[ As River leans her weight into him, soaking the fabric of his robe, the fracture in his heart fissures a little more. Cassian's calloused fingers curl around her shoulder drawing her close, paying no mind to the eyes that are still staring at them curiously.
A name passes her lips that he hasn't heard before. Simon. Someone important to her, if he has to guess, which makes all of this more tragic. There's no part of him that believes these people should have brought them here. But if they were so insistent, so arrogant, they shouldn't have brought River without Simon. Resentment coils in his stomach.
River's tear filled eyes draw him in, her question making his heart unexpectedly clench. Over the years countless people he held dear had asked him that in so many different ways. Could they trust him to cover for them? For him to pay back his debts? Could they trust him to be there for them and not leave? To come home, alive? An image of Bix, broken and shattered telling him that she dreamt he had come back flashes briefly through his mind. It's followed by the distant, stormy eyes of friends that he swore he'd find before sending them off to Gangi Moon. And finally the ghost of Kerri, expecting him, trusting him to return, stares at him, always just out the corner of his eye.
Would they still trust him now even though he had failed them countless times before?
The weight of that responsibility could be crippling. It had in the past. It could very well again here in a galaxy that isn't his own without a ways to return. But just as he knew he'd shoulder it then, he would do the same now. But not only that - River deserved to be able to trust herself too. Gently he reaches out to wipe some of those tears away from her cheek. ]
I lied to you about what my name was. If that takes time for you to forgive me, that's okay. Trust takes time to build, River, whether that's trust in me or in yourself. But I'm willing to be there. To be patient. [ His lips quirk. ] I wouldn't make a very good partner in crime otherwise, would I?
no subject
A name passes her lips that he hasn't heard before. Simon. Someone important to her, if he has to guess, which makes all of this more tragic. There's no part of him that believes these people should have brought them here. But if they were so insistent, so arrogant, they shouldn't have brought River without Simon. Resentment coils in his stomach.
River's tear filled eyes draw him in, her question making his heart unexpectedly clench. Over the years countless people he held dear had asked him that in so many different ways. Could they trust him to cover for them? For him to pay back his debts? Could they trust him to be there for them and not leave? To come home, alive? An image of Bix, broken and shattered telling him that she dreamt he had come back flashes briefly through his mind. It's followed by the distant, stormy eyes of friends that he swore he'd find before sending them off to Gangi Moon. And finally the ghost of Kerri, expecting him, trusting him to return, stares at him, always just out the corner of his eye.
Would they still trust him now even though he had failed them countless times before?
The weight of that responsibility could be crippling. It had in the past. It could very well again here in a galaxy that isn't his own without a ways to return. But just as he knew he'd shoulder it then, he would do the same now. But not only that - River deserved to be able to trust herself too. Gently he reaches out to wipe some of those tears away from her cheek. ]
I lied to you about what my name was. If that takes time for you to forgive me, that's okay. Trust takes time to build, River, whether that's trust in me or in yourself. But I'm willing to be there. To be patient. [ His lips quirk. ] I wouldn't make a very good partner in crime otherwise, would I?