ohnofeelstho | next is hamlet, which is about a whiny prince from denmark. what does that have to do with reality?

Cassian always knows when it's Jyn coming to his door, not just because he's come to recognize her hoppy steps so much as his dumb dog perks up immediately from wherever she is, wagging her tail in a very specific way. It's the Jyn Wag (tm). It always serves to make Cassian smile, even before they started dating.

Sometimes he can't believe he and Jyn are actually dating. It's been a great few months of it. He was always happy to be her friend, but this is much better.

Even if the holidays are coming up again. Summer was different. They'd only just started dating, it was a little easier to miss her. He already knows it's going to be even worse this time, simply because he doesn't even get to go visit his sister to offshoot it while Jyn heads back to Denmark, and even Kay is headed out of town for a research trip, though he offered to cancel when he realized his roommate wasn't headed back to California for Christmas. It's fine, his neighbors Baze and Chirrut will have him over - they always invite him for all the major holidays he doesn't get to go home for.

Chantico hops off the sofa and beelines for the door. It isn't locked, and he already told Jyn to let herself in when she texted earlier about wanting to hang out. As soon as the door opens, the dog happily whines. Attention now please!

"She has been waiting for you!" Cassian calls out, very very fondly towards the both of them. He's been waiting too, obviously.

Seven hour flight plus a six hour time difference plus a twenty minute drive and Jyn knows they will be able to skive off early claiming jet lag and a poor dog that needs to rest after her very long flight. They'd left before seven in the morning and it is just past seven at night thanks to the time difference, if they throw themselves into bed soon enough then they can sleep through until morning and be free of the jet leg.

This is the prevailing theory, it has yet to prove successful, usually Jyn is half asleep the first full day home anyway. Mum promised an early morning run would clear her mind, but Jyn preferred the tried and true method of being headachey and actually wearing her glasses for a day before they got abandoned on her desk again.

"It won't be everyone, I promise, not for a few days. Mum, Papa, Farfar, Tante Aggie -- she's the nice one, Papa's baby sister, she takes care of Farfar." Jyn's Aunt Agneta is her and Bodhi's favorite, as sweet and bubbly as the rest of the women in her family are cold and dismissive. "Onkel Teddy, Aggie's husband, will probably be there for solidarity."

She pauses, hands twisted together nervously in her lap, enough anxiety rolling off her that Chantico whines and licks at her hands. She doesn't care about her aunts or the stupid holidays, she only wants to introduce Cassian to her parents and grandfather, but she knows that even that is a lot considering, you know, royalty and all. She doesn't want him to feel like he made a mistake coming here with her because she maybe probably wants him to keep coming back here with her.

"But also we can turn around and I can get us a flight back to school if you want."

maybe he would even carry her out like a princess in a bedtime story.

i do not want to be treated like a princess, i just want to be loved.