Rogue One: Jyn & Cassian One-Shots

(2) The Beach

Here's something a bit lighter... this takes place a few months after the Battle of Scarif.

What A Wonderful World~ Louis Armstrong

Keep Breathing~ Ingrid Michaelson

Here Comes the Sun~ The Beatles

-

The mission was over, and it would be a number of days until the next one. Ever since the battle at Scarif, Jyn and Cassian had filled their distraught minds with their duty to the rebellion. They would lead mission after mission, barely having time to themselves.

Cassian escaped to his room in the rebel base immediately after landing. He didn't invite Jyn... why would he?

He distanced himself from her for days. She began to grow worried but reminded herself how capable he was in dealing with his past.

Jyn was fast asleep when her door slid open. The only other person who knew the code to her door was Cassian. Her eyes shot open when he entered. She saw his eyes were drained of any emotion. He walked over to her bed and held out his hand.

"I want to take you somewhere," he said. His voice was raspy and sounded pained.

She stood up without hesitation. Perhaps another secret mission?

"Where to?" she asked.

"A walk," he replied.

After taking a moment to hesitate, she slipped on her jacket and scarf and followed him out the door. They left the rebel base and entered into the darkness of the jungle. They strolled along an overgrown path. Such darkness didn't frighten Jyn, for she had the only light in her life beside her.

She worried his light was burning out. Cassian didn't say a word for minutes. They walked in silence for ages. Jyn's legs became cramped and the simple act of walking became a hardship. She noticed the sky begin to take shape from the morning light.

She was put out of her misery when Cassian stopped in his path. He only looked forwards while she allowed her eyes to look through the tall ferns and see what lied ahead.

A beach.

He looked at her with a tortured expression. "During this last mission," he explained, "I was focused and ready to move on from Scarif. I... I had a memory from the beach and it made me fire my blaster out of nowhere."

She began putting the pieces together. A stray blaster bolt had just missed her head before entering the Imperial building. She had kept her eyes forward and continued on with the mission, thinking it was a new trainee who had lost control of their blaster.

It was Cassian.

"Cassian, I know you didn't mean it," she remarked.

"But I almost shot you, Jyn. My lack of control almost cost me everything."

His comment sent her heart racing. She began walking towards the beach instead of trying to find a response. The ferns soon died out and were replaced by sand and rocks.

She walked to the edge where water met sand and sank to her knees. She drove her knuckles into the soft sand.

"It will never leave us," she whispered. "But we can leave it. We can leave it far behind."

He nodded and placed himself beside her. Scarif had been a living terror for both of them. The sky was now bright with colors. She forced her eyes upwards to see those colors that so resembled the ones of the Scarif sky that had almost taken their lives.

She saw Cassian staring at the sky. He breathed heavily while squeezing handfuls of sand in palms.

"Let's make a new memory from beaches," he said to her.

"What?"

He stood up to take his coat off and released the blaster holster from his waist. Jyn stood up out of shock, not knowing his intentions.

"Cassian!?" Jyn called out.

He looked at her innocently.

"Want to go for a swim?" he asked her.

She stared long and hard into his eyes until finally giving in.

They waded into the cool water as the sun rose above them. They laughed while flinging one another into the water until the memory of Scarif faded from their minds.