Cassian looked at Jyn. His ribs ached and he barely managed to stand without her help.
He wondered when he had fallen in love with this woman. A woman he had only known for a short time, a woman who was like him.
Was it on Eadu, lying on the ridge, ready to murder her father?
When he realized that Galen Erso had his daughter’s eyes, he could not do it. When the Alliance squadron came, he called her name.
Yes, it was there where he had first admitted to himself that he had feelings for Jyn Erso.

He was as exhausted as she was, but he looked at her with love and pride that they had accomplished their self-assigned mission to steal the Death Star plans.
They had just transmitted the plans to the Alliance fleet. Now there was hope, hope for the galaxy and perhaps hope for themselves.
They entered the turbolift and Cassian felt the warm touch of Jyn’s arm on the back of his neck. He saw her green eyes in the dim light and felt her breath brush gently across his face. Cassian looked at her lips and wanted to kiss them.
Jyn smiled at him and Cassian saw love in her eyes. Love for a man who had almost murdered her father. A man, who had murdered, sabotaged and fought for the greater good. For a cause she had not believed in until recently.
Jyn moved closer with her lips and he could no longer resist. He kissed her and she returned his kiss.
It was a gentle kiss, a bittersweet kiss, full of despair and hope.

The turbolift came to a halt and they stepped out. They supported each other. When Jyn and Cassian saw the bodies of their fallen comrades, they sensed that there would be no future for them. They walked with difficulty to the nearby shore, where Cassian fell to the sand. Jyn sat down at his side. He looked at her.
“Your father would be proud of you,” he said softly.
She gave him a sad smile in return.
Then they saw the coming pyroclastic stream on the horizon.
On Jedha, they had escaped the aftermath of the Death Star beam, but now their fate was sealed.

They felt for each other’s hands and knew immediately that there would be no escape for them. Cassian saw the hopelessness in Jyn’s eyes and no way to comfort her. They stood up and held on to each other.
There was so much Cassian wanted to say, but he just held Jyn in his arms. He was trying to protect her from the horror from which there was no protection. He held Jyn in his arms and wished that it would be forever, that they would be able to live their love.
Then the pyroclastic stream reached them...