Rogue One: Jyn & Cassian One-Shots

(11) Political Pt. 2

Next To Me ~ Imagine Dragons (one of the best bands ever)

I Feel It All ~ Feist

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Cassian worked on the article for hours that night. With fresh coffee in his mug at midnight, he began to make the necessary edits. He came to a halt when the picture of Jyn appeared. Her prominent scar captured his attention instantly. He marveled at her courage and hoped to capture it in words. 

The next day at work he waited anxiously at his desk as his boss reviewed it. He pulled out the slip of paper with Jyn's number on it. 

Hey it's Cassian. I think it's almost ready, he texted her. 

Awesome! 

It took all night no joke. I'm exhausted. 

Meet me on your lunch break? I'll buy you coffee.

Is that a date? he hesitantly texted back.

Hah. Our first date was a protest remember?

Cassian chucked to himself at the thought of two of them, complete strangers, standing next to each other trying not to be awkward. When his office phone rang, his boss was on the other end. 

"I like it," she told him bluntly. "Get it online ASAP."

Cassian jumped to his keyboard without hanging up the phone. Within the hour, the article was prepped for publishing. He didn't want to send her the link though. Instead, he printed it out and stuffed it into his briefcase. Heading off to his lunch break, he was sure to adjust his tie on the way out. 

Once inside of the cafe they had agreed to meet at, he found Jyn sitting at a table near the window. She nervously dipped her teabag in and out of her mug. A mug of coffee sat in the opposite seat. Once she saw him, he gave her a weak smile. 

"Nice to see you again," she said. "I had the waiter put aside some cream for you since I don't know how you like it."

"Just black is fine. I-I brought you the article," he said, handing her the pieces of paper. 

She took her time studying the pictures and looking over Cassian's words. She nodded her head repeatedly. Having finished, she placed the papers on the table. 

"It's... lovely. You really got my good side in this picture," she joked. 

"Did you ever reconcile with your brother?" Cassian asked. 

She looked out of the window as if in a trance, "I don't think I ever will. Our relationship faltered after my parents died." 

"I'm so sorry."

"Losing them made me who I am today whether I like it or not," she stated. 

"And who are you today?" he asked. 

"Someone who's gained necessary strength from herself. I'm not afraid to use my voice."

The lunch went rather smoothly with both members contributing their thoughts about the political world. 

"You see they're trying to get us to oppose of aspects in other peoples' lives that we have no right to intrude on. Don't want other people being gay? It's not your right to decide who gets to love who. Don't want immigrants in your country? You don't get to turn people away from sanctuary in fear of them "stealing" jobs because they want to work hard to make a better life. People need our help and who are we, with our running water, processed food, and gas guzzling vehicles to say no?" Jyn ranted. 

Cassian sat and listened, wishing he could write all of this down. He was so intrigued by her passions.  When his phone alarm buzzed, reminding him of a meeting he had in a matter of minutes, he struggled to interrupt her. 

"Jyn, you're amazing. I've got a meeting soon, but could we possibly meet again?"

"Yes of course," she replied while blushing at the fact that he had called her amazing. "Sorry if I bored you."

"Not at all actually. You remind me of my mother when she used to call out my dad for being a Republican. They never voted you see, because they knew their votes would cancel each other out."

Jyn laughed at this. Her smile was like nothing he'd ever seen before. Out of all the people he had interviewed, no one was as passionate as Jyn. 

And Jyn had never seen anyone so keen on listening to her. She remembered the lectures from her brother when he had seen her going out for a protest. His face would turn red as she would shrug him off. 

"No ones ever really been there to agree with me. Wait, you don't have to agree with me these are all my opinions. It's just... no ones ever listened to me. I've always been one small member of larger groups in protests," Jyn admitted. 

"I noticed you, Jyn," he said to her. 

His phone buzzed again. This time a call. 

"I'm sorry for keeping you," said Jyn, standing to take her leave. 

Cassian hurried to his office building, turning to see Jyn walking in the opposite direction. He made a mental note to find out where she worked for future reference. He couldn't shake her words for the rest of the day. She stood up for what she believed in because she knew she wasn't alone. Standing in those crowds made her powerful, part of a greater whole. 

Weeks would pass and Cassian would learn that Jyn was a librarian of all things. Her words remained hidden in the quiet atmosphere of the downtown library, not too far a walk from his office. After meeting daily, their talks of political agendas turned into conversations about their lives and plans for the future. 

Their first kiss was shared on the moonlit beach, voting stickers firmly attached to their clothes. Once Jyn built up the courage to hold his hand, she couldn't stop smiling at the fact that she now had a hand to hold and treasure. Cassian let his thumb trace the scar on her forehead before leaning in to tell the love of his life that he would never stop noticing her. 

A year had passed and when the news of a protest was underway, the spark in Jyn was at its liveliest. When not in a library, she would be hanging posters, making signs, and researching. On the day when thousands gathered once more to stand up for human rights, Cassian stood beside Jyn. They stood hand in hand, a stark difference in the two strangers who had first met protesting. 

Cassian held out the sign that he had pressed so tightly to his side in order to hide it from Jyn. On one side, it read Families Belong Together. On the other, it read Jyn, will you marry me?

When he flipped it over to reveal to her, her eyes scanned over the words not once but twice before looking at him in shock. Cassian took a ring out of his pocket and held it up to her. The people nearby took notice and eagerly held their breathe. 

"Jyn, we first met at a protest like this. That was when I first experienced what it was like to stand by your side. Ever since, I've never wanted to leave. Will you let me stand by your side for the rest of our lives?"

"I'm not used to people sticking around," she said with a smirk. "But I suppose you're the exception to this. Of course I'll marry you, Cassian."

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Big oof I'm a bit rusty. Hope this wasn't too cheesy. If you give me prompts I'm more likely to write more... just sayin *wink wink*.