on his face, even if he doesn't bring it up. He loosens his grip on her and slowly lets go, standing up alone. Most of his weight is on his good leg, but for now he's pretty fine. "Moment of shock over," he says, teasing. He sets one hand at the bottom of her shirt. "Can you lift your arm a little bit? How much do you want me to do?"

[realists]

"I can get it over one arm, but I'm going to need help getting it over the other." She usually just yanks it over her head too fast and yells into a pillow because Jyn makes great decisions. "Actually, if you could pull it up, I think I can get out of it that way."

It's gonna be so pathetic.

[evasives]

Pathetic doesn't even cross his mind. If anything it helps remind him that this is sort of normal for war injuries and makes him feel better about his own limitations. At least neither of them need to be cut out of their clothes (this time).

Instead of saying anything he just nods at her, and his body is definitely tilting in favor of his good leg, but he tugs up her shirt gently and carefully, mindful of her arm even though it's not even relevant yet. "Like this?"

[realists]

"Yeah, that's it." Her good arm lifts a little, resting on his shoulder as she looks up at him with a sheepish expression, half smile slanted down. They're a fine pair.

"Just pull it over my head and we can slide it down my arm." And then rip it off and get her a new one.

[evasives]

He meets her expression with a very similar one of his own, as if sheepish is ever often applied to either of them - but it exists now. Another shared experience.

Cassian nods again, biting back that same smile for the ridiculousness of the moment as he pulls up her shirt, still gentle as he maneuvers it around her good arm and over her head. He doesn't let go, but he doesn't pull it the rest of the way off her bad arm, leaving that part to her just because he knows she'd secretly appreciate it.

[realists]

She does appreciate it, dragging it over her shoulder and down her arm and she's free. While she was... something, about taking his pants off, she doesn't seem at all uneasy standing around without a shirt on. She isn't even that bothered by Cassian not having pants on, it was just how it came out was all wrong.

Anyway, free of her shirt, she flings it toward the stairs and easily wriggles out of her shorts, scooping them and Cassian's pants up before she throws them to the stairs as well. Then she grabs the hose and passes it to Cassian.

"Oh it's gonna be freezing, but. Do it quick." She scoots back a few paces and scrunches up her face, waiting for the cold blast of clean water to hit her before the warm water finds it's way out.

[evasives]

Once it's all over and done clothes-wise, Cassian doesn't seem much concerned about standing around with her either. He likes his privacy, but it isn't like the Rebellion affords constant closed quarters.

He takes the hose with amusement and very briefly considers aiming it at her face in a childish thought, but he shoves it down and turns the water on. He lets it shoot out for a few seconds into the grass before aiming it at her legs first. "It was laying in the sun all day. It can't be too cold."

He hoses up her legs and steadfastly avoids tracing his eyes over the curve of her waist when he washes off the mud from her torso next, then her arms, soaking her through but washing down all the mud from her skin. He gestures for her to spin around so he can get her back too. He'd just walk but. You know. Leaning mostly on one leg.