Archive of Our Own ^beta

Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso were still locked in their final embrace when something very strange occurred. One moment, they were literally on fire, engulfed in the scorching flames of a massive explosion on the beach of Scarif, the world crumbling around them. The next, Cassian felt a cool breeze ruffling his tangled mess of hair as a surreal calm settled in.

Kriffing hell, could this… could this be the afterlife?

Cassian was about to open his eyes when he heard a strangled shout.

"You're not D…" The voice trailed off, then said, "What are you two doing Apparating on my picnic blanket?"

Picnic blanket? Appa— what? Jyn's tight grip loosened on Cassian's shoulders. She was… laughing. And, apparently, so was he. They both collapsed to the ground, completely overcome. Who knew death could be so hilarious? 

Well, Cassian's eyes were open now. Amidst his guffaws, he somehow managed to process their location and the idyllic scene before them: a brisk day, a green mound of grass—a hill, definitely—flowers to the right of them, budding trees to the left, and a scratchy blue and bronze blanket under his very bloody knees. 

Ah yes, and Cassian's back and leg were still fucked. Very, very fucked. 

The voice spoke again. "Is this some sort of joke?" it said, sounding extremely out of sorts. 

Luckily for Cassian (and Jyn, he supposed), it quickly became apparent that the person speaking was a teenage boy, drowning in freckles. He was also quite short, at least in Cassian's estimation. If the boy attacked them—it was always a possibility, at least in his unfortunate experience—Cassian and Jyn could dispatch him easily, especially together. The boy looked laughably harmless. He was even holding a wooden stick in his right hand for some inexplicable reason. But you never knew. Appearances could be deceiving.

Another wave of laughter hit Cassian like a blaster bolt to the chest. Speaking of blasters… Cassian patted his side. Yes, he still had his blaster on him. He let out a slow exhale, his shoulders loosening a fractional amount despite the aching pain that radiated through every nook and cranny of his body, from the top of his head all the way down to his toes. Would he be able to stand in his current state? Debatable. And what about Jyn?

Out of the corner of his eye he observed Jyn laying on her back, clutching at her stomach, taking huge gulps of breath, likely trying to calm herself. Her laughter had died down, but every so often a soft chuckle escaped her lips. 

Cassian realized he was still laughing too. He needed to stop. They couldn't both be completely useless in a potential fight, even if he was correct and the boy had more bark than bite. 

Jyn mumbled something that Cassian didn't quite catch. 

"What?" he said, completely ignoring the teenage boy's earlier question—something or other about whether or not this was a joke.

"We're alive," Jyn rasped, while the boy huffed indignantly above them. His hands rested on his hips as he glared, a murderous glint in his eye. He looked like an angry Ewok. Less hairy though. 

"Is someone going to explain what's going on?" the boy asked. 

"I don't know, kid," Cassian replied. "We're as in the dark as you."

"You're the ones who Apparated here! Are you telling me you didn't know where you were headed?" He stomped forward. "You didn't visualize this location?" 

Cassian shrugged. There was that strange word again. Apparate. He debated asking what it meant, but ultimately decided against it as the boy's cheeks had flushed a brilliant red. Rage, most likely. He certainly didn't seem embarrassed.

Jyn eased up from the ground and completed her own careful inspection of their surroundings. As she did so, she drew her hair up in a small bun at the back of her head. Neat, out of the way. Good, they might need to make a run for it. If Cassian could run. 

He rose up, slowly, stifling a groan. Well, he'd definitely been in better shape, but at least he could stand. He took a small step forward with his injured leg. Shit. It was definitely broken. That wasn't good news. He may need to reconsider his response to the situation. 

As Cassian considered their other options, Jyn worrying away at the kyber crystal necklace around her neck—which Cassian assumed was a nervous tic of sorts—another teenage boy appeared, strolling down the hill directly ahead of them. 

"Sebastian?" he called out. He was larger—taller, too—with long blond hair tied back in a low bun, identical to the style Jyn arranged her own hair into mere moments before. Cassian blinked a few times, then shook his head.

So, the first boy's name was Sebastian. A good, strong name. Cassian could appreciate a name that ended in -ian. For obvious reasons.

"Damien!" 

Jyn snorted. "Sebastian and Damien," she said through a laugh. "Both your names rhyme. How sweet." The sarcasm was hard to miss, unlike a stormtrooper's aim. 

Cassian waved his arms at her, hoping the implication was clear: Be more discreet, dammit! It would be just their luck that Jyn's sharp tongue would get them in trouble. And anyway, couldn't she tell he was still attempting to assess the situation? It wasn't the best idea to anger the strange new kids, which was seemingly what she was doing.  

Kriff, was she doing it deliberately? He sighed as he raked a hand through his hair. He wouldn’t put it past her.

On any other day, Cassian could appreciate the snark, but not today, not after whatever they'd just been through. For the love of the Force, he was still recovering from nearly being blasted into stardust. Quite literally. 

Although he supposed he'd been through worse. Much, much worse. In fact, Cassian still winced whenever he caught someone mutter the words "on program." He was honestly shocked by how often it came up in daily conversation. 

Cassian clenched his jaw. He flinched as Jyn spoke again, this time addressing the boys. Unfortunately, she also had her blaster pointed directly at them. That didn't bode well. 

"Where are we?" she asked, her eyes narrowed. 

Sebastian and Damien just stood there, blinking back at her. They didn't look frightened at all.

Damien raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" he said, pointing at her blaster. 

Didn't he know what a blaster was? Either he was extremely dumb or Cassian and Jyn had ended up on some outer rim planet that hadn't reached the same technological prowess of the rest of the Empire. Perhaps a planet similar to Kenari, pre-Imperial invasion? It certainly seemed idyllic enough, especially with what Cassian just noticed seemed to be a castle in the distance. 

Well, wherever they were, he needed to do something. Immediately. 

Cassian stepped forward, blocking Jyn's sight line. "Nothing," he said. "If you don't mind, we'll be on our way."

Jyn mumbled something under her breath, but slipped her blaster back in its holster. Cassian wished he felt even an inkling of relief, but he definitely didn't. He may not have known Jyn all that long, but he already knew that that had been far too easy. 

Damien didn't seem convinced by Cassian's answer or Jyn's deescalation, but he didn't press further. Sebastian, unfortunately, had other ideas. He leaped forward, the stick in his hand outstretched, pointing it menacingly at Jyn. 

"That didn't look like 'nothing'!" he hissed. "Who are you people and why are you interrupting our picnic?" 

Damien threw out a hand, grabbed Sebastian by the shoulder, and yanked him back. 

Cassian sighed, again. Sebastian was far too much like Jyn. Argumentative, quick-tempered, too curious for his (their) own good. But at least Damien was acting appropriately. 

Jyn leaped forward. Cassian blocked her again, taking a page out of Damien's holonovel by making steady contact with her shoulders and shoving her back. "Don't," he hissed as she scowled at him. "Let me handle it."

Damien nodded at him approvingly. The two sensible males exchanged a look of exasperation. It was nice to know that at least one of the boys understood, and presumably, could be reasoned with. 

Did either of their two mischievous partners listen though? 

… No. They did not. 

Jyn squirmed and ducked, escaping from his grip, which, Cassian admitted to himself was somewhat hindered by the horrific pain still lancing through his body, while Sebastian did exactly the same, barrel rolling out of Damien's embrace and pulling out his stick, which he trained once more on Jyn as he shouted out some unrecognizable word, only for Jyn to immediately freeze in place. 

Wait. Wait one kriffing moment! 

Jyn was frozen in place.

"Jyn!" Cassian yelled, blaster in hand. Arming himself was so instinctual that he didn't even realize he had the blaster out until he glanced down. 

Damien spun on him, pulling out a stick very similar to Sebastian's, although it had a different design. Sebastian's was checkered, and Damien's was covered in what appeared to be a trail of... vines? 

Sebastian's stick had done something to Jyn! What were these powerful objects? Could they be imbued with the Force somehow? Was Jyn alright? Was there a way to counteract whatever Sebastian had done to her? 

"Why did you do that?" Damien barked at Sebastian, flicking his strange stick. There was no mistaking it; Damien was angry, and the look in his eyes was far more menacing than Sebastian's earlier expression. 

But! Jyn was suddenly returning back to life—thank the Force—although she was clearly disoriented. Cassian wasn't sure what to do. Sebastian had been the aggressor, but Damien had reversed whatever he'd done. Jyn seemed uncertain about how to respond as well. She still had her blaster out, but it was pointed down, and her hand was uncharacteristically shaking. 

It was a good thing Damien and Sebastian were currently distracted. In fact, they were arguing now ("I was trying to protect you!" "I don't need protecting!" "Right. Next time I'll let you handle it." "That's what I'm saying!" "That was sarcasm!" "I know! I'm not an idiot!"). 

Cassian and Jyn exchanged a glance with each other, assessing the situation through each others' eyes. Situation assessed, they nodded at each other, then… bolted. 

There was a lot more arguing as they ran off to who knew where. Unusual, really, but Cassian and Jyn didn't know that. 

("Look what you did! They're gone now!" "That's your fault! Don't you even think about blaming me!")

Well, no matter. Cassian and Jyn did not hear the rest of Sebastian and Damien's heated conversation, since they were too busy running away, but it went a little something like this:

"Wait," Damien said, his eyes narrowed. "Isn't their leaving a good thing?" 

"Oh," Sebastian replied, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I suppose you're right. Although—"

"We never found out who they were, did we?" 

"Correct." 

"Do you think they're going to be a problem?" 

Sebastian shrugged. "Who knows? If they are, they're not our problem."

(Cassian would have agreed, if he had still been there.) 

"Back to our picnic then?" 

"Yes, splendid!"

Damien clapped his hands and skipped over to the picnic blanket, plopping down with a grin. "What's for lunch?"

Sebastian dropped down beside him, pecked his cheek, murmured, "Marmalade sandwiches, but you're the appetizer," then tackled his partner to the ground with roguish delight, all thoughts of their earlier visitors gone in a flash. 

Rogue ones, lost? Oh yes, most certainly. But also: rogue ones, found.