#*prepares my clown-themed makeup tutorial for when Andor premiers and proves everything I've ever written about this man wrong*

[regrettablewritings]

Our Captain Andor deserves some love this valentine day me thinks... Can I request B F and O please? Thank you!!!

Do he, tho? He a kinda rood boy Yes, he does and yes, you may!

B (Bargain - how do they get their way?): Unlike a certain pilot who would rise to the position of general for his own rebellion decades later, Cassian is both aware of his good looks and is unafraid to use them to his advantage. Well, when it comes to gathering intel, that is. You thought your peers were trying to pull your leg and give you the newbie runaround when they told you that the aloof, cold-toned leader could flip a switch and become someone almost entirely different.

But then you witnessed it for yourself . . . Forget flipping a switch: It was as though Cassian had performed a complete reboot! His aura was approachable; those steely, dark eyes of his warmed into embers of sweetness with a smidge of flirtation. You didn’t even know those perfect lips of his were capable of forming a smile and yet there he was, speaking in a tone you’d never heard him use before to make words that had no business slipping out of him as smoothly as they did.

You envied the pretty twi’lek he was delivering all these things to. Sure, you were rather intimidated by Captain Andor, but you’d be lying if you told yourself you didn’t find the man attractive. Certainly, in the moment having him look at you that way would’ve been confusing enough to send you into shock. But at least once you recovered, you’d have the memories to do with what you wanted . . . That was what you’d thought that that point in time, anyway.

Fast-forwarding some time down the line, after you two had become a couple: Those pretty eyes and literal sweet nothings don’t work on you. You know the real Cassian despite the stone walls he put up, and you know nothing he truly means comes out that easily unless it has to do with the war or something far more grizzled than just asking you for a sweet, simple favor. Unfortunately, his familiarity with putting up a front and asserting his seniority both as a Rebellion member and in terms of hierarchy are things he has yet to properly compartmentalize. He doesn’t realize the hole he’s dug for himself the first time he used his position to try and keep you from doing something, or from verbally disallowing you from a certain mission you’d been intending on going on.

Nor did he think anything would repeat itself the second time. Or third. By the fourth, somebody had to intervene before you found yourself in the brig for slapping your boyfriend/Captain silly for crossing a line you thought he would’ve been far more aware of by now. Be it Jyn or Chirrut or Mon or even K2, Cassian had to be reminded that this type of relationship he’s pursuing with you isn’t the same as one he builds with his usual soldiers. And yes, that should be obvious, but he can’t help that: For one, it’s the sort of relationship he applies with nearly everyone; and for two, in a weird sort of way, it’s how he thinks he’s helping to protect you.

However, it’s still something he has to learn to help. Really, it’s one of many things he has to learn to adjust if he wants to keep seeing you romantically.

Suffice to say, you need to practice patience while also being assertive with what you want and need from him. That gruff exterior, while something you’ve grown used to interpreting, won’t do him any favors: He has to learn that kindness and suggestion will take him a further than stomping his feet into the ground and being shiftless. Better yet: Cooperation. He’s not the most talkative? Too bad! Communication is important to making something work, and your relationship will not be an exception. If he wants or needs for you to do something and you may feel a different way about it, you two need to talk about it.

Not compromise: Compromise means to settle, and nobody truly wins in a settlement. By cooperating, though, both sides get a say and can meet halfway. Sure, it may not necessarily be everything either party wants in full, but it’s better to have tried to reach an agreement as a team than to have one side talking over the other about what they should and shouldn’t do, even if it comes from a place of love.

It may take a bit of time, and it may also have some misses along its hits, but you love Cassian enough to want to achieve this balance together. Even if sometimes, he leaves you wanting to conk him on his pretty noggin.

F (Flirty - how do they flirt?): Let’s be abundantly clear about something: Unless he’s doing it with the intention of manipulating someone with possible information that could help the Rebel Alliance, Cassian is just not. Very. Good. At flirting. At least, not in the normal way. Most people flirt by hyping up traits or features they find attractive in another person and while Cassian is surprisingly no exception, the things he tends to be drawn to are less . . . well, commonplace.

While there are some physical traits that Cassian might find intriguing or even downright attractive, he ultimately holds skills and competency above all else. So you really aren’t sure what to think, exactly, when he tells you, “I saw how you blasted the head clean off that droid back there. Well done.” Like, yes, it’s praise, but Cassian isn’t exactly one to dole out the compliments. At best, one might be lucky to catch a glimpse of him giving a single, curt nod before carrying on with whatever task was at hand. But then again, you think there was a lilt in his tone when he delivered the sentence? Or maybe you were just imagining things . . .

(Actually, you weren’t: Cassian was, indeed, trying to color up his words with some flirtatious flavor. The only problem is, it was a tone that Cassian thinks is suggestive enough. And given that this is Cassian, well . . .)

Despite being as considerate as a whiny teenager mixed with an annoying kid brother, K2 is likely the only reason you would be able to catch on for sure that Cassian was flirting with you.

“Your blast was nothing particularly special, but Cassian seems to watch you the most when you’re out,” he droned. Okay, rude. But also intriguing . . . You wind up paying especial attention to how Cassian interacts with you, trying to take note of any hints or gestures that have even the slimmest possibility of alternate interpretation. It’s difficult work, but curiosity and amusement keeps you going.

Even after the bot of you get together, a lot of Cassian’s compliments and flirtations remain directed at your strength or your abilities. Things that, at this point, actually manage to make heat rise to your cheeks. To the common outsider, it’s just a Captain complimenting a favorite of his. But to you, it’s your boyfriend telling you he’s got his eyes on you and that he loves what he sees. And even if being told your back muscles are looking particularly tight today doesn’t rile you up, have no fear: He’s at least since learned to compliment other parts of your physique.

“Come on, give me a smile,” he coos quietly during one of his more vulnerable moments.

“Mm. Your hair looks nice today,” he says in his husky morning voice as you prepare to set out for the day. “Keep it like that until later. I want to be the one to mess it up.”

O (Obvious - how do they show they're together?): PDA might as well be an unknown language to this guy. He sees soldiers making out in the shade of the trees where they think he can’t see them and he immediately turns away – not only because it feels perverse to keep looking, but also because the lack of dignity or privacy present just makes him feel uneasy. Suffice to say, Cassian just isn’t the sort to jam his tongue down your throat or shove his hand in your ass pockets while you walk about. But that doesn’t mean he can’t show his affections to you in other ways.

While romance was never something that crossed his mind (at least, not in his adult years), Cassian at least swore he’d never be the type to show favoritism to a soldier no matter how much they impressed him.

Well, that fell through: Because even if he denies it to others, the fact that you’re not just his favorite rebel, but his favorite person as a whole shines through.

For one, you’re the only one whom he lets nickname him. Sure, Jyn might slip a snarky mockery at him, but that will more often than not be met with a look of exasperation or even distaste. You, on the other hand, can get by with “Cass” or “Caps” and maybe receive a slightly bemused expression at worst. It may not be much, but it’s far more than what any other person would be able to get away with. For that matter, he’s also more patient with you. It can be hard to see to the untrained eye, but your peers insist he doesn’t glower at you or raise his voice when you don’t immediately grasp a training exercise. He’s willing to walk you through them and gives you a calm, “Try again.”

(Less able to not notice is when he helps you “aim your blaster better”, placing himself close behind you as he uses those skillful hands of his to gently readjust your arms and spread your legs to a decidedly sturdier stance. Hands resting on your hips, his warmth radiating off of him, hotter than the Yavin IV sun as he breathes next to your ear, “What are you waiting for? Do it . . .”)

For another, Cassian is a workaholic: He’s always looking for something to do, insisting that there’s always more one could be doing to keep this clanking machine of a rebellion moving along. Yet, he still manages to find wiggle room when it comes to you. Not all the time, but way more than he’s ever done for most others. It’s usually for small things on top of that; things like accompanying you across the base to deliver a message or some items. Things you could do on your own, but you certainly don’t mind his company for them. Even if you don’t talk that entire way, just having him silently appear by your side and see you to your destination can make you feel . . . Well, you know Cassian wouldn’t do this if he didn’t want to or only felt like he had to.

But perhaps the most telling of all: Anyone who flirts with you finds themselves on latrine duty a lot more often. The Maker help any newcomer to the base that makes goo-goo eyes at you and doesn’t listen to what the others are saying.

You’re Cassian’s. And if his devotion to the Rebellion ain’t enough to spell it out, once Cassian has his sights set on something, they’re his to fight for. And he hasn’t waved a single white flag yet.

Thank you so very much, Anon, for your patience with me on this!!!