Stardust- A Jyn and Cassian Fanfiction

Chapter 2- Jyn

I wake up to the smell of subtle aftershave and the ocean.  The sun is just barely peeking its head over the horizon.  Waves break on the shore, and a brisk wind blows from the ocean.  We're about twenty feet from where the Death Star's destruction ends.  It's so drastically different from one side to the other, it's unbelievable.  The two sides are literally day and night.  One side is dark, blackened and full of destruction, and the other is a tropical paradise, which the whole planet was before the Empire came.  Honestly, the void is depressing, and I can't wait to keep moving.

The sea heaves and falls, and my cheeks turn pink from the stinging wind.  Maybe it's warm when the sun comes up, but it's pretty brutal during the night and early morning.  And speaking of which, how am I not cold?  I certainly am not wearing anything warm.  Then I look down.  Suddenly, the source of the aftershave aroma makes perfect sense.  I'm wearing Cassian's coat. When the heck did THAT happen?  He must've put it on me in the night.  But how did I not wake up? Or maybe I did, and I was too sleep deprived last night to remember it.  I look over, and I see him sleeping by the coals of the fire that has long gone out.

I feel much better today after a good night's sleep.  Standing up carefully, I don't feel light headed or dizzy at all, thank the Force.  Stretching my arms to the sky, I sigh happily.  I haven't felt this great in a long time.  I only feel slightly guilty for Cassian, who must've been freezing last night.  I shouldn't be wearing his coat, although I do appreciate it.  He certainly is a chivalrous guy, which is hard to come by these days.

I could stay here and admire the view forever, but my stomach helpfully reminds me that I need to eat.  Scanning the beach, I see coconut trees along the edge of the beach.  One of them has two at the very top.  One for me, one for Cassian.  Why not? He gave me his jacket for the night.  I can pay him back at the very least by getting breakfast.

I quietly take off the coat and set it on the ground.  Walking over, I spit into my hands and wipe them on my dirt covered pants.  Not very lady like, but effective.  Looking up at the fifteen-foot-tall tree in front of me, I prepare to climb.  Launching myself onto the tree trunk, I grab onto the peeling bark and begin to scurry up.

I make it up about ten feet with no issue, but then it becomes harder when there are less footholds to grab onto and stand on.  There's only one, and it's way out of my reach.  Debating whether I should risk killing myself or not, I decide to go ahead with the climb.  Carefully, I stretch as far as I possibly can, touching three fingers to the peeling spot.  Supporting some of my weight on it, I slip and lose all of my grip except for that one hand.  The tree bends under my weight, and I hang about ten feet above the ground, in danger of falling and really hurting myself.

And of course, with my wonderful luck, this is the moment that Cassian decides to wake up.  

He looks up, sees me in the tree, and bolts over.

"JYN! Be careful!" he warns.

I roll my eyes.  "I'm fine.  Chill."  Swinging my leg around the tree, I reorient myself and continue climbing. 

Cassian sighs in relief. "I really don't want you getting hurt."

I reach the top, grab the coconuts and chuck them at Cassian.  "If you can get 'em open, breakfast is served."

He catches them and puts them on the sand.  "How do you plan on getting down?"

"I'll jump." I say casually.

"NO, DON'T YOU-" he warns.

"Too late!" I say cheerfully as I jump out of the tree skillfully and land lightly on my feet.  "Hey, this isn't the first tree I've jumped out of before."