AS LONG AS THE STARS ARE ABOVE YOU [A CASSIAN ANDOR x READER STORY]

CHAPTER ONE: BINARY SUNSET

2.4k words; edit by sondercoyfish

a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

The rolling hills of sand were all that you could see if you looked out the window of your tiny hall of a bedroom. In the early hours of the morning you could leave your home and take a thirty minute walk through the rising heat. The universe felt alive as the suns would rise above you. There was nothing but peace and silence. You could feel the energy of every living thing surrounding you.

It was beautiful. As hot as your home planet was, as uncomfortably bright as it was, it was beautiful. You felt whole here. Of course, it was the only place you had ever known, but you were drawn to your home on Tatooine. You belonged here, feeling the suns on your skin, hearing the distant sounds of moisture farmers working for the day, watching the Jawas pass by on the horizon.

You wished you could venture out for the day. But you could only go so far before you would hear him calling for you just outside of your shared home, urging you to come back before someone spotted you in the daylight and became suspicious. People were still after him, he had warned you again and again. They were after people of your kind.They would be after you, too.

It seemed like a lot of extra worrying, keeping you out of the bright light of day. Making sure you were sealed away from the galaxy. You'd never journeyed out of Tatooine because he told you that it wasn't safe for someone like you to leave just yet. Of course you believed him, the only man you knew as a father, the man who had found you, raised you, and kept you. So you remained concealed and tried not to complain about how long and boring the days got. After twenty-two years of life here, it was as comfortable as it was boring.

He called out your name from the open window of the kitchen. You turned, your heels digging into the grittiness of the sand. "I'm coming!" you shouted back, breaking out into a slow jog back up the path to your tiny little home.

You stepped inside, the smell of grain and sugar meeting your nose. You could see him in the tiny kitchen off the side of the living room, grabbing bowls from a cupboard. His brown hair was nearly completely grey; the weight of the galaxy had aged him so quickly. You paused for a moment until he glanced at you, pulling you out of your thoughts.

"I almost got to see the suns all the way up this time," you said, breathless as you pulled the hood down from your head.

"Are you asking for congratulations?" he asked, amused.

"No," you replied, rolling your eyes. "I'm saying that you called me in too soon."

"Well, I am glad you're not waiting for me to congratulate you. I'm not going to praise you for running outside against my better judgement again." He poured blue milk into two tall glasses. "Breakfast is almost done."

"I thought it was my turn to make breakfast," you argued, shrugging out of your poncho and hanging it up on the hook by the door. "Did you forget that you made breakfast yesterday, old man?"