#Hunter TBB One Shot

[misstoodles-doodles]

Bad Batch Sketch Page #1

I filled a whole canvas with sketches because my brain won’t stop thinking up stuff

✨Featuring✨:

Tech and Crosshair content because I’m SAD ABOUT THEM

RIP Hunter and his concussion and probably a stab wound

ProTECHtive Tech

Brother Drama™️

Echo’s near death experience and zinger number 132425226

Echo and Cross Sass

Big bro Wrecker who has my whole heart

Bandana-less Hunter because I said so + Baby Omegaaaaaaa

Bonus full unedited page+ B&W version :

[dindjarindiaries]

Eyes Off

character: Hunter (The Bad Batch)

prompts: “Are you jealous?” “No, I’m not!” “Oh, you really are jealous! Wait, why would you be jealous?” / “Look at me.” / A kiss of jealousy

main masterlist • hunter masterlist

"Of course that's what you're wearing."

Crosshair's unimpressed drawl drew your attention from where you were fastening and concealing your weapons. Considering everyone else had already changed into their civvies, it had to be Hunter that Crosshair was addressing, and one look at the sergeant proved why.

Whereas the rest of the team opted to keep themselves covered in a way that wasn't too unlike their Republic-issued blacks, Hunter didn't shy away from letting his skin breathe. His hands and arms were wrapped up to his elbows, but there was a sizable stretch of skin and muscle leading up to the light-colored sleeveless tunic he wore.

Tech had always ensured that the temperature of the Marauder's interior was regulated, but something had to have been off, because you could've sworn it had just gotten at least ten times hotter.

You were still staring, and Force willing not ogling, as Hunter raised his hands defensively at Crosshair. "What?"

Crosshair scoffed as he shouldered on his pack. He lifted a single eyebrow and flicked his toothpick at his brother. It bounced unceremoniously off one of Hunter's tensed biceps.

The sergeant just smirked in response and shrugged. "I earned 'em." His tone was playful as he lifted his own pack and secured it over his shoulders. "I think I'm entitled to showing 'em off for once."

And thank the Force you did, you would have said if you didn't already have a durasteel lock on your own jaw.

"Ha-ha, yeah!" Wrecker clapped his brother on the shoulder. Hunter rolled it back in response, but nevertheless widened his sly smile as he looked up at Wrecker. "I think ya' look great, Sarge." Wrecker then turned his attention on you, giving your shoulder a nudge with his own. "Right, Sunny?"

You narrowed your eyes at him, but only for a quick moment. Subtlety had never been Wrecker's specialty, and you should have remembered that when you had stayed at 79's until last call with him and spilled out all your secrets. That's what you got for indulging in truth serum for once.

You schooled your expression into nonchalance the best you could and nodded. "Yeah." You lifted your blaster and gave it one last unnecessary check. "It definitely suits you."

Hunter huffed. "I don't even want to know what you mean by that." You snorted in amusement before Hunter refocused and addressed the gathered squad. "We shouldn't be here long, especially since we're dividing and conquering. Tech, Wrecker, you're clear on your objective?"

Tech looked up from his datapad and nodded as he adjusted his goggles. "That is correct."

Wrecker gestured over to Tech with his thumb. "What he said."

Hunter nodded at them both. "Great." He turned to his youngest brother. "Crosshair?"

Crosshair's brow rose once again. "Do you really have to ask?"

Hunter participated in their typical impromptu staring contest for a few heartbeats before he let out a sigh. "I'm taking that as a yes." His attention then shifted to you, and you fought a hard-won battle to not take a visible breath as his dark eyes found yours. "Sunny, you're with me." Hunter motioned for the squad to follow as he stepped towards the open hatch. "Let's move out."

You kept your attention on the way ahead as the squad walked out of the hangar together and through the throngs of sentients that crowded the planet's streets. Eventually, as you and Hunter got closer to your own destination, Tech, Wrecker, and Crosshair peeled off to attend to their own objectives. You tried not to tense as you kept yourself close to Hunter's side.

"Hmm." Hunter's hum got your attention, and you looked over to see his brow creased the way it often did when he was reaching out with his senses. "It's gonna be crowded in there." He gave you a glance and nodded. "Stay close. We might have to push our way through."

You nodded and obeyed, getting close enough for one of his arms to brush against yours. It was hard to focus with the warmth of his skin meeting yours in endless succession, but you threw your mindset into the mission as the two of you stepped inside the cantina.

As soon as you crossed the threshold, you could feel the eyes on you—only they weren't on you specifically. They were on him.

You could have accredited the lingering stares to the fact that Hunter presented much more like a regular clone than the others, and he may have been getting some undue attention for that, but you could identify the kind of looks he was getting all too well. Gazes flickered up and down, heads did double takes, and some people even giggled with their peers.

You should have found it amusing. The others certainly would have if they were there. Instead, it filled you with a pool of a sickly feeling almost like dread, coiling in your stomach and twisting into an uncomfortable knot.

It was an unmistakable wave of intense jealousy, and you weren't strong enough to fight it.

You were drawing yourself even closer to Hunter's side before you could stop it, your eyes cautiously scanning your surroundings as you did so. Another strong flare of jealousy's angry green haze saw you taking his arm and wrapping your hands around it, securing you to his side as you smiled in satisfaction at the way many of the hungry scares awkwardly flickered away from the two of you.

But your actions didn't go unnoticed by him. Hunter stopped pushing through the crowd long enough to turn his head and look at you with his full attention. "You okay?"

You looked up at him with innocent eyes, and his gaze gestured to the grasp you still had on his arm. You offered him a quick nod. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just..." You glanced around the room again. "A little overwhelmed."

Hunter's warm eyes studied yours as he softened. "I get it. We won't be here long, though, like I said before." He nodded towards the bar. "C'mon. We're almost there."

You went forward with him, selfishly indulging in the feeling of his warmth—and the arm you still had a tight grasp on. You were pleased to note it was just as strong and solid as it had looked.

Once Hunter had successfully maneuvered your way to the bar and had made enough room for the two of you there, you reluctantly let go of his arm and simply stood at his side. Your arms were still brushing at the close proximity, your focus was still going to any wandering eyes that caught sight of him.

You should have been focused on the objective and helping Hunter get information out of the bartender, but you had other priorities. Like Hunter had insinuated before, he had worn what he was wearing for a reason. Did that mean he wanted one of these people to approach him?

The thought alone made you sick. It shouldn't have, because you weren't his and he wasn't yours, but that didn't matter.

"You sure you're okay?"

Hunter's low voice of concern brought your attention back to him. You glanced over to see him furrowing his brow at you.

"You seem on edge."

You shrugged and looked past the sergeant, seeing someone just behind him staring holes through his back. You fought back a growl and forced yourself to answer normally. "I'm just seeing a lot of eyes on you." You blinked and quickly rushed to correct yourself. "Us."

But the damage had already been done. One of Hunter's eyebrows shot up in suspicion as he continued to look at you. "That's nothing new, especially not for me."

You circled your jaw. "Yeah, but..." Your gaze flickered over him before you could stop it. "It's different this time."

Hunter looked ahead, his expression taut as he pondered something, and then you saw his dark eyes light up with realization. You winced quietly before he even had the chance to speak.

"Wait." He looked over at you again, the small pieces of hair that escaped his bandana bouncing on his forehead as the corners of his lips rose in a small smile. "Are you jealous?"

You forced out a scoff and began to flounder. "No, I’m not!" You looked down, your gaze searching. "I-I'm just..."

It was too late. You were too flustered to think of a viable excuse, and your ears and face were burning so hot that you were half-convinced Hunter's senses had already picked up on the temperature change.

"Oh, you really are jealous." Hunter said the words with a chuckle, and his bare shoulder playfully nudged yours.

You fought off the sudden waves of embarrassment valiantly and looked anywhere but at him. He was clearly still joking, and you were stuck between playing it off again or at least wanting him to put the pieces together. This one-sided thing you had going on was getting too exhausting.

That made his next words even less of a surprise than they probably should have been. "Wait... why would you be jealous?"

Your gaze flickered over to meet Hunter's, but you looked away from him just as quickly. Your stare focused on your fingers as they picked at the skin around your nails. This was not a conversation you wanted to have here, especially not when he was looking like that.

"Hey." Hunter's voice was achingly soft now as he set a gentle hand on your shoulder. "Look at me."

You relented, your guilty gaze finding his—which was full of comfort and, surprisingly, understanding. Your brow knit together, though the knot in your stomach began to loosen when Hunter's hand suddenly moved from your shoulder to the one you had closest to him on the bar. His stare lowered and watched as his wrapped hand wove his fingers through yours and gave your own hand a soft squeeze.

Hunter looked at you again, and he gave you a reassuring nod. "You have nothing to worry about."

All you could do was blink at him, any words you could have possibly wanted to say dying on your tongue. You were trying to read him and make sure you weren't misinterpreting the signals he was sending you. Was he saying that because he had requited feelings, or just to assure you that he wasn't looking for anything from anyone?

Hunter huffed and gave his head a fond shake. "You've been noticing the eyes on me, and I..." He paused, his jaw tightened as he narrowed his eyes at something behind you. "Have been tracking the eyes on you."

Your eyes widened in surprise. You must have been so wrapped up in your jealousy towards Hunter that you failed to notice how people had been looking at you, too. Your civvies did hug your body in a way your typical tactical gear didn't...

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" You had no choice but to ask. You couldn't live with the anticipation anymore.

Hunter nodded and looked at your entwined hands again. He gave yours another squeeze. "The feeling's mutual."

You couldn't keep the smile from growing on your lips. Honestly, you should have known better, but reason and feelings never paired well together, anyway. All you could do was let out a soft laugh as you also looked down at your hands.

"What do you think?"

When Hunter spoke again, you looked up, suddenly realizing how much closer the two of you had gotten. Hunter clocked the minimized distance, too, his warm gaze flickering to your lips before he went on.

"Should we give them something else to stare at?"

You hummed, pretending to have to consider the offer even as your traitorous body already started to lean closer. "I think that's a good plan, Sarge."

Hunter chuckled, though the warmth that sound brought you was nothing compared to the feeling of his lips on yours.

You inhaled one another like it was your first full breath of oxygen, with Hunter's free hand catching the side of your face and jaw to keep you locked in place. Meanwhile, your free hand rose to his bicep, anchoring yourself to him as each breath passed between you and each tease of his tongue threatened to make your knees buckle underneath you. It was utterly dizzying, and it made you completely forget about everything and everyone else around you, for better or for worse.

When you parted, Hunter was quick to clock the sight of your hand on his arm. His lips gave way to a sly smile, and your brow shot up as you mused upon his words from earlier.

"This is what you wanted all along, isn't it?" You shook your head at him in fondness. "I was the person you were 'showing 'em off' for."

Hunter shrugged, playing innocent for now. "Maybe, maybe not."

You scoffed. "Do we even have a real objective here?"

"Well, we did." He gave your hand another squeeze. "But we just completed it."

You gave your eyes a roll. "Force, Hunter..."

"The others' objectives are real, though."

You couldn't help laughing at that. Leave it to the sergeant of the Bad Batch to use an actual mission as a way to somehow get you both to finally break the ice. "And the bartender?" You nodded towards the nearest one. "You just made that up?"

"Not really." Hunter's smirk remained as he caught the bartender's eye. "I do need to talk to them... to get us some drinks."

You blinked at him before you laughed even harder. You shifted your hand onto the arm closest to you and rested your head against his bare shoulder the best you could manage, relishing in the wave of content that rolled over you.

It was an unconventional way for your mutual feelings to surface, but that was just who Hunter was, and you couldn't hide the way you loved it.

[zoeykallus]

Hi, Zoey! Are your requests open? I had an idea after watching Kenobi.

There’s a scene in Kenobi where the Inquisitors show up to a market place in search of Jedi. They throw a knife at the shop owner knowing that the Jedi hiding among the patrons will stop the knife from harming him. It would be interesting to see that with Hunter.

Maybe Hunter and Cid’s bartender have a relationship. Bartender was weary of the clones at first but warmed up to them and liked Hunter. They just started dating when Inquisitors show up. They use the knife trick on someone (maybe even Omega) and bartender is forced to expose themselves as a former Jedi.

I’d love to see how Hunter would react to that.

oh oh oh oh... I got something in my head!

*Running in circles*

I actually had a scene like this in my head for a while now, I put the whole batch in there but focus on Hunter as a love interest.

Hunter x Jedi/Reader - One-Shot - The Things We Do For Love

Warnings: Angst/Canon Typical Violence/Blood/Fluff

No one knows about your past with the Jedi order. You are forced to drop your cover, when you try to save Hunter's life.

_______

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

_______

It's strange, life after Order 66 - hiding, pretending to be someone else. And it doesn't get any easier every day as you'd hoped, at least not at first. Cid's Bar, that's where you ended up at some point. You work behind the counter. You serve all kinds of strange clientele. Cid's Bar is like a meeting place for all kinds of scum in the Galaxy. Life has changed, a lot. Priorities change. The code after you've lived so long is nowhere near as important as surviving and belonging somewhere so you're not completely alone in this universe. But you can't open up to anyone, not exactly the most decent people come and go here. So you keep a low profile. You even flirt here and there to keep up appearances, but at the same time, you keep everyone at a distance. And then, to make matters worse, these clones turn up. Automatically, every alarm sounds inside you. Order 66 flares up in your memory, sharp and painful. It takes so much willpower to stay calm, to not let anything get to you, so much trauma hangs in every thought of clones. No one knows who you are, no one even suspects that you were part of the Jedi Order.

And yet these men surprise you, especially one of them who leads the group. He is so thoughtful, so serious. Hunter always seems to be lost in thought, trying to keep everything under control, to ensure safety. He rarely leans back and really takes a breath. He's almost always worried and tense, you can feel it in the Force. But eventually, he thaws out, you somehow strike up a conversation, and you quickly learn how much depth and kindness lie beneath that brooding, skeptical exterior. Hunter can even be funny, very observant and above all else, he's decent, probably one of the most decent people to ever come and go in this bar. You catch yourself admiring him. Your eyes meet more and more often, you talk to each other more often, even flirt. But this flirting is different, it's not fake, it feels real, exciting and for you, with your past, completely new and almost reckless. You are both obviously interested in each other, just as you are both shy and cautious in a certain way. Weeks, even months go by before your hands touch for the first time, and he asks you out.

You can see it in his face, he can hardly believe it himself, hidden behind his smile is a nervous boy who is incredibly afraid of being rejected by you. The big, brooding leader has a great weakness, you. Of course, you say yes, you can hardly resist this special man, clone soldier or not, Hunter has so much good in him, he attracts you like a magnet, not to mention his good, bold looks do the rest.

It starts like any other evening. More or less. After your first date, Hunter usually comes into the bar smiling, automatically seeking your gaze as soon as he walks through the door. You can't help it, you smile back every time, accompanied by a warm tingling in your stomach, warmth rising in your cheeks and ears.

But something is different today. There is a presence in the room, dark, determined, hard as stone, surrounded by sharp edges. You sense this presence in the Force, its intransigence. You look around in alarm. The bar is a little busier today, your gaze wanders more or less inconspicuously around the room. Then you see him. You meet cold eyes, eyes as blue as sapphires, their gaze steely and sharp, so intense that you automatically lower your own gaze and distractedly clean a glass. But you know this person has already noticed you. Right now you're feverishly thinking about your next steps and how to get out of here alive without putting anyone in danger. Hunter frowns worriedly, watching you. He can tell something is wrong. Tech is talking to him, but he is focused on you right now. He leaves the table where he was sitting with his brothers and is about to come over to you when he hears a voice say clearly and distinctly, not shouting but loud enough, "CT 9901"

You feel hot and cold, a shiver runs down your spine, you're sure Hunter feels the same way, you can see it on his face. All the heads at the Bad Batch table look up in surprise, shock and alarm. Hunter turns to the voice that seems to be coming from one of the other tables a few meters away. A man suddenly stands up, slowly, unhurriedly, confidently. Like a predator who is sure of his prey, who has no reason to be afraid, no need to hurry. Neither you nor Hunter like the body language. What surprises you, however, is that this man, in his strange, dark uniform, is not looking for you as you expected, but obviously for Hunter and presumably his brothers. "All 99ers in one room, this must be my lucky day. And not only that, I feel like I'm getting a little something extra on top of that," the somber stranger says, his voice deep and clear, almost melodic.

The room falls silent, as if the presence of this man demands it. With a confident little smile, the man pulls a knife from his belt, the first movement is slow, almost sluggish, but the throw comes so suddenly that you barely have time to react. It has become so quiet in the bar that you could hear a pin drop. But when the blade suddenly seems to stop in mid-air barely a centimeter from Hunter's eye, a murmur goes through the room. You're sure you can hear someone whispering the word Jedi.

Hunter only lets out a quiet, "What the hell", he can't help but stare at the blade for a moment. He should be dead, he realizes, that vibro blade should have drilled into his skull, but there it is, hovering right in front of his face. Out of the corner of his eye he sees your outstretched hand, your concentrated gaze, and he begins to understand. You stopped the blade from killing him, you stopped it in its tracks. The stranger's cool voice draws you both back to him. "I knew I sensed a Jedi in the room, and I knew you couldn't resist to show yourself" In the next moment everything happens very quickly, there is no time to think, to process, to make plans. The man reaches out his hand, and you feel his grip on you in the force. You are swept over the bar counter, with a pull on your body, trough the force, knocking over two tables on your way to the floor. Everything around you happens in a haze, you hear Hunter cursing angrily, blaster shots, the distinctive buzz of an awakening lightsaber, screams from the other patrons. A red glow fills the room. The smell of burned flesh.

Your left side hurts. You landed hard on the tables when the Sith Force-wrenched you over the counter, maybe you cracked a few ribs. There are shards on the surrounding floor from the glasses that went down. As you try to pick yourself up, you accidentally reach in and cut your right palm. The pain is sharp, clear and distinct, bringing you back to reality from your surprise. You jump to your feet, skillfully, supported by the force that flows through and envelops you. It's been a long time since you've used the Force and your abilities in this way, but it's as if you've never let it out of your fingers, the lightsaber sliding into your hand, its blade glowing blue with its characteristic hum. Blood runs down the hilt of your weapon from the open cut on your hand, it burns, but you ignore the pain. You feel Hunter's gaze, he is still confused. He knows what you are now, but he certainly hasn't processed the news yet. At the moment, you all have other things to worry about. Did the Sith come alone? Are there Stormtroopers waiting for you outside the bar?

You concentrate on the force, on the intentions of your opponent. Everything you feel emanating from him is sharp, dark, glowing hot. He is driven by rage, and the moment your lightsabers cross, you feel all the hatred in his attacks, which are admittedly much stronger than you expected. You've never fought a real Sith before. The first touch of your lightsabers is like an electric shock, an incredibly hard impact, a wave of fury that seems to roll over you from your opponent. The hilt of your weapon is slippery with your own blood, you have to grab it hastily with both hands so that the sword doesn't slip from your grasp or your opponent will decapitate you. For a moment, Hunter's concern penetrates your perception, but you shut him out and have to concentrate. A quick exchange of blows follows, attack, parry, retreat, attack, parry... The handle of your weapon becomes increasingly slippery with your own blood. Then it happens, another hard blow, you parry, the impact of the blades causes your weapon to slip away.

You hear Hunter yell out, hear the shock in his voice, the terror in that simple word, "No!" His blaster lies on the ground, sliced in half by the Sith's blade. Hunter has pulled his knife from his belt in a split second, lunging in the Sith's direction. The blade of your attacker hovers just in front of your neck, you hold the Sith and his weapon in this position with all the strength you can muster with body and force. Your heart races, adrenaline flows through your body. There are only millimeters between your life and death. Millimeters before the red lightsaber could sever your head from your shoulders. Hunter reaches an arm around the Sith's neck and jabs his knife into his side. The sergeant's voice is dark and smoky as he rasps, "Not on my watch"

The red lightsaber goes out and falls to the ground. Hunter kicks it aside, away from the Sith's hands, and lets the mortally wounded attacker slide to the ground. You see Hunter's chest rise and fall, still electrified, while your adrenaline suddenly subsides and your hands begin to tremble a little. You concentrate on the force, your center, and banish the trembling from your limbs. With a sigh, you look at the man on the ground, who is taking his last breaths, his cold, sapphire eyes still looking up at you with hatred, but there is also reluctance in them, surprise, defiance. Echo kneels down next to him, feels his pulse. "Quite dead," he says dryly, and with a glance at your extinguished lightsaber, he asks, "Care to explain?" "Take it easy, Echo. I guess it's obvious why we're only finding out now, it would have been dangerous to reveal the truth," Hunter says calmly and steps closer, carefully grabbing your hand and looking at the cut.

"That needs stitching," Tech says with a sideways glance and adds, "I can do it when we get to the Marauder, we should get out of here, more will come" The others lead the way, Hunter and you follow at a slight distance. You can't quite believe it yet. CF99 accepts you into their midst, no ifs, no questions, yet. Admittedly, Echo is still a little skeptical, but he always is. But you're part of it now, you're no longer alone. The thought spikes a feeling of euphoria in you. "Looks like Clone Force 99 has its own Jedi now," Hunter says with a wry smile. You crack a smile, liking the idea, forgetting for a moment your bleeding hand and the drops of blood that fall to the ground and on your tunic. Crosshair, who is walking ahead of you, casts a jaunty glance over his shoulder and says dryly, "Just don't expect me to follow your orders, General." He says it with a wink, even if his words sound a little hostile, he is friendly to you, you sense his intentions in the Force.

You say quietly, "I wasn't going to give you orders, you have a working system as a group, I wouldn't dream of changing it" The Sniper laughs softly, "Clever Jedi" Hunter drops back a little, and you do the same, sensing that he has something to say to you. After a little while, on your way to the Marauder, he says seriously, "You gave up your cover to save my life, thank you" You chuckle and say softly, "The things we do for love" Hunter listens in surprise and asks, "So our dates aren't part of your cover?" You've opened up to him in the force, feeling his pulse, the tingling under his skin as if it were your own. "I would never play with your feelings, not even as a cover," you say seriously. Hunter breathes a sigh of relief and asks, "So nothing will change between us?" "I'd like us to continue our relationship and see where it takes us," you reply with a warm smile. You feel his relief, his affection, and you breathe a sigh of relief as well.

"That's what I want too," he says, carefully grabbing your hand and taking another look at the wound. "That looks really bad," he says, frowning. Wrecker comes rushing up and murmurs, "Now hurry up, or our Jedi will bleed to death!" Impatiently, he grabs you and lifts you off your feet to carry you to the Marauder. You make a small, startled noise. "Wrecker," Hunter says softly, admonishing. "What? The little Jedi got hurt!" Wrecker returns unperturbed and carries you to the Marauder. "It's just a cut on my hand," you say, waving it off. "It's bleeding a lot," Tech comments as Wrecker sets you down next to him and points at your stained tunic. Tech already has medical supplies ready, including a needle and thread, but first Echo cleans the wound. You grit your teeth, because the cleaning stings a lot. Echo says knowingly, "Don't worry, it'll be done in a minute"

Wrecker asks curiously, "Is the Jedi officially with us now?" Hunter sits down opposite you and watches as your wound is taken care of, he says, "I think so" "But I'm not really a Jedi anymore. There is no longer a Jedi order and I haven't been following the code for a while now, at least not to the letter," Hunter's eyes meet yours at the last words. Your heart beats faster as a smile twitches at the corner of his mouth. "We're not really regular clones either, we're not really soldiers anymore," Tech says lightly. Crosshair sticks a toothpick in his mouth and mutters, "Welcome to the defect squad, I have a feeling you'll fit in perfectly here"

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

________

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaw

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

@echos-girlfriend

@cpnt616

@dangraccoon

@jediknightjana

@pb-jellybeans

@antishadow2021

@sleepycreativewriter

@projectdreamwalker

@1vlouds

@clonelovr

@bandnerdlevel43

[nahoney22]

Happy Birthday 🌊

🫧 pairings: Hunter X Female!Reader

word count: 1.8k

prompts: none

A/N: For a special someone for their birthday. Happy birthday @photogirl894 ♥️ 🎂

It’s your first birthday without your loved ones nearby, however Hunter has a little surprise in store for you.

warnings: Safe for work, Fluff, Light Angst, Reader Missing Family, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, The Batch Being the Sweetest, Present Giving, Surprise Birthday Celebrations, Female Reader, Not Proofread.

“So, I heard it’s someone’s birthday today?”

The voice is like a warm caress, and you spin around in the pilot’s chair, a soft smile already forming. Hunter stands in the doorway, his arms crossed, and that ever-gracious smirk playing on his lips. Stars above, how could one man be so effortlessly handsome and charming at the same time? His presence alone sends your heart into a wild rhythm.

You try to hide your bashfulness, a difficult feat given Hunter's heightened senses. You often wonder if he can hear the way your heart skips a beat whenever he talks to you, or if he can sense the blood rushing to your cheeks. “Hmm, I’m not too sure,” you say, pinching your chin in mock contemplation. “Remind me again?”

He chuckles, a sound that feels like a soft embrace, and walks towards you, placing a caring hand on your shoulder. “Happy birthday, trooper.”

His touch sends a warmth coursing through you, and you grin, though he quickly notices the smile doesn’t quite reach your eyes. His brows furrow slightly, a sign of his genuine concern. “Something the matter?”

“It’s just… it’s my first birthday without seeing my friends and family, so it feels a bit, I don’t know, different? I guess.”

It had been almost a year since you last visited your home planet. Being a medic for the squad meant you were always on call, patching up the boys and tending to Omega’s scraped knees. You loved your job and the Batch, especially one member more than the others. But celebrating your birthday without your other loved ones felt tougher than you had anticipated.

Hunter moves to the chair beside you, using his foot to gently spin you around to face him. “I guess it would be quite strange,” he acknowledges, leaning forward. “But we will make the day work, huh? Wrecker, Tech, Crosshair, and Echo want to take you out for breakfast this morning. Maybe go for a walk on the beach too.”

The thought of the boys offering to take you out for breakfast is sweet, but you can’t help the slight disappointment. “And you and Omega don’t want to come too?”

He shifts, suddenly looking a bit nervous. “Oh, erm, I just have to do some data logs and boring stuff, and Omega said her stomach hurts this morning.”

In an instant, you panic and stand. “What? Is she okay? Why didn’t she tell me?” You start to walk away to find her, your medical and nurturing instincts kicking in. But you’re stopped by a gentle hand grabbing hold of yours.

A warmth spreads up your fingers as you look down at the hand intertwined with yours, then up to the gentle eyes they belong to. “She’s okay, just sleeping.”

Your breath catches in your throat, unsure how to respond. Why was he holding your hand? Why hadn’t he let go yet? “O-Oh, I see.”

He smiles, another one of those smiles that often turn your knees to jelly. “I’m sure you’re going to have a great birthday,” he says fondly.

Your heart swells, a mixture of emotions swirling within you. Hunter’s presence, his touch, his words—they all have a way of making you feel seen and cherished in a way you hadn’t felt in a long time. You had liked him for the longest of time and you had a somewhat naive hunch he felt something for you too. You had seen the way he acted with women before and it was never the way he was with you. You didn’t want to get your hopes up but you couldn’t miss the way he looked at you.

Hunter’s hand lingers in yours, neither of you seeming to want to let go. The warmth of his touch sends a gentle thrill through you, and you find yourself completely lost in his eyes. Memories flood back: the countless times he had stood by your side, his protective nature, the soft, caring words he had for you after tough missions, and the gentle way he always made sure you were okay.

He steps closer, his eyes never leaving yours. You feel your heart pounding in your chest, breath hitching as the space between you seems to shrink. His face is inches from yours, and you can almost feel his breath when—

The moment is shattered as Wrecker bursts into the room, his loud, jovial voice breaking the spell. “Hey! Happy birthday!” he bellows, his enthusiasm filling the cockpit.

You and Hunter quickly pull apart, standing back as though caught doing something you shouldn’t. Wrecker’s massive arms envelop you in a bear hug, lifting you off your feet momentarily.

“Wrecker!” you laugh, your cheeks flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and lingering warmth from the almost-moment with Hunter.

The rest of the Batch filters in, each offering their birthday wishes. Echo’s smile is warm and genuine, Crosshair gives a nod of acknowledgment, and Tech adjusts his goggles as he speaks. “We should get going before all the good food spots are full. I’ve done extensive research and compiled a list of optimal breakfast locations.”

You chuckle and nod, grateful for the distraction. As you prepare to leave, you give a shy wave to Hunter. He returns it with a nod and a smile that makes your heart flutter once again. Once you’re gone, Omega peeks into the cockpit, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “Is she gone?”

Hunter nods, a small smile playing on his lips. “Let’s get to work.”

Breakfast is a yummy affair, filled with so much laughter juice nearly snorted out your nose at one point. With Tech having done his research, he led you all to a place where you could indulge in a variety of good dishes—crispy hash browns, fluffy pancakes drizzled with syrup, and a savoury omelette loaded with anything topping you could think of. Wrecker, of course, devours his food with unabashed enthusiasm, while Tech critiques the menu with a meticulous eye.

After breakfast as promised, the group of you heads to the beach. The sun is warm on your skin but a little too hot later on which meant you had to buy a straw hat by one of the nearby stalls, and the gentle waves lap at the shore.

As you lay on the sand, you watched on as the boys engage in light-hearted banter which soon lead to Wrecker and Crosshair ending up in a playful scuffle, each trying to push the other into the ocean. Their laughter is infectious, and you can’t help but join in, feeling a lightness you hadn’t in a while. But, the longing for your family was still there.

As the day winds down, Echo announces we need to return to the ship.

As soon as you step inside you’re greeted by the sight of decorations, a table laden with gifts and, and the people you love most in the galaxy. Your friends and family. Along with the Batch and Omega, who beams at you with pride.

Emotion wells up within you, your eyes watering instantly and you rush to your loved ones, pulling them into a tight embrace. “I can’t believe you guys are here!”

Echo approaches Hunter, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Good job.” They both watch you wipe the tears of happiness from your eyes.

That evening, the festivities of your party slowly start to dwindle. The campfire that was made crackles gently, casting a warm glow on those around you.

After the games, laughter, and a satisfying barbecue, presents are exchanged. You always felt shy when receiving gifts and today was no different. Though you were very grateful.

Tech hands you a crafted gadget, its sleek design and functionality immediately appealing to your practical side. Crosshair, true to his stoic nature, offers a high-quality knife with a subtle smile, acknowledging its usefulness. You weren’t much of a fighter but maybe you could ask Hunter to teach you one day…

Echo gives you a beautifully bound journal with a smooth leather cover and crisp pages of flimsi. He knew you liked to make notes on your adventures and this just adds a more personal touch. Wrecker’s gift, a massive stuffed animal, brings out delighted laughter from you though the others weren’t too impressed with where it’ll fit on the ship.

As the night settles, Hunter catches your eye from across the fire and nods towards the lake. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

Curiosity piqued, you nod and follow him away from the glowing campfire and the soft chatter of your friends. The path to the lake is softly illuminated by the last hues of twilight. The sun has dipped below the horizon, leaving a trail of purples, pinks, and deep blues in the sky, reflected beautifully on the still waters of the lake.

The environment is serene, with the gentle rustling of leaves in the evening breeze and the distant sound of creatures stirring. The cool air carries the subtle scent of pine and freshwater, wrapping around you. Hunter walks beside you, his presence steady and calming which is what you always felt.

“Thank you for the surprise,” you say, your voice soft and sincere. “I promise not to ugly cry again.”

Hunter chuckles softly, the sound blending harmoniously with the natural ambiance. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Are you wondering where your gift from me is?”

“Not at all, you already did so much!” You say quickly, hoping you hadn’t come across ungrateful at all. But he reassures you as you both come to a stop, away from the view of the others.

“It was nothing, you do so much for us so it’s only fair I do something in return.. but I do actually have a gift for you.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a small box. Opening it, he reveals a stunning bracelet, an intricate mix of different shades of blue stones, woven together in a delicate design on a silver band. The twilight’s remaining light catches on the bracelet, making it shimmer softly.

You’re momentarily speechless, the beauty of the bracelet and the thoughtfulness of Hunter’s gesture leaving you stunned. Smiling gently, Hunter takes your hand, his touch warm, and slips the bracelet onto your wrist. “I don’t know how to thank you,” you whisper, emotion thick in your voice.

“You don’t need to thank me,” Hunter replies, his voice filled with warmth. He pauses, his eyes holding yours with a quiet intensity. “But maybe we could finish what was almost started this morning?” His tone hopeful

You didn’t expect him to bring it up again, in fact you momentarily forgot about it, but his words send a thrill through you. You nod, a shy smile playing on your lips. Hunter steps closer, his hand gently cupping your cheek. The touch is electric, sending a pleasant shiver down your spine.

The kiss is soft, slow, and tender, a sweet exploration of emotions that were long felt, but never spoken. The galaxy around you fades, leaving just the two of you in this perfect, timeless moment.

When you finally part, Hunter’s eyes are filled with warmth and affection. “Happy birthday, beautiful,” he whispers, his breath mingling with yours.

Your heart swells with happiness, and you realise that this birthday, surrounded by love is one you will cherish forever.

Tags: @littlefeatherr @kaitou2417 @eyecandyeoz @jesseeka

@theroguesully @ladykatakuri @arctrooper69 @padawancat97 @staycalmandhugaclone

@ko-neko-san @echos-girlfriend @fiveshelmet t @dangraccoon @plushymiku-blog

@pb-jellybeans @nunanuggets @sleepycreativewriter @erellenora @zippingstars87

@ezras-left-thumb @the-rain-on-kamino @lamiliani @tech-aficionado @grizabellasolo @therealnekomari @tech-depression-inventory @brynhildrmimi

@greaser-wolf @kaminocasey @marvel-starwars-nerd @ladytano420

@ladyzirkonia @thesith @raevulsix @cw80831 @knightprincess @crosshairlovebot @whore4rex @imperialclaw801 @temple-elder @mysticalgalaxysalad @yunggoblin @imalovernotahater @sithstrings @the-bad-batch-baroness @lulalovez

[oceansssblue]

Hello, I hope that you are having an amazing day. If requests are still open, I have a funny Star Wars prompt/or/oneshot if you want. You know how in Top Gun, after Maverick flirts with a lady at a bar, only to find out the next day that she is his superior officer. What about a similar situation in the Clone Wars era, in which one of the members of the Bad Batch, or one of the 501st like Fives, flirts with a female Jedi reader (who's probably in her early twenties) at the 79s, not knowing that she is a Jedi General. Only to find out the next day that she is the Jedi General assigned to them for their next mission.

Her appearance in the bar makes her look nothing like a Jedi. She just looks like a civilian until she is in her jedi robes the next day. She doesn't deliberately deceive them or anything. She just wanted to unwind after an undercover mission. She just didn't think bringing up that she is a Jedi was important, she assumed they already knew. The only hint she gave on their "date" night was a happy and playful "see you tomorrow" as they part ways to get to their respective homes/barracks. She is happy to see them the next day.

Cool fun little oneshot! Decided to go with Crosshair, seems more like his thing.

Hope you like it!

Xx,

Sky.

"SEE YOU TOMORROW"

CROSSHAIR/F REDADER 📩💖

WARNINGS: ALCOHOL, FLIRTING&TEASING.

Your muscles still ache after a two year undercover mision in Alcaz. Spending long hours of running and hiding in the capital will do that to anyone; even a Jedi. Your first mision with the Order started years ago; even if you're still young right now. Everyone starts early these days; you went from youngling to padawan and Jedi Knight in just a blink of an eye. The war makes you feel older than what you really are.

It's weird being back in Coruscant. Back in a normal setting were you don't need to constantly be aware of your surroundings –even if it's instinctual, now–; where you're not constantly in danger. Entering 79's, your eyes quickly flickering over the crowd of tipsy clones and the dance floor, a tiny smile makes it up to your face. You feel inmediately relieved, somehow. You don't need to pretend here. You don't need to be a soldier, a Jedi Knight, a General. You don't have responsabilities and lifes dangling from your shoulders. Here, right now, you can just be you, a simple girl in her twenty-two's.

Happy smile still in your face, you make your way towards the bar. You order a sweet drink light on the alcohol side to start with; turning around and taking small sips while you scan the bar distractedly. There's a few eyes on you already. Not because you're necesarily pretty –though you believe yourself to look alright–; but simply necause you're one of the few natives around here, and more so a woman. Clones will always be ever the gentleman, it's ingrained in their discipline, their sense of honor; but they're still men, real humans, and they have urges like everyone else. Like Jedis do, too, no matter what many people think.

You're not really in the mood for sex, though. You're too tired for that; your plan is to spend a few hours drinking and chatting and then return to the Temple. You've got a meeting tomorrow, and you should make sure you get your well deserved, comfortable sleep. You're almost drooling thinking of a bed already, but you'd like to unwind a bit first; even though your body is tired, you feel your mind too active to surrender to dreamland yet. Plus, you need to disconect from your previous mision and adapt to your new situation; to the new changes.

A few troopers that you had the chance to meet before starting your jump around the galaxy to serve to the Jedi and the Republic recognises you, and you quickly find yourself chatting amicably in a booth with them. They're kind, and perfectly respectful; they speak to you as if you were a normal person, though –not a general, not a Jedi–, and you soon fall into a relaxed posture and a lazy smile. None of you speak about war, about their fears and worries; but of hopes and desires, jokes and secret lovers that await for them patiently all over Coruscant. Some look flustered after realising they've confessed such things in front of you; but you just shake your head and smile. You're glad they're finding some happiness wherever they can.

On your third drink in –and probably the last one, judging by your flushed cheeks and the low hum of carefree excitement & arousal spreading inside of you– you feel another stare on you. It's heavy, it's intent so clear it's almost screaming at you; and you listen to your Jedi instincts, eyes slowly flickering around the bar to find it's owner.

You come up with a pair of dark brown eyes. They're the exact same shade of most of the clones in the GAR; and yet, it's stare so much more intense. It could almost cut through you and hit someone on the other side.

You study him curiously in the same way he has been observing you before. Even sitting down in a booth with some other soldiers, you can tell he's taller than most; the shape of his body and muscles long and thin, agile, though still strong. It's impossible not to notice the tattoo around his right eye; it fits him well, really. What surprises you most about him –besides his stare– is his hair, though; a mix of greys so pretty it almost shines under the lights of the 79's.

He's still dressed up on armour, like a lot of other soldiers on the bar. His is black and grey with a few stripes of dark red; a white skull with a "99" underneath it on his right pauldron. It's right then and there when you understand who he is, who they are; and your eyes twinkle in amusement, your smile widening. This is Clone Force 99, the squad that will be under your command. The Council told you they were different, that they had special abilities very useful for battles; but they fail to mention you they were literally, physically different as well.

You understand... Crosshair's –he must be– cautious and curious study then; he might be wanting to find out who exactly their new General is, and how does she behave when she's not on duty like everyone else.

You shoot him a grin and Crosshair's neutral, almost uniterested face turns into a smirk. He arches an eyebrow, and makes a gesture with his head; a welcome for you to join them in their table. You nod and say your goodbyes to the troopers; smiling and shooting one or two more playful comments before making your way across the room, walking confidently to this squad of extraordinary men.

"Hey there, boys" you greet them, deciding for informality in order to not spoil their night of fun from the start. "Care if I join?"

There's various reactions around the table. Crosshair looks amused. Echo and Tech are purely surprised –the later one quickly scanning you almost as if trying to find information about you with just his eyes–; while Hunter looks hesitant. Wrecker is openly excited and happy.

"Yeah, take a sit!" He pushes his brothers to one side, making room for you in the circular booth their sitting in, ignoring the other's quiet, pained grunts.

They all look a little tipsy too.

You chuckle and take the offer, letting down your drink on top of the table and sitting besides Wrecker. Crosshair arches his eyebrow again, still finding amusing how you seem confident enough in a table –a bar– surrounded by men. He likes confidence in a woman, but such levels are a bit more rare.

"Comfortable?" He asks, his voice deep and smooth, almost a lazy drawl, and you grin back at him.

"Very" you answer, emphasising your answer by taking a long sip of your alcohol and laying lazily against the booths backrest.

After holding his stare for a few seconds, you turn your attention back to the rest of the group; scanning them curiously. They do de same with you.

"So, didn't have time to do a change of clothes?" You point out. "Did you come back from a mission today, or is this just an night outfit choice?"

Wrecker laughs, will Echo and Hunter show a tiny smile. Tech is completely serious still, lost in his thoughts without tearing his eyes from you. Crosshair also stares at you.

"We came back from a mission a pair of hours ago, yeah" Hunter finally answers, relaxing slowly. "Thought we should enjoy a bit of freedom before getting back to work tomorrow".

His voice is deep as well; a bit more soft yet raspy.

"Ah" you answer, smiling guiltily. "Got it. Well, I'm not going to cut out your fun, no worries. Feel free to drink and chat as much as you like. Also... This is still a good fit. Beautiful armour, guys".

This time Tech blushes, Echo clears his throat in silence and Wrecker, Hunter, and Crosshair, all smile widely. Ah, yes, you forgot; armours are precious to all Mandalorians, including clones, and you could have very well call them...

"So you think we're hot? That it?" Crosshair drawls, eyes interested.

You laugh shrugging your shoulders. Yeah, well, you might be a little too tipsy. This is definitely your last drink if you want to keep things professional. Force knows if you weren't a Jedi and this weren't your men you'd have had already tried to take one of them home. Huh, it seems you're not as tired as you thought.

"Pretty" you correct him, if only to mock him a bit and play with him.

Crosshair's stare darkens and you can feel his arousal and want calling you through the Force.

You smile down playing with the rim of your glass distractedly, and feeling a sudden wave of shyness. Alcohol is a dangerous thing.

The thought makes you giggle a bit.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The night goes on, and you switch to a non-alcohol drink as promised to yourself. The conversation turns normal and more easy as the clock ticks by; all of them being very interesting, fun people to chat with. Crosshair and Echo are more reserved than the rest; different types of quiet observing and thoughtfullness. You suspect the second one isn't as comfortable with your presence as the rest –while you have no doubt that that wouldn't suppose a problem in battlefield, you know he's an excellent soldier–; while Crosshair... Crosshair's intentions are still quite clear.

He's bold, you have to say. Most troopers wouldn't want to risk being reported for misconduct even if they know most Jedis would just gently shut their intentions down if it were the case. Clones usually don't want to risk it; though it's evident that Crosshair doesn't think you will or plainly, doesn't care.

It doesn't bother you. He's attractive, and it feels good to be desired; you're a Jedi, but you're also just twenty-two, and you can't help it yourself. Still, you're nothing but polite to him, if only a bit of playfullness here and there. You're not going to go to bed with him, not before your oficial meeting; not while you can still resist.

You sigh with a smile.

"Well, boys, it has been a pleasure" you start, standing up and patting Wrecker's shoulder besides you. "But I think I'm gonna go and try to shut an eye. Have your fun without me, see you tomorrow!"

Tech eyes widen slightly, observing your retreating figure while Crosshair makes a move to follow you out of 79's.

Tech grabs his brother's shoulder and pulls him back down, ignoring Crosshair's almost snarl.

"She expressed her desire to go to sleep, Crosshair. Let her be" he opted to say, still not 100% sure of his theory before proving it with a quick search on his datapad.

Crosshair sighed and gulped down the remaining of his drink.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

No matter that the Batch had left 79's pretty late in the night, they were all rised and prepared to meet their new General at 0600 puntually. Their faces carried nag under their eyes and various degrees of tiredness; but they weren't being shipped anywhere, so there was no real problem with that. It was just a formal meeting so they could put a face to the name and greet each other; then they'll be left alone to enjoy the rest of their shore-leave day.

"I hope she's nice!" commented Wrecker while they waited up in a line in front of the Marauder.

Hunter hummed.

"I just hope she lets us do our thing" he muttered, clearly not very happy about the new placement.

None of them were particularly enthusiastic; they had never had a personal Jedi General before, and it would be a big change for everyone involved.

"I am confident she will" answered Tech, perhaps the only one holding positive thoughts about it. "I have thoroughly researched our General in the early hours of the morning and she has an impressive record on undercover missions and other side tasks. It seems she is usually sent on unusual requests as well, just like us. In adition, she is fairly easy going. I am positive we would all be able to adapt to each other well".

Right when Wrecker was going to ask with a deep frown etched on his face how did he know she was as "easy-going" as Tech affirmed, a female figure crossed the doors of the hangar walking towards them with wide confident steps.

Wrecker's, Echo's and Hunter's faces stared back in shock; while Tech nodded firmly as if he were explaining something to them, and Crosshair followed the young Jedi's movement full of intrigue and a masked surprise.

"Morning, troopers!" She greeted them, still a few meters away from them.

Her smile was radiant in the greyness of the hangar bay.

Crosshair leaned towards the smartest of his brothers, subtle.

"Punishment for fucking your Jedi General?" he asked in a distracted whispered, eyes never leaving the woman aproaching them.

Tech answered completely unbothered by his antics; posture firm.

"From an informal reprimand to proper decomissioning".

Crosshair smirked.

"I'll risk it".

He arched an eyebrow in amused defiance when she looked straight at him.

THE END.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Taraaa! Here it is love, hope you like it! It was a little fun cheeky thing to write :)

Not checked after finishing writing it cause I have exam tomorrow and still got a few finals left, but I hope I didn't make a lot of mistakes!

Only two more requests left before I jump onto another tbb Mermaid fic. Don't worry, yall, I will reopen requests the future, just let me survive my exams first ;)

Stay tunned!

Xx,

Sky.

Back to masterlist here:

[stardust-kenobi]

moonlight & heartbeats

Hunter x Fem!Reader

Summary: A year after being rescued by Hunter from near-death on Tantiss, your peaceful life on Pabu is plagued with rampant nightmares. Hunter, now your close friend, senses your distress one night and comes to check on you.

Word count: ~5.5k

Warnings/tags: SMUT (piv sex, fingering, oral, dirty talk), hurt/comfort, mutual pining, mentioned violence, friends to lovers trope, Hunter cheesily senses reader’s heartbeat, the usual “use of his abilities” smut tropes, sorry not sorry<3

A/N - this has maybe more backstory than necessary but I decided my porn would have SOME plot this time. Enjoy <3

Read on AO3

Partially requested by @yunggoblin. Hunter uses his hearing more than his scent here but still goes along with your prompt :)

The rain poured relentlessly from the darkened sky. Your clothes now weighed heavy upon your beaten figure. The metal beneath your knees felt more unforgiving by the second. The trooper behind you, a clone trooper, held you by your shoulder, keeping you firmly in place.

Your trembling body barely had the strength to sit upright as you painfully craned your neck upward to the steel blaster barrel now level with your forehead. Just moments before, you were sheltering from the attack on the base inside Hemlock’s ship that you were repairing. A mechanic. You were just a mechanic. They’d accused you of treason, and there was no right to a fair trial if they’d thought you betrayed your mighty employer.

"The Empire thanks you for your service" The well-dressed Imperial officer spoke blankly as his finger hovered over the trigger. You’d never even seen him before, and somehow he held the right to take your life.

Your heart sat uncomfortably in your throat as your eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of the final breath you'd ever take.

Just as the blaster fired, your vision went hazy, and your eyes flashed open.

You found yourself sitting upright in your bed, panting frantically as a bead of sweat dripped down your temple. You grasped at your chest like it would help you breathe better, but you knew it was useless. It was only the third time this week you'd had the same nightmare, or at least, some variation of it. Usually in your nightmare, you were in the rain, as it truly happened. Other times you found yourself elsewhere on Tantiss base. Regardless, the dream always ended with a blaster at your head, reliving what you thought was going to be your final moments.

That is, if you had not been rescued by Clone Force 99. Had it not been for Hunter stealthily jumping into action. He didn't know you, not at the time. He saw a woman seconds away from execution and didn't think twice. You wonder, though, why he saved a woman in imperial dressings. What about you made him see you differently among every other imperial he and his squad killed without hesitation that day on Tantiss?

You were a mechanic for the Empire, and barely one at that. You were in training at the time of your near-execution. Somehow, your skills working on speeders on your outer-rim home world caught the attention of an Imperial Admiral during their invasion of your planet. You didn't have much choice, but you tried to make the best of it.

A few weeks into your job, you were accused of tampering with the safety of Admiral Tarkin's ship. It wasn't true, but your word meant nothing once you were accused. Truthfully, you never signed up for what the Empire had planned for you anyway.

Almost a year had passed since that day, but it never seemed to get any easier. The warm and happily endless days in your new home on Pabu were an oasis compared to your days serving the Empire. Unfortunately, though, even in a paradise of unbothered territory, the Empire still held you in its grasp with these unrelenting nightmares.

Your head rested heavily in your palms as you leaned over the side of the bed. Your roommate was thankfully gone for the night, so you were confident that no one heard your panting and muffled pleas for mercy in your sleep.

The beating of your heart began to pump the breaks ever so slowly. Looking around your home, you felt comfort in knowing you were safe. It always took you a few moments to let it sink in:

It wasn’t real.

The Empire cannot hurt you.

You are safe.

Your attempted solitude was abruptly halted by a sudden knock at the door. You rubbed your face to gather your composure before walking to the door and cracking it open.

Hunter’s face, illuminated by the glow of the moonlight, came into view. Your heart skipped a beat. His presence was always welcomed, but no matter how close you were to Hunter, he always gave the gentlest butterflies.

“Hunter, wh-” You began, your voice rough from sleep.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” He spoke gently, his eyes heavy with worry. He cared so deeply for you.

You couldn’t bring yourself to answer that question verbally. Pulling the door open, you gestured for him to come inside.

He entered, hesitantly. His eyes not so subtly traveled the length of your body, barely covered by the silk nightgown you wore. His jaw clenched as he made himself look away.

“Sorry, I’ll cover up” You said frantically, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. Scrambling to find a tunic, he politely interrupted you.

“No, please” He begged. There was a hint of desire in his tone that you chose to dismiss, “I mean, it’s your home. Don’t worry about me”. His eyes still wandered. Hunter couldn’t peel his eyes away from your exposed skin. At least not completely before finally finding your gaze and holding it.

Setting down the tunic, you crossed your arms, nodding in agreement.

“I’ve…been better. Just a…bad dream is all” You struggled with your words, answering his initial question.

“I, um, sensed that you were…distressed” He started, nervously, “Sorry, It’s not by choice. But I couldn’t ignore it”.

It was no surprise that he could tell. The villa you were housed in was side by side with Hunter and Crosshair’s villa, with Hunter’s bunk being on just the other side of the thin walls of your own room. It wasn’t a lot of space, but it was graciously gifted to you by the Pabu government, and you were grateful.

But although it wasn’t surprising, you were startled by the idea that he could sense your nerves and heartbeat through the wall.

What else could he sense? What could he hear?

“What were you doing awake? It’s the middle of the night” You countered, shaking your head subtly, wearing a soft smile in admiration of his concern and derailing from the topic only slightly.

He sighed and sat himself on your bunk, “Was having some bad dreams myself” he confessed, his elbows resting on his thighs. You followed suit, sitting on your bunk next to him.

You nodded and let the silence between you fill the small space for a moment. It wasn't awkward. It never was with him.

“It’s been a year. I just…I can’t shake how real it feels. Every single time I have this dream -- it’s like I’m right back on Tantiss, staring up through the barrel of a blaster. But…in my dream— my nightmare—you never come to save me” You breathe out, almost choking on the last part.

Hunter’s brows furrow with concern and pain. He thought it over for a few seconds, reliving that moment when he saved your life, shooting the officer dead where he stood as well as the troopers surrounding you. His face twisted in sorrow once more before he spoke again.

“I see Tech” He began, his voice broken, “Every time I close my eyes to sleep. Over and over again, I see him die”

“Oh, Hunter” your voice cracks with his name falling off your lips. Your heart broke for him, for the others. You never had the pleasure of knowing Tech, but from the endless stories the others in the squad had to share, you knew he was extraordinary.

Hunter's eyes remained on the ground for a moment before looking over to meet your gaze. He reached out and rested his hand upon your knee. You were ashamed to admit that the gentlest of his touch was electrifying to you.

“I know what it’s like” He consoled you, “it’s terrible”.

You nodded and stared into him, communicating more in your expression than what your words could provide.

“That trauma — it’s a part of me now”

“It is. But it does not define you” Hunter countered, “That’s what I tell Omega. Shes a tough kid but…she’s haunted by the Empire, too”

You thought of her and smiled. Over the past year, you'd grown close to all of them and were so happy to have them in your life.

Hunter always tended to you back when you were trying to adjust to life on the island. He used check on you several times a day, just to see if you were okay. He still does occasionally, but he’s given you more space as time has passed. He was a good and caring friend.

A Friend.

You chuckled to yourself at the thought of that word. It wasn’t even a week after you met him that you’d fallen head over heels for him. He blissfully plagued your every waking thought. Often you’d worry that he noticed your fixation on him, and were weary of his possible rejection. Other times, you’d hoped he noticed and would do something about it.

There were lingering glances, brushes against one another in a hallway, kind and flattering words exchanged…but you’d both been too afraid to act on it. You accepted that it may never be anything more than that, but it wasn’t without disappointment. Everyone around you, the other guys specifically, all noticed the tension between you two, but it never affected your friendship.

“Can I ask you a question?” You broke the silence, seemingly curious in your tone.

“Anything” Hunter quickly responded.

“Is this the first time you’ve sensed that I was… distressed in the middle of the night?”

Slowly, he sat up straight, “Yes…and no” He answered, hesitantly. You swallowed hard in anticipation of what you already assumed.

You tilted your head at him inquisitively.

“It's your heart rate. But I uh...I don’t think it’s always nightmares" He trailed off, cautious of what he was insinuating. Your heart sunk to your belly. Surely he didn't mean that he could sense when you pleasured yourself?

"What do you mean, Hunter?” You pried, hoping to get him to bring it up first.

“I shouldn't have said anything. I was just worried about you and wanted to check in" He hurried through his explanation, standing to his feet and walking toward the door to look out your window.

Your cheeks burned red with both excitement and embarrassment.

"Sometimes it's the best way to get to sleep" You indirectly admitted, shrugging your shoulders and letting a playful smile sneak upon your face, “Don’t you do it, too?” You casually suggested.

His eyes snapped back to where you sat on your bed.

Touching yourself was the best way to relax. Truthfully, you were starving for Hunter’s touch instead, and you had been yearning for him all this time. It was always him that you thought of when your curious fingers traveled in between your legs.

Hunter swallowed hard, feeling the delicate tension in the air.

“Well, of course I do, I-“ he stumbled over his words.

“Hunter, it’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it” You reassured him, cutting him off before he felt any more flustered.

You approached him at the window, feeling so dangerously close as you placed your hand on his arm.

“Thank you for checking on me. I’m okay” You offered a gentle and reassuring smile.

“I want to protect you, cyar’ika. You mean a lot to me and I…sometimes I don’t know how to help”

Hearing endearing terms in Mando’a always melted your heart.

“Just having you around is enough protection for me”

“I’m on the other side of the wall if you ever need me. You know that”

“I know” You nodded, but couldn’t seem to break your attention away from his face. The tattooed side, something you’d always adored, was lit once again by the brightened moon. Stars, he was so beautiful.

It was a mutual exchange of a longing expression between you two. Hunter’s eyes searched your gaze for any hesitation as you both leaned into each other. Your body pressed firm against him as your hands rested on the back of his neck. In the quiet of your room, it was you who could hear your own heartbeat now.

His lips landed blissfully upon yours, sending a radiating current through your body. You sucked in a sharp breath, overcome with the feeling of this sudden intimate contact. You kissed him back delicately, letting your mouth become barely familiar with his after so much longing for this exact feeling. You pulled away only slightly, seeing if he had any urge to stop. You looked up at him, searching for any sense of regret but found none. Hunter’s eyes were hungry for you...so much more of you.

“Y/N…” he started, his voice low and desperate.

You ached for him. Maker…you had ached for him for so terribly long. His lips on any part of your body were near close enough to send you into a frenzy. As your lips returned to his, Hunter’s arms found themselves wrapped around your barely clothed waist, pulling you closer to him, and deepening the kiss.

Your fingers found the hem of his shirt ready to remove it, eager to continue this further. To your puzzling surprise, he stopped you.

“Oh, I-“ You began, flustered and confused.

“Mesh’la” he groaned.

“I’m sorry”

“No, don’t be. I just…I can’t” He strained through his words, shutting his eyes for a moment, finding it difficult to reject you but forcing himself to do so.

As you stood there confused, he looked at you with a wordless apology on his face.

“Goodnight, Y/N. I'm right here if you need me” He concluded, gently planting a kiss on your forehead before seeing himself out.

Emptiness consumed you as you stood alone in your villa. Had you done something wrong? Surely not, it was clear he wanted you too, but something stopped him.

With such worry on your mind, you laid awake for a while before your fatigue finally took you over, sending you into a deep sleep.

————————————

“Have a nice day!” You called out to your last customer of the day. You loved your job working in the marketplace in the city square. It was a peaceful and rewarding existence.

Throughout the day, memories of the night before played like a broken holoscan in your mind. You could still feel his lips against yours, devouring you. It was hard not to smile as you reminisced about the feeling, but your smile would quickly fade as you remembered how it ended.

The sun casted an amber glow over the sea, letting you know the day was near over. The entire day had passed without seeing Hunter, which made you anxious. You wanted to see him. To talk to him. To apologize for trying to go too far.

As you processed these thoughts, you felt a presence approach your booth.

Hunter.

“Oh, hi!” You said surprised.

“Hi” He began, his smile warm, “can we talk?”

“Sure. I’m just closing up for the day”, You grinned back to him.

“I’ll be at our spot by the cove” He said, pointing toward the side of the island where your secret spot was. Only you, the guys, and Omega really knew about it.

You nodded before hurrying to finish closing your shop. Never had you packed that quickly before.

You arrived on the shore, in the hidden cove on the beach to find Hunter sitting alone on the boulder.

“Hey stranger” You said, approaching him.

“Hey, you” He smiled. Maybe with anyone else, this would be awkward. But with Hunter, somehow it wasn’t.

“Everything okay?” You questioned.

“I wanted to apologize about last night” He started, not making eye contact at first, but finding your eyes shortly after.

“It’s okay, Hunter, really. I understand” You responded, not entirely sure what you were understanding. Truthfully, you still weren’t sure why he stopped you last night.

“I don’t think you do, sweetheart”

You sat next to him on the boulder, leaving a bit of space between you two, contrary to how close you’d found yourself the night before.

“I had to stop myself” He continued.

“Why?”

“I care about you” He sighed.

“I know you do, Hunter. I don’t see why that made you want to stop what we had started” You countered, growing flustered, shifting your hips slightly.

“Because no matter how hard it is for me to resist you, I cannot take advantage of you like that”

“Wha— you’re not taking advantage of me, Hunter” You subtly scoffed in disbelief.

“I want you. Make no mistake about that” He said confidently yet softly, sending a tingling feeling through your veins.

“I want you too. I think about you…a lot” You began, letting your tone lead his mind toward the deeper meaning of your words.

Hunter looked over to you and raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

“I don’t want to mess up what we have” He admitted, disappointingly, “you mean too much to me”

You wanted to fight it. You wanted him. But he made a fair point. Was it worth running the risk of ruining your friendship?

You nodded, offering no further comment on the situation. It made your heart ache terribly, but you couldn’t risk losing him due to your mutual desires.

“I’m lucky to have you, Hunter” You said, scooting closer to him before leaning your head on his shoulder.

“Me too, sweetheart. Me too” He concurred.

The sunset on Pabu had never felt so bittersweet. As its warmth and glow made a gradual exit, you felt any chance of something more with Hunter disappearing with it. You sat and talked with him for another hour, chatting about the weather and how his job on the island was going, and you were just grateful for his presence, even if you’d never feel his lips upon yours again.

Returning home some time later, you noticed your roommate had left you a transmission.

“Sorry, still off-world, be back tomorrow!”

You felt relieved. Having privacy was rare but welcomed and appreciated.

The steaming shower in your refresher washed the day away from your body. You didn’t bother to put on your clothes, as you preferred to sleep naked anyway. As you sunk into your bed, you feared this would be another night of endless tossing and turning.

To make matters worse, you couldn’t stop feeling Hunter’s lips on yours. Over and over again, you kept feeling the tingling sensation that came over you as he wrapped his arms around your waist. You were already wet just thinking about it, but as you rubbed your legs tightly together, you provided a friction that lit a fire in your lower belly.

He’d know if I masturbated, you thought. He’d sense it.

“Fuck it” You whispered to yourself.

Your fingertips found their place where they always did, right atop your sensitive bud. Rhythmically, you rubbed delicate circles around your clit, just beginning to tend to your aching needs. You whimpered softly. So softly that even you barely heard it.

What you were doing was going to drive him crazy. You knew that. The walls were thin, and he’d already told you that he’d sensed something in your heartbeat other than your nightmares before. But you’d be dammed if you’ll be left unsatisfied after the tease you’d felt last night.

You rocked your hips upwards into your own touch, biting your lip to suppress noises any louder than a heavy breath, especially with what you knew now. Visions of Hunter came to you as you fantasized. You pictured his fingers touching you like this, his body on top of yours.

Slowly, you felt your climax creeping toward you, inching closer like a looming threat. As you covered your mouth to keep yourself quiet, your orgasm was suddenly ripped away from you at the sound of a knock on your door.

You froze.

“Y/N” Hunter’s voice rang quietly from the other side.

Quickly, you pulled the covers to shield your naked body.

“Come in” you boldly called out. Sure, your door definitely should have been locked, but, you never worried for your safety here.

Hunter opened the door with caution. His eyes met yours immediately. As he closed it behind him, he leaned against the door as he took in the sight of you.

“Not a nightmare this time, was it?” He slyly suggested.

“No” you breathed, your heart now certainly beating in your throat.

He walked to your bed, slowly, “Tell me, mesh’la, all those times you’ve pleasured yourself, did you think I couldn’t hear those pretty little noises you make when you come?”

You stared at him, eyes heavy with intense lust and hint of blissful shame. There was a primal desire in his expression and demeanor, something you’d not seen but only a hint of last night, but it was undeniable tonight.

“Every time you touch yourself, I know” He whispered, “And you know what else? Every time you touch yourself, I can’t help but touch myself, too” He admitted, hovering above your bed, looking down to your delicately covered body. You melted at the image of him masturbating and getting off on the idea of you pleasuring yourself too.

“Hunter” you breathed.

“Use your words, sweetheart. Tell me what you want” He begged you. Hunter needed you to give him the green light he desperately needed.

“Please, fuck me” You begged shamelessly, “I can’t take it anymore. I need you”

Within the same second that the words left your lips, he was in bed above you, your lips tangled within his. He kissed you passionately, his tongue slipping into yours, exploring you further. You moaned at the satisfaction of his raw desire, picking right back up from where you left off. One hand held him up while the other ran through your hair. As you stayed covered beneath him, you reached up to grab his face and pull him into you and the kiss deepened between you.

The presence of his body above you pulled the blanket down, revealing your bare breasts. Hunter pulled away from your lips to look down at the sight. He growled lowly in approval and pent up urge to see you like this.

“Cyare” he whimpered, releasing his hand from your face down to cup your breast. He then redirected his attention to your stiffened nipples, taking one into his mouth, causing a gentle cry to fall from your lips.

With his mouth still upon your breast, he pulled the blanket completely off your body, tossing it to the floor, exposing your skin to the chilled air.

Maker, he was eager…so incredibly eager to see you fully bare beneath him. Every inch of your skin on display. Something he’d only dreamed of. Something that fueled every fantasy he had while he stroked his cock mere inches from you on the other side of the wall. And here you were, right beneath him, laid out pretty, just for him.

“You are so beautiful, sweetheart” He praised you, leaning back to fully take in the view. Swiftly, he removed his shirt, revealing the chiseled, beautifully scarred body beneath it. You stared in awe at his physique, your heart skipping a beat.

"Spread your legs for me, baby", He instructed. You obeyed, opening your legs to provide him better access to where you desperately ached for him the most. The moonlight gleaming through your window was enough to offer you both the light you needed. As Hunter caught sight of your pussy, already slick with desire for him, his face turned in pure adoration.

"Touch me, please, Hunter" You begged, feeling as though you could do nothing but beg him in this state of arousal. You were his. All his.

FIngertips trailed softly up your thigh before reaching the wetness between your legs. Hunter whimpered as he felt you.

"Oh sweetheart, is this all for me?" He asked, beginning to rub your clit gently while he whispered into your ear. Chills erupted down your body.

"It's for you. It's always for you" You responded breathlessly, letting your words flow in between your cries of pleasure. Hunter applied more pressure before inserting two fingers inside of you. While he does this, he watches you, enamored with the way your face twists in pleasure, all from his hands. Not yours this time — his.

With a curl of his fingers and a steady pace, Hunter fucks you with his fingers. His thumb remains at your clit, stimulating you beyond what you're used to. No one had paid this much attention to your body before.

His lips returned to yours, stifling a moan that escaped you as you felt your orgasm quickly approaching.

"I'm so c-close" You choked on your words muttered against his supple lips. The bundled coil in your lower abdomen threatened to burst at any second.

"I can feel you tightening around me. Come on my fingers, mesh'la" He encouraged you.

Hearing Hunter talk to you like this, after so long of being just friends, was exhilarating. His words alone were enough to push you over the edge, but the way he worked his hands to pleasure you was so good. Too good.

Your climax unraveled, washing over you gracefully, starting at your core and radiating like a fire throughout your entire body. Profanities flew from your lips as you instinctively rolled your hips against his palm.

"That's it, princess, right there" He coaxed you gently, unrelenting in the curling of his fingers, fucking you steadily through your orgasm, "good girl".

As you came down from the pure euphoria with stars dancing in your eyes, Hunter was careful to pull his fingers out of you slowly. Holding your gaze, he brought his fingers to his mouth, tasting you and savoring it like a last meal.

You leaned up, propping yourself on your elbows. Hunter stood, quickly pulling the hem of his pants down before removing them completely. You audibly gasped at his size when his cock came into view. Hunter was smirking as your eyes travelled back up to his gaze.

As he stood beside your bed, you got on your hands and knees and put your mouth level with his length. Hunter melted when your tongue licked up the side of his cock. His eyes fell closed when you took him into your mouth completely, or at least, as much as you could. You started to suck him off, using your tongue to guide your motions.

You peered up at him, watching his face twist in ecstasy as you bobbed your head back and forth. With a swirling of your tongue on his tip, you felt his hips twitch subtly.

“Fuck, Y/N. Just like that. Suck my cock” He growled through his pleasure, using a tone you’d usually only heard when he gave orders. This was an order you’d follow any day without question, “That’s my girl”, he praised through his clenched jaw.

His hand rested on your head, gently guiding you in your motions. The sound of his soft little whimpers that quickly turned into deeper groans made your cunt ache for him even more. You clenched your walls around nothing, pitifully empty and needing to be filled. As you moved your hand to your clit to relieve the ache, he reached down your back and plunged two fingers into your pussy from behind. You cried out, sending vibrations over his cock as you tried to still focus on his pleasure.

He pumped his fingers at a faster pace than before, sending you into a overstimulated frenzy and you couldn’t take it anymore. You pulled your mouth from him, desperately catching your breath and crying out his name.

“Fuck, Hunter, don’t stop” You begged him, but instead he disobeyed your request, removing his fingers completely.

Without struggle or hesitation, Hunter lifted you and placed you on your back on the bed. He positioned himself in between your trembling legs. He kissed you passionately once more while lining his cock at your entrance.

The whole world fell silent for you as your bodies seemingly fused together. You’d dreamed of this moment, this intimacy with Hunter, for so long. To have him inside of you was the most erotic experience you’d ever had. He bottomed out slowly, both of your mouths agape, overwhelmed by the pleasure and the connection you felt in that moment.

There was only a slight tinge of discomfort as he filled you completely. You winced only a little, before it was replaced by pure pleasure.

“Mesh’la” he moaned deeply, “You..ugh…you take me so well” he praised you through his expressions of pleasure.

“Feels so good, Hunter” you whine, staring deep into eyes, seducing him further.

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to feel you like this?” He whispered against your ear before moving his lips down to your neck, kissing softly at your skin while he thrust deeper and faster.

You choked on your moans as his change in pace overwhelmed you. The room was filled with your whimpers, along with the irresistible sound of Hunter’s rough and deep moans.

“Such a good girl, letting me fuck you like this” Hunter’s praises lit a fire within you, and he could tell, encouraging him more.

You lifted your knees, pressing them against his chest, allowing him to slide inside of you at an even better angle. You cried out, overstimulated and overfilled in the most amazing way. The thin walls were no match for how good you made each other feel, but you cared very little about who heard you.

The year long pent up tension between you two was unraveling beautifully as he fucked you like he was making up for all that lost time.

With one hard thrust, he stopped, holding his cock fully sheathed in your cunt, “Gonna come on my cock, princess? Make those pretty little sounds for me?” He teased, grinding his hips hard against your thighs. Held inside you like this, he brushed against your most sensitive spot, driving you crazy.

You were drunk off him, drunk off his words, drunk off his body. You could barely form a response, but offered him a nod as you felt your next release building quickly inside of you. Maybe he just loved to tease you endlessly, because he then pulled out of you, making you whine pitifully at the sudden loss of his cock and your orgasm.

He was firm yet gentle with your body as he flipped you over flat on your stomach. Similar to how he reacted to your breasts, he growled at the sight of your ass, grabbing a handful to admire as he ran his other hand down your back.

He leaned down, his cock resting on your ass, and he moved your hair from your face, pulling you into a passionate kiss as he sunk himself into your pussy from behind. You moaned against his lips, so satisfied with being filled again.

He continued his pace from before, fucking you with raw desire to claim you. Hips slapped firm against the skin of your ass as Hunter grabbed your waist for even better leverage.

“Hunter!”, You cried out, “right there…right there…I’m gonna come”

Never would he dare to stop now. The sounds he emitted grew louder and more inconsistent, and you could tell he was close too.

The fire that burned inside you erupted into the a burst of absolute ecstasy. It took over every fiber of your being as your vision went hazy. A slew of profanities flew from your lips while your body convulsed, your cunt pulsing around his cock as you came harder than you ever had felt before.

“Yessss, good fucking girl, come for me just like that” He cursed, grinding and pounded hard to chase his own release as well. You tightened your walls for him, pushing him closer, even though you never wanted this to end.

You were breathless beneath him, still taking his cock like you were made for it.

“Come inside me, Hunter. Please” You pleaded. It seems your words sent him over his limit, because as the words left your mouth, his hips faltered and his breath grew shaky. Hunter filled you, coming deep inside you, marking you like he wished he’d done a long time ago.

Together you caught your breath slowly. Hunter was careful to remove himself gently, knowing that you’d be sensitive, as was he. You winced as the last inch of him left you. Exhaustion overtook your body as you lay there, floating on a high like no other.

Hunter laid down next you, your bodies pressed closely together on the small bed. You turned to your side, looking up at him in pure adoration.

“Y/N…” Hunter broke the silence that was only filled with panting as you both tried to catch your breath, “you are…so perfect”

“So are you” You smiled at him.

“I’m never letting you go. That’s a promise” He assured you. The words brought you comfort, and you truly believed him.

It wasn’t but shortly after that you both drifted into a deep sleep, holding each other close while your minds rested. The sleep was peaceful and uninterrupted, as neither of you had nightmares that night.

——

A/N: Please comment/reblog if you enjoyed. Feedback is always welcome and appreciated!❤️

Thank you for reading 😊

[freesia-writes]

Bad Batch Prompt Event #1

Much love to @arctrooper69 for making this official, and I can't wait to see what anyone else has written for these prompts! I'm gonna post the SFW part one here and NSFW part two over on @spicy-clones.

Hunter x F!Reader WORD COUNT 3000 my bad! Content: some basic medical descriptions, reader gets her butt smacked at 79s, and a wee bit o kissin. GONNA USE MY SEXY DIVIDERS WITH @pinkiemme's art since it's HUNTER! :D

“Seriously?” you sighed. “This again?”

“This is completely different than last time,” came the smooth reply, earning both a snort and an eyeroll from you. 

“It’s almost exactly the same.”

“Different arm.”

“Oh my gosh.” Your almost-laugh was overshadowed by concern and frustration as you made quick work of the injury and carefully wrapped the gauze around his bicep, trying not to pay too close attention to the gentle curves of the muscles and tendons, the light dusting of hair, the scars and bruises… You cleared your throat, shaking your head minutely and looking back up to his face. That wasn’t any better. His sharp eyes gazed steadily at you, framed by his distinctive nose and the strands of hair that brushed the sides of his face.

“Well thanks as always,” he said quietly, the hint of a rare smile touching the corner of his lips, which were almost always curved in the ghost of a frown from the burdens he carried. You tried to ignore the flutter in your chest, instead nodding and picking up your datapad abruptly to see what else was on the agenda for the Kamino medical bay that day. You looked back to him, offering a small smile and an honest exhortation.

“Take care of yourself, Hunter.”

* * * 

You were surprised to see him only a week later, stepping into line behind you in the mess hall with the rest of his squad. They were normally a boisterous bunch, but there seemed to be a heaviness upon them as they moved rather listlessly. Perhaps a mission gone awry, perhaps the regular wear and tear of being mere property in a seemingly endless war. You caught Hunter’s eye as he moved to the front of his group, setting his tray on the shelf beside yours as you slid down the food line. 

“You alright?” you asked softly, startling yourself with the gentleness and vulnerability in your own voice and cringing at the fact that you didn’t even lead with a “hello”. 

“Yeah,” he said automatically, his flat affect provoking more anxiety than you’d like. You left it at that, unable to stifle the simultaneous warmth and concern emanating from you. You didn’t know what it was about his mere presence, but he exuded both competence and compassion, intelligence and wit, and you perceived the weight of responsibility that hung over his head, both a gift and a curse of his engineered fate. 

You’d come to enjoy his med bay visits more and more, although it was never the ideal circumstances to meet. The elaborate fantasies you concocted as you drifted off to sleep were far more appealing, consisting of stargazing cuddles, fancy galas, coffee shop chats, and many other situations you’d want to share with him. As corny as it seemed, more than all of it, you simply wanted to know him, to know the inner workings of his mind, his joys and worries, the things that made him laugh, the way he liked his caf… It wasn’t the first time in your life that you’d harbored a crush for someone who was as unattainable as they were oblivious of your affections, so you settled to daydream and enjoy the times you did get to share. 

It helped that your occupation allowed you some quiet moments and gentle touches here and there. Although, perhaps “helped” was the wrong word. 

* * * 

“We need you in room 6 immediately,” crackled the voice on your commlink, and you set aside the instruments you’d been cleaning and adjusting, heading that way with urgency. When the door slid open, you felt a jolt of electricity run through your body at the sight of a hulking clone on the exam table, covered in dried blood and haphazardly-wrapped bandages. You knew who it was without seeing his face, which was almost entirely obscured, and before your emotions could catch up, you snapped into work mode.

“What are we dealing with?” you asked the others, who were moving in smooth synchronization to free his head and scan him head to toe. 

“CT-9903. Explosion and shrapnel, blunt force trauma, multiple lacerations…” your assistant reported, eyes flitting across the scanner screen.

“That’s gonna leave a mark,” your other colleague said, stuffing the wads of bandages into the garbage and pulling on a fresh set of gloves. 

“Let’s get to work,” you muttered. 

A few hours later, he was cleaned up and sleeping comfortably, one eye closed serenely beneath a spiral of neatly-wrapped gauze that covered the rest of his head. You slipped into the room and tapped the screens, confirming the notes your assistant had entered, then rested a hand on his broad forearm, watching his chest rise and fall and sending out all the comforting and healing vibes you could muster. 

“He seems alright,” came a smooth, low voice from behind you, making you jump and emit the tiniest squawk. You whirled around to see Hunter in a chair in the corner, reclining with his legs crossed out in front of him. He’d phrased it as a statement but the inflection of his voice indicated a question, and you exhaled in an attempt to regain your composure.

“First of all, hi. Next time, can you greet me when I come into the room instead of scaring the crap out of me?” you said, accompanied with a little laugh that sounded forced. 

“We’ll see,” he returned evenly, keeping his face straight despite your smirk.

“That’s an order, Sergeant,” you attempted, delighting in the slight spark in his eyes as he raised his eyebrows.

“Oh really,” he said, lowering his chin just enough to bring some hair across his forehead as he regarded you with a stare that you could have sworn held a hint of smolder. But perhaps you were seeing what you wanted to see. Your fingers twitched at your sides, yearning to stroke the tufts back from his face… and other stuff…

“Yeah, anyway…” you said suddenly, clearing your throat and turning businesslike all of a sudden. “He should be fine. We’ll run some more tests when he wakes up to check on his hearing. The lacerations should heal easily, and he was lucky enough to avoid any serious contusions, somehow. I don’t know what you all were doing out there but this guy needs a thicker helmet.”

“I’ll make sure to request that from the armory.”

“I’m sure they’ll be wildly helpful and accommodating.”

“Always.”

A silence fell for a moment, then he rose to his feet, stretching to his full height and picking up his backpack.  He slung it across his shoulders, along with the concerns and duties that awaited him, and gave you a cordial nod. 

“Thanks for taking care of him,” he said with genuine sincerity, regarding you with fondness as he stepped closer. Your heart skipped a beat and you felt frozen to the spot, mind racing with a million scenarios you’d envisioned that started out just like this. 

“Just doing my job… sir,” you said feebly, swallowing hard as he moved the tiniest bit nearer. You gazed at his eyes, brown at first glance but peppered with pale green and gray upon closer inspection. You could swear you felt the sparks flying between the two of you… until he spoke, shifting slightly to your side. 

“Gotta… head out…” he muttered, and you suddenly realized he had actually been trying to get past you. Flushed with hot embarrassment, you moved aside in a flash, turning away to hide your reddening cheeks. 

“Sorry, I didn’t sleep too much last night,” you explained quickly, trying not to stutter. “The old brain isn’t working quite so well today.”

“I’m glad you performed cranial surgery on Wrecker, then,” Hunter observed, and you buried your face in a hand.

“I mean, it wasn’t really surgery, but good point,” you laughed, thoroughly mortified now.

You didn’t see the pursed lips hiding his smile as he turned and disappeared out the door. 

* * * 

You were deeply saddened at first when you were transferred from the Kamino medical bay to the general medical center on Coruscant. But, as your fellow clone-obsessed friend reminded you, you would be able to go with her to 79s on your nights off, where you could enjoy the company of the types of men you’d come to prefer. It had been a hellish week, with too many patients and too few staff members, and you had worked yourself to the bone. It was as good a time as any to blow off some steam, so it took only a little urging from your friend for you to change into some going out clothes, fix up your hair a bit, and hit the town with her. 

Typically one for softness and gentleness, you felt an edge to yourself that night. Perhaps it was the build up of all of the frustrating situations at work, but whatever the cause, you didn’t feel like putting up with any kind of BS. So when the first trooper you walked past tried to smack your butt, you turned on him with the raging fury of a thousand suns and gave him a piece of your mind. Your friend stared at you, dumbfounded, and you heard some chuckles and comments from the crowd. Turning away before you melted into an apology, you stalked off to the corner booth you had left your stuff in.

“That was brutal,” a smoky voice said, and you were floored at the sight of Hunter sliding into the booth next to you. Your friend winked at you from where she stood at the bar, still flirting with a couple of troopers. You stared at him, speechless, and he held his hands up in surrender. “I’ll clear out if you’re going to chew me out like that guy. Just wanted to say hi. Haven’t seen you in the med bay in a while.“

“No, stay!“ You said, more eagerness in your voice than you would like to admit. “They transferred me here…”

“And you just had to get your clone fix?”

You blushed, palming your face before taking a long swig of your drink. It was a stiff one, and a fitting way to end your week. 

“Just kidding,” he continued, “We both know you just miss yelling at people.” 

“Oh, I’m such a yeller,” you rolled your eyes. You had never been anything but gentle and kind with him and the other patients. And he knew it.

Before long, you both found yourselves lost in conversation, and it felt as though your dreams were coming true. Details of his life and thoughts were flowing freely, well, as freely as possible considering the covert nature of most of his experiences, and the two of you settled into a comfortable rhythm as you nursed your drinks and regarded one another. You shared about your training days, mishaps and mayhem, and your goals for the future. He was happy to listen, answering questions but also content to simply sit. You didn’t want to admit just how much you were thrilled by the entire situation. 

“Refills?” You asked, gesturing to the empty glasses on the table. He nodded, but then followed you out of the booth. As the two of you leaned against the bar, waiting to be acknowledged, you tilted your head at him, feeling slightly emboldened for a moment, but it quickly melted when his eyes met yours.

“Yes?” He asked, a smirk on his own face. 

“Nothing.”

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” he teased. “Looks like you’ve got something you want to say.”

“Maybe there’s lots I want to say,” you clapped back, putting your hand on your hip. “But I don’t think I’m going to.” You gave him a sassy smile in an attempt to hide the complete and total whirlwind of thoughts raging for consideration within you. 

He took a step closer, coming into your personal space, and his hand that rested on the bar counter was dangerously close to your waist. You could almost feel his touch, without any contact being made at all. His eyes were dark beneath his brows, his sharp profile illuminated by the colorful lights all around, and your heart skipped a beat. 

“You sure?” he purred, a smug look on his face as though he knew the effect he had on you. “Nothing at all?”

“You’re the worst,” you stammered, dropping your chin and fixing your stair on the ground beside you.

“Yeah,” he conceded with a snort. “Well, you still like me.”

Your head flew up faster than a ship jumping into hyperspace, and you stared at him in utter shock as your stomach plunged. Your mouth fell open a little bit as you frantically searched for words, coming up with none and snapping it shut again. He shifted the tiniest fraction closer, looming over you now in a way that would be intimidating if your veins weren’t coursing with adrenaline and the sheer desire to grab his shirt and show him all that you couldn’t say. 

“Thought so,” he said with a satisfied rumble of laughter that made your knees weak.

“I don’t… I mean, I couldn’t…” You fumbled hopelessly, turning away a tiny bit as you grappled for any kind of response.

“Hey lady,” a clone voice said from behind you. “ This guy bothering you?” You turned around to see a trooper with his head closely shaved except for some intricate designs along the sides. He was standing tall, an inch or two over Hunter, and had a warm intensity to his gaze that showed genuine concern more than creepiness or bravado.

You looked back to Hunter, who was still leaning on the bar, relaxed and unbothered. He lifted his eyebrows at you, uncharacteristically playful, and said, “Well?”

“I’m fine, thank you,” you said to the blue-armored clone, who gave you a polite nod before leaving with one last suspicious glare at Hunter.

“So… you were saying?” Hunter poked, tilting his head at you and fanning the flame. Was he flirting? For real? Or just trying to make you flustered, for his own fun and entertainment? 

“Now you’re just being cruel,” you whined, and he laughed, an authentic, deep sound that made you swoon. 

“I would never.”

“Hunter, we’ve got to go,” a pert voice broke through your fantasy, and you turned to see a bespectacled man with a serious face standing beside Hunter, who looked at you with an unreadable expression as your heart sank and disappointment lay heavy over the two of you.

“Well. Hope I see you again,” he admitted, a wistful tone to his voice as he brushed his fingers across the back of your hand, sending a jolt of electricity through you, and dipped his head in goodbye before disappearing out the front door. 

You went home to your “personal massager” that night. 

* * * 

You were finishing the patient notes for the day as you bent over your screen at work, tapping away with diligence as you looked forward to freedom for the evening. It had been nearly a week since you’d seen Hunter at 79s, and you’d been kicking yourself for not speaking up more, or flirting more, or making a move, or something. You doubted your paths would cross again, as your friend shared that she’d only seen Clone Force 99 at the bar once before, and she was quite the regular. Bringing your thoughts back to the present, you groaned inwardly as your comm pinged with an incoming message, and you considered not looking at it to avoid any calls to stay late. But curiosity got the better of you, and you took a look at the screen. 

//18:42//-ENCRYPTED- {Chewed out any regs lately?}

Your mouth fell open, brow furrowed, as you studied the message. It wasn’t an internal memo, nor was it from any sort of source you’d seen before. It couldn't be… Could it? You smirked, curious to try something that might seem inconspicuous if it were, in fact, an error, but might be playful if it were him.

//18:43// - {Unfamiliar source number, identification needed.}

The response seemed to take ages.

//18:47//-ENCRYPTED- {Identification can be provided in the maintenance alleyway of the med center.}

You were embarrassed how quickly you got there. 

The door swung open into a long, narrow gap between the large hospital buildings, filled with random parts and trash chutes, and your heart leapt in your chest when you saw his gray and red armor.

“What are you doing here?” you asked, positively thrilled and unable to hide it.

“I… Well… I don’t know,” Hunter admitted with a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “I haven’t been able to get you off my mind since we had to leave… So I thought it might need some medical attention.” 

Now it was your turn to laugh, the sheer delight of it all cascading over you. “Oh, and a crusty alleyway seems like a very sterile environment.” He grinned, shaking his head, and you caught a glimpse of his own vulnerability, realizing that he, too, was fairly out of sorts when it came to smooth talk and flirtation. Somehow, that made you feel better, and all the regrets and “what ifs” of the last number of days began a relentless protest in your mind. “Well, let’s see what I can do,” you murmured, stepping closer to where he leaned against the wall. His eyebrows climbed up his head, giving away his utter surprise, and the sight gave you tingles. 

“I… ah…” he began, but you leaned into him a little, fueled by months of daydreams and a lifetime of self-loathing for all the opportunities you were too cowardly to take hold of. Plus, his sheepishness and his admission were all you’d needed to hear, and there was an undeniable affection in his eyes that melted you to the core. 

“Let’s see if we can help you out a bit?” you offered, simultaneously cringing and delighting at the complete and total ridiculousness of it all. But then he tilted his head and lifted a single, curled finger to your chin, tipping it up toward his face and sealing your fate as hopelessly enthralled. His dark eyes glittered with warmth and trepidation, and the next thing you knew, your lips were pressed against his, eyes closed, arms around his neck. 

It was so soft, so absolutely mind-blowingly perfect; your entire body was electrified as his own arms wrapped around you. You felt him exhale, his nose against your cheek, and you were overwhelmed with joy at his closeness, his vulnerability, his all-consuming presence that filled your senses. His body formed around yours, his mouth still gently nestled against your own, and you melted a little further into him, wishing that it would never end. 

When you finally did separate with a soft smack of the lips, you left your faces close, your eyes darting to his, which remained closed for an extra second before slowly opening with a relaxed warmth that had you feeling weak all over again. You couldn’t resist leaning your forehead against his own, reaching a hand up to caress his cheek for a moment before begrudgingly pulling back a bit. 

“Thank you,” you whispered lamely, and he exhaled through his nose.

“Thank you,” he echoed, sheepish and disarmed. 

“Please contact me anytime you need any sort of medical attention,” you continued, wrinkling your nose at just how terrible it all sounded, but he snickered, slowly releasing you with a nod.

“My job is quite harmful.”

Are you 18+? Interested in a smutty part two? Click here. ;)

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[writerrachao3]

Giving In (Hunter x Fem!Reader)

Summary: You go out for the night with the intention of going home with someone. When Hunter spots you from across the 79’s bar on Coruscant, you realize you’re in for a wildly exciting night.

Warnings: NSFW. Explicit Sexual Content. Minors DNI.

Notes: Crossposted on AO3 here.

Word Count: 4,683

You were one of the most expensive prostitutes in the lower levels of Coruscant. For the past two years you had garnered recognition as the woman who could make men finish with just a look, and you loved your reputation.

You had the luxury of having only a handful of clientele, who paid you for your discretion. Most of them were old, lazy politicians who were quick to finish off, men you did just to pay the bills.

The men you really enjoyed were the clones. All the pent-up masculine energy, the handsome faces and long-lasting stamina. They were mouthwatering to you, and of course, you did them free of charge.

You frequented a few bars discreetly on the side, not terribly often, but every once in a while to get your proper fill.

It had been almost six months since you had last gone out, and this time, you wanted to make it count.

You made your way to one of the popular clone establishments, 79’s, and soon found yourself two drinks in, waiting for the clones to make a move.

Unbeknownst to you, as soon as you had walked into the bar, a certain clone had locked eyes on your figure, immediately entranced.

Hunter, the sergeant of Clone Force 99, was with his crew, sitting and sipping on a beer after another successful mission. The Batchers rarely had a moment off the battlefield, and even more rarely did Hunter join the crew on their bar crawl around Coruscant.

The loud music, the flashing lights, it wasn’t to his taste.

But you? You were exactly his taste.

You wore your long brown hair down, tumbling messily down your back, and even just sitting at the bar, your curvy figure enticed him.

Hunter continued watching you as a reg approached and began flirting with you. But he wasn’t worried. Hunter could tell by your body language and your heart rate that you weren’t interested in this particular clone, and soon enough the clone gave up.

You watched as the clone “Ace” walked away from you and sighed. The crowd was rather lacking tonight. You looked up and scanned the room, your eyes suddenly falling on a table of enhanced clones, sitting off to the side, away from the other clones.

You’d heard of them before, but you’d never seen them in person. You scanned their figures, taking in the sight of the intriguing men. One was smaller and slightly squirrelly. Another was broody and had an almost angry demeanor about him. The third was a very large, muscular man. Your mind briefly flashed to what he must be like in bed before your eyes landed on the last man.

You scanned his form, tall, relaxed, strong. His messy brown hair was held back by a red bandana, and across one side of his face he bore a skull tattoo that disappeared under his shirt. You wondered exactly how far down it went.

He was exactly the kind of man you were looking for tonight. And as your eyes traveled back upward, you realized he too was looking right back at you.

He seemed almost cocky, clearly used to being in command and control, and you were immediately drawn in. He smirked in your direction before he turned back to his brothers, luring you in but ultimately ignoring you.

Now that frustrated the hell out of you. You raised an eyebrow, determined not to play into his game, but the longer it took, the more frustrated you got, and you could feel yourself getting antsy.

Hunter pretended to pay attention to what Tech was prattling on about, but he was actually listening for your heartbeat. Even over the sounds of the music, he could still hear it quicken the longer he waited to approach you.

After a few more antagonizing moments, he decided it was time. Hunter stood up from the table, much to the rest of the bad batch’s surprise.

“Where are you going off to?” Tech.

“I have a little rendez-vous,” Hunter replied nonchalantly.

“You’re skipping out on bar crawl again?” Wrecker demanded.

“Sorry, Wrecker, I’ve got other things to attend to,” Hunter shrugged, turning to go.

Crosshair raised an eyebrow and scanned the room, his eyes landing on your figure, sitting at the bar, twirling your fingers around the rim of your martini glass.

“Hope she’s better than the last one,” Crosshair scoffed as Hunter turned his back.

“I have a good feeling about this one,” Hunter chuckled before making his way over to you.

You were busy twirling your finger around the rim of your glass when you suddenly felt a warm breath on your shoulder.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing in a bar like this?” Hunter’s husky voice sent a shiver down your spine.

You angled yourself to better look at him as he sat down at the bar next to you.

“Trying to see what all the fuss is about with these clones,” you replied, your voice silky smooth as you took another sip from your drink.

“And your thoughts?” Hunter prodded.

“Some aren’t half bad,” you replied, giving him a pointed look.

Hunter let out a low chuckle that seemed to reverberate in the pit of your stomach.

“What’s your name darling?” Hunter purred.

“My nickname is Raven, but you can call me whatever you like,” you replied coyly. You only gave out your stage name to men like this, but it always intrigued you to see what they would come up with.

Hunter knew immediately that it wasn’t your real name, “Raven, hm?” He said. “I’ll pretend like you didn’t just give me a nickname. How about I keep calling you darling?”

“Like I said, you can call me whatever you like,” you replied, hesitating at the end as he hadn’t yet given you his name.

“Hunter,” he said. “The name’s Hunter.”

You licked your lips at the sound of his name. Even his name was attractive to you.

Hunter heard your heart skip and your scent changed slightly at the sound of his name. He reached out and pulled your chair closer to his with unmet ease until his mouth was mere inches from your ear.

“Shall we go someplace quieter?”

Your mouth went dry. He was making you feel a way other clones had been unable to make you feel before. All you could do was nod.

Hunter threw down some credits to pay for your drinks, like a true gentleman, before taking your hand and guiding you through the crowds and out into the fresh air.

He hailed one of the air taxis and helped you in, sliding in the seat beside you. With clones, you usually had to rent a bedroom in some shoddy back-alley hotel, but he seemed to have a place in mind. He gave the driver directions to somewhere on the surface level before sitting back, his hand falling possessively on your thigh.

“Where are we going?” You asked.

“My squad’s ship is empty while we’re in Coruscant. We’ll go there,” he replied.

You’d had sex in many places, but onboard a ship? The idea of Hunter bending you over and taking you up against a ship’s control panel was exhilarating.

It wasn’t long before you arrived at the garage where Hunter’s ship was. You watched as he lowered the ramp and you followed him up into the ship.

You scanned the ship, taking in everything, it wasn’t large, but it was sufficient for whatever missions Hunter and his crew undertook.

To the left was the cockpit with the console, to the right, the gunner’s seat. There was a small room with bunks in it and a small refresher.

You heard the door to the ship close behind you. Before you could turn around and open your mouth to comment, Hunter had pushed you up against a wall, knocking the breath right out of your lungs.

“Do you know how long I watched you for?” He asked, his breath hot but not unpleasant on your face.

You felt your breath hitch in your mouth. Normally you were the one in control during your encounters with clones, but this? This was new, and you wanted nothing more than to give in immediately to Hunter’s whims. But you couldn’t, in good conscience, give in without putting up a fight first.

“How long?” You asked innocently, looking up at Hunter through your eyelashes.

He let out a quiet groan, bringing his lips inches away from yours, but still demonstrating an admirable amount of restraint.

You itched to close the distance between you two, but you didn’t want to give in, and you certainly didn’t want to beg him.

“Seems we’re at a bit of an impasse,” Hunter nodded down to how close you two were together, only mere centimeters apart. “Just tell me what you want, darling.”

At his words, much to your dismay, a quiet sigh slipped past your lips, causing Hunter to smirk.

“That’s all I needed,” he said darkly before leaning in and capturing your lips with his.

His lips were soft, but his kiss was rough against your mouth, claiming you for the first time that night. You returned the kiss fervently, trying to regain any sense of dominance, but it was too late, Hunter was in control.

Hunter’s hands roamed freely across your body, one tangling itself in your hair, and the other on your hip, pulling your body flush against his.

You allowed your own hands to roam across his broad shoulders and down his muscular arms. He was still, unfortunately, wearing his armor, and you attempted to pry it off.

Hunter chuckled into the kiss.

“Need a little help there?” He asked, breaking the kiss.

You finally gasped for air, your lips already red and swollen from the few, brief moments you had spent kissing him. Your head involuntarily nodded and Hunter stepped back, his hands quickly shedding the armor on his arms and chest, his legs and the rest soon following.

As soon as he was down to his blacks only, he returned. You pulled up onto your tiptoes, seeking another kiss, but Hunter tutted.

“If I have to take something off, then so do you,” he said huskily, a grin spreading across his face as your cheeks flushed red.

You barely hesitated before reaching down and untucking your shirt from your shirt and pulling it up over your head, leaving your upper body in nothing but your bra.

Hunter let out a low whistle, taking in your smooth skin and breasts. He had been right, you were exactly his type.

He approached, pulling you back in for another kiss, this time, his hands running up your hips to your chest. It was only a couple of seconds before he had managed to unhook your bra with only one hand and slide it off of your body.

He then picked you up, your legs wrapping around his waist as he set you down on one of the counters in the Marauder.

You continued kissing him, your arms and legs now wrapped around his body, pulling him in close. His lips soon dropped from yours, trailing down to the nape of your neck, leaving a trail of soft nibbles in his wake.

You let your head roll back and your hair tumbled down your now-bare back as he picked a spot to leave a hickey, claiming you as his.

Normally you had a policy with your clients about not leaving hickeys behind, but you couldn’t resist how Hunter was making you feel.

You felt one of his hands reaching for your breast, taking it and running a rough hand quickly over your nipple, causing you to gasp at the electric shock that coursed through your veins at his touch.

Soon his lips left your neck and made their way down to your nipples, his tongue flicking over them briefly before settling in on one of your breasts, nipping and sucking, causing a flurry of sensations up and down your body, arousing you more and more with each new sensation.

You were beginning to feel desperate for his attentions elsewhere, so you discreetly slid your hands down your stomach and towards your core, but a hand on your wrist paused your journey, causing a whimper to leave your throat.

“Now, now, darling, a bit hasty, are we?” Hunter’s voice caused you to open your eyes and look down at him. He came up and claimed your lips again before grabbing your other wrist and pushing them up above your head.

“Keep them there,” he growled.

He moved you so that you were now reclining backwards. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but your body was too needy at this point to complain.

He returned lips to your nipples briefly before they began to make their way down your body.

When he reached the waist of your skirt, he quickly yanked it off your body, your panties soon following, flung off somewhere in the room.

Hunter stepped back for a second, taking the time to admire your flushed body laid bare on the counter for him.

“Darling I can smell how ready you are for me,” he purred, sending shivers up your spine before he returned to your side, now placing painfully slow kissed on your inner thighs.

“Please,” you heard yourself whine, your hips involuntarily bucking up with need. It was almost painful how much your body needed to be touched.

“Please what?” Hunter asked between kisses.

“I need your mouth,” you said.

Suddenly you felt a warm breath on your core, and Hunter’s warm tongue slid up from your core to your clit, swirling around once before taking your whole clit in his mouth.

You let out a thankful breath, your pain alleviated by the contact. It felt incredible, his tongue slowly sucking and swirling around, taking good care of you. You allowed your eyes to close and your head to roll back, but Hunter wasn’t having it.

“I want you to look at me while I’m eating you out,” he said. “Be a good girl.”

Your eyes shot open at his nickname for you. You lifted yourself up on your forearms and looked down, your breath catching in your chest as you watched him go faster and faster.

Suddenly, you felt a finger at your entrance, gently easing its way in. You gasped at the intrusion, but soon found your body moving along with the rhythm.

Hunter let out a chuckle, “Eager, are we?”

“Yes, fuck, yes, please I need you,” you said, throwing your pride and ego out the window. Tonight, you would be subject to every one of his whims.

Hunter rewarded your admonition with a second and then a third finger, never once stopping his ministrations at your clit.

You slowly began to feel a heat building inside of you and your eyes began to close once more, feeling your body chasing your high.

“What did I say?” Hunter demanded, causing your eyes to flicker back open.

You watched as your body began to roll even faster, beginning to fuck yourself on Hunter’s mouth, unable to control yourself any longer as you felt yourself beginning to crest.

Hunter brought you all the way to your peak, your orgasm causing a string of gasps and swears to escape your lips as you rode your high. Hunter continued to use his tongue on you until you were shaking with how sensitive you had become.

“Good girl,” Hunter said, finally pulling his fingers out from you and capturing your lips again with his.

You could taste yourself against him, but you didn’t mind, you were still recovering from your orgasm, and all you could do was cling to Hunter’s blacks.

Although, you were beginning to think about how much you wanted them off.

As you came down from your high, you were galvanized into desire, a desire to see Hunter feel the exact same way, and so your hands roamed, finding the zipper to Hunter’s blacks and beginning to remove it.

He quickly helped shed it until he was only in his boxers. You leaned back slightly, taking in the sight of him for a moment.

His body was strong and muscular, incredibly pleasant to the eye. You raised your eyebrow as you discovered that his tattoo did in fact, extend down his face and neck to his waist and chest, where it stopped, just above the waistband of his boxers.

“Like what you see, darling?” Hunter asked, catching your hungry gaze.

Your eyes landed on his boxers, now tight against his body, revealing a large bulge, causing you to swallow.

"Maybe," you retorted, sitting up and slipping off the console.

Upon your feet hitting the ground, you nearly fell, Hunter quickly stabilizing you.

"Careful now," he said, smirking at how you had fallen apart at his whim.

If that's how your legs felt when he used just his mouth, you could just imagine what you'd feel like after he'd fucked you to the high heavens.

"My turn," you smirked back, sinking down to your knees on the cold floor of the ship.

Hunter allowed you to reach your hands up and stroke down his abs to the waistband of his boxers before you pulled them down, allowing his cock to spring out.

You were pleased with the size and look of his cock. He was rock hard at this point, which made the thought of him fucking you right then and there even more exciting. But you needed to be patient.

After Hunter had removed his boxers entirely, you reached out and took his cock in your hand, your tongue soon following, lapping up the precum that had beaded at the tip of his cock.

He let out a low groan, his hand reaching down and tangling in your hair as you licked a stripe up the back before wrapping your mouth around his cock and slowly bobbing down, taking him fully into your mouth until you gagged and came back up for air.

Hunter loved the feeling of your mouth on his cock and he watched as you wrapped your pretty pink lips around his cock once more and began slowly and almost torturously moving up and down, savoring the taste of him.

It wasn’t long before you felt Hunter begin to buck his hips against your mouth a little faster and you obliged. The sounds he was making as you pleased him sounded so wonderful coming out of his mouth.

You wanted nothing more than to watch him unravel before you, but alas, that would not be the case tonight. Hunter had many, many other plans for you.

So before too long, Hunter reached his hands down and wrapped them around your neck, pulling you off his cock and bringing you up from your knees. He then pulled you in for a kiss, not minding that he could taste himself on your tongue.

“Hunter,” you felt yourself tremble in anticipation. “Please.”

Hunter didn’t need to have a reason this time, he picked you up and turned you around pushing your lower body up against the console. He bent you over so that your tits were pushed up against the cold metal.

You spread your legs a little wider as he lined himself up with you. You whined at the sensation of his cock sliding up and down against your slick folds before suddenly you felt the pressure of him entering you.

You and Hunter both let out moans in unison as he entered you for the first time. Even when he wasn’t fully sheathed inside of you, he felt so good, his cock filling you up in all the right ways.

He eased himself in, allowing you to get accustomed to the stretch as he inched his way in until he was fully seated within you.

“Fuck,” you whispered, barely audible to yourself.

But Hunter heard it loud and clear, because he soon began to ease back out of you before pushing back in, slowly beginning to pick up the pace.

Every single movement felt like heaven inside of you. You allowed yourself to get lost in the sensation, Hunter’s hands firmly grasping at your hips, his breath on your back, his cock stretching you from the inside.

As Hunter picked up the pace, he suddenly grabbed your knee and bent it up to rest on the side of the console, giving him greater access to go even deeper, driving a whine out of your chest with each thrust.

All you could hear was Hunter’s breathing and groans and the sound of your skin coming into contact with his as he fucked you.

But you didn’t want to just be fucked. You wanted to be fucked senseless.

“More,” you panted out.

Hunter’s grip on your waist changed, one of his hands grabbed your hair at the base of your head, pulling your head back and causing you to arch your back up off the console. You gasped as he roughly turned your upper body so that you were looking into his eyes as he pounded into you harder.

“Oh fuck,” you found yourself getting louder, your whispers turning into yelps.

“There’s my good girl,” Hunter said darkly, his pupils blown wide with lust and admiration at how well your body took his cock.

He too was experiencing a high, intoxicated by your body and the way it reacted to each of his movements. He could feel you clenching around him, drawing out the sensations in his cock, causing him to swear.

“Fuck mesh’la, you’re so tight,” he said, finding a new nickname for you.

You didn’t even care what it meant, it was sexy as hell, and you loved the way he looked at you as he pounded into you.

“It’s your turn,” he suddenly said, pulling out and leaving you whimpering at the lack of contact.

He helped you stabilize your feet on the ground before taking a seat in one of the chairs. He motioned for you, and you approached, straddling his lap.

You wasted no time at all before you reached down and guided his cock to your entrance before sinking down until he filled you once more. You captured Hunter’s lips with yours, drawing him in. Hunter rested his hands on your hips, gripping tightly, desiring nothing more than to see you bouncing on top of him.

This time, it was your turn to set the pace. Feeling like you had regained some of your usual control, you went to work, swirling your hips around him.

You watched his eyes close, loving your ministrations, but you weren’t going to let him get away with that.

“Look at me,” you instructed, finally finding your voice again.

Hunter opened his eyes, raising an eyebrow as you swirled your hips.

“I want you to watch me fuck you,” you said wrapping your arms around his neck for a little more stability as you rolled your hips and started on a good pace.

“Stars you feel amazing,” Hunter echoed his earlier sentiments, gladly giving over some control to you.

The pace was slower than before, but you both lavished in the intimacy of you riding him. He soon buried his face into your neck, kissing and biting again, causing you to let out a moan.

You could feel your legs shaking, the effort from earlier beginning to take its toll, so Hunter began to assist with the pace, going faster. Soon, he lifted you up and was thrusting upwards, giving you a new sensation as he reached impossibly deep, causing you to let out a loud moan.

You know that you wouldn’t last much longer at this pace, and unless he had the stamina of a god, he was getting close too.

Without missing a beat and without pulling out of you, Hunter suddenly grabbed you and stood before laying you down on the floor.

“I’m going to make you scream my name,” he said, and you truly believed him.

He began pounding into you, causing you to slide a tiny bit backwards until your head was up against one of the baseboards of the ship. You threw your hand up to protect your head as he pounded into you.

He leaned down and captured your lips one more time, and you clenched around him, feeling the heat build inside you.

Hunter reached down and used his thumb to swirl around your clit all while finding your pleasure deep inside. The sensation of his lips, his fingers, his cock, his breath, was all too much for you, and you felt a sob escape your mouth.

“Fuck, Hunter, I’m so close,” you said, louder than you meant to.

“I know, mesh’la,” Hunter grunted, “Be a good girl and wait a little longer.”

“Please Hunter,” you found yourself begging again. “Please.”

Hunter was quiet for a second, feeling you begin to twitch and clench around him, desperately trying to prevent your orgasm before he gave the word.

“Hunter!” You cried out, one final beg.

“Cum for me darling.”

At his words, you felt wave after wave of pleasure hit your body, sending you sky high, the only thing that mattered was the way Hunter made you feel. You heard your voice continue to cry out his name as he kept up his pace, chasing his high. Your body began to shake at overstimulation as you clenched around him again and again.

It was a matter of seconds before he finished, you could tell he was about to pull out to finish.

“Cum in me,” you said, opening your eyes to catch Hunter as he acknowledged you.

At that, Hunter buried himself deep, his orgasm cresting as he began to fill you up. You loved the feeling of his cum inside you, and you clenched around him, drawing out his orgasm until he too was shuddering at the pleasure and stimulation.

Finally, he gently rested himself down on top of you, keeping his cock buried deep inside of you as you both came back down to the planet.

“You did wonderful, darling,” Hunter’s husky voice drew you in.

All you could do was mumble a response, still too weak from the dual orgasms and all the exertion.

You lay there for a few more moments until finally Hunter slipped out of you and slowly stood. You whimpered at the loss of contact, but you were grateful when he reached down and scooped you up.

Hunter carried your weak form to the ship's small refresher, where he set you down on the shower ledge and turned on the warm water.

You were only half aware as he bathed you, still reeling from pleasure and exhaustion as he cleaned up the mess you had both made. As he washed your body, Hunter secretly admired the hickeys he had left behind, retracing his steps and kissing each one.

He cleaned himself up also, and when you finished, he pulled out a clean towel, drying you off.

“Wait here,” he said.

By this point you were more aware, but exhausted, and for the first time ever with a man, you were hoping he wouldn’t immediately kick you out. Cuddling with Hunter sounded nice. Wonderful even.

He returned wearing a pair of clean trousers and he helped you pull on a pair of his boxers and one of his shirts, which hung loosely down just past your ass.

“Let’s get some sleep,” Hunter said, his voice had taken on a much more gentle and kind demeanor, much different than the brazen and flirtatious tones from earlier.

It was warm and comforting, and you soon found yourself lying in one of the bunks on the ship, wrapped up in his warm embrace.

“That was really good,” you muttered as your eyes began to close.

You could feel Hunter’s chuckle beneath you as you cuddled against him. As you drifted off to sleep, you just barely caught his response.

“Yes it was, mesh’la, yes it was.”

[thegildedvalkyrie]

hi! What are you in the mood to write? 😄 maybe something fluffy with crosshair and a jedi reader? Have a great day! 🩷

Mediation Envy

Post Tantiss Crosshair x Jedi! Reader

fluff!

second person pov

mentions of torture

you’re on one of the beaches on Pabu, sitting on the soft, warm sand as the sun sets. you close your eyes and meditate, the waves crashing against the shore. you’ve been meditating for a few minutes, when you hear the soft and familiar steps of your favorite sniper. “hey, Cross.” you say without opening your eyes. “hey.” he says, more closed off and sharp than normal. he sits down next to you, and you open your eyes.

“what’s wrong?” you say, wanting to know what’s causing him to act oddly. “it’s nothing.” he pushes your question away. “no, Crosshair. tell me. now.” you say firmly. “i’m remembering what they did to me on Tantiss.” he says, “and to see you meditating, without a care… how do you do it? how are you so peaceful?” he says with a hint of jealousy. you feel a bit offended because you are definitely not feeling peaceful after the mass genocide of the Jedi, of your people.

“i’m not okay, Crosshair. my friends, my people are gone!” you take a second to breathe. “i guess meditation is how i cope with it.” you breathe in and out, trying to calm yourself down. “you’ve never told me what happened there.” his jaw clenches slightly. “they.. tortured me, made me comply.” you take his lone hand in yours. he looks at you with wide eyes for a split second, before relaxing. “on a brighter note, look at the view in front of us.” you say, looking at the sun setting, painting the sky beautiful shades of orange, blue, and purple.

“yeah.” he says, “but not ask great as the view next to me.” i know it’s overused but ignore that. You laugh softly, as he lays his head in your lap. you know there’s more to what happened, but you won’t press him on in. instead you just enjoy the silent moment, one that you hope brings him peace.

author’s note: ahh yall this is my first one shot i’ve written on here! i hope you enjoy it!!

[ohheycallmek]

The Bridge: A Bad Batch Epilogue

Written by @ohheycallmek

Word Count: 7826

Summary: Three scars. One story. A bond that survived the fall.

Content Warning: (Subtle) Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort

Author's Note: This takes place in an alternate universe in which Tech survived his enactment of Plan 99. It follows much-needed interactions between Omega and Tech -- as well as Tech and Crosshair just hours before the beginning of her journey to fight alongside the Rebel alliance. Crafting this has served as my own personal therapy for a number of weeks and I cannot even begin to tell you just how proud I am for the outcome.

I hope you enjoy! xx

☆ Page Dividers by @cafekitsune ☆

Hunter's gaze lingered tentatively at the young woman just a few footfalls away. Her hands precariously folded another set of blacks into her duffle at the edge of her bed.

“You packed the field medkit?” he asked.

It didn't matter. Any excuse just to hear her respond again. He wanted to memorize the cadence of her voice and catalog it in detail like the final entry in a mission log.

“It was the first thing I packed,” she answered without looking up. “Echo triple-checked it.”

Hunter smiled faintly, then softened. “Of course he did.”

Omega crouched down and pulled Wrecker’s Lula out from beneath her bunk, nestling the worn, little tooka doll in her hands. Its once-vibrant fabric had dulled with age, seams lovingly restitched. She held it against her chest for a moment, as if drawing strength from the lopsided toy.

Hunter leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching with a crooked grin. “I’m still shocked he’s letting you take that ratty-looking thing with you.”

Omega’s smile grew, her eyes still fixed on its buttoned face. “He said I’d earned it.” She glanced up. “He said she belongs with the bravest of the Batch.”

Hunter chuckled, “Did he now?”

"He tried not to cry when he said it,” Omega added with a glint in her eye, “I knew he couldn't make it two words in without turning into a puddle.”

Hunter's lip twitched, his own waterline betraying him. He pushed the emotion down. Not now.

“Well, if you need anything, ‘Megs…” His voice faltered into something much smaller and fragile than intended. “You know where to find me.”

Omega turned to face her brother, a feeble grin playing on the corner of her thin lower lip. The strength in Hunter’s prematurely aged knees weakened for only a second at the sight of her. For a moment, he could almost see her the way he used to…his baby sister, his kid. But the illusion was gone just as fast as it came.

She stood before him now, not a child, but a woman carved out by the same galaxy that had weathered him. Still beautiful. Still unmistakably Omega. But in the soft glow of the island’s evening, he saw it—the quiet etchings of age beginning to settle, the faint lines near her eyes, a single crease in her brow.

And yet, beneath it all, she remained untouched. She was a genetic anomaly. Designed differently. Built to endure.

She was always meant to be small…but she’d grown in ways the Kaminoans could have never predicted.

He swallowed.

“Yes, Sargent.” She voiced prominently, breaking through the reverence.

Hunter gave a subtle salute, “Proceed, soldier.”

Tech had overheard the tail end of their exchange and without fully meaning to do so, his long legs moved ahead of his intent. His footsteps were soft and uncertain, echoing lightly down the corridor as he sauntered toward them, his posture tight with hesitance.

By the time he reached the bend, Hunter had already turned to leave, his back to the doorway. He paused just for only a moment, his heightened senses always ten steps in front. He felt a shift in the air and the familiarity of a presence he knew all too well before he even had time to look.

He motioned a nod of approval before cupping a strong, callused hand over the curvature of Tech's shoulder and giving it a firm squeeze. Tech stiffened only slightly at the sudden contact, more out of reflex than shear resistance.

Hunter passed him by soundlessly, leaving the man alone in the dimly lit hallway. Tech's feet pushed him onward and over to the cracked open door.

“Omega.” His voice came out strong.

Her name resounded like a command as opposed to a question in the quiet of the room.

She swiftly turned, caught unawares by her other brother looming just outside of her cabin. A dry heat collected over the skin of her forehead for a moment before responding.

“Yes?” She asked, spine straightening.

Tech's gloved prosthetic hand came to meet the splintered wood of the framework. His finger tips curled into the fixture while his other hand instinctively reached for the yellow-tinted lenses that were no longer shielding his eyes. It was a true force of habit. Despite the partial repair of his vision, he'd spent years relying on them, an old, anxious tic. They'd become second nature burned into habit, burned into muscle memory…burned into skin. The scar where the goggles once rested still circled his eyes like a brand, white and raised.

The tremendous, harrowing leap he took had taken more than just vision. It had claimed his left arm in the impact, the result of a desperate, failed attempt to break his descent. That he survived at all was nothing short of miraculous.

He pulled back, mildly embarrassed and wiped the action away on the rough fabric of his pants.

“You are scheduled to take off tomorrow evening.”

Omega nodded, “I am.”

“If you would be so kind…” Tech's weight noticeably shifted from the left ball of his foot to the right despite his endless rehearsal of this very encounter.

Kriff.

“I would very much like the opportunity to speak with you. I believe a private discussion between you and I would serve as necessary, perhaps valuable, given your impending departure.”

His eyes flickered to the hallway where Hunter's shadow had loitered more than once that same day.

“I have observed that Hunter has been…lingering quite a bit, understandably so, and…I wanted to snag you whilst I could. If you would be so willing.”

He hesitated but quickly added, “I…don't want to take too much of your borrowed time…I can assist you in packing if that is what you require…”

Omega's shoulders sagged from her ears. She hadn't realized she had become so noticeably tense. This had become an undeniably common occurrence. Though a significant amount of time had passed, there were still fragments of their once close relationship left untouched.

It was evident in the way she softly called him to the dinner table, a pot of his favorite stew simmering with a peculiar blend of flavorings just the way he used to like it. Not because he had asked for it, but because she remembered.

And in the way he scrambled clumsily to ask if she wanted a cup of caf after pouring his own, the words stuttering out as if he had overstepped a boundary. The very act of caring to him felt like navigating a minefield.

Unspoken words. Echoes of absence.

“Of course we can talk, and the help shouldn't be necessary, Tech…but…thank you.”

Tech nodded with a slight tilt of his head and gestured for her to follow. The two of them exited the room side by side, moving without any real direction. Their boots softly clinked against the corridor flooring, quiet and rhythmic. Omega eventually took the lead, guiding them toward the private dock that jutted out from the base of their peaceful cabana. A gentle breeze carried the fragrance of florals and sifted them through the air to lessen the density of the temperature.

With a small sigh, Omega leaned down and pulled at the buckles of her old boots. As she slipped each foot out, her toes curled briefly against the warm wood. She eased herself down, seated cross-legged against the faintly polished planks. She patted the empty space beside her with an open palm, her eyes motioning toward Tech but refusing to hover.

He hesitated.

Then, with his usual brand of rigid grace, Tech lowered himself next to her. His sprawling legs folded haphazardly beneath him, mechanical knees jutting up to his chest. He clasped his hands in front of them, cogs turning, visibly calculating the least restless position and failing to look at ease in all of them.

Omega watched him falter for a moment, then reached over and tapped the side of his boot with her bare toe.

“You know,” she said, voice feather light, “you’re allowed to be comfortable too.”

Tech's jaw flexed, “Comfort is…a relative term. Unnecessary at this given moment.”

Her brows turned upright, concern lacing her voice, "Do they-…hurt?”

He hesitated, then gave a small nod. “Not in the traditional sense, no…but...these limbs were not engineered to motion in such a way. There are moments in which my body remembers how it used to move…it-...fights against that memory.”

Omega was quiet for a moment, then extended a hand toward him.

“Take them off,” she said. “Just while we're here together. I won't judge.”

His brow furrowed, unsure. “They're quite loud and the removal process is…inelegant.”

“When have you ever been elegant?” She teased with a smirk.

Reluctantly and with a miniscule huff of breath, he unfastened the clasps of his shoes and freed himself. The sound of the metal fixtures hit the dock with a dull clunk, his ankle joints screeching as if crying for oil. The limbs caught the moon's fading light oddly, but she had been correct, it was much more comfortable to be boot-less.

“There,” she said, satisfied as he handed over the pair, “Now we’re officially off-duty.”

Tech stared ahead for a long moment, his shoulders gradually uncoiling.

“I’m really going to miss this place,” Omega said on a slow and steady exhale.

Her watchful eyes stretched outward, as if sheer will could take a photograph of every inch of land before her. She wanted to savor it. Put it in her pocket so that whenever she longed for home, she could pluck it out and gaze into it like a window.

“That is quite an understandable observation,” Tech replied, eyes following hers. “You have made this flourishing island your home.”

She turned toward him slightly. “Our home,” she corrected, her voice quiet but insistent.

Tech blinked. His lips parted, his tongue drawing a thin line over top of them as he faltered.

“Y–yes. I…suppose you are correct. Our home.”

The silence that followed wasn't empty—it was full. Of years. Of history. Of everything that had been left unspoken since his return.

Omega pulled one knee up to her chest, arms wrapping around it casually. “You do understand that now is the time for you to rest, right? You've fought the long war, Tech. Now it's my turn.”

His lip twitched, nose wrinkling in distaste. “You know just as well as I do that doing such a thing remains a significant challenge for me,” he muttered. “And…I do not handle challenges with integrity.”

Her eyes gazed longingly into the empty vacuum of space, admiring the stars, moons, and distant planets scattering and creating luminescent reflections on the ocean bed. 

“Have you spoken to Rex? I do recall him asking about you just the other day. He…had contacted Hunter. I just happened to overhear when your name was brought up.”

Omega nodded, unable to deny a rising smile, “We spoke, yes. He's excited for me. He expects me to do great things. Important things.”

Her posture lengthened, pointing a solitary finger in Tech's general direction, mimicking Rex's gruff vocal tone, “You were always destined to fly amongst them, little Rebel.”

Tech muddled at his own fingertips and awkwardly peered down into his lap, “If it weren't for my teaching you all those years ago, you would never find yourself in such a position to help so many individuals. I suppose, in many ways, you can say that I am…proud of you, Omega.”

Omega gleamed, grinning fondly, “Well, you've taught me everything I know. Some of my best memories, the ones I hold most dear, are of you and I traversing the clouds.”

A miniscule lump began to congeal in Tech's throat, the burn of it nearly causing his eyes to water. This was a foreign emotion. One only half-expected given the gravity of the circumstance.

Something in his stomach twisted—not uncomfortably, not yet at least, but deeply. It was as if his body was attempting but failing to recalibrate around a feeling he had spent countless time and energy to barrier. Sentimentality, perhaps. Gratitude, maybe. Love…most-definitely.

“And Poor Wreck’...he's been taking it harder than anyone, I think. Every time he looks at me he complains about the pollen count because his eyes get rashy.”

Omega attempted to stifle a small laugh, of which Tech returned in short.

“Wrecker has always been…emotionally expressive. Some things never do change.”

“And Crosshair…”

Omega's voice wavered for a moment and Tech could have sworn it would have given away like an improperly-crafted rope bridge if it hadn't been for his own inhalation of breath.

She turned, eyes narrowing, “...Are you two still-?”

“I-...I suppose I could…say so…yes.”

Omega's eyes searched Tech's for some sort of bias, “But he's your twin, Tech. What happened between you two-”

“Should not have occurred in any capacity. I know that, Omega. Believe me.”

The silence that followed hung in the air like the humidity before a downpour. The storm never came.

“My apologies.” He noted curtly, taken aback by his own defense, “That was…an unnecessary vocal reaction.”

Omega nodded, “It's alright.”

A beat.

“I can only try my best to imagine what that was like for him…what it was like for both of you…” She continued.

Omega pulled a streak of blonde from her eyeline and tucked it behind her left ear.

“I was still so…naive. When all of that happened, the only person I knew I could trust was him. I was beside myself…I was petrified…not of you, but what you had become. I didn't truly understand. I didn't know how I could approach you moving forward. I didn't know how to reach you anymore…I-…didn't know if you longed to be reached…”

Tech sucked the inner flesh of his lower lip between his crooked front teeth, “I do recall. You…feared me quite a bit upon my return.”

“It wasn't fear, so to speak. It was…uncertainty.”

Without even a second thought to the action, Omega placed her hand overtop of Tech's mechanical one. The sensation was foreign, strangely unfamiliar, despite how often she held onto Echo's scomp link.

She swallowed audibly, “Is this-...okay…?”

Tech slowly, tactically pulled away to remove the leather gloves from both hands, placing them beside him with care. His fleshy palm met the back of Omega's hand with such ease it was almost second nature, his robotic apenditure coming to cup around the front of it. She smiled small, savoring the cool clammy feeling of flesh and oiled metal sandwiched together. His human thumb moved in slow, calculated circles, his eyes never leaving hers.

It was different now, the partial blindness Tech was left with in his right eye, caused by a splinter of yellow glass shard into his cornea. Even the Empire, with all its resources, couldn’t repair it. His left eye still functioned with pistol perfect clarity, able to identify near-microscopic entities, but when he looked down and saw Omega’s hand in his, the image through his right was nothing but an indiscernible blob—a shapeless, golden blur he could feel more than see.

“You were always willing to find such goodness in me. Such…humanity…despite my ever so prevalent inability to vocalize my innermost feelings properly.”

“In the time that you were gone, Tech…nothing felt right…it was…terrible.”

Tech shrugged, “I can imagine so. Familiarity, once removed, often creates instability in a routine.”

“It was…quiet.” Omega noted, “And not the good kind. Not the kind that rocks you to sleep at night…the kind that…aches…”

With her other hand, Omega reached forward, her thumb meeting scar lines. He winced like peroxide to a cut. Just a faint sting.

“You know, I don't quite remember this one,” she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.

Tech exhaled through his nose. “It was a souvenir from a particularly unfriendly Loth cat.”

She shook her head, “You always did make friends wherever you went.”

He gave a breathy chuckle, but it cracked partway through. “I attempted diplomacy. It responded with claws.”

Omega giggled softly, then let her hand drift lower, grazing the corner of his eye over the delicate crows feet littering the corners, “And these…?”

“I blame you,” he shot back instantly, “Years of squinting at your increasingly reckless decisions and your blatant disregard for gravitational safety measures.”

“Or your less than substantial eyesight was really beginning to catch up to you.” She scoffed.

“Now, perhaps I wouldn't have had the need to perpetually narrow my gaze if it wasn't for someone hiding my goggles like a competitive sport.”

She smiled, silently victorious. He didn't argue further. She slowly leaned into him then and her back found a home against his chest. Without needing to be asked, his arm wrapped around the front of her…tight, careful, and with such precision he was afraid she might disintegrate if he motioned incorrectly. She could feel him take a rapid but silent inhale of breath beneath her shoulder blade. She sighed deeply, craning her neck to the sky as her spine relaxed column by column.

He swallowed hard, hoping she couldn’t feel the way his hand trembled ever so slightly where it rested above her ribs. But as she shifted, nestling into him more fully, he knew there was no hiding it now.

His heart was pounding. A wild, erratic metronome. She felt it immediately.

“Your heart is going ballistic,” She mused revelantly, her breath warm against the tanned skin of his collarbone.

He could sense the sly smile in her voice. Her coy observation hit harder than she likely intended.

“Affirmative,” he said, the word tight against the tremor of his lungs, vulnerability vacuum-sealing itself inside of him, “I can’t-...I can’t seem to regulate it at this present moment.”

“A complete system malfunction. That sounds like a design flaw.” She teased, tapping two fingers in time with each beat, slowly accelerating, “You could probably power the Marauder with this thing.”

Tech tried to ground himself with little luck. He gave a weak huff, the sound resembling a laugh tangled in nerves…perhaps a short circuit. He made a feeble attempt to ground himself…eyes scanning the horizon for a focal point, fingers twitching faintly like antenna searching for calibration.

“Omega…please.”

She stilled. His voice cracked. Raw. Exposed. Human.

“Hey…it's…just me.” She noted, voice lowering, the all too familiar feeling of him against the small of her back again causing emotions to rise.

It was just her. She was the variable that had always defied the equation. An unchecked point that took root in the part of him he'd kept long sealed off.

“I know…I believe-...that's what frightens me. You are the only one I have ever let this…close.”

The soundlessness was deafening and when Omega turned her ear to his chest, the only audible notation to fill the silence in between her words was the rapid thundering of his heart.

“Tech?”

“Hm…?”

A flat moment passed, one he would later log as ‘critical emotional threshold reached.’

“I'm really going to miss you.”

The words struck him harder than blaster fire. Tech’s posture faltered; the rigid control he’d clung to for years had now dissolved. He let out a single, uneven breath…half-sob, half-relief…and for the first time in his life he allowed himself to be entirely undone.

A small quiver developed at the very point of his chin at first. He sniffled once, finger rapidly finding a home beneath his lashes to wipe away the condensation that was slowly beginning to flow, unauthorized.

Omega felt the shift. She gripped his forearm a little tighter in response, the scent of sandalwood and mechanical oil enveloping her completely as she pressed closer. She didn't need to turn to see that his emotions were running rampant. She didn't need to look into his eyes when he spoke again. She was already unraveling alongside him.

“And I-...too.”

Words escaped as Omega quickly pulled back, tears free-flowing from her lids and mimicking his instantaneously. The mask she bravely held had been discarded like scrap metal into the compactor. She sobbed once before yanking him inward. Her arms snaked instinctively around his neck and while his hesitantly hovered over her back, they soon fell into place as he felt the softness of her cheek meet his neck. They stayed that way for a few moments more, Omega breaking it off to place a tender kiss against the silver stubble just barely sprouting from his cheek.

“I…I don’t care what you’ve been through or how much of you came back changed,” she voiced with conviction.

“You’re still my brother, Tech. You always will be. And I…I love you—for everything you were, everything you are now, and everything in between.”

Tech smiled—a rare but complete toothy smile that trembled beneath the weight of his tears. They fell in waves he could no longer hold back or deny.

“I’ve become so...accustomed to change,” he murmured, eyes distant, voice husky, “Adaptation is supposed to be my primary function. But this…”

A pause.

“This moment in time has gone beyond all protocol. For once, I feel it…not just up here…” He tapped a fingertip gently against his temple, then let his hand drift downward. “But…in here.” His palm came to rest over his heart, pressing lightly as if trying to soothe the ache.

Omega reached out, her expression tender. She brushed the edge of his hand with her fingers. Her eyes shimmered.

They sat in the quiet that followed, no longer requiring words. The stillness between them felt full of a sudden remarkable understanding for the first time in ages. For once, Tech need not alter nor classify. He stepped out of the pilot seat for just a moment, allowed his high strung intuition to take a necessary sabbatical, and let fate take the lightspeed lever.

Omega stirred, her voice resounding brighter now, twinged with a slight mischievous grin, “If only the others could see you now…Wrecker would pull you in so tightly to comfort you you’d regret having ribs…Echo would start calling you the ‘sappy one’.”

Tech's chest still tremored. He tried but failed to stifle the shaking of his shirt, straining against the visible pulse in his neck. He even hooked a finger into the front loop of his collar to loosen it for more air. All attempts were futile.

“I—” He stopped.

His voice betrayed him like a cracking whip. He cleared his throat and tried again. Omega waited patiently.

“I…understand the logic of-...of tears. The biological function, hormonal regulation, cognitive reset…but this…this is…uncomfortable…how emotions seem to override physiology.”

Omega’s expression softened, “It’s okay to cry,” she said. “Tears are the body’s way of recalibrating.”

A sound escaped him—the kind he would’ve hidden once, maybe even from himself. He blinked rapidly, his lips twitching upward in a weak, crooked smile.

“I must say…” His voice was thinned now, “Your phrasing…it’s—remarkably familiar.”

“My flight skills aren't the only thing you've taught me,” she stated simply, her tone warm and sure of herself.

Omega leaned back into him once more, doing a small, playful shimmy that lightened the moment without letting it float away entirely.

Then, softer, “Do you remember the first festival here on Pabu?”

Tech’s breath hitched as his eyes closed. He exhaled slowly through his nose, a long sigh wrapped in a scoff, humor creeping right around the edges. Their tears had long been forgotten now.

“Unfortunately, I do. Quite vividly.”

“I had the best time,” she mused nostalgically, “The lights, the food, the music…”

“Yes, all the while I was suffering cardiac irregularities and a full mental collapse.”

Omega tilted her head as the memory settled, “I was following the parade and watching the fire dancers.”

“Without telling anyone where to find you,” Tech added, eyes flickering with the remnants of panic. “You vanished into a sea of unfamiliar faces. One moment, I was recalibrating the air quality sensor, and the next…”

“Come on, it wasn’t that bad.” She noted, highly amused.

“I lost you for forty-two minutes, Omega,” he said flatly. “It was catastrophic. You disappeared in a massive crowd in the middle of a noisy, disorganized local celebration with no fixed perimeter. Hunter and Wrecker brushed you away like you were just going to grab rations.”

“I was just going to grab rations!”

“Wrecker gave you twenty credits and said, ‘Bring me something sticky.’ I would hardly call that a secure recon mission. You were only ten.”

Omega smiled small, “Eleven and a half.”

She corrected, he continued.

“I called your name approximately fifteen times. I searched every inch of that square, I scoured each alley, and I interrogated five different vendor stalls and a fruit cart. Not a single sign of you.”

Omega’s voice was quiet now, reminiscent and almost blissful, “But then you saw me.”

“At the fountain,” he said, breath catching. “You were seated on the outer rim, barefoot, brandishing two, giant kabobs like dueling sabers. Smiling. Laughing.”

“I waved at you.”

“You waved,” he echoed deadpan.

Omega giggled. “You looked furious.”

“I was,” Tech admitted. “Or I thought I was. Until I reached you. And then…I just-...”

He stopped, his eyes far away again.

“I lost all semblance of speech. I failed to reprimand. I didn’t even think. I just pulled you to me. Hard. It was a magnetic impulse. I couldn’t help it.”

She remembered. The way he had grabbed her then, not rough, not angry, but with a depth of desperation she wasn't accounting for. His arms had wrapped around her so tightly it had knocked the air out from her lungs with a wheeze. If he had been wearing his chest plate as opposed to the black turtleneck undershirt, the metalloid surface would have broken her nose. His hand cradled the back of her head like her skull would shatter. She’d frozen for half a second before melting into him completely. Unexpected but far from unwelcome.

“I remember,” she whispered. “You were shaking.”

“I hardly registered the physical vibrations until you pointed them out,” Tech whispered back.

“...That was the first time you called me your sister,” Omega said softly, a slow, knowing smile tugging at her lips.

Tech’s eyes narrowed in faint confusion, “You-...heard me say that?”

“Of course I did, you aren't slick…” she replied, warmth blooming in her voice. “You came crashing through the crowd like an anxious storm. Stars, I had never seen you so disheveled.”

A dry huff of breath escaped him, “Disheveled is a generous classification.”

She grinned wide, “You had leaves in your hair,” she added, biting back a giggle, “One was dangling right between your lenses on the bridge of your nose.”

Tech groaned quietly, covering part of his face with one hand. “That was the result of a rather ill-advised shortcut through the brush behind the pavilion. I miscalculated the slope of the embankment and-”

“-rolled halfway down it,” Omega finished, laughing now. “And then, Force-willing, you grabbed some poor stranger by the shoulder, who very nearly dropped his Besbin Fizz, and in a rather boisterous anxious stutter opined, ‘Pardon me, sir, that's my sister over there!’”

“I-...suppose I did announce myself.”

Omega absent-mindedly ran a fingernail over the curve of Tech's human forearm,“I remember the rest of them teasing you countlessly for it.”

“Oh, yes. Wrecker spent weeks reenacting my concern every chance he could with a theatrical flare that made me wish it could be a physical possibility to crawl out of my own skin.”

Omega laughed, her shoulders shaking gently against him. “Echo wished he hadn’t missed it. He kept saying, ‘Kark, I leave for one mission and that’s the day Tech faceplants into foliage and declares his undying devotion to his lost sister?’”

“Devotion is a strong word,” Tech replied, though a flush crept faintly across his aged cheeks.

She nudged him, “It’s the right word.”

He exhaled deeply, eyes rolling.

“Hunter was…” she began, softening, “well…Hunter about it. Smiling like he always does when he knows too much and says too little.”

“Yes,” Tech said,“I believe his exact words were, ‘You're sounding more like a brother than a soldier every day.’”

“You came to my quarters late that night,” she said, her voice nearly a whisper. “How did you know I was still awake?”

“I suspected as much with the excessive quantity of sugar you devoured at the festival” he murmured, his lips pressing into her hair affectionately, “I stood outside your door for a long while. I'm shocked you didn't hear the pacing of my boots against the wood. I had my datapad. I was…going to write out my apology.”

She smiled faintly, “Instead, I pulled you in like you belonged there and made you sit on the floor beside me. I told you to watch the lanterns.”

Tech’s gaze drifted toward the window as if he could still see them. “It was…glorious. They rose in increments until the sky was full of them.”

At this point, he now held her without calibration. One of his hands drifted up to her hair, pulling it from its loosened ponytail and allowing it to fall naturally down the hills of her shoulders. The rigid fingers of his prosthetic sifted through it absently, smoothing and curling strands around his knuckles, a rhythmic movement that kept time with his thoughts. His organic hand now held hers securely, admiring it closely, cynically as if inspecting for injury. He knew there'd be none and yet he just couldn't help himself.

“You toyed with my hands without even truly acknowledging it,” He began, voice edged with that clipped, precise articulation of his—every syllable placed with intent, “You assumed you had permission and gave each digit the gentlest squeeze. It was as if you were sending Morse code with each surge. You mapped my veins like they were star charts. I didn't stop you.”

His palm now pressed into hers, aligning each ridge where her knuckles curled, measuring it and memorizing it.

“Yours were so…tiny.” His voice was colored with subdued amusement “I hypothesized that the odds of my own couldn’t possibly fit into something so dainty…and yet…”

“The perfect match.” She finished, grinning up at him.

He glanced at their hands, still joined, then back to her.

“You were so stiff at first,” Omega said, her tone teasing again. “It was as if sitting on the floor would summon a Zillo Beast that would come up from the tiles and eat you alive if you so much as leaned back.”

“I wasn’t accustomed to informal, affectionate closeness.” Tech stated dryly.

“But you stayed.”

Tech's voice dropped, soft as breath. “You fell asleep. You were curled around me just like this” His eyes glossed over her frame draped in his arms in a similar fashion.

“You were so still. I found myself monitoring each inhalation. I counted your breaths. Tracked the rise and fall of your chest.”

A pause, almost imperceptible. His eyelids fluttered briefly.

“I must have fallen asleep sometime after the sixteenth cycle.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?” Omega asked.

“I couldn’t,” he responded. “I didn’t want to. That moment felt like-...like peace. Like we were no longer fighting the long war to keep you safe��at least for a moment.”

Omega reached up and placed her palm against the side of his face.

Then, with a sly smile she couldn't resist, her voice rose, “You still snore like that, you know.”

Tech blinked, agast. “I do not.”

“You absolutely do,” she grinned. “It’s very faint. A sort of... precise warble.”

Tech opened his mouth to protest, indignant, but it was no use. Omega was already laughing, her shoulders bouncing softly as she buried her face briefly into the front of his shirt. The sound wrapped around him like starlight, and despite himself, his protest melted into a very subdued reluctant smile.

In an instant, her laughter was frayed by a familiar, throaty cough. Crosshair stood at the far end of the dock, half-shadowed by the tall grass. His stance was relaxed but deliberate, arms folded across his chest, either out of discomfort or to wade out the chill of the evening.

“Go,” Tech stated, gentle yet firm, “I…will meet you inside.”

Omega’s eyes rapidly glossed over his before taking a hold of Tech's hands. He helped to steady her as she made her way to her feet. She rose with ease and her hands remained locked with his. Then, just before letting go, her fingers pressed a series of rhythmic squeezes in the spaces in between.

One. Pause. Two. One. Three.

He recognized it instantly.

Omega smiled wittingly and then turned. She met at Crosshair's side for a moment, wrapping her lanky arms around her brother's much taller, angular frame. He didn’t pull away. Instead, he smirked in that rare, subtle way of his…one corner of his mouth curling around the ever-present toothpick. With a flick of his fingers, he pulled it free and leaned down just enough to press a kiss to the top of her head. It was brief but it landed like a promise. Then, almost absently, he slipped the small splint of wood into his pocket, as if tucking away the moment itself.

She disappeared into the night like a sheet through wind. Crosshair’s eyes lingered on the space she’d left behind, as if unsure whether to follow or freeze. Caught between instinct and hesitation. Then, at last, he moved—slow, deliberate steps carrying him to where Tech stood waiting.

“Tech.”

“Crosshair.”

Their names met in the air like old weapons placed on a table—simple, familiar, yet heavy.

Crosshair turned his head and his eyes were sharp and unreadable. The hum of the night was drowned out by silence…by all the things they hadn’t said to one another…by the months of believing him dead…the anger, the guilt, the impossibility of his return…

And yet…

“I never expected you to come back,” he said flatly, Tech could nearly hear the uncomfortable flex in his brother's jaw.

Tech inhaled through his nose, steady but slow. “I never expected to be back.”

Silence yet again.

“I enacted Plan 99,” Tech said quietly, as if admitting to a felony. “I knew the statistical odds. I knew what it would mean…for all of you…for her.”

The toothpick was now burning a hole in Crosshair's pocket but he didn't dare to reach for it. Without delay, the words began to spill out.

“She told me…outright. Not in pieces like you'd expect from her. She just-...said the words…like an adult reading words from an almanac. ‘He jumped. He saved us.’ She was so young. This was before we even escaped Hemlock. Maker, she didn't even cry, her voice didn't tremble. I had to bite down on my tongue to hold back from nearly combusting right there in front of her. I could taste the blood.”

Crosshair curled his fingers inward, the memory lingering far too heavy for him to handle, “I punched a hole through the wall, through three layers of reinforced durasteel…it took seven guards to wrench me from it. They thought I had finally snapped.”

“She grieved you inevitably,” Crosshair said, quieter now. “She tried her best to hide it but there were nights where she just…unraveled. Every day, she waited by her comm and she wouldn't let us touch it…still tuned to Channel 2…she knew the finality of your decision and yet a part of her still believed that the galaxy would bring your voice back.”

Tech pressed a hand firmly into his brow, “She…was never supposed to carry such an immense weight.”

“No,” Crosshair said firmly. “But she did because she’s your sister and because you made her feel like she could be more than just a clone…you made her a person.”

Tech’s jawline tightened, but his chest throbbed with something softer than guilt.

“She was always this…itty bitty thing,” Crosshair continued, his voice thickening, “And yet, stars help me, she held the whole squad together after you were gone.”

“She still does,” Tech confessed solemnly, as if voicing it would make her inevitable departure come even sooner.

“And then you came off that transport ship.”

Tech’s pupils were darts, meeting Crosshair's with vigor. There was something hollow yet remarkably alert in his tired eyes.

“You didn’t come with an announcement. No big speech. Quiet as you always were. Wrecker dropped everything and bolted like a charging rancor. He nearly flattened you. Hunter froze. I’ve never seen him freeze like that, not even in the heat of battle. Echo…he said your name like a prayer…over and over again…it was as if he stopped, you’d disappear again.”

A pause.

“Phee had already gone. She had packed up several weeks before. She said she had work to finish elsewhere and that she couldn’t stay where ghosts still wandered. I don’t think she believed you’d ever come back. Or maybe she did…and that’s why she left.”

Tech stood entirely unmoving. His one remaining flesh-and-blood hand curled in on itself just slightly.

“Statistically speaking, her cutting off all communication is consistent with someone who has made a final decision. One that-...does not include a return.” His voice was thin.

“Likely.”

The silence that followed was deep enough to drown in. Crosshair's composure finally started to fray. When he spoke again, it was quieter, as if saying it any louder might undo him.

“My heart-...I swore it stopped beating altogether…or it was hammering so outwardly I kept my distance just out of fear that the whole island could hear it…although it really didn't matter. Hunter could.”

The memory slammed down like an ocean wave. He let out a breath, slow and shaky. “He didn’t say anything. Didn’t have to. Just looked at me…the way he always does when he hears more than he’s supposed to.”

“But she—” his voice cracked, just a slight giveaway, a small fault in the ice before continuing.

“Omega, she knew.”

Tech could still feel that moment; the crush of sunbeams on his skin after so long underground and the scent of saltwater and woodsmoke in the air. He remembered the shape of her, standing so much older than he had remembered, much taller now but not nearly as tall as him. She didn’t move at first and it was as if her brain needed time to catch up to her eyes.

“She wailed,” Crosshair said. “A sound I’ve never heard from her. Not fear. Not pain. Just raw, unrelenting joy. She ran so fast I thought she might collapse in a heap before she got to you. She very nearly did.”

“She hit me like a meteor.” Tech whispered.

“She buried herself in your chest like she’d finally come home after embarking on a long journey,” Crosshair murmured. “Like the universe had finally apologized for its misdoings…and you-...”

A beat.

“You hardly touched her…”

The words landed like a blow.

Tech’s head dropped, as if the weight of gravity was suddenly pulling him down by his nose. The memory ricocheted with a clarity of surgical precision. Uncomfortable. Uncertain. Overwhelmed by too many variables and stimuli. There he stood, like a man carved of stone, his sister's tears soaking through his tunic, and yet, he couldn't move. It was as if his arms suddenly belonged to someone else.

“I believe that hurt her…deeply…she felt it necessary to keep her distance from that point forward…she told me privately that she feared the man that had returned was not the brother who left.”

An immense lump pulled at the base of Tech's throat but he gulped it down, eyes darting back to the front doorway where Omega had previously exited. The thought of the distance he had unmistakably created made him long to scoop her back up again. To hold fast. To be selfish. To never let go.

“And so…to see you two…just now…like that…it was…refreshing.”

His words were choppy and disjointed. He didn't know how best to articulate the feelings that were slowly simmering from deep within him.

Tech flexed his mechanical arm out into the open air, “I suppose…without my goggles and with all of…this…these augmentations…she couldn’t possibly recognize me.”

“But she did. I knew she would, regardless. Even I was shocked to find that you were still…you. Whatever that meant now.”

Crosshair’s gaze traveled slowly and deliberately from Tech’s bare face, to the polished arm plating, and then lower to his double leg replacements. His eyes didn’t narrow or soften. They lingered.

“Karabast…” he muttered bluntly, but there was no venom in it, just a brittle, unspoken ache.

Crosshair didn’t speak again right away. He just tilted his head imperceptibly. And then, without warning, his eyes met his own trembling prosthesis. No matter how deeply he meditated, the convulsions existed as soon as emotion reached the surface. The symmetry wasn’t lost on him.

Wordlessly, he reached into his pocket, retrieving the toothpick with the practiced motion of a man reaching for a cigarette. A crutch. A ritual. He slipped it back between his teeth, jaw clenching as he bit down. Not out of habit—but need.

They were damaged in opposite ways.

But somehow, standing there like that, Tech’s left and Crosshair’s right, it almost looked like they completed one another.

“It is…fascinating…” Tech muttered, glancing down at their mismatched limbs, “if we were ever to be marooned on a remote system, we could theoretically function as a single unit…a fully intact soldier.”

Crosshair barked a laugh, short, rare in the intensity of the moment, but honest all the same.

“I suppose you're not entirely incorrect. You talk. I shoot. Just like old times.”

Tech hummed in agreement, letting his ear fall to his shoulder, “Although…perhaps our strides would be uneven. My longer, more precise gait doesn’t account for your…erratic limp.”

“Oh, my apologies,” Crosshair deadpanned. “Next time I get caught in the midst of a blaster radius, I’ll request that the shrapnel occurs on your side.”

He gave a small shake of his head, the corner of his mouth twitching—not quite a smile, but close.

“Despite everything though, your voice was still your voice. Hadn't changed a lick. You could've shown up with your entire head missing and I would still recognize you if you still had any semblance of speech left.”

Tech smirked faintly, then looked up at him, exhaust ever-present in his eyes, “Even after all this time, your voice was still your voice. Dry as sandpaper…twice as abrasive.”

Crosshair scoffed. “Please. Yours is still the easiest to pick up on. You panic talk. Like a droid stuck in a logic loop.”

“That…was not a compliment.”

“It wasn’t.”

They both went quiet again.

“It's-...the way you say things. The way you mean them.”

Tech didn’t respond. His brow tensed faintly, mouth pressing into a firm, steady line. Crosshair exhaled and looked away briefly before continuing.

“She is who she is because of that voice. Because you kept talking and teaching and telling her what mattered. You think it was all Hunter? Me?” He scoffed at his own suggestion. “No. Everything Omega is…it’s because of you.”

Tech swallowed hard. Then, with the quietest motion, his eyes lifted. They didn't quite reach Crosshair's. It was almost as if they were trying to find a way through him.

“She still talks in your anxious cadence sometimes,” Crosshair mused, “She tattles off stats when she’s nervous like she's attempting to summon you or something of the sort. It's…precious.”

“I-...have observed.” Tech noted plainly, unable to deny the pride flourishing in his chest.

Crosshair’s fingers twitched at his side. His voice came out low, measured, calculating his exact response, “Everything that girl is...everything she will become…she owes to you, Tech ”

Tech shifted slightly, caught off guard. “I don’t require-”

“I do,” he interrupted, quieter now. “Please…let me say it.”

Tech turned, his body angling away for a second, his heart which was once restful now tunneling sharply into his throat. Before he could protest, he felt it: the firm curl of Crosshair’s arm hooking around the base of his neck, pulling him into a rough hold that felt more like a grapple than an embrace.

It was clumsy.

But it was real.

“And I don't know how I could ever repay you for making her who she is…a crazy, adventure-driven, selfless, intelligent, soft-spoken individual…just like her brother.”

The sudden warmth to his words was the breaking point. It settled deep within Tech's core and it stayed there, unmoving. His breath stuttered once, visible now in the soft shift of his chest. The compliment—the truth—had docked like a ship all throughout him. It was disarming.

His prosthetic hand flexed reflexively, fingertips brushing against the edge of his belt in a bid for grounding. His biological hand hovered awkwardly in the air for a millisecond before it settled—tentative—on Crosshair’s arm, not to push it away…but to acknowledge it there.

“Crosshair…there's so much I want to-”

“Save it.” Crosshair’s voice cracked just slightly as he stepped back, just a hairline fracture, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand that had once pulled a trigger without hesitation.

“I know. Believe me.” Crosshair voiced again, sheepishly.

He swallowed then smirked faintly as if to chase the emotion away with a bit of sarcasm.

“Besides…” Crosshair ran his nimble fingers through his close-cropped hair, “You were always her favorite.”

“That is objectively false.”

Crosshair looked at him, eye glinting, brow raising just a touch as if to challenge him.

“…Mostly objectively false.” Tech noted.

That earned a breath of a laugh. Small, but shared.

And somehow, in the still of the moment, surrounded by scars and silences and the remnants of a war long-forgotten, there came an irreversible shift.

For so long, they'd lived behind walls—built from silence, from fear, from all the things left unspoken. But now, the wall had been breached…not by force, not by argument…

But by her.

By the very person who had taken the best parts of each of them with her.

Because of her, the silence between them no longer felt like an inescapable void.

It felt like a bridge.

A way forward.

And they both took a step across.

[skellymom]

"LITTLE BROTHER"

THE BAD BATCH ONE SHOT

ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜰɪᴄ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴀɪɴꜱ ɴꜱꜰᴡ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ 18+ ᴅɴɪ

Word Count: 2.7K

Background: What happens if a clone baby doesn't play by the rules on Kamino? This fic includes the headcannon (another Tumblr poster came up with this one) that Hunter has a crush on Shaak Ti. The clone baby is assigned a number, however, since there are so many of them and I didn't want to just guess left it as CT-______. Use your imagination for the number. This fic takes place right before Order 66 and before Hunter is aware of Omega's presence on Kamino. And, this baby alerts Mace Windu to the fact the Batch are the key to Omega being taken in by their squad, eventually leading to Omega helping the Rebellion defeat the Empire (this is the "Shatterpoint" in the Force Shaak Ti speaks of that Mace Windu senses.

Warning: Swearing, discussion of euthanasia, baby poop.

(Credit: Cool moving star dividers by @4ngelic-wh1spers )

The keening cry of a newly decanted clone shattered the silence of the Neonate Ward. 

Shaak Ti could sense the little one's distress and hurried down the corridor. The cry was eventually shared with other babies. She entered to a roomful of loud fussy neonate clones. 

Nala Se stood in the middle of the ward, a frustrated expression on her face. 

“Again?” Remarked Shaak Ti. 

“Yes. It would seem this decanted clone will not settle.” 

Shaak Ti glanced down at the tiny instigator, red faced and screaming for all he was worth. 

“IT is causing distress to the other newly decanted.” 

“HE probably needs to be held...” Shaak Ti picked up the screaming bundle... 

...who immediately went quiet. Then the ENTIRE ward went quiet. It seemed that THIS clone was causing the other babies to react as well. 

 “See. That is all that was needed.” Patting the baby's back gently. He cooed at the Jedi. 

Nala Se glibly shot back. “These newly decanted MUST be able to self soothe. They must be in control of their emotions out in the battlefield.” 

“Maybe it’s just temporary? They are JUST babies. Perhaps Omega can help...” 

Shaak Ti was cut off by the Kaminoan. “Omega is currently assisting ME with research and does NOT have the time.” 

Lama Su approached Nala Se and Shaak Ti. “If CT-_____ fails to self soothe by the end of the week, IT will shall be terminated. 

Horrified, Shaak Ti hugged the baby to her. “Are we sure such a drastic measure is necessary?” 

“It is imperative. We have a 20,000 UNIT deadline to complete with accelerated growth in the next few months. They MUST be ready and in top form upon delivery.” Lama Su added. 

“Could we use his ‘defective’ nature to start ANOTHER specialized clone force?” Shaak Ti was grasping at straws now. 

“I was under the impression Jedi should NOT form attachments.” Lama Su shot back. 

He was right...Shaak Ti was doing just that. However, destroying a small life due to needing to be comforted seemed severe. 

Just then the ward door opened, and Omega entered. She approached Nala Se. “Oh, hello Commander Shaak Ti. Nala Se, I am finished with the tasks you gave me. What is OUR next project!” 

The Jedi nodded to the child. Then glanced up at Nala Se. Attachments indeed! 

Nala Se caught the pointed look from Shaak Ti. “Come, Omega. Let us go to the lab.” 

“Bye Shaak Ti” Omega innocently waved then followed behind Nala Se. 

“Goodbye sweet child.” Shaak Ti beamed at the child with an important future... 

The ward doors closed behind them as they exited. 

“IT has 3 days to improve. If not, IT will be terminated.” Lama Su said his peace, then exited the ward as well. 

Shaak Ti glanced down at the little life in her arms. She had a bad feeling about this. 

Unfortunately, things did NOT improve.  

CT-______ continued to caterwaul. Shaak Ti checked in daily. 

Every time the clone cried, eventually his brothers would start in solidarity. When he was picked up by Shaak Ti, he stopped. His brothers would go quiet as well. 

The Kaminoan’s NEVER held their test subjects. It was beneath them to do so. 

Omega was NOT permitted to assist with CT-____ in any capacity. 

Highly concerned, Shaak Ti sought advice from Mace Windu via comm. 

The Jedi listened quietly to the predicament, then rubbed his chin in contemplation. 

“I shall inquire at the Jedi Council, then give you my answer in the next standard rotation.” 

Shaak Ti nodded obediently and waited. 

The day came with CT-______ slated for termination. He refused to self sooth, instead reaching his tiny arms out for ANYONE to hold him...comfort him. 

Nala Se, resigned to sealing this baby’s fate, loaded the bassinet onto a holostretcher and SLOWLY proceeded to the euthanasia chamber. 

Before she could enter, Shaak Ti was waiting outside the entrance. 

Nala Se seemed surprised to see her there. A move Shaak Ti took advantage of. 

The Jedi waived her hand in front of Lama Se. “You have terminated CT-______. You must return to the laboratory with Omega.” 

“I have terminated CT-____. I must return to the laboratory with Omega.” The dazed Kaminoan repeated. 

Nala Se wouldn’t remember a thing. 

 “Well lads, looks as though Master Shaak Ti will be joining us for this mission!” Hunter beamed. 

“Oh Goody. Careful Hunter, she might sense how much you PINE for her.” Crosshair sneered. 

Wrecker shot back with a shit eating grin. “OOOh, Cross, you’re just JEALOUS.” 

Crosshair shot Wrecker a LOOK. 

Echo chuckled at his new squad's antics. 

“It seems we are accompanying her to the Separatist planet of Ryloth as an envoy.” Tech informed everyone. “She will be assisting Captain Howzer.” 

“WHAT!” Echo shot straight up in his seat. “We are working with Separatists?” 

“The details seem to be confidential. Need to know basis for now.” Tech added. 

“That’s strange...” Echo was extremely suspicious. 

Hunter set everyone at ease. “I’m sure we’ll be briefed before arrival to Ryloth. “Here she is now.” 

The clones stood at attention and saluted Shaak Ti as she ascended the gangplank and boarded the Marauder.  

“At ease soldiers.” She warmly smiled.  

Wrecker jabbed Crosshair in the ribs and grinned. Cross gave him stink face. 

Tech started up the ship and prepared to leave Kamino. 

“Commander, please have a seat.” Hunter offered Shaak Ti the seat behind Echo in the cockpit, as he would be seated next to her behind Tech. 

“Thank you, Sergeant.” She smiled. 

Hunter mildly blushed.  

“Before I do there is another matter I must address.”  

Shaak Ti reached down and pulled up the front of her heavy long skirts, exposing her legs and bottom torso underneath. 

Hunter almost FAINTED!  

He may have had some...thoughts about this Jedi General...only at times in solitude so she was unable to sense them... 

The blood rushed to his head, making his vision swim. 

The rest of the crew stopped and stared! This was so UNLIKE the Jedi Commander!!! 

Underneath Shaak Ti’s skirts was strapped a small baby. 

A clone stowaway...under a Jedi’s skirts! 

The baby looked at Hunter and cooed. 

“Uhhh...” Hunter stared dumbfounded. 

“What the FU...dge!” Echo caught himself in time. 

“WAIT? Are they NOT DECANTING them anymore???” Wrecker scratched his head trying to figure out where babies are NOW coming from. 

Crosshair sighed and held his forehead. 

Tech cleared up the confusion. “It would seem that Jedi Shaak Ti is covertly sneaking this clone neonate aboard so that we may shuttle it off world.” 

“You are indeed correct Tech.” Shaak Ti unstrapped the baby and handed him to Hunter.  

She dropped her skirt and sat down. 

Hunter caught a glimpse of the Jedi’s legs before they were covered again. His brain momentarily broke. 

Echo needed details. “Why? He’s too young to leave Kamino.” 

“He is defective and was slated for termination. When we depart Kamino, I shall tell you the rest.” 

The baby reached up and pinched Hunter’s chin, bringing him back to the moment. He sat down and cradled the baby in his arms...seemingly an automatic act even HE wasn’t aware of. “Tech, take us off world IMMEDIATELY!” 

He didn’t have to tell Tech twice. 

The crew was extremely quiet as the Marauder made its way off the planet. Hunter began to worry about what was to develop. Unconsciously, he began to slightly rock the baby. It soothed him.  

Echo glanced over his shoulder at Hunter and smiled. 

Crosshair rolled his eyes. 

Blue light bathed the ship as the Marauder coasted in hyperspace. 

Shaak Ti filled in the rest of the intel. 

“So, our squad are the LAST defective clones to be allowed on Kamino?” Tech surmised. 

“Yes, unfortunately. The Kaminoan’s are tamping down on any deviance within the clone population. They are no longer even trying to reprogram the few who develop out of parameters. Any found outside of those parameters are slated for immediate termination.” Shaak Ti grimly explained. 

“Things have been changing so quickly on Kamino lately.” Hunter’s brow creased. 

“Don’t like it one bit.” Echo’s suspicion was back. 

Shaak Ti followed up. “Conveniently, I was scheduled to meet with the governing body of Ryloth. And, with some help from the Jedi Council we can place this little one with a family there.” 

“The Kaminoan’s don’t just give away their property freely. How did you manage to convince them?” Echo enquired. 

“I agree with Echo.” Tech added. “The Kaminoan’s are anything but charitable.” 

“I... resorted to utilizing the Force.” The Jedi shifted uncomfortably. “According to Master Windu, the exposure to this young clone will help you all on a future mission.” Shaak Ti smiled at the squad. “As you know Master Windu sees an important Shatterpoint in your timeline.” 

“And... what is that Shatterpoint?” Hunter enquired. 

“Unfortunately, Master Windu did not elaborate. He FEELS something strongly in the Force but cannot put it to words.” 

The clones silently glanced at one another.  

Shaak Ti added “But, for now we are saving a small innocent life. This has enough merit on its own.” 

“Agreed” Hunter smiled down at the small one in his arms.  The baby grinned back up at him. 

“Hey...Hunter...can I hold ‘em?” Wrecker asked hopefully. 

“Uh...yeah.” Hunter got up and walked over to Wrecker, who seemed excited. 

Wrecker held out his large hands awkwardly. 

“Wrecker, support his body with this hand. Take your other hand and support his head carefully. He’s young and his neck isn’t strong enough yet. He’s a baby, not a Lula. Gotta be REAL gentle.” Hunter handed the baby over and placed Wrecker’s hands in the correct position. 

Hunter stepped back and watched his brother. 

“Aww, he’s SO CUTE!” Wrecker beamed. 

The baby cooed at Wrecker.  

Cross, sitting next to Wrecker watched silently. 

Then the baby spotted Crosshair’s silver hair shining in the Marauder’s cab lighting. He made grabby hands toward Cross. 

“Ooh, he wants YOU to hold him.” Wrecker grinned. 

“NO.” Crosshair got up and sat at the other side of the ship. 

The baby immediately started to cry. 

“Look, you hurt his little feelings!” Wrecker shamed his brother. 

“I don’t do kids.” Crosshair crossed his arms uncomfortably. 

The baby wailed loudly. 

Crosshair couldn’t handle the caterwauling and stalked to the back of the ship. 

“Ohh, just ignore him cute widdle baby boy.” Wrecker grabbed Lula. “Lula says he’s a big ole’ poopy head anyway.”  

The baby stopped crying and Hunter dabbed his tears away with the baby blanket.   

“Brother Wrecker wuvs you...BOOP!” Wrecker gently touched Lula to the baby’s nose. 

Baby smiled. 

“Brother Hunter wuvs you...BOOP!”  

Baby laughed. 

“Brother Echo wuvs you...BOOP!” 

Baby belly laughed. 

“Brother Tech will wuv you too...BOOP! Especially since you’ll listen to his infodumps...BOOP!” 

Baby laughed SO hard... 

...and made a strange face... 

...then baby’s rear end made the MOST horrid sound! 

“OH MAKER! WHAT IS THAT!!!” Wrecker almost retched. “IT’S SOO STINKY!” 

Wrecker quickly handed baby back to Hunter and ran away after Crosshair. 

“Uh...” Hunter was woefully unprepared and just held baby out away from him. “Commander...uh...please tell me you have extra diapers...” 

The Jedi laughed as she approached, taking the baby from Hunter. She had a bag slung over her shoulder. “I’ll take care of him, Sergeant.” 

He turned red in spite of the horrible smell assaulting his enhanced senses. 

Hunter had an awakening... 

Something about maternal women and little children... 

Something warm and paternal blossomed in his heart. He watched Shaak Ti as she walked to the back of the ship soothing the baby. 

A minute later, Wrecker ran back up to the front of the Marauder. Crosshair followed furiously spraying refresher air freshener EVERYWHERE. 

“I don’t know what that baby ate but...EWW!!!” Wrecker grimaced. 

“OH MAKER!” Echo yelled; his face had a severely pinched expression. “Now it smells like FLORAL SHIT in here!!!” 

Frustrated, Crosshair shot back at Echo. “Well, WHAT would you have me DO???” 

Tech to the rescue: He engaged the Marauder’s indoor filtration system. However, it did take some time to dispel the smell.  

When Shaak Ti brought the cleanly changed baby back, Echo requested to hold him next. The baby took an interest in Echo’s scomp.  

Wrrrrrrrrrr. Baby was entranced. Wrrrr, wrrrr, wr, wrrrrrrrrrr. 

Echo laughed, then the baby laughed... 

And make THAT FACE. 

Wrecker held his nose. “OH NO! NOT AGAIN!!!” 

“It seems the Kaminoan baby formula irritates his sensitive stomach. Another anomaly in his genetics. I switched his formula for the trip.” The Jedi attempted to get up and retrieve the baby. 

“Please relax Commander. I’ve got this.” Hunter got up and took baby from Echo.  

Shaak Ti handed Hunter the diaper bag, and he made his way to the back of the ship. 

Crosshair sprayed the air freshener in Hunter’s wake. 

Echo turned around to glare at Crosshair. 

“What?” Cross leaned back with an antagonistic smirk, inserting a toothpick into his mouth. 

Sometime later everyone settled in during the trip to Ryloth. Hunter offered Shaak Ti his bunk so she could rest before arrival. She warned the baby may need to eat soon. 

By this time, Tech had the baby in his lap and was info dumping about various animal life of the galactic planets. Baby was deeply interested in everything he had to say. 

Or maybe it was just the glare on Tech’s glasses that caught the baby’s attention? 

Either way, Tech set up his datapad to play the corresponding animal sound when the baby pressed a button. Baby cooed with each animal sound.  

Shortly after baby lost interest and started to fuss. 

“Uh oh...” Wrecker was weary. 

“Well...he isn’t making THAT face, so I think we’re safe.” Echo ribbed Wrecker. 

"It’s fairly obvious that he’s hungry.” Tech stated. 

Hunter rummaged through the bag to find a bottle full of blue Bantha milk. 

“You like the GOOD stuff, kiddo.” Hunter smiled, taking baby from Tech and popping the feeding nipple into baby’s mouth. 

Baby suckled away and made grabby hands towards Crosshair again. 

Cross side-eyed baby. 

“Come on, Cross. He obviously likes you.” Hunter pleaded. 

“Usually that’s asking a LOT of someone.” Echo joked. 

“So funny, Echo.” 

“Hey, we ALL held him.” Wrecker piled on. “Hunter EVEN changed his diaper!”  

Crosshair wasn’t convinced. 

Baby continued grabby hands and was now vocalizing in between gulps of formula “Uuuuummmm!!!” 

Straining out of Hunter’s grasp towards the sniper. 

Tech verbally poked at his brother “It would seem that he INSISTS you hold him. Why he wishes to be close to your unyielding nature is a mystery.” Tech was baiting him. 

Crosshair pulled the toothpick from his mouth and flicked it at Tech. “All right...” He huffed. “Give me the little womp rat.” 

Hunter gave Crosshair a shit eating grin as he placed the child on his brother’s shoulder. Cross didn’t expect to have baby THAT close to his face. Hunter KNEW what baby was after. 

The baby held his bottle with one hand, chugging away. Then reached up with the other to grab a handful of Cross’ hair.  

For a second Crosshair looked panicked. But relaxed when he realized baby only wanted to hold onto something while eating. The weight seemed strangely familiar...like his rifle when it rested upon his shoulder. But...warmer...more comfortable.  

Crosshair leaned back on the seat and put his feet up.   

Tech played his specially recorded soothing sounds of Kamino’s waves over the Marauder’s PA system. Baby continued to suckle away at his bottle, then fell fast asleep on Crosshair’s shoulder. 

The sounds also affected Crosshair as he eventually passed out in a deep sleep on the cabin chair totally unaware of what would transpire... 

...as the rest of The Batch decided to record this special moment. 

After all, Baby would be in his new, safe home by tomorrow... 

There’s a pic Tech keeps on his datapad of a snoozing Crosshair with a baby sleeping on his shoulder. The rest of the Batch is posed around him.  

Hunter leans his head against his brother and the baby. A serene smile on his face. 

Wrecker gives Crosshair Lula ears with his fingers behind Cross’ head. He pulls Gonky in next to him. 

Echo puts his arm around Gonky and proudly leans into the shot next to Wrecker. 

Tech took off his goggles and propped them up on the Marauder’s dash so the recording device attached to them could mark the occasion. Then blindly made his way to Hunter’s side to pose, a sassy half grin on his face. 

In Hunter’s bunk, Shaak Ti sighs contentedly in her sleep. 

Back on Coruscant, within the Jedi Temple, Yoda pauses and quietly smiles. 

He looks to Mace Windu “The child is safe, he is.” 

Mace, relieved, replies “Eventually...the galaxy will be too.” 

PLEASE like, comment, and/or REBLOG!

IF YOU WISH TO BE ADDED OR DROPPED FROM MY TAG LIST, PLEASE MESSAGE ME! Don't just comment as I might miss it. Thanks!!! <3

[dindjarindiaries]

11, 16, and/or 17 for Hunter!!! (17 is just kinda funny and we need a little lightheartedness before you inevitably twist the knife)

Paying The Price

character: Hunter (The Bad Batch)

prompts: "I’m going to lift you up, okay? Tell me if it hurts." / "Gods, I'm so sorry, it'll be over soon, I promise." / "How many fingers am I holding up? ... I don't have six fingers." (@promptsbytaurie)

warnings: injuries, needles

main masterlist • hunter masterlist

The silence was grating on your fragile nerves. You readjusted your grasp on your blaster once again, making your fingers ache just as much as your knees that were still positioned in a crouch on a suspended branch. You weren't too high off the ground, but you were up far enough to get a good lay of the land.

Hunter and Wrecker were still out of sight. You glanced at the gate of the small outpost they had infiltrated and grit your teeth. You were still of the belief that this mission needed at least one more person, but Hunter had, as usual these days, insisted that you go before Echo and Rex could make the rendezvous.

You didn't blame him. You'd had enough late night conversations with him to understand why he was pushing so hard. But that didn't make it the right call—and the fact he wouldn't even listen to your pleas on this particular mission made it all the more concerning.

Something rustled behind you, and turned fast enough to risk wobbling where you crouched. You steadied yourself with a hand on the trunk of the tree you had climbed and lifted your scope attachment to look for a heat source, but you saw nothing.

You let out a curt sigh. You definitely weren't Crosshair, that was for sure.

Then again, Hunter and Wrecker weren't Tech and Echo, and the data pull was taking a lot longer than it should have. You lifted your comm to your lips and activated it. "How's it going in there?"

"Hunter's almost done." Wrecker's voice was successfully quiet as he offered his response. "Be careful, though. Their guard rotation is comin' up, and..."

"Yeah, yeah, I've got an eye on it." You lifted the scope and glanced at the gate. It was still clear of guards for now, but their window was closing rapidly. "You guys have to keep watching the chrono, too. Time's about to be up."

"We are. We've still got..."

"Done." The sound of Hunter's voice alone made your tightened chest relax with a familiar amount of ease. "We're heading out now. Hold your position."

"Sure thing, Sarge." You hummed and set the comm back on your belt, willing the rest of your unease away as you focused on the gate again.

That was when you saw it, a flash of the guards' mismatched uniforms as they marched towards the gate. Your breath caught in your throat as you grasped your blaster tighter.

And this was why you needed at least four people. Alone, you had little to no chance against them, and thus no good way to help Hunter and Wrecker get out. If there had been someone else, you could have been a distraction together, and posed at least somewhat of a threat.

You lifted your comm back to your lips. "A set of guards just positioned themselves outside the gate. Unless you have another way out of there, you're gonna have to give me a minute to distract them."

"How? They shouldn't..." Hunter trailed off as he fully absorbed your words. "No. Hold your position. We'll find another way around them, it's too dangerous—."

"We all know there isn't another way." You were hissing now as you started to descend the tree. "I've got this. Just be ready to fight when you get out here."

"I don't like this."

You huffed. "Yeah, well, this is why we need more than three people, Hunter."

Your words were harsh, yet truthful. Hunter was slipping in his desperation to get intel on Omega's whereabouts, and as much as you shared that same, aching feeling, you had to get him to understand that. Finding Omega would be worthless if there wasn't anyone for her to come back to.

Hunter's silence spoke for him as you put your comm away again and trotted into the greenery that led closer to the outpost's perimeter. Once you were closer, you knelt down amongst the flora on either side of you and lifted your blaster.

Looking through the scope attachment, you further analyzed the situation. There were about six guards in this particular part of the area, which was two for each of you, but you had no idea what their fighting capability was. It could either be easy or the most difficult fight you'd had in a long time.

You sighed. There wasn't any time to waste debating it. You had to act now, or else Hunter and Wrecker would each have three guards to worry about before reinforcements came pouring in.

With just a single ounce of hesitation, you aimed at a target and brushed your finger along your trigger. The weight of what you were about to do laid upon your shoulders, but you could live with it. This wasn't the first time.

You fired.

Pandemonium broke out the second the guard went down. They all turned in your direction, shouting things before volleys of blaster bolts started flying in your direction.

You swore and ducked further, retreating into the greenery behind you before managing to lift your blaster and get a few more shots off. Even in the madness, you somehow took another guard down, and that was all it took.

They left a single guard behind and sent the rest after you.

Cursing again, you turned and sprinted further into the forest. There were pounding footsteps getting closer and closer behind you, but those weren't nearly as intimidating as the blaster shots you had to keep dodging.

You freed the comm from your belt and all but yelled into it. "Some backup would be nice if you could speed it up!"

"We're on our way!" Hunter rarely ever sounded breathless, but he did now, as if he was pushing himself harder than ever before. "Just keep evading them!"

You couldn't spare any looks back at them. At a certain point, you also didn't have anywhere else to run to. You had to stop and dive to the side, using a boulder for cover as you fired off some more retaliatory shots.

You managed to get another guard, but that still left you with two pursuers. They raised their blasters, and you ducked fully behind the boulder as it was barraged with endless shots. The burning smell of plasma filled your nostrils as you searched for more cover.

There. A large tree with a trunk wide enough to disguise you was just a quick leap away, if you could bridge the gap over to it without being shot. You inhaled a determined breath and zeroed in on it.

It would be easier if you had cover fire from someone else, but it would have to do. You were more than capable of making it.

With that thought in mind, you stood back to your full height and sprinted out from behind the boulder, firing shots to provide your own cover. You somehow took down one of the two guards, leaving you with a victorious thrill as you prepared to finish diving behind the tree trunk.

You were nearly there when the blaster bolt hit you.

The force of it knocked you back onto the ground, the pain of the shot mixed with the impact of the hard dirt forcing a cry from your lungs. You attempted to regain your breath and breathe through the waves of burning pain in your shoulder as the shadow of the guard loomed closer.

The world around you was already going fuzzy from the shock, pain, and adrenaline, but you could still hear the guard speaking to someone. "Yeah, I've got 'em. They took out the others, but I've—."

They were cut off by the sound of another blaster shot, and given that you soon heard a body tumbling to the ground, you assumed that the others had arrived.

"No, no, no, no..."

Hunter fell into the dirt at your side, his helmet also hitting the ground as he all but tore it off. His wide, fearful eyes gave you a panicked once-over as one hand reached for the side of your face and the other pressed gingerly near your wound. You winced before you could stop it.

"Kriff. I... I told you not to..."

Hunter shook his head, as if silently chastising himself, and refocused.

"We've gotta' get you out of here." Hunter nodded, his worried eyes flitting between yours before he brushed his thumb over your cheek. "I’m going to lift you up, okay? Tell me if it hurts."

Hunter clipped his helmet to his belt before he positioned one arm under your back and the other underneath your knees. He rose slowly, and as your injured shoulder knocked against his, you let out a pitiful cry of pain.

"I'm sorry." Hunter's voice was a broken rasp as he readjusted you enough to mind your bleeding blaster shot. "There. Better?"

You let out a huff that answered for you: That's as good as it's gonna get. Hunter seemed to understand this, as he started to move forward through the trees. You held a breath and tried to look over his shoulder.

"Wreck..."

"He's powering up the ship. He's fine." If Hunter had been breathless before, then he was almost completely out of air now, his widened gaze constantly circulating between you and the way ahead. "I thought I'd have enough time to get to you myself before..."

You wanted to console him, but you couldn't, and not just because the waves of agony were hitting harder as the shock wore off. It wasn't Hunter's fault directly—and you would never blame him—but it was true that his refusal to wait for the others had made this unfortunate scenario possible.

But Hunter was tormenting himself badly enough as it was. He didn't need you to add fuel to his self-deprecating fire.

Your eyelids began to flutter involuntarily as the throbbing pain of your wound grew in intensity. Hunter was quick to notice, no doubt also picking up on your slowing heartbeat as he shook his head.

"No, no, no. Hey." Hunter gave you a light shake, enough to jolt you without hurting your wound any further. "Stay awake. Okay? That's all you have to do right now." He nodded down at you. "Keep your eyes on me. We're almost back to the ship."

You swallowed thickly and did your best to obey his order. Your gaze traced the lines of his tattoo and every sharp angle on his face, though many of them were pulled taut into lines of stress and worry as he closed the distance to the Marauder. It wasn't long before you could hear her engines humming, and Hunter took the steps two at a time to get you inside.

"Wha' hap—."

"Get us out of here." Hunter's words were biting enough to make Wrecker's jaw snap shut as he continued on towards the hold. "Now."

There was no room for argument. You could hear the hatch whirring as it closed just before the ship jolted up from the ground.

Hunter eased you down onto one of the lower bunks and stepped away to reach for the medkit. He knelt back down at your side and held your face between his hands.

"Hey. Still with me?"

You blinked and managed a nod.

"Good." Hunter lifted a hand from your face and held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

You fought the urge to roll your eyes even as you let your sarcasm flow. "Six."

Hunter froze, his brow pinching in further concern as he blinked down at you. "I don't have six fingers."

You huffed. "'Xactly."

Another wave of pain overcame you, and you let out a groan as you squeezed your eyes shut and let your head loll to the side.

"Kriff, Hunter, it hurts."

"I know." Hunter's voice was shaking nearly as much as his carefully practiced fingers as he dug through the medkit. "I'll get you a hypo first, take the edge off, and then you're just gonna have to bear with me, okay?"

You gritted your teeth and forced another nod. Hunter's rummaging continued, but when it stopped, you pried your eyelids open again. His handsome face was worn and cast in grim shadow as he lowered the hypo to your neck.

The pain of the shot was temporary, and it was certainly worth the cool rush that took away some of the blistering heat from your wound. You let out a gentle sigh of relief that only eased Hunter somewhat as he continued his treatment.

He removed your outermost layers and took a pair of shears to the collar of your tunic to cut his way to your wound. Once that was done, he let out a concerned breath and reached for something else inside the medkit.

"This is gonna be the worst of it." Hunter lifted a disposable sterilizing cloth with an apologetic glint in his eye. "I'm sorry, but... I'll make it quick."

That was all the warning you got. He pressed the cloth against your wound, and despite the hypo numbing it as much as possible, you could still feel every single prickling point of contact.

You gasped and reached out for him with your free hand, squeezing your eyes shut as the pain tore through you like a wildfire.

"I know, I know." Hunter let you take one of his hands as the other kept cleaning the wound. You squeezed it tight as his trembling voice lowered even more. "Gods, I'm so sorry. It'll be over soon, I promise."

If the pain of this process wasn't enough to overwhelm you, the strain of his words certainly was. It was almost as if Hunter was sharing in your agony, and you had no doubt he was sporting an internal wound just as serious as the one you bore on your physical body.

That, mixed with everything else Hunter was carrying inside him, made for something dangerous that you knew you had to resolve.

Once Hunter had finished and you were able to breathe again, you opened your eyes and watched him. He was suppressing his panic and distress as best as he could, but you saw through the cracks in his composure. His jaw was tight, and he kept blinking in rapid succession, as if fighting away his emotions.

You cleared your throat quietly and dared to speak. "Hunter..."

He froze, offering you his devout attention as his gaze gave you a quick scan. When he realized it wasn't an urgent need, he glanced away from your stare and refocused on the task at hand, which involved securing a bacta patch on your shoulder.

"Hunter."

"No. Don't do that."

Hunter smoothed out the patch and shook his head, his jaw tightening even more as he reached for a fresh wrap. You frowned as he went on.

"Don't give me your sympathy." He began to wrap the material around you a bit harder than he was likely intending to in his self-directed rage, but as soon as you let a quiet whimper escape you, he slowed his actions and softened them. "Especially not when you were the one who warned me not to do this in the first place."

You sighed. "Well, it happened. Can't change that now." You gave the hand you were still holding a squeeze. "But you can change what happens going forward."

"Yeah." Hunter let out a frustrated huff and cut his gaze towards you. "After I've already made you pay the price."

"Good."

Hunter looked scandalized by your response as he finished securing the wrap. His eyes widened, and he withdrew his hand from yours as he put the supplies away. You let out another sigh as your brow rose at him.

"If it hadn't been me, you wouldn't have learned your lesson."

You lifted your hand to the side of Hunter's face just as he finished packing up the medkit. His guilty gaze eventually made its way to yours, his lips pressed in a firm line as he continued to contain his emotions. You let your thumb run over his cheek.

"I'm worried about her, too. We all are. And we'll do whatever it takes to get her back." You gave your head a shake. "But we still have to be smart about it. If we run ourselves into the ground... she won't have anyone to come back to."

The guilt in Hunter's amber eyes increased tenfold as it lowered to your wound. He circled his jaw and shook his head, the guilt mounting into anger and grief all at once.

"You could've died." It sounded as if it physically pained Hunter to say the words. "I almost got you killed."

You frowned. "Hunter..."

"No." Hunter's hand wrapped around your wrist. "Don't let me shy away from the truth. My call almost got you killed."

You lifted a single finger on your injured side the best you could, emulating someone whose presence you missed all the time, but especially now. "Technically, it was my call, because you told me to hold my position and I disobeyed."

Hunter couldn't find the humor in it, not right now. He closed his eyes, and his brow furrowed as if he was in pain.

"I already lost Tech and Omega. If I had lost you..."

He didn't go on. He couldn't. You grimaced and lowered your hand closer to the side of his neck, where you gently swept at his hair to soothe him.

"It won't ever be that easy." You let out a hum as you gently eased him closer to you, until his forehead was resting against your own. "The galaxy can try all it wants, but you're stuck with me for the long run."

Hunter let out a soft, relieved exhale before he reopened his eyes. At least a million different emotions flashed through them all at once, but as they flitted between yours, there was only one he intended on focusing on. His voice was as light as air as he spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Your tone matched his own. "I know. It's okay." You attempted a small smile as you brushed your thumb over his skin again. "You know what would make me feel better?"

Hunter huffed, and the corners of his lips rose just like your own as his nose brushed yours. He kissed you tenderly, a gesture that said so much more than any words ever could, but kept it fairly brief as he pulled away and gazed upon you with lingering concern.

Your finger brushed over to his brow as you attempted to flatten the knit there with your thumb. "I was actually gonna say some water."

Hunter rolled his eyes and let out a curt yet genuine chuckle. It was enough to make you smile wider as he leaned away to grab the nearest canteen.

Not everything was resolved here—in fact, you knew you were still far from it—but Hunter was no longer trapping himself into a deep hole of self-hatred, and that's all you could ask for. He was waking up to the consequences of his desperate actions, and despite the high cost this time around, it was progress he needed to make.

You still wanted Hunter to be at least half the man Omega knew him as when she returned home, because it wasn't a matter of if. It was only a matter of when.

[zoeykallus]

Master List/Stuff I Wrote Part 6

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

_________

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

_________

MAUL

Maul x Fem!Reader - Damsel In Distress

The Bad Batch

The Bad Batch/Rex/Wolffe/Gregor/Howzer x Reader HCs - Proud Family Moment

The Bad Batch/Cody x Reader HCs - The Flinch

The Bad Batch x Afab!Reader HCs - Struggling With PMDD

The Bad Batch x Reader HCs - Your Social Media

The Bad Batch x Reader HCs - Abandonment Issues

The Bad Batch x Reader HCs - Accidental Proposal

The Bad Batch x DominantFem!Reader HCs - Who's In Control?

The Bad Batch x Reader - Burnout

The Bad Batch x Fem!Reader HCs - Clumsy

The Bad Batch x Reader HCs - Enemies To Lovers

The Bad Batch x Fem!Reader HCs - When I See You Dance With Another

The Dad Batch x Offspring!Reader HCs

The Bad Batch x Reader HCs - A Restorative Hug

The Bad Batch x Fem!Reader HCs - Husband And Daddy?

The Bad Batch x Reader HCs - Sleepy Mix-Ups

The Bad Batch x Fem!Reader HCs - The Sparring Partner

TBB x Gender-neutral Reader (Extended) HCs – Lost Something? Part 1 Of 5 Hunter

TBB x Gender-neutral Reader (Extended) HCs – Lost Something? Part 2/3/4/5

The Bad Batch x Reader HCs - Crocheted With Love

The Bad Batch x Reader HCs - That Little Bite

HUNTER

Hunter x Jedi Fem! Reader One-shot - Perceptions And Senses

Hunter x Fem!Reader One-Shot - The Savior

Imperial Hunter x Fem!Reader One-Shot - Little Smuggler

Hunter x Fem!Reader - One-Shot - Love And Lotion

Hunter x Jedi/Reader - One-Shot - The Things We Do For Love

The Bad Batch/ Mayday/Rex x Fem!Reader Prompts – Confessions

Part 2/7 - Hunter

CROSSHAIR

Crosshair x Fem!Reader One-Shot - The Unexpected Gentleness

Crosshair x Fem!Reader One-shot (Smut)

Crosshair x Fem!Reader One-shot - Don't Let Go Of Me

The Bad Batch/ Mayday/Rex x Reader Prompts – Confessions

Part 3/7 - Crosshair

Crossher x Fem!Reader FF (Enemies To Lovers)

WRECKER

Dom!Wrecker x SubFem!Reader One-shot - My Naughty Little Girl

The Bad Batch/ Mayday/Rex x Reader Prompts – Confessions

Part 5/7 - Wrecker

TECH

Tech x Reader One-Shot - Loving Care

Tech x Fem!Reader One-Shot - Close And Real

Tech x Fem!Reader One-shot - AFTER THE FALL

Tech x Fem!Reader Smut One-Shot (Pollen Trope)

Tech x Fem!Reader One-shot - The Teacher

Tech x Fem!Reader – One-Shot – Distractions The Bad Batch/ Mayday/Rex x Reader Prompts – Confessions

Part 1/7 - Tech

ECHO

Echo x Fem!Reader One-Shot - Without Words

The Bad Batch/ Mayday/Rex x Reader Prompts – Confessions

REX

Rex x F!Reader One-Shot - My Love

CLONES

Crosshair x Afab!Reader x Mayday One-Shot - Keeping You Warm On A Cold Night (NO CLONECEST)

Hound x GN!Reader – One-Shot – Grizzer On The Loose

Rex/Fives/Hardcase/Echo/Jesse/Heavy/Kix x FTM Trans Jedi!Reader HCs - Who You Really Are

Wolffe/Rex/Jesse x Reader HCs - How They Fall In Love With You

[nahoney22]

How about how the bad batch boys (female reader) react to you giving them unexpected HUG? 🫂 because we all need a hug in our lives 😊 as fluffy as you can make it please! Congratulations on 4000 followers 😊

Unexpected First Hug

The Bad Batch X F!Reader

warnings: Mostly fluff, maybe a mention or two of reader feeling down/homesick. First hug with the Bad Batch. Some mutual pining if you squint. Female reader but can probably be read as GN too. Crosshair reunited with brothers. Not proofread.

authors note: thank you for the request! Enjoy some hugs 🫂

Echo 🤍

You missed him.

Actually, you found yourself missing him. deeply. But Echo's decision to go with Rex and Senator Chuchi had filled you with pride. However, as days turned into weeks, the void left by his absence grew more noticeable.

When you said your goodbyes, something felt incomplete. Perhaps words left unsaid or a simple handshake would have sufficed. But in the solitude of your bunk, thoughts of him kept creeping into your mind, and you couldn't help but picture him right beside you.

Then came the day when Echo surprised everyone by announcing his return to Pabu. Excitement surged through your stomach, eager to hear his tales and, most of all, to just be close to him again.

What neither of you expected, judging by the surprise on Echo's face, was when, as soon as he hopped off the gangplank, you raced over, outpacing even Omega and Hunter, and embraced him.

Your arms encircled his shoulders, your chest flushed against his, and Echo stammered your name in astonishment at the unexpected impact.

“H-Hello,” he appeared flustered by the emotion, and yet, the hug, something you'd never shared before, just felt so right.

“Hi, sorry I just,” you pulled away yet your arms lingered around his shoulders, “really missed you.”

You see his eyes widen ever so slightly and a shy smile etched on his face. “Oh, well, I missed you too.” He says softly, hands ever so gently placing onto your hips. “A lot.”

Hunter 🤍

“Hey, come with me.”

Hunter's voice pulled you from your thoughts as you observed Omega playing outside. You turned to face him on the gangplank, watching as he disappears inside.

You followed him back into the ship, a curious brow raised, inquiring about his intentions.

As you walked, you asked, "What do you want?" But Hunter remained tight-lipped until he stopped and faced you, arms folded. "What do you think?"

You stood before him, perplexed. "What do I think about what?"

"Your new helmet," he replied with a mischievous smirk, moving aside to reveal - of course - a brand new helmet.

For weeks, you'd been pestering Hunter for some equipment, just to enhance your safety and readiness on missions. His responses had usually been along the lines of 'maybe one day' or 'not right now,' which was understandable, given the constant struggle for credits.

Your excitement couldn't be contained as you exclaimed, "No way!" You eagerly picked up the helmet, admiring its design and paint job.

Hunter asked, "So, will that do?"

Instead of a simple "yes," you showed your gratitude by wrapping your arms around Hunter's waist, drawing him into an embrace.

Hunter felt his skin warm at the unexpected contact, and he awkwardly patted your back, his mind racing with thoughts of doing more, but uncertainty held him back. "I'll take that as a yes then," he chuckled softly, instantly missing the warmth of your touch as you pulled away.

In his own thoughts, he berated himself, thinking, "Idiot!" for not giving you a proper hug in return but seeing you ecstatic with your new gear was enough to satisfy him.

Wrecker 🤍

"Hey, are you comin'—what's wrong?"

Wrecker's voice broke through your thoughts at a vulnerable moment. You were overwhelmed with homesickness, and as you sought solace, Wrecker happened to discover you wiping away tears from your cheeks.

You put on a brave face, replying with a soft laugh, "Oh, nothing, don't worry. Just homesick." You felt grateful as he quietly took a seat beside you.

"Yeah, bet it's not easy being away from home when you're with us lot!" Wrecker said with a sheepish grin, but your smile didn't quite reach your eyes. Sensing your distress, Wrecker gently wrapped his arms around your shoulders, and despite your efforts to contain your emotions, tears began to flow.

Your lips quivered, and tears streamed down your cheeks. You turned into Wrecker, wrapped your arms around his neck, and pulled yourself close to him.

The contact initially stunned him, and he wore a shocked expression, but as he felt your tears on his neck and saw you burying your face, he sighed softly and embraced you just as wholeheartedly. His large hands gently rubbed your back, offering you the comfort you desperately needed.

Tech 🤍

"I believe I have something of yours," Tech announced as he walked into the cockpit, instantly piquing your curiosity. You couldn't quite recall giving him anything of yours, so you shot him a confused look. In response, he raised your datapad and playfully wiggled it in the air. "You should be careful where you leave things, especially during missions."

Your stomach plummeted, and your jaw dropped. You felt foolish for being so careless. Hunter had always stressed the importance of keeping your gear with you. The potential consequences of someone finding your device and tracking the others' locations weighed heavily on your mind. In a hushed tone, you asked, "Does Hunter know?" To your relief, Tech shook his head.

"I thought I'd do you the decency of giving you a warning. If it were Hunter who had discovered your oversight, the consequences would have been far more severe." Tech's reminder left you both relieved and also sincerely grateful for his discretion.

You stood up quickly, taking the device from Tech's grasp, and expressed your gratitude, saying, "Honestly, Tech, thank you. You didn't have to do that."

Tech remained nonchalant, replying, "I'm aware." But then, you took a step towards him. He watched you curiously, not used to being so close to you and especially as you gently wrapped your arms around his waist and pulled yourself into a hug, chin resting just in his shoulder.

He nearly dropped his own datapad at the unexpected physical contact, feeling his heart thump in his chest at the unfamiliar sensation. Tech had never been hugged before, and having someone he was growing fond of embrace him was certainly intriguing.

"Thanks again," you whisper softly in his ear before pulling away, leaving him in a state of surprise and curiosity.

Crosshair 🤍

You had been sitting there for a while, twiddling your thumbs and contemplating how to express your immense appreciation for Crosshair after the day's mission. He had saved you from a dangerous situation, and thanks to him, you were still alive and kicking. However, Crosshair was known for his intense and stoic demeanor, and you hadn't seen much gratitude directed his way since reuniting with his brothers and Omega. But, you wanted to change that. It was about time.

As you watched him at his makeshift shooting range, knocking down old canisters and bottles, you slowly made your way beside him.

"Don't say anything," he stated without even looking at you as you approached, causing you to pause with your words caught in your throat. You had anticipated this reaction from him, but you still felt the need to express your feelings.

"But—"

"Don't," he interrupted, lowering his rifle and glancing over his shoulder at you, his steely eyes piercing through you. "It was... nothing," he grumbled before turning his gaze away.

To him, maybe.

Disheartened, you turned to walk away, but an impulse tugged at you. You turned back to him and boldly wrapped your arms around him, pressing your cheek against his back.

Crosshair took a deep breath and stumbled slightly in his spot. But he didn't push you away. In fact, for a brief moment, he lowered his head and allowed the embrace. He hadn't felt this level of comfort in a long time. His rifle fell to the ground, and for a moment, he considered resting his hand on your arms, to touch you in return, but he resisted, not wanting to reveal his vulnerability at that moment.

"Alright, get off," he finally said after just a few seconds.

As you let go, he looked back at you however and there was just a faint hint of a smile. "You're welcome."

Masterlist

Tags: @andyoufollowyourheart @littlefeatherr @kaitou2417 @eyecandyeoz @captxin-rex @jesseeka @ashotofspotchka @theroguesully @ladykatakuri @jambolska-grozdova @arctrooper69 @padawancat97 @rain-on-kamino @either-madness-or-brilliance @staycalmandhugaclone @ko-neko-san @echos-girlfriend @fiveshelmet @dangraccoon @plushymiku-blog @chrissywakingup @kixs-husband @pb-jellybeans @nunanuggets @sleepycreativewriter @erellenora @zippingstars87 @tech-aficionado @grizabellasolo @therealnekomari @tech-depression-inventory @brynhildrmimi @greaser-wolf @tinyreadersmur @seriowan @kaminocasey @marvel-starwars-nerd @ladytano420 @ladyzirkonia @raevulsix @imalovernotahater @whore4rex @imperialclaw801 @temple-elder @mysticalgalaxysalad @photogirl894 @id-rather-be-a-druid @the-bad-batch-baroness 🧡🧡

[oceansssblue]

Hello! I hope you’re doing well! Can I request a fic where Omega gets injured and separated from the Batch for a few days, and the reader (female) takes care of her until they can find her brothers? One night stormtroopers/imperials come in to try and take her, but reader is a BAMF (maybe an ex-battlefield medic? She has access to blasters, knives, smoke grenades, etc. to make another part of this more believable) and is able to fight them off pretty easily. The problem is actually when the Batch shows up, and reader thinks they’re the enemy and the Batch thinks she’s holding Omega hostage or something. And thus, reader vs. the bad batch begins! No one kills each other because Omega comes down and clears everything up upon her hearing her brothers. It just took her a while to come over because, you know, injury.

Also I think it’d be fun if the reader did manage to pin Hunter, even if it’s only for a second and then she would likely get pinned back because . . . It’s the bad batch.

Sure thing love, I'm down!

Xx,

Sky.

"NOT YOUR ENEMY"

HUNTER/F READER 📩💖(💔)

WARNINGS: blood&wound, stitches, light mention of atempted assault to omega (nothing happens further than words), reader being a badass and killing some storm-troopers, fire/explosions, reader being shot, some teasing/sexual tension with Hunter... A hint of competency kink? It's mostly action/fluff!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You were just on your way back home after collecting your credits when your eyes capture the shine of a blade with the reflection of the moonlight. You've been trained to focus on such things; possible weapons, always being aware of your surroudings. If you're distracted, your dead. You weren't always; but it comes as natural as breathing to you, now.

You're not in the mood for a fight, though; so once you realise you're not the one in danger, you decide to pass this one out. If you go looking for a fight, it will find you. You're still tired of your last hunt; you're not feeling the thrill of a new chase just yet. That's until you hear a voice; way too innocent and young to be stuck in such a situation without proper defence.

Your steps backtrack silently and your eyes quickly scan the alley. It's a human girl; blonde, petite, and no older than fourteen. There are three males closing up on her; two humans, one twi'lek. You see the girl trying to get pass them, a nervous anxious smile on her face. You make your resolve right then and there.

You've got to be careful. You can't save everyone.

You move so quietly towards them they don't even realise you're right at their back until you voice up your request with your blaster pointing straight at them.

"Let's keep going on with our peacefull night walk, boys".

It's serious, firm, feigning boredom. Inside, you're as coiled as a snake, ready to strike.

Ready. Always ready. Don't trust anyone. An innocent looking enemy might be your death if you don't take him seriously, if you don't think he's a danger. If you grow complacent.

They glance at each other, evaluating their chances against you. Then down at the girl; their price if they won, or the reason of their downfall if they decide to engage you and lose. One of the humans shrugs lazily, making a head gesture towards the other two. They slowly follow him out of the alley.

"All yours" the last one snorts when he passes by you.

If someone backs down, let them go.

You swallow your furious retort and take hold of the girls wrist, tugging her in the other opening of the alley, opposite direction to them. You don't trust them not to follow you, try to catch you by surprise, so you don't stop until you're at the other side of town, walking towards the outskirts in the direction of your small house. You're still vigilant all the way.

"You alright, blondie?" You ask, glancing at her and scanning her body cautiously. "You got yourself a wound there, shirt's soaking up blood".

The girl looks down at herself and nods guiltily.

"Yeah, I, uh... Had some complications" she ends up saying, quietly, before her face quickly lits up. "Thanks for helping me, though! I appreciate it".

You nod and that's that.

"Do you have somewhere to go?"

She nibbles with her lower lip anxiously.

"Uh, yeah, but... I lost my coms in a fight, so I have no way of contacting my brothers. Can I... Stay with you for a bit til I find them? I'm sure they'll catch up to me in no time".

You glance at her and sigh quietly. You don't really want to get involved, but you have too much of a conscience to leave her to fetch for herself. She's just a kid, and you're a military medic. Well, were.

"Alright. But if you annoy me I'm pushing you out".

The kid grins. She looks even younger with the excitement and relief in her face.

"You remind me of one of my brothers. Grumpy" she adds, good-heartedly.

You huff.

"Not grumpy. Direct. Concise" you correct her. "It's different".

She chuckles quietly.

"Grumpy" she tells you again.

You roll your eyes. You're used to taking care of men; you haven't have much contact with kids before.

"You're not doing a good job of not annoying me, blondie".

She smiles and makes the universal gesture of zipping her mouth shut.

"I'm Omega, by the way" she tells you after a few seconds in silence.

You nod and glance at her again. You should really check that wound when you're back at home. It's bleeding quite a bit, even if you don't think it's deep enough to worry. You're sure you have enough meds at home to take care of it. Omega doesn't seem to be in pain either.

She stares at you while you walk, leading the way to your safe place; still expecting an answer. You glare at her before focusing back on your way home. This is going to end up being either surprisingly good or exasperate you to no end.

You relent.

"Nickname's Blade".

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Turns out Omega is pretty good company; which is quite a relief considering she's more injured than what you had originally thought and his brothers are no where to be seen after three whole days of her invasion of your privacy and home. You make sure to disinfect her wound and stitch it back together; you don't have strong opioids on stock, but she holds on surprisingly well, clenching her teeth and shutting her eyes, breathing through the pain. It makes your perspective of her change; she's not just any kid if she can push herself through that without barely making a noise. She's brave.

You cover the wound in bacta and dress it carefully; and make sure to change them to new ones twice a day. At the third night you inspect the closed wound carefully, the aspect of the skin and wether the stitches are still in good place; it seems to be progressing well. You still force her to bed rest; your new sleeping place your backpack layed on the wooden floor beside her. She feels guilty about it, and it shows; you only aknowledge it with a quiet hum. You're not going to deny you'd like your bed back; but you've slept in much worse conditions before.

I know it's difficult to fall asleep. Just try to tune it out. Think on other things.

On that third night, when you turn the lights out, Omega cautiously asks you about the origin of your nickname. You tell her your story. How you got your degree in Medicine in Coruscant's University; how you mastered in Galactic Bioscience when the war hit it's peak. How you started your first working years as a doctor in a clinic while you constantly heard about the battalions of clones being shipped elsewhere; defending all of you while you stayed with your simple Coruscanti life. How that hadn't set well inside of you; how you struggled with guiltiness and empathy every single day until you took the decision to enlist in the volunteers for the GAR. You tell her that switching to military medic had been a struggle at first; but the gratification was unmessurable. You were really needed there; you really did a change saving all those brave troopers lifes. You grew to respect them and admire those men like you had never admired someone before.

Unfortunately, with being a woman in military service, and a volunteer at that, very few troopers thought it meant you weren't able to defend yourself. To fight. When one cocky, snarky trooper had insinuated that publicly in the middle of the comedor, you had done what you believed was your right and justice by shutting his mouth; snarling back a warning while using your knife to nail down the sleeve of his upper blacks to the dinning table, blade sliding just a few inches away from his skin.

Omega's eyes are wide open while she listens to the anecdote. Yeah, it had made an impact among the clone lines as well.

"Okay, you're giving me Hunter vibes with the knife things now" she giggles in the darkness of your bedroom.

You arch an eyebrow, humming under your breath uncomitedly.

"What, he a soldier too?"

Omega is quick –too quick– to correct you.

"No, no. Mercenaries".

You'd give her the sceptical side eye if you had her in front of you. You let your voice carry your suspicion instead.

"Running around with a kid like you?"

The girl stumbles to answer. It's obvious there's more to the story there, but you believe she is trying to protect her siblings, so you let it be.

"Hey, I can defend myself!" She argues with a small huff, voice turning sheepish right after the outburst, considering your actual situation. "Well, on most ocasions. Life works in unexpected ways sometimes".

You can't help the snort that comes with her words.

"You bet" you answer sarcastically. You sigh tiredly and close your eyes again. "Good night, Omega".

You hear her reacomodating softly against the sheets.

"Night, Blade".

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You've always been a light sleeper. As soon as the alarm rings, you're jumping out of your sleeping bag and rushing to get your armour on –now stripped of all Republic marks– and backpack on your shoulders; already prepared with the basics in case you came across an emergency like this. You take a quick glance at the datapad you have conected to the cams you've got set up on the surroundings of your cabin; cursing under your breath.

"Omega" you call her sharply, shaking her awake without an inch of sympathy. "Get up and ready to go. Don't make me repeat myself".

The girl blinks sleepily, but she reads the urgency in your voice. She understands this is no joke; so she quickly jumps into action too, abandoning the comfort and warmth of the bed and quickly throwing her clothes on too, electrical bow clutched in her hands. She stares at you wide eyed.

"What's going on?" She whispers, nervously.

You ruffle through your closet, jaw clenched and set on the task of preparing yourself for the worst. One blaster gets inmediately strapped at each outer thigh; your belt of knifes looping around your waist. One vibroblade goes into the safe-pocket of your right vambrace; your second one on your left leg. You stuff your bag with a few extra surprises and tie up your hair. It's time to move.

Time is precious. Time is life. Don't be slow. Do it fast, and do it good.

"Stormtroopers" you finally answer her, cinching your backpack firmly on your shoulders, expresion growing firm and serious. "Got this whole area studied in case someone found out about my past and went towards me, but I didn't think it would be this many enemies. I think there's something you haven't told me, but there's no time for that now. Listen carefully, 'cause I'm not gonna' say this twice".

Omega nods, just slightly afraid, and you push a smaller datapad into her hands.

"This is a second safe house I've got prepared not too far away from here, close to the lake" you explain to her, quickly. "Follow the map and go there. There's different routes saved up in case you find one blocked or any other difficulties. Be silent, be quick, and you shouldn't have much problem getting there. Once you're inside, open the closet in the corner of the cabin and in the first drawer you'll see another datapad. It controls some explosives I've got set around that house. If for some reason the stormtroopers get to the safehouse before I do, blow them up, and run away. I'll be able to track your location if you have that datapad on you, it's conected to mine, so I'll find you sooner or later. Got it?"

Omega nods, brow furrowed in concentration. She looks up at you anxiously.

"What will you do? You're not... Coming with me?"

You shake your head.

"I'll buy you time" you answer, firm. "Got a few surprises set out round here as well, and I'm trained. I'll clear this out and follow you to the safe house".

You open the door of the cabin and take a carefull glance out. You make a gesture towards her.

"You should go now. They're still a kilometer away".

Omega stays stuck to the floor. You narrow your eyes at her.

"Go" you snap towards her. Then, your eyes soften. "I will go after you, I promise".

Don't promise things that aren't in your hand to make it happen or not.

But promises give hope.

False hope.

Sometimes false hope is all you need to fight harder.

Omega runs into the forest, and you're quick to close the door and abandon the cabin as well, finding your hiding spot among the trees and keeping an eye at the aproaching stormtroopers through your datapad.

You knew this kid meant trouble. Well, if war is what they want... Your fingers caresses the hilts of your blades. That's what they'll get.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

You logically know you're no match for these stormtroopers if you were to pull a direct open attack on them. You use your advantages, though; you're in your territory, one you know well, and they're advancing with blind trust that you'd be no real danger to them. It does wonders for your counter attack, and you silently move through the forest, killing one lonely soldier after the other with just a quick slash of your blade, throats splitting open and last words muffled against the palm of your globed hand in a wet gurgle of confusion and pannick. You gently let each body fall to the ground before you're moving towards the next one, checking their positions on your datapad through the cams you've got almost everywhere; lethal, quick, and quiet.

When they finally discover you –one soldier catching you silently opening the throat of a fellow one, and he shouts out your position in alarm–you've already killed half of them in the silence of the night.

It turns harder after that. They know you're around, they're aware, active; they know you're not an innocent normal civilian any longer. You're danger, real; they're coordinated, and they move fast as well. You hadn't used your blasters before in order to take advantage of the element of surprise; but you need them now, so you dodge and take your shot at them. Two more fall down before two of their own shots hit both your blaster –ripping it from your hand– and your right shoulder. You swallow your scream of pain and whimper quietly, clenching your jaw shut. You push through the pain and retreat back to the cabin in a hurry; it's your best chance.

It's a game of agility and speed. If you get there first, and they close around your home, you'll detonate the explosives hidden in the ground and kill them all. If they catch you before you're able to do that... It's you who'll end up dead.

Adrenaline rushes through your body and you feel like you're flying while you run. A shot scorches the armour plate on your back, and though it makes you stumble, you grin darkly. You've made it, and they're all dead.

You turn around to watch them and press the button on your datapad. All around you, the forest explodes and burns.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Once you make sure there are no survivors around you –you have to shoot a pair of them down who are still struggling to breathe through the scorching pain–, you take a bacta pad from your backpack and cover your wound with it, wrapping a bandage around it to properly secure it before you're walking away from you're no-longer home. You'll tend to it properly afterwards, later; right now you don't feel like it's safe to stay here, where you've caused such a wrath. You need to get to your safe house. You need to find Omega; and you bet these stormtroopers must have reinforcements somewhere.

Fuck, this is all a mess. This is going to put a bullseye on your back and you would probably never be safe in this planet again; you should probably make a jump more sooner than later.

You sigh tiredly and continue making your way through the forest, periodically checking your datapad. You feel relieved to know that at least Omega's signal is permanently stationed there on your second cabin.

You're still checking the cams, so there should not be a way for you to get surprised; but almost upon arriving your safe house, you catch a blur of grey, red, orange and blue moving towards you at high speed with the corner of your eyes. You barely have time to identify what it is before you're being brutally tackled to the ground with a painful grunt. You fight back viciously, cataloging the man's appearance while you swing your vibroblade and try to slash him with it; the soldier quickly grabbing your hand and forcing you to drop the weapon with brutal force, almost twisting your wrist and fingers in his effort. You hiss and roll around, keeping him under you this time. It's not like you're lacking knifes...

You manage to draw one from your belt and push it right to his neck when someone else clears his throat at your back; making you glance back.

Fuck, this one's huge.

"Need some help, sarge?" He almost mocks him, and you're momentarily surprised by the entertainment in his voice, the camaraderie between this two stormtroopers as clear as the water from Naboo lakes.

You quickly pull your second blaster out and try to shoot at him; but he's faster, and he shoots back, hitting the very center of your chest plate. The impact is so close it pushes you off from the first soldier's body; who quickly takes advantage of the momentum to efectivelly pin you under him, no way of escaping them now.

Your mind is divided between trying to cope with the pain on your chest and the pannicking fact that you're trapped, and this is probably your end. Angry, frightened tears fill your eyes.

"Where is she?" the soldier on top of you demands, voice deep and almost raspy.

You narrow your eyes at him.

"Go fuck yourself" you spit in between your panting breaths.

The big one chuckles.

The trooper on top of you rips his helmet off and stares at you; clenching his jaw. You get why he decided to do that; he looks intimidating, with half of his face tattoed in black, almost mimicking a skeleton. He lowers his face and you can't help but grow tense.

"You did a good job with those stormtroopers, but I don't have any patience left, mercenary. Where. Is she".

He presses you against the floor with his hands on your shoulder, and you whimper involuntarily when he pushes against your covered wound.

The fact that he has refered to the stormtroopers with "those" slowly registers your mind. He talks about them as if they weren't ones themselves. You quickly scan them with your eyes. They're definitely not clones, no –at least not the normal ones–, and they are soldiers. Perhaps they belong to some other organization? But what could they want Omega for?

"Not a mercenary, just a normal civ here" you push through the pain and actually grin at him, defiantly, almost whispering against his lips. "And like I said; go fuck yourself".

His right hand turns into a fist and retreats, prepared to hit you, when a pannicked voice echoes in the silence of the forest, running towards you.

"Hunter! W-wait!"

The soldier's head snap towards the girl and his eyes fill with confusion, relief, and worry.

"Step back, Omega. Stay away" he orders, with a familiarity that suddenly makes everything gain sense.

The facts falls into place. This is Hunter, the brother Omega mentioned before; the one with the vibroblade. Your eyes fly to the spot for it in his own vambrace. Oh, you're all so stupid. You've almost killed each other looking for the same thing; to protect the kid.

"She's not your enemy!" Omega insists, panting while she finally reaches you lot, the big guy holding her back with a carefully heavy hand on her shoulder, a confused expresion in his scared face. "This is Blade. She was a GAR medic. She's being helping me since I got separated from you, protected me from some bad guys and even stitched my wound up and everything. Please, Hunter. I'm okay".

The man's eyes scan her up and down; first focusing on her covered stomach, searching for the wound, before continuing with the rest of her. Once he confirms she's okay, he locks eyes with Omega; both of them staring at each other for a few seconds before Hunter sighs and turns his face back towards you. You breathe and try to calm your speeding heart.

"Where exactly did you serve?" He asks, voice firm but more gentle now.

He still holds you tightly under him. As much as he wants to believe those words, he needs to check the information out.

You answer him patiently.

"327th Star Corps, under Bly and General Secura".

Hunter repeats the information over his coms without taking his eyes from you. A flicker of surprise crosses his serious expression; perhaps noticing you didn't name the Comander by his rank, but his name.

Okay, Blades. You can consider us friends now.

Your heart clenches. You glance away.

"The information appears to be correct, Hunter" a self-assured voice picks up in between the static. "There's plenty of data of a doctor going by the nickname Blade on the old GAR registers. Including the incident that prompted such name, amongst dozens of post-mission reports and recomendations. She's being searched by the Empire as well".

The coms grow silent again, and Hunter inmediately relaxes his hold on you, trusting his –other brother, you guess?– entirely.

"Forgive me" he tells you, standing up and offering you his own hand, a guilty and almost sheepish expresion on his face now. "I thought..."

"I was a mercenary that killed all those stormtroopers just to collect a price, yeah, I know" you cut him off, slowly standing up as well and wincing at the pain.

Now that the adrenaline is dropping, you feel exhausted and nautious.

"Not that she isn't a cute kid and that, but what's so special about her?" You can't help but ask.

They all tense, and you sigh in understanding.

"Family keeps family safe, okay" you accept.

Hunter's eyes flicker down towards your scorched chest plate and your bandaged shoulder. Blood is staining the bandage now, after the pressure he put on your wound seconds ago. He frowns.

"You hurt?"

You nod quietly.

"Believe it or not, trying to get rid of a whole squad of stormtroopers on your own is not that easy" you find enough energy to joke.

A tiny smirk tugs on his lips.

"Oh, I know. I'm impressed, though".

The booming voice of his other brother almost startles you into a jump.

"Yeah, we all are!"

You smile and shrug.

Hunter glances around.

"We should get out of here. We got our ship docked close. Want us to take you somewhere?" He offers.

"Any other planet would be nice" you answer, and he nods.

"Sorry for all the trouble. And thank you" he finally says, and you sigh with a small tired smile.

"Alright".

With nothing more to say, Hunter leads the way back to their ship, Omega walking besides him and Wrecker closing the line. You can't help but analise the man's interactions with the girl. It's sweet, really, the fatherly way he looks at her. It's hot too.

Oh well. You can't help but think that either. He looks good fighting, and you always had a bit of a competency kink.

THE END.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Fiuuuuuuu!!!! This one took me really long to write bc I'm DYING with my exams and I have 0,0000001% energy (and time) spare to write. I'm actually finishing this off rn after reading my last unit for the day, i'm exhausted send help.

Anyhow, I think this little story developed okay, so I hope you like it! In case any of you hadn't guess it yet or still had doubts, the cursive stands for thoughts and memories of female reader back in battle with the GAR and her men. It's always so fun to write badass characters!

We've got JUST ONE MORE REQUEST to write (a super fluffy hunter one with dancer!femalereader) to oficially finish the second part of my requests list (will open a third one in the future don't fret). That would be 20 requests already look at that!

Also, I just need 7 more followers to make it to a hundred, and I've been thinking on doing something special for it. Suggestions?

Stay tunned for the next one and take care!

Xx,

Sky.

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