ohnofeelstho | it is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.

He is right. A surprise doesn't sway her at all but she does perk up at the idea of pants, even if she finishes her sentence (and the paragraph) before she sets the book down and looks over her shoulder at Cassian.

He is wearing what looks like the warmest, most comfortable coat and the most hideous sweater and she is charmed, eyes lingering on that sweater a few seconds too long before her gaze lifts to his face. She still doesn't get up, he might have to drag her.

"What am I wearing pants for?" Still doesn't care about the concept of a surprise.

He is mostly patient while he waits for her to finish up the page she's reading, but when she finally looks up at him, his face brightens. Even if she still doesn't move from her spot on the rug.

"Don't you know what a surprise is?" He shakes his head. "You'll need a jacket too, a very warm one that you can move around in. They should have given you a few to choose from."

She probably has a jacket for every occasion buried somewhere in her wardrobe. He certainly does, but he wears his parka more than the others, even and often when he shouldn't.

Her nose scrunches up and she flops back dramatically on the rug. A jacket, a very warm one, means that he's making her go outside where she will presumably freeze to death and sent out to sea with the ice floes since the ground is frozen solid with permafrost so she can't be buried.

"Cassian, it's too cold," she whines, endlessly fussy, pouting at his expression. Cold means death!

His smile widens even more when she flops over, because it's the most ridiculously Jyn thing. If he wasn't so determined to take her sledding, he would just let her be after the dramatic show.

"That's what the jacket is for," he says easily. "And the hat and gloves, a scarf too if you wish. The sun is peeking out today too."

He walks closer to her, squatting down so he's more at her level. He's still smiling at her, but maybe less wide now as he's kind of nervous too, trying not to show it. "Please?"

"Fine!" Her nose is still scrunched up as she squawks her acquiescence. Fine, she will go outside and freeze to death with him. The maids will probably find their frozen corpses very romantic.

But now that he's down her at nearly her level, she reaches out to push him. Hopefully over. If she's going outside, she at least wants to see him fall down today. For her own personal amusement. You know, something to remember as she's dying.

He's lucky that he's cute because it was that sweet, earnest expression that swayed her.

His face lights up all over again when she agrees, and he wonders when he stopped trying to hide so much around her. She does succeed at shoving him over, and he falls backward to land on his bum, puffing out a laugh. He supposes he deserved that, but she did agree to come outside so he's still the winner.

He climbs to his feet after and offers his hand out to help her up. Not because she's incapable, of course, just because he wants to. "I promise we can come inside as soon as you want to, as long as it's not immediately after we step outside."

Ah yes, she will definitely remember that smile before she dies.

She slaps her hand into his and lets him heft her to her feet, looking up at him with a defiant expression while he adds his qualifier like she wasn't thinking of doing exactly that. It's really not fair that he is cutting off her protest before she can even make them.

"How long will "immediately after" last?" Just to clarify.

"If you don't like it, we don't have to keep doing it."

Cassian that is super vague. But he squeezes her hand and pulls her up, not quite letting go even after she's standing. He really wants her to like sledding, but he's not going to push it if she hates it. It is a very cold thing to do.

"Give it at least a few minutes."

This isn't some weird snow planet mating ritual, is it? Jyn feels like the maids would have told her if tradition called for sex in the snow, but she doesn't know for her. She doesn't question it right now, deciding to burn that bridge when she came to it.

"Alright." Her thumb brushes against the back of his hand, an idle, unconscious movement. "Can you help me with my buttons?"

It would be a hassle to get the maids in here when she can dress herself in trousers and a shirt probably stolen from Bodhi, but she can't do all the buttons down her back by herself. She can almost unlace her corset by herself but that seems like a step too far right now and she can wriggle out of it once it's slightly loose so that will be fine to do herself, but the buttons...

Whatever she was going to ask, he wasn't expecting that. He brushes his thumb over her hand too, then slowly nods. His smile slips away, but he still looks cheerful enough. He's hesitant to agree to it because he doesn't want to make her uncomfortable - but she asked in the first place. And she probably just doesn't want to call the maids. "Sure, of course."

Cassian lets go of her hand and moves behind her, eyes dipping down over the back of the dress. A handful of buttons, just enough to be annoying for her on her own. He pops open the first one, then the second, making quick work of them without being too weird about it. His fingers only brush against the skin at the top of her back, thanks to the corset he reveals underneath as the dress falls open.

"Do you need help with - this?" He briefly touches the corset peeking out, hoping the question doesn't overstep any bounds. He just assumes that's going to come off too, because corsets are a pain.

Even the briefest brush of his fingers against her skin makes her feel warm, butterflies dancing a samba in her stomach while goosebumps ripple across her bare skin. It's the most innocent, just a friend helping a friend, but Jyn has to press her teeth to her bottom lip to keep herself from squirming anyway.

"If you'd like." She doesn't need help, but she doesn't want to ask for help. Cassian's offering, sort of, but she still doesn't have the nerve to outright say yes.

She acts so forward and brave but when it comes down to it -- she's neither.

He?? Should not?? 'If you'd like' is the worst way she could have answered him, because on one hand it'd probably be rude to back away now, but on the other, if he loosens it could be taken in ways he absolutely does not want in the sense of what he'd like and - wow he is definitely overthinking this and the time is passing by awkwardly. She's getting goosebumps, but she's probably just cold.

"I'll do just a little," he says quietly. "I know they can be annoying."

He doesn't know how capable she is of doing this herself, there's a reason maids help her in the morning, so Cassian swallows a little then tugs gently at the strings. Not a lot at all, but he unties it and loosens them up enough to hopefully be useful. There's about two seconds of pause where he just sort of stares at her back, then remembers his place and immediately takes a few steps away from her, giving her privacy and space again as he moves towards the door.

The tops of his ears are definitely red, but he is ignoring it! "I'll be right outside."

Jyn turns around a breath too late, hesitating only to find him retreating. Which is fair and polite and expected.

"I won't be long."

And she isn't. Laces and buttons undone, she can easily slip out of her many layers and climb into Bodhi's pants and Bodhi's shirt, tucking it in with an ease that is borderline scandalous. Her boots aren't sturdy, but Jyn also has a pair of women's work boots so she pulls those on, lacing them up over her pants. Her jacket is pulled on over everything, scarf looped around her throat and tucked inside before she does all the buttons up.

The hood isn't pushed up and her gloves are in her hands when she slips into the hall. "It's a good thing Bodhi is so skinny."

Cassian sort of blinks to himself once he's in the hall, telling himself there is absolutely nothing odd about helping Jyn out of her dress. The maids do it every day! Just because he's her husband doesn't make it weird!

He turns when she comes out quickly, barely giving him any time for his thoughts which is honestly probably for the best. His face brightens again, because she is prepared. She looks more comfortable than he's seen her in a while, and the jacket is exactly the right kind for this.

"How many of his things have you stolen?" He doesn't sound the least bit concerned by her theft. Instead he just starts walking, trusting she'll follow as he buttons up his parka.

"Too many to be proper, but I can't very well take them from some little boy in town." Even if a teenage boy would give the clothes a better fit, Bodhi's pants are far too long and his shirts are far too big. "I imagine your requisitions go through General Draven and if anyone would be horrified by your wife wearing trousers, it would be him."

Maybe get one of those parkas for her though, it looks so soft she wants to reach out and touch it, an urge that hasn't passed since she first saw the jacket.

He has many jackets, but the blue one is her favorite.

He still sounds amused by this. No wonder Bodhi is always coming to him about shirt replacements.

"You can always go to a tailor, or have one come here. Not that I care what Draven thinks about what you wear, but I like to get things from Fest when I can." It's not always the case, but Cassian does try very hard to make sure Festians get work when it comes to making his clothes.

He notices the way she keeps stealing glances at his jacket, not for the first time, but it's definitely his favorite too so he can't blame her. "Do you want one like this?"

Cassian takes them down a side staircase, one of the servant's passages, shaving off time and questions he'd get walking through the bulk of the castle.

"A tailor in the palace making trousers for your wife?" Her eyebrows jump up, but she bites back an amused smile. It would be fun to see the tailor's expression when he realizes he's making trousers for a woman.

She nods eagerly at his question though. "I would! It's always looked so soft and warm."

Give it to her now.

He smiles back with a similar amusement. "A lot of women wear pants in Fest, especially if they are outside a lot. They'd be surprised it was for you at first, but not in a bad way."

They reach the bottom of the stairs, and he slips through the empty kitchens and stocked pantries. There's a door towards the back, which is the goal here. He shoots her a quick look. No, she cannot have his jacket especially right now. "This one would probably dwarf you. But we can get you one of your own. What color?"

"Blue, of course." Duh. It is her favorite color. And she thinks that a puffy parka that doubles as a dress would be wonderful and very warm. Though it would be much easier to steal if he weren't wearing it.

As they wind through the pantry she reaches out to snag a fruit, biting into it before she has to put her mittens on. Sometimes she feels too tied down, staying in one place, one cold place, but she can't say she doesn't love the idea of always having food on hand whenever she pleases. Steady food was a luxury she didn't realize she coveted so badly, but it turned out she would put up with almost everything for food.

They'll match. Which he doesn't say aloud, but he likes the idea, especially because it's her choice and not clothes shoved at her to match.

He smiles when she steals the fruit, but it motivates him to steal one too, a smaller piece he can just pop into his mouth whole. He steps through the door into a small dim hallway, far chillier than the kitchen; the door on the other side of the room is heavier, clearly the last barrier to the outside.

Cassian reaches over next to a small table and holds up a wooden sled. There's faded and chipped blue painted trim, and it's big enough for two adults. He huffs out a small sigh and half a smile. He is maybe a little nervous again. "This is a sled. We are going to go sledding."

"That's a sled," Jyn repeats, mouth full but not enough to disguise her mild confusion. It's a pallet on... curvy pieces of wood. She supposes that is what helps it move through the snow but she's so lacking of the context still that she just blinks in confusion.

"We're going--" It has finally sunk in that this is their adventure. The thing he'd told her about when they had first met, they're finally going sledding. Her cheeks flush with delight and she bites her lips to keep from smiling.

"You're taking me sledding!"

Oh no she's smiling. Or fighting one, but he can see it there, and his nerves fizzle out into relief. She's happy, and his stomach flutters gleefully at the sight. His own smile widens. Now he just needs it to not disappoint, if she's already excited by the idea.

"See? Not so bad a surprise." He hopes. He tugs his gloves on and yanks the hood over his head before slowly buttoning up his parka. "Bundle up. And I swear it is sturdy enough to glide us down the hills despite how it looks."

The hood looks even softer and fluffier when it's up and Jyn resists the urge to rip it off him.

"If we don't freeze to death first." But she sets her half eaten fruit on a ledge and pulls her mittens on, sweeping her own fur lined hood over her hair and adjusting her scarf to cover all of her neck before she does up the last couple of buttons herself.

"I'll be very cross if we die in the snow."

She looks adorable and he catches himself staring for a second before shaking it off. He shoots her another smile, unlocking and opening the door. The cold air sweeps in, but he doesn't so much as shiver.

"That's why we have so many layers. We're not going to die in the snow, and we'll have lots of hot drinks and food to warm us when we come inside." He hoists the sled under his arm and steps out into the snow. "I promise."

"You better," Jyn mutters, huffing out a breath and she barrels out after him. She's still not used to the cold. Wrea couldn't do enough to prepare her for this and she feels herself start shivering immediately. She knows it's an instinct of her body and that it's keeping her warm, but she can't help but think Fest is telling her she doesn't belong here.

Surely she should be used to it by now.

"Let's go then, before we freeze right here."

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