Built on Hope (Cassian Andor FF)

16. Sincerity

Punch.

Punch.

Miss.

Cassian Andor ducked as Talia Revik went in for a swing. Her fist collided with the wall, distracting her with pain, allowing Cassian to twist her good arm around her back. He pushed her against the wall, waiting for her to call mercy.

She threw her head back, hitting Cassian's forehead hard. He groaned and became shortly disoriented, giving Talia enough time to use all her weight to push herself into him. He stumbled backwards, but quickly caught himself on the wall.

Talia used this moment to her advantage; she punched him in the side and made sure it wasn't too hard. Her other fist flew to collide with his ribs, but Cassian grabbed her by the arm and pushed her backwards before she could. She gasped and winced from the sudden pressure on her bite wound, but quickly swallowed the pain.

"Again," Cassian spat as he stood up straight. He flexed his burnt hand before getting into position, arms raised and ready to attack. Sweat dripped from his short dark hair onto his face.

"Cassian, maybe you should-"

He cut Talia off by throwing a punch her way. She ducked, blocking the next few sequential hits. She quickly swept her good leg against his, causing him to fall onto the cold metal floor of the Allanar Freighter. Cassian exhaled and hissed. He had bit his tongue during the fall; blood pooled under his tongue, mixing in with his saliva. He swallowed some of it and balled his hand into a fist, exhaling through the pain.

Talia brushed her hair back and wiped the sweat off of her brow. Her brown eyes locked onto her opponent in pity. "We need to take a break. It's been an hour."

Captain Andor felt a sting in his mind. The events flashed through his mind, as if they were trying to torture him. Talia kept it from me. How could she do that to me? After I've saved her so much? The anger that Cassian held inside bubbled back to the surface; heat began to radiate off of him at a higher level. He clenched his fists tightly and pushed himself up off of the ground.

Swing.

Swing.

Cassian missed both swings. Talia dove backwards, steadily keeping her balance each time. He put his weight into his next kick, knocking Talia into the wall. She blocked Cassian's side jab, and clocked him right in the nose in response. He covered his nose quickly and snarled, blood dripping down into his open mouth. On instinct, the pain funneled down into the deep abyss of suppressed emotions.

Talia glimpsed at her fellow rebel with wide eyes. She didn't mean to do that, but would he see it that way? She ducked and attempted to run to a better position. Cassian grabbed her from behind, setting her into a chokehold. Talia panicked for a second. She hit his arm a few times, so she could get some oxygen. Cassian held on tighter, waiting for her forfeit.

She turned her head towards the nook of his arm, took his free arm, and threw Cassian onto her back. His short burst of confusion gave her the upper hand. She rapidly threw him over herself onto the ground. A loud clank of metal sounded off and Cassian let out a loud breath.

He did the only thing he thought he could do.

Cassian's leg collided against Talia's wounded one. She cried out, collapsing onto the ground with a thud. "Always expect the unexpected," he stated lowly, spitting out some blood from his mouth.

A silence filled the air, covering for Talia's unused screams. All her weight landed on her wounded leg, making pain shoot up her body. A loud screech of nails against metal pierced their ears as Talia clawed at the ground to distract herself from her agony.