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wolveria · 9 months ago

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On Frozen Wings - Ch 4

Pairing: Crosshair x Hunter

Rating: 18+ only, Explicit

The squad settle on Pabu in a more permanent way, and Crosshair sends some very confusing signals (until he doesn't).

AO3

Hunter’s struggle to wakefulness was slow, a pleasant heaviness on his limbs, his surroundings soft.

That… was unusual.

He opened his eyes, taking in the dim room, gently lit with the morning glow behind drawn curtains. That was the second thing he noticed. The first, he was in bed alone.

Crosshair’s scent was at least two hours’ old, and Hunter sighed into the pillow. His body ached pleasantly, his sluggishness suggesting he’d slept a full night. Couldn’t remember the last time he did that.

The rest of him might be half-asleep, but his cock was at full attention, remembering what had happened before collapsing into the soft bed.

Frustrated, he got up and forced himself to dress finding whatever he could in the drawers, which ended up being an eggshell-colored top to match the trousers, along with a pair of dark undershorts. His old clothes and armor were gone, even his boots missing, and he could only surmise Crosshair was the reason.

After taking a leak and washing his face, giving up on trying to make his hair manageable, he stepped outside. Hunter breathed in the morning air, savoring it. He never got tired of the salty breeze, alive and warm in a way the Kaminoan sea had never been. Still, something about it was… comfortingly familiar. A better version of home.

He leaned against the railing, admiring the waking bustle below, but he wasn’t alone for long.

“Hello!”

He’d heard her coming, but he still blinked slowly at the girl smiling up at him, a bowl of fruit in hand.

“Morning,” Hunter greeted, unsure. “Sorry, Crosshair isn’t here.”

“Oh, I know.” Lyana smiled at him sweetly, as if she found his slowness amusing. “This is for you.”

“Me?”

“Mmhm.”

She offered up the bowl, and he had no choice but to take it. Hunter stared from her to the innocuous-looking fruit.

“You… knew I was here?”

“Of course!”

She offered no further explanation, and Hunter was afraid to ask.

“Thanks.” His response was warmer this time. “Say hi to your dad for me. Oh, and I might come by later, see if he needs anything while we’ve got some downtime.”

“Will do! Bye, Mister Hunter!”

With a cheery wave, she disappeared around the corner. Hunter shook his head with a faint smile of sympathy for Shep. Omega was growing out of her energetic hurricane stage, but Hunter was more than a little apprehensive about soon having a teenager on his hands.

At least, he wouldn’t have to raise her alone.

Hunter didn’t know when Crosshair would be back, so he slipped on a pair of sandals that fit surprisingly well, and headed off to the Marauder, bowl in hand. He didn’t plan on eating but ended up sneaking a few pieces for himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been actively hungry.

Omega and Wrecker were gathered at the lower gangplank when he found them, preparing to go down to the docks.

The hound was also there, and she hopped up and bounded toward him, forcing Hunter to dodge to the side in her effort to get at the fruit.

“All right.” He laughed and patted her head crest. “Settle, girl.”

“She’s just excited to see you,” Omega said, and then gave him a curious once-over at his different clothing. “You were gone all night.”

“Ah… yeah…”

Hunter had no idea what to say, how to even start explaining whatever this thing was with Crosshair, and he looked at Wrecker in a wordless cry for help.

“Uh,” Wrecker said, as equally elegant. “Wherever it was, you look good! Er, well-rested! Yeah!”

Omega frowned at them both, and it was a little unsettling how the expression looked so much like a certain sniper.

Wrecker rallied as best he could, rubbing Batcher’s side where she’d flopped down next to him.

“Oh, yeah, thought I should tell ya. Crosshair left your stuff here before he took off.” He made a face. “We spent all morning at the cleaner tryin’ to get our gear scrubbed. I swear, I can still taste that place.”

Hunter winced, both at the remembered odor, and at the thought that Crosshair had let him sleep in when he should have been helping.

In fact, it was starting to feel like Crosshair was avoiding him again.

“Took off? Where?”

Wrecker shrugged, and then got to his feet since Omega was done packing their supplies for the day. Wherever she went with Wrecker, whether to help out or explore, she always took snacks enough for him and Batcher.

“Probably where he always goes,” Wrecker added with a thoughtful look.

Ah. That would mean a hidden cove and a harried AZI.

“Right, thanks. For that, and for taking care of our gear.”

“You got it, Sarge.”

Wrecker sent a little lopsided salute, and for some reason that set Batcher off, huffing excitedly and running around his legs, and she was joined by a smiling Omega waving goodbye to him.

Hunter returned it with a lift of his own hand, and once they were gone, he frowned up at the Marauder. Sure enough, his gear was inside, the clothes folded next to the armor pieces, cuirass, and helmet. By the way they were neatly creased, he could guess who had folded them.

He should put them on. They needed to be ready to don their armor at a moment’s notice, prepared for any situation.

He just… didn’t feel like wearing it today. Tomorrow he would, and the day after that. But not today.

Hunter left the armor behind and went off in search of the cove that Crosshair had taken to as his firing range.

But… Crosshair wasn’t there. And there wasn’t any sign he’d been there that day, either.

Hunter briefly considered searching him out—there were only so many places he could go on a small island—but he dismissed it. He needed to break this habit of trailing after him, and if Crosshair really wanted to find him, he would.

Besides, he’d already offered his time to Shep, and whatever the man needed done would be a good distraction.

It was, it turned out. Shep greeted him with his usual warm cheeriness, and his compliment at Hunter’s casual wear was enthusiastic enough to make his cheeks warm.

Huh. Between Wrecker and Shep, Hunter might actually believe he didn’t look half-bad.

Hunter didn’t need to worry that he would go the entire day without his sniper. He spotted Crosshair down at the eastern docks while on his way to pick up a couple of shipments of green Gabaki leaf.

Crosshair didn’t notice him, too focused on his own task where he sat on the pier. Hunter couldn’t tell what he was doing at first, but when he got closer, he spotted the basket of loose fiber twine, and the way Crosshair meticulously threaded and tied the strands together until they formed a taut rope.

Hunter had no idea where he’d learned to do that. Maybe he just had. The movements were fluid, graceful, and Hunter paused to watch, mesmerized.

At one point, Crosshair faulted as his right hand inevitably trembled, but instead of clenching his fist and frowning in an inward turn of frustration, he loosened his fingers and took a breath. Hunter watched, amazed, as Crosshair waited for the trembling to subside before he continued his task.

Seemed whatever Omega did while they were gone had helped, and Hunter’s lips tugged upward at the thought.

As if he could sense anyone having a nice thought in his direction, Crosshair narrowed his eyes and looked up.

Hunter quickly turned away, and with a large food trolley rolling down the boardwalk to block his view, he wasn’t sure if Crosshair had spotted him. By the faint, tingling pressure at the back of his neck, Hunter guessed he hadn’t succeeded.

He didn’t want to distract Crosshair from his work—that’s all. He didn’t feel… unsteady about last night. It had been nice. Felt nice, too. And falling asleep next to Crosshair had been the most natural thing in the galaxy.

He just wasn’t sure how Crosshair felt about it, and that was new. There was a time he thought he knew how Crosshair felt about everything.

Forcing his thoughts back to the task at hand, Hunter handed the woman at the dock the bag Shep had given him. From their feel, they were jewelry or shells and beads, and it wasn’t unusual for such trades on the island. The economic system on Pabu relied on goodwill and gifts, rather than any kind of currency.

Hunter balanced the two crates of green Gabaki on his shoulder, his next stop the infirmary to drop off the medicinal herb. He didn’t mind the walk, the chance to learn more of the island and enjoy the fresh breeze, but he wasn’t sure about some of the looks he was getting. Most people ignored him or gave him a polite nod, but more than one person stared at him for longer than usual.

He frowned. Had he worn something he shouldn’t? Something against etiquette, or wrong for the season or time of day. There didn’t seem anything particularly special about his clothes, just that they were thinner and looser from what he usually wore.

The answer wasn’t forthcoming, and Hunter tried to put it out of his mind as he continued his tasks. He didn’t run into Crosshair the rest of the day, though once in a while something tugged at the back of his neck, a familiar feeling of being watched.

For lunch he stopped by the house, only to find it still empty. Hunter tried not to let that fact bother him, and he spent the rest of the day between running errands and checking in on folks who might need help—people who lived alone, were older, or had medical issues.

Hunter also stopped by the house the former clone cadets shared. Stak, Mox, and Deke were all settling in well, better than he would have thought, but they were still young. They hadn’t had a lifetime of being told their only use was to be a good, obedient soldier. And Hunter was grateful for that.

They certainly seemed more excited to see him than Omega and Wrecker were. Not that they minded Hunter there, they were just doing fine without him, combing the island for whatever treasures they could find (seashells seemed to be the choice of the day). Hunter felt a little like the odd man out.

With a small smile, he realized that was exactly it. His family was settling in, genuinely this time, and they didn’t need him hovering over them like an overprotective gundark mother with a den of cubs.

It was a nice change, but still unfamiliar. He should… be fine with it. Not being needed.

Well, perhaps there was one thing left he could do.

That night, after having an extensive conversation over dinner with Shep, Hunter approached the Marauder, trying to fight down the grin and keep his face neutral. Wrecker, Omega, and the hound were there, having just finished their own meal. He felt a little guilty he hadn’t eaten with them, but it was for good reason.

Still no Crosshair in sight, but he couldn’t hide forever. After all, Hunter knew where he lived.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

Omega turned to him, halfway up the gangplank and fighting a yawn, and she fixed him with a confused frown. Yeah, he could definitely see the resemblance.

“To… bed?” she tried. Even Wrecker was giving Hunter a look like he’d missed something crucial.

Hunter’s lips twitched, but he kept his sergeant-serious expression.

“Grab your stuff,” Hunter said, arms crossed as he looked between them. “Both of you.”

Now they both looked a little concerned, and he shouldn’t find this as amusing as he did. But he had to get his kicks somewhere, and they’d forgive him when they saw what he had planned.

Wrecker must have seen something in his eyes, because suddenly he grinned—he’d seen that pretend-sternness before, usually right before Hunter presented them with some new weapon or detonator, courtesy of the Republic experimental weapons division.

It’d a long time since Hunter had a reason to gift them with a surprise, and with any luck, this one wouldn’t explode.

Wrecker’s enthusiasm immediately infected Omega, and she went bounding into the ship ahead of him, both of them a whirlwind as they grabbed their meager belongings. They had to travel light while living on a ship.

Hopefully… that would soon change.

After they both left the ship, Hunter pressed a button on his comm to retract the gangplank and close the hatch. Omega watched with a questioning look, but Wrecker was far too eager to pay much attention, and the hound caught on to the joyful air, huffing and dancing circles around them.

Hunter winced a little. He’d forgotten to mention Batcher in his conversation with Shep, but he figured the man knew she was inseparable from Omega. It would be fine. Probably.

He led them down the wide stairs that wrapped around the upper portion of the island, and then along one of the upper ledges where several smatterings of huts were dotted around in clusters.

One stood off alone and higher than the others, and Hunter noted the light was on inside. His stomach fluttered, but he didn’t lead them toward that house, instead guiding them to a larger one that was nestled against the wall. It was close to the path winding to the other hut but gave enough distance for privacy.

It was perfect. He could only hope the others thought so as well as he opened the front door and stepped aside.

“Go on,” he finally said when neither of them moved.

The two shared a glance, as if two children unsure if they were allowed to open a present set before them, and Omega finally asked, “Whose house is this?”

“Well…” The corners of his mouth twitched. “Ours. At least, it can be, if we want—”

He didn’t finish before the three of them, hound included, rushed inside.

Hunter followed at a slower pace, his smile no longer hidden. He leaned against one of the inner walls, just watching as they scoured the place. He’d stopped by that evening to make sure it would even fit them all, and it would. It had been their good fortune to be empty at the time, the previous family having moved to a hut closer to the docks.

Hunter sensed it before he heard anything—a familiar presence behind him, electrifying enough to cause the back of his neck to tingle.

“They seem happy,” Crosshair drawled, his tone almost bored as he leaned inside the open doorway.

Hunter gave a small grunt, his eyes purposefully forward.

“You gave me the idea, actually.”

“Is that so?”

His tone might be flat, but Hunter could hear the curiosity poking out from underneath.

“Yeah. Figured if we’re going to stay here… then we should stay here.”

“No more foot halfway out the door?”

Hunter glanced over his shoulder. Crosshair had him in his sights with his full attention, and Hunter swallowed.

Crosshair was asking about much more than just the housing situation.

Before Hunter could answer—and perhaps point out that he wasn’t the one who kept vanishing—Batcher loped into the room, skidding to a stop just before Crosshair. She sat on her haunches and wagged her tail with sudden good behavior.

Crosshair’s face softened, and he patted the hound on her head. She gave a happy, canine grin and stood up just to plop against his legs, silently begging for more head pats. Hunter hadn’t realized he could be envious of an animal.

“Crosshair!” Omega crowed with equal delight. “You’re here!”

“Of course I am,” he answered, as if there was no other option. “I could hear you halfway down the mountain.”

Hunter winced. Fair enough, they had to work on their volume now that they had neighbors, Crosshair being one of them.

Omega frowned.

“Wait, there’s only three rooms. What about Crosshair?”

When Crosshair didn’t immediately answer, Hunter glanced at him and was met with a raised brow, one that asked, You didn’t tell her?

Hunter winced again, and—all right, he didn’t mean to withhold information, it was an old habit. He should have mentioned Crosshair’s place. He just… hadn’t.

“He has his own house, up the path.” Before any other questions could be asked, Hunter added, “And the third room isn’t for me. It’s for Echo. He can have a room of his own when he visits.”

Omega frowned further, mirrored by Wrecker, and she asked the next question that froze Hunter in place.

“So… where will you be sleeping?”

He found himself without an answer, his brain unhelpfully refusing to supply words. Instead, he looked at Crosshair as if for help. That was his first mistake.

Crosshair’s eyes sparkled.

“With me.”

Well, he hadn’t saved Hunter, so much as he’d slackened the line he’d tossed and let Hunter dangle further down the cliff.

“He means, I’ll be staying at his place,” Hunter supplied weakly.

“Oh.” Omega looked between them. “So, you have lots of rooms too?”

“No. Just the one.”

Crosshair wasn’t even bothering to hide the mirth in his voice, and Hunter’s face had started to heat, grown worse when Wrecker’s brows rose in a way that meant he understood a little too much.

“All right,” Hunter interceded when the silence grew too long, “go on, unpack what you need for bed. You can stay up—not too late.”

He knew that instruction would be flouted by the poorly disguised innocent expressions, but that was all right. They deserved an all-nighter if it meant they got to enjoy their new living arrangements.

“And… Batcher can stay inside too?” Omega asked, hopeful, as if worried this was all a trick that would be taken away at a moment’s notice. Hearing her name, the hound joined in, and both of them stared up at him with big, sad eyes as Omega hugged her around the neck.

Hunter sighed. Just because he knew he was being manipulated didn’t make it any less effective.

“Yeah. Course she can.”

Omega’s face brightened in triumph, but she quickly tamped it down with a contrite look that didn’t fool anyone.

“And… Lyana can come visit? Maybe even stay the night?”

“If it’s fine with Shep then it’s fine with me.”

“Deke, Stak, and Mox?”

Hunter hesitated this time. He had first-hand experience with the mischief young clones could get up to, whether or not they were still technically cadets.

“…Yes to visiting, no to sleeping over.”

“And Phee?”

Hunter again hesitated. There was a time where he’d rather have thrown himself into the ocean than listen to one more of her tall tales. But… after everything that had happened, and the home they’d made here, Hunter considered her one of them now.

“Yeah,” he said softly, “and Phee.”

Omega launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

He blinked down at her before resting a hand on her head. She’d grown so much while they’d been separated—she came up to his chest now, and he didn’t know what to think about that. So much time lost with her, and Crosshair, and…

“Thank you,” she said, and the words tugged at a soft spot in his heart. He returned her smile and gave a nod of acknowledgement. When she detached herself from him, Hunter’s vision was suddenly filled with Wrecker, and he barely had time to prepare when the bigger clone picked him up in a crushing hug.

“Yeah, thanks, Sarge!”

Hunter made a small noise, all he could do with his air cut off, and Wrecker set him down with a large grin. Well, at least he’d gotten out that annoying crick in his back.

As the two excitedly unpacked their few belongings, he watched with a sense of lightness he hadn’t felt in a long time.

And then he got that feeling again, the tugging on the back of his neck. When he turned to look, Crosshair didn’t bother to hide the fact he was staring.

Staring was a mild word for how Crosshair burned a hole through him, and the laser focus distracted him from the hand that encircled his wrist. Hunter was pulled out the door before he knew what was happening, but he followed along in the dark, willingly.

Hunter was barely inside the house before Crosshair slammed his palm over the locking mechanism. The door slid shut behind him, and Hunter was crowded against the door, back hitting the surface.

And then Crosshair was on him, greedy lips his neck as his hands roamed with a fervor that jolted Hunter’s hips.

Crosshair’s smug smirk was imprinted against his throat as he pressed him further against the surface, his armor a cruel barrier against Hunter’s loose clothing and suddenly sensitive skin.

He made some kind of noise, temporarily losing the ability to speak, and Crosshair took it as a sign to continue. Hunter didn’t realize what he was about to do, even when Crosshair dropped to his knees, his brain finally catching up when he pulled his pants and undershorts around his thighs.

“Cr-Crosshair,” he choked. “You don’t have to.”

Crosshair hummed thoughtfully, and then while meeting Hunter’s eye, he dragged his tongue along the underside of his painfully hard cock.

The sound punched out of Hunter was so unlike him, a desperate, weak whimper, and Crosshair grinned like the nexu he was.

“Oh, I know.” Crosshair continued to run his tongue over his cock, little kitten-licks that would make Hunter confess to anything if this suddenly became an interrogation session. “But the way you strutted around in that outfit all day—”

Hunter whimpered again as Crosshair dragged his tongue over the dripping head of his cock.

“Strutted?!” His indignation was lost as he groaned.

“Mmhmm.” Crosshair gently sucked on the head, and Hunter swore he could have seen stars. “Showing off that ass like you’re begging to be bent over the nearest surface. Which… if that’s what you want, you could just ask.”

Hunter made another pathetic noise as Crosshair took more of him into his mouth, and it was an uphill battle trying to follow along with his words while he was being sucked into that wet heat. Stars, he wasn’t going to last long like this.

When Hunter didn’t give any sort of intelligible response, Crosshair pulled off his cock. The sniper frowned up at him as Hunter blinked, and his head cleared a little.

“…What?”

Maybe not that clear.

Crosshair frowned further, but there was an uncharacteristic softness in his eyes.

“How do you want it?” Crosshair asked, and the unusual softness was in his tone too. “Me inside you? Or do you want to fuck me?”

It was like laying a table full of sweet cakes and fruit pies in front of Wrecker and asking where he wanted to start first. He was frozen in indecision—everything sounded damned good, and it was almost impossible to make what felt like an important choice with Crosshair’s mouth so close to his weeping cock.

“I… donno,” Hunter finally admitted. “I just want you.”

“Mmm.” Crosshair’s hum wasn’t helpful, his hand slowly massaging the base of Hunter’s cock even less so. “Ever received a blowjob before?”

Hunter blinked.

“You mean… other than right now?”

Crosshair’s low laugh sent a bolt through his already tense groin.

“Oh, this? This is nothing.” And as if to prove his point, he dragged his tongue around the head, threatening to buckle Hunter’s knees.

“Th-then, no. Never had one.”

The look in Crosshair’s eyes was downright dangerous, predatory and sharp.

“Good.”

It was all the warning he got before Crosshair descended on him. He took his cock into his mouth and hollowed out his cheeks, at the same moment his hands stroked and pulled Hunter’s length, every part of him at Crosshair’s mercy.

Crosshair focused on his mission like he would any other, with an inhuman amount of focused patience and lethal determination. It was all Hunter could do to brace against the door and not lose his footing completely, though at one point, one of his hands found its way to Crosshair’s head.

Hunter hadn’t realized how much he needed touch until recently, and he cradled the crown of his head, running his bare fingers over the short stubble. He suddenly missed the silver strands and the opportunity to run his hand though it like this. Crosshair never would have let him do this back then. He was pretty sure of that.

Though with the laser-focused determination on his cock, Hunter wasn’t sure of much. Whatever this was with Crosshair, it didn’t feel like a new, fleeting idea he was entertaining on a whim. It felt like a starving man finally given food after years of neglect.

Hunter’s whine was punctuated by a shout as Crosshair cupped his balls and gently kneaded them, and with a further nudging of Hunter’s thighs, the sniper found what he was looking for.

He couldn’t get very far going in dry, but the pressure of Crosshair’s finger against the pucker of muscle was enough to arch Hunter’s back, and with a warning that was little more than a strangled whimper, Hunter came.

Crosshair didn’t pull away or relent, instead swallowing everything Hunter gave and milked him for more. Tears prickled in his eyes at the overstimulation, but Crosshair wasn’t satisfied until his balls were empty and nothing else would come out of his sore, twitching cock.

Hunter tried to catch his breath, one hand still on Crosshair’s head. He expected the sniper to slink away, make some snide comment before rebuilding whatever defenses he’d had to let down for this.

But Crosshair stayed where he was. Hunter experimentally cupped his face, and Crosshair leaned into his palm like a lonely animal starved for attention.

Hunter continued to hold him like that, enthralled by the soft absence of tension on Crosshair’s face, his eyes closing as Hunter stroked a thumb along his cheek. It was… sweet. Really sweet.

He didn’t quite know how he wanted to go about this yet, but he was beginning to. He wanted to make Crosshair feel good. Not out a sense of guilt or obligation, but it did have to do with the complicated history between them. An apology and a promise. Making amends in a very unconventional way.

Hunter could have stayed like that forever, especially when Crosshair rested his cheek against his thigh, skin warm against bare skin. But then the sniper decided there was too much peace going on for his liking, and he leaned forward and dragged a lick across his soft cock.

Hunter twitched, and when Crosshair did it again, he knew it would take only a few more strokes of that wicked tongue to make him hard again.

“Crosshair.”

“Mmm?” He sounded completely unbothered by Hunter’s tone of warning.

“You gonna let me return the favor?”

Crosshair gave another lazy lick, this time along the junction between his length and his balls—and yeah, Hunter was about to have the most sensitive hard-on in his life if he didn’t stop this.

He managed to drag the lanky sniper to his feet, and instead of receiving an expected snarl, Crosshair just gave him a faint, smug smirk. There was also an interesting haze of pleasure to his eyes, as if he’d been the one coming down someone’s throat, not Hunter.

But when Hunter reached for his codpiece, the pleasurable haze disappeared and was replaced by stubbornness, and he batted Hunter’s hand away.

“It’s not about favors, Hunter.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said with his own frustrated huff. Why was it Crosshair’s damn lot in life to make everything so difficult? “But I… but you need…”

Crosshair raised his brows, and Hunter blundered his way through his increasing difficulty in talking.

“That’s twice now for me, and you haven’t come at all.”

The eyeroll was more dramatic than it needed to be, in Hunter’s opinion.

“I’m not accruing orgasm debt, Hunter. It’s fine.”

Hunter scowled at any definition of fine where it ended up with him getting mind-numbing attention and Crosshair got nothing at all.

And then Hunter looked at him closer. Crosshair genuinely seemed fine, but that edge of need was still there in his scent. He clearly could use some relief, but he was pushing back and maintaining he didn’t. How long could he keep that up? Why was being stubborn about it? Why didn’t he just ask—

Ah. That’s why.

Hunter’s eyes narrowed, and Crosshair’s own smug look faded away, replaced by suspicion.

“Fine,” Hunter eventually said, though he wasn’t going to leave it at that. Not by a long shot. But since Crosshair’s wary look was becoming more and more intense, he added, “At least take your damn armor off so we can go to bed.”

The wary look remained for a moment, and then his expression shifted, a small tug on his lips as his eyes glinted.

“You like me in my armor,” he purred. “Don’t pretend you didn’t eye me up when I first put it on again. Like you were starving, and I was a tasty piece of meat.”

Hunter’s face fused with heat. So, yeah, seeing Crosshair in his old armor had been both a punch to the gut and a confusing rush to his groin. In fact, he’s fairly sure that’s what had set him off, to seek out Crosshair and demand answers as to why he had returned. Though in hindsight, that hadn’t been the true question—it had always been about why Crosshair had left them. Never about why he’d come back.

Hunter had hoped the once-over he’d given the sniper under his own helmet had gone unnoticed. Apparently not.

And yes, Crosshair on his knees before Hunter, fully kitted out, was a memory vivid enough to make his head spin, but that was beside the point.

“Yeah, well, I don’t need that pauldron blade stabbing me in the eye,” Hunter grumbled, but it was all harmless fluff. An excuse to give Crosshair a stern side eye so they could both pretend this wasn’t another new, strange step.

He was going to get to sleep next to Crosshair. Every night. In an actual bed.

The last few months of his life had been the worst, no contest. There had been moments when he hadn’t seen it getting any better.

And then it had. And here they were, in a place that Hunter could easily see himself calling home.

He must have taken too long to strip off the rest of his clothes, because a presence suddenly leaned against his back, Crosshair resting his chin on his shoulder in a way that was somehow both devious and adorable.

“You really have no idea,” he said, as if they were continuing from another conversation. “The amount of people staring at your ass today.”

As if there was any question of the subject matter, he grabbed a handful of Hunter’s backside, and he nearly squeaked. Thankfully he hadn’t, but the high-pitched moan that came out wasn’t much better.

“And how would you know?” Hunter asked in an attempt to recover his dignity.

Crosshair seemed uninterested in shame or decency as his teeth clasped on the shell of Hunter’s ear, lightly nibbling.

“Because I was also watching your ass, as you damn well know. Unless your senses have dulled over the years.”

He scowled, though the effect was lost with Crosshair at his back.

“They haven’t.”

And then Crosshair moved away, and Hunter’s shirt was pulled over his head before he knew it, and the sniper was herding him toward the bed. Crosshair was stripped down to his lower body glove, and when had he done that? Hunter must have been inside his own head longer than he’d thought to miss Crosshair removing all of his armor and half his suit.

Hunter also wasn’t used to being pulled from those moments of blankly gazing at walls, not with Echo off with Rex, and Wrecker too anxious to snap him out of it. But Crosshair had never had a problem with politeness or decency when it came to Hunter.

He proved that now by practically bullying him into bed, and before Hunter could think to complain, the inviting softness of the blankets shut him up. The faint scent of Crosshair lingered on the sheets, and Hunted wanted to bury himself in them for that reason alone.

“So,” he mumbled as he settled in, “you like the clothes?”

Crosshair clicked his tongue against his teeth, but when he joined him on the bed, Hunter pulled him close like Wrecker used to with Lula. He made a noise of complaint that might have been a hiss, but Hunter ignored it and tugged him closer, resting his chin on top of Crosshair’s head.

The sniper eventually gave up, the defeated sigh leaving him in dramatic fashion, but he still looped an arm around Hunter’s waist, his breath warm and comforting against his neck.

“Yes,” Crosshair finally relented. “They look… nice.”

High praise from the sniper.

“Good to know.”

Something was still missing, and Hunter scooted his legs forward until he could intertwine them with Crosshair’s.

“Happy?” he drawled. “Any closer and I’ll be inside you.”

Hunter let out a laugh that was so low it was nearly a rumble.

Yeah. He was happy. And he would be even happier once he figured out a way to convince Crosshair that Hunter wanted to make him feel good. He’d only been successful the once, and he’d caught Crosshair in a vulnerable moment.

He couldn’t rely on that happening again, nor did he want to. But something else tugged at his mind about that moment. Crosshair would never ask Hunter for help. Not directly. He could find a way around that. He had years’ experience navigating Crosshair’s particular way of doing things, after all.

And they had nothing but time.

Next Chapter

#on frozen wings #crosshunt #crosshair x hunter #cloneshipping #the bad batch #tbb spoilers #tbb season 3 #wolveria writes

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stars-n-spice · 7 months ago

Text

A Piece of Cake - Ch. 1

"Step One: Panic"

Summary: The Bad Batch & Co. attempt to throw a surprise party for Omega. It should be a piece of cake, right? Only, they realize in order to have a party, you must have a cake, and in order to have a cake, you have to actually have the ingredients for it. Word Count: 4.6k Tags: Fix-It, Tech Lives, Post "Canon," Domestic Fluff

You would think that an elite squad such as Clone Force 99 with their years of experience on the battlefield would be good at planning ahead and being ready for the unknown, but that is far from the case.

Despite their skillsets, they’ve come to find that being a civilian is harder than it looks and the adjustment to that life hasn't been easy. But they’re the Bad Batch - they live for the unpredictable and for the improv. They live for a challenge. Even if change is difficult and something that’s hard to handle, over time they’ve managed to slowly adjust to their lives on Pabu. Some days were easier than others, a lot of their nights were rougher than most, but at the end of the day, their new lives were all they could ever hope for and more.

They could try their hand at ‘normal’ things. They could be a ‘normal’ family (thought they were far from it) and with that came the concept of birthdays.

Birthdays were always a particular thing–they never really talked about it or bothered with them while in the GAR or even after–but once settling into Pabu and attending a few of them, Omega expressed a desire to have something special like a birthday.

And if Omega wanted something, her brothers were going to make sure she got it.

It was Wrecker’s idea, he brought it up one day on the beach to Hunter while Omega was out of earshot, playing in the waves with Batcher and Lyana. After having seen and heard Omega’s subtle desires to have a birthday, Wrecker thought it would be nice to have something like that for her and Hunter immediately agreed to the idea.

From there they told Tech, who immediately went into looking through as many databanks he could to see if he could find any information about when Omega was “birthed” from her tube. Echo helped look too, but the pair found nothing–no record of anything that might give them an idea of what day it specifically was, much to their disappointment.

It was Crosshair who suggested to have the day be the day they met Omega. The day everything went to shit but paved the way to change their lives like none of them would have ever expected.

The day they formally met Omega was a day none of them would ever forget, despite everything that went wrong on that day, so they agreed to have the birthday on that date to celebrate her and the light she brought to their lives and to the galaxy itself.

Lucky for them, it was in a few rotations, so they planned for a big surprise party, making sure to keep it as much as a secret as possible (Wrecker almost let it slip a few times) from Omega to make it all the more special. They got their partners in on it as well and soon, they had a plan set for the day to make sure that things went as smoothly as possible.

Well, as smoothly as things could go for the Bad Batch.

“What do you mean we need eggs?”

Read the Rest on A03!

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littlesoka7567 · 1 year ago

Text

It's Not Your Fault Ch. 2

Summary:

“If it was Omega, would you say it’s not a big deal?” Echo asks softly, shifting his weight. “If it was Crosshair, or me, or anyone else?” Hunter works his jaw, looking to the sleeping pair in annoyance. “I’m not Omega.” “No, you aren’t. You’re Hunter, our sergeant and our brother. We care about you, and we worry about you, the same way we all worry about each other.”

Notes: Progress is being made by all batchers!!

Warnings: Whump, trauma, major injuries, issues with eating, probably inaccurate medical discussions.

Rating/WC: T/4450 words

~~~

Tech is curled up again, tapping slowly at his datapad. Wrecker is still asleep, unmoving. He walks past both of them, striding over to Crosshair’s bed.

Cross looks up from Omega, watching Hunter. His mouth is set in a displeased frown; he isn’t buying the act either. “Sorry about that, Omega. I’m back now. Are you hungry?”

Omega pries her face away from Crosshair’s chest, looking up at him. She nods, wiggling her way out of Crosshair’s arms and taking his hand again.

“Hunter,” Cross drawls, right as Hunter is about to lead them out.

Hunter looks up, forcing a smile. “Did you need anything?”

Crosshair doesn’t respond for several seconds, before he sighs and stands. “I want to go too.”

Hunter blinks in surprise, but nods quickly. “Yeah-yeah, okay. Let’s go.”

Echo comes back in and sits at the chair beside Tech, watching the trio leave. Hunter pointedly ignores them both.

The mess hall on this ship is always half deserted, but never fully. Most of the people who use this rebel ship don’t use it as a home base, only as an HQ. It houses mostly rogue clones like Rex, refugees from the Empire that don’t have their own ships, and the occasional leaders of the rebellion who never want to stray too far from home base. Everyone else simply visits, or comes in for missions only.

Today, it is thankfully almost completely empty. There is a set of high ranking rebels discussing plans in low voices in the corner, and a few clones littered around which Hunter doesn’t recognize, all sitting by themselves. Perfect.

Hunter leads them to the mess line, using one hand to lead Omega and the other to scoop food onto his own and Omega’s trays. Crosshair follows silently, looking over his shoulder an almost worrying number of times. Hunter wonders if it’s simple paranoia, or if Crosshair is hearing something that isn’t real.

“Can you hold your own tray?” Hunter asks Omega softly, making sure his voice doesn’t carry. He can already feel curious eyes of the fellow clones watching over them, and he wants to minimize Omega and Crosshair’s discomfort as much as he can.

Omega nods, grabbing it. He balances his own tray and leads them to an empty table by a wall. He sits down with his back to the rest of the mess hall, allowing Cross to have the peace of mind that comes with a covered back. If anyone were to approach them, Hunter would hear it long before they got there.

They eat in silence for a long while, Omega’s left hand on his right elbow, moving with him every time he has to move his arm to get another bite. Which isn’t often; he’s more concerned with making sure she eats her own tray, and watching Crosshair out of the corner of his eye.

“Hunter,” Crosshair murmurs, voice low but on edge. “Is that person staring at us?”

Hunter looks up from Omega’s tray, looking around the room to find the person Cross is talking about. “Where do you see them? There’s no one looking at us.”

“Oh,” Crosshair says, and Hunter turns just in time to see him looking away from the entrance down at his plate.

“Do they look different?” Hunter asks, turning to encourage Omega to take another bite before looking back at Crosshair. “The people in your hallucinations?”

“No,” Cross answers shortly, stabbing another bite and chewing slowly as Hunter waits for elaboration. “If I could tell the difference, I wouldn’t have to ask, would I?”

Hunter chews on the inside of his cheek for a minute, doing his best to not show his annoyance. “They’ll go away eventually,” Hunter clips, turning his attention back to Omega. “Once all the drugs are out of your system completely and the detox stage is over.”

Omega puts her fork down, looking up at Hunter and then to his tray.

“How much longer will they last, medic Hunter?” Crosshair drawls, sarcasm dripping from every word. “It’s already been a week.”

“I don’t know,” Hunter says, scooping some food onto his own fork and letting it hover just above his tray. “The actual medic said it can take a few weeks or even a month to completely detox, due to the levels of the drug in your system. It was a lot.”

Omega taps his wrist, and Hunter sighs and forces the bite into his mouth. He puts his fork down, trying to chew through the nausea and not let it get to him. It’s just food, his body is made to consume it; why can’t he just eat it like he used to?

“So I could still have another two or three weeks of this?” Crosshair hisses, gripping his own fork hard enough it turns white.

“Yes,” Hunter says, because Echo is the optimistic one and if Crosshair wanted optimism he would have eaten in the medbay like he usually does. “But they’ll get easier to handle and further apart in appearance every day.”

Cross slams his fork on the table with a bang, and Omega whimpers and throws herself into Hunter’s side. Hunter just wraps an arm around her, pulling her closer and trying to make her feel as safe as possible. “Sorry, Omega, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Cross murmurs, looking down in shame and wrapping his arms around himself.

“I think it might be time to head back anyway,” Hunter says softly, petting Omega's hair to coax her out of his side. “It’s okay Omega, it was just Crosshair. Nothing scary. Nothing is going to hurt you.”

“You haven’t eaten much,” Crosshair says, looking between Omega and Hunter’s tray.

“Not hungry,” Hunter replies without thought, smiling when Omega pulls her face away to look up at Hunter. “There you are. Ready to go back to the room?”

Omega nods, looking around to reassure herself where she is before grabbing onto Hunter’s hand.

“Do you ever eat?” Crosshair asks, narrowing his eyes. “Because you don’t eat with us in the medbay. When you take Omega here do you just watch her eat and then take her back?”

Hunter shoots him a look, before helping Omega stand. He stacks their trays so he can carry it on one hand, and stands up himself. “I’m not hungry right now, Crosshair, just drop it.”

Crosshair takes the trays from him, glaring at him as he pushes past to walk in front. Instead of taking it to the trash like Hunter was going to, he simply walks out of the room and starts heading towards the medbay.

Hunter sighs, looking down at Omega with a tired smile. “Do you want to go see Tech and Echo, or go to our quarters to take a nap?”

He had hoped the question would encourage her to speak, but she simply shrugs and holds his hand in a death grip.

“Okay. Let’s go check on the boys first, at least.” Hunter leads the way, and the walk there is uneventful. There aren’t many people milling about, and there are no loud and sudden noises.

He opens the door to the medbay and frowns when he sees Echo and Crossair whispering in the far corner, Crosshair gesturing with the tray of food every once and a while. “Everything alright?” he calls, just loud enough to be heard but not so loud it scares Omega.

Echo looks over, a deep and disapproving frown in place. He walks over and smiles down at Omega, patting her head softly. “You look tired, Omega. Why don’t you curl up with Crosshair and help the both of you get a couple hours of sleep?”

Omega’s heart starts to quicken, and she looks to Hunter with wide eyes.

“I’ll be here,” he promises, squeezing her hand. “All of us will be right here.”

Omega clings to his arm, biting her lip as she looks between Crosshair and Echo.

“It’s okay, Omega. Hunter will stay here the whole time and none of us will let anything happen to you. I promise.” Echo brushes some hair behind her ear, and Omega leans into the touch.

Crosshair has put the tray down and crawled into the medical cot, settling down for a nap he probably won’t take if Omega isn’t there with him.

Omega takes a deep breath, and slowly lets go of Hunter’s hand. She looks up at him, and Hunter smiles reassuringly at her. “I won’t leave the room, I promise.”

Omega nods slowly, and then quickly makes her way across the room. Crosshair lifts the blanket and she dives in, cuddling into his side and turning to face Hunter and Echo. Crosshair puts a protective arm over her, and closes his eyes to either pretend or actually try to fall asleep.

Echo waits for Omega’s eyes to shut and her yawning to stop, before turning to Hunter. “Have you not been eating?”

Hunter sighs in annoyance. “I have been eating, just not a lot all at once. Look, I’m sorry I blew up at you guys earlier; you don’t have to start keeping tabs on me and worrying. You all have enough to worry about as it is.”

Echo frowns deeply, crossing his arms over his chest. “Hunter, we all take care of each other. It’s not your job alone to take care of us, and it isn’t your job to neglect yourself.”

“I’m fine!” Hunter hisses, careful to keep his voice low enough the others won’t hear. “I’m not hurt; I didn’t get blown up, I didn’t get shot, I didn’t break my back or hit my head, I wasn’t tortured. Nothing happened to me, I’m fine.”

“You have survivor's guilt,” Echo argues, and holds his hand up when Hunter starts to argue. “No, don’t. You know what I mean. You’re punishing yourself and blaming yourself because you didn’t get injured when the rest of us did. And that makes you feel guilty, so you’re torturing yourself and hurting yourself to ‘make up for it’.” He uses air quotes on the last part, and Hunter scowls at him. “It isn’t your fault you didn’t get hurt, and it isn’t your fault we did. It’s not your fault. You have to stop blaming yourself, to stop hurting yourself, if you really want to help us.”

Hunter shakes his head. “I’m not hurting myself, Echo. I just wasn’t hungry. It happens from time to time. You’re both blowing this way out of proportion.”

“Crosshair said that the only time you took a bite was when Omega encouraged you to,” Echo argues.

“Because I’m not hungry,” Hunter says, feeling so very tired suddenly. “It’s not deep, there’s no hidden cry for help in it. I’m just not hungry. I eat when I’m hungry, I promise.”

“Why aren’t you hungry?” Echo challenges. “Are you getting sick?”

“No, I’m just-” Hunter sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. “I don’t know why. Sometimes when I eat I’m fine, I finish a whole plate. Sometimes I’m only hungry enough for half, sometimes less. Sometimes I get nauseous when I’m eating so I don’t eat more than a couple bites. It’s not a big deal, it only happens every once and a while.”

“If it was Omega, would you say it’s not a big deal?” Echo asks softly, shifting his weight. “If it was Crosshair, or me, or anyone else. Would you still say it’s not a big deal if Omega was skipping meals or only eating half?”

Hunter works his jaw, looking to the sleeping pair in annoyance. “I’m not Omega.”

“No, you aren’t. You’re Hunter, our sergeant and our brother. We care about you, and we worry about you, the same way we all worry about each other.”

Hunter rubs at his temple, wishing he had some caf right now. A nap doesn’t sound all that bad, if he’s being honest. If he could close his eyes without seeing everything he’s trying to escape. “You don’t need to worry about me, Echo. I’m fine, I just-”

Echo suddenly moves to stand in front of Hunter’s line of sight, and he looks angrier than Hunter has seen from him in a very long time. “Hunter, how are you supposed to protect us if you’re half dead?”

Hunter’s eyes widen, and he staggers a step backwards. “Echo-”

“No, tell me. If Omega is in danger, how are you going to save her if you’re weak from exhaustion and hunger? How are you going to tell Crosshair his hallucinations aren’t real if you can’t keep your eyes open long enough to tell? How are you going to help with Tech’s physical therapy if you aren’t strong enough to hold his weight?” Echo steps closer, and Hunter feels like an animal being hunted. “Tell me, Hunter. How is you killing yourself going to help you do your job? How will that benefit us?”

Hunter turns away from Echo, from his accusatory stare, breathing heavily as he glares at the floor. “I’m fine.”

“For now,” Echo says, letting Hunter have that. “What about in a week from now? Two? What about a month from now, when you haven’t eaten or slept or worked out or done anything except look after us? You wanna know what you’ll look like? Just look at Crosshair.”

Hunter balls his hands into fists, feeling the nausea return. “Kark off.”

Echo scoffs, placing his hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “You’re only saying that because you know I’m right. You’ll be too weak to protect us soon, you’re working yourself down to the bone. You have to take care of yourself if you want to keep protecting us long term.”

Hunter finally turns back to Echo, his whole body shaking. He’s almost at another breakdown, he can feel it. And he doesn’t want to do that to any of them again. “What if something happens when I’m asleep? What if I go take a shower, and she needs me?”

Echo finally gives him a sad smile, his anger seeming to drain away. “Then we can take care of it. You’ll be down the hall, not across the galaxy. If we need you, you’ll be a few seconds away. Isn’t a few hours where you’re asleep better than you being awake but too exhausted to do anything?”

Hunter looks to Omega and Crosshair over Echo’s shoulder, sighing deeply. “I don’t…”

“You’re worrying her,” Echo says softly, making Hunter look at him. “She knows you aren’t okay, and it’s giving her unnecessary anxiety. Us, too, you know. You’re stressing me out.” Hunter flinches away from the accusation, looking down in guilt. “All you have to do is take care of yourself too, and that’ll stop. It’ll help all of us get better.”

Hunter runs a hand over his face, and finally nods. “Okay. Okay, yeah. I get it now.”

Echo smiles, clapping Hunter’s shoulder gently. He politely doesn’t say about time or point out how many ways he had to say it before Hunter accepted it. “Good. So you’ll take care of yourself?”

Hunter nods, wrapping his arms over his chest and sniffing once. “When she wakes up, I’ll let you and Cross distract her for a while so I can shower. I’ll grab something to eat and then I’ll-I’ll figure out how to sleep. Maybe we can all stay in here together and…I dunno. I’ll figure it out.”

“I’ll get some sleep after your shower, and when it’s your turn, I’ll keep Omega in here and you can sleep in the room. Away from the beeping and potential of being woken up by nightmares. I’ll watch her the whole time.”

“I don’t know if she’ll be able to sleep without me beside her,” Hunter mumbles. “She can barely exist without holding onto me.”

“She’s going to have to learn how eventually, Hunter. If she’s going to recover from what she’s been through, she’s going to have to do some difficult and scary things sometimes. But we’ll be here to help her through them, and she will get better.” Echo squeezes Hunter’s shoulder, before dropping his hand. “Your tray is still over there, if you want to try and finish it now. Then you can shower when she wakes up and I can get my own sleep in.”

Hunter sighs, looking at the tray. “I wasn’t putting on a brave face when it comes to that, I really don’t feel hungry.”

“Eat anyway,” Echo shrugs.

Hunter sighs and goes over to the tray, forcing himself to swallow every last bite. It tastes like shit, and he has to fight the urge to throw it all back up, but he gets through it.

It’s only a few minutes after he finishes eating that Omega’s eyes blink open. She finds Hunter quickly, and seems to relax immediately.

“Hey, kid,” he murmurs softly, not wanting to wake up Crosshair if he’s actually asleep. “How ya feeling?”

She nods and sleepily gives him a thumbs up.

“I finished my breakfast while you were asleep,” he tells her, pointing to his empty tray. She smiles at him, seemingly genuinely happy that he’s eaten. “When Cross wakes up, I…”

Echo comes over, having seen that she woke up too. “Me and Cross are gonna stay with you in here, with Tech and Wrecker, and Hunter is gonna take a quick shower, okay?” Omega’s eyes widen, and her breath starts to come quicker. “‘Cause he stinks really bad, doesn’t he?”

It startles a laugh out of her, and she looks to Crosshair to make sure she didn’t wake him up. But she laughed. She laughed, and Hunter was starting to wonder if she ever would again, but she did. She laughed. At his expense, sure, but he doesn’t even care.

Echo grins at her, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. “And if that goes well, and you’re not scared, we might even let Hunter take his own little nap later in our room, while you sleep in here with us. You can even pick who you bunk up with, yeah? You could try to sleep in Crosshair’s cot again, or you could try in my cot over there. Just to try it out, ‘cause I wasn’t there either, right? So if you wake up, you’ll see me, and you can still know that you’re safe.”

Omega worries her lip between her teeth, looking between Hunter and Echo. “‘Cause Hunter can’t sleep when I’m there?” she asks softly.

“No,” Hunter denies immediately, but Echo holds up his hand to stop Hunter.

“He struggles to sleep, because he wants to make sure you’re okay and you don’t need him. I think that if he knew you were taken care of, and that me and Cross were here to help if you needed anything, he could sleep a bit easier. He’s just overprotective, is all. It’s not because you’re there.”

Omega swallows thickly, but nods slowly. “Will you take me back to him if I…”

Echo nods quickly. “We’ll go peek in on him as many times as you want. But hopefully you won’t need to, ‘cause you’ll be asleep.”

Omega nods again, looking to Crosshair’s face again before looking back at Hunter. “You can go shower now, if you want,” she says, and then her heart speeds up and she grips the blanket over them tightly. “But-but a fast one, please.”

Hunter smiles at her, putting his hand over hers. “You won’t even miss me, that’s how fast I’ll be,” he promises.

Echo nods to Hunter, and grabs a stool to sit next to their bed. “Thank you, Hunter,” he whispers, and pats Hunter’s arm as he stands.

“I’ll be back soon,” he promises, patting Echo’s shoulder and heading towards the ‘fresher.

Hunter had trouble after the shower, feeling his exhaustion hit him in full force. He ate half of lunch and all of his dinner, keeping Omega awake and mostly entertained with the help of Crosshair. That part wasn’t hard; the hard part was taking care of Tech without the help of Echo.

Tech doesn’t blame Echo, he doesn’t get annoyed with everything Echo does. He doesn’t fight being fed by Echo like he does with Hunter. He lets Echo sit next to him and even hold his hand, he doesn’t push Echo away and ignore him in favor of his datapad.

Crosshair took pity on him at some point, telling Hunter that he was having trouble with hearing things and wanted help. When Hunter had gotten over there, he whispered to Hunter that he would watch Tech and if he needed something he'd just let Hunter know.

But finally, Echo wakes up and comes back, checking on Tech for a few minutes before walking over to where Hunter and Omega and Cross are. “Hey, guys,” he says softly.

Hunter smiles at him and nods. “Echo. Did you get enough sleep?”

“Yeah,” he says, smiling back. “Everything okay in here?”

“Tech’s eaten, Wrecker hasn’t changed, me and Cross and Omega ate in the mess. Everything is going fine, all things considered.” Hunter stands up and stretches, looking back at Omega sleepily. “Are you sure you’re willing to try this, Omega?”

Omega bites her lip and looks between him and Echo, who’s nodding at her encouragingly. She looks very nervous, but she finally nods and looks back to Hunter. “I can try. And-and I can come get you if I-”

“Of course,” Hunter is quick to reassure, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You can get me as soon as you need me, okay? I’ll be a minute away the whole time.”

“But we won’t need you,” Echo promises, squeezing Hunter’s shoulder. “Because Omega is going to do great, and she’ll fall asleep quick and she won’t even notice you aren’t here.”

Hunter smiles at them both, and then sighs softly. “Okay. Can you go check on Tech, and I’ll say goodnight?” Echo nods, shooting Omega one more reassuring smile. Hunter turns back to Omega. “He’s right, you know. Crosshair will be here the whole time, and so will Echo and Tech.” And Wrecker, but he doesn’t feel like pointing that out will help. “I promise, you’ll be just fine.”

Omega sniffles but nods, crawling into Crosshair’s arms who had been watching silently. “Sleep well, Hunter,” she whispers softly.

“You too, Omega. Night, Cross,” he says, nodding to him.

“Goodnight, Hunter,” Crosshair mumbles.

Hunter turns and checks on Wrecker once more, making sure he’s still out and stable. He sighs and starts to head to the door.

“Hunter?” Echo asks, and Hunter turns to him where he’s looking after Tech. “Can you come here a second?”

Hunter hesitates, but nods and detours to Tech’s bed. “What’s up?”

Echo looks to Tech, nodding at him encouragingly. Tech sighs and holds out his datapad, looking at Hunter expectantly. “He’s been working on this all day. He wants you to read it before you go to bed, but not in here.”

“Hm,” Hunter says, looking down at it. It’s still hovering over the instructions he gave Echo. “Okay,” he says, rubbing his thumb along the side of the device. He looks back up, smiling sadly at Tech. “I’ll read it.”

Tech nods once, before looking to Echo and signing get down to indicate he’s ready to lay down and sleep.

Hunter nods to them both and starts off towards their private quarters. He sits on his bed after locking the door, staring at the datapad without scrolling through it. He doesn’t know if he wants to read it, doesn’t know if he can handle it tonight. He’s so tired.

But he said he would, so he sighs and rubs a hand over his face before scrolling past the instructions.

I am very angry with you, Hunter.

Hunter lets out a heavy sigh, closing his eyes. He wants to say that’s enough for tonight, but he said he would. He said he would. Okay.

I am very angry with you, Hunter. I could not figure out why I was so angry at first. It has taken a lot of thinking and self reflection. Luckily, this past week has given me nothing but time to think and self reflect. (That was mostly a joke). At first, I thought I was angry at you because I blamed you for what happened to me. But I do not, and have never, blamed you for what happened. I made a calculated decision based on the information I had at the time, and given the chance to go back to that exact moment and try again, I would choose to do the same thing. Therefore, you cannot be blamed.

Then I began to wonder if I was mad at you despite this realization. I came to my conclusion earlier today when you looked at me the way you had been while doing my tests. Yes, I was still angry with you, and the feeling was very intense.

When Crosshair brought up that you have not been taking care of yourself, and you yelled at him about how everything was your fault, I finally figured it out. I am angry with you because I am angry that you blame yourself so thoroughly. We are a team, and we are all equals. You have said so, many times before. So why are you keeping all the blame for yourself when we all made our own decisions? I chose to shoot the car. Crosshair chose to warn us instead of fleeing and saving himself. You and Echo and Wrecker all chose to come back and save us, no matter the potential consequences, such as getting hurt. We made our own decisions, you did not make them for us.

Echo has told me what happened with Omega, as well. And even her capture was a result of her own decisions; her decision to leave the room you hid her inside and try and rescue you. That was her choice, and her consequences. If she had done what you told her to do, she would not have been captured.

You blaming yourself is what makes me so angry. If you put half as much effort into helping us recover as you did in feeling guilty, we would all be cured by now.

Take a nap and reread this if you need to. But stop spending so much time blaming yourself for the past and spend more time on helping us all get to the future.

Hunter has to reread it three times before he’s sure he’s read it right. Then he puts it down and lays down, staring up at the ceiling. He decides to take Tech’s advice-he’ll take a nap, and then think about it again when he wakes up.

#the bad batch #hunter bad batch #tech bad batch #echo bad batch #omega bad batch #crosshair bad batch #my writing #fanfic #tw: whump #tw: injury #tw: major injuries #tw: trauma

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thespiritualfives · 1 year ago

Text

Espionage | HunterxOC Story Ch. 2

Chapter 2: The Art of Seduction

Warnings: Suggestive Actions, language

Character art work is done by the Talented @xleintje!

Pfp is by @gt13tbbart

Widow and the Bad batch have gone on several missions since her reassignment to the Batchers. It took a while before they all had fully welcomed her on to the team, mainly it was Crosshair who had the issue. He didn't like the idea of reg much less a civilian joining them, but after a few successful missions due to Widows training in espionage, Cross learned to accept and quietly grumble to himself that she still didn't belong.

Widow had given all the guys training on stealth, undercover work. The batchers spent their time on each topic to fully grasp what was expected of them if they were to be put in said situation, little did they know that widow has a new lesson for them planned. The Art of Seduction, in widow's opinion it's fun to watch whom her target was in the field squirm.

Widow had no idea why she was so excited to see how these men would handle seducing her, she made it no secret that she wanted them to try their best with it. Maybe it was the thrill of not know what to expect? Or maybe it's because she's grown to have strong friendships with all of them for the most part, so naturally she wanted to see how this would play out.

She wasn't blind, Widow knows that Clone Force 99 doesn't look like a standard clone. They look different which was a refreshing change, not that she doesn't still have friends who are regs but it's nice to switch it up. Widow had been flirted with many men throughout the clone wars, each approach have been different from the other, so she was excited to see how these men would approach her. First was Wrecker, Widow honestly had no idea what to expect from him.

Wrecker makes his way to the red headed espionage specialist, just as he's about to speak up and try a pick up line he freeze's. Wrecker had a whole plan to use a cheesy pick up line to make her laugh, to casually lean against the wall in a sly manner. But when it came to his turn he froze looking at Widow with wide eye. It doesn't help that Widow was leaning up against a wall with her arms crossed against her chest, she's watching him with a small smirk on her face. She saw the brute clone freeze up on her and she slowly made her way to him, once she was in front of him she glances up at him.

"Wrecker you're overthinking it and putting to much pressure on yourself." She pauses "Think of it this way 'less is more'" she casually rest her hand on his forearm. This doesn't go unnoticed by Wrecker. "Yeah, well it's not like I'm ever going to need this type of thing." He looks away from her. "I've never been good in a stealth thing, plus it's not like anyone who looks like you would even try to flirt back with someone like me." Widow moves her hand from his forearm up to cup his cheek leading him to face her again."Hey, don't doubt yourself. You're just as skilled as your brothers are, you just have a different skill set " she smiled lightly at him.

Wrecker looks at her with a nod, he's still not feeling confident but he is feeling better about himself after she assured him of that. Widow pleases her hand that is on his face onto his shoulder, as she uses said arm to support her weight as she stood on her tip toes and whispered "what I need you to work on is confidence and not overthinking it."

Widow leans away retracting her arm from Wreckers shoulder. She goes back to her position on the wall leaning against it with her arms crossed once again. Nodding towards wrecker to take it easy as he sits down on one of the seats in the main part of the Havoc. She looks towards the three remaining men to pick her next target. She glances over each of them carefully, determining who would be the most entertaining for her. Her eyes land on Crosshair. With a smirk towards the sharpshooter Widow says "Alright Cross, show me what you got."

Crosshair walks over to widow, and he puts an arm above her head since he is a good few feet taller than her, he leans in closer to her where his lips are almost on her ear lobes.

"Knees. Now." He whispers In her ear as he pulls away and looks at her with a smirk and that damn toothpick in his mouth still.

Widow had to admit that for her personally, she would've been riled up with that remark from Cross. Problem is that she doesn't want to hear those words from him in particular. Widow looked up at him still having the same smirk on her face.

"Cross your trying to seduce and get information. Not fuck and let them get away." She states calmly as she walks away to stand near the cockpit door way s as she leans against it, arms still crossed. "You Cross need to work on being more personable, which I know is super difficult for you being you are a man of few words." She sighs "start with small questions then work your way up, the key is to make sure that you earn a little bit of their trust." She waves her hand upwards gesturing about the topic "Especially when they get intoxicated" she lets out a low whistle "that's the time to make sure you probe them for questions"

Widow takes her hand that she was talking with, and folds them back into her folded arms. She nods to cross her to go take a seat next to wrecker. He replies with a simple eye roll and a disgusted scoff as he rebelliously stands next to Wrecker. She can't help but roll her eyes at the action followed by a deep sigh.

"Cross for your sake you better hope we never have to put you in the field to seduce anyone" Hunter chimes in across the way earning a chuckle from everyone including Tech whose eyes have not once left his holo pad. Widow assumes he's doing as much research as he can on 'How to seduce a woman' widow gives him some more time, understanding that he has a harder time, expressing his feelings out, loud more than the others. She glances over to Hunter.

"You ready?" She asked, with a subtle head nod in her eyebrows raised quickly up and down, what she was not sure how to feel at the moment. Yes her and the Sergent are close compared to her relationship with the others, with them constantly strategizing to see what would be the best method for missions so that way clone force 99 could keep their hundred percent completion for every mission they have gone on. She feels eager and nervous at the same time, because yes she is attracted to him in every aspect, that she would find herself scolding her self for getting too close because she knows if she were to get too close to the group then her point of leaving the 501st would have been pointless. Plus it helps that none of the men In the bad batch look like Regs, she was very grateful for this. The Sargent stands up straight and walks over to her very confidently. Once he reaches her, he stands beside her closely leaning against the wall on his side, he says "Look I'm not really sure the boys are up for this" he says gently as Widow turns her head to look up towards Hunter. She can see the playfulness in his eye, mixed with a glint of excitement. She glances down at the floor for a moment in attempt to hide her smile. And she turns her head up to look towards Hunter. Her hair is falling slightly in her face and Hunter, takes one of his hands up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear, with a very caring smile on his face.

Hunter knows what he is doing as he keeps his hand at the base of her neck once he finishes tucking her hair back. He can hear her heart beat quicken at the action, the heat that is radiating off her cheeks is intense to Hunter, but he doesn't mind because he knows what he's doing is working. Widow turns her body to fully face, hunter, and her arms that are crossed across her chest now drop to where she is holding her hands towards the front of her stomach as she clasped her fingers together.

"Oh yeah? What makes you say that?" Widow asked teasingly, silently enjoying the closeness they are sharing together. She knows this is a big deal to him, especially with his heightened senses, because she knows he can smell everything around him, and with him being this close proximity to her, she knows he feels overwhelmed, especially with him, touching her body this way, he must be feeling really overstimulated. She really appreciates the effort that he is putting towards learning this part of the training she has set up but she can't help but feel that he is also silently enjoying this as well.

Hunter leans his head Down to meet her eye level and looks her dead in the eyes as he says "they're used to seducing girls, not women." He says smoothly, as Widow has to bite back the urge to devour him right there and then. She settles for unfolding her arms as she places one on her hip and one resting at her side. She was about to get lost until she shook her head and realized what was happening, and looks at Hunter with a very surprised face as she shakes her head and amazement and disbelief that he was able to get through to her was such a little ease.

"You're experienced in this aren't you Sargent" she asked him not breaking eye contact with the Sergeant that is standing before her. He sends her a close, sly smile in acknowledgment to her question, telling widow, all she needs to know about his experience.

Widow smiles understanding the situation. They are both in together and makes a quick decision to make this a little bit more challenging for Hunter or at least she hopes it's challenging for him, because if it's not, he may as will be leading her, in the art of seduction.

"Well, since you have had so much experience with this, then kiss me" that bold statement, Widow casually said and that caught the attention of every single member of the bad batch that is on board the ship right now, including tech, who looked up from his holo pad. She could instantly tell Hunter was nervous about that, the way he looked at her when she made the statement the smile dropped from his face, his eyes started to look filled with worry, his hands tensed up on the side of her neck. 'Got him' she thinks to herself. " Trust me, Hunter, it's all a part of the lesson, part of the art of seduction, is sometimes showing affection towards a Target, because if you're able to gain the trust of someone to the point of where they will allow you to kiss them, you have them in your grasp. You could practically milk them for all the information they have. Especially since you have the confidence on already talking like that to someone" she explains to him. She can see that he is carefully taking in every single word she is saying so that way he can better understand what he would need to do just in case he were ever to need it in the future.

Hunter nods in agreement and leans into to give widow a gentle, big quick peck on the lips. She could tell he was not confident in that at all he is holding back, and she knew that would not fly when it came to being in the field.

"Have you had intercourse before?" Widow questions him in shock of how the kiss was so simple and quick for someone who was so confident in walking over to her and getting her to drop her guard almost instantly. Hunter looks at her in disbelief and added shock at the boldness of her question. "You know what?" He pauses "You're crazy." In shocked he pauses again "This is crazy. I don't have to take lessons."

Widow nods as she understands he needs a push and simply says "Maybe I picked the wrong team member to try to kiss me. I'll get Crosshair back ove-" she is cut off as Hunter takes both of his hands to cup either side of her face as he leans in a kisses her, their lips are gliding slowly together as they are understanding each other and how they can start to work together. His lips were chapped which wasn't surprising to Widow, she had a feeling they would be slightly rough against her own lips, not that she was complaining but she knew that she would need air seeing as how they have yet to break apart. She brings her hands to his neck as she intertwines her hands behind his neck, as they are about to break apart, a loud "ahem" came from behind them, causing them to break apart and for them to look at each other in shock of their own actions of not breaking the kiss sooner. They both let go of each other almost instantly as soon as they remembered they were in the presence of the rest of clone force 99.

"Very good Hunter" widow manages to say with a sigh at the end of her sentence.

"That looked like more than a 'Very good' from the interaction you just had widow" Tech said bluntly to widow, shifting uncomfortably in the spot he stood in. Widow knew that everyone in the ship had seen what just happened and knew that they All had different reactions to it. Crosshair was scowling at her but his eyes told her that he was slightly surprised, wreckers jaw hung open seeing that and simply saying "OH YEAH! Way to go Serge!", widow couldn't help but smirk at the statement. Widows gaze never left Hunter and like wise for the Sergeant standing before her. She takes a shaky breath and nods her head towards the seats that his Vods are currently either standing by or sitting by. She doesn't trust herself to make a coherent sentence towards Hunter at that moment.

Once he takes a seat next to wrecker, he is instantly greeted with a slap on the back from the brute of the squad and a loud "HOW WAS IT!? It looked like you guys wouldn't have stopped!" Wrecker laughed loudly clearly excited for his Vod. Hunter leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees as he cradles his head trying to figure out what just happened and why he wanted more of her. Widow fixes her posture going back to her back, leaning against the wall. Her arms are crossed over her chest once again, as she is looking over to tech.

" All right you're the last one up Tech! Let's see what you got" The goggled clone looks up to Widow, he places his data pad Down on the seat next to Hunter, he makes his way towards her. "The purpose of this is to simply get your trust, have you unfold your arms and kiss you to conclude this first lesson." He states matter of factly. Widow could not help herself, but to smile at the intelligent, clone and laugh lightly. She nods her head in agreement as she says "Yes Tech, that is essentially the gist of the lesson for today." She chuckles.

"I see" he states matter of factly. "I do not feel I am properly acquainted with the knowledge to properly do this lesson." Widow nods as she understands. She told the men from day, one that she would never force them into something that they are not comfortable with, and she can tell the tech is not comfortable with us based on the way he is procrastinating. He is usually the first one to make sure that all the facts are correct For the lesson that is getting ready to be for that day, but she could tell he had little to no confidence in himself for this particular lesson and she could not blame him.

" Like I said tech from day one I will never force you into something you are uncomfortable with, so if you choose to pass on this lesson, then we will no longer speak of it anymore to you." She says calmly to him, to reassure him that there is no pressure. As she lowers her her arms to address the others in the Havoc, Tech takes the opportunity to wrap his arm around her waist and to have the other hand cup her jaw as he leans into kiss her. This kiss was nothing like how hunter kissed her though, this one was soft, gentle and over shortly after it started, meanwhile, hunters was passionate, hungry and desirable, leaving Widow wanting more from Hunter. The others watched in disbelief, including Hunter who raised his head up to see how the situation play out, not believing their brother had the guts to catch her off guard to kiss her like that.

As tech walks away, nonchalantly from her, going back to his data pad and typing ferociously on it, he left widow standing there with her mouth opened in disbelief, she scoffs in disbelief and laughs out "You cheeky, sneaky man, well played!" She smiles to Tech across the way.

Tech nearly looks up and states "I understood the objective and completed it." With that he goes back to his data pad. "All right men well, I think that is enough for today. I am going to go sit up in the gunner seat decompress and just take the rest of the day to relax and see what we can do for dinner later. Sound good?" Widow says as she makes her way up to the ladder to think about what had happened between her and the Sergeant today.

A/N: I didn't mean for this chapter to be this long, but I got really carried away on it as you guys can tell. The kiss between widow and hunter was inspiration from Chuck Season 2 Episode 2 Chuck Versus The Seduction. I wanted to go ahead and establish the blooming relationship between hunter and widow early so that way we know that there are feelings there. Side note: Yes I will bring In Echo but I wanted to establish this before Season 7 of clone wars!

#bad batch hunter #tbb fanart #hunter x reader #hunter #sw tbb #tbb tech #tbb crosshair #the bad batch #clone force 99 #star wars the bad batch #star wars smut

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phantom-of-the-501st · 2 years ago

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Literally just finished reading Ch 2 about 5 seconds ago and came on here to gush about it.

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!!

I know Echo's my favourite Batcher and I probably shouldn't enjoy reading fics about him in pain but I'm a sucker for angst. 😉 I just wanna give everyone a hug!!!

Now I just gotta sit and wait for Ch 3. 😃

Chapter two??? On a monday??? Sure why not

#i got very excited when i saw the update on ao3 #yes i'm reading this fic at midnight #what're you gonna about it #the angst is real!!!#am i am so here for it #also someone please give everyone in this fic a hug #arc trooper echo #the bad batch

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stormwarnings · 4 years ago

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“What were the Jedi like?” Jaxen asks. He’s wary, always, of those who have power, no matter what they do with it.

Bruiser wants to reach out and touch the scar on Jaxen’s neck, that angry red slash against pale skin, the delicate stitches pulling it shut – but they don’t. They say, “Good.”

“Nobody’s just good,” Jaxen says.

Bruiser leans back, clasping hands together. Their tattoos, the bones outlined on their hands, each phalange and metacarpal, are nothing compared to the snakes that coil around the entirety of Jaxen’s body. They say, “The Jedi were.”

Jaxen scoffs and leans back, smoke trailing into the sky.

“Those things will kill you,” Bruiser says.

“Oh, there’s a lot of other things that’ll kill me before this. Tell me about your Jedi.”

Bruiser thinks about the Temple before its destruction, about Quinlan Vos and Commander Fox, about Faye Luvex and Kyrian Dentuullucha and Ahsoka Tano, about the luminescent stripes that paint their faces and that look in their eyes as they do impossible things. They say, “You’ve been down in the Abyss, right?”

Jaxen nods.

“When you’re down there on the edges of the ancient reservoirs, the ones that are the remnants of millennia-old buildings, and there’s cultures of bacteria down there that probably don’t exist anywhere else and the water is too deep and dark for anyone to really know how deep it actually is because it destroys anyone who tries, and you can feel it, that there’s one of those huge monsters swimming underneath – one of the big fish, one of the ones that’s older than most of the government probably, that could swallow you whole and not even notice it. And you get the sense that you’re standing on…you’re standing on the edge of history, or something. Like you’re standing there – you’re standing there, and, well, it might be different for us clones, but it’s terrifying. It’s like you’re alone, more alone than anyone in the world, but also like you’ll never be lonely again, not in the face of something so immense. But the Jedi just stare into it – you can see it in their eyes, what it is to them. There’s light that shines from them, and they revel in it, the reflection on the water and the Force and on – on the vastness of time. It wasn’t so vast to them, I don’t think. Isn’t so vast.”

Jaxen is watching them, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

Bruiser clears their throat. “The Jedi were beautiful. They were something beautiful in a world that was trying to kill everything lovely.”

Jaxen doesn’t say anything.

Bruiser glances down at their hands, picking at the edges of their nails, painted purple to match their hair by one of the street kids. They say, “Sorry. I’m not so good at talking.”

Jaxen shrugs. Then, “You were the one who did my stitches, right?”

Bruiser looks down. “Yeah.”

“Yes,” Jaxen agrees, and smiles, full of teeth like he doesn’t know how to do it without the threat of a snarl. “Things are beautiful because they’re terrifying.”

#bruh idk what this is #having the vibes #i wanted to write these ocs #my writing #mine #sw #star wars fanfic #specific to my au but like #eldritch jedi #kinda?#my ocs #oc: jaxen darksky #oc: clone medic bruiser #bruisers a sweetheart #and theyre batchers with dreamer and kix!#jaxen likes them but doesnt know how to tell them #wip: how i long to grow old #oc ch: coruscant rebels

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ladykatakuri · 2 years ago

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Stardust Reblog Challenge November

2nd:

In the Middle of the Night - Wolffe x Reader by: @arctrooper69 SFW

Lovers, Sinners & Saints - Tech x F!Reader x Crosshair by: @eyecandyeoz NSFW

Morning Love - TBB/Fives/Rex x F!Reader Spicy HC`s by: @zoeykallus NSFW

Sexting - Rex x F!Reader by: @twistedstitcher27 NSFW

A Brothers Duty - Rex & Ahsoka Tano by: @wild-karrde SFW

I`m Your Bookie Man - Poe Dameron x F!Reader by: @interstellarwraith SFW

Room LoV3*** - Wrecker x F!Reader by: @nahoney22 NSFW

Late Night Snack - Rex and Torrent Company by: @ladysongmaster SFW

Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire - Hunter x F!OC by: @photogirl894

The Light Between Oceans Ch.5 - Rex x F!Reader by: @rowansparrow Teen Rating

Helmet Kisses - TBB /Rex/Fives & Howzer x GN!Reader by: @nahoney22 SFW

Speaking Mando`a - TBB x Reader HCs by: @zoeykallus SFW

Spooky Batchers - TBB x F!Reader by: @nahoney22 SFW

Clone Trooper Rambles - Toast by: @wanderinginksplot SFW

A Ghost From the Past - TBB/Rex/Maul x F!Reader by: @zoeykallus SFW

All Dolled Up - Tech x Reader by: @eyecandyeoz SFW

3rd:

Sun and Rain, Age of the Empire Part 2 - Hunter x F!OC by: @photogirl894 SFW

The Sweet Sound of a Heartbeat - TBB x Reader HC`s by: @zoeykallus SFW

Nightrobe HC`s for TBB by: @zoeykallus SFW

Jedi Come Down - Obi Wan Kenobi by: @arctrooper69 SFW

Brains are Beautiful - TBB x Intelligent Reader HC`s by: @zoeykallus SFW

Life After the Green - Ezra x F!Reader by: @absurdthirst and @storiesofthefandomlovers NSFW

In More Ways then One - TBB x F!Reader Part 6 - Hunter by: @madameminor NSFW

A Private Performance - TBB x F!Reader Spicy HC`s by: @zoeykallus NSFW

Under the Helmet - TBB x Reader HC`s by: @zoeykallus SFW

Dont Want to Be a Burden - TBB/Dogma/Howzer x Reader HC`s by: @zoeykallus SFW

A Man After Midnight - Din Djarin x F!Reader by: @interstellarwraith SFW

Sun and Rain : Age of the Empire Ch. 3 - Hunter x F!OC by: @photogirl894 SFW

Finding Love at 30K Feet - Frankie Morales x F!Reader by: @musings-of-a-rose SFW

8th:

Small Towns & Second Chances - Steve Murphy x F!Reader by: @wardenparker & @absurdthirst NSFW

House of Sins & Pleasures: VI - Oberyn Martell x F!Reader by: @princessxkenobi NSFW

The Matter of Stars - Poe Dameron x F!Reader by: @interstellarwraith SFW

I Can Feel Your Gaze - Crosshair x F!Reader by: @zoeykallus SFW

Ashen Moon - Kylo Ren x F!Reader by: @interstellarwraith SFW

Lost and Found - Rex x F!Reader by: @nahoney22 SFW

The Light Between Oceans: Chapter 6 - Rex x F!Reader by: @rowansparrow SFW

This is Awkward... TBB x F!Reader fun HC`s by : @zoeykallus SFW

The Flower of the Lanes - Silco x F!OC by: @photogirl894 SFW

Enemy Mine 7 - Hunter x F!Reader by: @zoeykallus SFW

Fennec Shand x F!Reader by: @wild-karrde NSFW

Impractical Jokesters - Crosshair x F!Reader by: @arctrooper69 SFW

His Secret - Crosshair x F!Reader by: @nahoney22 SFW

Order 66 - TBB x Jedi!Reader - by: @zoeykallus SFW

Taglist: @imabeautifulbutterfly@chaoticvampirejedi@hellothere-generalangsty@cyroku@reluctant-mandalore@uponrightful@zinzinina@saradika@galacticgraffiti@ashotofspotchka@dindjarindiaries@dinbeskarbaby@djarrex@djarinsbeskar@rowansparrow@photogirl894@rigelmoonshine@rigel-the-moonstrider@nahoney22@loth-wolffe@neon-junkie@bobafetts-princess@cyarbika@charnelhouse@zoeykallus@kin-rokku@jgvfhl@honestly-shite@here-comes-the-moose@dindjarindiaries@firstofficerwiggles@fictional-men-ruin-lives @ladysongmaster @lozalot @moonstrider9904@lorjukka@m-o-o-n-s-g-o-o-n-s @rain-on-kamino @monako-jinn-stories @middimidoris @wild-karrde @cross-my-heartt

#stardust reblog challenge

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misvet · 3 years ago

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The Space In Between: Ch. 7

Fears & Fevers (Part 1)

Omega is sick. She proceeds to panic.

Set between S1E10 and S1E11

**SPOILER WARNING: Some references to pre-S1E11 events**

Ch. 1-3 (Chaos & Control): Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 Ch. 4-6 (Hushed Whispers): Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 Ch. 7-? (Fears & Fevers): Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Coming Soon

Omega stared doggedly down at her boots as they trudged through the undergrowth. All of her willpower focused on forcing her feet to move, each step a concerted effort. At this point, it felt more like wading through thick tar than brittle leaf litter.

One foot. In front of the other. Keep going. Don't trip.

This is what she had wished for. To be brought on the missions. To be part of the team. If she wanted it to stay that way, she knew she had to hustle.

Her game of dejarik against Hunter had been an infuriatingly close win, but even so, she wasn't about to give him any reason to back out of their deal. No. She was determined to prove her worth. Prove that she could be just as tough, as fast, as fearless as the rest of them. Prove that she was good enough... to be a Batcher.

No matter... how tired she was, no matter... how much she ached.

Fortunately, the prospect of being left behind again… was a very good motivator.

One foot. Then another. Keep up. Don't fall behind.

Flanked on all sides by the rustling sounds of the Batch hiking in tandem around her, she concentrated on following Hunter's path. His footprints were evident, even to her novice skill, pressed lightly into the vegetative carpet of the forest floor.

Unable to help herself, she briefly marvelled at how pretty the fallen leaves were. They were huge. Flat and broad, with spiky edges and spiderweb veins, auburn like the setting suns. Even these ones, dry, dead, and crunching underfoot, were beautiful. She imagined that those alighting the enormous trees around them must be even more vibrant and spectacular, but she couldn't bear to lift her head to admire them.

For some reason, the sky was sharp today, and it hurt to look up at it.

Not seeing Hunter's 'hold position' signal, she yelped with surprise as she ran face-first into the rear of his armour and was knocked clean off her feet. Tumbling ungracefully onto her backside, she hissed as her palms scraped across the gnarled roots of a tree, and her tailbone bore the brunt of the impact. A jolt of pain rocketed up her spine and she clutched at her head, afraid it was about to pop off. She hadn't even bumped into him that hard, but there was a pressure mounting in the base of her skull that seemed to suggest otherwise.

She moaned as Wrecker's voice bellowed in her ear. "Hey, you alright, kid??"

Wincing, she opened her eyes, and they immediately grew wide at the sight that greeted her. They were… back on the Havoc Marauder.

Wait… when did we--?

"How's that knock to the noggin' treatin' ya? Hah, I've been there, kid". Wrecker was hunkered down in front of her, grinning at her sympathetically.

She was sitting in the common room, but when she tried to recall how she got there, she was met with an impenetrable wall of fog. A stinging sensation came into focus and she looked down at her hands to find them cleaned and dressed with a few small Bacta patches. Omega glared at them with utter confusion, as if they belonged to someone else.

What--?

"Omega?"

She blinked, and suddenly Wrecker was gone. In his place was Echo, holding a ration bar and fixing her with a wearisome expression, as if he had been standing there attempting to get her attention for half a rotation. Glancing around, she found herself cross-legged on the floor at the base of the Gunner's nest with crayons and blank sheets of flimsi in her lap.

When did I…?

Her head throbbed to the rhythm of her pulse. Weakly, she rubbed her temple and wondered what was wrong with her.

There was a clunk as Echo knelt down in front of her, the sound of his mechanical knee against the durasteel deck. He sighed heavily, and she sensed a lecture incoming.

"We've talked about this, Omega," he said, not unkindly. "You can't just not eat".

Oh… it's time for dinner already?

Finally catching up to the present, she pouted at the floor and crossed her arms over her chest. Ever since Echo had figured out that she was skipping meals to keep herself awake at night, he had taken it upon himself to break the bad habit. Bizarrely, despite having new - and much better - ways of coping with the nightmares now, she still found it difficult to manage a full portion. Tech had rationalised that she may have formed a negative association with the plain foodstuffs, making the rehabilitation process more challenging. Gratefully, Echo's strategy was humane and empathetic, having recovered from a prolonged period of starvation himself. It involved increasing the amount of her end-of-rotation ration very gradually, in manageable increments.

She glanced at the three-quarter sized bar he was holding and groaned. He was stepping it up today, and his timing couldn't have been worse. Ordinarily, she might have put up a fight, but as she went to muster an argument, she found herself completely devoid of the energy to do so. Sighing with defeat, she reached out, palm up, to accept the ration.

Echo placed the bar in her grasp and then gave her upper arm a squeeze of encouragement. The very weight of it in her hand made her want to cry, but she didn't want to disappoint Echo. As soon as she brought it to her face, however, she found herself inches away from trying to take a bite out of Tech's soldering iron instead.

Omega gawped at it, flustered with befuddlement.

I don't--

She looked up. Tech was beside her, seated in the pilot's chair, rewiring a broken comms device with deft fingers and happily oblivious to her sudden disorientation. Her arm shot out to brace herself against the back of the chair as her head reeled with dizzying turbulence.

How… did she end up in the cockpit?

In the process of adjusting to her new setting, she became aware of a churning sensation in her centre. As if mere acknowledgement had awoken it, like some angry beast, her stomach twisted with cruel intent and she nearly doubled over. Stifling a gurgle, she snatched at her tummy, trying in vain to somehow restrain it from performing wild backflips inside her. It was not the empty nor anxious feeling she was uncomfortably familiar with. This was a noxious pang, as if her brain was convinced she had imbibed a poison and was determined to rescue her from it.

Had she eaten that entire thing? How long ago had that been?

A warning signal went off on the dashboard, close behind her, and Omega grimaced as the sound blared in her over-sensitive ears.

My head…

"Miss Omega, would you mind disabling that alarm?" Tech muttered, reluctant to deprive his present task any degree of his attention. "The starboard seismic sensor is misaligned and the Marauder will not stop hassling me about it". He gave a short grunt of annoyance. "It is not as if I can climb out and adjust it while we are in hyperspace," he huffed under his breath, more to himself.

Omega knew where the deactivation switch was, but as she turned towards it, the bright lights of the console bit savagely into her eyes, and she gasped aloud with the pain that lanced through her skull from front to back. Quickly, she attempted to dilute the agony with the relative darkness offered by the crook of her elbow.

A warmth loomed near as Tech leaned over her to flick a toggle, and the warbling siren was immediately silenced. Then, she felt Tech's gloved fingers pry the soldering iron from her white-knuckled grip before clasping her arm and gently dragging it away from her face. She kept her eyes firmly shut.

"Omega, what is the matter?"

A rising heat flushed her cheeks and hot tears prickled behind her eyelids.

Don't cry…DON'T cry.

He swept his hand under her fringe to expose her forehead, as if looking for a bump or a bruise. "Does your head still hurt? Perhaps I should reassess you for a concussion--"

"N-no! I-it's nothing, really," she stuttered with embarrassment, balling her hands into fists to scrub over her eyeballs. "'m just tired…".

It might have been the truth. She honestly had no idea.

Surely, that was it. Surely, she was just tired…

"Then I think it is time for your sleep cycle, ad'ika". Gingerly, he captured her hand and she allowed herself to be lead down the gangway. Eyes still closed, she begged her feet not to stumble on smooth steel, or on thin air for that matter.

One foot…in front...of the other… Don't…trip.

"Do you require assistance with the ladder?" Tech asked when they arrived at the Gunner's mount.

"No," Omega mumbled unconvincingly. Blearily, she attempted to navigate the rungs without divulging the pathetic weakness of her limbs. Clearly, she failed in that endeavour, as Tech decided to boost her up the last part of the way. Grateful that her fairy lights were switched off, she crawled two paces onto the cushioned platform before collapsing onto her side with a loud sigh.

"I… am going to fetch Hunter," she heard Tech say with a tone of concern, though she could not fathom as to why, and within the space of a millisecond, Hunter seemingly materialised out of nothing. Perched on the lip of the Gunner's mount, leaning forward so he could comb his fingers through her hair. Had it truly been just a millisecond? The fog in her mind had grown muggy and fetid, ladening her thoughts with a thick damp. It was too hard to figure out what was going on, so she simply gave up trying.

All she knew was that everything hurt.

"Hey, kiddo," Hunter said quietly. "You feeling alright?"

She sunk her face into the mattress. "Sleepy," she managed, the word muffled through foam.

There was a tugging at her left leg as Hunter carefully removed her boot. "Well, you can't go to bed like this, kid," he chuckled softly. The other boot came off, and Hunter's hand pressed behind her shoulders. "C'mon, sit up".

She mewled irritably as he eased her into a sitting position.

"Arms," he prompted. Omega made a sullen face as she tried to raise her arms over her head. As if her wrists were adorned with bracelets made of solid lead, it felt damn near impossible.

Regardless, Hunter made do, pulling her tunic up and over before threading her into the long sleeves of her pyjama shirt. As he began buttoning it up the middle, Omega leant back against the wall, already halfway to oblivion.

"Gonna need you to stand for a sec," he told her, fastening the final button, and she frowned, rolling her head side to side in a wordless 'no'.

"C'mon," he crooned, bringing himself onto one knee in the Gunner's nest. "Last piece, promise".

Hunter scooped under her arms and lifted her effortlessly onto unsteady feet. He brought her hands to rest on his shoulders so she could balance as he delicately tugged off her trousers and replaced them with flannel pyjama pants, patiently instructing her when to lift each foot for him.

"There you go," he muttered, securing the ribbon at the waistband with a neat bow before resting his hands on her sides and looking up at her. "Been a big day for you, huh, kid?". His words were softened by a smile, but he couldn't have realised the blow that they landed. Omega dipped her head, chin to chest, and didn't answer.

Maker, she felt like such a burden. Such a waste of space, of time, of resources. Incapable of swinging a punch, shooting a rifle, or flying a ship. Part of the team? Who was she kidding? The Batch could just go on without her and they'd probably be better off…

If a light thump to the head was all it took to reduce her to this, then perhaps Cid had been right.

She was nothing but a liability.

Her resolve deteriorated, like a cliff face finally crumbling under the relentless will of its oceanic adversary, and her shoulders began to quake.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

All she could do was stand there, tears spilling from the commissures of her eyes no matter how tightly she scrunched them.

"C'mere," he murmured, drawing her into his arms and brushing his hand in wide circles over her back. "You did good today, Omega, really good".

Arms slung over him, face nestled against the base of his neck, she felt sick with the turmoil. Hunter was murmuring things to her - she could feel the tenor of his voice against her skin - but none of it made any sense. It was all back to front. Her ears insisted she was spinning, but her feet claimed she was not. Even with Hunter wrapped around her, she trembled with the effort to stay upright, swallowing her sobs and whatever else was threatening to bubble up in her throat.

Moments or minutes passed like that, perhaps it was hours - she had no way of knowing. In one instant she was gripping Hunter's blacks with all her might, and in the next she was practically slumped over his shoulders, her legs having surrendered her weight. Vaguely, she felt Hunter's hand sliding up to cradle the back of her head, and his other arm sweeping her knees out from under her.

As her consciousness slipped away from the fringe of reality, she hummed pleasantly, feeling the pain simmer down to a bearable buzz in the background.

Carefully, Hunter leaned forward, keeping her pressed close as he brought her down to rest on the mattress, and by the time she made contact with it, she was already gone.

---

For the first time in weeks, Omega dreamt of nothing at all.

But sleep… was a traitor. Unable to hurt, unable to haunt, it betrayed her still, tossing her back to where her suffering would be greater…

Abruptly, Omega awoke, and all at once, her senses returned - like a crack of lightning.

Hot, loud, white, PAIN.

Her head erupted, as if her skull was being split open along its suture lines. She opened her mouth to cry out, but failed to draw breath against the tension of her abdomen. It was unbelievable. All she could do was gasp, teeth clamped together, nails buried into the flesh of her palms.

She didn't know what this was, but she knew what it wasn't, and it wasn't just a bump on the head… She needed help, and she needed it fast.

Hunter!

Lifting herself from the bed, in of itself, was like trying to claw free from a shallow grave, invisible gravel and rock holding her down as she fought to make an escape. She scarcely made it down the ladder without slipping, her fingers growing senseless and unfeeling. Blindly, she staggered toward the cockpit, knowing by some instinct he must be there.

One...foot. In front...of the other…

As she reached the threshold of the gangway, she heard him, but he still sounded impossibly far.

"Omega…" his voice drawn out in a low warning. "What're you doing out of bed?"

Her heart was pounding in her throat now, smothered under the confines of her ribs, unable to push the blood against gravity. A dizzying haze was creeping up her neck, and she knew she wasn't going to make it.

With a final effort, she cracked her eyes open, wide enough to catch sight of Hunter as he swivelled in the co-pilot's chair to face her. Just as he leapt urgently to his feet, the blue light of hyperspace behind him scorched suns and stars into her vision.

"'untah…" she gasped.

Darkness consumed all, bright supernovas giving way to an endless black void. Her legs buckled, and air rushed against her skin as she fell. The pounding of boots on steel was the last thing she heard, and then...

There was nothing.

---

Ah, welcome, friends, to my shameless, self-pandering sicfic.

No, I shall not apologise.

#SmackThatKudos

#TellMeYourThoughts&Feels

Here it is on Ao3!

#the bad batch #star wars the bad batch #star wars tbb #the bad batch fanfiction #tbb fanfiction #tbb fic #tbb hunter #tbb tech #tbb wrecker #tbb echo #tbb omega #sickfic #tbb whump #tbb fluff #tbb angst

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mqgriett · 4 years ago

Text

Crosshair- The Exam

Prompt: “You’re the only thing that matters”

Pairings: Crosshair x Fem!reader

Warnings: none!

Summary: you’ve been studying your ass off for a month trying to prepare for the exam that will dictate whether or not you get to go back to the 104th battalion as a medic.

Notes: IM SORRY THIS IS SO LONG thank you sm for requesting @lightning-wolffe

You shut off your data pad and pushed it under your armpit, squeezing it with your bicep to not let it fall from your grip as you open your textbook. Before you received the chance to re-read your highlighted notes you felt a tap on your shoulder.

“I heard that your boys landed in Hangar 5.” Kix chirped, pointing behind him with his thumb. He ran his opposite hand through his short brown hair, smiling kindly.

You hummed in response, your attention mostly focused on your annotations. The big exam, one that basically determined whether or not you were allowed to return to your assigned Clone Force, was in three days. Every quiet moment was spent with you cracking open a textbook or reviewing your notes. Now that you thought about it, when was the last time you ate… or slept?

Kix quickened his pace and moved in front of you, using his index finger to push your book down to properly view your face. “You know the exam isn’t for another three days, right?” he asked.

You pressed your lips in a thin line, “Unfortunately not everyone has a memory like yours. I need to study.” you said, closing your book and bopping him on the head with it lightly.

He took the textbook from your hands, holding it up in the air until it was out of your reach. “Fives!” he called to someone you couldn’t see, “Batchers still here?”

Behind you, the ARC trooper nodded, “Gonna be here for the next coupla hours. Engine is shot.”

Kix let his guard down just long enough for you to grab your study materials back. You gently nudged him to the side and walked past, just wanting to get back to your quarters and study.

The medic gave up, hurrying to catch up with Fives as you walked in the opposite direction.

Were you dying to see the Bad Batch? Absolutely.

Did you have the time to? Unfortunately not.

Someone (a medic from the 212th apparently, but you tried not to believe rumors) had fucked up a month ago, and it costs you your privilege of being an on-site medic. All field nurses were sent back to Coruscant to retake the big medical exam to prove that they could still serve as medics.

Unlike Kix, you took it very seriously. Getting anything below a 80% would make your chances of returning small. Only the top 45% of nurses would go back to their battalions while the other 55% stayed on Coruscant to continue their studies.

The large metal door to your room slid open as you scanned your hand and you stepped inside. Without looking up, you wandered to your desk, which was covered in an assortment of different papers and sticky notes.

Still reading your textbook, you typed in the access code for your online notes. After a few seconds an automated female voice began to quiz you on questions you had written down two weeks ago.

You stood up and undressed yourself, lazily pulling a dark brown shirt over your head and letting your hair fall loose from the bun that had sat on your head for the majority of the day.

“Define Choledocholithiasis.” said the voice.

“Stones in the gallbladder or common bile duct” you replied effortlessly, shuffling to your bathroom to fill the water compartment for your caf.

You plugged the machine into the wall, allowing the slow drip of heavenly brown liquid to start as you sat back down at your desk. It gave you a moment to think about everything. Realistically, you were more qualified than half the shinies going in to take the exam.

Kriff, you were wasting your time here.

You pushed back from your desk and slid on the first pair of shoes that were near your door.

The halls had quieted down for the most part, most of the clones eating dinner or heading to bed if they had an early start tomorrow morning.

Massaging your scalp and yawning, you made your way to Hangar 5.

You looked a little tired, but it didn’t matter as long as you got to see Crosshair. You knew none of them would care but especially not him, in the small window of time you two got alone he frequently told you how much he loved your messy hair. He wasn’t much of a verbal communicator when it came to your relationship, but he always made up for it in physical gestures.

Rounding the final corner, your eyes began to scan the busy hangar for the marauder. You took back your thought from earlier, seeing that Hangar 5 was a lot more busy than you had anticipated.

At least two different squadrons were shipping out, from what you could tell it was the 104th and 312th battalions. The blurred figures of grey and green armor made it difficult to keep your focus on one thing at a time.

You carefully started to walk along the wall, ducking until a small cruiser as a short cut.

After another ten minutes of searching you finally spotted a familiar face in the bottom right corner of the hangar.

Tech typed away at his data pad, turning to shout something up at Wrecker, who was sitting on the top of the ship and swinging his legs like a mad man.

Despite the excitement bubbling in your stomach, you took your time walking over to them. It was nice to just observe and laugh at their behavior for a few minutes, it lifted your spirits.

Once you were within vision to Wrecker, he didn’t hesitate to point and shout at you from the top of the Marauder.

“Tech!” You called as he mindlessly searched for you in the crowd of people.

He grinned widely, opening his arms up as you jogged over to him. He hugged you tightly, another pair of large arms suddenly wrapping around both of you.

Wrecker finally set you two down, giving you an individual hug and swaying you from side to side. At one point you were almost choking.

“Thought you were studying for the exam.” Tech said skeptically, eyeing you as if you would ever hide something from him.

You shrugged, “priorities” you peeked over his shoulder, looking for a specific person.

Tech noticed your wandering eyes and smiled, “Cross is taking inventory with Cody.”

“Where’s Sarg?” you asked, linking your arm into his.

“Talking to some of the blue regs.” Wrecker replied loudly, making a few of the 501st soldiers turn to look at him. The large clone was never one to be secretive when it came to addressing the other clones as “regs”. It often drew attention to the group, not necessarily the good kind either.

From a distance you could see Hunter walking back towards the Marauder with Fives, both of them with their helmets at their hips.

Sarg’s eyes lit up at the sight of you, his pace quickening as his urge to be with you grew. He hugged your torso tightly, allowing his arm to sling around your shoulder loosely afterwards.

“It’s been a while.” He said, gently nudging you away from Fives before the ARC trooper could talk.

“It’s been two months. And I always call.” You replied, smiling.

“You look exhausted.” Hunter pointed out quickly, looking down at the bags under your eyes.

You shrugged, “could say the same for you Sarg.”

You four situated yourselves underneath the Marauder, sitting on top of a few power supplies and food crates. Hunter sat next to you, Wrecker and Tech mirroring both of you.

“We were told you wouldn’t be coming down.” Hunter said, leaning back on his elbows.

You raised a skeptical brow, “who told you that?”

“Fives” he answered nonchalantly, “why else would I be talking to him?”

His comment made your eyes roll, “be nice.” You warned, poking his stomach where armor didn’t cover him.

Hunter swatted your hand away, briefly turning his head and smiling. “Look who’s back,” he jutted his thumb behind him, pointing to the two other clones making their way back to the ship.

Cody held a clipboard loosely at his side as he spoke to Crosshair, who carried his helmet against his hip. The 212th trooper laughed at something he said before saluting the sniper and walking in the opposite direction.

You always seemed to forget how handsome Cross was in person. The blue hologram of him during your brief calls did nothing for his strong jawline and high cheekbones. The scruff along his jaw and neck was slightly more visible now, a grey shadow lingering along it.

Pushing yourself off the crate, you broke into a swift jog towards him. For someone with perfect eyesight, he didn’t notice you coming until you were a few meters away.

He opened his arms up, catching you perfectly as you jumped to him.

His long arms held your waist completely as he lowered you to the ground, back arched due to his height compared to yours.“Didn't think you would come.” he said softly in your ear, his voice alone producing butterflies in your stomach.

“I wanted to see you.” you replied, pulling away from him and moving to his side.

Crosshair sent a small smirk to you, which was enough to indicate that he felt the same way.

You walked side by side back to the rest of the group, shoulders touching and hands grazing against one another’s. The gestures were sweet, like the type you would make in school when you were younger. They were enough to make the other person feel loved without drawing too much attention.

The Bad Batch, plus you, sat underneath their ship once more as the rest of the 104th took off in their ships. You waved to Sinker and Comet from the opposite side of the hangar, tossing over-dramatic kisses in their direction while they climbed up the steps. Another mission for them, one that you wouldn’t be going to.

“When do you expect to return?” Tech asked from the top of his crate. You had situated yourself on a lower case, one that was used to store bombs and other small explosives. It kept you about seven or eight inches off the ground while Crosshair took your spot next to Hunter.

You let out a long sigh, “I don’t even know if I’ll go back.”

“They need ya out there.” Wrecker replied, crossing his large legs like a child would.

Crosshair could sense your unease and pushed himself off the crate, settling on the ground in front of you and leaning back so his head pressed against your chest. He let out a small chuckle, no doubt feeling your heartbeat quicken for a few moments. “They’ll take you back.” he said calmly, reaching for your hand and placing it atop his head.

You began to run your fingers through his short, grey hair. “If I don’t get above an 80% then I’m not going back.” You mumbled.

“Why 80?” Hunter asked innocently.

“Because she’s a girl.” Wrecker replied loudly, having absolutely zero common sense as to who could be listening.

Crosshair tense underneath you, muscles tightening against your legs, “Wrecker.” he seethed, using his brother’s full name.

Your face dropped, cheeks heating up. He was right, but hearing someone finally say it out loud made it worse. That was the real reason you had been dedicating so many weeks to studying. Even if Kix received a 45% and you an 80%, they would choose him over you. Clones were bred to be intelligent. You were just a girl who somehow got Senator Palpatine to assign you to a clone squadron.

You wiggled your way out from under Crosshair, stepping over the low crate of explosives and walking up the steps of the Marauder. It was cold inside but the chill felt so nice against your hot body.

In all honesty, you wanted to cry. You wanted to go back to your room and bawl your eyes out until you physically couldn’t produce tears anymore. But you knew you couldn’t, that would be showing weakness.

Soft footsteps echoed behind you, Cross’s monotone voice ringing in your ears shortly after, “he didn’t mean that.”

You shook your head, “No no, he’s right.”

He took a few steps towards you, gently reaching for your wrist and pulling you into him. He rested his chin on your head, “you’ll do great on the exam.”

You pushed off of him, needing a bit of air to keep from crying. You shook your wrists out and looked up at the ceiling, it helped a little bit. “Just nervous.” you muttered.

He stayed silent, not exactly sure how to comfort you. Words frequently failed him and in the rare occasion that you were upset Tech was able to calm you down, but not this time. Crosshair wanted to make you feel better, no matter what it took.

You hated being this vulnerable around anyone, the panic in your stomach growing every second of silence that passed.

Taking a deep breath, you began to walk past him, “I need to go, you have more important things to-”

He caught your bicep and spun you back around, other hand holding the small of your back as he kissed you. It was a deep, passionate, yet chaste, kiss. You melted into his grip, leaning backwards to force his lips onto yours more. You held the sides of his face, the small scruff on his jaw feeling immaculate against your own.

He rested your foreheads together and quietly, barely audibly, whispered, “you’re the only thing that matters.”

You were about to kiss him again when Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker walked through the door.

Hunter smiled, “Guess who’s got a new nurse on the team.”

Your head cocked to the side, Wrecker looking like he was about to explode from excitement at any moment. “We do!” he bellowed, “and it’s you!”

Mouth hanging open, you looked from Crosshair to the other three. “What?”

“Welcome to Clone Force 99, medic.” Hunter answered proudly.

#clone trooper crosshair #crosshair x reader #clone trooper hunter #clone trooper wrecker #clone trooper tech #clone trooper echo #badbatch #bad batch #clone force 99 #bad batch x reader

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wolveria · 8 months ago

Text

On Frozen Wings - Ch 7

Pairing: Crosshair x Hunter

Rating: 18+ only, Explicit

The Empire invades Pabu, and Omega is taken.

AO3

Hunter raced up the steps, taking them two at a time. His lungs burned, his thigh muscles ached, and he was still dripping seawater, but he pushed himself to his limit to keep up with the hound.

He relied on her to guide him, his own senses muted under his helmet. He couldn’t catch a good scent through the filters, and it was difficult to get a lock on Crosshair’s electromagnetic signature on an island full of people, especially ones stressed and frightened.

Hunter would have found him eventually, but he didn’t want to waste a moment, and the hound was eager to help. She ran along one of the curving paths midway up the island peak, and when she skittered to a halt, Hunter stopped beside her, following the direction of her stare.

They found him.

But something was… wrong. Crosshair didn’t look up, even though they were standing in the middle of the path and were impossible to miss. His helmet was donned so Hunter couldn’t see his expression, but he didn’t move from where he leaned against the seawall, a hand curled around his stomach.

For a heart-stopping moment, Hunter thought he’d been shot. Batcher’s uncertain whine added to his fear, but he didn’t see a wound, and Crosshair was still standing.

Hunter patted the hound and gave her a quiet, “Stay.” She sat on her haunches obediently, though she let out another soft whimper. Hunter understood.

He began his approach, slow and careful, eyes darting to the corners and higher platforms where they could be fired upon, but he didn’t sense a trap. In fact, the stormtroopers seemed to be pulling out.

Which was why he hadn’t stopped to catch his breath after nearly drowning. Hunter knew what their departure meant.

“Crosshair?”

No response. He didn’t seem to breathe.

Hunter continued to circle around until he stood right in front of his brother. If Crosshair was aware of his presence, he didn’t acknowledge it. At least he was alive, and able to stay on his feet, but beyond that, Hunter didn’t know his status.

Taking off his helmet in the middle of an active battle zone was a stupid way to get shot, but Hunter still did it, carefully setting his helmet on the ground next to their feet.

Crosshair neglected to move. He continued to not move as Hunter reached up and gingerly removed his helmet. Only then did shift—a slight wince, a hunch inward, but he had nowhere to retreat, back to the wall.

He wouldn’t meet Hunter’s eye, and he kept his hand curled against his stomach. It was the same hand that often shook, and it trembled now. It didn’t stop.

“Crosshair?” Hunter tried again. “What happened?”

Crosshair’s lips tried to form words, but nothing came out. Hunter waited patiently, conscious of the distant sound of gunships still patrolling, and he kept Crosshair’s helmet tucked under his arm in case he needed to slam it down on his head in a hurry.

“I…”

His voice was so quiet that even Hunter had to move closer to catch it.

“…missed.”

Hunter frowned.

“You missed?”

Crosshair winced at the word, as if Hunter had physically struck him.

“The kid,” he said, his voice as ragged as his features. “I… They were burning the houses. She wanted to turn herself over to them. Stop the violence. I was supposed to… tag the ship.”

Crosshair drew another strained breath.

“I missed.”

Ah.

Hunter thought for a moment, always aware of the gunships and how close they crept. Most likely the patrols were doing one last sweep to pick up their troopers before moving out. They weren’t clear yet.

“We need to get moving,” Hunter finally said. “Take shelter until the Empire’s pulled back all troops. Then we can—”

“Didn’t you hear me?”

Hunter’s mouth closed shut. Crosshair’s eyes were wide, almost vicious, but his voice shook too much for pure anger.

“Omega is gone!”

Crosshair panted, as if each word cost him a great deal. His hand shook worse, and he trapped it against his stomach with a frustrated noise. Hunter kept his response neutral.

“I heard you.”

“Then why aren’t you—” Crosshair cut himself off before trying again. “Why aren’t you pissed? At… me?”

Hunter frowned further.

“Why would I be?” He didn’t really get it, not until Crosshair scoffed and then looked away, guilt bleeding through the cracks before he could hide them. Hunter softened in opposition to those hard lines. “Crosshair… it’s not your fault.”

His brother tensed further, his body one entire tight ball of stress.

“Look at me, Cross.”

His jaw flexed, and Hunter thought he might not listen, but then Crosshair turned his gaze on him, looking more like a prey animal about to flee before a predator.

Hunter didn’t know how to approach this, not with Crosshair. He knew how to comfort Omega when she blamed herself, but she was easy to soothe. Crosshair was not.

He thought of Tech in that moment. Though he sometimes overlooked emotion as a factor in people’s reactions, he also understood how to get to the root of the problem once he did. He would have tried to assuage Crosshair’s guilt, not with comforting gestures, but with logic and facts.

“We… were never getting off this island with Omega,” Hunter started slowly. “We were trapped. No exit plan or strategy. No extraction. No escape craft. My plan would have, at best, warned Echo of what was happening. But Rex wouldn’t have had the men to break through the blockage. We were always on borrowed time.”

Hunter watched him. Crosshair was listening, but he didn’t seem entirely convinced yet.

“Fact is, this was the best-case scenario.”

“Best-case?” Crosshair repeated in disbelief.

“We’re alive,” Hunter pointed out. “Omega was taken, yes, but she’s valuable to Hemlock. Which means he would want her taken unharmed. And Wrecker—”

Hunter tilted his head, and then pushed Crosshair further into the shadows. Batcher squeezed in tight around their legs as a gunship soared overhead, slow and unhurried. Hunter waited until it passed, but he kept close, not moving away even though he crowded Crosshair’s space. Crosshair didn’t complain, and instead watched him with an expression that wasn’t as heavy as before. That was good.

“And Wrecker,�� Hunter smiled a little, “is awake. I stopped to check him first. He’s going to meet us at the rendezvous.”

Crosshair relaxed, if only a little. Their fallback point if they ever got separated was the Archeum, and Hunter only hoped Wrecker was able to make it inside unseen. He probably did, otherwise they would have heard a lot more explosions and screaming.

Hunter chewed on the inside of his lip, a habit he thought he’d quit as a cadet. He wanted to touch Crosshair, reach out to him, but he was still too hunched, too much like a cornered animal that would bite even when the extended hand meant to help.

In the end, he stared down at Crosshair’s helmet for a moment before stepping back and holding it out to him. Crosshair took it with careful fingers, and Hunted noted they were steadier.

Once Crosshair put on his helmet, Hunter picked his off the ground and donned it. Not wanting to leave it at that, he reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. Crosshair paused, but he didn’t stiffen or pull away. Hunter was encouraged.

“We’ll get her back,” Hunter said, and there wasn’t a shadow of doubt in the words.

Crosshair nodded, but he remained silent, and Hunter’s hand traveled to the nape of his neck, as it had a mind of its own. It felt natural to put it there, as it did to pull his brother forward, touching their armored foreheads together.

Crosshair didn’t move, but Hunter heard the quiet intake of a surprised breath. He pretended not to notice, and that the gesture didn’t send a heavy warmth through his abdomen.

Hunter finally let go, glad his helmet was on so Crosshair couldn’t later tease him about the warm flush on his cheeks.

“You good to move?” he asked.

Crosshair nodded. He grabbed his rifle from where it leaned against the wall and followed Hunter up the spiraling steps, Batcher close at their heels. They didn’t slow or stop unless it was to avoid lingering patrols, and they made it to the peak’s plaza without being spotted.

Hunter paused under the colored tarps and awnings, left abandoned after the festival had been cut short by the invading force. The Archeum stood alone, the door closed and left unharassed by stormtroopers as far as he could see.

“You should be clear,” Hunter said over his shoulder where Crosshair crouched behind him.

“You’re not coming with me?”

The words were sharp, but that was how Crosshair always sounded when he was worried. Hunter smiled a little, though his brother couldn’t see it.

“I left Lyana with her neighbors, and I want to make sure Shep finds her. Make sure the last of those troopers leave too,” he added, eyeing a patrol that passed overhead.

Hunter moved back further into the shadows, already planning his route for how he would leave the plaza unseen, but when Crosshair gained his feet, he didn’t move.

“I could… go with you.”

His stance was uncertain, his words lacking their usual self-assured confidence, and to Hunter he seemed… lost. Hunter wanted to pull him into his arms so badly it hurt, but there wasn’t time for it, and he wasn’t sure Crosshair would react well to the treatment.

“You could,” he agreed, “but I’d feel better if someone was with Wrecker. AZI said he would need to be watched the first rotation after he woke up.”

Crosshair remained quiet, so Hunter took a step back towards him.

“I’ll be quick. And I won’t be alone.” Hunter snapped his fingers, and the hound was at his side in an instant. He patted the top of her head crest. “I’ve got Batcher.”

She leaned against his leg and gave a happy huff, tongue lulling out of her mouth. Crosshair folded his arms over his chest, helmet tilted down at her as if in a scowl.

“You like him better now?”

Batcher let out a chuff, practically ready to roll over as Hunter scratched her side.

“Traitor,” Crosshair muttered, but there was affection masked underneath. “Better take care of him, seeing as you’ve traded me in.”

She let out a quiet bark of acknowledgement.

“We’ll be back soon,” Hunter assured him.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Hunter warmed at the stubborn insistence there, and the promise that if he didn’t come back, Crosshair would go after him. And Maker help whoever got in his way.

Next Chapter

#crosshunt #the bad batch #cloneshipping #crosshair x hunter #tbb season 3 #tbb spoilers #wolveria writes

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