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

CHAPTER NINE: THE SPARK

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You ran away the moment you heard them dismissively call you that girl. There wasn't a reason to stay after that. Every single fear of yours became true in that moment. They wouldn't believe you. Of course they wouldn't believe you. How could Cassian have been so stupid to think that they would? How could you have been so stupid to think that you had a place here?

A girl from Tatooine. A girl that wanted to be a Jedi. A girl that didn't know the Rebellion.

This place was so unfamiliar to you. Eyes you didn't recognize were on you and it made you want to cry. Homesickness filled you as you broke out into a jog, desperately trying to escape from this feeling of estrangement. The only familiar place was inside of the U-WING, and so you ran straight for that ship you hardly knew, jumped inside of it, and ducked behind the wall, out of sight, only to slide down the wall and curl up as tightly as you could in the corner of the ship.

You couldn't cry, no matter how badly you wanted to. You could only sit, fast, shaky breaths coming out of your open lips, eyes frozen ahead. Every part of you wanted to move and steal the dumb ship you were on to escape the dumb base you'd come to, but Cassian wasn't with you. You didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. That was the least you could do for him. Say goodbye.

Of course, it didn't take long for Cassian to join you. He looked at you apologetically before he sat down beside you. "I thought I would find you here."

"Where else would I be?" you asked. You rested your chin on the tops of your arms where they folded on your knees. "I don't know anybody here."

"How much of that did you hear?"

"I didn't want to listen anymore after they called me that girl. So if what they said got worse, I really don't want to know." You swallowed hard and kept your eyes ahead. "Cassian, I want you to take me home. Now."

"Home? But what about the planet killer?" 

"What planet killer?" you hissed. Tears finally sprung into your eyes as you looked at him. "I never saw a planet killer! You heard them. I only saw a vision of one. Which could've been a dream, for all I know! They're right. The Jedi are dead and gone. And even if there were still some out there... we both know that I'm not one."

"You said that what you saw was different from a dream," he said patiently.

"I know! I thought it was," you said, "but --- but you heard them. They don't believe me."

He leaned in closer to you. "We'll make them believe."

Your hands made fists that you hit onto the floor. It felt somewhat childish, but you were so frustrated to have all of this drive to do something and all of this information you didn't know why you had --- and no one wanted to act on any of it. No one wanted to take that chance.