#crosshair x jedi reader

[zoeykallus]

aloha zoey! i hope you're doing well :) i am wondering if you're still taking requests, could you write something a little angsty with a happy ending with crosshair. maybe the jedi!reader and him were in a relationship before he joined the empire and it completely broke after it was revealed his chip was never removed. and so now they're trying to reconcile now that he's back? thank you so much ❤️

Aloha Anon!

I cooked something up for you 😊

Crosshair x Jedi!Reader Oneshot - What Are You Afraid Of?

Warnings: Angst/Fluff

______________________

The moment you part ways is so surreal, so devastating. Crosshair has left the team, switched sides, and in your last encounter, you barely escaped with your life.

You look back once more from a safe distance, seeing him in the distance with the other troopers as they swarm out, looking for you. Your heart is heavy, heavier than you could have ever imagined.

It's hard to accept what has happened, hard to understand that Crosshair is no longer your Crosshair. The realization that he has succumbed to his programming hits you like a slap in the face. There is nothing you can do but turn your back on him, stay away from him, if only for your own safety.

The thought that you have lost him is crushing, the feeling overwhelming. But you have to move on, adapt, you can't just give up everything because of it.

With the Bad Batch, you've been around for a while now, and Crosshair's split from the team has hit you all hard. But you hold yourselves together, holding each other up in unsettled, dangerous times.

You've all made your peace with the situation, one way or another. You haven't heard from Crosshair in a long time, so it's all the more surprising when you receive a coded message from him.

"It's probably a trap," Echo says seriously.

Hunter sighs softly, crosses his arms in front of his chest and nods, "Probably."

You say quietly, "But he asked us for help. What if he really needs that help?"

Wrecker agreed with you, "We have little choice but to take the risk. We can't ignore Crosshair."

Tech frowns and says, "We could, but would surely regret it sooner or later"

You look from one to the other, sensing the mood in the room, feeling how torn your teammates are. Your own feelings are far too wild, erratic and intense for a Jedi, but you can't help yourself. You still miss him, your grumpy sniper.

No matter what the mood, you know you will answer this call for help.

It's a strange feeling as the Marauder lands, perhaps because Tech makes a soft landing for a change. Even his flying style seems thoughtful today.

Your heart is still racing, you can't really control your emotions, outwardly you can, but inside there is an excited, yet anxious restlessness.

Suddenly, you feel Hunter's hand on your shoulder and hear him say, "Take a deep breath. We don't know what to expect, we need to keep a clear head, just in case. I know how much it would mean to you if Crosshair were to come back, but you can't let that get to you, none of us can."

Of course, he had noticed your restlessness, his senses were actually not unlike that of a Jedi, perhaps even superior in some situations.

"I know," you say softly with a nod.

As the ramp opens, and you can already see the tall, slender figure of Crosshair approaching in the distance, you still can't help it, your pulse racing, tingling in your nerve endings. For a moment, a vibration seems to go through the ship, a few objects suddenly float up into the air.

The men look around, startled, then you hear Hunter's gently admonishing voice say your name. You pull yourself together, the floating objects fall down again, here and there you hear a soft clatter or rumble. The vibration in the ship's walls stops.

"Sorry," you say meekly.

The figure comes closer, and it's clear, the way he moves, the stature, the posture, and last but not least, the modified, unmistakable sniper rifle on his back. This is undeniably Crosshair.

You open your mind, looking for other people in the area, but all you sense is the unease, the caution, the uncertainty Crosshair feels. Then his gaze seems to fall on you, and you feel a strong pull, a longing coming from him that you didn't expect.

Hunter says softly, "I can't sense anything other than Crosshair so far."

Tech adds, "Scanners show nothing so far either, just a small shuttle, presumably the one Crosshair landed here with"

You nod and say, "I don't sense any presence other than his and ours so far either"

Finally, Crosshair stops at the end of the ramp and one by one of you, come out of the Marauder, you wait until the end. Your steps are slow, deliberate, and you watch for any reaction from him.

He slowly removes his helmet, you see the scar where the chip had been before, look at the unfamiliar short cropped gray hair.

"You look different," you say softly.

Crosshair blinks and says, "You haven't changed at all."

What you feel is so intense, so much so, that you let the men talk among themselves first, discuss and work through unresolved issues, waiting for your moment.

Hunter and the others go back into the Marauder, it's a done deal, for now Crosshair is to travel with you again. Crosshair and you remain standing outside, no one complains or asks questions, the men know you both have your own thing to work out.

"It's good to see you again," he says quietly.

"Likewise," you say, searching his gaze and your feelers for what's going on inside him.

He's unusually nervous, something you haven't seen from him before, at least not like this.

"What are you so afraid of?" you ask curiously in a calm voice.

He blinks, gritting his teeth, he still hates it when you look through him so easily. But after a sigh, he admits, "That maybe you can't forgive me".

You smile softly, perhaps a little mischievously.

"So you care what I think?"

He looks at you seriously and grumbles, "I always did, you should know that."

"I'm not angry at you, never have been. Sad and angry about the situation, yes, but not necessarily at you," you say honestly.

He takes a deep breath, takes another step towards you, stands so close to you that you almost touch each other.

You state in an almost whisper, "You're still attracted to me."

Crosshair nods, you know his heart is up to his neck, but he seems perfectly calm on the outside.

"Is it still mutual?" he asks quietly.

You nod.

"It is."

You flinch, almost startled, as his hand reaches for your chin quite unexpectedly, his lips descending on yours. He kisses you, intensely, and you feel the longing behind it, the relief, the affection, the intensity of his personality.

His free hand has clawed into the fabric of your tunic, as if he fears you might pull away. One hand on your chin, the other on the fabric of your clothes, he holds you tight. But what really holds you captive in the kiss is all the emotion he's radiating at this moment.

There is also something deeper, the will to be close to you, to have you all to himself, that winds around and through all the other sensations of his, like a bond that holds you both tight.

When his lips break away from yours, you are both quite breathless. Your knees are soft and almost buckle away, but he pulls you back up, his hand still on your tunic.

He smirks, "My kisses are still blowing your mind, it seems."

You grin cheekily and say, "Don't flatter yourself."

Crosshair laughs softly, "Still a little feisty, are we?"

"As you said, I haven't changed a bit"

With a relieved sigh, he pulls you closer to him with both hands and engages you in another kiss, this time much more tender.

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

@rintheemolion

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@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

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[cl-01-kestis]

No Escape from Reality - Crosshair x Female Jedi!Reader | Prologue

Summary: some time has passed since the events on Tipoca City, you take up a job as a bounty hunter and live a fairly quiet life. Many favour your skill and hire you consistently, but you find yourself dabbling with the Empire once more.

Warnings: extensive plot, so much story building, no Crosshair, angst, smoking, SEASON 2 SPOILERS!!

(This is a direct sequel to caught in a landslide, if you haven’t read that first I highly recommend you do!)

WE’RE BACK BABY!!

You were so tired.

Exhaustion couldn’t even cover what you were feeling, not by a long shot. Every waking hour, you were working, gathering up handsome amounts of credits and whatever form of currency your clients offered.

You recently finished a job on Mon Calamari, the payment covering a whole month of food shopping. You knew you were in no position to complain, but it didn’t hurt to admit you were overworked and thinned out from labour.

A bounty hunter was the last job you ever thought you’d be doing. As a Jedi, you were taught that bounty hunters were untrustworthy, foul people that only cared about money. You weren’t untrustworthy, and you certainly weren’t foul, but you absolutely only cared about money. There was nothing more important to get by, and without it, you’d be rotting on the streets or dead. It was a gruesome, gritty profession, typically involving the bounties you were commanded to kill. Most of the time, you brought back the bounties alive and unspoiled for the clients to deal with, it felt better on your conscience. But there were times you had to take that life yourself, whether it be shooting them between their eyebrows, or strangling them to death. You were ordered to kill them however the client pleased.

It brought shame to your beliefs.

You prayed every time you killed someone, finding yourself in your apartment - which was paid for by your regular clients - and asking the maker for forgiveness. You held onto the kyber crystal that continued to stay on your neck for countless months, hoping to feel ease as you remembered the man who gave it to you. His face was nothing but a memory now, a blurry picture of who you once remembered so clearly. You were even starting to forget what his voice sounded like, the way it used to call your name through the long forgotten halls of Tipoca city.

You tried working extra hours to get him off your mind, battling tired and painful visions of the past and the trauma you faced. The money came crashing in, the reward was always bittersweet, but sometimes it truly got your mind off him.

You rarely spent your expenses on luxury, unless it was new and upgraded uniform and weapons, which you had to save up for. Many bounty hunters flashed their cash by buying designer clothes or lavish mansions and apartments, but you kept your wealth a secret. Only your clients knew your net worth, and they weren’t going to spill it so loosely.

You adorned a heavy scar on your forehead from the injury you sustained months prior, all by banging your head on that cold floor in the medbay. It was still dark, cutting through your temple and just grazing your eyebrow. To others, it looked like a battle scar, but you would never tell them you got it from your clumsiness. That’s why you wore a helmet most of the time, so people wouldn’t ask.

With a quiet sigh, you took a step outside your apartment block and leaned against the wall, taking out a cigarette and placing it between your lips. It was one of the few habits that helped, it made your mind airy and less troublesome.

As you lit the tip of the cigarette, you began a slow stroll through the small town you stayed in for the time being, a peaceful location on the planet of Naboo. It was near the countryside, very far from the city.

It was early evening, around 6pm, the sun was just setting and a few people were leaving from work. The wind was choppy, sweeping through the streets and causing a few people to clutch their coats tighter to their bodies. You put your hands in your pockets, leaving your cigarette dangling between your lips as you walked towards the main plaza of the town. There was a luxurious water fountain in the centre, a thick circular pathway surrounding it and branching off to different streets.

One of those streets lead to a bar, full of families, friends, and workers who’ve just gotten off. You contemplated joining, continuing to take short puffs of your cigarette as you walked up to the building.

A few familiar faces spotted you from a distance, fellow bounty hunters who, like you, liked to keep a low profile. One of them waved to you, beckoning you over to join them on the bench they were seated at. You smiled and waved back, shouting a friendly greeting to them before shuffling into the end seat of the bench.

“How goes your night?” One of the hunters asked, named Dalia, she was dressed in a heavy fur coat and a woolly hat. All of them were dressed out of their uniform, wrapped up for the cold night ahead and blending in with the locals.

“It’s been fairly calm, no work for me today” You tipped your cigarette in the ashtray in the middle of the wooden table. Dalia asked for a lighter as she took out a cigarillo from her satchel, placing it between her cherry red lips as you gave her your lighter. She sparked it and took a few sucks of the filter before handing it back to you, exhaling upwards into the cold winters air.

“I got some news for you; about the Empire if you care to listen. Its about the clones, I know you’ve been curious about them” Dalia’s voice lowered and she made sure no one else was listening in, giving you a subtle look of secrecy which enticed you to lean in closer.

“What’s it going to cost me?” You ask, narrowing your eyes. Dalia waved you off, chuckling to herself.

“I’ve known you long enough now, any info is free of charge now” She smiled, taking a long draw from her cigarillo.

“Alright then, let me hear it” You spoke quietly.

“More and more civvies are applying each day and replacing the clones. They’ve introduced a new regime with the clones’ chips, enhancing them 4 times their normal power, they’re getting more aggressive and merciless” Dalia revealed, flicking some ash into the tray in the middle of the table. Your face was blank, your heart hammering in your chest as you registered her heavy words.

All you could think about was Cross. You wondered if he was even alive, what happened to him after the Empire found him on Kamino? These thoughts plagued your mind for the past few months and you’ve gotten no rest from them, Dalia’s new information doesn’t help. You’ve seen him with his enhanced chip before, you couldn’t imagine him or other clones with any more intensity.

“And what about Clone Force 99? Any information on them?” You raise a brow.

“Unfortunately not, but some of my contacts say they’ve gone off the radar, they’re impossible to track now a days” Dalia scoffed, clearing her throat due to the build up of nicotine in her throat.

You nodded your head, unable to make a verbal answer. Deep down, you still worried about the rogue clone squad and their younger sister. You decided to cut off all contact with them after they saved you from Kamino, not because you didn’t want to speak to them but because you were a Jedi. If they were ever caught by the Empire, and had your con link, it would lead them straight to you.

Your alter ego, Amia Luveno, was dead in the Empire’s eyes. You could no longer use that name, as useful as it was, but you went under a code name now. But being dead in the Empire’s eyes had its endless advantages. You couldn’t exactly flaunt your face around anywhere you desired, your face was still known on imperial databases, but in times like this, bounty hunters knew your face but not in the same way the Empire did. To hunters, you were just like them.

“What do you say we grab a drink? You look tense” Dalia gesture you to stand up, you couldn’t help but follow to appease her. You tried to block out the worry in your mind about the clones as much you could.

You hoped the drinks would work.

-

A week had passed since that night on Naboo, you found yourself on Canto Bight working for a snooty billionaire with too many enemies in need of a body guard. You opted to wear your helmet, wanting to keep your identity undercover in case any imperials were in attendance at the casinos. And you were completely right. Where there’s money, there’s the Empire.

The man you were working for was an Imperial fascist, a senator with too much money and not enough common sense. He was a little intimidated by you when you first met him to discuss payment and the points of escape if someone were to plan an ambush, but he came around and handed you the first half of your payment before the job even started.

Now you were standing with a rifle strapped to your chest, eyes sharp through the cold, black visor of your helmet. Aristocrats swarmed the area, different silks and linen gowns grazing the floor. The women eyed you fearfully, the men threateningly. You didn’t move so much as a finger during the time you stood beside the Senator as he gambled away whatever credits he had in his pocket, taking a swig of his dark golden whisky as he shouted words of intimidation to his opponents.

You imagined a few people were expecting you to intervene with his brash behaviour, but you weren’t paid to do that. You were paid to protect him and his stupid money.

He spitefully ignored the winner once he lost, walking back to you with a scornful scowl.

“Looks like there won’t be any additional payments for you tonight”.

“I wasn’t expecting it, Sir” You scoffed, adjusting the grip on your rifle as he turned to another section of the casino. You silently followed him as he strutted over to, what appeared to be, an Imperial officer with disheveled hair and rosy cheeks. The officer was obviously drunk, oblivious to his surroundings as he had his arm around an unfortunate lady who was only looking for his money.

“General Viraldi! Are you winning?” Your client asked with an upbeat tone, mirroring the attitude he adorned moments ago.

“As always, Governor,” Viraldi slurred. “Say, who’s that with you?” The officer sent you a wary glance, gesturing to you with a drink in his hand.

“Oh her? She’s my bodyguard for the night, just ignore her” Your client waved you off, but you didn’t react much to the way he spoke about you.

“You need a bodyguard? Who’s trying to kill you now?” Viraldi cackled loudly, puffing his chest out as he heard the woman on his arm giggle.

“I hired her because I know those rotten rebel scum are plotting to ambush me” Your client wasn’t too far off the truth, you secretly hoped it would become reality sometime soon.

“Hired? So she’s a bounty hunter?” The drunken officer squinted his eyes at your threatening rifle and emotionless black visor. He couldn’t even tell if you were a woman or something else under there, but he knew you meant strict business.

“Yes, I am” You answered for yourself, tired of your clients jabs at you. Officer Viraldi hummed pleasingly and took a few wary steps in your direction.

“In that case, I’ve been looking for a bounty hunter recently for a most confidential job, but it’s not ideal to discuss it with you here”

“Well, you can always slip me a request in my inbox, it’s always open” You tilted your head and leaned on one leg, your stance relaxing.

“Hmm, yes, that would be much better, how can I get in touch with you?” Viraldi removed his arm from his lady, who scowled daggers at you but you didn’t care, taking his com device that he offered you. You punched in your business com number and your email, handing it back to him before he thanked you graciously. This man seemed to have way more manners than your client, who was already making himself familiar with another bottle of expensive champagne.

You reminded yourself not to panic, realising you were settling yourself into the path of the empire once more after giving that Imperial officer your details, but it was just a job. You were a bounty hunter, you were made to do this.

“Thank you for your time, my dear, I’ll send you over the details later” His pet name made you roll your eyes, but you bowed your head nonetheless and went on your separate ways.

The rest of the evening went well, there was only a few threatening drunkards who tired intimidating you and your client, but they were swiftly taken care of outside with your stun gun. Your client dismissed you after leaving on his cruiser, thankfully you brought your own ship so you left when you pleased.

The other half of your generous payment came through before you came home, checking your bank account on your datapad as you shouldered your way through your front door after unlocking it. You chucked your datapad on your couch before walking upstairs to get changed, finally free of your helmet and catsuit. You changed into your pyjamas and brushed your hair, opening your fridge since you hadn’t eaten since the night before.

Your datapad flashed bright with a new notification, drawing your attention as you grabbed a protein bar from your fridge and walked over hap hazard-ly. You picked it up, peeking at the heading of the email casually until you realised it was from the Imperial officer from Canto Bight earlier tonight. You clicked the email, opening it up to see a lengthy paragraph followed by the officers signature.

You started to read it, unpacking the protein bar and taking a bite out of it as your eyes skimmed the aurebesh text on your screen.

‘Agent Dobrova,

First of all I would like to thank you for offering me your details, I highly appreciate your cooperation. Recently, there has been an influx of rogue clones throughout the Imperial army, but a few Commanders and Captains have been on the run much to our distaste. I would like you to track down one trooper in particular, his recent defiance of the Empire has caused a blow to our plans and we want him hunted down and executed. His clone number is CC-2224, I will send you further details if you agree to this bounty, please let me know within the next week,

Thank you for your time, Officer Viraldi”

You stared at the datapad blankly for a few minutes, reading the clone number over and over as you realised who it was. There was no way you could say no to this bounty, because the empire would plant a target on your back for defiance and you would be hunted once more. But your gut churned with guilt, your mouth tasting sour as you rubbed tears from your eyes and abandoned your protein bar on your couch.

Of all the things, you’d been hired to hunt an awol clone, but not just any clone.

Commander Cody himself.

[knightprincess]

Always (Crosshair x Jedi Reader) Part 28

Words: 1.9K 

Warning: Sad (sorry) but does have a certain reunion

"Where's Echo and (Y/N)?" asked Crosshair, looking to his brothers and Omega. The rescue had been surprisingly quick considering Coruscant was the center of the former republic turned empire. The sniper looked between each of them, hope in his golden eyes mixing with uncertain, dread and fear. He didn't want to be judged again, least of all by his brothers. Yet at the same time he couldn't deny the fear tightening around his chest and  stomach, settling its grip on his heart. 

"They caused the distraction with Rex, if all goes to plan we'll rendezvous with them on Ord Mantel" replied Wrecker, all but pulling Crosshair from his feet in a bone crushing hug. Omega was quick to join in, the hug helping to drown out her sadness of (Y/N) and Echo not being apart of the long awaited reunion too. 

"Not to worry. (Y/N) is more than capable of handling whatever the Empire throw at her. Plus with Rampart's recent arrest the odds of the capture is low" casually spoke Tech in an attempt to lighten the dread each of them felt, even if it was more obvious in Hunter and Crosshair. Even now it was clear Hunter regretted the idea of letting (Y/N) and Echo, even more so when it meant the little family would be broken a little longer, and the fear of losing someone he loved grew the longer they were all parted. 

"Why did you come for me now?" asked Crosshair, failing to stop the words slipping passed his lips. He'd always thought (Y/N), his beloved would lead the crusade to retrieve him when the time came. Yet here he stood, surrounded by his brothers and Omega. No Princesses in sight, no Echo either. Instead it had been the three to hurt him the most. The more Crosshair waited for one of them to respond, the more his thoughts of (Y/N) planning for this crossed his mind. He had no doubt she planned for them to reunite eventually. She intended for them to be on the same page again, a force to be reckoned with, as they were during the war. 

"Princess's orders" simply responded Hunter, finding his self unsure. Like Crosshair he'd always imagined (Y/N) to be with them, instead she was working closely with the former Arc Trooper and Captain. "You know better than anyone how stubborn she can be. She was insistent we come and get you and you get this" calmly spoke the Sargent, holding a hologram out to his younger brother. Once again feeling the guilt bubbling up. Just seeing Crosshair didn't do anything to help it. Even more so with how terrible he looked. Hallow cheeks, lines from the constant frowning, eyes dull, he slouched now too. Hunter was willing to bet Crosshair had lost weight as well, although it was difficult to tell with the black armor. "I'm sorry .." 

"Don't" simply responded the enhanced Clone, looking to Hunter, before his eyes flicked to Tech and Wrecker. He'd been so focused on Hunter, he'd failed to realize Omega had moved, coming to stand at his side, her small hand wrapping around his long fingers. She gave the same comforting feeling (Y/N) often did, the peacefulness being a welcome sense. "Save it for when Echo and (Y/N) are back with us" added Crosshair, wanting nothing more than the impending reunion to happen quicker. Hunter soon nodded, recalling the amount of times he wished, he'd spoken those words sooner. How many times he'd wished to have done things differently. So many things could have happened, had they just taken Crosshair with them when they left Kamino, after the reign of fire. 

Crosshair soon walked to the seats near the communication panel, the place he'd once religiously cleaned his rifle after every mission. Even now Crosshair could recall what each of his brothers would have been doing. Hunter would always be sat opposite him, silently thinking about something as he calmed his overwhelmed senses, all while mindlessly spinning his vibroblade between his fingers. Tech would be in the cockpit, ensuring everything ran smoothly, Echo with him towards the end. The two deep in conversation about something. Wrecker would be on the sleeping racks, complaining they were too small for him, while also attempting to stay on them when fighting to get comfortable. 

Back then (Y/N) would have been at the communication panel, cleaning her lightsabers before continuing on with the torture known as reports. She always hated the paper work and the endless council meetings, yet still she got through them. She'd always have the softest of smiles on her lips when looking around to each of them. Almost as if seeing them safe and sound, gave her a sense of peace. 

Crosshair soon began to look around the ship now, as his brothers and Omega made their way to different parts. Wrecker headed for the cockpit, attempting his hand at flying them away from the imperial capitol. Hunter returned to the communication panel, the place (Y/N) would have once wondered off to. Where as Tech took a seat opposite him, concern in his eyes, although he didn't voice anything. Instead he watched as Crosshair looked around their old ship. Omega soon wondered off to her little room in the rear gun hold, settling into position to meditate again. 

"You'll see her again. Mustafar will freeze over before she lets anything happen to any of us" calmly voiced Tech, acting as if he would've before the Empire took control. Before order 66 had ripped their brotherhood apart. Crosshair simply nodded, knowing there was truth in his younger brother's words. "Lets not waste her efforts. She wanted us all here now, together. She wants us to mend what has been broken" spoke Tech, ensuring even Wrecker could hear his words. He was no fool, he knew there was a reason (Y/N) chose to go with Rex and insisted Echo go with them. Just as there was a reason she didn't argue with Omega staying with them. 

Crosshair simply looked to his little brother, curiosity in his eyes. His princess had purposely chosen not to be there. With a sigh the sniper nodded. Of course she would do this, Echo had been the one to constantly fight for them to go back for both himself and (Y/N), where as Omega was the innocent one for now, taking (Y/N)'s place as peacekeeper. A role the younger Jedi in training seemed to be fully aware of. 

"I understand there was nothing you could have done on Kamino. My inhibitor chip had full control, had you stayed you would have been captured or worse killed" started Crosshair, admitting he had long since accepted why he was left behind back then. There was nothing any of them could have done to change it. Plus he wouldn't have been able to live with himself had they been executed by the empire for treason. "Same with Bracca, there was no way you could have gotten me without getting captured, the imperial forces were too strong, plus Cad Bane. Retrieving Omega was the top priority" he continued, looking to each of them, including Wrecker lent against the door frame leading to the cockpit. "But that doesn't stop the hurt, or betrayal. It doesn't stop the pain or the abandonment. I know there was nothing any of you could have done then, but why did you leave without me after Tipoca City. I would have gone with you, all I wanted, was to hear say you still needed me, you still wanted me" whispered Crosshair, admitting everything, all the pain, the betrayal and even the hope he had. 

"We didn't want to leave you. The first time, we were going to go back and find you once we got our armor, but you got to us before we found you" started Hunter, taking a deep breath before continuing. "When we found out about the inhibitor chips, we came up with so many plans to get you out. Every time we tried you were either surrounded by Imperials or impossible to find. When we tried to find (Y/N), it was like she'd disappeared. We thought you two would have been together. Only Echo realized the Empire would have used her against you" spoke the former Sargent, looking down with guilt painted on his features. He hated what happened, hated how Crosshair was made to suffer and feel. He hated how things had turned out. 

"By the time of Kamino the second time. We thought you already hated us" admitted Wrecker, his voice resembling that of a shout in the quiet ship. Even Omega's soft breathing, as she meditated sounded far louder than it was. "I thought you would hold what happened against us. That you would demean us for failing to find and protect (Y/N). You'd blame us for abandoning her too" voiced the lovable human wrecking ball, his voice serious as his eyes sincere. All that time he truly had believed Crosshair would blame them, he believed Crosshair had looked upon them as his enemies rather than brothers. Only now did he see how truly wrong he'd been to think those things.    

"Echo always said you'd come back. He said (Y/N) would find a way to get all of you back together again" calmly whispered Omega, a soft smile on her lips, as if she could hear Echo's voice speaking those same words. A chuckle escaping him too. Even more so when she imagined he was with Rex and (Y/N) speaking the old line of I told you. Rex likely playfully rolling his eyes and (Y/N) thanking him with a chuckle, just like old times. Hunter, Crosshair, Tech and Wrecker looked to Omega, clearly having heard her words. "He always said (Y/N) and General Skywalker were alike in a lot of ways" added the enhanced clone with confidence. She wanted to know more about General Skywalker, but knew it was impossible for the time being. (Y/N) almost refused to answer questions on the Jedi Knight and had all but lock the files regarding him away, even Tech had trouble decoding the files. 

"Oh no" spoke Hunter, dread and fear flooding his smokey voice, as realization hit him. Quickly he put out the orders. Sending Tech to change the course, going to Dathomir rather than Ord Mantel. Although he didn't state why which only served to cause more panic among the small unit. Crosshair especially, as it suddenly dawned on him what his princess was likely up to and where it could lead. 

"She's not" stuttered Crosshair, knowing one of the things (Y/N) wanted outside of freeing all the clones, and reuniting the little family again. Was to find out what had truly happened to Anakin. She'd stated she could still sense him, she knew he was alive, but something was different. She wanted to know what happened to him, she wanted to finally answer the questions regarding her best friend. One of the few people she truly had left. 

Hunter didn't word his response, simply opting to nod in confirmation. Quickly summarizing Crosshair too had figured out what the former Jedi Knight was up to. And what it could eventually lead to. The former Sargent heard Crosshair whisper something about (Y/N) being stupid for attempting something like this without all of them with her. Yet a soft grin appeared on his lips the moment he heard Crosshair call (Y/N) runi. The single word speaking volumes on how much (Y/N) meant to his sniper brother. Just as indicated how desperate they all were to save her from her own stupidity, and the cost of failing. 

Masterlist

[wanderer-six]

Sleepless Nights

AN: Had an idea for the reader as the batch's Jedi General finding it hard to sleep when she's on Kamino with them (their room is probably so miserable and also the couch is the only open real estate LOL), turned into cute drabbles for every member of the batch! Enjoy ♥♥

Relationships: Did a drabble for every member of the Batch individually; established relationship for all of them!

Summary: You are the Jedi General for the Bad Batch. On a rare stay on Kamino, you find yourself restless in the Batch's barracks. You sneak away in hopes of making yourself sleepy, but with little luck. Thankfully, your favorite clone sweetheart finds you and does his best to help.

WARNINGS: They are all just fluff EXCEPT HUNTER bc he is a whore (fingering, dirty talk) - put him last in line to be safe/in case u do not want to deal with him (VALID)

Word Count: About 2k per boy, ~6.5k total!

Try as you might to fade off to sleep, you can’t do much more than stare at the ceiling.

In an event nearly as rare as a cool day on Mustafar, the Bad Batch had returned to Kamino for a brief stay. Though the visit wouldn’t last long—just enough time to refuel and restock—you now find yourself staying overnight in the Batch’s barracks. Since you’ve become their “de facto” Jedi General, they were kind enough to clear some space in their very cluttered room so that you had a place to sleep on the couch by the window.

And, as considerate a gesture as that was, the stiff Kaminoan furniture fails to bring you the same comfort as your bed in the temple.

Sighing quietly, you loll your head to the side, making out the room in the faint light. Unlike you, it seemed all five of your companions slept soundly. Tech had passed out, datapad in hand, while Echo slept bundled under a dozen blankets in his makeshift hammock. Hunter’s long hair was a complete mess, and Crosshair was about as quiet and stiff as a corpse. Wrecker, in contrast, snored so loudly that you weren’t certain how any of you ever got any rest. But even with how loud he was, the other four had all managed to lapse into their dreams, getting all the rest they needed before you were to set out in the morning.

So even among the odd ones out, you were odder, still.

Wearily, you rub your eyes, turning away to look up at the window. Little drops of rain flecked against the transparisteel, and watching them roll down eased your mind. When you were younger—back before the war—rainy days on Coruscant were something you looked forward to. Your master would kindly allow you to stay in for the day, trading your studies for many hours spent reading with a hot cup of tea at your side. Though you couldn’t enjoy such luxuries anymore, the rain still brought you a warm feeling of nostalgia… a comfort that could rarely be replicated.

It makes you wonder if such a feeling could be the cure for your insomnia.

With one last glance at your companions, you gingerly shed the blanket you’ve been resting under. Careful not to make any noise, you step into your slippers and get to your feet. Though the chilly temperature of the Kaminoan facilities isn’t exactly pleasant in your shorts and tank top, you grab your blanket and power through it. Having spent as much time on Kamino as you have during the war, you’ve found a few places that you like to run off to every now and then—and you know that the spot you have in mind will make powering through the cold more than worth it.

Carefully, you tiptoe through the piles of electronics, mementos and trophies that litter the Batch’s room, making sure not to disturb a single thing as you make your way to the door. When you reach it at last, you let out the breath you’d been holding. With one last peek over your shoulder to ensure you haven’t disturbed any of your friends, you open the door—closing it just as swiftly when you’re on the other side.

Though they remain lit in a blinding white, the halls of Tipoca City are largely empty at this hour. You’re more than thankful for that, since you can’t imagine the looks you’d get walking around in your pajamas. You wind through the corridors, eventually making your way to a secluded elevator. When you enter, the door closes behind you, and you’re lifted up to your destination.

The elevator releases you into a small, quiet room with a large overhang and a window open to the elements at the far end. You would describe it as a “viewing deck”, but it was unlike the Kaminoans to build anything for sentimental value. Even still, the room served such a purpose for you, and that was good enough. You walk inside, and the room darkens as the elevator door shuts behind you. Only the ambient glow of the grey, stormy night over Kamino remains, and you couldn’t appreciate it more.

You roam a bit closer to the exposed window, and just as the cool breeze strikes you, you stop. Gently, you take a seat on the floor, facing the open sky. You deeply breathe in the smell of the rain, filled with memories of better days. The raindrops strike against the metal roof, and for a while, you simply sit in silence. Bundling your blanket around your shoulders a bit more tightly, you pout—though you feel more relaxed, it seems sleepiness is still not in your stars. It’s frustrating to say the least, and you can’t help but sigh.

You wonder if you’ll ever be able to rest tonight.

After a short while, something catches you by surprise. Without warning, you hear the quiet hum of the elevator doors. You’re nearly worried that the Kaminoans have come to chastise you for sneaking off into some secret lab of theirs. But when you look over your shoulder, peering through the yellow glow of the elevator lights, you see…

WRECKER

… the large frame of Wrecker, who stumbles into the room.

The poor thing’s eyes switch between half-lidded and fully closed, and it’s clear from the way he wobbles as he walks that he isn’t fully awake. However, that fact obviously hasn’t dampened his resolve to find you—something that you find all too adorable.

“Wrecker?” you call to him. In the sweetest way, he perks up when he hears your voice.

“... little tooka?” he grumbles, referring to you by the adorable nickname he’d given you when you first met. Rubbing one of his eyes, he tromps over to where you’re sitting. Before you can say another word, he plops down beside you, swiftly burgling you into his lap. You giggle in surprise—more so when he wraps you up tight in his big arms.

“Wrecker…!” you beam, wriggling in his embrace until you’re able to kiss his cheek. “What are you doing up, handsome? It’s late!”

Wrecker heaves a heavy sigh, keeping you snug in his embrace.

“You… you were gone…” he murmurs, rubbing his cheek absently against your head as he speaks. “Missed you…”

His voice trails off into a quiet hum, and he sets a gentle kiss on your temple. You’ve always enjoyed being in Wrecker’s embrace—short of being a Wookiee, he’s the biggest and cuddliest man in the whole galaxy. But with the war going on, you often find yourself hugging him when he’s wearing his cold, hard armor.

Tonight, however, he has no gear to speak of. With him in his blacks, you aren’t separated from him by a layer of plastoid-alloy composite. You can feel the warmth of his broad chest beneath the soft fabric, and his muscular arms make you feel safer than anything. He gives you soft butterfly kisses all over your face, lazily petting your head. You smile softly—he treats you just as kindly as he treats his Lula.

“I’m glad you came up here, but… you didn’t have to come looking for me, handsome,” you assure him. “I would’ve come back to the barracks eventually. I was just feeling a little restless, is all.”

Wrecker nods slowly, though with the way his eyes are firmly shut, you have no doubt he missed every word you said.

“Yeah, uh-huh…” he mumbles. He pauses for a moment, drawing a deep, steady breath. “... I love you so much.”

With a bright smile, you kiss his cheek. “I love you, too, Wrecker.”

Those words, in particular, manage to break through his sleepy haze. He dons a big grin—one so sweet you can’t help but giggle.

“I just wanna hold you like this forever,” he sighs. For a moment, his eyes open, and with the sweetest, meekest tone, he asks, “Will you always be my little tooka?”

Your heart aches with overwhelming affection for your poor, sleepy sweetheart. Gingerly, you drape your arms around his neck, drawing him in for a long, loving kiss—one that you hope tells him you’ll always be his better than words ever could.

When your lips part, he smiles again, bumping his nose awkwardly against yours. You laugh, giving him one last quick peck.

“Wrecker… as long as you stay this sweet, I’ll always, always be your little tooka,” you assure him, resting your forehead on his. “And nothing will ever change that. I promise.”

Overwhelmed with love, Wrecker lets out a big, happy sigh—cuddling you even closer against his chest.

“Little tooka… you’re the best girl in the whole galaxy,” he hums with the utmost contentment, “I love you so much, it… it’s not even funny.”

Though you smile at his outpouring of affection, you find yourself yawning for the first time that night. Something about the way Wrecker holds you so close, the rhythmic way his fingers run across your scalp, the warmth of his body against the cold of the stormy night…

Against all odds, you think your sweetheart is just the one to coax you off to sleep.

The two of you sit quietly for a short while, exchanging sweet nothings to one another as the rain turns from a churning storm to a gentle shower. When your eyelids feel about as heavy as Wrecker’s, you look up to him with a smile, setting your hand on his cheek.

“Well, sweetheart… we should probably head back to the barracks,” you whisper. “We don’t want the others to think we’ve gone missing when they wake up.”

With an obedient nod, Wrecker gets to his feet—carrying you in his arms all the while. Just as tired as he was when he came up to find you, he hobbles back to the elevator, though not without a kiss on your forehead along the way.

Wrecker carries you all the way back to the barracks, and though you expect him to lay you back down in your spot on the couch, he instead keeps you in his arms all the way to his bunk. Even as he retreats back under his covers, he holds onto you, making sure you’re snug as a brindlebug when he settles down at last—and in Wrecker’s arms, how could you be anything but?

With you cozy against his chest, Wrecker smiles down at you, giving you one last kiss on the forehead.

“Goodnight, lil’ tooka,” he whispers, “I love you.”

With a bright smile, you nuzzle your head into his neck as you wrap your arms around him (well, as close to “around him” as your arms can reach).

“Goodnight, Wrecker… I love you, too,” you answer.

And at long last, you fall asleep—finally comfortable in the arms of the sweetest boy in the galaxy.

ECHO

…Echo, whose bright eyes soften when you meet them. Though he clearly came to find you, he looks almost shy as he enters the room, stepping softly as he approaches your side.

“Mind if I join you?” he asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

You smile. “Of course, Echo.”

Reassured by your words, Echo takes a seat to your right, heaving a long sigh as he stares into the storm pouring over Tipoca City. At first, he keeps quiet, as though not wanting to interrupt your peaceful silence. But when you lean your head on his shoulder, batting your eyes at him with a kind smile, he finds his courage.

“Can’t sleep?” he guesses.

With a lazy nod, you sigh.

“Yup. Just couldn’t keep my eyes closed,” you lament. “Usually, listening to the rain helps me get tired, but even that’s not working tonight…”

Echo chuckles. He wraps his arm around your waist, drawing gentle circles on your side with his thumb.

“Yeah… I’m right there with you,” he says. “If it’s not nightmares about Skako Minor, it’s Wrecker’s snoring. Either way, I’m lucky if I can get any rest.”

You flash him a sad smile, dotting a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth as a means to share your sympathy. With all he’s endured, you know just how hard Echo has had to fight on and off the battlefield to keep himself afloat. He’s told you time and again how much your love helps, and you hope he knows just how happy you are to give it.

“Well… I guess we’re in good company, then,” you smile, nuzzling your face further into the crook of his neck.

Softly, he presses a kiss to your forehead.

“Yeah… insomnia isn’t half bad with you around,” he chuckles. After falling silent for another moment, Echo hums quietly. “You know, back in my old battalion, my brothers and I had a game we’d play whenever we were up late and trying to pass the time.”

“What’s that?” you ask with a tilt of your head.

“We would take turns naming as many planets as we could think of. If it was your turn, and you couldn’t name a planet, you lost,” he explained. The ghost of a smile formed on his lips, his gaze falling as memories of brothers long passed warmed him. “We used to go for hours. I don’t know that I ever won… half the time, I’d fall asleep before we even got to the end.”

The thought of young Echo, diligent and tenacious, spending long hours racking his brain for the name of just one more planet sent you into a fit of giggles. Echo’s smile warms beside you.

“What?!” he demands, hand squeezing your hip playfully.

“Nothing, nothing,” you insist. “I just can’t believe how cute you are, sometimes.”

Though a blush fills Echo’s cheeks, the bashful grin he wears below it lets you know your little compliments are working.

“Heh… I know you’re just trying to get my guard down so I might go easy on you,” he teases. Playfully, you raise an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, go easy on me?” you scoff. “I spent years memorizing planets at the temple. You should be hoping I’ll go easy on you.”

Echo rolls his eyes, though the smile never falters on his lips.

“All right, then…” he chuckles. He pauses for a moment, as if he really needs to think about how he plans to open. “... Coruscant.”

“Wow; bold choice,” you snark, earning a chuckle from him. “How about… Kamino?”

“Raxus,” he returns immediately.

“Mandalore,” you shoot back.

“Ryloth.”

“Naboo.”

The two of you go back and forth, on and on, for what feels like hours. Given the number of planets you name, it probably is hours. Echo hadn’t been kidding about his experience—as many hundreds of planets that you know of from your studies at the temple, he seems to know even more. In a strange way, it’s really charming. Being able to name a thousand planets probably has next to no real-life applications, but it speaks volumes of that competitive spirit hidden in Echo that you admire like nothing else.

Eventually, the quickfire pace the two of you had kept up at the beginning slows to a crawl as fewer and fewer planets come to mind. You have to scour the farthest corners of your memory in hopes of remembering anything. 

“...oh! Hoth!” you manage. Echo swears under his breath, and you laugh. “You can give up any time, you know. I won’t gloat too much.”

With a fierce grin, Echo’s brow furrows. He seems to focus harder on this than on anything he has in his whole life.

“...Endor,” he says. When you don’t answer for a moment, Echo turns his head to you, finding a coy smirk on your lips. “...what?”

“I’m pretty sure Endor’s a moon,” you answer.

Echo’s eyes go wide.

“What? No way,” he spits. “Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure,” you repeat.

“Well… maybe it’s both!”

“Or maybe you just don’t want to admit you lost.”

“No, it could definitely be both!”

The two of you look into each other’s eyes for a long moment.

“... Tech would know,” you both say in unison.

As soon as the words leave your mouths, you both burst into laughter. You rarely have the opportunity to spend time like this anymore—just the two of you enjoying one another as people, admiring all there is to love about one another. But as you settle down from your giggling fit, enjoying the sight of Echo’s warm eyes as they gaze back at you, you thank the stars for every moment you have with him.

And you see fit to thank him with a kiss—one he eagerly returns.

When you pull away, the soft smile on Echo’s lips warms you to your core. He doesn’t go far, leaning into you as his forehead touches yours.

“You know… whenever those games didn’t work, or whenever I was alone… I had something else to help me get to sleep,” he confesses.

“Oh?” you ask. “What?”

He bumps his nose affectionately on yours, almost hesitant to share.

“Well… on those nights, it always helped to think about you,” he whispered.

The gentle tone of Echo’s voice kicked your heart into overdrive. With a bashful grin, you abruptly pull Echo into your arms, squeezing him so tight he can barely breathe.

“Oh, Echo…!” you coo. “When did you get so sweet?!”

Echo chuckled sheepishly. “Heh… sometime between nearly dying and now, I guess.”

Holding onto him for dear life, you can’t help the weariness that overcomes you. When a quiet yawn escapes your lips, Echo smiles.

“Finally tired, huh?” he asks.

“Mmm-hm,” you hum. Your weary eyes find his, filled with affection. “Thanks to you, handsome.”

Echo’s smile softens. Gently, his scomp link lifts your chin, and he offers you one last loving kiss before getting to his feet.

“Come on, then. Let’s get back to bed while we still have time to sleep,” he says. Once he’s standing, he offers his hand down to you, helping you to your feet all the same.

Hanging on Echo’s arm, you walk to the elevator, working your way back to the barracks. Once you settle back onto the couch, and Echo into his hammock, Echo reaches out to you. With a warm smile, you take his hand. Fingers intertwined with his, you finally drift off to sleep, warmed wholly by the love you share.

TECH

…the glare of Tech’s goggles against the dark room. You squint as your eyes adjust, shielding your face with one hand until the elevator doors close.

“Tech?” you call out as he makes his way over to you. “What are you doing here?”

He takes a seat beside you, perfectly casual.

“Looking for you, obviously,” he replies. “And now, I’ve found you.”

Without missing a beat, he produces his datapad in his hands, idly tapping away on it without a care. You find a smile on your lips—he’s nothing if not predictable.

“Looking for me? Aw, Tech,” you coo. “Were you worried?”

Tech hums. “Worried? Not so much. As a Jedi Knight, you are more than capable of defending yourself—far better than I could, I am sure. No, I was merely wondering where you had run off to. And why.”

You sigh softly, hugging your knees close to your chest.

“Well… I’m just a little restless tonight, that’s all,” you explain. “It happens every once in a while, I just can’t sleep. No idea why.”

“Hmm. I see,” Tech says. Not even bothering to look at you, Tech slides closer to your side. He wraps his free arm around you, beckoning you to rest your head on his shoulder as he knows you love to do. You smile, obliging him gladly—even if he does not show it in the way others might, he is still perfectly affectionate. “It could be any number of things.”

“Like what?” you ask.

He adjusts his goggles, clearing his throat quietly before he speaks again. Your eyes can’t help but drink in his every little action. The two of you have been close for some time now, but even before you expressed your feelings, you’d grown so fond of all of his mannerisms. Just watching Tech be Tech calms you like nothing in the galaxy.

“Barring more severe medical conditions, insomnia can result from a number of different causes—many of which are, regrettably, found in our typical living conditions,” he explains. “For example, disturbances in the form of loud sounds can prevent or disrupt someone’s sleep…”

“Wrecker?” you interrupt, causing him to glance at you. When he sees a small smirk on your lips, he matches it.

“Precisely,” he nods. “In addition, bright lights can disturb the brain’s circadian rhythm. Which, er…” He pauses, glancing warily between his glaring datapad and you. Awkwardly, he tilts the screen away from your face. “...sorry.”

With a laugh, you shake your head. “It’s okay, handsome. You were saying?”

Tech nods curtly, before continuing to list more and more of the conditions that might be affecting your sleep. The more he talks, the longer he rambles, you find yourself leaning further and further into him. Something in the way he speaks has you captivated, soothing you like a lullaby. He articulates himself so wonderfully, every consonant he strikes sending shivers through you.

It isn’t long before Tech catches on to the way you cling to him. He tilts his head curiously.

“Is something wrong?” he inquires. With a lazy smile, you shake your head.

“No… I just like listening to you talk,” you murmur.

Tech blinks, looking uncharacteristically flustered. “You do?”

“Mmhm,” you sigh. Batting your weary eyes at him, you lean forward just enough to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Will you keep talking, handsome?”

“W-Well… what about?” he asks.

You shrug, shutting your eyes again. “Whatever you want. Maybe ways to help me cure this little bout of insomnia?”

Tech looks over you with such fondness, eyes soft on you as you nuzzle your head into his shoulder. With a kind smile, he sets his datapad down beside him. He surprises you when he repositions himself, laying his legs out flat and allowing you to rest your head on his lap. Though you look up at him with uncertainty, he meets you with a kiss on your forehead.

“I would be glad to enlighten you, my dear,” he smiles, his voice now just above a whisper. “It is funny you should mention it. For some people, white noise is helpful to induce sleep. Things like the sound of the rain, or…” He pauses, awkwardly clearing his throat. “...or someone’s voice.”

You beam up at him, and he smiles shyly back at you. Gentle and sweet, his fingers begin to trace all along your head, soothing you with every last touch. Your eyes flutter closed, utterly lost in his attention.

“Hmm… does it work extra well if it’s the voice of the sweetest man in the galaxy?” you murmur, a teasing smile on your lips.

“I would not think so,” he answers. “But, if I am the man you are referring to, I am inclined to give my best effort for you.”

You chuckle. “Of course I’m referring to you, Tech. I love you, you know…”

Opening your eyes just as long as you can manage, you gaze up at him with the overwhelming affection in your heart. Gently, he cups your cheek with his hand, pressing a delicate kiss on each of your eyelids.

“And I love you more,” he answers, not a hint of doubt in his voice. “Now, just relax. I will take care of you.”

Never have you trusted anyone more than you trust him. With a nod, you close your eyes again, fully submitting to Tech’s care. His voice and his touch relieve your every worry, and before long, you finally find yourself drifting off at last.

You sleep with a smile, his kind words carrying you to your dreams.

CROSSHAIR

… the piercing gaze of none other than Crosshair. When his eyes find you, his usually stern expression softens just slightly.

Wordlessly, he crosses the room, quiet as a lothcat. He approaches you from behind, sitting down and pulling you between his legs. You giggle as his lithe form all but engulfs you, his chest against your back and his chin atop your head. When his arms snake under yours and wrap around your waist, you rest your hands on his, falling fully victim to his embrace.

“Well, hello to you, too,” you smirk. “Did you miss me?”

Crosshair exhales sharply.

“Hm. Not really,” he replies, though you can hear the grin on his lips.

You lean further into him, nuzzling your head into the crook of his neck.

“Aww, not even a little?” you press him.

Crosshairs grip on your waist tightens. He squeezes your sides just enough to make you squeak.

“Not in the slightest,” he fibs.

With a warm smile, you sigh into the cold night air, perfectly content in Crosshair’s arms.

“Well, I missed you… and I’m happy you found me,” you assure him.

He hums a quiet affirmation, before the two of you fall silent, enjoying the gentle ambience of the storm. You can think of very few people you’d feel so comfortable with in this situation—any other silence would beg you to speak and dash it away. But with Crosshair, you feel no obligation to talk for talking’s sake. Neither one of you had much patience for people who just liked the sound of their own voice. No, you two could communicate more than effectively without a word.

And with how he holds you now, you fully understand the depths of his love for you.

The two of you remain in comfortable quiet for quite some time, until at last, the gentle purr of Crosshair’s voice meets your ear.

“Can’t sleep?” he murmurs.

Sighing, you nod. “Mmhm.”

“Hmm.”

He falls quiet again. Idly, his nimble hands trace along your waist. You let them roam—you would never point it out to him, given how sensitive he can be, but you’ve grown quite fond of the way his hands seem to trace you when he holds you like this. He has so many little quirks, and you’ve come to appreciate all of them in your time together. It’s what makes him the man you love, after all.

“You should take my bunk,” he says.

“Hm?” you ask. “Then where will you sleep?”

“On the couch. Obviously.”

With a pout, you crane your head to look at him, only to find him already gazing back at you. The way he looks at you always draws a blush to your cheeks—it’s so intense, so sincere… you never feel more safe, nor more vulnerable. “Sweetheart, I’ll be okay,” you promise. Gently setting your hand on his cheek, you smile. “I can fall asleep eventually. You don’t have to give up your bunk just for me…”

Crosshair huffs—that cute little sigh he heaves whenever you argue with him.

“It’s fine. Between Wrecker and the storm, I wasn’t getting much sleep, anyhow,” he assures you. “Besides, you need the rest more than I do.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Hey, I’m a Jedi, remember? I can last a lot longer without sleep than you can.” Your gaze softens, and you run your thumb along his cheekbone. “And you never get a good night’s rest. You deserve it, Cross.”

Despite your affectionate words, Crosshair frowns. He narrows his eyes at you, before closing them entirely. With a weary groan, he presses his forehead against yours.

“Love, can you please stop being so stubborn just this once?” he grumbles. “I know it’s hard for you, since it seems your favorite thing to do is argue with me. But please.”

Now it’s your turn to frown. You bump your nose against his.

“It’s my second favorite thing, thank you very much.” Tilting your head, you kiss him softly, pulling away with an emphatic ‘mmwah’ to his utmost embarrassment. “That is my favorite. But okay, you win. I’ll take your bunk.”

For a moment, he seems satisfied, the slightest grin creeping onto his lips. He leans in to kiss you again, but before he can, you speak once more.

“If…”

Crosshair’s brow furrows. “If what?”

“If you sleep there with me.”

Immediately, his eyes go wide. You feel his body tense up around you, and he rears back just slightly. You know it isn’t the prospect of sharing a bed with you that has him so worried—the two of you have more than grown familiar with each other by now. Rather, he fears those who will awake to find you sharing a bed together: his brothers. If there’s one thing Crosshair cannot stand, it’s giving anyone the upper hand on him, even for something like a little teasing.

Cupping his face in your hands, you meet his gaze with warm eyes.

“Hey,” you assure him, “if they say anything, I’ll beat them up. Okay?��

Crosshair utters the softest chuckle, the ghost of a smirk on his lips. Begrudgingly, he sighs, setting his hands on yours before leaning in to kiss you.

“... fine,” he concedes at last.

You beam, touched as always by the way he’s always so willing to compromise for you. Getting to your feet, you take his hands into yours, helping him up all the same. When he stands, you keep his hands in yours, pulling him just low enough so you can kiss him once more.

“I love you, Cross,” you whisper. He gazes down at you, eyes alight with such affection that you know he only reserves for you. Tenderly, he presses a kiss atop your head, allowing his lips to linger there.

“I love you, too,” he returns.

When you finally return to the barracks, you find yourself cozy and snug in Crosshair’s bunk. Given it has an actual mattress, it’s far more comfortable than the couch by the window—made even more so by the embrace of your beloved sniper. In his arms, sleep finds you more easily than it has in years. The gentle caress of his hands is the last thing you feel before you finally drift off.

HUNTER (NSFW)

… Hunter, whose tired eyes light up with a smile when he spots you.

“There you are,” he hums, with the most handsome gravel in his weary voice. “I was wondering where you ran off to…”

You smile warmly at him as he saunters up beside you. He takes a seat next to you, not shy at all to wrap his arm around your waist when he does.

“How’d you find me? I thought I covered my tracks very well,” you ask with a grin. He smirks back at you.

“Really? All those sleemos I’ve tracked down on our missions and you want to know how I could follow you here?” he teases, pinching your cheek playfully.

With a giggle, you shake his hand off of you. “Hey, it never hurts to double check.”

Hunter presses a kiss to your temple. His lips feel warm, even more when compared to the cold breeze from outside.

“What are you doing up so late, cyar’ika?” he asks you softly. With an awkward smile, you shrug.

“I wish I knew,” you sigh, gaze falling to the floor. “For some reason I just can’t sleep tonight. I don’t know why…” You pout, hugging your knees against your chest. “It’s annoying, that’s for sure.”

Hunter nods solemnly.

“Yeah, I can imagine,” he hums. “This war’s exhausting, but I still find it hard to close my eyes some nights…”

He falls quiet for a moment. The sound of the rain and the warmth of Hunter’s embrace fill you with a sense of peace.

“What about you?” you ask.

He tilts his head. “What about me?”

“What has you up so late, huh?”

A sly smirk forms on Hunter’s lips. He shrugs a shoulder, all too casual.

“Well, I was sound asleep, but a little someone saw fit to leave me all by my lonesome in the barracks,” he sighs. “Guess I just got restless.”

You grin, narrowing your eyes at him.

“Oh? Your brothers weren’t good enough company?” you tease.

Hunter chuckles; the hand on your waist lingers lower, his fingers skirting the hem of your shorts and making you shiver. He leans in close to you, lips nearly touching yours.

“Well… they’re not the kind of company I’m after tonight,” he purrs.

A blush fills your cheeks. Unable to resist his charm, you close the gap between you, meeting Hunter in a kiss that deepened by the moment. As his tongue slipped between your lips, you felt him hoist you into his lap, facing you away from him. He parts from the kiss with a low growl in his chest, before trailing more softly down your neck.

“Hunter…” you breathe, eyes falling shut as he lavishes you with affection. 

His warm lips come second only to his warm hands that have since found their way under your shirt. His every caress causes heat to rise beneath your cheeks—even more when his palms land firmly on your chest.

You hum his name again, breath hitching as his fingers toy with your breasts. Behind you, his chest presses against your back. Even without all his armor, he feels so strong… so big. You know that, in his arms, you would always be safe. Well… safe from the other dangers of the galaxy—certainly not safe from him.

“You know what helps me when I can’t sleep?” he asks, breath tickling your neck. You manage a chuckle—although a moan quickly overtakes it when Hunter’s teeth bear down on your flesh.

“I could wager a guess,” you tease. You feel Hunter smile against you.

“Really?” While one hand continues to coddle your breasts, another meanders slowly down your torso. “Why don’t you tell me, then?”

Though you wish to continue playing hard to get, Hunter’s attention makes that difficult. Your words stick in your throat when his hands breach the waistband of your shorts, fingers creeping over your panties. When he strokes over the wet spot in the fabric, you whimper in spite of your best efforts. Deft swipes offer just enough friction to drive you mad with want, but his strong arms hold firm against your attempts to rut into his hand.

“Well? Out with it,” he growls. His lips press to your ear, your heart thrumming against your chest when he adds, “Tell me what you want.”

With the way Hunter’s fingers work you outside of your panties, he must know that you hardly have the composure to make such a request of him. Your groans as you vye desperately to speak the words he wishes must still fill him with some satisfaction—enough that you can feel how hard he is against your back.

“Hunter… please…” you manage, biting your lower lip when he deepens his pressure just slightly.

“Don’t be shy, cyar’ika,” he purrs. “Say it.”

Meeting his gaze with hazy eyes, you sigh.

“Make me come, Hunter…”

You can practically hear the grin on his lips when those words leave you at last. He presses a soft kiss to your temple.

“Heh… anything for you, love,” he smirks.

Swiftly, Hunter pushes your panties to the side; when his hands touch you, now with nothing in the way, the mewl he draws from you sounds so pathetic that you thank every star for the raging storm outside to drown you out. His calloused fingers draw circles around your aching clit, now drenched in the wetness that resulted from his teasing. Only he knew you this well—well enough to have you trembling in his lap, babbling half-formed thoughts of your desire, completely and utterly helpless.

As if you couldn’t get worse, Hunter’s other hand soon joins the first. Not once stopping his motions on your clit, his fingers find your cunt, slipping inside of you with ease. Your walls clench around him, your every sense overwhelmed with ecstasy. The sound of your wetness against his hands, the taste of his needy tongue, the smell of his sweat and yours, the sight of his half-lidded eyes, and the feeling… it was all too much to bear.

Edging closer and closer, your hands reached behind you, finding purchase in Hunter’s hair. You rest your forehead against his, struggling to meet his gaze, but needing to all the same.

“Hunter…” you breathe, a whimper interrupting your train of thought. “I-I…”

Knowing exactly what you want—what you need—Hunter grins. He runs his tongue along your bottom lip, meeting you in one last longing kiss.

“Go on, cyare—come for me,” he whispers. The sensual rasp of his voice combined with the magic he works between your legs has you obeying his orders with ease, tension building to your climax. “That’s it… beautiful…”

You come hard on his hands, your cunt fluttering around his fingers as they pulse into you still. The movements on your clit do not relent, either, elongating your orgasm into something unbearably pleasurable. It feels like minutes before he’s done with you—and minutes before you’re done, as a result. But, eventually, his touch slows, bringing you down from your highest high and lulling you into your warm afterglow.

Breathless and spent, you collapse against Hunter, nuzzling your face lazily into his neck. He brings his wet fingers up to your lips, and you lazily allow them into your mouth, gently sucking them clean for him.

“How do you feel?” he asks, a warm smile on his lips. When you open your mouth to answer, a yawn is all that comes out, making him chuckle. “See? It always works. Come on,” he wraps you up tight in his arms, before getting to his feet, “let’s get you to bed.”

Though you want nothing more than to cozy up to sleep right now, you pout up at him.

“What about you?” you ask, hating the thought of leaving him without all the attention he showered you with. With a smirk, he planted a soft kiss on your forehead.

“Don’t worry about me; as long as you’re ready for bed, I got what I came for,” he explains. He raises an eyebrow, grin turning mischievous as he adds, “And… I’m sure you’ll have time to make it up to me before we deploy in the morning.”

Giggling, you leaned up just far enough to give Hunter a soft kiss. He returns it happily, even as he carries you back to the elevator to make your return to the barracks.

“You know I’m good for it,” you hum. With a soft sigh, your eyes fall shut. “I love you, Hunter…”

Though you’re fading fast in his arms, you feel his lips on your head one last time.

“I love you, too, cyare.”

You’re asleep before the elevator doors can close behind you.

AN: Thank you so much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed - pls tell me which was ur fav LOL I like them all for different reasons but I think Tech ASMR and Wrecker Hugs are my fav. And as always please lemme know if u see any tagging/formatting issues✨✨

"""taglist""" - @shinyshayminflower @starrylothcat

[webslinger-holland]

Running Bets | Hunter from The Bad Batch

Summary: The Bad Batch likes to make bets during missions, especially when things get really chaotic.

Warning: mentions of death, weapons, and droids being dismembered

Pairing: Hunter x Fem!Reader Jedi

Word Count: 3.5k

Type: Oneshot

The Bad Batch were currently away on another one of their missions. They found themselves aboard a modified Providence-Class Separatist Dreadnought which served as General Grievous's main command ship. Their mission was quite simple: infiltrate the naval warship, retrieve a piece of valuable intel, and return it back to the jedi council.

A few years prior, the Kaminoans had specifically requested for the Jedi Council to select and send a Jedi to come work with the rebellious group of clones. They had hoped being under the command of a jedi master would beat them into shape and teach them how to properly follow orders.

However, the Kaminoans didn't know what they had gotten themselves into when General L/n was sent to work with The Bad Batch. She was the only jedi who jumped at the opportunity to lead the group of misfits since nobody else wanted to be assigned to them. She came with her own sense of recklessness that only added to the squads over-the-top plans and inability to follow order the 'right way.'

Now, just a few years later, the five members of the Bad Batch stood in front of a closed corridor on the dreadnought. There was a comfortable silence that settled over them which was only interrupted a few times by Crosshair clicking the scope of his sniper rifle, Wrecker cracking his knuckles in preparation for the fight ahead of them, and Tech tapping away at his data pad. They stared at the closed door right in front of them, growing slightly impatient.

"Ugh," Wrecker groaned while rolling his eyes in annoyance. "What's taking so long?"

"I am trying to crack into the ship's security system. It's a complex system, but once I'm in, I'll be able to access all the doors of the dreadnought and open this one for us," Tech explained to them. He was kneeling beside the data panel beside the door, pressing some buttons in the process.

The only problem was that the rest of them had tuned him out after the word 'security.'

"Why can't I just smash through the doors? It'll be a lot quicker than this," Wrecker argued.

"Because that would give away the element of surprise," Hunter interjected. "Nobody knows we're here."

"And I, for one, would like to keep it that way," General L/n added.

"Just hurry up, will you?" Wrecker groaned. "I'm dying to crush some droids."

"I've...almost...got...it," Tech said rather slowly while pressing buttons on the panel quickly.

The screen became illuminated with a shade of green, which shown in the reflection of his goggles adorned on his face. He was now granted access to the entire ship's security system via his data pad. He stood back up to join his brothers. He pressed a few buttons on his data pad to open the large sealed blast door in front of them.

"Eyes up. We don't know what we're up against on the other side of this," Hunter told the rest of the group. They waited for the door to open for them. He drew his own two blasters out of the holsters, keeping them ready for a fight.

The other members of the group seemed to follow his actions by readying their own weapons. The general, who stood in the front and center of the group, decided to pull her own two lightsabers from her belt. Her thumbs lingering over the button in preparation for activation. Her eyes trained on the sealed door in front of her, holding her breath in anticipation.

"Care to wager a bet, boys?" She hoped it would put the rest of them at ease.

"Don't we always?" Crosshair inquired with a slight hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"Loser has to clean the ship including the refresher," Y/n smirked to herself. She glanced over her shoulder to meet Wrecker's gaze.

"That's not that bad of a punishment," Wrecker scoffed while his shoulders slumped in slight disappointment.

"Have you seen the ship recently? Can't even see the floor," Hunter interjected.

"It has gotten pretty bad," Tech agreed. Oddly enough, Tech was easily one of the messiest ones because of all the little projects he left lying around. One could trip over all the cords and wires on the ground.

"Fine," Wrecker groaned more to himself. "Loser cleans the ship."

"Including the refresher," Y/n quickly added, not wanting him to miss out that little detail because she had every intention of making sure he lost today.

"Including the refresher," Wrecker grumbled under his breath.

"Whenever you're ready, Tech." The General was prepared for the fight ahead of them, keeping a firm grip on the two lightsabers in her grasp. She readjusted her stance and lifted her lightsabers up in a defensive manner.

Finally, as if on cue, Tech pressed a single button on his data pad which activated the blast doors in front of them. The doors began opening slowly from the center, retracting back into the walls and revealing the vast hallway corridor in front of them.

What the Bad Batch hadn't expected was to find the corridor completely packed with the traditional B-1 battle droids. There had to have been fifty or sixty of them standing around with blasters in hand. Their long yellow heads seemed to turn towards the source of the noise all simultaneously.

"A jedi?" One of the closer droids exclaimed in slight surprise. He pointed towards the group to signal the others. "Blast them!"

Before the droids even had a chance to start firing, General L/n had activated her two yellow lightsabers and charged straight towards the company of clankers. She dodged each of their shots, moving swiftly from left to right. Once she got close enough to them, she swiftly swung her lightsaber to slice through the base of their blasters, rendering them useless.

Behind her, the rest of them started firing their own shots and taking out droids while making their way down the corridor. Each of them showcasing their own unique style of fighting. While Crosshair usually lingered behind the group to take his precise shots, Wrecker always charged head on and fired wildly at anything in sight. There was Hunter who liked switching between blasters and blades, but often kept to his knifes as a preference. In contrast, Tech always carried two blasters and fired calculated shots.

Despite all their differences, the Bad Batch successfully worked together as a team. The General also had a different strategy. She always rushed head on; though it wasn't because she was eager for the fight, but more so because she wanted to protect the others if she could. Her two lightsabers acted as their only defense in many situations. And they trusted her enough to cover them.

Taking more droids down, Tech quickly maneuvered his way through a clear and open path until he stood in front of the next closed door. His twin joined his side and covered his back so he could have the time to open the next door without getting shot. However, when Tech pressed the button on his data pad, the doors in front of him didn't open and his data pad flashed red.

"Uh oh," Tech said to himself.

"Uh oh?" Hunter repeated. He grabbed the blade of his knife before throwing it across the room, sticking directly into a battle droid's head. "What does 'uh oh' mean, Tech?" Hunter demanded an answer.

"This door isn't opening," Tech explained shortly. He kept pressing buttons on his data pad in hopes that it would open if he tried a different combination.

"I thought --" Y/n grunted as she sliced through another droid. "You said you overroad the ship's security system and that you'd have full access to all doors."

"I did," Tech replied with a strong sense of frustration in his voice.

Pressing one final button, the door opened ever so slightly but then closed again. There had to be someone on the other side, operating the system to keep it closed from them.

"Someone is intentionally trying to keep this door closed and keep us out," Tech announced to the rest of them. His eyes scanned the vast space of the door, thinking about how he could get through.

"Well, get it open." Y/n replied.

Kneeling down beside the door, Tech got to work by prying the metal panel away from the wall. His skillful fingers threaded through the various colorful wires, searching for a cord to connect to his data pad. He called out to the others, saying he was gonna need a minute to break through.

As Tech worked steadily, Crosshair stood right beside him and fired strategically from his sniper's rifle. He took out droids who even turned in their general direction, not wanting them to get remotely close to them.

Just as the group of battle droids was beginning to thin, the doors on the left and right side of them opened to reveal more. The droids marched right into the fight, acting as the reinforcements to protect whatever was locked behind the main door. They fired relentlessly which was starting to put a strain on the group.

At some point, Wrecker had abandoned his rapid firing blaster and decided to just rip droids apart. It wasn't that hard of a task since they were made of a relatively cheap metal. He'd simply grab a droid, tear the limps off, and toss the remaining parts to the side. He threw one of the droid's bodies into the crowd coming into the corridor, which ended up knocking some of them down.

"I've got ten already!" Wrecker announced over the loud blaster fire echoing in the room. He smiled proudly to himself as he tore the arms off another droid.

"I'm on seventeen," Y/n called back. She could have sworn she heard the sergeant chuckled behind his helmet.

"Wha--" Wrecker was at a loss for words. He retrieved his blaster once again, firing rapidly in hopes of taking down more droids than his companion.

As she sliced through two more droids, Y/n turned her head and looked over her shoulder. She wore an amused smile on her face when she announced: "Nineteen!"

"You're falling behind, Wrecker." Crosshair taunted from the sidelines. He went to adjust his scope before pulling the trigger a few more times, watching the droids fall from behind it.

"Yeah? How many are you on?" Wrecker asked snakily.

"Don't worry about it."

In the center of the room, Hunter had pulled his vibroblade out of the sheath on his forearm. He jabbed the knife into the backs of droids, sendings jolts of electricity through them and taking their main computing systems out. He worked through the growing crowd of clankers, moving between them smoothly in a way that managed to dodge their firepower.

Upon turning, Hunter spotted a couple of them pointing their blasters directly at him. He dropped down to the floor just as they began firing, getting out of the way just in the knick of time. He summersaulted towards them, swiping his leg out to take out their legs from underneath them. The three droids fell to the floor. He plunged his knife into their heads before they had a chance to regain composure.

"How's that door coming, Tech?" Hunter inquired.

Now Tech was working steadily at cracking the system's code. He just needed a little bit more time, which he was certain his brothers could grant him. At first, Tech didn't respond to Hunter's question. All of the sudden, a battle droid had come to approach him and stood directly beside him.

"Halt," the droid ordered him.

Without looking up, Tech pulled one of his blasters out of his holster. He raised it quickly and fired a single shot, which managed to lodge itself directly into the droid's head. He pocketed his blaster again as the droid collapsed right beside him and went right back to work on the door.

"Just a few more adjustments," Tech replied to the others. He clicked a few more buttons on his data pad, but nothing that effected their current situation. They were still stuck in the corridor and more droids were filtering in by the second.

"You're taking a long time. Thought you were supposed to be the smart one," Wrecker called out. He grabbed another droid, raising it above his head and sending it hurdling down the corridor to take out another company of them.

"I am the smart one," Tech reassured them with a hint of bluntness in his voice. He did not look the slightest bit amused by Wrecker's comment.

"Heads up," Hunter announced.

He took out an electro magnet pulse grenade, pressed the button on the side to activate it and threw it into a crowd of droids coming into the corridor. The grenade landed at the feet of the droids before random bursts of electricity and energy surged from it. The droids' bodies shook from the electricity, shutting them down.

Despite their efforts, more droids just kept coming after them. It seemed like it was a never ending steady flow of them. When one droid went down, another two would come into the corridor to replace them. The amount of dead droids littering the ground with becoming overwhelming.

At some point, Hunter was firing shots towards droids coming from the left and Y/n was deflecting blasts coming from droids on the right side. They met in the center of the room; their backs pressing together. The two of them moved in a synchronized harmony, trusting that the other was able to cover their backs and silently communicating with their timed movements.

Tapping into the force. Y/n raised her two lightsabers over her head and forced them to form an 'x' shape directly in front of Hunter's helmet. This movement deflected a single blaster shot that was intended to strike the sergeant in the head. If it hadn't been for her senses and his stillness in that movement, Hunter would've taken the shot to the head. But that wasn't gonna happen on her watch.

"Thanks," Hunter peered over his shoulder.

"Don't mention it," Y/n waved it off.

With their backs pressed together, Hunter and Y/n continued to work together to take down the droids coming at them. The two of them moved with ultimate precision that they dominated the field. They'd never danced like this before.

At this point, Wrecker and Crosshair had stopped firing their own shots just to watch the others in action. The immediate threat was gone now as the number of droids firing at them had dwindled drastically.

Spotting the last four droids coming towards them in a line, Y/n took a single step away from her partner. She twisted her body to launch her lightsaber down the hallway, watching the yellow blade circle rapidly towards them. The lightsaber effortlessly sliced through the droids heads and they clattered to the ground. Before the lightsaber made contact with the wall, Y/n summoned it back into her hand and switched it off. She pocketed them both onto her belt.

The four members of the squad met in the center of the room while the other continued working on the connecting wires to his data pad. They briefly glanced at the mass amounts of unmoving droids by their feet, kicking a few limbs out of the way. At last, Wrecker flopped down on a small pile of droids. He looked at each of them with a strong sense of anticipation.

"Final count," Crosshair began. He adjusted the scope on his rifle for long range. He smirked to himself at the mere thought of winning the contest. "Thirty-three."

"Thirty-three," Wrecker repeated calmly. He nodded his head understandingly. "That's not bad for the squad's resident sniper."

Upon hearing this, Crosshair glanced up at him with eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion. He halted his movements, studying the way his brother looked so pleased with himself.

"I, myself am sitting on thirty-four," Wrecker smirked to himself.

Before Wrecker could revel the fact that he outscored his younger brother in a battle, a single blaster bolt struck the droid he was sitting beneath right in between his legs. He glanced down at the sizzling strike.

"Thirty-four," Crosshair smirked to himself. He lowered his rifle once again.

"He was already dead," Wrecker argued.

"I saw him twitching," Crosshair suggested. He shrugged his shoulders at the notion. But Wrecker only became more enraged by this.

"He was twitching because I removed all of his limbs!" Wrecker shouted. Sure enough, the droid was still twitching slightly beneath him since the main operating system located in the head went undamaged in the fight.

"Are you two done yet?" Y/n wondered. She glanced between the two of them. "My final count was forty-eight."

"That's not fair," Wrecker groaned. "You had a head start."

"I always have a head start," Y/n recalled all of their missions together where she went charging head on to defend the others. "This wasn't any different than all the other times."

"Sergeant?" Crosshair questioned with a crocked eyebrow. The sergeant stood with his arms crossed against his chest; an amused look settling over his face.

"Fifty," Hunter announced.

The rest of them only groaned in utter annoyance. This was certainly not the first time the sergeant managed to outperform them and it wasn't going to be the last time. He claimed his victory silently, relishing the looks of disappointment on their faces.

"Looks like Wrecker and Crosshair will be cleaning the ship since they tied," Hunter told them.

"No," Wrecker went to argue. He rose to his feet. "Tech has to do it. He only got like four kills."

"Tech was a little occupied with other things. Like working on the door," Hunter told him. He glanced over his shoulder to find him still tinkering away at the data pad near the door.

"Then it should be Crosshair," Wrecker pointed to him. "That last one shouldn't count."

"Wrecker," Y/n called in a warning tone. "You both lost. Admit it."

"Fine," Wrecker huffed to himself. His shoulders slumping down at his sides. "I'll clean the ship," Wrecker added.

"And the refresher," Hunter recalled. She glanced at him through the corner of her eyes with nothing but admiration behind them.

"Yeah. Yeah. I'll do that too," Wrecker agreed to the terms.

Just then, Tech clicked the last button on his data pad to activate the door in front of him. His data pad glowed green, which meant the system had been overrun thanks to his expertise. The rest of them turned to direct their attention to the opening door, seeing the vast array of data forms in the control center.

Slowly, the Bad Batch came to approach the opening to the control center. Their eyes scanned over the various glowing white tubes attached to one central column in the room. Whatever they had come for, they were sure to find somewhere in there. Now they just needed their resident 'smart one' to locate the intel they'd come for.

"Nice work, Tech." Hunter spoke. "Let's locate the intel and get out of here as quick as we can."

All of the sudden, Y/n was able to feel a slight disturbance in the force. A dark wicked figure had graced their presence directly behind them. The sound of metallic claws for feet ground against the floor in approach. The presence was an all-too familiar one to go unnoticed or unrecognized.

The Jedi General had encountered this imposing figure one other time in her life, which was when he brutally murdered her master in combat. Ever since then, Y/n had grown to fear him and never wanted to face him. But now here he was standing behind them and blocking their only exit.

His cybernetic enhancements gave him exceptional strength, speed and reflexes to outmaneuver force-users. He wielded four lightsabers (one for each mechanical arm) and often overwhelmed the jedi with them. His most intimidating feature was his height alone, standing at nearly seven feet tall and towering over most of his encounters.

"General Y/n," the mysterious voice announced from behind them.

The other members of the squad quickly spun around on the heels of their feet, raising their blasters directly towards the menacing figure on the other end of the hallway. They moved to stand in front of their own general in hopes of protecting her.

"It's been a long time since our last encounter."

Now, coming to the realization that she could no longer run from her past, Y/n found herself turning around to face her demons. Her eyes landed on the familiar figure who had slaughtered her master, feeling her heart drop into the pit of her stomach.

It was almost like he could sense her fear of him despite not being a force sensitive being. He cackled to himself, which was something else that still haunted her too. She could still hear the way he laughed over her master's dead body. She went to retrieve her lightsabers from her belt, feeling the strong sense of anger overtaking her senses.

Because today would be the day she took down General Grievous.

[questforgalas]

The Bad Batch and Rex Reuniting with Their Jedi Partner After Order 66

I go absolutely insane for Jedi x Clone relationships, and thinking about a Jedi reuniting with their clone after Order 66 gives me the ultimate rollercoaster of emotions so here ya go (wow it feels good to get the writing juices going again)

G/N reader. I made myself cry with all of these, you're welcome

On AO3

You were a Jedi shadow who occasionally accompanied the Bad Batch on missions. You were with them on Kaller when Order 66 happened but you got away with Caleb. Once Caleb is safely away from the Empire, you make your next move to get any information you can, and the only contact you trust at the moment is located on Ord Mantell. Cid offers you asylum and a place to lay low while you figure our your next move

One day while you're trying your best to reverse the many health code violations in Cid's bar, you feel a presence in the force that hits you like a punch in the chest as 4 clones in black and red armor enter the parlor

Hunter calling your name as you leapt over the river haunted you since Kaller

Seeing him standing in front of your made you unable to breathe

He sensed you the moment he walked in, whether it was your scent or your heartbeat you weren't sure, but he turned his head to you slower than you've ever seen him move before

The small blonde girl next to him noticed him stare, and she followed his eyesight, spotting you across the bar. "Is that a friend?" she asked

He didn't answer, just took a step forward like in a trance, but stopped immediately when he saw your hand instinctively hover where you hid your lightsaber

Slowly he raised his hands like placating a cornered animal, "They didn't activate, sweetheart. You're safe with us. You're safe with me."

You sensed it in the force, the truth in his words

He resumed his slow walk to you, the Batch holding their breath behind him

When he was an arms length away, you jumped into his arms, wrapping yourself around him and nuzzling your face into his neck. You felt him squeeze his arms around your waist, finding the crook of your neck, taking all of you in

No tears were shed. Just relief - slow, long breaths you've held since Kaller leaving you both

You stayed that way, wrapped in each other's arms, nuzzling as close as you can get

"Alright, you four, follow me. Clearly, these two need a minute," you hear Cid say from the safety of Hunter's shoulder

Four pairs of feet shuffle past you, a soft pat on your shoulder gives a warm, brief greeting, Echo most likely, before you're both left basking in each other's warmth

"I've got you, sweetheart. We'll figure this out together," he whispers in your ear. You snuggle closer in response

Wrecker wasted no time shoving through the group as soon as he saw you standing on the other side of the bar, eyes wide with shock

"Maker, what're you do..."

He immediately halts when he sees your hand reach for your hip

Of course, the last time you saw him was Kaller, he should've known you'd be suspicious

"It's ok meshla, ours didn't activate. Our chips are defective. Tell them Tech, tell them they're defective." You watch as he looks back at Tech with pleading eyes, body practically vibrating with his need to hold you

Without moving your hand, you move your eyes to Tech's who gives you an affirming nod "He's telling the truth. Our inhibitor chips failed to activate, and we are currently deserters of the Empire"

You didn't hear that last part though as you rushed to Wrecker who met with you equal enthusiasm halfway across the parlor

You were only crushed into his chest for a second or two before he was peppering your face with kisses

You felt yourself freely laugh for the first time since Kaller, playfully shoving him back so you could take in his face

He cupped your cheeks with his big hands, bringing your eyes to meet his

"Maker, I thought I'd never see you again, meshla. I'm so glad you're home"

Home. He was home, and you had no plans to leave ever again

He didn't notice you at first, too caught up in trying to figure out who Cid is

He continued on with his brothers, convinced this was the place for the Jedi contact

While he continued bantering with Hunter and Wrecker, you caught the eyes of Tech which widened when he saw you, but he remained quiet for Echo to discover for himself. His reassuring nod though told you all you needed to feel safe

You waited for the group to stop arguing, but when you saw things hadn't changed and no end was in sight, you couldn't help but laugh

Your laugh, as brief as it was, stopped him short

His back was to you, frozen, and he didn't turn around at first

The rest of his brothers turned in your direction, and Hunter's eyes darted between the two of you, warm smile on his face

What you didn't see was Echo close his eyes, telling his mind to stop playing these cruel tricks on him like it had been since Kaller - hearing your laugh, your soft singing on the marauder while they traveled around

When he finally turned around towards the source of the sound, he dropped his helmet

You gradually make your way to him as he remained frozen on the spot

The rest of the Batch shuffle to make room so you can get to him

As you get closer, your smile slowly grows with each step, tears welling

His eyes never leave yours, remaining wide and unblinking as if you're a mirage that's going to disappear

Finally, you're a hands length away from him, and you slowly raise your hand to rest on his cheek

As soon as skin meets skin, he releases the breath he'd been holding, and leans into the touch, closing his eyes and relishing in it

You let out a happy sob at the sight, your Echo back with you

Faster than hyperspeed, he snakes his arms around you, crushing you into his chest

His hand holds you in place while his scomp rubs soothingly up and down your back

You're full crying now, burying your face in his neck, thanking the Maker for not making you lose him a second time

"Shhh meshla, I've got you. I'm here. I'll always be right here. I'm not losing you again"

You can thank his observation skills and need to take in every detail of a new environment in order to study it for him spotting you right away

You were a bright spot compared to the many health code violations hiding within the bar

You waited on the other side, making your own observations, ready to reach for your lightsaber if needed

"No need for that, darling. Our inhibitor chips did not activate. They appear to be defective, possibly due to our mutations, and we were able to escape the Empire. Hence, why we are here"

You ease at the information, walking to meet Tech in the middle of the parlor

When you're close enough, you see something gleaming in his eyes. Happiness? Pride?

"You don't seem surprised to see me" you say to him, reaching for his hand

"Statistically, once you made your escape from Hunter on Kaller, and knowing your capabilities, I knew it was improbable that you would fall victim to Order 66. Although, finding you in a less than reputable bar in the Outer Rim is certainly a surprise"

Oh Tech, your Tech. So matter of fact and to the point

His explanation makes you laugh and shake your head

Not able to wait any longer, you grab him and pull him towards you

He softly smiles down at you as he cups your chin, bringing your lips to his

"What's the probability of us being separated again?" you ask him without pulling apart

"Very low. 0% in fact" he says before softly kissing you again

You reunited with the boys on Ord Mantell and stuck around with them as they figured out the new galaxy. Once you all sprang Crosshair free of the Empire, you removed his chip, and you stayed by his side the whole time as you waited for him to wake up

Every form of meditation in the galaxy could not calm your nerves

Crosshair's chip was removed 2 days ago and he'd been unconscious ever since

You never left his bedside, only eating and drinking when Echo or Omega brought you food and water

You'd laid your head down to rest some time ago when you felt his hand stir, yours laying on top of it

You shot up, holding yourself still as you watched him wake - groaning as his eyes adjusted and he took in the room

Slowly, they made their way to you, and you both froze

Every cell in your body wanted to throw your arms around him, but you gave him time to take in his new reality

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes"

The laugh that came out turned into a sob as you squeezed his hand

You're patient, spending the next few hours working through his guilt, helping him voice his insecurities, his doubts, his self-hatred, ready to combat each negative notion that dares make itself known

Hours later, you're both sitting in his med bed, leaning against the wall with your head on his shoulder

He has his arm around you, rubbing circles along your arm

After months of explosive run ins and uncertain truths, you bask in the quiet between you both

Whenever the tears escape, he quietly wipes them away, shushing them with soft kisses in your hair

In the night, a quiet confession

"I fought it. Every time I raised my rifle or pistol at you, I fought it. I could feel myself hesitating, yelling at myself in my own head"

You squeeze him tighter to you, nothing to say but letting him know that no matter what he reveals, you only want him closer

He brings you into his lap, legs curled over his, tucking you into his neck

"Thank you for never giving up. Thank you for fighting for me, even when I wouldn't fight for myself"

He places a gentle kiss in your hair before he tucks you further into him, resting his head on yours, letting the peaceful night settle around you both

You were a Jedi shadow in love with a certain captain and who occasionally accompanied the Bad Batch on missions. You were with them on Kaller when Order 66 happened but you got away with Caleb. Once Caleb is safely away from the Empire, you make your next move to get as far away from the Empire as possible

the blaster hole in his pauldron makes me so emotional ok anyway

it would take awhile, weeks even months before the reunion would happen with both of you trying to lay low as long as possible

Rex had the advantage of the Empire thinking him dead, you weren't so lucky

You only used the force once after the events, after you found yourself safely heading towards the outer rim, to reach out and search for Rex's signature

Once you felt it and felt it hadn't changed, unlike the other clones you knew, you immediately cut yourself off from the force going into hiding

It broke your heart cutting yourself off from him, but you knew it wasn't safe for him to be near you - and you still had a lot of questions

Later, settled on a backwater planet far from the Empire's reach and with the galaxy continuing on, you risk a short connection with the force with one thing in mind

You feel him, faintly, but he's still there and he's still your Rex

Months later, one day when you check on him, his signature is the strongest it's been since the war

You're too curious and too lonely, you hold onto it, knowing what you're risking, but follow it through the forest and to the clearing a few kliks from where you've established home

A small, abandoned farm greets you. A ship waits not far from the homestead, and two figures stand just by the porch. He shares the face with millions and is all the way across the clearing, but you'd recognize him anywhere

He's with another clone, and softly you reach out with the force to check their signatures - both unchanged, both not filled with hate and confusion like so many of the other soldiers after the war

It only took two steps into the clearing before you saw him stiffen and whip his head in your direction.

Of course he could sense you without you even opening yourself up to him.

You keep walking. He doesn't take his eyes off of you

Suddenly, like his brain needed a minute to catch up, he breaks into a sprint to you, the clone left behind laughing as he watches the stoic captain appear to finally lose it

You don't see him approach you since tears blocked your vision as soon as you saw him start running

Half attempts to wipe the waterfalls from your cheeks are halted when your feet leave the ground and you're crushed into a hard chest, arms wrapping around you tighter than a force choke

Pulling back, you're both crying and laughing, not fully believing this is actually happening

You try to wipe the tears from his cheeks, he pushes the hair that's fallen in your face away

Words are being whispered, whatever can be kissed is kissed

Eventually, you both manage a deep breath, and Rex brings his forehead to yours

For the first time since the war ended, you feel a calm in the force you never thought possible again

[sailorkamino]

fights and hugs (crosshair's pov)

wildflower masterlist

relationship: twi'lek!jedi!reader x crosshair [gn, can be platonic or romantic]

summary: everyone thinks you're perfect but crosshair knows the truth - you're annoying, manipulative, and stupidly optimistic. so why does he get so protective when a creep harasses you?

word count: 1.8k

warnings: cross thinks kindness = emotional manipulation, jealousy, sexualization/verbal harassment, slavery, creep gets punched, protective cross, clones not having rights/unfair justice system, separation anxiety, soft cross, he's like a feral cat that secretly wants to be a house cat

ryl translations: chi'kan- pervert, keela- darling

a/n: i think i wrote cross like wednesday addams lmao

Crosshair thinks you’re the most frustrating person he’s ever met. And he can’t even do anything about it. He might be a prickly bastard but he’s also a soldier and you’re his commanding officer. He can’t just pick a fight with you. Especially since you never take the fucking bait.

He gives you the bare minimum amount of respect required. He follows your orders on missions (they’re actually pretty smart but he’ll die before he admits that.) He calls you general or sir. He doesn’t outright insult you. But he certainly doesn’t worship you like his brothers.

They think you’re an angel. What makes you so special? You make Wrecker laugh obnoxiously loud. You encourage Tech’s messy collecting hobby. You play with Hunter's hair until he’s purring like a tooka. It’s pathetic. You’re probably using jedi mind tricks on them. The truth is you’re a manipulative little shit and if it didn’t make Crosshair so angry he might be impressed.

What he really hates is that satisfied look on your face when he does what you want. Like when he plays a stupid dancing game just to prove to you that he can do it better than Wrecker. Or smiling at him proudly when he doesn’t shoot a reg.

Then you have the audacity to compliment him? Disgusting. So why does he crave it? Why does he get annoyed when you praise his brothers instead of him.

One day you give him a piece of dark fabric. “You wear it to block out light when you sleep,” you explain with a bright smile. The cool material is like his blacks but softer. He can’t help but run his fingers along it. He mutters a thanks and quickly leaves.

That night he uses the sleep mask and to his horror likes it. Now he’s in debt to you. But he doesn’t have any credits. Fucking great. Why do you have to make his life so difficult?

Luckily he finds a gift for you within the next few days. After a mission he notices a rock that got caught in an explosion. It’s been cracked in half, exposing the crystalized insides. Jedi like crystals right? He grabs it and drops it in his pack.

Of course you make a big fuss when he awkwardly gives it to you. You almost hug him but don’t, thank the force. He doesn’t feel dissapointed at all. You show the rock to his brothers proudly. His face burns when they send him questioning looks. “Easily impressed,” he scoffs dismissively. Although secretly he’s proud of himself.

He’s having a sleepless night on some forgettable outer rim planet when you knock on his cabin door. He knows it’s you because his brothers would have barged in. “Hey Crosshair, wanna get some snacks? I’m paying,” you offer. You shake a satchel draped across your body, making the credits inside clank together.

He wonders if Hunter (who’s currently on watch) put you up to this, why else would you seek out his company? It's obvious you prefer his brothers anyways. Not that he cares. The thought of you being coerced into this makes his hackles rise, he doesn't need your pity, but then he imagines telling Wrecker’s that you got him nat born food tomorrow. That will be entertaining. He sharply agrees and puts on his boots.

He glances down at his GAR issued loungewear. He doesn’t know if they’re appropriate for a nat born store or wherever you’re taking him but you’re wearing sleep clothes too so good enough. You're swaddled in an oversized robe to be exact. How childish. Not at all endearing

As you exit the ship your eyes reflect in the dark just like his. That’s another annoyance. Enhanced eyesight used to be his thing. You began humming a tune under your breath. Crosshair almost says something but the sound isn’t too horrible so he lets you continue.

Within a few minutes you're at the store. He's instantly overwhelmed by the bright lights and endless options, who needs so many flavors of the same thing? He doesn’t know what any of this is but he doesn’t want to admit that so he begins recon. He grabs a crinkly bag that appears to be some kind of a cracker to inspect it.

That’s when Crosshair notices a stumbling man leering at you. He’s caught off guard by the sudden flash of protective anger he feels. Why is he so concerned? If you can handle yourself on a battlefield, you can handle one pathetic human. Your body language is the opposite of your usual demanor when talking to civilians. You’re usually very open and engaging, easily forming a connection with them. Not now.

Crosshair has seen you face hoards of battle droids with a smile. He’s seen you meditate while being shot at. He’s seen you make fun of General Grievous while fending off four sabers. But now you look shaken. Your colorful skin has paled, eyes wide in a mix of shock and horror. You suddenly look so young and so frightened.

He's beside you in a second. He tries to ignore the relief in your eyes, the way you subtly lean closer to him. It makes his chest feel odd.

“You their master?”

He sneers. Does he look like a jedi master? You go completely rigid beside him. That catches the clone off guard. You know how to keep a straight face. You’re not only a stupidly brave fighter, you’re a damn good negotiator. What could have possibly upset – then it hits him. This man was referring to a different kind of master.

You quickly recover, slipping into an emotionless jedi facade you rarely use. Crosshair’s jaw clenches so hard his toothpick snaps in half. He spits the broken pieces towards the man’s feet. “I belong to no one. The galaxy is much bigger than your prejudices,” you state evenly but there’s a fire in your eyes. “My friend and I are leaving now.”

Then the creep, who’s either stupud or plain suicidal, scoffs angrily. “You think you’re better than me? Tail head whore.”

The sniper sees fucking red. How dare this piece of shit demean his jedi? His self sacrificing, too nice, pain in the ass jedi. Only Crosshair is allowed to make your life difficult. The way the stranger judges you reminds him of every kaminoan that looked down on his brothers and his free hand is swinging.

The drunk is sent staggering to the ground, giving Crosshair a grim satisfaction. Before either man can recover your fingers wrap around the sniper's wrist to hold him in place as you bend down. “You want to go home and rethink your life choices," you instruct melodically, waving a hand in his face.

“I want to go home and rethink my life choices,” he repeats blankly.

You make quick work of charming the concerned worker, assuring that no police presence is necessary. Then you turn to Crosshair and in that fake calm voice he hates suggests he get a drink for his chips. For once in his life he follows instructions without complaint, watching you closely as you pay for your snacks. Your moves are less graceful and much more droid-like than usual.

Once you get outside you shakily sigh. He holds back an eyeroll. He’s lived with Hunter long enough to know when he’s going to get scolded. “You shouldn’t have done that, Crosshair. I was about to mind trick him.”

He stares at the ground with a tight jaw. He doesn’t know why he defended you when you didn't need it. He saw a creep harassing the only nat born who’s ever been kind to him and he just snapped. He’s still angry, honestly. Why aren’t you? “He deserved it.”

“Perhaps. But clones don’t have rights, you can’t just go around assaulting civilians. Even if it’s self defense you’re going to be painted as the aggressor.”

But Crosshair is only half listening. He's more focused on your unsteady hands. “You're shaking."

“Are you even listening to me? This is serious.”

He suddenly seizes your free wrist, mirroring your actions in the store. "So is this.”

You look like you want to argue for a moment then you slump in defeat. “I’m just… overwhelmed.”

Crosshair has experience with overwhelmed siblings. Hunter like space, Wrecker likes affection, Tech likes a listening ear. "What do you need?” He asks, surprisingly gentle.

This seems to be your boiling over point as you gesture wildly, swinging the bag in your hand. “I need sleep. I need to meditate. I need my master.” Your glowing eyes widen at your own outburst. The frustration morphs to sadness. “I guess I’m a little homesick. I thought spending time with you would be a good distraction but that chi’kan ruined it.”

This should be the point where he drops the subject. You already said what’s wrong and it’s not his responsibility to make you happy. But a voice that sounds suspiciously like Hunter points out that if the roles were reversed, you wouldn’t leave him to suffer.

He thinks back to the cadet days, when it was just him and his brothers against the world. He remembers the overwhelming anger when a reg hurt one of them. He was never good at comforting, he was good at revenge. But he can’t fight your emotions. And he already punched the chi’kan (he’ll have to find out what that means later.)

There’s only one option left. Out of his brothers you remind him of Wrecker the most and Wrecker likes physical reassurance when he’s upset. He awkwardly opens his arms and bites the blaster bolt. “Do you want a hug?”

“... What?”

“I’m not saying it again.”

Then you’re flying against him. Crosshair almost falls into the grass as you smash your face into his neck, fists balling into his sleep shirt. You’re warm and solid and your touch isn’t completely revolting. He slowly relaxes as he winds a long arm around you.

Crosshair will never admit it but he can understand your separation anxiety. As the sniper it’s his job to watch his brother’s backs. The instinct to protect is so engraved in Crosshair he needs to be near his siblings or know where they are at all times. Maybe that’s why he defended you tonight. He’s starting to accept you as part of the squad.

“Blossom?” He mutters, thumb absently stroking your lower back.

“Yeah, Cross?”

“If you tell anyone about this I’ll shoot you.”

You snort against the crook of his neck. "Whatever you say, keela."

[221bshrlocked]

Broken and Grazed, Loved and Saved

Pairing: Crosshair x Jedi AFAB!Reader

Words: 4724

Warnings: Mutual Pining. Mentions of violence and blood. Touching Confessions! Angst to fluff because you know it. Crosshair being a tiny bit soft...just a tiny bit.

Summary: You get shot while trying to save Crosshair. He's shocked and confused as to why you would do such a thing. You both slowly reveal your feelings for each other as he patches you up.

A/N: I crawled back from my writer's block hell hole to post this. This is during The Clone Wars series folks, hence the Jedi insert. Once again, thank you so much to @cloneficgiftexchange for holding this event and single-handedly getting me to write every once in a while. This is for the lovely @arctrooper69 who inadvertently gave me a challenge with Crosshair. I hope you enjoy it babes and I hope I got his character down correctly. This is the first time I write for him. As always, let me know how I am doing in the comments please and thank you.

When Obi-Wan informed you that you’d be accompanying Clone Force 99 on another mission, you tried your best to not let your excitement come through. But one look at your old friend and the smirk on his face made you realize you may not have been as subtle as you originally thought. 

“Shut it Kenobi,” you walk past him, shaking your head when you briefly glanced to the side and saw him raising an eyebrow at you. He chuckles at your embarrassment, and you’re torn between making fun of him and letting him be. It was rare to see him display such an elated emotion, and you couldn’t help but laugh along with him when finally caught up with you and patted you on the back. 

“In all seriousness, do be careful out there.” A worried expression breaks through the smile and you nod at him, knowing that the sentiment wasn’t one of warning but deep concern for your safety. 

“As weird as it is to admit this, I feel like I might potentially be safest with them.” You come to a stop once you reach the door of the Temple, looking around the awfully quiet space before returning your attention to Obi-Wan once more. 

“I would have to disagree with you there. The rate at which they use explosives is severely higher than any other force I have fought alongside. Nevertheless, I trust your judgment. Do keep me updated, yes?” When you don’t respond right away, Obi-Wan follows your line of sight and notices where your attention suddenly lies. He groans to himself and wishes he wasn’t the keeper of so many secrets. 

“Young one!?” You snap out of your momentary haze when Obi-Wan quite literally yells at you, his voice carrying across the grounds and catching the curiosity of none other than the man you found yourself barely able to stop thinking of. 

“Sorry, yes?” You feign ignorance, giggling like a young padawan when Obi-Wan rubs his temples and swears beneath his breath.

“I’m only joking. Yes I will be careful, sure I’ll try my best not to get into trouble, and of course I won’t partake in Wrecker’s booming tactics. Satisfied?” You don’t wait for him to respond, already walking towards the Marauder and praying to the Force that the introvert of the group is less hostile towards you this time around. When you grow near to the clones standing at the foot of the ramp, you turn around one last time and wave goodbye to Obi-Wan, laughing when he rolls his eyes at you and heads back into the Temple. As soon as you turn around, you’re met with an incredibly energetic Wrecker, your shock turning into hysterical laughter as soon as he wraps his arms around you and picks you up. 

“Heyyy, it’s our favorite Jedi!” His grip on you remains gentle even though he’s lifted you off of the ground a good bit. 

“Hey Wrecker, I see you missed me as much as I missed you.” You gently tap him on his shoulder, hoping he’d put you down before any other Jedi sees how familiar you are with him. 

“Wreck, put the General down.” You glance to the side and see Hunter standing with his hands on his hips, his facial expression a bit unreadable. You laugh nervously at the leader of the Bad Batch, hoping Wrecker wouldn’t get in trouble because of your friendliness. 

To his chagrin, Wrecker puts you down and backs away, whispering a few apologies before returning to stand next to Tech.

“Sorry, I know I shouldn’t encourage it.” You tell Hunter as the two of you walk away from the rest of the Batch, your eyes unintentionally remaining on your favorite member of the group. If Hunter notices how you pay more attention to Crosshair, he says nothing of it and pretends you weren’t watching him like a hawk. 

“No need for any apologies, General. I don’t particularly care but I know how things are on Coruscant. Wouldn’t want him to be misunderstood.” Hunter points towards the Clones standing around the Temple with other Jedi Masters, smiling nervously at you when you sigh anxiously at the prospect of being the reason behind Wrecker potentially getting in trouble. 

“I promise to talk to him. And I’ll make sure to only be friendly when we’re not surrounded by…you know.” You try to laugh off the circumstances you find yourself in, only for Hunter’s body language to shift at the implications behind your words. 

“I’d be careful if I were you. Even if they aren’t around, others tend to misunderstand and- well, let’s just say that things get a little heated when we finish a mission and you aren’t on-board anymore.” You furrow your eyebrows at Hunter’s response, only to follow his line of sight and see who he’s staring at. When you’re met with Crosshair’s narrowed, irritated eyes shifting between you and Wrecker, you realize that Hunter may know more than he let on. 

“I- I don’t think you-” You trip over your words, unsure of how to respond now that Hunter knew of your inclinations as well. 

“Save it, I’m not judging…just giving you a heads up.” He excuses himself, saying something or other to Tech as the two of them ascend the Marauder. You look to the ground as you make your way to the ship, afraid of making eye contact with any of the others out of fear of making things more awkward. Even as you walk past Crosshair, you ignore him completely, pretending to fix the lightsaber hanging from your belt so you don’t have to deal with him now. As soon as you go to the cockpit, you throw a quick hello to Echo and walk back, pushing through the supplies scattered around so you can sit in the small space at the end of the ship. 

Even though you want to sit near Crosshair, you decide against it, knowing that you don’t have the capacity to deal with his passive aggressive comments now. You haven’t seen him in a long while, and there’s nothing you wish to do more than be near him, even if the two of you were to remain silent. But if the conversation with Hunter proved anything, it’s the fact that Crosshair was begging to pick a fight right now. You just didn’t want it to be with you. 

Taking a deep breath, you do your best to center yourself and ignore the whispers and murmurs traveling from the cockpit. You manage a fair job for most of the flight, but the closer you get to the Outer Rim planet, you vaguely hear your name thrown around between Hunter, Tech and Wrecker. You know better than to listen to what they’re saying, and before you can decide on whether or not you should ignore them, Wrecker stands up and grumbles something louder than the others would have preferred. 

“She doesn’t mind! You’re just telling me what to do because Crosshair won’t listen to you and talk to her.” Your eyes shoot wide open at his words, and as you turn around to face them, you see all of their expressions turn blank. Wrecker only recognizes just how loud he is when he faces you and sees a quizzical look on your features. He chuckles nervously and sits down as Echo makes his way towards you. 

“Sorry about that, we know how much you like to meditate.” He sits down beside you, glaring quickly at Wrecker so he doesn’t accidentally give anything else away. 

“It’s okay, it’s not like I was getting much meditation done anyway. You guys whisper pretty loudly.” 

“You mean you- could you hear us this whole time?” Echo asks, the direct gaze you offer him letting him know that yes, you could certainly hear what they were going on about this whole time. 

“You know then.” It was more of a comment than a question, but you shrug your shoulders at him regardless, unsure of whether they were telling the truth or just reading into the interactions between you and Crosshair. Before you can respond however, you feel the ship drop out of hyperspace and into the atmosphere of the planet.

“Another time Echo,” you ignore the pleading look on Echo’s face, not wanting to continue this conversation now that the mission officially commenced. Making your way to the front of the ship, you look across the yellow planet below you and sigh in irritation when you notice the storms forming just above the surface. 

“Did you know that Eshil is one of three desert planets that receives frequent rain? Rain storms are often violent here, delivering up to seven millimeters per minute. It is more likely for one to drown down there than to die of thirst.” The ease with which Tech spoke made you giggle, and you couldn’t help but thank him politely for the unsolicited knowledge when you saw Wrecker and Echo glare at him worryingly. 

“Don’t worry big guy, nothing will happen to you on my watch.” You pat Wrecker on the back as you begin your descent onto Eshil, and before you can attempt to calm him down a little, the Marauder begins to shake violently due to the rain and thunderstorms. In a moment of distraction, you lose your balance and fly backward, suddenly feeling a pair of slim fingers grab onto your waist to prevent you from falling. Thinking it’s Hunter who just saved you, you turn around to thank him, only to find a pair of steel, hazel eyes staring dead at you. 

The faint gasp doesn’t go unnoticed by Crosshair, nor does the disappointed look you throw at him when he lets go so he can push you into one of the seats. 

“Don’t hurt yourself, Jedi.” His tone is mocking in a way, but you don’t dwell too much on it and instead look around to see if anyone noticed the little interaction. Everyone is blissfully unaware of the tense moment you shared with Crosshair, and even though you can feel his eyes on you, you choose to avoid his gaze, afraid he would see how much of an effect he has on you. 

It takes too long to your liking to land, not because you didn’t like the turbulence, but because you couldn’t stand being in close proximity with Crosshair any longer. An hour ago, you were excited to join the team, wanting nothing more than to try and get closer to Crosshair, or at the very least, figure out why he’s always more passive aggressive with you than with anyone else. But after the not-so-subtle comment from Hunter, and the rather awkward conversation you overheard, you couldn’t finish this mission and be back on Coruscant fast enough. Somehow, knowing that the animosity was a product of mutual feelings made things worse.

No, not worse. That wasn’t the right word. 

Real. It made things real. It made things more accessible, which meant that the probability of anything happening was simultaneously high and low. 

“We’re here,” Hunter’s announcement is a welcomed distraction, and you wait until everyone stands aside to review the plan before jumping out of the Marauder. The rain comes down harsher than you’ve anticipated but you take a few seconds to appreciate it regardless, knowing that it wasn’t everyday you experienced rain caused by clean, natural clouds. It was so much different than Coruscant, strangely soothing as it seeped through your clothes and kissed your cheeks. 

The cool sensation suddenly shifts into a warmer breeze, causing your eye muscles to clench tightly in confusion. The feeling engulfs you almost like a hug, and you’re not sure how or why it becomes hotter with each passing second. It’s only when you open your eyes and glance to the side that you finally understand why you were being flooded with such intensity. You quickly avert your gaze as soon as you notice Crosshair’s embarrassment when he realizes that you’ve caught him staring at you. 

“Alright fellas, listen up. Our mission is simple: infiltrate the base undetected, retrieve the classified intel from their innermost vaults, exfiltrate before they even know we’re there. Stay sharp and Wrecker…no explosives unless I say so.” Hunter points firmly at the bigger clone, and you almost giggle when you see the hint of a grin appearing on his face. 

“Awww man!” Wrecker throws his hands up in the air, walking away and crossing his arms when he sees you approaching him. 

“Don’t worry big guy, there’s always a next time.” You pat him on the back, laughing to yourself when he retorts at you like a child.

“That’s what you said last time.”

“But I really mean it this time,” you twist your head down until you can get a better look at him, and when you meet his eyes, you watch as he tries his best to not crack a smile in return. When he does, you walk past him and stay behind Hunter as he slowly moves through the barren land. The closer you get to the compound though, the more you become uneasy at your lack of cover, but before you can say anything, the rain begins to come down harder than you thought it possible, making you squint to try and see where everyone is. 

“I guess that should do the trick!” You hear Echo scream from behind you, but the sentiment makes you uncomfortable. The idea of losing the rest of them before you even make it to the enemy line is disconcerting, and you make your way towards Hunter quickly. When he sees you approaching him, he stops and waits for you to catch up. 

“Follow my lead and make sure everyone keeps their helmets on so they can see.” You throw the hood of your cloak over your head a little further, the action not helping one bit as the water continues to crash down on you like a waterfall. 

“When we get there-” 

“I’ll signal for Echo so he can unlock the doors.” Waiting until he nods in agreement, you continue your journey towards the compound, praying to the maker that the enemy’s visibility is as bad as yours. The trek to the compound takes longer than you like, but when you finally have it in sight, you turn around and wait for the others to reach you. Hunter and Tech are ahead of everyone, and you squint hard until you can see Echo and Wrecker behind them. When Crosshair doesn’t show right away, you begin to worry, afraid that the rain became less of an inconvenience and more of a trigger to him. You’re about to run past the guys when you finally see him walking through the heavy downfall, no longer holding his firearm in his hands and instead taking his time as he walks towards the rest of the team. Even though you can’t see his expression, you know for a fact that Hunter is smirking beneath his mask, and you choose to ignore him as you go back to the front of the Batch and walk closer to the compound.

“There aren’t any guards posted outside. The storm must have sent everyone back inside.” You make a note, signaling for Echo to move ahead of you while the others wait a little farther away in case things don’t go according to plan. Anxiety washes over you all of a sudden, and you glance at the only member of the Batch you know dislikes the rain more than anyone. If Crosshair notices the way you’re staring at him worryingly, he says nothing and keeps his attention on your surroundings, ready to fire at anyone who comes in the way. 

When Echo unlocks the door, Tech follows after and heads straight towards the secured vaults at the heart of the compound. It’s quieter than you expect, but you figure it’s only because the storm continues to rage outside and grow louder by the second. As you move towards the vault however, you find the silence nearly deafening, and you wonder briefly if this entire mission could be a set-up. Before you can voice your concerns to Hunter, Tech gains access to the room with ease, already getting to work for the intel with Echo. You stand guard outside while Hunter and Wrecker scout the hallways and ensure you don’t have any visitors. 

Using the distraction to your advantage, you slowly make your way to Crosshair and stand beside him, waiting until he acknowledges your presence with a glance before attempting to break the awkward air around the two of you. 

“I hope the rain isn’t too much of a bother.” You’re not sure what else to say, and as you realize he won’t be responding any time soon, you figure it’s best to not try and fix whatever it is between the two of you now. Knowing that it will be even more uncomfortable if you walk away from him, you remain standing where you are, turning your attention to Tech and Echo to see if they’re almost done. 

The abrupt sound of guns firing pushes you forward immediately, and you watch as several weapons descend from the ceiling and the walls, instantly firing at everyone in the room. You make your way to the nearest wall and burn through the small firearms with your lightsaber, watching as Crosshair hits several more on the opposite side of the wall while Tech and Echo extract the intel. 

“I knew it was too quiet.” You mutter to yourself, running as fast as you can across the space to get as many of the little suckers as possible. When there aren’t any left, you sheath your weapon again and move towards the door. 

“Time to head out,” Hunter screams across the hallway and as you file out, you sense movement at one of the corners of the room. It’s instinctive the way you run towards Crosshair and shield him with your body, and your curse at yourself for not ensuring that all of them were taken down. Anger seeps through your mind at what could have been a fatal mistake and you ignite your saber instantly, propelling it towards the small object and bringing it back into the palm of your hand as more smoke fills the room. 

“We need to leave, now.” Your voice is stern, and even though you can see Crosshair staring at where you’ve just been shot, you don’t pay him any mind as you run through the winding hallways and make your way out of the compound. It’s somehow raining even harder than earlier, and you feel your body grow more faint with each step you take. The faster you try to run, the more unbearable the pain becomes, and it occurs to you that you would be no good to any of them if you slowed them down. 

You come to a stop and haunch over, applying pressure against your stomach and wincing in pain when more blood oozes through your fingers. Thinking that they’re all ahead of you, you kneel down and allow the rain to become less of an inconvenience and more of a calming presence. 

“What are you doing?” Crosshair hisses as he comes up behind you, and when you lock contact with his eyes, you regret not pushing yourself harder. 

“I’m fine…go!” You hope your voice isn’t as wavering to his ears as it is to your own, and when he shakes his head, you attempt to stand to confront him, only to fall back to the ground again. 

“Tech, bring the ship to my position.” You cruse yet again as Crosshair pushes a button on the side of his helmet while speaking to Tech. 

“Why have you stopped?” You can hear Hunter ask through the comms, and you look at Crosshair again, silently begging him to leave so he doesn’t get hurt. 

“The General’s been compromised.” He leans down and pushes your hands aside to inspect the wound, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d think that he was angry at you for getting shot…for saving him. 

“You need to go to the Marauder. That’s an order.” You hiss in pain when you feel him bring your hand back to your stomach and push on it harder than before. 

“You’re currently bleeding all over the floor. You’re in no shape to give me orders…General.” He’s pushing your buttons, but unlike before, when he smirked at every snarky comment he threw your way and chuckled when you retorted in likeness, his voice is laced with unspoken feelings now, as if he was silently thanking you for what you did for him. 

Before you can dwell too much on the change in his behavior, the Marauder lands right beside you, allowing you a moment of respite before Wrecker comes down the ramp and takes you in his arms. The jolting movements make you cough as your stomach throbs in pain, and you take one last look at Crosshair, finding his expression as irritated as when you were on your way here. 

To his credit, Wrecker does try to be more slow and soft with his movements, but when he lays you down, you can’t help but scream in agony at the wound tearing through your skin. 

“S-sorry.” You shake your head at Wrecker and assure him with a smile, only to drop it when Tech comes with a medkit and asks his brother to give you some privacy. 

“I do apologize General but I must cut your robe to administer the bacta spray and patches properly.” Ever the gentleman, Tech waits for your consent before taking out a pair of scissors. He’s about to cut through your robes when Crosshair walks in and stands behind him.

“If you can wait out-”

“I’ll do it.” Crosshair doesn’t give Tech a chance to finish his request, and when he stands up to argue with him, you reach for Tech’s hand and nod at him, waiting until he places everything down before moving towards the front of the ship. 

You’re sure Crosshair didn’t think this far ahead because he remains standing and doesn’t once turn his sight away from your wound. 

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” You break the silence and push your head back as the wound continues to burn. It must be all Crosshair needs to hear because he gets right to business, not once saying anything to you as he rips through your robes and begins to disinfect the flesh around the gash. You hiss and instantly slam your hand against his thigh, digging your nails into the plastoid covering him as he sterilizes the laceration to prevent any infection. 

“What were you thinking?” It’s the first time he’s ever spoken to you so softly, and you figure it’s because you’re hurt and can’t respond in likeness. But when you open your eyes and look at him, you’re shocked to find worry and fear swimming in his hazel brown orbs. It throws you off a little, and you shake the thoughts aside, knowing that you may just be reading too much into his behavior.

“At the time, I thought it was a great idea!” You chuckle only to curse out loud when he begins to apply the bacta spray on top of the wound. You think he’ll smile at catching you off guard, but when you look at him again, he’s as somber as a few seconds ago.

“And now?” Crosshair growls at you, actually growls, the sound coming as a shock to you. It occurs to you that maybe, just maybe, he was attempting to show you that he cares, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. When he stops what he’s doing and continues to keep his gaze on you, you lay your head back down and allow the subsiding pain to calm you a little. 

“Maybe…maybe not so much.” He narrows his eyes at you then, the expression becoming a little too intense for you and making you turn away to face the wall. Not another word is exchanged between you and him, and as he finally places the bacta patches on your stomach, you turn to face him again, no longer able to keep playing whatever game he started. 

“Thank you, for not leaving…for staying with me.” Crosshair continues to remain silent, his focus completely on the wound he was dressing. 

“And thank you for patching me up.” Again, he doesn’t acknowledge any of your words, waiting until he’s sure the wound is perfectly protected before throwing everything back into the medkit. You think he’s about to leave but when he finally looks up, you notice his eyebrows relax as he lets out a deep breath. 

“Why would you do that?”

The question catches you off guard, and you figure you may as well tell him how you feel because you’re not sure what will happen tomorrow. 

“You know why.” The simple whisper holds a thousand confessions, and Crosshair clenches his jaw tightly as he reaches for your hand. You gasp at the warmth of his skin, and swallow the lump in your throat when he grabs a wet towel and begins to clean the dried blood. You’re not sure how long you hold your breath, but when he’s done, he doesn’t let go. In fact, he does the opposite, bringing both of his rough palms around your own and keeping it as close to him as possible. 

“I- I’m not worth your-” The sentiment breaks your heart and you furrow your eyebrows at him as you attempt to sit up, not wanting him to finish whatever he was about to say. The stinging returns a thousandfold but you ignore the shooting pain and pull Crosshair towards you.

“Don’t ever say that.” You want to say more. You want to tell him that you’d gladly do it again to ensure his safety, that you wouldn’t give it a second thought because you care for him more than you’re allowed, more than he’ll ever know. But the way he looks at you makes it difficult to say anything else, and you lay back down again when your muscles beg you for some respite. Crosshair doesn’t let go of your hand. If anything, his hold on you tightens as he moves to sit closer to you. 

“It was annoying.” Whatever you thought he was going to say is certainly not those three words, and the confusion etched on your face makes him crack a smile before finally looking from your hand to you. 

“The rain.” You look at him for what feels like hours before you finally register what he was trying to tell you. 

“Wow, it took me getting shot at for you to finally answer my question…an hour later?” The joke doesn’t sit too well with him and you apologize quickly, afraid he’d get up and leave you all alone. 

“I- I didn’t think you’d…” The words die in his throat, and you look down at where your hands are intertwined, wanting to give him some privacy as he comes to terms with what he was feeling, what he was oversharing with you. 

“Remember?” You finish for him, smiling when he nods quietly and begins to trace the lines across the back of your hand.

“I remember everything you tell me, Crosshair.” Once again, the simple response is laced with too many revelations to your liking, but you know you’d never forgive yourself if you didn’t use this moment to show him how much you care. 

How much you love him.

He looks at you then, about to say something when he sees your face twist at the returning stinging sensations. 

“You need to rest.” His voice is firm, making you wish you weren’t hurt and could actually make whatever this is last longer. 

“Will you be here when I wake up?” Before, you would have been annoyed with yourself for being so vulnerable in front of him, but the question must be the one thing he needed to hear because he smiles softly at you before nodding in silence, bringing his chair a little closer to you can rest your arm better as you keep holding his hands.

“Sleep, cyare. I’ll protect you.”

[ilcuoreardendo-fic]

Staring Contest

When you walk into the barracks to ask sergeant Hunter about some requisitions to transfer gear from the flagship Phalanx to the Marauder, the room, which had been eerily quiet, erupts in a raucous mixture of jeers and cheers, the sound practically vibrating the walls.

All in good fun. You can feel that in the Force. The battle had gone well and the troops were taking a moment to wind down from the adrenaline. Though through what means, you weren't entirely sure.

Looking toward the center of the room, you watch Deck shake his head and push away from a stack of crates set between him and the Bad Batch's sniper, introduced to you as Crosshair, who smirks like a tooka who's just gotten into the cream.

Next to you, Cerrix passes a couple of cred chips to Tech, who slips them into one of the many pouches on his belt, touches a forefinger to the bridge of his goggles, then swipes something on his datapad.

"That's five, zero," Tech says. "Who's next?"

From somewhere in the crowd of 7th Legion troopers, you hear an eager shout of "The commander!" followed by a wave of murmured agreement.

Every face in the room turns to you and if you were any less sure of yourself, you might find that intimidating.

Instead, you glance at Cerrix for an explanation. "What's going on?"

Cerrix rolls his eyes. "One di'kut bet another di'kut he couldn't out stare Crosshair and it's become a whole thing. You could win us back some money, commander..." Cerrix tone turns hopeful.

"Ha! These guys need all the help they can get." The boisterous voice you recognize as Wrecker's.

You look to Crosshair, who stands, arms crossed, rolling a toothpick slowly between his lips, sizing you up. His eyes are narrowed, calculating and you can practically feel the weight of his gaze on your skin. Something in it tweaks your competitive side.

"Hm." You hand your datapad to a grinning Cerrix. "Okay. I can do that," you say, as you head toward Crosshair, your men parting around you like water as you step up to the crates.

You take a cleansing breathe, letting it out in a soft chuckle as A'den, who you're half surprised to see in the crowd, leans close, whispers in your ear, "Get him, commander," before moving to hold up a wall, letting the rest of his brothers crowd in around you.

"Right," says Cerrix, "I've got eyes on Crosshair. Who's got the commander?"

"I do," the voice is warm and smokey. Sergeant Hunter; after your first meeting, you'd recognize his voice anywhere. He comes into view, standing just behind Crosshair, where he can watch your face throughout the contest. He gives the tiniest nod of his head.

"Okay," Cerrix continues, "first one to blink or look away loses. Draw is at four minutes on the timer." Cerrix motions to Tech, who taps his datapad and gives a thumbs up.

"No Force tricks," rasps Crosshair.

You smile. "I don't need Force tricks. Tech, start the clock."

And so it begins.

The weight you felt from his gaze when you were across the room is nothing compared to what you feel now, staring directly into Crosshair's eyes. His focus is pointed. When he's not tense or scowling, Crosshair's eyes take on a heavy lidded quality that seem to make the color of them darker, deeper.

All the clones have brown eyes.

And you've stared into many sets of them in many different contexts. Issuing orders before leaving for battle. Listening to stories in the mess or at 79's when you've been invited along. Sitting at bedsides in Med Bay. In dark corners of the ship, telling someone their brother didn't make it back. In the middle of firefights, choking on dust and wrapping the Force around you and the clones, who you can do nothing for except hold their hands...

But this is new. Different.

The last time you stared into someone's eyes this closely, for this long, they had been a lover.

With a soft sigh, you keep eye contact but let your vision take in the full, slightly out of focus, expanse of Crosshair's face.

He has the high cheekbones that all clones share, but they're more pronounced on his lean face. His jawline is narrow, chin strong. His lips are thin and between them he holds the ever captive toothpick.

You catch a teasing flash of his tongue as the toothpick rolls from one side of his mouth to the other.

It gives you an idea. You said you didn't need Force tricks. You never said you'd play fair.

You bring your full attention back to his eyes, notice one of his eyebrows has drawn up; it doesn't take the Force to know he's been examining you in much the same way.

Making sure to keep eye contact, you lean forward, place your left elbow on the stack of crates and rest your chin on your curled knuckles.

Curiosity flares in Crosshair's eyes, but he stays focused. Sharp. Assessing.

Until you slowly part your lips, as if you're about the speak. Instead of words, you let the tip of your tongue play along the inside edge of your lower lip and watch the subtle widening of his eyes. You can feel the control he exerts over himself to not break eye contact to look fully at your mouth.

You reach out with your free hand — slowly; he could stop you if he wanted to — and pluck the toothpick from his mouth. His lips part, you hear the slightest uptick of his breathing.

There's a low rumble throughout the room. Hushed conversation. Maybe constrained laughter.

You flip the toothpick, bring the end of it that had been between Crosshair's lips to the center of your own.

Your tongue slips out, curls around it and you tuck it up against the corner of your mouth with a sly smile that you know reaches your eyes.

Crosshair blinks.

Cerrix cry is instantaneous. "The commander wins!"

"Secret weapon?" Hunter says to him.

"We do tend to bring her out when we really need the win, on the battlefield or off."

You cast a sidelong look at Cerrix, one eyebrow raised. He doesn't even have the decency to look cowed.

You turn back Crosshair, who's arms remain crossed over his chest. His chin is tucked. He's still watching you.

You lean in close, balanced against the crates. "I told you I didn't need Force tricks."

"Perhaps," he reaches out, forefinger under your chin, thumb pressing into the sensitive skin just below your lip where his toothpick still sits, "we need a rematch. Without an audience."

I...haven't done a reader insert ficlet in a long time and never for Star Wars.

But I just had this idea bubble up at random. It was an okay word workout and it let me think more about Crosshair's face. So, win.

[mylifeisactuallyamess]

Nar Cyar’ika

Crosshair x Jedi!Reader

A/N: Thanks you so much to @starrylothcat and @a-single-tulip for going over this for me!

Prompts given: Telling someone you love them while you think they’re asleep and tentative kisses in the dark.

Warnings: 18+, unprotected p in v (wrap it up irl), Crosshair being Crosshair, canon battles, violence, clone deaths 😭, if I’ve missed anything please @ me.

Word Count: 6.8k+

Tagging: @techs-feral-wife

“General! Look out!”

Upon hearing the warning, you automatically threw your hands up as the debris littered the ground around you. Casting the force shield as wide as you could to cover your troops, but still, the finer dirt rained down. The hiss of it was accompanied but the smell of burnt alloy, broken droids, and the freshness of the gauged earth.

“Captain?!” You called, choking on the fuel heavy air.

“All in one piece,” He responded wearily. He was feeling a little grim and tired but he was still there unharmed, as were the rest of the clones that held the line. A whole month you’d been out here. Fighting back droids in an endless barrage, constant casualties as men dropped around you, something you took personally.

Too many nights had been spent holding a dying man’s hand, trying to ease his passing and take away the pain of his wounds. You knew the name of every single one, taking a piece of their armour for their brothers, because that was all you were allowed. Your ship wasn’t built to carry home dead troopers, only the ones still breathing.

“Incoming!” A trooper’s yell alerted you to act. It was instinctive, reaching out with the force, directing the missile off to the side of your positions, and exploding in a shower of wood and earth. The trees groaned, crashing to the ground and taking out some advancing clankers under the thick trunks; starting a chain reaction of more explosions that beat the air around you.

“ETA on our reinforcements?” You had requested help, a few extra platoons would tip the scales in your favour and you hoped they were arriving in the next few minutes. You hefted your DC-17m and began to shoot some droids, the repeat blasts kicking back into your armour as you swept some bolts along the Separatist front line, picking your targets through the trees and hitting the mark every time.

Captain Wilco was shooting beside you, his helmet nodded and you knew he was talking on the internal com. It was frustrating that as a Jedi you didn’t have a helmet and only a com on your wrist. That was no good while you were shooting.

“ETA 2 minutes, General,” he relayed steadily.

“Do we know how many?” He hesitated at the question and you felt his faint emotion change through the force.

“Make me happy, Captain,” You ordered as you took out another B1 droid.

“Just a single Commando Squad…”

“Beexes! Heading straight for your position, General!” The warning came through the comlink this time and you lowered your blaster, hiding behind a wide tree trunk as Wilco slammed in beside you, blasters upright and pointing at the sky as he took a second to breathe. The swift thunk of bolts sounded loud, shedding some splinters of wood near your shoulder. You hated these droids.

“Hold this,” You said, holding out the deecee.

“Is it time to show off?” He asked, twirling his blasters and shoving them in their holsters before taking your blaster.

“Yeah, it’s time to show off.” Drawing your twin blades free was always an exhilarating moment. The yellow-green cast of the plasma was a beacon to your troops. When the lights were lit, it meant their General was getting personal with the clankers.

You could feel the fresh prick of adrenaline, spinning away from your cover and stabbing the first droid under the chin. The alloy melted, no match against your lightsaber and your nose wrinkled at this smell of ruined circuits.

Shedding the dead weight you bounced some bolts away, noticing three more heading straight for you. Three. You were tired, your shoulder ached and your entire body was being pushed to its limit but you soldiered on. Wilco fired from the cover you provided but they barely slowed the droids down.

Any second…any second. You could sense them, the squad that had been sent to help hold your position and now you knew why they had only sent one. At first, you’d expected Omega, maybe even Delta if they were ordered hard enough…no. They’d sent the squad you would take above all others.

You flowed through the motions, relying on the force to tell you what was headed your way a few seconds before it actually happened. A bolt aimed at your shoulder penetrating your armour, another coming to pierce your side. Your blades swung, reflecting the bolts away not having the time to direct them. The droids crossed paths, their legs easily picking over the uneven terrain as they jogged. Bringing your blades in an X, you clashed them together before wrenching them apart and pushing with the force.

To your annoyance they contorted, refusing to fall over and you felt a flash of anger. Spinning around you concentrated, letting go of your left saber to guide it in an arc slicing off the head of a droid.

Two down, two to go.

Now they were upon you, one constantly on the move as it shot at you while the other pulled a vibrosword from literally nowhere. Going toe to toe with a BX droid was not on your to-do list today, let alone four of them. It met you swing for swing, with the added distraction of the other one shooting at you, this really wasn’t a fair fight.

An explosion that made the earth roll beneath your feet caught you completely off-guard, and you stumbled. The tremor rocked through your body, jolting your sabers from your grip and the droid saw its chance. It lunged to grab you by the throat, lifting you as you clawed at the metal arm that had you in a vice-like grip.

“General!” You closed your eyes at the sound of Wilco’s desperate yell.

No, please no! Your mind was frantic and you did the only thing you could think of. Throwing your hand out, you pushed Wilco back. You didn’t need him coming to your recuse and getting himself killed. He was swept off his feet, landing heavily on his back. Your legs were kicking, trying not to succumb to the panic, but you couldn’t stop it. You weren’t a born soldier, all your years at the temple could not have prepared you for this side of war. You were a peacekeeper. That’s what they’d told you anyway.

You began to gasp, reaching into the force to try and find the strength to ease this droid’s grip but your concentration was slipping. Your body was failing and so was your mind as your lungs burned for some air.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Light flared across your blurred vision, the sound of your lightsaber cut through the fog in your mind and you felt yourself fall to the ground. Dragging the tainted air into your lungs you were finally able to take a breath. Hands grabbed you, hauling you to some cover and you were able to see who your saviour was.

Captain Wilco was shooting with your repeat blaster around the side of the tree, his shots sporadic to indicate fewer targets were in his line of sight. It was the other soldier that interested you right now, his black and red helmet thrown into stark relief in the light of your saber.

The light side of his helmet was a complete dichotomy to the dark tattoo that marked the same side of his face. He now cocked it as he peered at you from behind the wide visor. “You’ll be needing these.” He remarked, retracting the blade before depositing them firmly in your grip. Hunter yanked his knife free of his vambrace, staying in a crouched position, and peered around the tree. “Crosshair...” you heard him murmur through his vocoder and you knew he was talking via the comlink.

“The clankers are regrouping.” You smiled at the bite in the sniper’s voice. You couldn’t see him but you could feel him high up the side of the hill, his presence was always loud to you through the force. Even across the distance that had been between you the last five months, you’d always been able to reach out to him.

“Are you all right, General?” Wilco had that smooth tone to his voice, the one that told you he had shut down all his feelings and was reacting purely on instinct right now. This man was going through the motions.

“Fine. I’ll be sporting a new collar of bruises though. Now I know what Captain Rex was moaning about.”

“Orders?” Crosshair’s voice slithered through the com channel and Hunter turned to look at you as he waited.

“This is your party, Sarge. Go, do what you do.”

“You heard the General, boys. Let’s finish this.” Hunter melted away, prompting you to get up.

“Captain,” Wilco was by your side, letting you lean on him as your legs shook. “Let’s watch the show.”

“Not a single clanker left,” Wrecker announced loudly as they walked through the carnage to your position. Your robes were singed, and the armour you wore over the top was carbon scoured and would need a good clean. Your throat was still sore every time you swallowed but you wouldn’t let the medics near you. There were far worse injuries littering the field.

“I’m glad you boys decided to make it.”

“Sorry,” Hunter replied, pulling his helmet off and giving you a cocky smile. “Had to stop and ask some clankers for directions.”

“And there I was thinking we were making enough noise.” As you spoke your gaze drifted over the Sergeant’s shoulder to fix on the figure that was striding to join his squad. He was tall, his long legs picking their way easily over the droid shrapnel; the firepuncher pointing at the ground but held in a way you knew it could lift and take out a droid in less than a second.

“Your position was easy enough to triangulate. Plus, we sourced the coordinates directly from your ship when we answered the call.” Tech had his nose in his datapad, no doubt keeping an eye on the com chatter so he was alerted to any change in the GAR.

“What’s next?” Hunter asked.

“General.” You turned to face Wilco, he was holding a holodisk in his hand, depicting an image of your Admiral who was currently in orbit over the planet you stood on.

“Orders from Coruscant?” You queried and he nodded.

“We have been told to return immediately. The Fearless is coming to relieve us.”

“We do all the hard graft and then someone else sweeps in and just holds it for us.” Shaking your head you tried not to be tempted by the anger that loomed. You knew why they did it, you created results. The 71st made waves, they got things done and you all were a formidable force against the droids. “Say, you boys fancy some RnR? It’s been a while since we caught up.” You could feel Crosshair scrutinising you from under his helmet, you felt the jolt that your suggestion gave him except it wasn’t his decision.

Hunter cast his eye over the squad but it was Wrecker that answered. “Aw, yeah! Been a while since we had some decent food.”

“Plenty of that up top. What do you say?” Your offer hung in the air for a moment as they all exchanged glances with Hunter.

“Yeah, why not,” Hunter said slowly.

“Saves on fuel,” added Tech.

“Captain, contact the ship and let them know Clone Force 99 is going to dock with us. They’re going to need supplies and fuel if we can spare it.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He turned away to the sound of the lartys as they landed.

“I need to accompany the wounded. See you on the flight deck.” Hunter gave you a salute, briefly touching his bandana and flicking his fingers away, but your gaze was settled on the sniper. He backed away, his attention clearly on you and it took all your concentration not to physically reach out to him.

So you used the force instead, stretching over the few metres that separated you, frustrated that he was so close and still so far away. A frown tugged on your brow when you felt he was…angry. It created heated spots in the force around him and he suddenly turned away, spinning abruptly and stalking after his squad mates.

Walking in the opposite direction you distracted yourself as you did after every battle, by concentrating on your clones.

You hated the aftermath. The way their adrenaline trickled away just left exhaustion and pain. The air in the gunship reeked of blood, dirt, sweat, and men. You were used to it, aware that you didn’t smell any better yourself. The whole battalion had been planetside for five days this round and they deserved a well-earned rest.

“Jumper…” you crouched beside a clone who was slumped in a brother's lap, barely able to hold his head up. There was a mark on his white chest plate, the red cross of no treatment, and tears sprang to your eyes.

“General,” He wheezed.

“Hang on soldier, we’re going home.” You took his hand and concentrated. Nothing you could do would stop the inevitable, all that was left was to ease his pain. “You fought bravely today,” you murmured. He sighed loudly and you hitched up a smile. “The meds working?”

“Yeah. Thanks, General…” You had no idea if he knew what you’d done or not. By the time you’d stood up and moved to the next soldier, he had taken his last breath.

You waited on the flight deck, supervising all the wounded being taken, giving a comforting word to the exhausted ones left behind. You were hurting, trying to keep your brave mask on until you could fall apart in your quarters. Attachment rules be damned, how could you not feel the ache with each life that was lost? When you personally felt their passing through the force and the void they left behind?

“Ship docking!” The Marauder glided effortlessly onto the flight deck, turning so tightly, it made some of the troopers watching hold their breaths but you’d seen Tech pilot this beauty before.

“Get a fuel line ready,” you ordered a clone and he jumped up to carry out the task.

The squad disembarked, casting uneasy glances around the matching faces that openly stared at them. You knew if any other Jedi had asked they would have refused the hospitality.

“Jet’ika! There she is!” Wrecker wasn’t one for protocol and acting appropriately and you didn’t care, letting the large clone pull you off the ground and into a bear hug that you so desperately needed.

“Wrecker, the regs are watching,” Tech murmured.

“What do I care?” He replied loudly and you grimaced as it echoed over the deck. “Wha’ you looking at?” He demanded from the nearest group.

“You’re embarrassing yourself, Wrecker.” Crosshair shoved past, his golden gaze avoiding yours. Something was up with him, maybe he was just pent up with frustration at not being able to greet you like Wrecker had. You wished he could, your entire body ached to be touched by him.

Five months was a long time.

“You boys hungry?” You asked when Wrecker finally put you down.

“I can guarantee one of us is,” Tech sighed as the big clone proclaimed he was starving again.

“No food fights this time,” You told Hunter, raising an eyebrow. “I had to do a lot of smooth-talking with the Admiral and Captain Wilco last time, not to mention the clean-up droid.”

“They’ll behave this time,” the Sergeant told you in a firm voice.

“Actually, I behaved last time,” Tech stated with a small frown on his face as they all followed you into the turbo lift.

“Only because you weren’t there,” Crosshair pointed out with an annoyed motion, pulling his toothpick out and flicking it at his brother.

Tech shrugged and barely flinched when the small stick bounced off his armour. “A minor detail.”

The doors opened and they stepped out, turning as one to face you. “Go relax, I need to get freshen up and then I’ll come and join you.” Hunter gave you a small nod of acknowledgement, Wrecker beamed, Tech gave you an absent wave and Crosshair didn’t even look at you. The door began to slide closed. Every fibre of your being wished Cross would look at you, so when his blazing, amber gaze finally locked with yours it felt like you’d been stunned, your breath stolen along with all the thoughts in your mind.

Five months was too long.

You went through the motions, raking your fingers through your hair and cleaning the grime of battle from your skin. Dirt and blood swilled away in the stream of water before the timer ran out and you sighed in the quiet space. It was never long enough but you understood the water had to be spread between an entire ship and everyone got the same amount of time in the shower.

You towelled yourself down and then wrapped up your body before stepping into your quarters. You had been so absorbed in what you were doing you didn’t expect someone to be standing by the door, leaning against the wall and you automatically threw your hands up.

“Jumpy,” He sneered.

“Well no one should be in here,” you snapped, still ashamed he’d managed to sneak up on you. Crosshair pushed away from the wall, uncrossing his arms to brush his fingertips against your grubby armour plates. You became acutely aware of how underdressed you were, clutching the towel tightly to your chest.

“You were reckless today.” With his words came a ripple of frustration, prickling at your senses and making you bristle in return.

“Isn’t that what we do on the battlefield?” Your answer made him scoff, dropping the armour with a clatter and looking up at the wall.

“You are not invincible,” he spoke with a sharp tone and his eyes held something hard and disclosed.

“I never said I was!” You gasped when he advanced on you, jabbing a finger into your bare shoulder, making you step back.

“I saw what you did!” He seethed in his icy voice. “For that…reg.” Drawing yourself up with as much dignity as you could muster while naked and only wrapped in a towel, you fixed a heavy glare on him.

“Captain Wilco is a fine soldier and I will not have you talk badly about any of my troopers.”

Crosshair straightened, crossing his arms as he regarded you with a displeased look on his face but that just wound you up more.

“Okay, you know what, Cross? I don’t have to listen to this. I have been down there for the past month watching men, your brothers, drop dead around me as they follow my orders.”

“They are not my brothers,” He spat, his gaze drifting away as though bored with the conversation. You sputtered angrily, the happy image of your long-awaited reunion was being replaced by this—anger and jealousy.

“No. You’ve never lost a brother, have you Crosshair?” Your voice had that hard edge you usually reserved for the Seps and you felt the briefest flash of doubt as it flickered through him before he squashed it.

“You are not one of them. No matter how hard you try.”

You laughed at his harsh statement but it held no joy.

“No? I may not have been pulled from a tank but I have no parents, I was holding a weapon that I knew how to use by the time I was 4 years old. I have seen as much, if not more death than your squad put together. Do you sense the moment a trooper passes? Do you feel it when they just…cease to be?”

His gaze flicked to your face, his eyes softening slightly when he saw the tears that sparkled in your eyes.

“I am not a clone, but they are a little pocket of family that I never had.” Turning away you grabbed your spare set of robes. “Now get out. That’s an order.”

The surge of anger from him was like a whip, making you flinch as he slammed a hand into the panel and shoved his way through the door before it had even fully opened. Your insides quivered as you tried to contain it all, but your shell was cracking, allowing the emotion of the last few weeks to finally show and you covered your face with shaking hands.

If only this wasn’t so hard.

“…and then, I picked him up by his neck.”

“What did Rex do?” Your eyes were wide as you nursed a cup of caf at the table with three members of the Bad Batch. Hunter was eyeing anyone that came too close, he was on edge here and you didn’t blame him. Your troops eyed them just as suspiciously. Tech was splicing some data he’d acquired from the Seps, you weren’t entirely sure and you didn’t have it in you to ask this time. Wrecker was doing a great job of distracting you from dwelling on the fact Crosshair wasn’t here. You could sense Hunter’s focus on you every now and again but you ignored it.

“The Cap couldn’t do much, but Crosshair took on that medic.”

“Kix?” You nudged Tech’s arm. “What did you do?”

“I asked Wrecker to put Jesse down. He didn’t listen.”

“Then I ruined all their fun,” Hunter said. “We can't afford to quarrel amongst ourselves. Crosshair needs that reminder more than most at the moment.”

“Where is he?” Tech looked up from his datapad. “Have you seen him?”

It was such a direct question and for a moment you panicked over what to say before shaking your head.

“He’s probably back at the ship.” Hunter pushed away his tray and went to stand up. Tech instantly followed but Wrecker moaned.

“Is it time to go already?”

“Not quite yet,” Hunter reassured him. “The General here is letting us go before they reach triple zero.”

Tech pushed his goggles up his nose as he looked at his brother. “I need to do some maintenance on the ship before we leave and I could us your assistance, Wrecker.”

“Take food with you,” You told the larger clone, pushing your own untouched tray in his direction.

“Bonus! Thanks, Jet’ika.” You grinned at the nickname. Wrecker had donned you with it the first time he saw you a couple of years ago. He followed Tech out of the food area, chomping happily on the extra food but your attention drifted to Hunter who paused.

“If you see him,” You said in a low voice.

“I’ll tell him.” This time you returned the salute and watched them all leave before making a move yourself.

You visited the medbay, checked on the injured clones, and had a chat with them as your ship sped through hyperspace. Keeping their spirits high was easier because they were heading for some leave. They certainly deserved it. Wandering the almost empty halls you debated heading to the bridge. Casting your senses you tried to get a feel for your ship. It lived and breathed like a living creature, the sheer amount of people in this flying city made it so. But one signature stood out. And he was back in your room.

You followed a familiar path, sensing his inner turmoil even as he slept, drawn towards it like a moth to a flame.

The first time you and Cross had given in, it gave you a thrill. Smoothing out the frustrated ripples in such a clone gave you a deluded sense of power. Not that you had any control over him, that wasn’t what you sought out, it was being needed by someone in a way you’d never been needed before.

You had life experience, more than most of your troops put together but it wasn’t something that was encouraged within the temple. You had seen, felt, and witnessed things that blew your mind. Love, you assumed, was a feeling reserved for civvies, not for Jedi. Compassion, a sense of caring was encouraged but love, raw passion. That was shut down.

And then you met Crosshair.

You had sensed his interest, the curiosity had been hard to ignore and he intrigued you just as much. It had taken you spending months with the Batch on a covert mission for the stoic clone to finally give in. And when it did, it opened your eyes to a feeling that encompassed you both completely. An all-consuming fire that burned whenever you were together.

Except this time. Because you had risked your life to save that of your Captain.

The door opened quietly and you slipped into the dark room. His armour was stacked up at the end of your bed and his breathing was even and steady telling you he was asleep. Crosshair was pressed up against the wall, a pillow of yours held close to his body and you felt a pang of guilt that you had spoken to him in such a way earlier. Sitting on the edge of the bed you sighed, plucking at your Jedi robes.

“This was not how I imagined my day going,” You whispered. This was a cheap move and you knew it, but if you told him now then maybe it would be easier to repeat when he was actually awake. “I’m breaking all the rules,” You confessed into the dark. “I feel like when I’m not with you I’m losing myself but when I am with you…I am not who I should be.” Biting your lower lip you stood up. “I love you, Crosshair. I’m aware I shouldn’t, I know that…but I can’t stop.” Glancing over your shoulder you saw he hadn’t moved, still curled around the pillow that smelled like you with his legs tucked up. “I hope I’m brave enough to say it to you when you’re awake.”

You debated going to find somewhere else to sleep, yet you knew this was the last time you’d probably see him for months and you couldn’t bring yourself to leave. Shedding your robes you carefully slipped in beside him and stared at the ceiling. He shifted and you froze. Crosshair uncoiled, rolling over to face you with the tiniest sigh.

“Look at me.” His was soft, whispering over your skin like the lightest of touches.

You obeyed, turning your face to catch his expression in the lights of hyperspace from the viewport in your room.

“Cross…” You stopped when he put a finger across your lips.

“It’s my turn.”

Your heart was pounding, you hadn’t paid attention to if he’d been awake or not, just assuming he was sleeping because of how even his breathing was. At least he was still here.

Crosshair’s eyes traced the way his finger trailed over your lips, rolling your bottom lip a little and your body responded instantly. He had so much to say, it crowded all inside him but he was never good at expressing how he felt with words and you saw his brow furrow. His fingers ghosted over your cheek, hooking around the curve of your neck and he dared to bring you closer. Your hand shot up to cover his, desperate to be close, to feel him everywhere at once.

Your eyes fluttered when his nose brushed yours, lips parting in a minute gasp when his breath pillowed against your cheeks. Maker help you, but you wanted him. You needed him right now and it coursed through you like the light of a supernova.

His lips were tentative, touches light as he gauged how you were responding to his hesitant advance. Both your mouths were open, neither of you wanting to break the delicate string that held you both suspended on this fine ledge. Anticipation swirled in your chest, it made each breath ache and your limbs tremble as the moment built to an almost perceptible hum in the force.

Your fingers tightened over his, giving him the permission he needed to close that gap between you both and sealing his mouth over yours.

The fall was glorious. Throwing you headlong into the taste of him as he crowded you against the bed. His body half covered you, pressing against your leg and letting you know he was there. A soft moan tumbled from your throat, succumbing to the sensations you had denied yourself for so long.

His mouth never stopped, burying his tongue deep into you and he manoeuvred over you completely, his arms on either side of your head as he swept his hands the sides of your face. Bringing your legs up he settled heavily between them, his body responding to the heat of yours as he rutted gently into you.

Your hips flexed, the friction against your clothed core was enough to make you moan again when you felt how hard he was through his blacks. His mouth left yours to trail wet kisses and nips along your jaw, making you arch into him, exposing your neck. He swept his tongue along your pulse point, pausing to lavish some attention on that place that made you shiver.

Your hands roamed up his muscular back, scraping your nails over the crop of short grey hairs, making him groan into your neck. You felt his lips draw back, the feel of his teeth pressing into your skin made you tense, only to surrender yourself to him completely.

He pulled down your vest top, letting out a warm breath that danced over your clavicle, making goosebumps erupt all over your body. He felt so good in your arms, his weight a comfort you realised you had missed as he slipped down. His hands were urgent, now rucking up your top to expose your heaving chest to him and he wasted no time in taking a nipple into his hot mouth.

Crosshair took his time, making sure you were writhing beneath him, whimpering with need before he moved on to the next part of your body. You pulled your own top off, glancing down to see him watching you with those eyes that almost glowed with the fire that burned within him.

His long fingers curled over the waistband of your pants, exposing your hip which he gently kissed, his gaze drawn to the way your stomach contracted at the teasing contact. Crosshair always noticed everything about your body, the way you moved, how you reacted in a certain way, and he used that to figure out your weaknesses. Of course, you’d never admit he was your ultimate weakness, all he had to do was look at you.

He moved over to repeat the motion on your other hip, tugging your pants down to expose you completely, finally rearing up to detangle you from your clothes. You hooked your legs around his slim waist and ran his hands along the line of your thighs, curling you up as he leaned forward to give you a kiss that had you gasping for air.

You knew what was coming next, Crosshair hardly ever deviated, wanting to get the most out of your encounter every time because neither of you knew when it was going to happen again.

His touch was slow but firm, dipping between your bodies as he leaned over you, supporting himself on one hand, his eyes watching your face when he gifted you with a teasing touch along your slit.

You heard the deep growl in his chest and his eyes closed. Long fingers deftly parted your lips and he brushed against your clit making your hips buck into his hand. When he pushed a finger into you it made your back leave the mattress. Your cunt fluttered around his touch, grasping desperately as he added another finger. He buried them deeply, pushing up and into you with a moan, his shoulders flexing from the motion and you leaned back against the pillow.

Your hands held onto him, legs quivering as he tortured you by drawing his fingers out of your wetness, making sure he was completely coated before shoving back into you, ripping a blissful cry from your chest.

He set a steady pace, dragging his fingers against the clenching walls of your sex, his need to feel every inch of you was something you were used to but never prepared for. Cross stroked that tender spot inside you, his fingertips winding up the coil in your lower belly that would have you eventually melting into the mattress.

His eyes intently watched your expression, his lips parted when he felt you shake around him, he knew you were close, he could feel it. And he pushed you over the edge. His breathing became ragged as you fell apart, his fingers not letting up, carrying you through the pleasure. Finally relenting when you hooked a hand around his tense neck and passionately kissed him.

Crosshair planted a hand on your shoulder, pushing you back onto the bed as he moved further back. His eyes devoured you, fingers sweeping up your inner thighs to collect the wetness that had leaked onto your skin. You watched, your body still thrumming with bliss as he put his fingers into his mouth, lifting his predatory gaze to lock with yours.

“You’re as sticky as uj’ayl,” He murmured.

“Cross…” you whimpered.

“Patience, nar cyar’ika.” His lips connected with your inner thigh, once more dragging his teeth against the softness of your skin, enjoying the way you gasped, hips undulating in a shamelessly desperate motion. He directed his attention to your core, using the flat of his tongue, slowly, teasingly, swirling around your clit.

You felt his fingers there once again, exposing you to his warm breath as he sighed. His mouth covered your entrance and you curled your fists in the covers. His tongue delved deeply, tasting you with a satisfied hum that vibrated up your spine, making you tremble.

Crosshair let you use him, grinding your hips against his face as you moaned desperately. One hand travelled up your body, pressing along your stomach to settle between your breasts, fingers spread so he could feel the throb of your heart as it beat in your chest.

It was gathering again, liquid fire searing through your veins and creating a reaction you had no control over. Your legs came up either side of his head, trying not to crush him so you settled your feet on his back. Your fingers slipped through the short, tough strands of his hair as your whole body flexed.

Your cries filled the room, a hand clenching in the pillow behind your head and your back arched wildly. Still, Crosshair persisted, his tongue stroking you into a blaze that only he could handle. His hips pressed into the mattress, his cock needy and aching to be buried inside you, but he could wait.

He groaned when you flooded his mouth, licking up every drop as your pleasure stole every basic function from your body. Each muscle contorted, holding you in a suspended state as the seal broke on the flames that licked across your sweaty skin.

Eventually, he released you, letting you flop bonelessly among the sheets. You protested weakly when he kneeled between your legs, only to shed his blacks before falling back into your arms.

He kissed you fervently, licking as deeply into your mouth as he had your cunt. He wasted no time in lining himself with your weeping entrance, his cock twitching in anticipation, dragging along the seam between your thighs and notching right where you wanted him the most.

Your hands slid down his back, following the lines of his tense muscles to hook in the plushness of his backside. You left him in no doubt of your intentions, not breaking a motion in the kiss as you widened your hips and used your arms to pull him forcefully into you.

He gasped when you clenched around him, seating himself to the hilt in your slick as his face rested on top of yours. His breath was strained and lust laden, his tongue coming out to lick at your lips making you whine as you did the same.

Crosshair filled you, creating a pressure inside you that was unrivalled, and it made your body quiver. Your grip on him relaxed when he began to move, pulling free until only the pulsing head of his cock was nestled comfortably inside you.

The snap of his hips was loud and you cried out together, breaking apart his resolve. There was urgency in his movements, a neediness that transcended words as he worked you both to the point of no return.

It didn’t take him long, already working himself into a state of desperation that he was finally feeding as he rutted into you. “I want to watch you,” He snarled into your lips, pushing up from the bed to kneel again. He lifted one of your legs, holding it up against his flushed chest, and worked his hips, hitting that spot that made your eyes roll. He planted a kiss on your ankle, his ferocious gaze magnetised to yours.

Your body was rung out and taut at the same. Your throat hurt, torn from the cries he pushed from you with each thrust. You knew you were going to ache all over for the next few days but it would have been worth it. Crosshair’s fingers imprinted on your skin, the sweat of his body dripped with yours creating a heady cocktail that sent your senses soaring. He was everywhere, suffocating you in the most desirable way as he began to lead you to the precipice once more.

His thrusts became sloppy, his cock pulsed inside you, eyelids fluttering as he tried to keep his attention on your face. A faint roar sounded in your ears as your blood flushed. Lightning shattered under your skin, electrifying your body to the point where you became hyper-aware of every nerve ending.

Crosshair bared his teeth, sweat beaded on his temple and he picked up the pace to bring you both drastically to a catastrophic end. His spine curled toward you when he came, his form juddering as he growled, pushing his hips into you and exploding deep in your cunt.

You were incoherent, only able to scream his name from the pressure, your nails dragging along the firmness of his sides. Your vision faded out, your heart was fit to burst with every slight thrust that sent intense shockwaves through your body.

He released your leg, letting it flop down and he fell on your lips once more, heaving in your scent and coming down from his high. His arms slid under you, gathering you into his embrace as you both listened to the knock of each other's hearts.

You lay entangled together, your face tucked against his chest and he rested his chin on the top of your head. Your fingers were tracing lazy patterns on his cooling skin, trying not to dwell on the fact he was leaving soon.

“Did you mean it?”

You froze at the question, suddenly remembering what had started this whole encounter.

“Mean what?” You focussed on the way his throat tensed, frustration coming through the turbulent calm because you were forcing him to explain.

“What you said.”

“I thought you were asleep.”

He sighed.

“I’m not anymore.” His voice was quiet, almost hesitant and you risked leaning back to look into his face. His gaze roamed openly over your features, almost as though he was committing you to his memory and so you did the same.

Using your fingertips you followed the cut of his jaw, feeling the stubble that was starting to shadow his face. You brushed a thumb over the darkness of his tattoo, knowing what resided behind such a mark. It didn’t matter how many times this man tried to push you away, or how strongly he believed he wasn’t good enough for you, nothing could stop you from wanting him.

“Yes, I meant it.” There was a wave of warmth, tinged with surprise, he hadn’t expected you to admit outright. “I don’t care about the consequences,” You whispered.

“You might.”

You shook your head, fingertips delicately tracing the curve of his ear.

“Not when it comes to you.”

His arms tensed, pulling you back into his chest and you curled willingly against him, closing your eyes and letting yourself relax. He hadn’t said the words, he didn’t need to. You could sense that he loved you too. He wanted to voice them, you could sense that as well, but he knew the ramifications of what such a declaration meant.

And he was willing to protect you for as long as he had to.

[dragonrider9905]

Also find me on Ao3--DragonRider9905

Everything is separated by series

Canon

One Shots/Stand Alones

Hunter's Stress Journal

Clonetober 2022

Lessons from the Past Offer Hope for a Golden Future

AUs

To Be a Jedi (Hunter Force-Sensitive AU)

The Clone's Incomplete Guide for Navigating the Afterlife (We're Learning as We Go)

Technically, We’re in Love (Tech/OC)—Same AU as Broken, Not Shattered

Broken, Not Shattered (Crosshair/OC)(Hunter/OC)—Same AU as Technically

With You From Dusk till Dawn (Hunter/OC)

The World Where You Live (Hunter/OC) (Tech/OC)

Reader Inserts

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy!

Feel free to comment and/or reblog. Would be much appreciated!

[zoeykallus]

I don’t know if you like writing angst very often but I can’t get the idea out of my head- where the batch is involved with a Jedi but their chip activates. They survive but they definitely don’t get away unscathed. And maybe if you’re feeling reallly angsty they reunite after the chip removal.

(You’re super talented btw I love everything you write❤️❤️)

Aloha!

Well, it always depends a little on different factors sometimes, generally I'm not averse to writing angst. On some days I might not feel up for the task, I pick another ask to do first and then come back to the angsty stuff.

I do like this one, 'cause honestly, I asked myself "what if" in this scenario a couple of times. Thinking of how scary Wrecker was under the influence of the chip, this is definitely worth looking into.

Thanks for the input, and thanks for your sweet words!❤️❤️

The Bad Batch x Jedi!Reader - Order 66

Warnings: Angst/Hurt/Tension/Violence - Don't worry, you get a Happy End this time too!

______________

You thought you are safe, the chip your batcher has isn't functional. You are wrong. The headaches he’s been having, should have worried you more.... "Good soldiers follow orders"

______________

Hunter

Your heart races. There is no way to kill him, you don't want to. You have to be fast, or you might not have any other options left. Hunter already shot at you, you are limping, your leg hurts where his blaster hit you. Clenching your teeth, biting down against the pain, you limp from hiding spot to hiding spot. But you know, he can smell you, Hunter knows where you are. For the first time ever, you are scared of that man, really scared and infinitely sad. Pain, fear, confusion, desperation. All at once. It was hard to focus, to stay calm. It feels like you are on the run for hours already, but it's just a few minutes so far.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are! You know you can't hide from me, I can smell your fear"

You gulp, jump up, out of your hiding place above him and hit him with the grip of an axe you found, to knock him out.

Looking down on Hunter lying there, you feel so shaky and breathless.

"Sorry, hun, you didn't give me a choice", you whisper, softly kiss his forehead and leave.

There will be more clones coming your way soon, you have to leave him where he is. You don't want to, but you have to.

Months later:

"I thought I smelled your scent"

You freeze. Did you really hear that voice? Slowly you turn around, your hand is wandering to your lightsaber, but not drawing it yet.

It is him, Hunter. As he sees your hand going for your saber, he says softly, "Easy, Mesh'la, I'm not here to hurt you"

"Last time we met, you tried to kill me", you say quietly.

Hunter sighs, looking down for a moment, as he looks back up again you see how sad and ashamed he is about that fact.

"I didn't have any control. I tried, I was fully aware, but I couldn't stop what was happening. It felt like... I don't know how to describe it but, it felt like I was controlled by someone other than me"

He shrugs, looking a little helpless.

"Look", he says softly, "You didn't know I was here, I could have killed you already if that was still my goal"

You swallow, you can feel your eyes burn and watering.

"Are you my Hunter?"

He nods, saying, "Yes, Mesh'la, I am"

As you let yourself fall into his arms, you shake and softly sob at his chest, your fingers digging into his back. He was real, Hunter was back, your Hunter.

"I missed you", you whisper.

Hunter kisses your temple, hugging you closer and says, "I missed you too"

Echo

Him suddenly attacking you was a shock to say the least. He hit you pretty hard with his scomp link, had almost knocked you out. By now you've outrun him, at least you think so. Your head hurts, you feel shaky and somehow disconnected from reality. Echo is hunting you, his chip is activated somehow. That is real. Not a bad dream. Reality. It doesn't feel real, but it is. It's hard to come to terms with this cruel reality, but you have to face the facts. Echo will kill you if you let him, you need to stay away from him. Still feeling a bit dizzy from when Echo hit you, you stagger from one hideout to the next.

You mutter to yourself, "This is so unreal"

Looking up because you feel it coming, you see Echo trying to jump you. You can barely avoid him. Reaching into the Force, you grab him and smack him against a wall. It was more of a reflex without thinking, than a reaction. Heart pounding, you stand over his unconscious body. He is clever, and he knows you, he managed to sneak up on you. Echo almost had you. The thought of him really killing you, creeped up and down your spine.

"Sorry, sweetheart", you whisper, "I love you, but I can't stay"

Months Later:

A strange message made you come here, someone wanted to meet you here. It's an old place where Echo and you used to meet, secretly. You are aware, this could be a trap, but you still had to come.

"Cyare"

Your heart jumps into your throat. Turning around, you see Echo approach you. His face, his eyes, you can see right away, he is your Echo again. You don't even think about reaching for your lightsaber.

"Echo", you say quietly.

He stops a few steps away from you, he looks so shy and nervous, like the first time you met at this place.

"I'm so sorry", he says, his voice almost failing him, "For what I did. The chip activated and... the worst part is, I was fully aware, the whole time, but I couldn't stop myself from trying to... kill you"

He swallows and adds, "Honestly, I didn't think you'd come"

A few tears run down your face, but you smile at him.

"I had to come, Echo"

He comes closer and hugs you, softly at first but finally pressing you against his body, shaky and silently sobbing.

Wrecker

He is scary! He pries open doors you hide behind, he smashes obstacles in his way with his pure strength. You know what will happen if he gets his huge hands on you. Those hands which had touched you so lovingly before, hands that now want to crush you. And he literally can if he gets you. Somewhere in the back of your panicked mind, you already hear your own bones crush. Your sweet giant is anything but sweet, right now. You know it's not his fault, it's that rotten chip in his head. Rex warned you about it, but it seems like you still didn't act fast enough. You feel him coming closer and duck. Wrecker rams a dent into the dura-steel wall where just a second ago your head has been. That hit would have crushed your skull, easily.

Making evasive maneuvers, almost dancing around him, you try to think of something to end this and help him. But you know, for now you have to give up and run. You can't carry him, and you know he's called for imperial back-up. You need to leave, now.

As you knock him out with a Force blow and leave him there, you do it with a heavy heart. Not sure if you ever see him again and if so, if he will still want to kill you.

Months Later:

"Mesh'la?!"

You wheel around, startled. You know that voice. As you see Wrecker approaching you in the middle of a marketplace, you look around alarmed, searching for Imps. But there are none.

"It is you! It's really you"

Wrecker has the biggest smile on his face, looking at you with watering eyes. You can see he wants to hug you, but he's holding back.

"Wrecker", you say softly, "You are not here to kill me, are you?"

He shakes his head.

"No! Of course not! I'm so sorry for what happened, I wasn't in control, but I still knew what was going on and..."

You softly place your hand on his chest.

"I know, Wrecker, it's okay"

A few tears roll down his sweet face.

"Can I hug you, please?"

Your heart beats faster, and you nod with a smile. Wrecker softly grabs you with his huge hands and lifts you into his arms. Your own arms wrap around his huge shoulders, and you nestle your face in the gape between his neck and shoulder.

"I missed you so much", he says, hoarsely.

Tech

It's a nightmare, at least that's what it feels like. You wish it was just a nightmare. Tech's got you pinned down, and you are struggling against his grip. He is clever, he knows all about you, it was way too easy for him to catch you and knock you off your feet.

"Tech! Let go of me!"

"You are in violation of order 66 ugh-", you ram your knee into his stomach interrupting him.

"I'm sorry, Tech, I don't want to hurt you, but you leave me no choice!"

Tech is grunting, struggling to his feet and trying to reach for his teaser. You know what he's about to do, and kick him again. The teaser slips out of his hands and clatters to the ground, sliding away over the floor.

Hastily, you jump to your feet. You know he won't give up, and you know he's way too clever, knowing too much about you. You have to knock him out and run for it.

"Jedi!", he spits out as if the word is bile in his mouth.

Seeing your sweet Tech like this, hurts so deep. You love this man with all your heart, but right now he is not himself. You know you have to fight him, and the thought alone, makes you break out in a cold sweat.

But there is no way around it, he's aiming for you again, this time he has one of his blasters back. You reach out into the Force and knock him against a wall, knocking him out.

"Fuck", you swear silently.

You are shaky and feel so down, but you have to leave him. You can hear other Troopers, they are looking for you too.

Months Later:

You feel him watch you before you see him. As you look around, searching for the eyes watching you, you see him standing not too far away, watching you timidly. As your gaze meets his, he lowers his eyes, looking to the ground.

Of course, you approach him. Standing right in front of him, you softly say his name and ask him to look at you.

Tech is hesitating, but finally he looks up.

"Cyare", he says, barely above a whisper.

You cup his face in your hands, smiling at him.

"You are my Tech again, aren't you?"

He nods, still whispering, "I'm so sorry, please forgive me"

He sounds and looks so heartbroken, you almost want to cry for him. Instead, you kiss him softly.

"There is nothing to forgive. It wasn't your fault"

Very suddenly, he breaks out of his frozen state and hugs you, hiding his face at your neck, mumbling soft, loving words.

Crosshair

You reached the clinic too late, just shortly before his chip is supposed to be removed, that hellish thing takes over his mind. He gives you one hell of a fight. You are bruised and limping, barely still standing, and he is still biting at your heels. The place is crowded, people are in panic, and you know soon, it would be crawling with imps too. You need to get out.

Crosshair jumps you at a corridor crossing. He lunges himself at you like a wrecking ball. You scream and groan under pain as he tears you to the ground with him. He's got no weapons with him, not even his armor, because he was already getting prepared for the procedure, when shit hit the fan. But Crosshair is not holding back, still attacking you.

As he lays his hands around your neck and squeezes, for a second you can just look up at him, in horror, shock and disbelief.

"Good soldiers follow orders..."

But shortly after, everything happens like a reflex. You ram your knee between his legs, right before you use the Force to throw him off of you and against a wall.

Gasping for air, you struggle back to your feet. Your heart is heavy, yet your pulse is racing. It's not easy to turn your back on him. But right now, you don't have a choice, time is running out.

Months Later:

"Hey, Kitten"

You freeze in your movement, even holding your breath.

"Keep breathing", Crosshair says softly, "It's just me"

Slowly you turn around and see him standing there, tall and handsome as ever, chewing on a toothpick. You don't know what to say or do, so you just stand there for a long moment, looking at him.

He shrugs, obviously not really knowing what to do and says, "I'm myself again, the chip is out of my head"

You nod, "Good for you".

It's one of his standard answers he used to give you when he mocked you, back in the day. Crosshair chuckles because he gets the little hint, and you can't help but smile.

He comes closer and admits, "I missed you, and I was very worried about you"

"If you'd be looking out for me, you wouldn't have to worry as much", you say softly, as he tenderly grazes your cheek with his knuckles.

Crosshair says with a smirk, "Don't you worry about that, I won't let you out of sight anytime soon"

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

@rintheemolion

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[cl-01-kestis]

Keep your eyes peeled for the Caught in a landslide sequel this week 👀

[knightprincess]

Always (Crosshair X Jedi Reader) Part 25

Words 1.2k  Warning: None 

"Will Crosshair come back?" asked Omega. Her curious mind once again getting the better of her, as he looked towards (Y/N), Hunter and Echo. Although she was relieved to hear Crosshair hadn't turned against them, she still worried for what he could do if he did. After all he had proven in the past he was capable of predicting their every move. He was dangerous foe when the times called for it. At the same time, Omega couldn't shake what Wrecker had revealed, the warning from the race track. Cid couldn't be trusted, why?

"He will" voiced (Y/N), having faith he wouldn't abandon her now. "He's protecting all of you at the moment" revealed the Jedi Knight, softness in her voice, as it slowly began to dawn on Echo why the Empire hadn't been searching for them since Tipoca City had been destroyed by a reign of fire. "He told Rampart all of you had perished on Kamino. To Rampart, Cross was the only one to survive" added (Y/N), as if her words were a closely guarded secret. Hunter nodded, as if her words had confirmed what he already suspected. Crosshair hadn't given up, but was doing what they weren't. He wasn't just protecting them from the Empire but trying to build a better future for those left behind. 

"What else is he doing there?" asked Echo, his voice surprisingly steady. Although even he knew deep down Crosshair would eventually turn against the Empire. Even more so when he realized, all her desired was being kept away by the very people he was forced to serve. At the same time the Arc Trooper, recalled Rex's offer about helping to fight for the Republic, despite said republic fast becoming a distant memory to most. "That's what the warning was about. Besides Crosshair, Cid and a few others know we survived" added the last remaining member of the Domino Squad, thinking like Fives and quickly realizing the warning could very well be about Cid eventually betraying them. 

"The effects of the inhibitor chips are wearing off slowly. More and more clones are questioning Order 66 and the Empire in general. Crosshair is helping those who want to defect get away. The latest one was Commander Cody" admitted (Y/N), knowing as Crosshair did, if it was revealed the rest of Clone Force 99 had survived, then an eye of suspicion would quickly fall on the sniper. Everything he'd done would be called in to question. "If he can spare the time he sends information on future imperial plans as well" added the Princess, knowing despite the danger, Crosshair would still insist on doing this, if only so he could make up for what he considered to be wrong doing when his inhibitor chip triggered and forced him to turn on his brothers and Jedi. 

"That could lead to a civil war!" almost yelled Hunter upon realizing where current events could take them. Naturally his thoughts took him to Omega's future, if another war was to break out, what would happen to her? Would she be able to handle it? After all she was still learning her way around the galaxy and her place with the vast collection of star systems. The second his racing mind calmed slightly, he soon realized a civil war would likely happen with or without Crosshair's interference. Already the Empire were seeking to replace clones, the new TK Troopers being trained. Already clones were seeing the Empire wasn't something they wanted to be apart of. It was only a matter of time before someone with in the higher ranks of the Empire, deemed all clones as an enemy that must be terminated, much like the Emperor had done the Jedi. 

"Hunter, look around you. Its already building to that. The question is whether we stand by and watch or do our part to protect those we love" announced Echo, already making his mind up. If the choice was given, he would once again stand and fight, protect those who couldn't defend themselves. Just like before. "The republic isn't gone, as long as there are those still willing to fight for it" commented the Arc Trooper, speaking as if he was a wise Jedi rather than a former trooper turned mercenary. 

"Well said" spoke (Y/N), she too having already made up her mind. Choosing to fight for the Clones as they had once fought for the republic. Despite the imperials lack of care for the clones and obliviousness when it come to the eventual consequences for their actions. Another war was very much brewing, at this rate it would be the actions of Rampart that caused the next war, that would caused the remaining clones to see through the lies of the Empire and defect for their own good. 

"What's your side mission? Can I come too?" asked Omega, as if to change the subject or sensing the obvious discomfort between the trio. At the same time Tech and Wrecker reappeared, almost like the mention of the side mission had gained their attention. Tech from curiosity much like Omega, where as Wrecker with the silent question, if he could blow something up. 

"There's several side missions" admitted (Y/N), ironically both of them having something to do with her past. One was to find the truth, where as the other was to protect. "To my knowledge two Padawan's survived the purge. Caleb Dume, whom is current roaming around the Outer rim, and Cal Kestis is hiding on Bracca. For now both have avoided being detected" spoke the Jedi Knight, acting as if she were an older siblings, determined to protect what remained of her scattered family. "The other is to discover the truth on what happened to Anakin, if possible find him. Hopefully without going back to the Temple" quietly added (Y/N), although she wanted to find out the truth regarding her best friend, she had doubts about returning the site where most Jedi had been massacred. She knew the force would over power her, the emotions would be too much for even master Yoda to handle, let alone anyone else. 

"We were on Bracca not to long ago. I do not recall a Padawan being there" worded Tech, as he began to recall their short time on the mid rim planet serving as a grave yard for the past. They'd had their inhibitor chips removed there, after the fiasco with Wrecker. Bracca was also the place where they'd been reunited with Crosshair for the first time since leaving him behind on Kamino the first time. As well as the impromptu meeting with Cad Bane of all beings. 

"Cad Bane was there" loudly exclaimed Wrecker. The legendary bounty hunter brought questions to mind. Was (Y/N) sure the Padawan she spoke of, was still on Bracca. After all the imperials had been present there and could have easily detected the former Jedi. "Are you sure the kid is still there?" asked the human wrecking ball. Quickly noticing how Hunter and Echo looked at him. 

"He's still there Wrecker. Apart of the scrapper guild. For the time being he like many, cut himself off from the force. Rex keeps an eye on him from time to time, as does Gregor" replied (Y/N) figuring Cal would stay there until he was left with no other choice but to leave. As she was sure Caleb would continue his new life as a young mercenary until the time was right. 

"When do we leave General" asked Echo, referring to (Y/N) by the title he'd always known her by. To which he received a gentle smirk in response, as she gestured towards her awaiting ship. The mission to discover the truth regarding Anakin and likely pick up Crosshair was about to begin. 

Master List

[echoedcrosshairs]

Those Who Fight Together - part 1

Summary: Introduction of undescribed Jedi female meeting The Bad Batch in 3rd person and story set up. 🖤Smut with a Plot🖤

Characters: Reaper (nicked of undescribed 1st person), The Bad Batch (Hunter, Tech, Echo, Wrecker and Crosshair) and some other clones

Warning: NSFW towards the middle, Crude Language, Hook Up’s, PiV Smut, Walked in On, mild mention of Rank

Word Count: 3.1k

Part 2

18+ NO MINORS

Story Master List

You had already read the files on each of them but there was always more to a person then heartless paperwork. Cody brought them and was excited to show you them. They were standing in line at attention when you walked up. You eyed each of them up and down letting your eyes trail over their muscle and various distinct features. You grabbed the cyborg known as Echo by the chin and titled his head back and forth so you could admire the implants letting him go and moved on to the next one, it was the first time you had ever seen a clone with corrective googles, Tech, you tried to stick you’re finger between the band and his head but it didn’t budge. Useful. Looking up at a big musclier clone, Wrecker, made you feel slightly uncomfortable you didn’t even know they could be made like that and wondered if everything about him was big. You poked the hardness of his arm, you let out a small hmph. The next one was doing his best to hide a very obvious grimace, Crosshair, you stared into his eyes and saw nothing but darkness staring back. This one was going to be annoying and a buzzkill. The next one was leader of the group, Hunter, being aware of his enhanced senses you very gently tilted his face to the side so you could get a good look at the skull tattoo on his face. Stepping away from them you put your hands behind your back. The thought of being stuck with five hot me for who knows how long made your heart in lower places skip a beat. Definitely going to have to get this out of my system first.

“What was that about?” Wrecker said looking at where you poked him.

“You boys are heading out with General Reaper to recover a lost Jedi artifact that would be very dangerous in sSeparatist hands,” Cody said with a small grin, “Maybe we’ll all go out for drinks when you get back. Good luck and try to have fun with them” he said to you before turning and leaving you with what was suppose to be the best squad for the job.

You stripped off the traditional black robes, much to their surprise and to expose the sleek armor underneath. You put your lightsabers in a side pocket and reached for your blaster holsters from the pack you left by Cody’s feet during the inspection. Two small blasters on your sides and a longer on your hip. You rolled up the robe up and shoved it in the pack, swinging it into place on your back letting it latch.

“Sergeant Hunter, prepare the ship for a run into the depths of the outter rim. Make sure we got enough of everything to be stranded for a couple weeks. Now if anyone needs me, I’m off to 79’s come get me when you’re done,” you said looking at the ship a few clicks away, “Also paint over that, where we’re going you don’t identifiable markings like that,” you said with a small whistle at the senator artwork they had done.

The big boy sighed but nodded. You sprinted off in the direction Cody headed and managed to catch up with him. You wrapped your arm around his neck and rubbed your knuckles into his hair distressing it, his boys were of course watching and they were very aware of how much you liked to embarrass them.

You pointed at the nearest clone who was staring, “Keep staring and you’ll be next Boil.” All of the other clones put their heads down and didn’t want to be the next victim of your sisterly taunting.

“General,” Cody said maneuvering out of your hold, “What was that for,” he said fixing his hair and putting his helmet on so you couldn’t do it again.

“The squad you gave me looks like a bunch of sticks in the mud, you know how boring this assignment is going to be?” You said crossing your arms, “What am I suppose to do with a group of guys who look like they can’t have a good time?”

“Commanders Wolffe’s team has been pulled for assignment after their shore day today.”

“The pack is at 79’s?!”

“Oh no.”

“Come on let’s go,” you said yanking his arm practically out of his socket.

“Have to check in with General Kenobi first.”

“Master?!” Your face lit up.

You hummed temple rhymes as we entered the command room to find Obi looking over a data pad. When he heard your hum he turned around and his face light up. It had been a while since you trained under him but he was definitely fond of your unorthodox methods.

“It’s been awhile. Nice to see you’re still forgoing traditional entire.”

“More comfortable,” you chipped with a shrug, “not every tradition needs to be followed to the letter.”

“Just try not to get into much trouble this time.”

“She’s walking trouble,” Cody mumbled.

“Commander, have fun we can have this meeting when she ships out.”

“Wooot, let’s go cause trouble,” which got a major eye roll from Obi.

Cody ushered me towards the unsuspecting speeders tucked away in a corner, you always wondered how the clones snuck out time to time. You let out an audible laugh flinging your leg over it and starting it. There is no way the higher ups didn’t know these were here because they had the signature squadron colors on them it would definitely be hard to miss the bright orange, blue and green color amongst the white ships. You were surprised however they would turned a blind eye to it. You and Cody raced towards 79’s. Switching off the bike letting it drift to a stop and jumped off just as it stilled. Cody rolled his eyes, he knew it was his treat. We walked in to find the boys huddled in the back eating with fresh drinks.

“Loose Lips,” Wolffe grinned.

“She embarrassed me in front of all the boys already,” Cody said putting his hands up before sliding into their booth.

“I’ll grab us some drinks,” you said already walking off to the counter.

“What’s a girl like you doing in a boring place like this,” a shiny said his finger doing a circle in the air motioning to be on the only non clone on the premises.

“General, what can I get ya?” The bar tending clone said walking over.

“Just two drinks, managed to drag Mr. boring bones in during his shift,” I smiled watching the color drain from the shiny’s face, “because just like you, I’m a soldier who needs a night out,” you said grabbing the two drinks and winking at him.

“Darren giving you a rough time?” Wolffe said raising an eyebrow, at who was obviously one of his shinys.

“Nah, it was kind of cute. Definitely better than the last one,” chugging half the glass down in one go, “might be cuter after a couple of these,” you said spinning the liquid in the glass staring at the embarrassed trooper when you noticed the two grey stripes down his sleeve. Hmph, wonder what he did to earn that most clones didn’t have marks on their regular clothing.

“This time don’t leave your strays forgetting where they left their civvies. There are only so many half truths I can come up with,” Wolffe said rolling his eyes.

Somehow you were always getting in trouble with one of his men, they we’re different from the rest. While all clones basically looked alike, they definitely didn’t think alike and he usually always got the toughest and smartest ones.

You bashed your lashes at him in a joking manner, “I would do no such thing,” but everyone knew they was a lie.

After a few more drinks everyone was having fun, arm wrestling each other and seeing how long it took to wake up after a stun shot. Ironically you beat them all by being able to wake up with in a perfect four minutes even though they spent stunning each other for fun, but not surprisingly Wolffe was four minutes and eleven seconds and Cody in third place like always.

“One of these days I’ll best you for time.”

“Only in your dreams.”

“I’ll get us another round,” you said letting them jokingly bicker at each other.

Darren was still sitting at the counter drinking alone, you walked over to him out of curiosity, “why aren’t you with your brothers?”

“Ever been stuck in the barracks with your brothers for weeks on end? Sometimes quiet is the new sanity,” then it clicks with him you’re not a clone, “or stuck with anyone for that long,” he quickly added.

“I have and you’re right, I don’t know how I don’t smother them time to time. What are the stripes about?”

“I’m daring,” he said with annoyed coated laugh, “During training I never followed the regulation path so it’s just a reminder to think outside the lines.”

You looked over at the pack exchanging credits on what probably bets about how the night would end. Wolffe gave you a tiny thumbs up when none of them were looking. A little hmph escaped your mouth, wasn’t often they approved of your mischievous behavior. Slipped the bar tender a few extra credits, he laughed and nodded off towards the back room handing you two more drinks.

“Coming,” you purred to Darren as you got up.

“Just try to be quiet,” the bar tender whispered.

The gambling lounge tucked around the back was empty, the gambling tables mostly empty but for abandoned wagers left out. The shiny gulped down his drink, so you gulped down yours. You didn’t know why you found clones so attractive, maybe it the was the caramel eyes or perfect smiles.

He was breathing deeply trying to figure you out, his heart fluttering when he watched you down the drink. His heart raced faster when you stepped closer to him, you were staring up at him with a mischievous smile. Might have been his first time around a woman but you definitely peaked his interest.

You fiddled with his civvies, pulling off his gloves one at a time with your teeth and then removed his cap in one swoop exposing deep brown hair with some dyed grey streaks running threw it. Yep, you thought, definitely one of pack. Running your hand up his chest you could feel the race in his heart as the muscles underneath refused to hide anything. He helped by unfastening his shirt so his bare chest was exposed, letting you run your fingers up and down his chest. While clones weren’t born with the urge to reproduce, they definitely dance with a little a little bit of help. You slowly took off each of your blasters and holsters and set them down and kicking them away. You placed his hands on the straps of your legging, allowing him to set the pace if he wanted to take them off. You looked down definitely noting that it got his attention, that your certain favourite part was starting to bulge out. Before you gave him time to decide, you chose you didn’t need pants right now. You bought one of your legs up to his side, letting the other hold you up so you could slowly grind into that bulge. He run his fingers around your leg, feeling the hidden muscle underneath.

“Should we really be doing this General?” He said red glowing over his cheeks.

“Consider it an order if you want too,” you whispered in his ear feeling him fill out more under you.

You pulled him over to the sofa taking off his pants, leaving his bare legs and other things exposed. Slowly you took off the panties you were wearing and pushed him down onto the couch. Gently you played with his choobies watching his dick pulse with the sensation. A small moan escaped him, dragging your finger up you grabbed firmly around his member. You pumped it up and down with a tiny twist watch the euphoria spread across his face. His breathing hitched, he was getting close. How cute. You angled yourself above him and slammed yourself down on him as hard as you could. A loud ahhh escaped him with the new sensation, something warm and wet hugging him in all of the right places. You brought your mouth to his to muffle the moans escaping both of you as you bounced up and down him, he was definitely hard enough to make your walls twitch around his added girth. One of hands traced the back of your neck tickling your spine, you bit down on his lip gently but forcibly.

“General-“ he panted between kisses, “what’s that feeling-“

“Just enjoy it Trooper,” you purred kissing down his neck maybe biting a little to hard at the base of his neck. A little mark to give his brothers something to talk about.

His hands reached for your hips almost pleading to be pushed over what was probably a very short ledge. You could see the blissful tension in his face and feel his dick squirming in you. You teased him a little bit by slowing down, his nails dug into you causing you’re own warm fluid to kiss the tip of his dick. You started shaking, it’s been a while since you last came. He picked you up and laid you down on the gambling table, it was just the perfect height for him to be standing in front you where you could see his chest and face. You let out a small giggle, as he brought one your legs to his shoulders. You could feel him pressing deeper in you, he kissed your ankle and cupped your hips with both of his hands squeezing. You started to feeling more warmth gathering and your vagina squeezing around him.

“Harder” you panted squirming under him.

“Like this” he asked like he was asking for your approval as he pulled himself out and then slammed into your cervix.

“Mhm,” you moaned as he slammed into your cervix again a little hard this time.

We’re both were to busy feeling each other when Tech walked in to the trooper to cumming in you “General” he said panting while digging into my hips, his eyes looking at you in wonder.

As much as you kept wanting to stare at his beauty, your head leaned back to see a shocked expression and horrified on Tech face, “Took you boys long enough,” I squeaked in between the convulsions of the orgasms, “I’ll be out in a bit.”

“Excuse me,” Tech staring down promptly at his data pad and backing out.

You heard a muffled “I warned you,” from the other side of the door.

You looked back up to see the mortified look on the troopers face who was just starting to go soft inside you, you leaned up very carefully to touch his face, “Hey don’t sweat it,” you said gently pulling him out and nibbled on his ear lobe, “when I get back I’ll make it up to you.”

You grabbed one of the old towels and put it inbetween my legs for the cum to dripped onto.

“Why are you waiting for them?” He asked his warm composure coming back.

“A trip to the outter rim to retrieve an ancient Jedi artifact.”

“I’m going get dressed, before someone else walks in. CT-9732 when you get back,” he said leaning down and kissing you again, slightly getting better each time.

Your eyes trailed the forms of his body, the muscle and curvature of the definition. It almost made you want him to take again before leaving. You sighed and finished sitting forward for the rest of the cum to noisily drip out. You stood up holding the towel under you making sure it was done, and it was. You rolled up the towel and hide it under the table. The trooper gave you one more look with a huge blush a crossed his face, before leaving. You couldn’t remember the last time someone blushed over you like that. You fastened your armor back on so you could face the awaiting embarrassment outside of the room. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, it wasn’t the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened; at least it wasn’t Obi. You plastered a dumb smile on your face and found your way back to where Cody and Wolffe were waiting.

“I told you he wouldn’t mark her, hand over the credits.”

“He’s definitely… different,” you said accidentally letting a small blush appear across your face and you’re voice was almost dreamy.

Wolffe handed the credits back to Cody, “told ya.”

“Regs,” Crosshair scowled walking over looking at who your choice was with the rest of the batch. His eyes beamed down at you, trying to pierce you with his anger and… something carnal.

“We’ll go out for drinks and maybe some drunk racing when I get back, you boys take care and tell Obi I said good luck on Mistori.”

“How did you-“ Cody said, “Right.”

I laughed, “Alright come on boys let’s get out of here.”

Tech didn’t even look at me, his face was glued to his datapad very obviously trying hide embarrassment? It was almost kind of cute. Thinking about it, you wondered if Hunter could smell the hormones and sex on you. It kind of made you a little turned on thinking about it. Tech was unfortunately the tour guide of the Marauder, never once looking at you, but showed you where the bunks were and the room they cleared out for you not knowing exactly what a female or Jedi needs.

“I think we need to talk about the Bantha in the room,” you said stepping infront of him.

“It’s a natural biological need, although I was unaware that the Regs could feel such a need because it wasn’t something we were designed to do. It was definitely data I did not need nor a position I needed to see my commanding officer in.”

“I’m going to trapped here with a bunch of guys for week, you do have to admit it was the best option at the time.”

“That… Yes actually was for the best,” he said looking up but not quiet looking at me either, “I would however use the refresher and get cleaned up. If I can still smell it on you, Hunter most definitely can.”

That was hot. “Yeah, point me in the direct.”

He lead me to a small room with, “be quick”, he said practically shoving my inside and shutting the door.

You rolled your eyes and peeled off your armor & let it hit the floor piece by piece. Just incase they were listening, however you didn’t know if it was to prove a point you were going to clean up or to tease them. As soon as you stepped in the shower you realized the other side of the shower were the boy’s bunk because you pressed your ear up against the wall you could hear a mild wet noise and a whispered ‘kark’ as a moan. It wasn’t long until you lifted your leg a little bit where you could play with yourself until you heard the other side finish with an almost intentional splat against the wall.

[acourtofsnakes]

The Aftermath - Freefall, Chapter 6 || The Bad Batch x Jedi!Reader

Summary: You thought things couldn't get worse after the Order, but as your friends slowly didappear one by one, you find yourself teaming up with a radical, until your boys find you. But are you safe at home?

Warnings: 18+, swearing, injuries, descriptions of violence, canon fighting, fear, loss, death, blood, canon violence and weapons, nicknamed reader (Ghost), Order 66

A/N: We are back guuuuuys!!! As usual, this section of the series is still 'in the past', following on directly from the previous chapter! We'll back to the present very soon, with all the storylines linking back up!

Series Masterlist | Series Playlist | AO3

You wished you hadn’t come here. 

But you wouldn’t be anywhere else. 

Not when Padmé needed you, all of you. Yet perhaps the one she needed most was the only one to break her out of this sickness. 

But he would never be reached now, not after what happened. Not after Mustafar.

You couldn’t even key into the Force for answers, or peace, because all you could feel was death and destruction and chaos. 

It grated on your nerves, ran claws down your spine and hissed in your ears, making you hypersensitive to every single noise, every smell, every stitch of clothing touching your skin. 

The more you thought about it, the more aware you became, until your breathing became uneven and sharp and you couldn’t escape the awareness of it slipping into your consciousness. 

Oh, what you wouldn’t give for those long fuzzy creatures on Myrkr, the adorable unique tree-dwellers called Ysalimir. They were able to create a sort of bubble around them, in which the connection to the Force was cut off to the point not even a Jedi could access it. 

Sometimes it did feel like a limb being cut off when you couldn’t get to the Force, but in times like this, where everything was too close, too loud, too there… Maker, you’d dive headfirst into a group of them right now. 

A ragged breath escaped your lips and you resisted the urge to plunge one of your lightsabers through the head of the nurse who breathed just a little too loudly in your direction. Your hands curled into fists, nails biting sharply into your palms but even that didn’t stop the feeling of bugs crawling over your skin, bands wrapping around your chest - 

Warm, slightly calloused fingers gently wriggled their way into your hand, carefully pushing under your nails until they held onto your hand, slowly enough you could push them away if you didn’t want it. 

But you did. 

A little sob escaped your chest as you stayed watching Padmé through the glass, and you curled your fingers back tightly around Obi-Wan’s hand, clinging to him, an anchor. You felt a caress of the force, his own presence soothing all the rough edges of your own and helping you settle a little, even though his own signature was in complete and utter agony over what he’d had to do to his brother. 

So you gripped his hand tighter, pressing your arm into his, relaying that comfort even as tears ran down your cheeks, “She has to get better, Obi… She has to.” Yet even as you said it, you knew that even if she did, she would never recover from the pain of losing Anakin. She’d never stop hoping and looking for the good in him, and it would torture her until… Until the end.

You knew this with a startling clarity because you were exactly the same. If it were any of the boys, you would die before you gave up. Even now, you believed that there had to be some hope for Anakin, that he was still in there. 

Maybe if Padmé recovered, maye they would both survive…

“I know, I know…  But I fear that the medical droid was right. She’s simply given up. She…” Obi-Wan shuddered softly, guilt flaring high in his signature, stinging the air around you. “Perhaps if I had listened, if I hadn't acted as a member of the Council, as a master, but as a brother, none of this would be happening as it had.” Obi-Wan’s hair fell over his forehead, his entire posture slumping more and more with each word, his composure in as many tatters as the Force itself. “Such destruction and devastation.” He breathed those last words, bowing his head, as if he could retreat into himself - or as if he were waiting for the blow of retribution. 

Seeing his pain, feeling how broken he was made it hit home that all of this was real. That it wasn’t some terrible dream. 

With every minute that passed, you were losing more and more of your loved ones. 

You drew in a shuddering breath, turning away from the sight before you to instead look at Obi-Wan, “Enough.” You chided him gently, but firmly, “This is not your fault, Master Kenobi. None of this is. This… This destruction was at the hand of the Emperor, not you. Do not allow him to win further by shouldering guilt.” You squeezed his hand again, knowing the words wouldn't soothe him - they wouldn’t soothe yourself if the situation was reversed - but he needed to hear them. 

Obi-Wan sighed, lifting his head slowly, as if it carried the weight of the galaxy. His eyes, so flat and lost, tracked over your face, reading the same agony and guilt, the same desolate emptiness of knowing you two could very well be the last Jedi left in the galaxy, “I forget how young you are sometimes when you say such wise things like that.” The faintest of smiles touched his lips fleetingly, “You’ve always had a determination I admired, a stubbornness that could rival An - his.” His face twisted in pain momentarily, but he recovered himself a moment later, but you saw the momentous effort it took. 

“You never allowed what others thought to shape you… I know how hard it’s been to not let their words sink in, but you’ve always proved yourself to be even more than they thought, that you were your own person and not what they believed you to be.” He hummed faintly, thoughtfully, “Another balance between two sides.” 

Something tingled at the back of your mind, an awareness that Wrecker always said was your own version of ‘Hunter-senses’. Whatever it was that Obi-Wan was getting at… It meant something. 

You were certain you’d heard something like this, the talk of someone who was both light and dark and could bring balance, back when you were younger and were sneaking around the Temple rather than being told off for not being able to focus.

Before you could ask however, the monitors and holograms surrounded Padmé began to wail and beep frantically, flashing up with symbols you didn’t understand - but the sinking feeling in your belly did. 

Obi-Wan’s head snapped up and he stepped forward, “What’s happening?!” He made to move further, but you were all being ushered out by the medical droids, hastened from the room as voices clamoured over one another and the beeping became louder and more persistent. 

The door swiped shut behind you, Obi and Bail, the hallway jarring in its stillness compared to the frantic bustle behind it. 

And all you could do was wait. 

~~

You felt it, maybe hours or even just minutes later. 

Everything fell still, silent. Bail was called in, and then Obi-Wan, into the room that suddenly felt like a tomb, the spectre of Death hanging over the doorway.

It was clinging to you, dragging skeletal claws over your bones, the lingering touch of all those Clones, the aching spaces of all the lost Jedi, your best friend shrouded in darkness - and now Padmé. 

You barely registered the hallway floor beneath you, the walls blurring past, faceless people scolding you for running, a voice that could have been Obi-Wan or Bail calling for you - none of it mattered. 

You only stumbled to a stop inside an empty room when an echo of agony ripped through your chest, so raw and potent it felt like your own heart was being carved out. 

The Force was screaming in response, the Light in shreds already, but that thread of the Dark that always wound through your soul… That’s where you felt it strongest. 

Rage, guilt, loneliness, agony - He’d felt it too.

He knew she was gone. 

And there would be no chance of redemption for him now. The one thing that could have helped, the person that was almost guaranteed to get through to him somehow was gone. 

It was all gone. 

Your friends were most likely dead. 

Ahsoka… Had Rex and the 501st turned on her? Had she been forced to mow down the legion which was more family than mere soldier?

Your boys… Had they survived? 

You couldn’t bear the thought of what would happen if they hadn’t. 

So despite the crippling grief wracking your body, you knew you had to keep going. Keep doing… Something. Because if you didn’t… Well. 

It was likely you never would.

“Hey, you got that crate of supplies for me?” A man who’s name you still hadn’t remembered motioned to the box in your arms, reaching out for it when you were close enough.

You nodded, letting him take it from you, “It’s one of the last ones, we’ll need to do another run soon, we’re low on med supplies and we still have a few children who are sick.” 

In all fairness, the kids would be fine. You’d been healing them with the Force when noone else was around and they were asleep, even if tapping into it did still hurt… And that voice whispered to you whenever you did. 

The man nodded, already crouched down to rifle through the contents, “Let Saw know, he was talking about organising another one soon.” 

That would be Saw Gerrera. 

Your current, if only temporary.. Partner? Company? Whatever it was. 

Since Padmé, and the Order, you’d drifted, unable to stay still for too long lest the thoughts and memories came crashing back down and reminding you of what you’d lost. 

You’d spent days in a stupor, travelling under darkness with the hood of your cloak pulled down low over your head, barely noting faces and places and you sought passage to whatever planet you could. 

The Empire was crawling around everywhere, but you donned the abilities of your nicknames, able to slink through shadows and slip past scrutinising eyes. 

You stayed low like Hunter had asked, feeling the weight of your silent comms grow heavier and heavier with each day that passed and it remained silent. 

Day by day, the loneliness and hopelessness slithering closer until you couldn’t stand it any longer and formulated a plan.

To help. 

Whatever, wherever, you were going to help people rebuild after what had happened and try and do something good. 

Something to keep the balance Obi-Wan had mentioned. 

Because with each of those silent days, the shadows slipping under your skin seemed to grow stronger, the dance of lightning shimmering across your knuckles in the dead of night when the nightmares both old and new found you. 

One foot on either side. A balance.

You might still have a foot in shadow and a foot in light, but it felt as though the galaxy had shifted on its axis and your weight had begun to lean to one side over the other. 

So when dreams of your boys being turned into mindless monsters, of Rex killing Ahsoka, punctuated by Anakn’s screams, chased you from sleep, you moved. 

Way back when the worst thing was the Separatists, you’d gone with Anakina and the others to Onderon, helping Saw Gerrera and his band of activist free the planet from the clutches of the Separatists. 

You knew he was still there, that instinct telling you that was the place you needed to be to help.

So you followed. 

And it was on the way here that your comm had beeped to life, pinging through an encoded message in the frequency and code worked out between yourself and the boys should you ever need to communicate privately.

“Ghost, we’re okay. Whatever happened, whatever that was, it didn’t affect us. We don’t know what it is but we’re safe. Are you? Tech registered a ship leaving the planet after that transmission but we didn’t know if you were on it. Let us know where you are and we’ll come for you.” 

The earth-shattering relief that they were okay had brought to your knees, the fact that something had stayed good, that you hadn’t lost everyone. They were okay. They were alive. And they weren’t slaves to whatever Sidious had done to them. 

They were alive and they wanted to come for you.

And yet… Something held you back from responding. 

Something… vicious. That growing voice.

You were a walking target, no longer a Jedi Commander, best friends to General’s Skywalker and Kenobi, to Commander Tano and Captain Rex. 

In this new, upside down world… You were the enemy. 

The chatter you had heard hid this ‘Order 66’, instead labelling the massacre as a Jedi rebellion, claiming the people sworn to be the peacekeepers of the galaxy had handed in their honour for cold-blooded murder and the clones had been forced to fight back and do their job of protecting the galaxy from threats. 

And that was that. 

Temples were torn down, burned, raided. Those that remained sealed themself up, turning into relics of the past when they should be beacons for the future. 

Jedi who had slipped through the cracks in the carnage lined wanted boards and lit up the pucks of bounty hunters, both old and young. 

Even the children, those who had just discovered the gift that should be a blessing, now had a noose around their neck and a target on their back. 

How could you bring the boys into that crossfire? 

If they weren’t murdered alongside you, they;d be tried and executed as traitors for helping you and working alongside you. 

As much as every cell in your body craved to be with them, to be back by their side, protecting them as fiercely as they would protect you.. You just couldn’t sentence them to death. 

Or bring about the realisation that they weren’t under the same control as their brothers. 

Not to mention the gradually reducing control you seemed to be experiencing over this ‘balance’. 

There was too much risk.  

So you ignored the transmission. 

And the next one. 

And the one after that. 

//”We haven’t heard from you yet, so we’re assuming it’s not safe for you to respond. That’s the only reason I’m believing. We’ll find you and we’ll get you safe.”//

//”Please, Ghost. Please just give us something. Anything. Just a sign to let us know you’re still out there.”//

//”Something is wrong here. The regs are even more off than usual, there’s been a shift-up in command and training has increased. Crosshair is even more on edge than usual, and we seem to have acquired a friend.; A young girl, Omega. You’d like her, she’s stubborn like you and keeps us on our toes.”//

//”We miss you, Ghost. We can’t lose you. I can’t lose you.”//

//”Please.”//

Everyday had brought a new transmission, the latest being this morning. 

You sighed as you keyed it off, kicking a rock like it was the cause of all your problems and booting it across the dusty ground would ease the longing in your heart.

“You’re going to have to answer whatever you’re avoiding at some point, you know. You can’t run forever, trust me.” The husky voice of Saw Gerrera appeared from your left as you rounded a stack of crates, not really paying attention to where you were going. 

You shoved the comms back into your cloak pocket, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow and what you hoped was a neutral expression, “I’m well aware of that, Gerrera. I don’t need to be reminded.” The words came out with more bite than you’d originally intended but… Whatever  Better to be on the offensive lately. 

Saw’s eyebrows raised a little and he held his hands up in surrender, “Easy, I wasn’t starting a fight, just offering advice.” He cocked his head, observing you with a stare that was far too knowing and intense, making your skin prickle.

You scowled at him, resisting the urge to cross your arms, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” You were grateful that he was allowing you to stay here and help, but there was something about him that was too intense, too… extremist. His reasons were there but his actions… They rubbed you up the wrong way. 

But where else did you have to go?

He ran a thumb along his jaw, eyebrows lowered in thought, “I know what you’re doing. Why you’re acting like this.” He didn’t give you a chance to argue, merely continuing in a level, even voice, “But you can’t keep biting at people just to push them away. You need your friends, the ones loyal to you. Especially now. They can help you, Ghost. They can keep you safe. We’re thankful for you here, but -”

“In case you haven’t been around lately, all of my friends are dead.” You spat the words at him, defensive anger immediately crackling to life, tingling in your veins and you tried to will it back into slumber. 

Saw rolled his eyes, planting his hands on his hips, “Clearly not all of them, or are you receiving coded transmissions from beyond the Force now?” He didn’t even bother to keep his voice down, reckless fool. 

You growled, stepping closer and you pointed warningly at him, “You can’t be saying things like that, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Your cold gaze flicked between his own eyes, “Have you been spying on me, Gerrera?” Anyone who knew you would immediately recognise the danger in the softness of your voice, something you and Crosshair had both been famed for. 

The softer the voice, the faster you better turn tail and run. 

The man before you didn’t back down, merely straightened his posture, muscles coiling in case you finally decided to snap. “It’s my job to keep these people safe, Ghost. No matter who they are, or who they were.” Clearly referring to you being a Commander, “Like I said. We’re thankful for your help, but if these friends of yours are going to come looking for you, I can’t risk my people.” 

A scoff escaped your throat despite your emotion, “Hang on, a moment ago you were giving me a pep talk about being with people who’ll keep me safe, and now you’re worried I’m going to hurt your people? Which is it, Saw? You want me gone for my own good, or gone because you don’t trust me?” 

So much for controlling your anger. 

Saw huffed, his chest rising and falling with the movement, “Look, I don’t want a fight. I just need to know I’m not going to have any trouble here. We’ve built too much and we’ve prepared too much to risk losing it now. The fight is nowhere near over, it’s even more important than it was when we fought the Separatists. This galaxy deserves peace, don’t you think? Can’t you of all people see that?” He stepped closer, his voice softening to the tone you knew he used on people to coax them to his side, “Isn't that what you were trained for? To allow people to live in peace and safety?”

Too far. 

You squared up to him, head tilted back to stare him down, “Let’s get one thing straight. I may have helped you all those years ago, and I might be thankful to you for helping me in return now; But do not think that gives you any right to comment on my past. Or my future. Or anything about me, actually.” You didn’t even blink, didn’t even care that his people were looking over, some of them pushing the younger ones behind them, “And for that matter, stop trying to encourage me to join you. I appreciate what you’re doing, and I’ll help here in camp but I’m not joining you. I’m not joining anyone.”

Saw was about to open his mouth, but awareness danced down your spine, signalling someone’s approach. 

Seconds later, you heard footsteps. Six pairs of footsteps. One set unfamiliar, but the other five…

“Not even us?” 

~~

Hunter watched as your head snapped round to face him, fast enough he would have feared for your spine had he not known you. 

He watched the emotion play across your face, shock, guilt, surprise, adoration. Your eyes narrowed, tracking carefully over each of his and his brother’s faces, and he could tell from the slightly unfocused look that you had tuned into the Force… Perhaps to see if that Order had affected them too… But then, complete and utter relief. It was so potent on your face, he nearly ran to you right then, had he not suddenly had at least ten blasters trained on him. Which in itself was nothing, they’d faced far worse odds, but he wasn’t here for a fight. 

“Clones?” Saw spat the word, yanking his own blaster free and he levelled it square at your face, “Your friends are clones? The Empire?!” His face was one of defensive fury, before the mask slipped over and he was impassive and watchful. 

Hunter’s fingers twitched on instinct, but you merely rolled your eyes, lifting a hand and knocking his blaster from your face “They don’t work for the Empire, Gerrera. And neither do I, despite what your prejudices are telling you.” 

The man you’d passed the crate to before scoffed, moving closer to the Batch, safety clicking off, “So what are they doing here then? You told us you were untraceable.” He narrowed suspecting eyes at you before looking back at the boys, particularly Crosshair, as if recognising him as the most lethal.

And with that expression on his face, he certainly looked it. 

Tech pushed between Hunter and Wrecker, one finger nudging his glasses up, “Actually, Ghost was correct. She was virtually untraceable. However, that would be by anyone else’s skill set. I, on the other hand, have been genetically engineered to have skills far beyond that which the average person has therefore in this case, Ghost was -”

“Tech! I think they get it, brother.” Hunter raised a hand, patting Tech affectionately on the shoulder before looking at Saw, his eyes straying to you now and then, unable to stop looking, checking you were okay. 

You were alive. 

You were alive and whole before him… At least in the physical sense. He could tell with one look, and by the way you kept avoiding his direct gaze that the events that had happened over the last week or so had left a wicked bruise, one that would take a while to heal. 

“We aren’t here to cause any trouble, Gerrera. We… We were sent here, yes. But under false orders. What we were told and what we’ve seen… You’re not a threat. At least not the one the Empire made you out to be.” He looked across at the children hidden behind adults, “You’re not causing trouble, you’re just trying to live.” 

Like they were. 

Crosshair scoffed from behind him, his gun clicking as he reflexively loosened and tightened his grip on it. The distaste and displeasure was rolling off of him in waves, jaw set and honey eyes almost black in the low pitch of the camp. 

Hunter knew he was in for a sniping match later, especially after Crosshair’s insistence before coming down here. 

“Make the order, Hunter. I have a clear shot.” 

“Crosshair, there are children there. And they’re just… living.” 

“We have orders. We were told to eliminate them, and that is what we are here to do. Tell me to take the shot, now.” 

“Just wait, Crosshair.”

“Hunter.” 

That had been when the hair on Hunter’s neck stood up, his senses perking their head, as if sensing a storm… And then there you were. Helping Saw’s men, your armour hidden beneath that billowing cloak.

You were alive. 

Saw barely moved, his eyes tracking across everyone, noting the fact your hands were ont he hilts of your twin blades, even if your posture seemed relaxed, “Okay, okay. Here’s what’s going to happen.” He nodded slightly to his men, who lowered their blasters after a seconds hesitation, “You said you were sent here to stop us, but you changed your mind?”

Hunter nodded, brows still low and body still tense as he waited to see where this went, “Yes. Like I said, you’re just trying to live.” He didn’t remove his fingers from his own blade, not quite yet. 

Not whilst you were still staring down the muzzle of Saw’s blaster.

Saw nodded again, eyes flicking to you then back to Hunter and the other boys, “You seem smart, Sergeant. You know the corruption of the Empire, and the lies they tell you.” His tone shifted, blaster lowering and shoulders pushing back, “we could use a squad like yours in the fight ahead. The fight for what is right. For freedom.” He lifted his chin again and his men backed off, beginning to load up the last few supplies, “We’re heading out. Do whatever you feel is right, but I hope you make the correct decision for yourself and the future of the galaxy.” With those final words, he levelled a glance at you, making you bristle and your eyes harden but you just rolled your eyes and crossed your arms. 

No one said a word as Saw’s men began to move, but Crosshair stepped forward, his hold still tight on his rifle, “Are we just going to let them walk away? Hunter, you heard Tarkin. They’re insurgents. They’re a danger. They need to be eliminated.” His eyes were fixed on the retreating group, so focused that it had you stepping forward into his line of sight.

“Leave it, Cross. I agree that they’re.. Radical and I don’t agree with their methods but Hunter is right. They’re just trying to live and make their way in all this mess. The Empire has bigger problems, surely.” Your jaw tensed at that remark, the fact its well known that the Empire were hunting down any escaped Jedi or Jedi sympathisers. 

Crosshair’s eyes flashed when you moved in front of him, when you agreed with Hunter. Something predatory crossing his face, like he still hadn’t forgotten that argument outside 79’s before all this, “Well, if Hunter says so, it must be true.” He spat out his toothpick and began to stalk back to the ship, agitation rolling of him in waves so strong you didn’t even need the Force to feel it. 

You sighed as you watched him, unfolding your arms, “He’s really not happy with me, is he. Still.” 

Tech looked over at you, lifting his visor up to the top of his helmet, “Crosshair has always had a starker sense of right and wrong, he doesn’t see the in between. That part of our training always stuck with him the most, I believe.” 

Wrecker shrugged, cracking his neck, “He just needs to shoot something, that always cheers him up.” He laughed and then trailed after Crosshair, helmet perched on his head.

Tech shook his head at his brothers, looking over his shoulder again at you, something more tender touching his eyes, “It’s good to see you okay, Ghost. We’re glad to have you back.” His hand reached out to touch your shoulder for a second before he followed Wrecker.

A smile graced your lips as you watched him go, his words cementing the fact that you were back at home with your boys… 

But then it faded, that voice whispering that you were still a target. What if you brought the Empire down on the boys heads? 

They were heading right back to them after failing to complete a mission… That was already enough to put them in the crossfire surely. 

Hunter’s broad form filled your vision, his finger touching your chin to bring your gaze up to his own, “I know that look. And I know what you’re thinking.” He tilted his head slightly, eyes focused on yours, unrelenting, “I know you didn’t answer our comms because you were afraid you’d bring danger to us.”

You should have remembered that he’d always see straight through you, “I am going to bring danger to you, Hunter. I can’t linger at the sidelines waiting for you like I used to. They know me at Kamino. They know I was a Commander. If they even catch wind that you’re seen with someone who fits my description…” You dragged your eyes to the side, to a spot over his shoulder. 

It broke Hunter’s heart, seeing you so unsure, doubting yourself like you used to when the words fo the Council would dig their claws too deep in you. What you’d been through since the Order was called… It had shaken something loose in you. “Ghost, you’re one of us. You will always be one of us. No matter whether you have a bounty on your head or not, you are part of this squad and we will all protect you.” He ducked his head to the side to catch your gaze again, “I will protect you.” 

He was right, of course. 

You always fit into the squad of ‘defective’ clones more than you had anyone at the Temple, save for Anakin and Ahsoka of course. There was a reason Rex always joked that you were the missing member of Clone Force 99. 

Despite the turmoil in your chest, you couldn’t stop the smile that lifted your lips as you looked between Hunter’s eyes, “i think you’ll recall it’s usually me protecting you, no?”

Hunter laughed softly, eyes crinkling at the edges and he shook his head, “Only because you love to come in with a blaze of glory that rivals Anakin’s.”

You couldn’t help the reflexive flinch at his name, the pain searing through you with an echo of that cry again, but you forced that smile to stay on your lips, still not wanting to face it, “You love my blazes of glory, don’t even try to deny it, Sergeant.” 

Hunter didn’t miss the agony in your expression, not for one second but he allowed you the grace of waiting until you were ready, instead touching a hand to his chest, “:I would never deny you, Commander.” He swept a hand toward the way the rest of the boys went, “After you, my most dramatic partner.” 

You rolled your eyes with a laugh, pushing his chest gently as you moved past him, “Come on, you big idiot.”

Yeah.. It was good to be back together. 

~~~~~

Everything felt wrong. 

His senses were on high alert, the way they were on a mission, when he was tracking an enemy through the sight of his rifle. 

Crosshair rolled his shoulders and his neck, trying to focus on the grassy terrain beneath his feet, but the words in his head pulsed with every beat of his heart, 

Complete the mission. Complete the mission. Complete the mission.

Laughter behind him had his hands twitching, a sound that once brought him a sense of freedom and lightness.. It felt all twisted now. Like black smoke filtering across a clear sky. 

That voice in his head hissed at the sound, the sweet cadence of it. 

His head flicked to the side, watching as you walked along with Hunter and Echo, joking about something or other. 

When he saw you standing there, with Saw, his head was a mess. 

An insatiable itch in his hands as he held his rifle, battling against relief that you were okay. 

And yet, the second you had agreed with Hunter, that battle tipped to one side. 

He couldn’t imagine what you had witnessed since they last saw you, but whatever it was left that shadowy beast sitting right behind your eyes. He could see it. Sense it, just like that night at 79’s. 

But, just like that night, you choked it down and looked to Hunter for appraisal. 

Complete the mission. 

Crosshairs eye twitched as you laughed again, bumping into Hunter’s side and he zeroed in on the way his arm settled around yout shoulders so casually. 

“We don’t know what else might be around here, or if Saw’s men intend on letting us leave. Don’t you think you should save the reunion party till we’re back on the ship?”

Your eyes flicked as you looked at him, the laughter dying on your face and it hit something deep in his chest, “You could pretend to be a little happier to see me, Crosshair.” Your words were light, but he could see the blade’s edge in the hardness of your eyes, the challenge levelled at him. 

He rolled his shoulders again, trying to ease off that tension, “Of course I am. I just don’t think now is the time to be drawing a bigger target on ourselves. We’re already going to be reprimanded for not completing the mission. Now we have another of the Empire’s targets to paint on our backs.” He lifted his hand to motion to you, even though these words.. They were coming out wrong. All wrong. This isn’t what he wanted to say. 

He wanted to tell you how relieved he was you were still alive, that the thought you could have been caught in the crossfire of the Order had nearly brought him to his knees… So why weren’t those words coming out?”

Complete the mission.

Echo frowned, looking at Crosshair sharply, “That’s enough, Crosshair. When do we ever complete a mission the way we’re asked to? This is nothing different to what we always do.” He looked back at you, then back to Crosshair as the Marauder came into view, “Ghost is not a target. What’s gotten into you?” 

Crosshair wanted to scream, because even he didn’t know. He winced as that sharp pain came back into his head, “Good soldiers follow orders. We shouldn’t be drawing attention to ourselves.” He huffed, turning away, rubbing a hand over his head like he could push the thoughts out, “We need to complete the mission.” He shook his head sharply, then hurried into the ship, long legs working to draw him farther away. 

Before he rounded the corner, he heard your voice again, “Maybe we should stop snapping at him and check he’s okay?” 

No. 

Something in him told him not to be in a room alone with you. 

Just… No. 

Complete the mission.

Good soldiers follow orders. 

The Marauder was silent, save for the soft beeps and hums from the console, the proximity alarms on standby, and the soft breathing of your companions… and Wrecker’s snoring. 

But you were used to all of it, a white noise that you found you couldn’t sleep without. The Marauder was a safe home, a solid point in a constantly whirring galaxy that tried to spin everything out of control at any given moment. 

And given everything that had happened recently, you needed this stability more than anything.

You needed them more than anything.

As long as you had the Marauder and your family, you were okay. You were home. The rest of the galaxy might be in ruin, but this was your sanctuary. 

And maybe you’d only have days before Tarkin realised the boys hadn’t returned to Kamino, but you would deal with that after, and whatever was going on with Crosshair. 

You’d fix it. 

You could deal with all that when it happened. 

For now, you just wanted the peace and safety of the ship, and the boys. 

But tonight, the peaceful atmosphere was different. 

It was living. 

Breathing. 

It was alive, and it was prowling. Something was on the hunt. 

No, someone was on the hunt. 

Maybe that’s what turned your dreaming slumber, switching it from recent memories of all you had endured to awareness, even if your body was still at rest. 

Your connection to the force, those senses that rivalled Hunter’s, were whispering at you, hissing a warning even though the Force itself was hurting.

Danger. Danger. Danger. 

Your body remained still, breathing even, eyes closed but you didn’t need them open to see. 

Someone was here, standing in the rest area at the back of the Marauder. 

You could hear the breathing, the near silent inhale and exhale of a steady, solid rhythm. A hunter's rhythm. 

Three counts. That’s what you gave yourself, your hand stretching out beneath your pillow, ready to call your sabers to you, because you hadn’t slept with them under your pillow tonight- you didn’t need to, not here. 

One. 

Adrenaline seeped through your blood, cool like ice, sparkling like lightning. 

Two. 

The thing was, you knew who it was. 

You knew who was here, who had come to end your life. 

Who hadn’t escaped the Order you all thought you were free from.

Three. 

One more breath, then your eyes snapped open, sabers flying into your hands and igniting with that familiar hum. 

The stark white glow lit up his face, bouncing over the sharp angles of his face, highlighting the tattoo, his eyes. 

Those eyes were cold, detached, nothing recognisable of your friend in that gaze. 

The gaze that was levelled through the sight of his blaster, trained on your centre of your forehead. 

You sat up slowly, keeping your saber defensively between you, ready but unwilling to hurt him, because this wasn’t him. It couldn’t be. “Crosshair…”

His finger twitched, taking the safety off the weapon, determined. Cold.

Ready. 

“Good soldiers follow orders.”