(A/N) for my AU prompts series on Tumblr: "two miserable people meeting at a wedding au"


Jyn rattled the ice in her drink and studied the dark-haired man sitting across from her, half-hidden by the elaborate double-dove centerpiece. He looked about as delighted to be here as she felt - which wasn't very.

Since misery loved company, she leaned over and said, "Hi. I think we missed introductions. I'm Jyn Erso."

"Cassian Andor," he said, stretching his arm over the table and shaking the hand she held out. "Nice to meet you."

"And you. So how do you know the happy couple?"

He picked at the label on his beer bottle. "I was the bride's boyfriend for six years."

"Really," she said.

He looked up at the tone of her voice. "How do you know them?"

"I dated the groom for four years." She stirred her drink. "So - you guys stayed friends?"

He shrugged. "Friendly. I never threw darts at her picture, but I did mute her on Facebook until about a year ago. You?"

"Darts, thrown plates, screaming - " She flushed. "In my defense, we were very young."

He eyed her. "So, did you make up later?"

"Nope. This invite came out of the blue for me."

He nodded. "Me too."

She shook her head. "What kind of a sadist invites their ex to their wedding?"

He countered, "What kind of a masochist accepts?"

She tilted her drink glass at him in a silent salute and looked around. "It's a hell of a party."

"She always did know how to plan a bash."

Jyn's eyes settled on the bride, preening as a guest exclaimed over her clearly designer wedding gown and the stunning necklace and earrings. "She's very beautiful. Your ex." And knew it.

"Thank you. Yours seems extremely … " He trailed off, watching the smug, self-satisfied groom. "Rich."

"Yep. That about covers it."

They exchanged glances again.

"So, they're totally rubbing our noses in it, aren't they?"

"Oh yeah."

She drained her drink and plonked it on the table. "I'm going to guess, given your presence at the singles table, that your invite pointedly lacked a plus-one."

"You guess right. As did yours?"

"Yep. Is there a plus one that you had to leave home?"

"No."

"Great. You wanna fuck with them a little?"

His brows rose. "In what way?"

"We're supposed to sit here, eating our hearts out, watching the blissful couple as we stew in our own pitiful singledom. Wouldn't it just chap their asses to realize that instead, we're getting along like a house on fire?"

"That seems immature and petty in the extreme."

She raised her brows. "Doesn't it, though?"

His mouth curved in his dark beard. "I'm in."

A few minutes later, when the bridal couple came around to their table, Jyn had changed seats and scooted her chair over until she was almost in Cassian's lap. His hand was on her knee, and she was giggling as he whispered in her ear.

The bride cleared her throat.

Jyn looked up, eyes wide. "Ooooohhhh, I didn't see you two there. Hello, congratulations!" She leaned into Cassian's side, pressing her breasts into his arm. "Such a lovely ceremony."

"Yes, it was beautiful," Cassian said. "Marla and Chet, congratulations."

"It's Chad," the groom said.

Cassian's brow furrowed. "Chud?"

"Chad."

"Chit."

"No, Chad."

Cassian shook his head. "I'll get it right someday!"

"Anyway!" Marla exclaimed. "We just wanted to check in and make sure that you two weren't too … " She trailed off, watching Cassian's hand inch up Jyn's exposed thigh. "Lonely. Over here."

"Not at all," Jyn said. "In fact, I have to thank you for the invitation."

"Yes," Cassian said. "You know, I wasn't even going to come, and I changed my mind at the last minute. What else am I doing on a Saturday night?" He gave Jyn a sizzling look.

She fluttered her lashes. "It would been awful if you hadn't. We never would have met."

"But we did," he murmured, and kissed her neck.

"How wonderful for you both," Marla said flatly.

"Isn't it," Jyn said. "Anyway, this is a great party. Thanks again."

Thus dismissed, the only thing Marla and Chad could do was drift away again, rather less triumphant than they'd expected to be.

Jyn and Cassian kept it up, cuddling, kissing, dancing when the music started. They ate wedding cake together when it was cut, and made sure to get frosting on their faces so it could be kissed off. At one point, they tucked themselves into the shadows by the deejay (but not quite far enough) to flagrantly make out, Jyn pressed up against the deejay stand, one leg hooked over Cassian's hip.

All the while, they pretended not to notice the filthy looks that Marla and Chad sent their way.

At the end of the night, they were both almost breathless from laughter. "I think that went very well," Cassian said, walking her to her car.

"I think very well is an understatement," she said, and sat on the hood of her car to take off her shoes. "Ouch. Woof. These fucking spikes." She hooked her shoes in her fingers and leaned back, stretching her legs out and wiggling her toes. "You think we went a little overboard?"

"No," he said. "We weren't doing anything that at least three other couples weren't doing, too. If Marla and Chad are petty enough to let their wedding reception be ruined by two people having a very nice time, then they deserve to have it ruined."

She thought it over and nodded. "Truth." She grinned at him. "Well, you make an excellent partner in pettiness, Cassian Andor."

"I merely followed your lead." He reached out and picked up her sore foot, and to her own surprise, she let him. His strong fingers kneaded the arch and flexed the toes, and she bit back a whimper of relief.

(Seriously. The shoes had been a really poor choice. That's what she got for shoe-shopping in anger.)

His lashes lay against his cheekbones, spiky in the sharp beams from the parking lot lights. "I was thinking - "

"Yes," she sighed, more focused on his foot massage. His hands were warm and felt like heaven.

"Would you like to come home with me?"

She looked up at him, startled out of her haze. "The happy couple's already gone." And they'd gotten one last dirty look through the window of the limo as it pulled away.

His lips curved. "I know."

She considered him, then pulled her foot out of his grasp. Sitting up, she hooked his tie around her fist. Tugging him down to her level, she took his lower lip in her teeth and sucked it until his mouth pressed to hers again. Against his lips, she breathed, "I'm in."

FINIS