the pilot and the captain- bassian/sniperpilot

7

bodhi again woke to the sounds of the rebel base starting to stir, but this time, his bed was warmer than before. the captain sat next to him, sleeping peacefully. the pilot's head was rested on cassian's shoulder. hazy sunlight crept through the window, and dust fluttered through the air. bodhi looked up from cassian's shoulder as his eyes started to flutter open and shut. the captain's hand was in bodhi's; he must have taken cassian's hand sometime throughout the night. their legs intertwined as cassian stretched his right leg and laid it on top of bodhi's.

the captain released bodhi's hand in order to stretch his arms out. bodhi smiled, and closed his eyes. cassian took his hand again, and rested his head on top of the pilot's. he softly squeezed his hand. "buenos dias, pilot." he whispered hoarsely.

bodhi huffed a laugh. "i don't know spanish."

cassian gasped, sarcastically offended. "not to worry, pilot," he said, jumping onto his feet. he held his arms out to his sides. " buenos dias simply means 'good morning' in spanish!" he paused to walk into the kitchen. "perhaps i should take the responsibility of teaching you all about my native language. and," he added, putting a dish into the white cupboard. "you could teach me yours maybe?"

bodhi looked at him, confused. "urdu?" he asked, and cassian nodded. the pilot laughed sarcastically before adding, "there is nothing beautiful or complex about urdu like there is spanish. besides," he added as cassian furrowed his brows. "i haven't spoken the language in years. imperial bases allowed english or droid language only. anything else was considered hostile."

cassian frowned at his cereal."you've spoken it in your dreams," he said, walking back over to the bed with two bowls of dried cereal. he handed one to bodhi and sat down in the edge of his bed. "last night, you said the same word over and over again. it was desperate, like you were talking to someone."

bodhi frowned, furrowing his brows. the language escaped him; he seemed to only speak it in his nightmares. "i can't recall," he said, looking back up to the captain. "my apologies."

"it's quite alright, pilot," he said, patting bodhi's leg as he stood up. "it'll come back to you."

"i hope not." the pilot muttered.

----------------------------

"look," cassian said, reaching across the small table to point at the hologram. he smiled at the pilot before saying, "'mi amigo' means 'my friend', but if you're talking about a girl, it would be 'mi amiga'." bodhi nodded. "this one," cassian added, pointing to 'padres' on the green hologram. "means 'parents'."

bodhi nodded again, writing things down on the tablet he had in front of him. the pilot scribbled down spanish pronouns and basic sayings. today cassian was teaching him relations, and all bodhi could think about was the man next to him.

the night before was the most comfortable the pilot has ever been in his entire life, and he craved that touch again. he wanted to fall asleep next to someone, and wake up next to them again in the morning. cassian made him feel safe, even when they sat in silence on the U-Wing or slept across the room from each other. bodhi found himself staring at cassian's mouth whenever they talked, and if he was being honest, he stared at cassian every chance he got.

"pilot?" cassian interrupted. his hand was on bodhi's shoulder, and the captain's face wasn't a foot away from his. bodhi stared right back into cassian's eyes, then looked down.

"i'm sorry captain," he said, staring into his lap. "my minds not where it should be."

cassian smiled and shook his head as he took his hand off of bodhi's shoulder and stood up. "don't apologize, pilot, you're fine. besides," he said, sticking his hand out to bodhi. "it's getting late anyways." bodhi took his hand and heaved himself up.

back into room 3009, cassian cleaned in the kitchen while bodhi sat on his bed against the wall. "captain," he said, standing up. "do you want help?"

cassian smiled as he put away more dishes into the white cabinets. "actually," he said, turning around. "grab that small radio on the shelf in the closet. i want to show you something."

bodhi looked at cassian suspiciously, then went to the closet and grabbed the small black radio on the top shelf. the captain moved and sat on the edge of the bed. he took the radio into his hands, and turned the small dial. the pilot sat close next to him and watched cassian as he took a small box out of his pocket. he handed it to bodhi as he turned the dials with both hands. the box was clear; two white circles stood in the middle of the thin frame. a thin black sheet wrapped around both circles on the inside.

bodhi held it up and looked at the captain, puzzled.

"that," he said, taking it out of bodhi's hand and putting it into a slot in the radio. "is a cassette tape." he paused, turning more dials. "when was the last time you listened to music?"

bodhi stared at cassian, confused. "... music?" he asked.

cassian looked back at him, bewildered. "you know, sounds and words put together melodically...?" bodhi shook his head at cassian. "well," he said, pushing a button on the radio. "i have some very ancient music for you."

cassian moved up against the wall, and bodhi moved next to him, their shoulders once touching again. the music started, the instruments crescendoed into a blend of guitar and piano, and it filled bodhi's soul. a gospel chorus rang in the air as the start of the song inclined into the first verse.
"well there's no need to be nervous, i'm not dangerous anymore.
yeah, i cleaned up and found jesus and he's waiting at the door.
now here's a leaflet, try to read it, you have always been a friend.
but when you see me next, won't recognize the person that i am."

the music crescendoed again into the chorus, more instruments joined in as the smooth male voice continued.

"i'm born again!"

cassian turned it down. "what do you think?" he asked, turning to bodhi. the pilot stared at the radio before responding.

"i've never heard anything like that in my entire life." he said, looking up to cassian. "maybe once, as a child, but that's just jedha background noise. nothing this... this beautiful."

cassian smiled, a real, toothy smile. his eyes crinkled up, showing faded laugh lines on his temples. "i'm glad you like it, pilot. it's a song about redemption; just like you." he said as the chorus continued. bodhi hummed as he slowly slid down onto his back; his head in the captain's lap.

it was much past the usual time bodhi went to sleep, but for the first time it wasn't making him anxious. he was relaxed up against cassian, and he was glad the captain didn't mind bodhi. he slid down next to bodhi, shutting off the radio in the process. bodhi rested his head on cassian's chest, and cassian pulled the covers over the two of them. the captain moved slowly as to not disturb the sleeping pilot on his chest, and turned off the light above their heads.

"buenos noches, pilot" cassian said, closing his eyes.