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“BODHI ROOK!” a voice shouted, banging on the door. “GET YOUR ASS UP!”
Bodhi woke with a start, not knowing where he was at first. It took a moment for his eyes to focus and his bedroom registered as its old familiarity. The dream had seemed so vivid, set on some alien planet, something about a message to deliver, and a pilot, he was already starting to forget, but he had a feeling that he’d been the pilot- until he rolled over and saw his alarm clock blink “5:53 am” at him. All thoughts of the weird space dream dissolved, as he groaned, dragging himself up and to the door, where the banging continued.
“What the hell, Jyn?” he asked in an irritated voice as he threw it open. “You’re never up this early.”
“How could you sleep in on the most important day of the year?” she countered.
“You only get one chance to get your reason right.”
“It’s budget proposal day! For the Master Plan!”
“And, you blew it.” Bodhi went to close the door.
“And and and,” Jyn butted in, blocking him from shutting it completely, “Your birthday! Happy birthday!” She pulled out a kazoo from who knows where and gave a squeaky wheeze.
Bodhi leveled a glare at her. “I’m going back to bed.”
“Wait! I need you to let me know if you think my pitch has too many Jack London quotes-“
“Not listening!” Bodhi called back, as he shut and locked the door.
Jyn knew he was right, she was historically more likely to be the chronically late over sleeper than this “up at the crack of dawn” version of herself. But today was the meeting for the Master Plan, and this year was finally going to be the year she’d get appropriations for her environmental reforms. No more scrapping together initiatives from other departments’ leftovers, or siphoning away what money she could from her official budget for Parks and Rec. No, this year, it was finally happening. She hadn’t been able to sleep the night before, because she’d been up thinking of her mother. Finally, she was going to cement Lyra’s legacy. And, after work, there’d be the party for Bodhi’s birthday, which, despite her brother’s grumblings on the other side of the door suggesting otherwise, she did care about. Everything about today, she needed to go perfectly.
So if Bodhi wasn’t going to be a sounding board for her nerves, she’d need to turn to someone else. The phone rang and rang, so Jyn called back. Again. And again. On her fifth try, a voice picked up.
“Somebody better be fucking dying,” she heard an aggravated Kes say in the background, before Shara said into her phone, “I hope you heard that.”
“Someone is dying,” Jyn said solemnly.
“Shit,” Shara breathed, as the sounds of sheets getting thrown back and two people scrambling to stand could be heard over the phone. “What happened? Where-“
Jyn cut her off. “Nature is dying.” Despite the groans from her friends on the other end, she continued with her pitch. “The city of Yavin has increased its pollutive output by 25% over the past three years alone. If something’s not done soon, and if change isn’t prescribed into this town’s budget-“
“Goodbye, Jyn.” Shara hung up the phone.
Jyn walked to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee- the only thing she trusted herself to make without setting the place on fire- and began to call Leia next.
---
“Good morning team, and happy birthday, Bodhi!” Leia said in a cheery tone, walking into the conference room and setting a box of pastries on the table. “Figured it’s only right to start with a little birthday party before the meeting.” She handed him a small box. “This is from Han, he said it’s the only thing he’s allowing you to drink from at the Falcon tonight.”
Bodhi unwrapped a mug that read I <3 SEXY NURSES! in bold print. “Wait,” Bodhi said, confused, “He does understand that I’m still a nurse, too? ‘I heart myself?’ Or, I’m supposed to find another sexy nurse, like me?”
“Honestly? Who knows,” Leia sighed. “Bold of us to assume Han thought anything beyond, ‘Alright, it says sexy nurse!’”
“Did Jyn get you anything other than the ass-crack of dawn wakeup she gave us too?” Kes asked as Bodhi unwrapped the gift from him and Shara, a six pack of specialty beers from the craft brewery in Jedha he liked.
“The sun was starting to come up anyway!” Jyn insisted.
“Actually, she did,” Bodhi said, ignoring her. “Breakfast from the diner, and a couple of books I’ve been wanting to read. So, even though the day started earlier than I would have liked, it’s been a pretty great birthday so far.”
Baze grunted. “Can’t be that great. You still came into work.” Before anyone could argue with him on that, he slid a package wrapped in brown paper down the table. “Open it, Rook.”
“And thank you, Baze, for your sentimental birthday wishes,” Bodhi deadpanned, before opening the package, then jumping back with a yelp. With the case open on the table, the others could see it was a handgun. Shara also jumped, Jyn exclaimed, “What the fuck?” and Kes scooted his chair as far away from the table as he could.
“Baze,” Leia sighed in a disappointed voice. “For god’s sakes.”
“What? We’re all adults here. And adults should know how to responsibly handle and discharge a weapon.”
“Why?” Shara demanded. “Is there some war going on the rest of us don’t know about?”
“It’s a pea-shooter,” Baze defended. “It’s what the Swiss police use. Perfect for a beginner, but never hurts to be prepared.”
“You’re right,” Jyn said sarcastically. “Never hurts to be prepared to kill someone.”
Baze picked up and locked the case. “I’ll hold onto this until we can get you licensed up. And then I’ll take you out for some target practice.”
“What does Chirrut think about this gun hobby?” Bodhi asked, still shocked at the gift.
“We can have separate hobbies,” Baze insisted. “This is no different than me letting him have his tai chi practice.”
“That’s completely different!”
“And with that, party’s over,” Leia interjected, jumping to call the meeting to order before it got any more out of hand. “We had our fun, good times out of the way, now onto the bad news.”
The back of Jyn’s neck prickled. “What bad news?”
And that’s when Leia announced there would be no Master Plan, because Yavin was bankrupt, and their budget was now in the hands of a group of consultants.
---
“They’re going to ruin this town!” Jyn shouted from her end of the table. Kes, sitting next to her, calmly moved his mug of coffee out of the way to avoid the fist she was using to bang on the table for emphasis.
“This town’s already ruined, so they’re going to help us save it!” Leia insisted from the other end. “Look, I went to college with these guys. Kay is one of the state’s leading experts in public law and city governments. Cassian and Luke are damn good auditors. I wouldn’t be bringing them in if I didn’t trust them.”
“They’re going to cut back all of our spending and erase the hard work we’ve been putting in for years,” Jyn countered.
“I don’t see what the problem is,” Baze said, with a rare grin. “When are the butchers coming?”
“Can you please not do this right now?” Bodhi asked him, exasperated.
“We’re going to lose our jobs!” Jyn continued. “They’re going to fire us all-“
“No one’s getting fired!” Leia insisted.
“It’s always the social programs that get cut first,” Shara interjected, trying to sound reasonable as she negotiated halfway between Leia and Jyn. “Leia, we get why you’re doing this, but you’ve also got to see why we’re concerned.”
“I agree, it’s not ideal, but the city council’s run this place into the ground. Councilwoman Mothma can barely keep the other members in line, and with all their infighting, she’s giving me full reign just so we can get something done. We need someone to help us overhaul this system. At least I got to choose our consultants so we could maintain some control.” She looked to Jyn. “I can already see a plan forming in your head. You are not going to the stonewall them.”
“I’m not going to let them ruin this town.”
Leia was at her wit’s end. “Why are you so convinced this is going to be the worst thing that could happen?”
“Maybe she’s right, Jyn,” Bodhi tried. “This might be good for us-“
“I think not, traitor,” Jyn hissed to her brother. He threw up his hands in resignation, muttering, ‘I tried.’ Jyn turned back to Leia. “If you think I’m just going to lay back and take this, you’re wrong. I’m going to fight for my department-“
“Please don’t,” Baze interjected.
“-I’m going to fight for my department,” she repeated. “And I’m going to fight for the other departments too. I’m not going to let these consultants undo all our hard work. I’m taking a stand. And until they get here, I’m going to spend every waking minute preparing for war, so when they come, I’ll be ready.”
“Great,” Leia said drily. “They’ll be here at 1.”
The table devolved into a chorus of “What?!” and “Today?!” except for Baze, who giggled manically. Everyone began shouting at Leia, insisting they needed more time to prepare, as Leia shouted back that they didn’t have any time to waste.
---
The gang usually spent their lunch break all together in the Parks Department. But Leia was noticeably absent, and everyone, instead of relaxing, was scrambling to figure out what they could do to save their departments.
“I don’t get why this is so bad,” said Melshi, the young Parks assistant. “They’ll just cut the boring stuff, like trash. Then Kes won’t have a job and Shara will finally leave him for me.”
“Cut it, kid,” Shara said, while Kes insisted, “You! Can’t! Cut! Trash!”
“Kes is probably the safest out of all of us,” Bodhi acknowledged. “Public utilities and infrastructure may not get updated like planned, but Kes’ job is the hardest to cut.” He looked sadly to Shara and Jyn. “But, Liberal Agenda over here, it’ll be rough. I can at least fall back on nursing, you two should probably start thinking about other jobs.”
“Absolutely not,” Jyn insisted. “We are not going down without a fight!”
“Jyn,” Baze said exasperatedly, coming into the main room. Every day he refused to eat lunch with them, but he always left his office door open, and shouted his own contributions to the conversation when he thought necessary. “These consultants are going to outrank everyone- even me, even Leia. They have final say. There’s nothing you can do.”
“Says the man welcoming the enemy’s invasion.” Baze groaned in response, as Jyn turned dramatically to her friends to continue. “I’m sure they’re on their way right now, already dreaming up the millions of ways they can ruin our lives and reduce this town to a smoldering husk of-“
“Hello hello! We have visitors!” Leia announced in a strained voice, trying to sound bright, as she walked into the office, three men in suits following her. Jyn froze mid-rant. “This is the Parks and Recreation Department, but also a regular meeting spot for our most impactful employees.”
Baze called out an unusually cheery, “Hello, gents!” The rest of the gang straightened themselves out as they stood, putting professional yet strained smiles on their faces to meet the newcomers. Except for Jyn, who stood there with her arms crossed, and tried to look defiant.
“Team, these are the consultants I told you about,” Leia began. “This is Kay Tuesso, our legal and ethics expert.” The tall blonde man nodded stiffly. “Then this is Cassian Andor, one of the auditors.” The slightly shorter man with dark hair and dark eyes scanned the room, expressionless, except for when he got to Jyn. She caught the quick narrowing of his eyes when he took in her combative stance. Immediately, Jyn decided she didn’t like him. “And then our other auditor, Luke Skywalker.”
The third consultant was noticeably more energetic than the other two. “Absolutely thrilled to be here, in the City of Yavin, and especially the Yavin Parks Department.”
“Great,” Leia said with a grateful smile at Luke. “This is Baze Malbus, director of the Parks and Recreation department.”
Baze stuck out his hand for a handshake, but Luke, with a broad smile, pointed at him and repeated, “Baze. Malbus.” The other two consultants didn’t move.
“Okay.” Baze said, properly weirded out.
Leia, apparently thinking nothing out of the ordinary with this exchange, continued down the line, as Luke repeated back everyone’s name, as if committing it to memory.
“Jyn Erso, co-director of Parks and the city’s chief liaison for environmental protection.”
“Jyn. Erso.”
“Kes Dameron, head of Infrastructure and Public Works.”
“Kes. Dameron.”
“Shara Bey, the city’s equity coordinator.”
“Shara. Bey.”
“Melshi over there is a former intern who just graduated college last spring, and was recently hired as the administrative assistant here in Parks.”
“Melshi?” Luke asked.
“Just Melshi,” Melshi replied.
“Just. Melshi.” Luke repeated back.
“And then last but not least, Bodhi Rook, a registered nurse who now oversees our Public Health department.”
“Bodhi-“ Luke started to say, but as he looked into Bodhi’s eyes, his smile seemed to soften a bit, grow even more genuine. “-Rook.”
Even Bodhi couldn’t help but smile at that. He reached his hand out, and Luke shook it. “It’s a pleasure, Mr. Skywalker.”
Holding the handshake longer than normal, Luke kept grinning as he said, “Please, call me Luke.”
Bodhi blushed. Jyn muttered, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Would you like a tour of the building?” Bodhi asked.
“There is nothing I’d love more,” Luke beamed.
The one named Cassian spoke for the first time. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, right now.”
“Let’s do it later, then!” Luke exclaimed.
Leia asked the consultants to say a few words. No surprise, it was Luke who stepped forward to speak. “Folks, we are here from one of the statewide consulting firms in Coruscant. ‘Oooo.’ What does that mean? Simple! We’re just here to tinker with your budget and operating procedures. Think of your government as a broken-down carousel. We’re gonna slap on a new coat of paint, we’re gonna fix that broken speaker system, and we’re gonna get those happy kids back on the horses where they belong. Okay?” A mummur of approval ran through the room, but that wasn’t enough for Luke. “Okay?!” he asked more energetically.
“Okay!” Bodhi and Leia cheered back.
“Great!” Luke said. “Now, I think Kay, you wanted to meet with Leia. And our partner Cassian can stick around here a bit to answer any questions you all may have. So Bodhi Rook, if this is a good time for you, I would love that tour of City Hall.” He gestured for Bodhi to lead the way, which he practically jumped out of his seat to do. Bodhi looked back at his friends to gesture at Luke and mouth, “Oh my god!” Shara shot him a thumbs up back. Jyn stared daggers at her brother. She could admit, though, that Luke was the most pleasant auditor she had ever met. Even with her grumpy disposition, looking at him felt like looking at the sun. Of course Bodhi would be all over that.
And of course Jyn would be stuck with the town killer. Cassian grabbed his briefcase, and then asked her, as if the very idea of it pained him, “You have a second?”
-
Which is how she found herself sitting across from Cassian in the Parks conference room with Baze. Cassian, she thought, must be something of a neat freak, as he opened a padfolio and binder to review stacks of printed and clipped spreadsheets, charts, and a pad of paper covered in tidy rows of neat handwriting that filled the entire white of the page. Jyn opened her own padfolio, which looked unorganized to others, but she claimed was a system that made perfect sense to her. The inside cover was filled with sticky notes of various colors without pattern, and pages filled with notes in her loopy handwriting. Baze, as usual, had nothing to take notes with. He once claimed he committed everything to memory. Doubtful, given his propensity to nap in meetings longer than 20 minutes.
“So,” Cassian began after a moment, “I’d like to begin with where you think there’s waste in your department.”
“There is none,” Jyn insisted, while at the same time Baze laughed, “Where do I start?” They both shot the other an angry glare.
“What exactly will you be cutting?” Baze asked, turning to Cassian. “And how much of it? And can I watch you do it while eating pork dumplings?”
The auditor blinked, as if unsure how to respond to that, before turning back to his papers. “Let’s start with personnel. What can you tell me about your assistant, Melshi?”
“He is one of the hardest workers in local government,” Jyn began, trying to ignore Baze as he shook his head, and Melshi himself, who through the conference room’s windows and behind Cassian, was scrolling through Twitter on his computer. “First one to clock in, last one to leave. If you fired him, this place would fall apart.”
“Okay,” Cassian said with a sigh, “You need to understand that just to keep this town afloat, we probably have to cut the budget of every department by 40 to 50%.”
“But Luke said,” Jyn countered, “That you just have to tinker with things.”
“Yeah, he said that because it sounds a lot better than, ‘We’re going to gut it with a machete.’”
Baze giggled again, ecstatic at this news.
“You’re a jerk,” Jyn said to Cassian.
“I’m sorry?” he asked.
“Easy-“ Baze started to caution her, but Jyn cut him off.
“These are real people, in a real town, working in a real building, with real feelings.”
Cassian’s face was expressionless except for one raised brow. “This building has feelings?” he asked evenly.
“Maybe,” Jyn said angrily. “There’s a lot of history in this one, maybe it does. I just don’t understand, how can you be so blasé about all of this?”
His voice rose in anger to match hers for the first time. “Because I didn’t cause these problems, Ms. Erso, your government did.” He closed his padfolio loudly, and got up to leave. “I’ll just get what I need from the spreadsheets.” He exited through the conference room door, saw Melshi not even try to hide his Twitter feed, and shot a look of exasperation back at Jyn through the glass before leaving.
Baze turned to Jyn. “What’s a not gay way to ask him to go camping with me?”
-
“Wow,” Luke said in horrified awe, as they rounded the last corner of the City Hall tour, “The murals here are truly atrocious.”
“Jyn swears there’s one that’s actually kind of nice,” Bodhi explained, “But she refuses to tell anyone where it is, says you need to find it on your own. I’ve worked here three years now, and I’m convinced she made it up.”
Luke laughed, which made Bodhi feel warm and his stomach tie in knots. “Well,” the auditor said, “I’m sure Yavin’s a lot better than some outdated, politically incorrect murals make it out to be any way. It seems like a great town.”
“You really think so?”
“Of course. I really do.”
The words were out of Bodhi’s mouth before he could think about them. “Come to my birthday party.”
“Come again?” Luke asked, confused.
“No, I didn’t mean that to sound like an eight year old, uh, but, today’s my birthday-“
“Happy birthday,” Luke said warmly.
“Thank you,” Bodhi replied, and felt himself calm down. “So after work, our group was going to grab drinks, hang out at the Falcon. It’s the local bar, our friend Han runs it. I’d love it if you could come. And you could bring your friends, too! Let everyone get to meet each other outside of City Hall, maybe lighten some of the tension.”
“There is literally nothing I’d enjoy doing tonight more, Bodhi Rook, than going to your birthday party, and getting to know you and Yavin’s city employees a bit better.” He paused for a beat, before adding, “Especially you.”
“Great,” Bodhi smiled. As Luke walked ahead of him, Bodhi pumped his fist, then pulled out his phone to send Jyn a text that began, “Do NOT mess this up for me!!! So tonight…”
---
“I need you to do me a favor,” Bodhi said, sliding into the barstool next to Leia’s. After work, everyone headed straight to the Falcon, like they usually would for happy hour, except today for the party. Han had even thrown up some string lights and streamers in honor of the occasion. They were all crooked and were for sure a fire hazard, but it’s at least the thought that counts.
“Anything for the birthday boy,” Leia grinned.
“Okay first of all, don’t call me that, I’m not twelve.” (“Got it,” Leia said, straightening up.) “But, I invited Luke and the consultants to come tonight. I just don’t want Jyn to bother them, because she was not happy when I told her, so can you help me distract her when they get here?”
“Oh I’m so glad you hit it off with Luke!” Leia exclaimed. “And great you invited the others too. I was worried that it didn’t go well today at City Hall, but I think everyone getting to know each other here, in a much less stressful environment, would be great for team building. We’re all going to have to work together, you know-“
“They just walked in,” Bodhi cut her off, walking immediately over to say, “Hey, you made it! I’ll have to get back to you in just a sec-“ as Leia darted off to distract Jyn. “Erso! How about some karaoke?”
A stunned Luke, surprised at Bodhi saying hi then immediately running away, walked over to the bar. “That’s got to be a new record for ghosting.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Shara explained. “They needed to go distract Jyn so she wouldn’t try to fight you three on sight.” A mic shrieked, the telltale sign of the old karaoke machine getting turned on. “And would you look at that, the show’s about to start.”
“If it isn’t my favorite Coruscanti college boys!” Han boomed, as he came from the back carrying a keg. He set it down before sliding over the bar to give Luke, Cassian, and Kay each a slap on the back.
“You three already know Han?” Kes asked, only somewhat shocked.
“These guys and I go way back,” Han explained. “Back when you kids still didn’t like Leia, but I was visiting her in college, this was the crew we were going out with. Bunch of party animals, these three. Andor can outdrink the best of them. And you wouldn’t believe the trouble Skywalker and I could get into just on our own.“
“It was always quite entertaining,” Kay added. “I don’t drink myself, but I do love the people watching, and Han was always able to deliver.”
“Hell yeah!” Han cheered, before turning to Cassian. “Andor, my man, what’s got you down in the dumps?”
“He’s been complaining all afternoon about this Jyn Erso we met,” Kay said.
“I haven’t complained ‘all afternoon,’” Cassian said through gritted teeth.
“You definitely have,” Luke corrected.
“Well, that’s our Jyn, everyone’s favorite controversial figure,” Kes remarked.
“Even she and Leia couldn’t stand each other for the longest time, only became friends really once Leia started as mayor.” Han directed the group’s attention to the karaoke machine in the corner across the bar. “But now look at them.”
Jyn, Leia, and Bodhi were (loudly, and badly) singing what sounded like an ABBA song, and attempting what some might consider choreography. Despite their height difference, Jyn tried to spin Bodhi, and the two laughed. Cassian almost did a double take, not noticing her without the scowl she’d worn all day at work. She looked…different, when she was happy.
“Bodhi and Jyn sure seem close, too,” Luke observed carefully.
“Don’t worry, Romeo,” Han grinned. “I heard Bodhi go on and on about how excited he was you were coming already. You’ve got no competition in this bar tonight.” Luke blushed at that. “And besides, Jyn’s his sister.”
“The family resemblance is truly striking,” Kay observed drily.
“I can explain. The simplification of a complicated story,” Shara started, feeling her words already starting to run together from the drinks, “Is, visa sponsorship, tragic accident, adoption, tragic accident, one more tragic accident, double adoption, series of comically unfortunate events, surprise emancipation.”
“That,” Cassian started, his face scrunched up in concentration, “That doesn’t explain anything.”
“Well,” Shara huffed, “Get one of them to tell you then. I’m not just going to stand around and give exposition all night.” With that, she and Kes grabbed another round of shots, and slammed them back.
As he threw down his glass, Kess announced, “I’ll do it.” He cleared his throat, before turning to the consultants as if to present. “Here’s the group dynamics. You already know Han, everyone’s favorite scumbag, somehow still dating Leia.” Han bowed with a flourish. “We’ve been friends with him since we all got stuck together in middle school detention: us for helping Jyn slash the principal’s tires after he banned recycling- longer story, don’t ask- and Han for selling cigarettes, as a minor, to other minors.”
“As you know by now, they converted me to their noble rebellion soon enough,” Han added.
Kes continued. “Shara here is the love of my life, we’ve been married nine years.”
“How old are you?” Kay asked, trying to do the math in his head.
“Not very. We had one night of mediocre sex after prom and luckily for me, she decided she could do that the rest of her life-”
“Okay babe, now you’re getting drunk,” Shara said, trying to grab Kes’ new drink.
“-but my game has improved!” He took another sip, and gestured to Melshi, who at the other end of the bar was trying to flirt with a group of four girls at once. “Also, ignore the kid. Shara babysat Melshi for years, he remains obsessed with her, if he does anything creepy tonight, just spray him with some water and remind him he’s already got two strikes.”
“What does that even mean?” Cassian asked, growing more confused at the people of this town, as Kes barreled ahead.
“These two old fools,” Kes gestured as Baze and Chirrut walked by, “Are Baze Malbus, who you met at City Hall today, and Chirrut Imwe.”
“Don’t believe anything this man says about me,” Baze said to the consultants, pointing at Chirrut.
“Are you new coworkers of Baze’s?” Chirrut asked excitedly. “You wouldn’t believe it, but Baze loves telling me about his day, and all of his friends at City Hall-“ but before Chirrut could say more, Baze half-tackled, half-carried him away.
“They’re married,” Shara explained.
“Rounding out the gang of troublemakers,” Kes continued, “Jyn and Bodhi. You know the story by now, yada yada yada, bam! Adopted siblings, best of friends. We were always off causing chaos and staging protests, even if just the five of us, downtown. That’s technically how we got our start at City Hall. Even when Leia started dating Han, she didn’t want our reputation to rub off on her, Organa political family and all that, but she came through eventually. Got us out of a couple of tough spots. Part of the gang ever since.” At the end, Han, Shara, and Luke gave him a round of polite applause. “Thank you, thank you. Hope you remember who everyone is and how we met, there will be a test at the end of the night, closed notes.”
As Kes told the story, the others didn’t notice the screech of karaoke ending, and Jyn coming up, a frantic Bodhi and Leia trying to stop her. “Hey everyone,” she said as she reached behind the bar to grab herself a drink. “What’s up-“ but the last syllable died on her lips as she noticed the consultants, particularly Cassian. “Oh.”
“Well,” Bodhi said, giving up, and deciding to let the night fall into whatever chaos it had been destined for since the beginning. “This was fun. Luke! Want to go talk on the opposite side of the bar?”
“That’d be great-“ Luke could barely get out before Bodhi was already pulling him away.
The rest of the gang and the two remaining consultants stood there in awkward silence, Jyn and Cassian staring each other down, as if daring the other to say something first.
It was Jyn who broke the silence. “You know what?” she asked rhetorically. “I’m going to be the bigger person. I’m not going to say anything I’m going to regret.” And, drink in hand, she walked off, Shara and Kes not far behind her.
Leia turned to Cassian and Kay to apologize. “I wish I could tell you she’s not usually like that-“
“But I’m guessing she is?” Cassian finished.
Leia sighed. “She doesn’t make the best first impressions, believe me. But once you win her over, there’s no one you’d rather have as a friend. You guys still have a chance, you haven’t seen her real bad side yet!”
“This isn’t her bad side?” Kay asked, incredulous.
“It’s not her worst,” Leia said diplomatically.
“Doesn’t matter,” Cassian said. “She said she’ll be the bigger person. Fine, I can too. I don’t need to play nice with someone who tries to start fights at City Hall.”
---
Cassian and Jyn tried their best to avoid each other, moving as soon as they caught sight of the other. Which happened quite often, given the bar’s small size and Jyn’s eyes constantly roaming for her new nemesis. They’d make eye contact, narrow their eyes at each other, then move away. That continued for over an hour, until while getting new drinks at the bar, Jyn and Cassian literally bumped into each other.
Both of them, startled by the other, stared at each other combatively for a moment.
Cassian broke the silence by clearing his throat. “Look, I feel like we got off on the wrong foot earlier-“
“Obviously,” Jyn interrupted. “You’re a cold, callous person trying to kill all my friends with machetes.”
“That’s not what I-“
“Look, Andor, I just talked to everybody in this bar, and no one wants you here.”
“Really, everybody?” he said, with a raised eyebrow again, making Jyn wonder if that was the only sign of emotion he was capable of. “That must have taken a while.”
“Yeah, it did, so why don’t you just leave?”
He glared at her before grabbing a new drink, and going back to join Kay and Leia in the corner.
“Jyn!” Kes exclaimed, bouncing up behind her. “That was so professional!” And then he collapsed into a booth.
-
Across the bar, Bodhi and Luke were getting progressively drunker, and sitting progressively closer.
“I’m so glad you came,” Bodhi said, leaning in close to Luke so he could be heard over the bar’s noise.
“I literally cannot think of anywhere else I’d rather be,” Luke said back with a smile, leaning close in return.
-
Leia stormed up to Jyn. “Why are you being even more of an asshole than usual?”
“I’m the asshole?” Jyn exclaimed. “Sorry for not jumping up and down with excitement when the town’s being ruined.”
“This again? I told you, the council didn’t give me a choice. The only choice I got was who I picked-”
“I don’t care that you think those guys are your friends! They could all be your long-lost brother for all I care! It doesn’t change the fact that they are a threat to all of our hard work. They’re going to get rid of everything we’ve fought for.”
“Jyn, we’re not going to be able to do any work if the city goes bankrupt. Why can’t you at least get that through your thick head?” Leia stormed off.
Jyn thought about following her to apologize, but her drunken mind decided it’d be a more efficient use of her time to go to the source of her problems instead.
She scanned the crowd for Cassian.
-
Across the bar, Bodhi and Luke were now singing at the karaoke machine.
“Highway to the danger zooooone!”
Shara, deciding that looked more fun than the growing risk of an argument at the bar, went over to cheer them on.
-
Jyn was almost to her destination before Baze appeared, attempting to block her.
“Jyn,” he started in a stern voice. “Are you out of your mind?”
“I’m not going to let you tell me too about how you think the consultants are a good idea. I know you’d like to see the budget cut, but aren’t you against a group of consultants from the state just coming in and taking over?”
“Yes,” Baze allowed, “I do think many things this government does are questionable. Which is why I’d rather it do nothing at all.” Jyn rolled her eyes. “But these fights you’re picking can’t possibly be the best way to get what you want. Why are you getting so worked up over a budget anyway?”
“I just can’t believe I’m the only one left actually caring about all of our work. So if I’m the only one willing to fight for us, no one should be questioning my methods.” And she pushed past him.
-
Cassian saw Jyn heading their way, only briefly distracted by Baze. “I can’t believe she’s trying to argue with us again,” he groaned.
“Us?” Kay asked. “There is no us, all of these arguments have been solely between you and her. Arguments which you don’t have to participate in. Why are you letting her get a rise out of you, instead of being the bigger person and refusing to engage?”
“We’re here to do a job, and we can’t let this town think we can be walked over just because one person gave us a hard time. But you’re right, I shouldn’t stoop to her level.” Cassian took another sip of his beer, determined not to leave his seat nor yell at Jyn Erso the rest of the night.
Except at that moment, she walked up to them and started, “And here’s another thing, asshole-“
Cassian, without thinking, got up and turned to face her. “Oh, I’m the asshole?”
As they began to argue, faces just inches from each other as they shouted over the noise of the bar, Kay groaned in resignation.
-
“Sorry your birthday devolved into total chaos,” Shara said, walking over to Bodhi as she handed him another drink, taking a seat between him and the passed-out form of a slouched over Kes.
“Nah, it’s fine,” Bodhi shrugged. “I know our friends, I’d have been surprised if it didn’t.”
“At least your new guy’s cute,” Shara nudged, as they looked over to Luke, laughing effortlessly with Han at the bar.
“He’s perfect,” Bodhi announced with a drunken sigh. “Almost too perfect. I need to spend more time with him just to be sure he’s a real human being.”
“Don’t worry, every guy gets to that point eventually,” and for emphasis, she gave Kes a light thump on the back. He groaned in his sleep.
Across the bar, the shouting between Jyn and Cassian grew even louder, and for some reason was now in Spanish.
“Am I too drunk,” Bodhi started, “Or is she-“
“Yelling at our new boss in Spanish? Yes, yes she is.”
“Do I want to know what they’re saying?”
“Well, I only taught Jyn curses, even though she can barely pronounce them correctly. So she’s just calling him an asshole in more and more creative ways. But to Cassian’s credit, he’s hitting right back. With proper pronunciation, obviously. Still, they’re well-matched.” She took a sip of her drink. “Speaking of well-matched, don’t you get the feeling-“
“Cassian’s either her soulmate, or they’re going to murder each other?”
“Exactly.”
“Oh for sure.” And they clinked their glasses, before turning back to watch the chaos unfold.
-
“This is part of running an effective government, Ms. Erso,” Cassian insisted. “Yavin’s run up too many debts, and you need a balanced budget. Leia saw the writing on the wall, and wanted to do something before it got worse.”
“I understand that, Mr. Andor,” she drawled, drawing out his name with sarcasm, “But an effective government is also supposed to do something to serve its citizens. Not just cut everything away.”
Back and forth they went, yelling louder and louder as they grew more frustrated with each other.
Cassian, as much as he had tried to be collected all day, was on the edge of what little patience he had left. “Look, Jyn, I’m cutting this budget, whether you like it or not!”
“Well then there goes everything my parents ever fought for!” Jyn shouted. The bar grew silent at that, and Jyn immediately tensed at the feeling of everybody staring at her.
Putting her shoulders back to project a confidence she didn’t quite feel, she stormed out of the bar. And since the house she shared with Bodhi was only a few blocks away, once outside she decided to keep walking, cursing mayors and budgets and consultants from Coruscant every step of the way.
It wasn’t until she was behind the locked door to her bedroom that she let herself cry.
---
The next morning, Jyn was proud of herself for getting her and Bodhi to work only thirty minutes later than usual. She only had to stop the car and pull off on the side of the road to throw up twice.
“We made it,” she said with relief as they pulled into their regular parking spot. “Are we just going to sleep at our desks all day? Maybe. But will we get work done eventually?” Her head spun as she tried to stand up. “Also a maybe.”
Bodhi groaned, not for the first time that morning, but did speak for the first time. “Jyn, you’ve got to help me.”
“He lives.”
“I have a problem. I kissed Luke last night.”
“Explain to me how you making out with a hot guy on your birthday is a problem.”
“I don’t remember any of it.”
She paused. “Oh no.”
“Like, I know it happened, and I remember it ending, but everything in between that, just a total blur. And now I’m going to have to see him at work today, and ugh, it’s going to be so awkward.”
“Just do what I do. Jyn Erso patented method for avoiding awkward situations: avoid them. Lock yourself in your office and don’t talk to anybody all day.
“Jyn, I can’t-“
“Works for romantic and professional entanglements. Watch, today I’m not going to talk to anybody, because I refuse to see Leia or any of those consultants. Baze too. I’m getting out of this car and not speaking another word until we’re home.”
“Jyn, don’t,” Bodhi started, but she had already shut the car door and started walking into the building. “Jyn! Don’t leave me with my problems!” But she just turned back, miming locking her mouth shut.
-
Jyn walked into the Parks office to Melshi throwing up in a trash can, and a voicemail from a gruffer than usual Baze stating he wouldn’t be in until later that afternoon.
In her own office, she turned off the lights and put her head on her desk, trying to will her pounding headache away. She didn’t know how long she was there until she heard approaching steps and, despite her tightly shut eyes, felt the lights of her office turning on.
“Go away, Melshi,” she groaned.
The visitor cleared his throat, before saying, “I think Melshi’s passed out at his desk.”
Jyn opened her eyes, surprised to see Cassian Andor standing on the other side of her desk. Frustratingly, she noticed he looked well put together for someone getting through the morning after a long night of drinking, but if she looked carefully she could notice small details of unkemptness- slight wrinkles in his shirt, the deeper shadow of a beard, his eyes too squinting from the light. Frankly, she wasn’t surprised to see Melshi, at his desk in the bullpen, snoring.
“You do realize this is my office,” she said, wondering if he was lost.
“I’m aware,” he said in a clipped voice, his patience already running thin. “But I think you and I need to talk about last night.”
“Did something happen last night?” she asked, feigning innocence. He glared at her. “You’ll have to excuse me, Mr. Andor, I’m not feeling my best this morning, so I don’t know what you’re talking about. And unfortunately, you interrupted while I was in the middle of something very important, so if you don’t mind, I’ll be returning to my work.”
Cassian looked at her, opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it, and turned to walk out the door. Jyn was surprised he left, but decided not to push her luck. She laid her head back down on the desk, not bothering this time to turn off the office lights.
A few minutes later, she smelled coffee and looked up to see Cassian coming back into her office, two city hall mugs in hand. He sat one on her desk, before pulling from his pocket a handful of creams and sugars and dumping them on her desk. “I don’t know how you take your coffee,” he explained in an even tone.
Jyn looked at it, debating whether she thought it could be poisoned, before deciding her need for caffeine outweighed her pride. “Black, since Kes used up the last of the caramel creamer I like yesterday,” she said, before taking a sip.
Cassian nodded, sitting in the chair on the other side of her desk as he sipped his own coffee. “Good on Yavin for using mugs, instead of buying those disposable Styrofoam cups, for City Hall. More investment upfront, but it saves money in the long run.”
“And, better for the environment. It was one of the first initiatives I got through here.” Even as he nodded in agreement across from her, Jyn still didn’t trust him. “Why are you here, Andor?”
“I want to clear the air, so you stop viewing me as a threat.”
“But you are a threat. You hold my fate, the fate of all my friends, and the fate of all our work in your hands, like a small bird. And I don’t appreciate your callous attitude-“
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. Because it makes me think you’re going to take that small bird and strangle it with your bare hands.”
Cassian narrowed his eyes, like it was hard for him to restrain from showing more of his aggravation with her. “Are you done?”
“Almost. I think you’re an ass-“
“Wonderful.”
“And I don’t understand how you can be so critical of this government when you’re not even a part of it. Have you ever even been a part of a government body?”
He seemed to weigh a decision in his head before speaking. “I have.” Jyn raised her eyebrow, waiting for him to finish. “A little town called Ferrix.”
“Why does that sound so familiar?” Jyn asked, mostly to herself. Cassian continued sipping his coffee, expressionless. “Oh my god. You’re Cassi Andor, the Ferrix Boy Mayor.”
“That I am,” he said, as if pained him to say those three words.
“I remember the news coverage! Eighteen years old, and you got elected in a landslide. They even showed your inauguration on the state cable channel! What was your inauguration song, wasn’t it-“ she snapped her fingers, trying to remember.
“’Whoomp,there it is,’” he sighed.
“Yes! God, I was so jealous of you. We were just kids, but you were going to be in charge of all these changes.” She looked at the auditor sitting in front of her now. “What the hell happened to you?”
“I tried to save the town’s economy by building a massive winter sports complex-“
“And everyone loved it, you didn’t know how to accept positive feedback, so you decided to leave that all behind and become my budget’s Grim Reaper instead?”
“Something like that. I bankrupted the town and got impeached.” Cassian looked at Jyn. “No one took me seriously. I left to go to school in Coruscant and even there, no one wanted to talk to me, afraid my scandal would rub off on them and ruin their political futures. It’s a wonder Leia ever became my friend.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Jyn said, “She’s an Organa. It’d take a lot more than just one disgraced boy mayor to tarnish a political legacy like that.”
He laughed drily. “You’re probably right. But still, I had to work hard to get that reputation behind me. Studied accounting, started balancing city budgets. All so one day, I can get back into government. I just want to do something positive for my community. Just like you, just like Leia. You’re just doing your job, but so is she, and so am I.”
Jyn sighed. “It’s hard to be angry at you when you sound like a real person.”
“Leia’s your friend, so don’t take it out on her. Stay mad at me, if you need someone to direct it all at. Sounds like you have a lot of emotions about this.”
“It’s not just the budget,” Jyn explained, not sure why she was telling him this. “My parents…” she trailed off.
“You don’t have to tell me,” he said quickly. “I just figured, because of last night, it had to be something bigger than the budget.” Cassian stood, and moved to leave the office. “This town’s still bankrupt. I am going to have to cut something, but I hope now we at least have a mutual understanding.”
“I think we do,” Jyn said, standing too, and reaching forward for them to shake hands.
“I look forward to working with you, Jyn Erso, even if you did get drunk and call me a pendejo,” he said with the smallest hint of a smile.
“Please, Mr. Mayor, the honor of working with you will be all mine.” She paused. “I do need your help with something, though. Can you give me Luke’s number?”
-
“You seem to be in a much better mood,” Bodhi remarked as he and Jyn walked to the conference room by Leia’s office.
“Amazing what a little coffee will do,” Jyn said distractedly, picking up her phone as it rang. “Walk a little faster,” she directed back at Bodhi, “I said we’d be there by now.”
“We’re already early for the meeting-“ Bodhi started, before they turned the corner, to see the approaching form of Luke Skywalker.
“Jyn Erso,” he said into his phone, and it echoed through the receiver on Jyn’s end. “Why am I meeting you-“
“Perfect,” Jyn said, hanging up. “I believe you two have some things to talk about.” And leaving her brother with the auditor, she strode into the conference room.
They stared at each other. “Bodhi Rook,” Luke began after a moment, “I would like to apologize if I came on too strong last night. The last thing I’d want is for you to be uncomfortable.”
“No, I’m sorry too,” Bodhi said. “I’m usually not that sloppy of a drunk, but-“
“It was your birthday. One night a year it’s expected.” He shifted uncomfortably. “But, Kay also gave me an earful last night about proper ethics in non-professional relationships between colleagues. Which, the two of us are for the foreseeable future, while my team’s here in Yavin. And since we blurred some of those professional lines last night, I’m worried you won’t respect me as a colleague.”
“Of course I still respect you,” Bodhi said. “Honestly, I’m surprised after everything last night, you’d still respect me.”
“Well, Bodhi Rook, I’ve only been in Yavin City Hall for 24 hours, and have already heard nothing but the highest of compliments about you from your colleagues and friends.”
Bodhi felt himself blush at that. “How about you and I start over then? Put last night behind us, have a clean slate. Let’s be friends first. Okay?”
“Bodhi Rook,” Luke said with a smile. “I would love nothing more than to be your friend.”
-
Soon after, everyone else filed into the conference room for their end-of-week meeting, now joined for the first time by Cassian, Luke, and Kay. Leia entered last, and stood at the head of the table. Dressed as immaculate as ever, the only sign she was hungover was heavier than usual concealer covering the bags under her eyes.
“Good afternoon, team,” she began, which was answered with a sea of groans. “Now, before we get started-“
“Before we get started,” Jyn interrupted, standing up. (“Great,” Leia muttered sarcastically.”) “I need to say something. Leia, I owe you an apology.” Leia, and everyone else who knew Jyn, looked stunned. “I let my own personal feelings about projects get in the way of your work. I know you’re just trying to do your job, and I was just trying to do mine. Like another mayor once told me, we’re all just trying to do something positive for our community.”
(“Does she even know any other mayors?” Shara muttered to Bodhi.)
(“Don’t tell me you told her-” Kay muttered to Cassian.)
“I’m glad you finally see it that way,” Leia said diplomatically. “And, I apologize too for not being more considerate of your viewpoint. I should have better anticipated your reaction to this. I’m sorry too.” She paused. “You were being a dick though, so I’m still a little mad at you.”
“Totally understandable,” Jyn allowed. “But I am no longer mad at you. Instead, I will be directing all my anger at the real cause of these changes.” She turned to the other end of the table. “Andor,” she announced with a mischievous grin, “Consider this war, and see you in hell.”
“She’s joking,” Leia said reflexively.
“No,” Cassian said with another faint smile. "I don't think she is."