#hunter x y/n

[hugmekenobi]

Next Steps

A Bad Batch Post S2 Oneshot

Gif by @im-no-jedi

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Summary: Although your return to the Batch has made things better, there are still elements of your past you have to face...

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, made-up timeline and what I imagine what Echo will be doing, limited use of y/n, swearing, my views on mindsets, referenced 'dead' characters and nightmares, mentions/descriptions of torture, detailed scar descriptions, angst, light fluff, nickname 'sweetheart', some emotional hurt/comfort, body and general worship, Hunter being dominant but a consent king, hint of a praise kink, Smut (non-explicit descriptions of making out/kissing, grinding, edging, fingering, oral (f) receiving, overstimulation, handjob, unprotected p in v- not in reality please), reader described as strong and powerful, smart and beautiful, Force-communication and more of my general interpretation of how the Force feels/works

Masterlist for S1 and S2

Word Count: 12.8K

Rating: 18+

Author's note: Once again, a massive thank you to @burningfieldof-clover for helping me when I got stuck and who I am very grateful to have as a friend! Dropping this before S3 graces our screens and I hope you all enjoy!

Chibbier

Echo waited in the forest clearing as the Marauder touched down. “I got your message. It sounded urgent, is everything alright?” Echo asked as soon as the door to the Marauder opened revealing his two brothers.

“Everything is fine, Echo.” Hunter said.

“More than fine.” Wrecker emphasised.

“But we agreed we weren’t to meet until (Y/N) was back with us so unless you’ve found her…” He trailed off as he saw the smile tugging at Wrecker’s mouth and Hunter in particular seemed more at ease than he’d been in the recent months. “Wait a second, you mean-”

“Hey stranger.” You said with a grin as you came into view and stood between Hunter and Wrecker. You laughed as Echo’s expression changed from stunned to happy then to relief in quick succession. You jogged down the steps and embraced him tightly. “Long time no see.”

“I’ll say.” Echo replied with a smile as he mirrored your actions. “You had me worried.”

“Worried?” You queried. It sounded like he had a specific worry in mind rather than the general worries that had plagued the rest of you for months.

“Last news of you I’d heard had me getting ready to tell the boys to launch a rescue mission.” Echo said as he parted from you. “But lucky for us, they found you before I needed to share that.”

If you weren’t so happy to see him, you could’ve punched him. You weren’t far away enough from the other two and you knew Echo’s words wouldn’t go unheard, especially by the clone with enhanced senses. You hadn’t gotten around to sharing that part of your time alone and you weren’t sure that you wanted to either.

Hunter hadn’t forgotten that there was something about your past that you weren’t telling him. He’d noticed small shifts and changes in your behaviour since you’d been back. It was things like you made sure to keep your top layer on at all times and if you had to take it off, you would always go to the refresher regardless of it you were alone or not which was something you never used to do. You hadn’t communicated with either him or Wrecker in the silent way you were able to do where they’d hear your voice in their head which was something you did regularly in the past. You were also more emotionally and physically distant, the latter happening at night in particular and ordinarily it wouldn’t bother him, but he knew the cause was rooted in something you’d gone through. But every time he tried to broach the issue, you refused to talk about whatever it was that was causing it, and it pained him that he could do nothing but watch the negative impact it continued to have on you.

“What’s going on with, Omega? Any new leads?” You asked Echo instead, ignoring Hunter’s hand that now rested on your upper arm.

“(Y/N)-”

“Not now, Hunter. Please.”

Hunter released a quiet and resigned sigh. He wanted to help you if he could, but he also knew he had to wait until you were ready. It was just getting harder to do that.

Echo glanced between the two of you. “I said something I shouldn’t have, didn’t I?”

You shook your head. “Don’t worry about it. Just fill us in.”

Echo’s eyes darted to Hunter who only nodded. He took a breath and waited for Wrecker to join the three of you. “Nothing new. Imperial security on Hemlock is tight and any breakthrough just results in more cryptic information.”

“Yeah, we’ve had much of the same.” You agreed irritably.

Echo nodded before he faced Hunter. “I know we said that we’d come together once we had (Y/N) back with us, but I think it’s better if I stay doing what I’m doing. Rex and I are going to meet and try to pool together what we’ve gathered. We can tell you what we find and send you to follow up on other sources since we can’t cover everything ourselves and you can also keep searching on your own.”

Before Hunter could form a reply, the sound of branches snapping grabbed his attention.

The blaster bolt that immediately followed the noise, skimmed the armour on your upper arm.

You all reacted quickly and took cover behind the trees.

The onslaught of fire was being directed towards you and would only occasionally be aimed to your fellow clones as a way to keep them from advancing towards the source. Evidently you were the main target here.

“Hunter!” You shouted over the sound of blaster fire. When he pressed his back against the tree trunk and his helmet looked over to you, you called on the Force and dragged the assailant out from their spot, and a well-aimed shot from Hunter saw to it that the blaster was rendered useless. You kept that link with your ally to Force-push them into another tree, and they crumbled to the floor.

All of you lowered your blaster for the moment. You needed to find out why they were here, killing them immediately wouldn’t get you very far.

You stepped out from behind your tree and observed the bounty hunter carefully. Throughout the firefight, you’d felt yourself being pulled towards them, but you couldn’t work out why and that urge hadn’t gone away.

Stiff and unsteady movements had you readying your blaster again but as the hunter got to their feet and caught your eye, you understood why that feeling was there.

Your heart stopped and you stayed rooted to the spot as you saw the blade ignite from the hilt they were holding. The ground around them illuminated in a pale blue haze and you understood what was calling you to the hunter now. Your feet suddenly began moving of their own accord.

The other three all shared a collective bewildered look at what was unfolding in front of them.

Hunter collected his shock quickly and raised his hand to order the others to halt their fire as you fully stepped out to into the clearing.

The bounty hunter charged for you, but the attack posed little threat to you. Whoever this was had no idea how to use an elegant weapon like this and their grip was heavy and clumsy. It wouldn’t take much for you to disarm them.

You ducked under their reckless and uncoordinated swing, grabbed their wrist, and bent it back until the weapon fell from their grasp. You landed a hard kick to their chest, and they stumbled back. The hood fell loose- now exposing a feminine face- but she wasn’t a bounty hunter you recognised. You didn’t have much time to dwell on that since she grabbed a small knife from her boot and jabbed it towards your stomach. You parried away her strikes before you grew tired of dragging this altercation out. Landing a strong punch to her jaw, you used her dazed disposition to Force-pull her face down to the forest floor and waved the others forward.

Hunter and Wrecker pressed their knees into her back and brought her arms around to firmly hold them behind her.

You paid little attention to what they were doing. You hesitantly walked over to the weapon left discarded on the ground.

“Who hired you?” Hunter demanded as he held her down.

“Fuck off.” She snarled as she fought against their grip, but they were too strong, and she was in a much weaker position than she’d been in ten minutes ago.

Echo merely bent down to reach into her jacket pocket and pulled out the tracking fob and bounty puck. Your holographic image confirming what they’d all suspected.

Upon seeing that, Hunter found himself pushing his knee deeper into her spine, paying little attention to her groans of protest.

“Where did you get this?” You questioned softly, more to yourself than anything. You kept your back turned to her as you knelt down and studied the familiar design on the hilt. You couldn’t pick it up, not yet. You knew what you would feel if you did, and you weren’t sure if you were ready for that.

“What?” The bounty hunter snapped as she went for another attempt to wriggle free, but the two clones kept her tight to the forest floor.

You stiffened your posture as you turned on your heels and strode over to her. You lowered your mask, found your voice, and crouched down to her eye level. “Where did you get the lightsaber?” You pointed back to where the weapon still lay abandoned.

“I’m not telling you a thing, Jedi brat.” She spat.

At her words, Hunter twisted her arm harder, ignoring her pained cry.

You signalled to Hunter to ease up and you stood tall once more and indicated to them both to get her on her feet.

Once they did so, you pressed your blaster against her stomach and brought your lips close to her ear- your voice a quiet but lethal whisper. “You know who I am and what I’ve done to people to get what I want. Do you want to be next?” At her harsh gulp, you kept pushing. “I can’t imagine what that’ll do for your reputation in your community... then again, maybe I can… shall we find out?” You knew you’d done enough as you sensed her flicker of fear. You took a step back and looked at her with a firm glare.

“It was the client I did the job for.” She muttered begrudgingly. She wasn’t about to be maimed or die for a job that wasn’t paying all that much in the first place. She’d worked too hard to be seen as a contender, she couldn’t lose that now.

“And who was that?” Hunter asked again, his voice steely.

“Some shop owner.” She replied irritably.

“A name.” You insisted.

“I can’t remember.”

You puffed out an exasperated sigh and took a half step forward.

“Kedrin! His name was Kedrin!” She revealed fretfully.

You saw the shared look between Hunter and Wrecker. “That name mean something to you?”

Wrecker nodded. “He was the one that told us to go to Christophsis to find you.”

The name meant nothing to you upon initially hearing it but evidently you were involved somehow. You ran the information over in your head. Shop owner… Kedrin… Christophsis… it was starting to make sense in your head and that would mean… Your breath caught in your throat as it hit you. You hadn’t even known his name and you’d taken his only family away from him.

“Why set the bounty on her?” Echo asked coolly, keeping his blaster focused on her.

“Not really supposed to ask.” She grunted. “He just mentioned a dead brother.” She saw the flash of something in your eyes… it looked like regret. “Oh… you killed him.”

You glared at her. You hadn’t had time to fill Echo in yet and this was not how you wanted to go about it.

Echo’s eyes darted from her to you. “What is she talking about?”

“Echo…” You started but a cruel laugh from the bounty hunter interrupted you.

“Oh, she’s achieved quite the reputation. Can’t go far in the Outer Rim without coming across someone who had dealings with her.”

Echo angled his head to face you, but you wouldn’t meet his gaze. As hard as you were trying to hide it, you looked… ashamed?

“Back off.” Wrecker growled at the hunter as he saw your mask of composure slip for a moment.

“What’s the matter, Jedi? Suddenly the killing and torture got too much for you? If they were all as weak as you, no wonder they’re all gone.” She taunted mercilessly.

“Shut up.” Hunter snarled as he saw the way your fists clenched as you worked on keeping your distress at bay.

But you knew it was a pointless venture. Despite her current predicament, that bounty hunter arrogance was in full flow now that she’d discovered your weakness, and she wasn’t about to stop. Her stare was filled with malice, but you wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of turning away. Your shoulders heaved as you worked on keeping your breathing even and controlled.  

The bounty hunter addressed the clones now. "I didn’t get much guidance from my client aside from ‘kill her’ so ever since I picked up that bounty, I've been trying to think of the most chaotic way to take her out. She's obviously felt enough emotional turmoil that an easy death would be a mercy. Jedi don't deserve the luxury. I like to play with my food before I kill it."

“And how’s that worked out for you?” You retorted though your conviction was weak as her words found their mark and her sneer told you she was completely unbothered about her current situation now. Your only plan involved letting her overconfidence be her own undoing.

“Nice try.” She mocked. “For a moment I believed your threats but now that I’m really looking at you, I know you don’t have it in you to kill me anymore. You’ve gone soft and you’re pathetic I can see it in your eyes- you’re haunted by what you’ve done, Jedi.”

Your jaw clenched and you could feel those emotions you’d worked so hard to control start to rise to the surface.

“I’m getting outta here and I fully intend to finish what the Empire started-”

Hunter’s fatal shot to her chest silenced her and she flopped to the ground.

“Looks like you have something you need to deal with first.” Echo advised Hunter as he destroyed the puck and tracking fob for good measure before he holstered his blaster. He faced you. “I still don’t know what happened whilst you were on your own, but your past is your own, I won’t hold anything against you, we’re still okay.” He reassured you.

You barely managed a nod of acknowledgement as her words were still replaying in your mind, but you wouldn’t let it show. Instead, you took out your vibroblade and cut a section of her clothing. You stayed silent as you took the piece of fabric and wrapped the lightsaber in it. You knew it was a lame gesture- especially since you immediately felt that rush of connection as you lifted it- but it provided you with a false sense of security that you would rather have because the second you made unrestrained contact with it, you knew you wouldn’t be able to resist or turn your back on it again. You held the hilt tightly before you waved farewell to Echo and made for the ship.

Hunter nodded absentmindedly at Echo’s words whilst his gaze was fixed on you. He knew seeing that lightsaber might bring back some memories, but the intensity of your reaction told him there was more to it than simply remembering that period of your life. He pulled himself out of his thoughts and reached his hand out to Echo. “Be safe, Echo. We’ll be in touch once we’ve dealt with this.”

“You too.” Echo replied, meeting Hunter’s hand in a firm handshake before they parted, and he watched Hunter head back to the Marauder.

“See you later, Echo.” Wrecker said warmly as he lightly slapped his brother’s shoulder before he followed Hunter to the ship.

--

“What’s so special about this lightsaber?” Wrecker asked as the ship entered hyperspace.

Hunter leaned against the entrance to the cockpit, arms crossed as he studied you. Your eyes hadn’t left the weapon sitting in your lap.

“It’s mine.” You said quietly.

Hunter immediately straightened up. “It’s yours?” He repeated.

“Yup.” You cleared your throat and brought your eyes up to face the two clones. “I figured it would’ve been destroyed in Order 66. Guess not.” You said with a resigned sigh.

“Woah! Talk about lucky!” Wrecker said excitedly but you didn’t seem to match his enthusiasm. “This is good news, isn’t it?” He asked, tilting his head at you.

“I don’t know what kind of news it is, Wrecker.” You said honestly.

“What’s your hold up?” Hunter asked curiously.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty handy weapon to have and if it belongs to you, isn’t it better that it’s back with you?” Wrecker followed up.

“It’s difficult to explain.” You deflected.

“Try us.” Hunter encouraged gently.

You shot him a look, hoping he would drop it but the look in his eyes told you that he was not for dissuading. You released a short breath. “It would be like taking back a section of my life I was ready to leave behind. That I had left behind… for years.”

“And you don’t know if you’re ready to reconnect with that part of you yet?” Hunter guessed.

You shrugged in complacent agreement. “Making the choice to leave the Jedi Order was already difficult and leaving my lightsaber…. well, that was hard enough the first time and now that I have it back… I don’t know.” You ran a hand over your face. “It’s just complicated.” You got to your feet and carefully put the lightsaber on a shelf in the cockpit.

Wrecker slapped his hands against his thighs. “Well, I always think things look less complicated after a good sleep, what do ya say? We all could use some rest before we sort out this Kedrin guy.”

Sleep didn’t provide you with much respite these days, but you hummed out a quiet laugh and shared a brief smile with Hunter. “Sounds like a good idea, Wrecker.”

--

Hunter jolted awake, panic setting in as he reached for you only to find that you weren’t there, and he had a horrible feeling that he hadn’t woken up yet. But no, he could hear Wrecker’s faint snores, so he had to be awake, and he knew he was back with you, it wasn’t a trick. There would be a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why you weren’t lying next to him right now.

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. You were here, you’d been here for a while now. He’d found you; you were okay. It wasn’t like before. You were probably just in the cockpit. Yes, that’s where you had to be.

When he felt himself calm down, he got to his feet and noiselessly made his way there but paused in the entryway as he saw you reading one of Tech’s old datapads, top layer still on, feet tucked up beneath you as you sat in the pilot’s seat. He thought he’d gathered them all. “Where’d you find that?” He rasped; his voice still thick with sleep.

You jumped in your chair as you heard him. You had been utterly absorbed in what you were reading, you hadn’t sensed him approach. You looked up to see Hunter standing in the doorway to the cockpit. “Tucked behind the medkit. I forgot how much Tech truly recorded.” You said in fond remembrance although there was an overall sense of sorrow in your voice. You flashed him the title of the current report you were reading. “Remember that mission on Ryloth?”

“You and Wrecker got separated from the rest of us and decided to blow up the target from the inside and escape through the garbage chute if I remember correctly?”

“Right.” You said with a soft chuckle.

“Pretty sure that was the mission that made you a fully-fledged member of our squad, Wrecker couldn’t stop raving about you after that. I was almost jealous.” Hunter managed to joke.

You gave him a small grin at that before you turned off the datapad and properly took him in. “Guess you couldn’t sleep either?” You asked in a hushed voice as Hunter stepped further into the cockpit.

Hunter merely shook his head and sat across from you.

“Nightmares?” You figured as you delicately put the datapad back and sat in your seat once more.

“I prefer calling them recaps.” Hunter muttered dully as he sat across from you.

You reached for his knee and squeezed it comfortingly. “Do you want to talk more about them?”

Hunter shook his head. “You know and lived it all too and being here with you helps anyway. What about you?”

“Just a lot weighing on my mind.” You said airily as you brought your hand back to your lap.

Hunter made a small noise of quiet understanding. He hadn’t been expecting much more by way of a response from you.

“I don’t know how he does it.” You whispered in sad envy as you jutted your chin over to where Wrecker was sleeping soundly.

Hunter followed your gaze and sighed. “It’s the only way he can switch off. Especially in the early months, he struggled with remembering everything.”

“Yeah, any form of healing from all this won’t be easy.” You said with a heavy breath.

“Wrecker might be able to sleep better than we can, but he keeps a blaster by him and has his hand on it at all times. I don’t think he ever wants to be caught off guard again.” Hunter replied solemnly. “Moving on won’t ever be simple.”

You dipped your head in agreement and leaned back in your chair.

The minutes ticked by and the two of you sat in comfortable silence for a while before Hunter cleared his throat. “I’m going to be selfish for a moment, okay?”

You tilted your head at him and adjusted your posture to give him your full attention. “Okay…”

Hunter took another breath, his throat bobbing before he spoke, “You can’t leave me to wake up alone like that.”

It hit you immediately. Fuck, you’d been an idiot, of course you couldn’t do that. If he’d done that to you, you would lose your shit. How could you have been so stupid? “Hunter-”

“I had one night too many of waking up to a cold and empty space and worrying about where you were and what was happening to you. I can’t go through it again, I won’t. Not anymore.”

You’d been so wrapped up in your own head, you hadn’t even considered what that would do to him, but you should’ve known better, especially because your reaction would be exactly like his. You quietly stood up and closed the short gap between you to straddle his lap.

He accommodated you in an instant and his eyes fluttered shut as you gently stroked your fingers through his hair.

“I’m sorry.” You soothed as you placed delicate kisses to his face whilst you moved your hands to rub up and down his chest, his sleep clothes warm and soft beneath your palms.

Hunter caught your wrists and tenderly caressed the scars left there as a result of what you’d endured in Cid’s parlour. “I barely lived through it once and I won’t do it ever again. I don’t care what time it is, if you’re up and struggling with something you wake me up with you. I’d rather that than wake up without you and have that pain and panic set it again. Promise me… please.” He begged, brushing some strands of hair back behind your ear as his eyes looked deep into yours.

You nuzzled into his neck and placed a gentle kiss on his pulse point. “I promise.” Your lips traced his jaw. “And you promise too.”

“I promise.” Hunter agreed and he tucked his fingers under your chin and brought your lips to his.

You had wanted to keep it short and sweet, but you soon found yourself physically incapable. One gentle nip from him on your bottom lip and you were done for. The kiss soon turned hungry and desperate. The two of you were consumed by a passion you’d had no outlet for yet, and you were getting completely lost in the moment. Your hands threaded themselves in his hair and you pressed yourself against him as he deepened the kiss and squeezed your hips to get you to subtly grind against him which were instructions you were only too happy to follow.

It was all over though when you felt his hands start to reach the bottom of your shirt and brush against your bare skin. Instinctively, you flinched away, and you crashed back to reality. You knew what marks you were concealing, and what he would feel if he lifted your shirt, and it wasn’t something he should have to see. “I- I can’t.” You panted against his lips. Your body yearned for him, but you couldn’t bring yourself to go any further, not yet. Everything was still too fresh, and you couldn’t, no matter how much you wanted to.

Even though his body burned for you, he’d never push you into this, but he wanted to share the burden of whatever it was that was tormenting you. “Are you ever going to tell me what happened to you?” Hunter murmured breathlessly as he glanced up at you.

You swallowed thickly. “I want to but-” You released a low, shaky breath. “It’s- it’s hard to talk about.”

Hunter stroked your cheek. “Well, when you’re ready, I’ll be right there.”

You pressed your lips into his palm.

“Come on, let’s try to get some rest. We’ll arrive at Nelvaan in a few hours.” He kissed your forehead before you got to your feet and the two of you made your way back to your bunk.

--

“Y- you’re supposed- supposed to be dead!” Kedrin exclaimed fearfully as he cowered behind the main counter upon seeing you standing in the doorway of his shop, the two clones on either side of your shoulders.

“You should’ve sprung for a better bounty hunter then.” You countered as you walked towards the store owner. “I have some questions for you.”

“No, I’m not dealing with any of you ever again!” Kedrin reached underneath the counter and pulled out a blaster and pointed it at you.

You stopped your advance and raised your hands in surrender. “Kedrin, I just need to talk to you.”

“Fuck you! You don’t get to use my name and talk to me like what you did to me was nothing!”

You internally cringed at the memory of what you’d put him through.

“Did you even know he was my brother?!” He shouted in anger. “Did you even care, you heartless bitch?!”

Hunter tensed beside you.

You lightly grazed his hand with your own to tell him it was fine but at the same time shame coiled in your gut. You lowered your mask and kept your voice low and composed. “Kedrin-”

“Stop using my fucking name, you never bothered with it before!” He then turned his rage to the clone that stood closest to you. “And you! I still have the scar from you!” He yelled at the clone on your right, the blaster in his hand still quivering as he aimed it between the three of you.

Hunter stood unwavering beside you and said nothing.

You saw how unsteady his grip on his blaster was. “You’re not a killer, Kedrin. It’s why you sent the bounty hunter after me in the first place.” You said as an attempt to talk him down but the Force around him was in complete chaos, the only emotion that had any kind of control was his anger and that was dangerous. You knew the kind of pain and wrath the loss of a loved one could unleash, and it was why you’d never wanted to put anyone through it in the first place but now you were seeing the impact of your mistake firsthand.

“You killed my brother you fucking bitch!”

You sensed him getting ready to pull the trigger. “Kedrin-” You ducked as the blaster bolt came straight for your head. You channelled the Force and took the blaster from his hand whilst Hunter and Wrecker used that distraction to advance and subdue him. They shoved his head and torso down to press against the countertop.

“Do you want one to match?” Hunter threatened as he reached for his vibroblade and held the sharp point just above Kedrin’s unmarked hand as he and Wrecker held him down.

“Hunter, it’s okay.” You said, pulling him back from that line the two of you had agreed to keep each other from as you saw the way his grip strengthened and the wince of pain Kedrin couldn’t conceal.

Kedrin kept looking for a way out of their hold but was proving futile. “She murdered my brother.” He whimpered as he continued some half-hearted attempts to free himself.

“You’re right. I did.” You approached him and crouched to meet his eyeline. “And it was a mistake that I’m plagued by to this day. All I can do is say that I’m sorry. I know you’d love nothing more than to kill me too, it would probably feel great but please, please Kedrin, don’t do this. It won’t end well for you.” You begged. When his resistance finally ceased, you turned your attention to Hunter.

“Give us a minute.” You said to Hunter, resting a hand on the top of his shoulder.

“But-” Hunter got ready to argue.

“Hunter.” You interrupted firmly and fixed him with a stern stare.

Recognising that tone and look in your eyes, Hunter released a disgruntled but compliant sigh and nodded to Wrecker to let him go. He holstered his blaster and sheathed his vibroblade before leading the way out.

As you heard the door shut, you stepped back from the counter to give Kedrin some space. “You have no reason to trust me, but I promise that I’m not going to hurt you, that’s not why I’m here.”

“You’re- you’re not here to kill me for the bounty hunter?” Kedrin asked warily.  

You shook your head. “There was a time where that’s what precisely I would do and I wouldn’t even hesitate, but you’re not the person I’m supposed to be hurting and neither was your brother. I know nothing I say will bring you comfort but I am not here to kill you. I only want to talk.” You said sincerely as you put your weapons to the ground and faced him calmly.

Kedrin massaged his right shoulder- which had been on the receiving end of a particularly harsh grip from the clone you referred to as ‘Hunter’- and narrowed his eyes at you. “What is it exactly that you want to talk about?”

“This.” You placed the lightsaber on the counter and unwrapped it. “Where’d you get it?”

Kedrin wasn’t buying that that was all you wanted to know about, you had to be here for revenge. “How do I know you won’t do some magic thing like you did last time?”

You released an irritated sigh. “Because if I was going to do that, I would’ve done it already. I won’t lie, I can’t leave here with you still intent on sending hunters after me or I will have to do some things neither of us will enjoy, particularly you. I will always regret taking yours away from you, it was never part of my plan to leave someone alone, but my family is still counting on me, and I can’t have anything messing that up. Please, leave us alone and I’ll never bother you again after this.”

Kedrin angled his head and regarded you inquisitively. His body was still filled with fear of being alone with you, but it was like there was a different person standing before him- you seemed genuinely upset and sorry; and that in of itself would be punishment enough- better you feel the guilt of what you’d done than have an easy out. “You’re the most terrifying person I’ve ever met but for some reason, I believe what you’re saying. No more bounty hunters.”

You felt into the Force around him but there was no dishonesty or deceit. “The lightsaber?” You redirected his attention to the weapon on the counter.

Kedrin shrugged. “What about it?”

“Where did you get it?” You repeated impatiently.

Kedrin flinched at your tone and- not wanting to risk upsetting you any further- started wiping down some glass cases to channel his nervous energy and spoke quickly. “I’ve had it for a while, couldn’t tell you who gave it to me. Just that they were employed to be a part of the clean-up after your lot betrayed the Chancellor and found it and wanted a souvenir of the experience.”

You coughed and bit back the flurry of insults and threats that nearly escaped your mouth.

Kedrin, now so focused on his task that he was oblivious to your discomfort, carried on in a restless ramble, “Guess they ran into tough times during the transition period and wanted rid of it for some quick cash. No one really wanted to buy it though, it just sat there which was why I gave it to that bounty hunter.”

You felt your heartbeat thundering in your ears as you realised what this could mean for you. Leaving it behind had been an active choice to cut part of yourself off from the Force and now you had a chance to feel the Force flow through you as a single entity, no more jagged or disjointed connections… but you didn’t know if you were ready for that yet, it was too much to even comprehend. If it had survived everything and found its way back to you… did that mean that you could too?

“So, um are you going to pay for it?” He dared to ask but your sharp and cold glower had him gulping nervously and wringing his hands. “Uh, never mind, you can take it.” He said hastily. “Just let us be done with each other.”

You said nothing to him, you only covered it once more, picked up your other weapons and exited the shop.

--

“Everything okay?” Hunter asked as you emerged from the store.

“We were going to go get some supplies if you want to join?” Wrecker added.

“I need a moment. You guys go.” You said, giving Wrecker your concealed lightsaber and avoiding eye contact with them both as you hurried back to the Marauder.

--

Having found a moment of relief under the warm water, you got out of the shower and started to towel off and redress but as you pulled your tank top over you, you realised you’d left your long sleeve out by your bunk. You swore under your breath and only hoped the other two would take a bit longer on the supply run. You dashed out the door of the refresher and started to rummage through the bunk for it.

“Who did that to you?”

You whipped around to see Hunter stood frozen in the entryway to the Marauder. “Dammit Hunter-”

“Who did that to you?” He repeated heatedly, his concern and rage rising each second. The sight of the deep and cruel scars that disappeared from your upper back beneath your shirt to the rest of your back was engrained in his mind and any plans of waiting for you to come to him evaporated as his anger and protectiveness overcame him.

Wrecker stepped up beside his brother, put the supplies down and your weapon on a shelf. He nervously glanced between the two of you and it didn’t take an enhanced skill for him to pick up on the way Hunter was trembling with fury. “Eh, what’d I miss?”

Hunter ignored him and kept his eyes on you. “Who was it?”

You turned back around to grab your shirt and it was then that you heard Wrecker’s sharp inhale as he too now saw what it was Hunter had seen. You fiddled with the fabric, twisting it tightly in your hands. “It wasn’t like it was solely one person. Just forget about it.” You muttered aloofly.

“No, I can’t just forget about it. Who. Hurt. You?” 

You sighed heavily and half-turned to face the two clones. “It was a two for one special.”

“Don’t.” Hunter chided sternly. He couldn’t have you make light of this, not when he’d seen what you’d gone through now. He couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer anymore and, as awful as a part of him found it, he had to push you now.

There was no leeway in his voice, you weren’t going to be able to dodge and weave your way out of this conversation now. “Basically, it was both Imperial Stormtroopers and their higher command officers.” You swallowed harshly. “They- they worked together on this one.”

Hunter simply stormed away from you to the ship’s controls. “Wrecker, let’s get the ship in the air.”

“You’re going to go after every Imperial officer and stormtrooper in the galaxy?” You scrappily tugged your top layer over you and hustled after the two of them as they strode into the cockpit.

“If I have to!” Hunter growled.

“I’m with the Sarge on this one.” Wrecker agreed severely as he started to power up the ship.

“It’s not that I don’t appreciate the thought but that’s not logical nor practical!” You argued.

“Don’t talk to me about practicality when they did that to you!” Hunter shouted angrily.

“It was my fault, Hunter!” You yelled back.

That caused both of them to pause and Wrecker turned off the engine.

“I did it to myself.” You said, your voice scarcely above a whisper as you braced yourself for the time you were about to relive.

“What are you talking about?” Hunter asked, his voice as quiet as yours now as he studied your face carefully.

“Before I tell you, I need you both to stay calm. Especially you.” You said to Hunter. You knew he wasn’t mad at you; his reaction had been exactly as you’d expected. His fierce protectiveness was a quality you loved about him, but it could be his undoing if he wasn’t careful. “And you need to know and accept that nothing would’ve changed it, it wasn’t your fault, it was mine. I acted in poor and emotional judgement and there was nothing you could’ve done to prevent it. Please, trust me on this.” You insisted with a pleading stare at him before you looked to Wrecker who- albeit hesitantly- nodded. You glanced to Hunter again who was still looking like he could take on the Empire singlehandedly. “Hunter?”

Hunter felt a keen sense of dread at your words, and it was highly likely he wouldn’t be able to view it quite as simply as that, but he allowed himself a deep and calming breath. He’d do this for you. “Tell me.”

You exhaled nervously and fidgeted with your hands. Realistically, you’d known you wouldn’t be able to go through the rest of your life without being found out or talking about it but that didn’t make doing this any easier. “I’m sure I don’t really have to go into how hard it was to find each other, right? I’m sure you guys had your fair share of failed leads and things were pretty hopeless for a while, yes?”

Hunter and Wrecker both nodded.

You took another breath. “Right, well, it was the same for me. During our time apart, nothing I did was getting me any closer to you and I could feel it draining me every day. Lyra and I arrived on Christophsis and decided to settle there but it didn’t help. No matter how hard I searched, no matter how much of myself I gave up when it came to getting what I wanted, nothing was bringing results, and I was angry. I was angry, frustrated and just miserable. And it was in that poor state of mind that I made a choice that I shouldn’t have.”

Hunter knew those emotions all too well and he’d get incredibly impatient and unfocused when they got overwhelming, but he’d been fortunate to have Wrecker around to pick up the load when it got too much. Yes, you may have had Lyra, but he knew you and how you operated, and you would’ve put it all on you, regardless of how exhausting it would’ve been and that’s what made him nervous as he awaited further explanation.

You shuffled your feet. “I was being a bit of a nuisance to the Empire wherever I went, Christophsis was no exception, but I was getting nowhere on the information front so, in my slightly unstable state, I figured the best way to find out about you or even Hemlock was to um well, find it straight from the source.”

Hunter’s heart skipped a beat. “No, no you didn’t.”

Wrecker looked between the two of you in confusion but then it clicked with him too and he stared at you, horrified. “Why would you do that?”

You swallowed thickly. “I thought that by handing myself in, I would be able to get the information I was needing. I figured they would have some form of intel on you I could use.” You huffed irritably as you remembered how foolish you’d been. “Turns out they were a lot smarter than I gave them credit for and they sussed out my plan pretty quickly.”

You winced as Hunter threw his helmet and it crashed against the wall. You expected no less but you needed to reign him back in if you had any chance of recounting the whole story. “That’s not staying calm.”

Hunter got to his feet and paced; his distress evident. “We were on your trail! If I’d been faster and picked our sources more carefully, you wouldn’t have had to-” Hunter seethed. How could he have failed you so badly? You’d put yourself through hell for their sake and if he had gotten to you sooner, you wouldn’t have had to have gone through this.

“Hunter, no.” You shook your head to stop him from putting the blame on himself. “The whole reason I did it was because the trail was running cold, and I was desperate. It was all on me. and I’m not done explaining this yet and it doesn’t get better, but you can’t do this. I understand and appreciate where it comes from, but it won’t help now, okay? Just let me finish it.”

Hunter clenched his jaw but did as you asked. He sat back down and nodded at you to continue but he was helpless to stop the anxious shaking of his leg.

You gritted your teeth as you prepared yourself for what you had to do next and any levity that you’d previously been forcing into your voice vanished. “Since they knew what I was and some of the general history between all of us, it’s like I said, they were aware of what I wanted, and they definitely weren’t up for giving it to me. They finally had me under their control, and they were very good at making sure I wasn’t getting away any time soon. Honestly, they were pretty creative with their methods and I’m sure some of them found doing what they did to me quite therapeutic.” That dismissive attitude slipped back in at the end without you meaning to. Frankly, you probably wouldn’t have noticed it if it weren’t for the sharp and worried looks from Wrecker and Hunter. You mentally checked yourself before you proceeded.

“Where they showed their inexperience however was when they got frustrated at how little I gave them. I don’t think they realised how hard it would be to crack someone like me. Their fists, their whips, their electrostaffs… it all hurt but it wouldn’t get me to talk. So, they went for something different, and that was what got them quite close.” You stopped again and found yourself touching the small pinprick scar as you remembered the sharp sting and then the complete haziness that would follow that would render your completely susceptible to anything they would do and say. “Whatever concoction they’d inject into my neck when they got bored or too tired from physically hurting me was nearly impossible for me to resist and that was a terrifying experience... I was having to fight my own mind while they happily watched on. That interrogator droid would enter, and- and my body would go cold with fear every time.” You paused for a chance to gather yourself and squeezed your eyes tight to rid yourself of the memories of that dark, cramped room they would take you where you were helpless to their cruelty and the last thing you would clearly recall would be the whirring of that droid approaching you.

You took another breath before you continued to speak. “That was what came close to breaking me and they worked that out. Every day they would inject me with that serum to make me submit to their words and they would tell me you were right outside. They- they would tell me that I would see- see you all again if I only told them how much I knew about Omega and where I was hiding…. And every day I would have to remind myself that it was all a lie… that you weren’t there, and I couldn’t reveal anything since that would put Lyra in danger too.” You released a shaky breath. “Or they’d try to convince me that you were going through the same thing I was and- and it was my fault and to get- to get it to stop I would have to tell them everything.” You felt a lump form in the back of your throat, but you forced yourself to talk through it. “They could beat me all they wanted but that was the thing that actually left a mark… these scars merely came with the territory.”

A troubled silence fell upon the walls of the Marauder as you finished. You picked at some imaginary lint on your leggings as a way to bring your emotions under control.

Hunter felt sick to his stomach. He could’ve saved you or made it so putting yourself in that position would never have needed to seem like a viable option. You’d needed him and he hadn’t been there. He’d let you down.

You caught a glimpse of his expression changing from anger to defeated sadness and he didn’t need to vocalise those thoughts; you were perfectly aware of what would be going through his head. “It’s okay.” You mouthed silently to him.

You shouldn’t be the one comforting him. A broken and anguished sigh left his throat. Okay? How was any of this okay? You’d subjected yourself to torture for them and had carried the burden of it by yourself for so long.

“How’d you get away?” Wrecker asked in quiet upset as he imagined you experiencing that.

You coughed and blinked back the tears that threatened to spill from your eyes. “Truth be told, it gets a bit blurry near the end. I…” You trailed off and frowned as you worked on accurately recalling what had gone down the day you got out. You hesitantly started your explanation again. “I remember overhearing that they were going to send me off world to a high security prison and I couldn’t have that. The trooper who put the cuffs on me to take me back to my cell was a rookie, I think he figured I was unconscious, so he used the regular ones that didn’t restrict my Force-wielding abilities. Then the dizziness and blackouts set in, I remember finding the strength to take him out, but I don’t exactly know how I proceeded from there. The next thing I do remember was collapsing outside the door to where we were living and Lyra dragging me inside.”

“Hunter?” You looked to him since he hadn’t said anything yet.

Hunter’s throat had gone so dry, he couldn’t summon words immediately. All that was racking through his head was how he could’ve prevented this and how he should’ve been there to save you. You never should’ve been the one to drag yourself out of that hellhole. The protective part of him wanted to find a way for you to come up with any identifying features that could assist in hunting down those who’d inflicted that pain on you but despite all you’d relayed to them, he was calmer now and he knew that wasn’t what you wanted. He may have failed you then, but he wouldn’t now. His focus now lay in what he could do for you now but there was an element to the explanation he was missing and once he had that, everything else could fall into place. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He murmured instead.

There was no accusation in his eyes, no pointedness or blame in his tone. You knew he just wanted to understand, and it was a fair question. “I was working on compartmentalising it; it was just going badly. And-” You stopped yourself from continuing and instead just started to back away. “Nothing.”

“And what?” Hunter pressed as he got to his feet and caught your hand before you could step away any further.

You shook your head. “It’s a stupid reason, I shouldn’t care about it.”

“Nothing you’re feeling about this is stupid. I might be able to help, you only need to tell me.” Hunter prompted tenderly as he stroked the back of your hand with his thumb.

You regarded him carefully, attempting to find some deception or falseness in his tone so you didn’t have to say it but, unsurprisingly, you didn’t find any. You bit your lip before speaking, “I didn’t want you to have to see them. They’re- they’re not exactly nice to look at.” You muttered as you dipped your head to stare at the floor.

The fact that that was even cause for concern felt like a punch to the gut but at least there was something he could do about it. He may not be able to go after the Imperials like he wanted but he could help you realise that was a non-issue for him and one that hadn’t even crossed his mind. “Wrecker, take a walk. I’ll be in touch when you can come back.” Hunter ordered his brother.

Wrecker wasn’t about to question him, so he did as he said. He rested a gentle hand on your shoulder in comfort. “Thank you for telling us.” He said before he left the ship.

You went to address Hunter, but he spoke first.

“Turn around.”

Your brow furrowed but you couldn’t deny the warmth that bloomed in your stomach at his words. “What?”

“Turn around.” Hunter repeated, his tone quiet but filled with dominance.

Despite your lingering questions as to what exactly it was that he wanted, you found yourself doing as he instructed. You could feel the heat in your stomach start to radiate throughout the rest of his body. Each steady thump of armour hitting the ground had goosebumps rising on your skin in anticipation and you felt him crowd your back and rest his chin in the space between your neck and shoulder.

Hunter kissed the sensitive spot behind your ear and as he felt you relax into him; he slowly grabbed the hem of your long-sleeved layer and lifted it over your head and dropped it to the floor of the ship. He didn’t let his eyes fall to the scars yet. Instead, he caressed the trail of goosebumps on your arms and continued to pay close attention to your neck, softy nibbling the areas that he knew would make you weak at the knees.

He could play your body so well; it was like the two of you hadn’t been parted for as long as you had been. You could feel yourself growing more and more compliant to his touch and desire coursed through your body. You only snapped out of it when you felt his touch go lower and he tugged the bottom of your vest top. You went stiff and immediately grabbed his hands in a panic. “Hunter, no. You-”

“Easy.” He soothed as he pressed delicate, featherlight kisses to the back and each side of your neck. “Trust me.” He rasped against your skin, but he waited for your signal.

You released a low, unsteady breath. You couldn’t live in this state of fear and shame forever. You trusted him with everything you had and that was why you felt yourself letting go of his wrists. Your breathing grew uneven, and your body trembled as you felt his bare hands graze underneath your vest top before, they held onto the hem of it.

“Relax… it’s okay. You’re okay now. Let me see.” He encouraged gently, only lifting when he saw you nod your permission.  

His gaze finally dipped to your bare back, and he had to fight to keep his breathing calm as he felt his heart shatter once he saw the full extent of what had been done to you. Your back was a map of merciless and vicious scars, and he wanted nothing more to take away the pain they’d caused you and inflict it on his own body. But that was the only effect they had. He was not repulsed, not repelled by the sight of them. They did nothing to ruin his physical perception of you. You were every bit as beautiful to him now as you had been when he first met you on Devaron all that time ago. “You’re exquisite.”

You refused to believe that. These were different to the scars you were both used to that came with the impact of battle and you were under no illusions as to how unsightly they were. You went to turn to face him so he wouldn’t have to keep looking at them and to protest his words, but he sensed that and beat you to it.

“These do not define you. They do not define my view of you. You are strong, you are capable, and you are a force to be reckoned with and that is why I love you.” He started to lightly touch each one. “No amount of scarring is going to change that. You. Are. Beautiful. I will be there to remind you of that whenever you need it.” He pressed his mouth to the space between your shoulder blades.  

Your body trembled under his touch and his sincerity threatened to overwhelm you. “Hunter-” You managed to choke out.

“I would tear the galaxy apart for you, if you wanted me to.” He hummed against your skin as he continued to trail his lips down your back, worshipping every mark that had been left on you so as to leave a new association with them now. “But I know that’s not what you need.”

A quivering breath left your lungs at his words and ministrations, and you knew you felt the same way. But it was because the two of you were aware of that line that your relationship worked so well- you could balance the sentiment with intent. You could feel him starting to make his way back up your back.

“So, what is it that you need?” He hummed into your ear before he placed his hands on your waist and sucked a mark over the tiny scar that rested on your pulse point.

You groaned and braced your hands on the wall that formed the entryway to the cockpit as you felt your knees buckle.

“Tell me, sweetheart. Tell me and it’s yours.” He asked again as his fingers started to dip beneath the waistband of your leggings whilst he pulled your earlobe between his teeth.

You knew exactly what it was, it was all you ever really needed. “You.” You gasped and you swore you felt him smile against your skin.

“You have me… always.”

You couldn’t hold out any longer, you turned around and crushed your lips against his with a groan and pushed him to the wall of the entrance to the cockpit. If he was taken aback by your abruptness, he didn’t show it as he matched your enthusiasm immediately, one hand coming to firmly grip your exposed waist whilst the other tangled itself in your damp hair, a desperate and eager noise leaving him as he got to feel your body press against his.

As you kissed him, your hands fisted his shirt and you pulled insistently but made no moves to actually step away to remove it, you were too addicted to the feeling of having him this way again… yet you needed to feel his skin against yours which is why you were thankful that he had enough willpower to separate himself from you and take it off himself.

The two of you breathed heavily and the air was thick with tension, but you were too focused on looking at what rested just past his collarbone. You hadn’t allowed yourself to check if he had held onto it for fear of what it could mean if it was gone, and your breath hitched. You touched the black leather cord and traced the small Jedi Order symbol on the end. “You- you kept it?”

“Of course, I did.” He softly uttered, if a little out of breath. He cradled your face in his palms. “What do I have to do to make you see what I see in you?”

Any answer died on your lips, and he passionately reconnected his mouth to yours, using your surprised gasp to deepen the kiss before he stepped away from the wall and started to direct you both down the narrow hallway to your bunk, muscle memory mapping the way as neither of you were content to separate to make the walk any easier.

A trail of clothes was left in your wake as you made your way to your bunk.

Hunter gently laid you down, his lips never parting yours before he patted your hip to get you to be on your front.

You still found yourself feeling reluctant. His beautiful brown eyes were laden with lust but there was also a deep and devoted sense of care behind them which was why you complied with his request. You trusted him.

Hunter went back to what he’d done earlier as he left delicate kisses to every scar that donned your back. What you endured was something no one should ever have to but what he could do now was make sure you knew that you didn’t need to hide them for the sake of other people- especially him- any longer. “You never have to worry about these. All that matters to me is that you’re here now, you got away, and you will never end up back there. More scars don’t have the power to change how I feel about you, nothing does. I love you for all that you are.” He planted a kiss to the base of your spine before he got you on your back to face him.

Hunter wiped away the salty tears that had escaped your eyes and nudged the side of your nose with his. “I love you. Always.”

“Always.” You repeated hoarsely as you were overwhelmed by the emotions that came crashing to the surface. You stroked back the smaller bits of hair that frequently slipped past his bandanna. 

Hunter kissed your cheek before leaving a trial of kisses along your jawline whilst his hand slowly made its way down your body to rest between your thighs.

Your legs parted for him on instinct and your hips bucked into his touch and a soft moan left your throat.

His voice took on a low purr as he moved his fingers. “Here’s how this is going to work: I am going to tell you everything that I love about you which you are then going to repeat and… if you don’t…” He stopped and took his hand away as he saw that familiar expression on your face, and he couldn’t help the slight smirk that tugged the edges of his mouth as that expression turned into an affronted pout. “I stop.”

Your eyes widened at the very clear implications of what he had in store for you.

“Or this doesn’t have to go any further and we stop now.” He offered sincerely.

No, you didn’t want that. It had been too long, and you needed him like your lungs needed oxygen. You could do this. You nodded your consent.

Hunter angled his head to press his lips against yours before he started to move his fingers again, hungrily swallowing your appreciative gasp. He kissed you passionately, not in any rush to stop right now. He parted from you and took a second to appreciate the throaty sighs that left your mouth at his actions, the way you bit your lip and the slight wrinkle on your brow as you grew closer to your release. He’d missed being able to see you like this, but he was relishing the opportunity to relearn and do all the things that made your body contort in pleasure. “You’re beautiful.” He exhaled in complete awe.

You were so caught up in the pleasure radiating throughout your body that you had already forgotten his plan and you were too put out by the feeling of your climax fading away to recall where your side of the bargain came into it. “Hey-” You cut yourself off as you saw the expectant expression on his face and then you remembered what you had to do to get what you craved but that doubt was still there, and you felt awkward doing it. However, the reassurance and trust that also rested on his face saw to it that you did as he said. “I- I’m beautiful.”

 Hunter bowed his head with a supportive smile before he carried on, the sound of your groan was like music to his ears. “Despite all that’s happened… all that we still have to do… you always find a way to make me smile.”

You were in a state of total euphoria and therefore failed to fully comprehend that he’d said something else. It was only when you felt him pull his hand away and the emptiness that followed that brought you back to the current situation. With a whine, you spoke again, “I- make- make you s- smile.” You ground out as you moved your hips in tandem with his touch as you chased your high.

He let you have your first climax, pausing to let you come down from it. Once your breathing evened out, he went again and kissed you before muttering against your lips, “You’re smart.”

“I’m- fuck.” You were too distracted by seeking the next release you were longing for to remember to respond, and you cried out in irritation as he stopped just before you reached it.  

“Almost.” He crooned into your ear.

As frustrated as you were, you got your bearings and whispered, “I’m smart.”

“Good girl.” He praised, a grin on his face as your breath stuttered at his words, before he continued, curling his fingers in the way he knew would send you over the edge and sure enough, your hips lifted as your release crashed over you and a gratified moan sounded from you. However, he didn’t stop, he worked you through it and said, “You’re caring.”

The process got easier and began to feel more natural. You slowly started to understand that clinging on to that part of your past had made it impossible to fully come back. Keeping yourself hidden and refusing to acknowledge what you’d experienced had made it difficult to fathom that he could still want you this way but each affirmation from his, as silly as you’d initially felt at doing what he said, was helping cement the idea that you may not be able to change or fix what you’d gone through, but it didn’t have to control you anymore. You had a partner and family that loved you and who you adored and would do anything for. You would get through this and now you were beginning to feel like you could do it. You felt yourself believing what he was telling you. A whimper left your throat, and you could already sense that you were hurtling towards the edge again, but you repeated it. “I’m c- caring.” You said through panted breaths as you coped with the overstimulation.

“You’re doing so well.” He encouraged as he kept to his word and continued to touch you. “You’re strong.” He knew he was repeating himself, but they weren’t words he minded reiterating, and he needed you to know and believe it too.

“I’m strong.” You said breathlessly as your hands curled into the blanket beneath you as that feeling overcame you again.

He saw you through your next peak and took his hand away to give you a rest from the stimulation and simply stared at you and the blissed out look on your face. He had it committed to memory, but it never ceased to take his breath away every time.

You gathered yourself enough to smile at him. “Thank you.” You whispered as you lightly followed the shape of his tattoo. You clasped the back of his neck and attempted to pull him towards you, but he worked his way out of your grip and instead kissed the hollow of your throat before kissing his way down the rest of your body. Your head fell back as you realised his intent, but you had thought it would be time for him to take what it was he needed.

He could help the groan that left him as he finally put his mouth on you. He could get drunk off the taste of you, and it had been too fucking long since he’d had the chance to do so, and he wasn’t about to stop now.

You couldn’t help the way your hands tangled in his hair and tugged him closer to you, his appreciative growl sent shivers down your spine, but you were so sensitive, and you didn’t think you could manage another one. “Hunter, I can’t. Just-”

“One more. I know you can.” He encouraged desperately as he planted a kiss to your inner thigh, sucking a bruise into the skin, before he went back to where his attention was demanded. He needed you to fall apart on his tongue, he was addicted to it, every drop of you, every whimper that sounded from you was like his own personal drug and he would never tire of it. “You’ve been such a good girl… done everything I’ve asked for… just give me one more, sweetheart.”

That did it. Your back arched and you finished with a ruined and exhausted moan. You were completely spent but it felt so good. You barely registered him to come rest beside you, his lips pressed against your temple.

“I know that wasn’t easy, but I’m so proud of you.” Hunter murmured into your hairline as he stroked up and down your side.

You regained enough feeling in your limbs to turn on your side “What about you?” You queried, still struggling to catch your breath. You knew you would be sensitive but your overwhelming longing for him swiftly outweighed any concerns.

Hunter slowly shook his head as he brushed his lips against yours, taking them away when you went to deepen the kiss. “This was always about you.”

With each passing moment, you were gaining more clarity over your faculties, and you knew what you had to do. A seductive smile pulled at the corners of your mouth and your hand snaked down between you both.

“What-” Hunter inhaled sharply as he felt your hand wrap around him, and his jaw clenched as he fought the urge to thrust his hips into your touch. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to-”

“You said this was about me and what I need, right?” You hummed as you rested your forehead against his whilst your hand kept moving. You kept your touch teasing but just enough to drive him crazy.

“R-right.” Hunter said through a strained breath as he felt his restraint leaving him with every second you continued to touch him.

“And what I need is to feel you…” You brought your lips close to his, barely any space between you now. “Inside me.” You kissed him, tugging his lip between your teeth whilst your free hand entangled itself in his hair, the actions eliciting the depraved groan you had been looking for, and before you knew it, you were back on your back again with Hunter kissing you with a newfound fervour which you matched in kind. You wrapped your legs around him and drew him closer to you, smiling against his lips at the surprised huff that escaped him.  

Hunter kept kissing you as he started to guide himself into you. He knew you would still feel tender and was careful as he slowly moved into you, both of your breaths catching at the feeling. His head fell to rest in the crook of your neck, biting down on the skin there before he soothed the sting of it with his tongue as he started to move, heavy grunts and pants leaving his lips as he got absorbed in feeling you this way after all this time.

Your nails dug into his back, and you could feel the muscles flex beneath your fingers and a sensual sigh left your lungs as you finally felt all of him.

One thought crossed your mind amidst the fog of pleasure that was spreading over your body. You’d let go of your fear now and you wanted to look for that connection again. Before, it had marked a level of certainty of your place here and overall mindset and if you couldn’t find it after all that had happened, there was a time where you would’ve been sure that it would mean there was no true way back for you. But now you understood that wasn’t and didn’t have to be the case. If it wasn’t there, you could work to get it back.

You used the Force around you to find his unique signature again and you could’ve wept with joy as you sensed it once more and it welcomed you with open arms. It had been waiting for you. You bridged the gap between you and allowed that feeling to flow through you. I love you.

Hunter paused his movements, and he stared down at you, a shocked but delighted cry left his mouth as he saw the broad and affirming smile on your face that told him he hadn’t imagined it. He’d wanted to have that back for so long and his heart soared as he realised what this meant for you. You weren’t holding back anymore; you were officially home.

You stroked a thumb along his cheekbone before clenched around him in an attempt to get him to keep going, a smug hum of laughter leaving you at the almost pained expression on his face as he got himself back under control before he started again.

“Do it again. Please.” Hunter requested frantically as he felt himself approaching his own release.

You smiled affectionately at him and continued to kiss him as you saw him through to his climax. I love you. I love you. I love you.

He finished with a strangled groan, and he collapsed on top of you. He stayed there for a few moments before he gently pulled out of you, stroking your hair as he saw you slightly wince at the action. “I’m sorry if it was too much.”

You shook your head. “It was perfect. You were perfect.” You reassured him as he laid down beside you and held you close to him. We should clean up.

Hunter made a sound of acknowledgement as he pressed his mouth to the crown of your head. “What made you do that again?”

“I let go.” You said simply before planting a chaste kiss to his lips before taking his hands in yours and guiding him to the refresher. “Come on.”

--

“What are you thinking?” Hunter asked as he watched you pick up the wrapped lightsaber from the shelf Wrecker had put it on. You hadn’t touched it since taking it from the bounty hunter.

“I can’t hold on to or fear the past anymore. We can only look to the future now and that future has us getting Omega back. And…” You uncovered the seemingly harmless looking weapon. “I think this will make achieving that easier.” You reached for it, hesitating for just a moment before you picked it up and it was an instant reaction. You took half a step back as the sensation of feeling that connection you hadn’t encountered for years threatened to overwhelm you. Flashes of your past as a youngling and echoes of previous battles and instructions from your master sounded in your head but it wasn’t scary this time, you were merely remembering the periods where this weapon had been your life.

Hunter placed a steadying hand on your shoulder. “You alright?”

You took one long breath. “Yeah. It’ll just take come getting used to, but it’s going to be worth it. I’m not hiding what I am these days, may as well have the whole image.” You said light-heartedly.

Hunter cupped your jaw and kissed you gently, both of you sighing contentedly into the sensation before Wrecker’s hesitant voice echoed through the comms.

“Um, Hunter… I hope I’m not interrupting eh anything now but um I was wondering if I could come back? I’ve started to wander in circles and I’m getting some suspicious looks.”

The two of you chuckled.

“Poor guy.” You said with a humorous shake of your head.

“Yeah, Wrecker, head on back and we can get outta here.” Hunter replied through his comm.

“Wrecker, how’d you fancy having an excuse to shoot at me?” You said into your comm, and the intrigued but excited cheer told you your answer.

“Shoot you?” Hunter repeated, titling his head at you inquisitively.

You grinned as you clipped your lightsaber to your waist. “Yeah, how else did you think I was going to train?”

--

“That’s 15 to 11!” Wrecker whooped as you came to after his stun blast hit your back.

Fuck you. You jabbed playfully as you accepted Hunter’s outstretched hand. He tugged you to your feet.

“You’re lasting longer.” Hunter commented supportively and- knowing you would want to go immediately again- walked away to take up his position.

You wiped the dirt from your clothing and removed your mask to take some deep breaths and find your centre again. Taking on jobs, following leads, mediating and lightsaber training… that was how you balanced your time; you were feeling more like the person you had been before your world had been torn apart. You’d never be able to be her again, but you could own who you are now and allow yourself to feel the emotions you’d been struggling against without suffocating in them anymore.

“But still not long enough!” Wrecker goaded. “I’ll always be in the lead!”

You didn’t take the bait. Instead, you took off your armour, gloves, and long-sleeved top.

“Hey, wait a minute, that’s not fair.” Wrecker protested.

Hunter turned inquisitively and his breath hitched. A soft sheen of sweat graced your skin and your body rippled with strength and untapped potential… and fuck did it make his heart skip a beat and his blood run hot. He was grateful his helmet was still on because the way his eyes widened would’ve given you too much material to work with right now, but he wasn’t able to hide the way his hand slightly fumbled as he unholstered his blaster. He wasn’t embarrassed by finding you attractive in this way, the frequent teasing he’d often received for it just made it harder to focus on the task at hand.

“The training stays the same and my strategy is my own. It’s not supposed to have an effect on you anyway.” You retorted with a smug grin as Hunter’s reaction went exactly as you’d anticipated.

“You better not mess this up for us, Hunter.” Wrecker warned as he shoved his brother’s shoulder to snap him out his reverie.

You laughed to yourself as you watched them. You picked up your lightsaber and ignited it, the blue blade thrumming at your side, and you felt that rush of connection and security. Having a blaster by your side was nothing compared to this.

It was a powerful sight that Hunter never got used to and quite frankly, part of him was relieved he’d never come across you as an official Jedi General during the war because if his reaction to seeing you train and work towards unlocking whatever you had been tampering down for so many years was anything to by, he would’ve gotten himself shot a long time ago- half your earlier victories came from redirecting his own stun blasts to him.

You got into your stance and faced the two clones as they readied their blasters. “Alright, let’s go again.”

<Previous Oneshot

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @fuckoffthanos, @tpwkcalli, @graciexmarvel, @arctrooper69, @nightmonkeysstuff, @brujaporfavor, @flyingkangaroo, @sunkissedclones, @ladytano420, @keep-calm-and-drink-caf, @yyourmotherr, @xxeiraxx, @dragonrider9905, @skellymom, @lokigirlszendaya

[bountyhunter1409]

Hello there ma’am! I was wondering if I could request a headcanon with Hunter & Tech? And if they had a s/o who’s pretty forgetful? This is up to you but thank you so much! 🙏

author's note: thanks for your request, anon! Hope this is what you're looking for!

warning(s): none, just fluff

divider by: @plutism

"Is this going to be a reoccurring habit?"

At first, Tech believed your forgetfulness simply to be that of human error—a once in a blue moon type of thing that he could easily look over.

When it became clear that this was going to amount to an almost everyday obstacle...well, he became annoyed to say the least.

Forgetting how to pilot the Maurader was one thing —despite Tech having shown you the mechanics countless times—but forgetting your weapon when you needed it most was another bridge he couldn't risk crossing more than once.

Tech's annoyance, of course, was birthed from pure worry for your safety and everyone else's. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something were to happen to you because you didn't have what you needed.

"Just trust me. After all, based off of prior instances, I am the least forgetful out of the both of us."

Upon learning that your forgetfulness was going to be a reoccurring habit, Tech finds himself checking after you. Despite being an expert on the mechanics of ships, he'll take it upon himself to go behind you and check your work and question it.

At first it's insulting. You think he doesn't trust you, that you can't handle yourself.

In order to ease his anxiety, Tech even keeps a close eye on you whenever a new mission is set upon the squad.

He goes through a checklist of items you'll need right before the Maurader lands— listing them off out loud, as you confirm with a reluctant 'got it ' or a curt 'check'.

When you've shamefully tightened the straps on your boots, Tech senses your frustration annd walks towards you.

He places his hand on the small of your back, pulls you close to him and kisses your forehead, before pressing your foreheads together.

"Now, are you sure you've got everything?"

"Tech!"

"Are you...uh, forgetting something?"

Yeah...you're a bit of a liability to Hunter.

Given that he already has Omega to worry about, he's not at all thrilled that you're forgetfulness pops up more than he would've liked. But thankfully, he isn't as blunt as Tech about your misgivings.

In fact, Hunter tries to help you out.

He's already packing an extra blaster in case you forget yours. He sets aside a knife just for you to keep in case of emergencies. He's always at your side during missions just in case he has to catches you when you fall. Or rather, remind you.

"I just want you safe."

Of course, at some point you start to think Hunter believes you're incapable of taking care of yourself. Or being beneficial tot he squad.

This is far from the truth in Hunter's eyes. So much so, he pulls you aside one quiet night on the Maurder.

His hands settle on your waist lightly and your hand resting against cheek. The skin under your fingertips is scarred with wrinkles birthed from exhaustion.

Without saying a single word, you have a feeling you were the cause of those tired lines on his face.

"Is this about the incident on Ord Mantell?" you whisper in the dead of night. You cringe, recalling you had forgotten what position you were supposed to be in just before the rancor came charging at you. Hunter had stepped in front of you, taking the bulk of the force so that you didn't have to.

The next day Hunter woke up more sore than usual.

Hunter is amused by this, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards at the memory.

He shakes his locks and brings you close to him in an embrace, his chin resting on the top of your head.

"Perhaps we'll have you stationed in the ship for the next mission. You and Omega both."

It's a joke, because you both know you and Omega are too stubborn to sit and watch the others on a mission.

You laugh at as you lightly hit his chest armor. Hunter grunts playfully. Before you can fully pull away, Hunter pulls back to him. It's this silent embrace that ensures you he only cares about your wellbeing.

[oddshroom]

a headcanon i really like is that since hunter is a grimwalker and made with stonesleeper lungs, he has the stonesleeper trait of liking to be scratched behind the ears lol. would love to see a oneshot about that ^^

A/N: That sounds really adorable

TW: Mentions of past trauma

You had been sitting on the couch watching tv until midnight with Hunter. It was almost 11, and you wanted to go to bed. You weren't very tired yet, but you were going to get there soon enough. You could feel your eyes drooping as your head fell back against the couch, and your gaze settled on Hunter. He was sleeping peacefully on his side in front of you.

It had been a while since you and the others found out that he was a grimwalker. However no one treated him differently, you continued to flick through channels and decided to turn off the tv. Making a mental note to find a good show to watch later.

The night before you and Hunter had decided on something else, however as usual Hunter insisted that you choose what you wanted to do. You knew belos’s actions had left an imprint on Hunter, always asking what you wanted to do and never what he wanted to do.

You let out a sigh, throwing your head back on the couch as Hunter continued to snore. ‘Hm, if I remember correctly..Hunter has the trait of a stonesleeper’, you thought to yourself. Without realizing you had brought your hand to the back of his cut ear.

As you did, your mind traveled back to the first time you saw Hunter for the first time, when you had been fighting him to free the palismen. “So…how did you get those scars? Never seen anything like them.” “You humans talk a lot, don’t you?', he said completely ignoring what you asked.

You couldn’t help but scratch the back of his elf like ears. They were so cute. You watched as Hunter shuffled around a bit, you decided to pull the blanket more over him. As you went on with scratching the back of ear, you watched how it twitched just from scratching.

A soft sound of content escaped Hunter's lips and you felt butterflies in your stomach. The smile came naturally, and you couldn't stop yourself. If you could describe his actions when being scratched, it was almost cat-like.

You couldn't stop rubbing his ears until you got tired. It didn't take long for you to finally stop, but you made sure not to wake him. Leaving you to your thoughts, ‘grimwalker or not, his reactions are everything when sleeping’. You rubbed the under of his eyes, he really needs to sleep more. ‘Maybe I should teach him some skincare’, you thought thinking how it would be a nice way to bond together.

You squeezed him slightly before placing a kiss on his ear, only for it to twitch and turn a shade of red. You pulled back and laughed softly, he was so adorable, even after having been asleep for an hour. You leaned down and kissed his cheek gently and then gotten comfortable, only to wrap an arm around his waist. ‘Goodnight’, you whispered before drifting off to sleep.

[myoongiverse16]

Hi theree, can I request a Hunter x female reader where the reader want to cuddle but hubter doesn't wanna cuz it's hot and his senses and stuff, but he eventually gives in? Sorry this is so cringe😆

Can I Be Your Pillow?

A/N: Thank you so so much anon for my first request! I’m sorry it took so long! Life has been super crazy! 🥹 I hope you enjoy!

Summary: You and Hunter have confessed to each other but nothing has happened. You don’t have your pillow you love to hug anymore. Hunter takes that as an opportunity to get closer to you.

Genre: Fluff upon fluffffff

Warnings: some mutual pining, cuddles and kisses 🥰

Mando’a key: Osik=Oh Sh*t, Di’kut=Idiot, Dank Farrik=Dang it

It was a normal day on the Marauder. Normal meaning multiple missions that put your lives at risk. But that’s just how it was being in this squad and you knew that. It’s what you loved about this weird group of people called a family. You loved the danger, adventure, and company of others. But there was one in particular whom you loved spending time with the most. 

You couldn’t help but fall for the stout and stoic man. As much as you loved his build and attractiveness, the reason you were head over heels was because of his soft demeanor on the inside.

You couldn’t help but notice the wall he built when you first met, that slowly crumpled away as you got to know each other. He became more vulnerable around you, showed more care when you were put in danger, and gave you words of affirmation when you felt inadequate. And when Omega came into his life, you fell for him more as you saw him care for someone as though they were his own. 

When you both finally admitted your feelings for each other, it was more of just a mutual “liking”. After that, not much happened. This saddened you because from all the research and daydreams of romance in your head, you pictured already kissing and hugging Hunter. 

To your dismay, none of that had happened in the two weeks since you’ve confessed your feelings for each other. Also, you were confused as to what you were anymore.

Were you still friends? Were you more than friends? Were you dating? Were you not dating? If not, did you want to be dating? You had no clue and you didn’t really want to bring up the awkward conversation of formally asking him if you were in fact a couple. You were torn. So, you made small attempts to flirt with him. 

It started with you subtly brushing your hand against his when you handed something to him and when you walked alongside him. Then you would nudge him and smirk at him. For some reason, those didn’t phase him.

So you tried verbal attempts. You threw in some, “looking good sarge.” As well as a few winks and you often put your hand on his shoulder as you stood over him when he would sit in the cockpit. None of that had worked.

However you did notice one thing, he would flinch and stiffen up every time you touched him. It was very subtle but you noticed it.

This confused you. Did he not like you anymore? Was it something you did or said to him? Did you make him uncomfortable? Gosh, that was the last thing you wanted. But, surely he would confront you if he didn’t feel the same, right? 

Wrong.

Hunter all this time had watched you from afar, even before he had confessed his feelings to you. Too afraid to touch you, afraid his senses would get in the way of a potential relationship. So, he observed. And gosh, did you radiate a scent that drove him crazy. When you had looked at him and touched him, he flinched because he was petrified. 

But, he secretly loved it. That feeling, the brush of your hands, the nudges, made him feel nervous and fiery. It got much worse when you started to flirt with him verbally. You never noticed but he would turn and become a blushing mess. His hands would get sweaty and everything would just become so kriffing hot.

He could sense how you felt about him from those stupid attempts to flirt that actually worked. He was just too much of a coward to admit that he felt the same way. How much he wanted more. Until one fateful day.

You had just finished an excruciatingly painful mission that caused you to be on the run constantly and all you truly wanted was to rest.

But, once you laid down on your bunk, you knew something was missing. You had always had an extra pillow on your bunk, but since Omega had arrived, you had lended it to her. This pillow was purely used for snuggling and it was gone. 

You sighed, sat up, and pursed your lips. Looking around the Marauder, everyone was fast asleep on their assigned bunks. Everyone except the Sergeant you had come to adore. 

Dank farrik.

Letting out a huff, you quietly made your way to the cockpit, as to not disturb the other sleeping figures. As you had thought, Hunter was sitting in the pilot’s chair watching the blue streaks pass by. 

“Something on your mind?” Osik. You rubbed a hand behind your neck as Hunter spun his chair around. You cleared your throat.

“Yes, actually,” you bit your lip. “I-I was wondering if you had um, a spare pillow?” You mentally slapped your forehead at your stuttering. You had worked with this man and his crew for almost 6 months now and you were nervous? Di’kut.

Hunter raised a brow thinking the same thing. Does she not like me anymore?

“Sorry, I gave mine to Wrecker,” he furrowed his eyebrows. “How come you need another one?” You looked down shyly. 

“Well, I, you see…” you sighed. “I need it,” You looked up at him. “To fall asleep.” He nodded his head. 

“Oh.” There was an awkward silence. You sighed and was about to leave the room when Hunter cleared his throat and stood up abruptly.

“Hey,” he bit his tongue, contemplating.  “Could I be your pillow?”

Your eyes widened. Where the kriffing hell did that come from?! Hunter even surprised himself with that statement, he didn’t think he had the guts to ask you. 

“S-sure.” You mentally facepalmed at your stuttering yet again. He smiled at your response.

You spun around and walked to your bunk, your body warming up as you could feel Hunter’s presence behind you. You stopped at your bunk and turned towards him. You bit your lip.

“How do you plan on doing this?” He chuckled nervously. You noticed a hint of blush creeping up his face. 

“Well, I, uh,” he cleared his throat. “I figured that you just needed something to, uh, hug. So, I am offering myself as that something.” You stifled back a laugh at his awkwardness. You smiled.

“Well, okay.” You plopped on to your bunk and shifted against the wall, making sure there was enough room for Hunter. Hunter stiffly laid on your bed, looking up at the ceiling.

By now his senses were out of control, you were right there. You smelled amazing, as always, and he could feel the heat radiating off of you. This made him sweaty and he couldn’t bear to look you in the eye.

You on the other hand were just happy that Hunter finally made some sort of move on you. You played with your fingers then finally turned to him. 

“So….” You smiled nervously. He turned to you and chuckled. 

“Umm…how do you want to do this?” He asked. You giggled.

“I was actually about to ask you the same thing.” Hunter breathed a laugh and smiled. Gosh, you loved that smile. The laughing ceased and you stared at each other for a few awkward seconds.

That is until, surprisingly, yet again, Hunter made the first move. He hesitantly reached his arm towards yours. He began to gently stroke your forearm, getting used to the feeling of touching you. You watched in wonder as he moved his hand to your waist. He finally looked up at you and you stared into his dark brown eyes.

He smiled and pulled you closer to him. You were shocked, your dreams were practically coming true right before your eyes. You gently placed your head on his chest and looked up at him in astonishment. He looked down at you. When you thought nothing could get better, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on your lips. You reciprocated and he placed his left hand on your face to gain better access. 

When you two finally pulled away, your faces were both completely red and hot. You stared at him for a few seconds then placed your head in your hands and breathed a laugh. Hunter chuckled.

“What is it?” You peered behind your fingers and smiled. 

“Nothing, I just wasn’t expecting that.” He laughed. He moved your hands away delicately and placed both of his around your face. 

“I actually wasn’t planning on this either,” he frowned. “I’m sorry I’ve been kind of distant. I just wasn’t sure how my abilities would deal with being so close and intimate with a person,” he paused and smiled. “But now I know that it makes me feel incredible.” Your smile widened. 

“I understand, thank you for telling me.” Hunter looked at you with complete adoration.

He pulled you close and wrapped his arms around you. He held onto you like there was no tomorrow, but at the same time held you like you were the most precious thing on the planet. He leaned down and whispered in your ear.

“Thanks for letting me be your pillow.” You could hear the smile in his voice. You were very satisfied that you found a new pillow to cuddle. 

[hischeapcigar]

𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓉𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉

TBB Tech x reader

summary: he's seen you dressed up and he's seen you in your simple fit, but which one really gets to him?

fluff. FLUFF.

warning: slight allusion to smut so MDI!!!

word count: 2.6k ish

a/n: this was supposed to be a drabble based on "never seen anything quite like you" by The Script but I ended up writing this one-shot. | comments and reblog is appreciated <3 |

You and Tech were the match made in stars. It had all started in Pabu when he first laid his eyes on you. It was like every missing puzzle was put into place. He felt a tingle in his heart, as his breath hitched at your eye-contact. You looked simple with no make-up on, you were on your way back home, so you were sure you looked like a mess. You slipped a slight smile, and he knew he was a goner.  

Through all the information he has gathered in his life, he was left clueless, mouth dry and brain not being able to calculate his next move. He just stood there, and just as soon as you had shown up, you left.  

He quickly decided to get over the whole incident, so he distracted himself with the data pad he owned. He succeeded, for a week, he managed to keep his thoughts at bay but then a few more days later, he was walking down the aisle of repair shops when he spotted you. You were with your friends. You were laughing and oh you looked so beautiful. He was a little jealous of your friends. 

Wait.  

They were his friends. It was Wrecker and Omega.  

His first instinct told him to turn on his heels and move in the opposite direction but before he could do that Wrecker called him loudly.  

So, he had to walk towards you. You shyly introduced yourself. He stammered a bit before he got part of his introduction out of his mouth.  

It had been months since that interaction and since then you would casually show up at the hangar-47 where the marauder was stationed, hanging out with Wrecker and Omega. Before you know it, you befriended Hunter and Echo too.  

But that one clone with goggles and data pad would always find his way away from you whenever he spotted you on the marauder.  

Wrecker and Omega were the first ones to point out his crush on you and they would endlessly tease him about it,  

“Y/N is really a nice person, but that has nothing to do with me, ' he would say every time.  

This inner joke was no longer a secret when Hunter and Echo found out about it. They wouldn't participate but their knowing glance was enough for Tech to feel flustered. They started to invite you over more. And soon tech ran out excuses to take the leave.  

The rest of the batch would start plotting to get you and Tech together. Like one time when Hunter invited you for dinner together and you politely accepted. You showed up at their rented hut, you knocked at the door. You hardly ever dressed up; you never had the opportunity to but tonight you had put on your favorite red dress. It was a little fancy, but you weren’t sure if you would ever get the chance to wear it. 

Tech opened the door, his eyes trained on the data pad before they shot up at you. His brows raised as he looked at you from head to toe, he was in awe.  

His gaze snapped back at you when you chirped “Hi, tech”  

“H-Hello, Y/n” he looked confused, he even forgot to move aside to let you in, “I- um- Wrecker- wait sorry you should come-”  

His words died on his tongue when your comm beeped, it was from Echo,  

“Hey y/n, we had some change of plans last minute, there were some things to buy, Tech’s home, dinner’s ready, don't change your plans” there was a short giggle before the comm ended.  

Nothing made sense to you, why didn't they update me before leaving? You looked up to see equally confused tech.  

He scratched the back of his neck, his eyes darting around you.  

“I- uh- well- I suggest you come in; I will immediately warm the food-” 

“No- no i’ll just leave, it's okay-” you cut him off, not wanting to disturb his peace and whatever he was doing before you showed up  

He finally looked at you, “Y/n, we have sufficient food, we wouldn’t want to go to waste when it was meant for you” 

You didn't want to be ungrateful and still argue so you just nodded your head and went in.  

That was the first time you were really in Tech’s company. Without him running away. It was awkward at first, sure, but soon you both fell into places and got comfortable.  

You listened to his info dumping without a complaint. Though there were things that you didn't understand, you let them slide. You asked some of them and he patiently answered.  

Before it got late you decided to leave,  

“I'm immensely sorry for constant ranting, it's just that no one has shown interest. They think it’s all boring”  

You smiled gently at him, “nothing to apologize about Tech, I enjoyed it”  

He looked at you wide eyed and mentally cursed himself for running away from your company because he was missing out on such a kind and interesting person.  

After that dinner, you and Tech got close. He sought your company every time he saw you in the market or any street. No words were exchanged but you both knew you were falling hard for each other.  

The batch constantly nagged him about you, and he would get flustered, still adamant “there’s nothing between y/n and me, except good friendship”  

After constant push from his brothers, he finally mustered his strength to ask you out properly. He was a blushing mess before he even got the words out.  

- 

You both were currently in the marauder cockpit where he was lying on his back fixing the wires under the control panel. He kept showing and telling you about the things to the point where you predicted his next move, and handed him the right instruments  

He got up and dusted his pants and he saw you fidgeting mindlessly with the instruments telling him about your day  

“-and Phee was there so that wa-” 

“Y/n” his voice was high pitched that caused you to stop and look at him  

You gave him the look, asking him what was up  

 “I- I was wondering if we could- no i mean if I could take you to-” 

He was nervous, he was really nervous. So, you took his hands in yours guiding him to sit across from you, and that was enough to relax him  

He took a deep breath, “y/n,  I want you to be my girlfriend, I want you more than want”  

- 

You spent more time together than ever. You accompanied them on their missions. You stayed with Tech whenever he needed to repair something. You were learning too, he would assign you to fix small parts while he took care of the bigger, more complicated problems.  

In no time, you felt like a part of them. Omega got a big sister like she always wanted. It had been a year of being together and all the missions together.  

- 

You all had landed back in Pabu yesterday after a mission on Teth. It was an ambush, and you were injured along with others. But for you, it was the first time. Tech felt his world falling apart when he saw the blaster hit you and you helplessly fell on the ground. He immediately ran to you, checking the signs of your heartbeat. He did not rest until you were taken back to the ship and were assisted by him, and you opened your eyes after a few hours.  

Hunter had never seen Tech like that before, losing control, and panicking instead of looking for solutions. He stayed with Tech asking him if he needed anything, but every time Tech shook his head no.  

Currently you were getting up from the bed to fetch yourself water when Tech emerged from the door, a tray of food and a glass of water in his hands. You immediately sat back down 

“Where did you think you were going?” he asked, setting the tray beside you.  

 You smiled at him, grateful, “nowhere, sir”  

He took his data pad and scanned your scar on your shoulder, “You need to rest one more day before I allow you out of this hut again,”  

“Relax Tech, I'm okay and alive. And you guys get hit all the time but none of you let me assist the wounds,” you pouted 

“y/n we are capable of nursing our injuries-” 

“And you think I'm not?” you asked, raising your eyebrows 

“No!” he said instantly, “it's just I'm always worried for you every time you’re on the battlefield with us, and my first priority is to look out for you, i didn't know how i just got distracted and…” he sighed looking down, “I'm trying to ease my guilt by taking care of you, because i need you” he whispered the last part.  

You looked at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish, unable to utter a word. He filled the silence,  

“You know i was so nervous, looking at you immobile on the ground, my brain went haywire and for the first time i was clueless about the wires” he tapped on the data pad in an anxious manner, still not making eye contact.  

You cupped his face and brought his gaze back on you, “I'm sorry i made you worry, but it’s because of you that i’m alive and breathing” you reminded him gently 

- 

Hunter was shaken from the last mission so he announced that you will no longer accompany them in the mission where there’s a chance of complications and Omega will stay with you. 

 You were upset at first, telling them you wouldn’t sit back until you knew about their safety. You even promised them that you’ll keep your distance from the opponents. Because the truth was, they meant so much to you than you could ever imagine, but Hunter was resolute about his decision.   

- 

The morning came quicker than you thought, when they were leaving for the mission. Tech had stayed the night, as you asked him to, your legs still intertwined. The flashes of images, and soft sighs and screams from last night awoke the tingle between your legs, as a smile tugged at your lips.  

Tech woke up soon after, as he pulled you closer to him, your back to his chest. He kissed your nape, before untangling from you.  

“Let’s do breakfast, then I'll have to go” he sat up, the ugly reminder sank your heart,  

“Can we stay in bed for 5 more minutes?” you tried to convince him, but he was already getting up, 

“No y/n, i cannot afford to be late, please darling get up”  

- 

 Before leaving for the mission, you helped them with their last-minute equipment needs. You even cooked and packed food for them.  

Tech was hurriedly shuffling around the cockpit, getting the marauder ready to fly, while you watched him, your face distraught as you bit your fingernails. You halted his movements, grabbing his elbow,  

“Tech” your breaths were uneven due to the tension in your bones 

His hand slid down your arm to hold your hand, “what is it, y/n?”  

You took a deep breath, “tell me, promise me you will comm me to update me about your well-being”  

His expressions softened, “of course y/n, you’re worrying too much,” he gently kissed your forehead. He let go of you after squeezing your hand one last time. Then busying himself with the preparations.  

- 

Hunter had mentioned that it was a one-week mission. It was only day 2 and you missed them like crazy.  You were doing just fine before they showed up, get it together y/n, you mentally scolded yourself.  

Omega kept herself busy with her friends and her flying lessons with Wujing, a local pilot who Tech had hired to train Omega while he was gone.  

You were at hangar-47 because Phee asked you to fix some machinery parts. Some other ship was parked there, and you didn’t like it at all, missing the batch even more. 

 Phee had seen you assisting Tech so here you were seated on the floor. Your jeans were stained with mud and grease. There were some stains on your face, but you were too concentrated on the task at hand that you didn’t care about your appearance.  

You were trying to rearrange the wires when they accidentally touched, and a spark went off causing you to yelp. That was the first time you had taken your eyes off from your surroundings as your gaze landed on Tech, leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded in front of his chest, a little smirk on his face. Now that startled you even more.  

You thought you missed him so much that you were hallucinating him, 

“T-Tech?” you asked squinting your eyes trying to focus on his figure 

He straightened and slowly made your way to you. “y/n” he greeted but his voice was thick, very unusual 

 You scrambled to get up to meet him halfway to envelope him in a hug, but he held your shoulders, resisting. He held you at a little distance, as he took in your appearance.  

Suddenly you were embarrassed, you abruptly broke your eye contact as your cheeks flushed. He just stood there, holding you, examining you.  

One hand settled on your waist, while the other one reached up, softly touching your neck and tilting your face to meet your gaze. You visually gulped at the look in his eyes. He was turned on. His pupils were blown wide, his mouth agape, attempting to steady his breathing.   

He softly traced your lips with his thumb, parting them, as he pulled you closer by your waist. The deliberate movements made you squirm, before he whispered, “I've never seen anything quite like you tonight,”  

He kissed your forehead before pulling your face away to look at you, marvel at you again.  

“Missed you every second at the mission. And when I come back, I find you looking all messed up doing things that I taught you. I could take this moment now, right into the grave with me. All these stains on you…” 

You felt him twitch inside his pants as he pulled you further close, rolling his hips against you, he was hard 

“...see what they do to me?”  

You whimpered at his words that he whispered, knowing your own voice would betray you. He smirked watching the effect his words had on you.  

Your lips were aching to be touched by his, and as if he could read your mind, he closed the distance. The kiss was heated and soft at the same time, he poured all his emotions, 

He missed you so much 

He’s so turned on  

He wants you right. now.  

He moved both of you til your back made contact with the cold wall behind you. You caught the glimpse of your undone project from the corner of your eyes as you pulled away, breathing hard 

“Tech…”  

“What?” slightly annoyed you had to break the make out kiss 

“I - I had to fix that for Phee-”  

“The moment Phee brought me to you, i knew it was gonna be a long night, i told her that she’d get her stuff tomorrow,” he leaned in closer, “i also instructed her to lock the hangar because we would be so busy all night, we wouldn’t like to be bothered.”  

You blushed at his plans but before you could comment, his lips were on you.  

It was gonna be a long night.  

thankyou for reading ^-^

[jedipoodoo]

Hi Liz!

I was wondering if you could do a F reader x Hunter where she gets her period and she’s moody and needs comforting. Currently in pain right now and need some fanfic to read.💕

The plot of this one came to me in a fistful haze last night and made me go to bed late as I desperately tried to write it all down before I forgot it

It's You (Sergeant Hunter x Fem!Reader)

Notes: Blood, periods, hormones, cuddles, hurt/comfort. General fluff, Hunter is trying so hard to be a good partner.

"Just leave me alone!"

You screamed, slamming the bathroom door shut. You half expected Hunter to come running after you, knocking on the door begging for forgiveness, but there was silence in reply. Well, at least he was listening to you.

You sat on the toilet to change out your menstrual product, resisting the urge to gag at the smell. You could handle a little blood, but this was mixed with plenty of other stuff.

And it wasn't just your hoo-ha, the rest of you smelled gross too, from your pits to your breath to your hair. You wondered how Hunter could stand to be around you when you smelled the way you did.

Even after you'd changed, you sat on the vac-tube, waiting for what was ready to come out of you to come out, where you could be certain it wouldn't leak out all over your clothes and make you do yet another load of laundry. Your bum was starting to get sore and you were losing feeling in your toes when there was a knock at the door.

"Cyare? It's me."

You didn't bother to groan quietly, he'd just hear you anyway. You cleaned yourself up, washing your hands thoroughly to make sure to get all the blood and gunk off them.

"I know you don't want to talk or hug or do anything, and I don't know what I did wrong but I just want to say that I'm sorry and I hope you'll forgive me."

You sat on the floor with your back to the sink, watching the door. You wondered if he'd try to open it and get you to say something.

He took a deep breath.

"And before I leave you alone for the rest of the day- and I promise that I will! -I just have one last thing to give you."

You groaned even louder this time, "Hunter, I told you, I don't want a hug-"

A chocolate bar--your favorite kind--was slipped under the door. King-size. All for you.

Your mouth watered, and your stomach rumbled over your cramps

You snatched up the candy bar and ate with the ravenous hunger of a nexu. You could hear Hunter chuckling as he turned away from the refresher door, and guilt churned your stomach. You had been so mean to Hunter, and for what reason? He only wanted to help, even if his persistent nagging drove you over the edge constantly.

You threw open the door, catching Hunter by surprise. He was halfway down the hall, and you sprinted after him, chocolate smeared across your mouth.

"Woah!" You nearly took him off his feet as you tackled him, arms clinging to his waist.

"I thought you didn't want hugs," Hunter chuckled, so he clearly wasn't upset.

"I said I don't want a hug from you. That's entirely different from me giving you a hug." You insisted.

"Is it now?"

"Shut up!" You warned him, burying your face in his muscular back. Hunter obeyed, staying still so that you could take your fill of whatever you wanted from him.

"I'm sorry I've been such a brat." You mumbled after a few minutes.

"You're not a brat, you're just on your period."

"That doesn't mean I can just be rude to you," You said, more of a berating to yourself than an explanation to him.

"Hmm..." Hunter thought for a moment. "As Sergeant of Clone Force Ninety-Nine, I hereby grant all the women of Clone Force Ninety-Nine a monthly "Grouch Pass", where they are allowed to be a bitch during the week of their period."

"I'm the only woman on Clone Force Ninety-Nine!" You said, unable to control the laughter bubbling in your stomach.

Hunter just grinned at you, "Well, congratulations then!"

You came around to his front to hug him, guiding his arms around your shoulders so that he could finally give you a hug. His arms happily settled into place, and he rested his cheek against your hair.

"Hunter?" You said softly.

"Yeah, Cyare?"

You bit your lip, hesitating. "Does it bother you? How I smell when I'm on my period?"

"What do you mean?" He had to be joking. He had a stronger sense of smell than a wookie, and he was trying to convince you he didn't care about how much you smelled like a rotting corpse while you were on your period?

You took a step back from Hunter's embrace, running your fingertips across your oily forehead. "I mean, there's all the stuff like the blood and...everything down there, and I know my pits stink when I'm on my period, and everything gets greasy so fast."

Hunter took a long time to answer your clarification, which was never a good sign.

"I'll admit it's not the freshest scent, but, I mean...c'mon, it's you."

You stared back at him blankly, "what do you mean?"

Hunter shrugged, looking you up and down, "It...it's you. I love you. It really doesn't matter to me what you smell like.

It was so sweet and so awkward at the same time, but your face flushed with heat all the same, and you buried your face in your hands.

"How am I supposed to just...I don't-" you spluttered nervously, "You can't just say things like that!"

Hunter chuckled softly, and when you peered through your fingers he was wearing an osik-eating grin.

"I can, and I did."

"I'm gonna kill you."

"If you do, you'll never get the rest of those chocolate bars."

"Where are you hiding them, you monster?"

Hunter pinched your chin to make sure you looked up at him.

"I'll tell you if you say yes to a movie night," He whispered, running his thumb along your bottom lip.

The candy wrapper crumpled in your hand and you bit down on your lip. The kriffer knew exactly what he was doing to you.

"Does this movie night involve cuddling?" You asked as he leaned in, your foreheads dangerously close.

"Maybe," He chuckled.

You laughed softly. Encouraged, Hunter pulled you into another hug.

"Don't worry, you can talk and complain about bad directing choices and out of character choices all you want."

"You sure know how to make my night, don't you?" you teased. You placed a hand on the center of his chest for balance as you kissed his cheek, and Hunter covered your hand with his own.

"Hey," He chuckled, "It's you."

[writing-fanics]

⁂ starry eyed ⁂

✦ Hunter X Collector!Reader ✦

[Chapter One: It Takes Time]

next chapter

[a/n: reader is the older sister to the collector, hunter maybe out of character but even if he is it makes for great moments here]

Everyone is seated at the dining room table, and Camila looks at everyone as she takes in everything she's just heard. "Okay, so in the Demon Realm, you fought the evil Emperor Belos who turned into a monster..." She says, looking at everyone.

"Well, he started out human." Gus added, "Right, but he was defeated by a newer, smaller bad guy?" She asked, still taking it all in. She never expected such a world and things to actually exist.

"The Collector." Willow said, and [Y/n] could feel everyone looking at her when she said that, so she brought her knees to her chest. Placing the hood on her robe over her head, hiding her face from everyone.

"We don't know what he is or how Belos found him," Willow added, looking over at Camila. Luz looked up panicked, "Who knows if we'll ever figure that out?! But they're creating a lot of chaos." Luz says, panicked. "We have to do whatever it takes to get back," Amity says, placing her hand on Luz's shoulder.

Camila looks at them, "And you will. But for now, you should all rest. You're all safe here." She says, to them and [Y/n] just keeps her head down. She felt unease in the house as if she didn't belong like no one wanted her here knowing she too is a collector.

It was while everyone was settling down, she went outside and to the side of the house. She sniffled, as hugged her knees to her chest. She didn’t blame them for not trusting her. Why should they? She’s a collector they’ve seen firsthand what her younger sibling is capable of, what they’re capable of being collectors, yet, why does it hurt so much? Is she trying too hard? Not trying hard enough? What is she doing wrong? Is she the problem?

Tears brimmed her eyes, as she stared at the ground. Hugging her knees tighter as her mind wandered. “Maybe, I don’t deserve their trust.” She mumbled, sniffling as she stared at the ground. Watching, as a single butterfly landed on the grass in front of her.

“You okay?” A voice asked, from around the corner of the house. She quickly, wiped away her tears and turned towards the voice, Hunter. She stayed silent, hugging her knees to her chest and turning her head away from him.

He sat down next to her, “Having, trouble making friends Huh?” He asked, and stayed quiet but he could hear her faintly mumble something into her knees.

“I had trouble too.” He said, looking at the ground he could’ve sworn he noticed her looking at him then, looking back towards the ground.

“At the time I never interacted with anyone the same age as me.” He said, and she slowly turned to look at him. “Making, I struggled a lot it took time for me to let them in and open up.” He said, just as a little cardinal landed on his lap.

She turned to look towards the bird, “But, if it wasn’t for Flapjack here.” He said, gently petting the bird. “I wouldn’t have the friends I have now.” He said, and she looked at him slowly lifting her head.

“Even with Flapjack, it still took time and even still I messed up sometimes. But eventually,” He said, as Flapjack flew towards her and landed on her lap.

Chirping at her she smiled, and gently petted the small bird. “You’ll have friends that’ll stick with you forever.” He said, and she turned towards him smiling softly.

“So, it just takes time?” She asked, and he nodded she smiled softly looking at him.

“Time..” She whispered, she’s been around for centuries probably even longer. Leaning her head against the side of the house, “I’ve been around for centuries, and yet not once, has anyone wanted to be my friend.” She said, looking at him and he looks at her sadly.

She turned her head towards him and smiled, "Thanks, Hunter." She said, and he smiled back at her. She watched as he got onto his feet and reached out his hand for her to take. She bit the corner of her lip and took his hand. Standing to her feet, tripping slightly but being caught by Hunter. Her heart skipped, a beat as she looked up at him her cheeks turning a slight tint of red. Before standing back up and smiling, he leads her back inside the Noceda household.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

For [Y/n], it took her a while to finally befriend everyone. But eventually, they trusted her and realized she was different than her younger sibling. When that day came [Y/n] smiled.

[Y/n]'s eyes widened as she stared at herself in the mirror. Her hands gripped the new clothes on her body, every bit of it an extension of herself and a hint towards her title as a collector. the mixture of light and dark purples, with hints of white, and black.

She opened the door, smiling cheerfully, with a toothy grin. Camila smiled softly, seeing everyone in clothes that suited them. [Y/n] noticed, Hunter wearing a costume matching Flapjack and she couldn't help but smile. Seeing how adorable he looked in the costume.

wait? did she just call Hunter adorable?! her cheeks turned a slight tint of red.

[Y/n] was walking down the hallway toward Luz's bedroom, when she walked passed the bathroom. Looked down, and noticed strands of blonde hair on the ground. Curious she opened the door, wondering what was going on. She froze for a moment seeing a flustered Hunter, struggling to cut his hair.

Sweat ran down his cheeks as he turned to look at her. His eyes widened when seeing her standing in the doorframe. She smiled, at him and told him to sit on the toilet so she could help him. She picked up the scissors and took a few strands of hair, and started cutting. Hunter, had a blush on his face the entire time as she helped him cut his hair.

Hunter placed the jumper cable onto the door knob of the abandoned house. He turned back towards his friends, giving them the thumbs up. While, Gus, Amity, Willow, and Hunter's palismen. Where hamster wheels help charge, and hopefully create a portal to get back home.

Once, the signal was given they started running except Gus' palisman. Everyone watched as a portal began to form at the door but eventually exploded and turned into fire completely disintegrating the door. Everyone stared at it in shock and sadness. Gus ran over waving a fire extinguisher but Vee came up behind him. Taking it out of his hand, squeezing the nozzle aiming it at the fire, and extinguishing it. Luz looked down devastated that it didn't work.

[Y/n] eyes sparkled with wonder as she stared at the rain. Reaching her hand out to touch the droplets that fell from the sky, she chuckled softly, feeling one land in the palm of her hand. She had seen rain before but it was always deadly kind. Just as she was about to step outside. Hunter appeared beside her shaking his head, as he looked outside at the rain curiously.

Until Gus appeared behind knocking him down into the mud. [Y/n] had fallen as well landing on Hunter's waist, her cheeks turned red. As she looked towards him, but snickered seeing his entire head covered in mud the snail added an extra touch.

Willow smiled, seeing her friends having fun for once finally able to have a breather, despite the situation they were in. Camila stood beside her and handed her a Polaroid camera to take a picture of the moment, and she did.

. °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° .* Next Night . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° .*

[Y/n] brought her knees to her chest, as she looked up at the stars in the sky. She missed, her home among the stars. She couldn't stand her younger sibling and what he was doing to the Boiling Isle. All because he wanted to play a game? But she'll never forgive their older siblings the archivists for what they did to her.

"I'll never forgive them for what they did?" She mumbled, into her knees. "Aren't you cold?" a voice asked, and she turned around and noticed, Hunter, walking out with a blanket and holding two cups of hot chocolate.

"Camila, saw you sitting outside and wondered if you were cold." He said, and she smiled softly as he walked over towards her. Handing her the mug, and her eyes sparkled looking at the warm contents in the mug. Seeing, the white marshmallows floating at the top.

"Thanks," She said, and he looked away slightly his cheeks turning red. He then placed, the blanket down beside her and was about to walk back inside, before she stopped him. "Hey, wanna stargaze with me?" She asked, sheepishly she could've sworn her voice cracked slightly. Why is her heart racing all of a sudden? Why did it feel like butterflies were in her stomach?

"U-um, sure." He said, cheeks bright red as he turned and walked back towards her, sitting down beside her. Taking a sip of the hot chocolate. "Surprisingly, your constellations in the Boiling Isles, are quite the same as the ones in the human realm." She said, smiling looking at him. Despite the fact that her heart was pounding against her chest rapidly.

She brought the mug to her lips, took a sip and her eyes sparkled. At how delicious it tasted, Hunter couldn't help but smile seeing this. "Oh, see that one ursa major and ursa minor?" she asked, looking at him as she pointed up at the night sky. "That's in the boiling isles as well," she said, smiling.

Her cheeks, went red revealing she accidentally placed her hand over his hand. She wanted to disappear back into the stars at this moment, both hunter and her locked eyes for a moment. Before looking away from each other embarrassed. "Um, so ah, whats It like being a collector?" He asked, and she looked at him and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's ah, okay, i guess. If you like being alone forever not having any friends and if you do, watchingthemdiecauseyourbasicallyan immortalbeing." She rambled, and he looked at her and she stopped for a moment and looked at him. "Sorry, that's the one thing I know I'll have to live with." She said, looking down.

"Watching the ones you love fade away with time?" He asked, and she nodded sadly. "Well, that's a long way away so you don't have to worry about that." He said, and she shook her head, "100 years is a blink in an eye for me." She said, looking into the cup of hot chocolate.

"I don't wanna be alone again," She said, tears brimming her eyes, and he knew that one day she'd still be alive and he, Luz, Willow, will all be gone. She wouldn't have anyone else to call her friend. Hunter placed the mug onto the grass and held up his pinkie finger. "What're you doing?" She asked, and he smiled looking at her, "I promise, that I'll stay with you for as long as I can." He said, blushing as he looked at her and she stared at him in shock.

"You making a promise with a collector huh?" She said, smiling mischievously, "I accept," She said, blushing as she wrapped her pinkie around his. Pulling away, she wrapped the blanket around them both blushing profusely, as they looked up at the stars. Hunter hesitantly leans his head onto her shoulder and her heart skips a beat. She smiles, and continues to tell him about the stars, and what it was like for her living amongst them.

End Chapter [Part One]

taglist

@supernerdycookietrashblr

[beanie-beebo-writes]

Killing him softly (with your words)

Pairing: Hunter x gender neutral!reader

Warnings: Reference to pet death

-----------------

Hunter groaned and put his hand on his head, rubbing the bags under his eyes and letting his heavy head fall to the desk in his room. You looked up from the book you were reading and chuckled at the sight.

Hunter was face down on his desk he had carved, his arms limply at his sides swinging slightly at his movement. If you were fooled, you could have thought he was asleep.

"Hey," You said softly, setting your book down on the bed.

Hunter looked up tiredly at your voice, his head still resting on the desk but now on an angle facing you.

"You okay?" You asked once you got his attention.

Hunter blinked slowly and ran a finger lazily through his hair. " 'm tired." He slurred in exhaustion.

"Then come to bed, silly." You said with a smirk.

He groaned again and rolled his eyes lightly. "I can't. I can't sleep." He said boredly.

"Sure you can! Looks like you're about to pass out now." You pointed out.

He exhaled softly in slight amusement and sat up, leaning back into his chair.

"It's just.. Every time I close my eyes-" He began.

You listened intently, even when he paused for a moment to collect himself a bit.

"...I see Flapjack." He finished.

You frowned. It had been months since it had happened, but you didn't realize it had such an affect on him still. Yet again, that little cardinal was his best friend.

"You wanna talk about it?" You asked.

He shook his head and sighed softly. "No. I just want to sleep. I want to close my eyes and just be in darkness for a while like it didn't happen."

You frowned and patted the bed beside you. "Come to bed. I think I could try something that would help."

He opened his eyes he didn't remember closing at your offer and scoffed lightly as he got up.

"Pshh, I doubt it." Hunter said.

He sat on the bed next to you until you gestured him to your lap. He blushed but obliged, desperate for an ounce of rest. You put a hand in his hair and began working your magic. Even without your bard magic, you could already feel the effects working in no time. You began to sing softly.

Strumming my pain with his fingers

Singing my life with his words

Killing me softly with his song

Killing me softly.... With his song.

Killing me... Softly... With his song...

You began to quietly hum the first verse as you felt Hunter slowly melt into your body. You could feel it within a few seconds. His body was finally beginning to relax, getting heavier on top of you.

About halfway through the song, you heard soft puffs of air escape his slightly parted lips. You smiled and blushed lightly, pausing to kiss the crown of his head. He shifted lightly as you stopped carding your hands through his hair. Not wanting to wake him, you softly began another song. Hoping he could stay in his much deserved rest.

After a few minutes, you found yourself yawning and becoming slow with your deliberate movements. You looked down and positioned the sleeping boy next to you. You shut off the light and scooted next to him. He was now on his side and completely relaxed. He leaned into your side and held onto you. His grip causing the sleep to become more prevalent in your eyes.

You softly heard him mumble something in your ear as you drifted off. You didn't quite catch it, but it didn't seem important. Your eyes closed on their own accord as you also fell into a warm deep sleep. The two of you completely still the whole night, not waking up once.

------

Hunter saw a warm shaft of light behind his eyes, causing them to flutter open. He closed his mouth which had apparently been open while he slept. He moved his hand to wipe the drool off his face before he froze. His arm was over someone. And that someone was you.

When did that happen?

He didn't even recall falling asleep, let alone dreaming. It was too early to remember. You looked so peaceful in your sleep. It made his heart flutter. He wanted nothing more than to protect you from the world.

Which was funny because he never felt that urge before. You sighed in your sleep and wiggled your head closer to his chest, still deeply asleep. His face burned red. You were so warm. He hadn't slept that good probably ever. Not since he was knocked unconscious more than once over the years.

It was a foreign feeling.

But it didn't feel bad. He paused and took in the moment.

It felt nice. It felt safe. He felt loved.

He shook away tears at that thought and yawned softly, still feeling quite worn down from the night before. He laid back down and stared at your peaceful sleeping form. And yet again  he felt his body trying to avoid sleep just by watching your eyelids flutter as you dreamt.

He barely had a thought in his mind as he fell unconscious again.

-----

It was the first good dream you had in weeks. You were sitting with Flapjack, feeding him some of your picnic you had prepared the morning before. He twittered happily as you offered a piece of your human sandwich. You heard the grass crunch in the distance and you looked up, seeing Hunter standing there awkwardly. He looked up at you with a light blush on his cheeks.

"Can I... Join you?" He asked timidly.

You smiled warmly and nodded. Gesturing to a spot on the picnic blanket next to you as you offered him some human food. He looked at it questionably before looking at your smiling face. He smiled back and took a bite of the sandwich, his pupils dilating in pleasure. His eyes widened as he looked to the food and then back at you. Not believing his taste buds at how good it was.

You giggled as you both chuckled for a bit and chatted while sharing food. It was the happiest you both had been in ages.

It slowly faded away as you opened your eyes to Hunter's shirt in your face. He was still fast asleep, holding you as he breathed slowly. You felt his breath softly tease the top of your hair. You could relish in this moment, even if for a little longer.

[crocuta-corvax]

SPICY ART UNDER CUT - UNDER 18s DNI ------ Maybe you asked too many times, maybe he was just in a particular mood, but you asked him again to see him without the bandana. Now you're slung over his lap, his bandana wrapped around your eyes, your hands gripping tightly to his plastoid boots as he turns you into an absolute mess with those beautiful dextrous hands of his. And it's an absolute kriffing shame, because you can't see how wonderfully tousled his hair has gotten as he watches you become undone under his touch. ----- LAST WARNING! SPICY ART UNDER CUT - UNDER 18s DNI

ahAhHAhaaa... this took so long im so sorry but i got a fancy new pen display tablet and it jsut kept getting more and more detailed- i don't normally do backgrounds man :'3 @moodymisty because i know you're gonna wanna see this

[vauxxy]

hunter x reader imagines (enemies to lovers)

i am literally in love with hunter from the owl house, so in honour of ep1 s3 here are some imagines!!! this is like the story of the reader and hunter from season 2+ sooo yeah xx slay

warning: swearing, female pronouns, straight people, major sexual innuendoes, hints towards intimacy but nothing graphic

season 2

you are a healer that the emperor has requested to accompany hunter on the weekends when he goes out for missions

you accept because it’s good money, but you quickly find out that hunter does NOT want you there at all because he believes he can handle himself

during missions he walks off and leaves you behind, to which you go in your own pay and complete missions for him to get back

he realises you could be an asset and angrily decides to be less of an arse to you

one day he gets pretty injured and instead of telling you, he ignores it until it gets infected and it’s super visible

you scold him and order him to tell you if anything’s wrong, or there use you’d have to spend a shit ton of time nursing him back to health with you would ‘rather die than do’

you visit him frequently and tease him for a few days as he gets better, which he secretly really appreciates as he gets rather lonely

he also gets really flustered whenever you touch him or get closer than anyone normally would, which you tease him about even more

he laughs it off and pretends to be all nonchalant, but he’s super embarrassed that you noticed how flustered he got

after he gets better, you’re able to go on mission with him again.

you often squabble and argue with him, but on one particular mission he says something that keeps you completely silent

“maybe i wouldn’t get so easily flustered if you didn’t so easily flirt”

‘easily flirt’?! since when did you ever flirt with him?!

he didn’t think much of it, he was truthfully joking about you flirting with him- but your reaction made him think more about your relationship with him.

it wasn’t flirtatious… was it???

a few weeks pass, and the comment manifests into a joke between you two where you flirt all throughout your missions

not because you like each other!!??! so gross!!!!!??!?

just casual stuff like:

“jeez, take me out to dinner first”

“that’s what she said”

“well, if you insist!”

and then out of nowhere, it became a competition to see who could get the other more flustered and uncomfortable.

one day in a mission, you tripped over a tree root that had grown over the ground and face planted on the dirt.

he laughed, and said “a pretty girl like you shouldn’t be getting all messy. next time just fall on me”

you went red from that ‘pretty girl’ comment, stuttering and stumbling over your words for the next few minutes

on the next mission, you decided to get him back.

you had to go into a bar to ask questions about a vigilante on the loose, in doing so you garnered the attention of a few boys and girls around your age.

hunter saw this and felt a twinge of jealously. no, what?? jealousy?! since when was he ever jealous?!!

he walked over to the table of teens fawning over you, “y/n, we’ve gotta go.”

“ugh, sorry guys! my boyfriends being sooo naggy today”

BOYFRIEND?!,!,$/!:

he literally froze

wtf

once he snapped out of it, he took you by the arm and stormed out of there, flustered as hell

“don’t tell me you’re jealous or something?”

“i’m not jealous, i’m just…”

“just what?”

“you can’t just go around saying im your boyfriend! especially without warning and in front of the guy you’re calling your boyfriend”

you smirked, “why?”

he went silent. “we’ve gotta catch up with this lead”

you didn’t question it anymore after that

until the next night

you were looking over some paper work and wanted to ask hunter if he knew if he had any potions so you could write it down for the stock collection

you knocked on his door, earning a “who’s there?” from the other side.

“y/n?”

the door opened cautiously, greeting you with a mask less hunter.

you had only seen his face a few times, but he looked especially… not handsome at all… that night

“oh, hey!! um… do you have the… bruises potion i made…?” you asked, trying to avoid his eyes.

he smirked, catching on to what was happening.

“yeah”

you tucked a piece of hair behind your ear and then held your hands behind your back.

“um… can i have it back?” you asked, still avoiding his eyes

you could feel him looking you up and down, his gaze burnt your skin.

“maybe,” he stepped forward. “what’s in it for me?” he continued.

“um…” you finally met his eyes- they were stunning. certain imperfections in his face just seemed so natural. his eye bags were weirdly super attractive, he had no baby fat his gap tooth was just absolutely adorable.

a few seconds pass, until you realise your staring.

he doesn’t say anything as he steps closer.

he’s barley a few steps away from you now, and the distance is painful

he moves in closer and reaches his arm behind you

you can feel his breath in your neck as his chest sits slightly on your shoulder

why was he so tall?!!!!!! and attractive?!!!! this wasn’t fair. at all. what the fuck!!?!?!!!

he suddenly bounces back with the potion in his hand. “there you go” he says in a monotone voice, passing it to you

“um, yeah… thanks!!” you take the potion and walk over the the door, tugging at the handle

it wasn’t locked or anything, it just wasnt budging, so you were struggling with the handle as hunter held back laughter

“oh my god please do not do this to me” you muttered

“here, i’ll get it” he said, trying to not make his mischievous smile come through with his tone

he leans behind you, one again too close for comfort

he stuggles with the door handle for a few seconds before getting it open

you rush out the door, flushed and tripping over every second step

“uh! bye! see you tomorrow!” you call out, shakily

“see you later, y/n”

in his mind, that was payback for yesterday when you called him your ‘boyfriend’

in your mind, you had become extremely attracted to hunter and couldn’t get that moment out of your brain.

to be fair, he couldn’t stop thinking about it either.

after that, you two stopped flirting with each other. mostly because you went very quiet during missions and he could tell he did something wrong

‘i think i made her uncomfortable lol‘

‘holy fucking shit how can he act so natural after cornering me twice and flirting with me last night???!!!! what an arsehole!!!! please kiss me’

as unity day got closer, the two of you bonded a little bit more and when he didn’t return to the castle one day, you decided to leave as well.

you jumped from house to house, usually hiding in emira’s closet

you finally reunite at the blights house in the hot air balloon, where you still couldn’t get that image of hunter out of you mind.

“hi, hunter” you said, stiffly

“long time no see, y/n” he replied

the way he said your name send shivers down you spine

‘WHAT THE FUCK 😭 WHY IS HE SO HOT’ you thought

‘WHAT THE FUCK 😭 WHY IS SHE SO HOT’ he thought

everyone could see how attracted to each other you were EXCEPT for you and hunter

season 3

time flies and you’re in the human realm

you didn’t have much waiting for you back in the boiling isles, and neither did hunter

everyone was still pretty on edge, so a week in you all decided to have a sleepover.

“let’s play truth or dare!” liz suggests, confusing everyone

“what the fuck is truth or dare??!” willow asks

luz explains truth or dare, and the questions are pretty standard

“luz, truth or dare?!” asks amity

“truth” she replies

“who’s your crush?!”

“bffr”

soon enough, you’re asked truth or dare by gus

“truth”

“do you like anyone?” he asks, smiling

you freeze and avoid eye contact with everyone, especially hunter

“i mean dare” you laugh

“i dare you to tell us who you like” says gus

“i don’t like this game”

“are you chicken?” hunter smirks, catching your eye

‘oh my god kill me now THAT FUCKINF BRAT’ you think, staring down hunter

“im gonna go brush my teeth” you laugh

“awwwww chicken!!! everyone boos dramatically

you head to the bathroom where you brush your teeth and are washing your face, until you spot a wild hunter leaning against the door frame in the corner of your eye

“HOLY SHIT!” you yell out, only for hunter to cover your mouth and hold a finger to his lips as he made a ‘ahh’ sound

“luz’s mum is sleeping, idiot” he whispered

you ripped his hand if your mouth, already red from the sudden contact

“ you’re the one that scared me”

“i didn’t mean to scare you, sorry”

you lean back against the wall, keeping a sensible distance between you two

“why were you avoiding the question from before?” he asked, genuinely curious

“because!” you folded your arms.

he smiled moving forward a little. “you like someone in the group!” he smirked

you didn’t say a word.

“i bet you like amity or something”

“no way! i don’t like her, she’s in a relationship!”

hunter tapped his chin, moving forward a little more. “that means you don’t like luz either- or gus, because he’s like 12…”

you gulped.

“you like willow!” he whispered, earning an arched brow from you.

you shook your head

hunter looked confused. “what? there’s nobody else?!” he said, completely puzzled.

“you’re fucking stupid” you laughed, walking back to the room where everyone else was.

hunter took a moment.

“y/n likes luz’s mum?!!!”

he walked back out the bathroom and stopped you in the hallway before you enter the room where eveone else was.

“since when do you have a thing for mums?!!!” he whispered in your ear, making you gasp and turn to hunter

flustered from when he whispered in your ear, you move away a bit. “i don’t like luz’s mum” you said plainly, rolling your eyes.

“who do you like then?!! we’ve know. each other for months, you can tell me” he assured you, looking down into your eyes.

‘this height difference is definitely not making this harder than it has to be.’ you thought.

you sighed, standing on your toes and wrapping your arms around his neck before planting a small kiss in his lips.

he completely froze, turning red. “oh! okay!” he said, nodding his head slightly.

you anxiously stared into his eyes, averting your attention to the floor every few seconds.

“since when?!!?!” he asked

you pursed your lips. “since the night i took back the bruise potion from your room- actually, probably before that to be honest” you admitted.

hunter, broke into laugher, holding on to your shoulder. “i can’t believe i seduced you!” he gasped for air between words.

you punch his arm playfully. “shut the fuck up!!” you smiled, leaning against the wall. “can we just forget i said anything?”

“no” he said as he walked towards you again.

“can you stop cornering me!” you demanded, as he back you into the wall again.

“no”

“okay, this is just unfair!” you shook your head, trying to walk away but being cut off by hunter pushing his hand up against the space you were planning on leaving through.

he leaned in, centimetres a way from your face.

“you’re an arsehole! fuck off!” you whispered, getting interrupted by hunter’s lips netting your own.

this kiss was leagues more passionate that the peck you gave him earlier

you both wished it would never be end

he slowly pulled away, turning red and covering his face after realising what just happened

“omg i did not just do that wtf 😭 why does the hottest girl on the boiling isles like me that’s so gross” he muttered, making your face burn up again.

“the hottest girl on the boiling isles?!” you say, smirking.

hunter broke out of his bubble, “ummmmmmm yeah 🫣”

“that’s sweet” you smiled, placing another kiss on his cheek.

“do just wanna like… date or whatever…?” you asked. hunter nodded. “it’s be an honour dating the hottest girl on the boiling isles”

you both walked back into the room where everyone else was, as they were sat talking in a circle.

“there you two are! we thought you died” willow laughed

“you better not have been making out, otherwise you’ll get cooties” gus said, leaning back into his sleeping bag.

you two instantly looked at each other and turned red. your eyes quickly averted and you shuffled away suspiciously.

amity looked you two down, widening her mouth slightly. “they were making out!!” she whisper-shouted, instinctively hitting luz’s shoulder lightly.

“holy shit!!” luz said

“wait please i can explain-“ hunter said as he tries speaking, but everyone else was already freaking out

luz put your sleeping bags at opposite end of the room just in case

that never stopped anyone 😋

good thing the age of consent is 16!!! (i am sixteen, they are sixteen, the age of consent is sixteen!! i am not writing smut because that’s fucking gross!!! and also this boy is a nerd they would NOT fuck)

ok i wanted to write a few headcanons for your dynamic in and outside of your relationship so that’s here lol 😍 this is basically what you like about each other, how he started liking you, what gets each other flustered, etc…

pre-relationship

you always admired how fucking awkward and oblivious he was

but don’t let that fool you, that man is a massive flirt and can get so cocky (in the hottest way possible)

he knows that he can get you flustered, but he doesn’t think you like him?!!!! he’s so dumb

he is very touch starved so he uses cornering you and getting close as an excuse to feel another person for like 2 seconds

he also secretly really loves when he gets injured because then a pretty girl will bandage him up and tease him which is his ideal situation (mostly cause you’re in it)

he would never say anything about it though

he started liking you when he first got super injured and still was trying to hate you

he appreciated how desperate your mutual disliking for each other, you still provided the best care possible.

you really like how he tried to protect you on missions

if there was ever a threat he’d make sure you stayed behind- not because he didn’t think you were capable but because he didn’t want to see you hurt because of him

you didn’t care and you fought the enemy as well lol

before he stopped wearing the mask as much, he would just stare at you for hours on end because nobody could see where he was looking

you never caught on

during your relationship

he is still SSOSOSO touch starved

touches you every chance he gets

hand holding, touching your hair, hugs, forehead kisses, etc…

he gets close with you every chance he gets, but you both still get flustered anytime you touch

it’s actually so cute

he’s very very gentle with you whenever you’re hugging but you’re very strong and use a lot of force 😭😭 he’s always super shocked like “are you trying to kill me?????”

he’s still a giant flirt

you’re still a giant flirt

very competitive

you both have big spoon energy, but you usually end up being the little spoon because it’s just more comfortable

it’s hard for you to sleep when you’re close because you both just gets soso flustered

your make out sessions are… interesting, considering how easy is is to get you both super flustered and embarrassed

and in a house of 7 people, every time it gets a little more heated than usual, someone just has to walk in

gross

the furthest you could get for a long time was literally just giving each other hickies

so fun to explain to the rest of the group how you both got burnt by a straightener even though the nocedas don’t own a straightener

make out sessions in the forest :)

he’s still so awkward

i love them:(

i love him i love the owl house im gonna cry

[hugmekenobi]

Return to the Light

A Bad Batch Post S2 Oneshot

Gif by @spacemagicandlaserswords

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Summary: Being separated from one another had taken it's toll and the search had been hard but in all the darkness, a glimmer of hope remains

Warnings: Mentioned canon-typical violence, swearing, my made-up timeline, limited use of y/n, some choice interrogation techniques, sad flashbacks, mentions/descriptions of torture, mentions of death, mentions/descriptions of injury and sickness, reader is not in the greatest of headspaces and takes it out on Lyra, talks of self-sabotage/sacrifice and self-loathing, my interpretation of all things Force, dodgy Star Wars medical techniques, slight manipulation/miscommunication, kissing, overall a pretty angsty time but there's some fluff sprinkled in

Masterlist for S1 and S2

Word Count: 18.2K (don't look at me, idk what happened lol)

Rating: 18+

Author's note: Huge shoutout and thanks to my friend @burningfieldof-clover who supported and provided many helpful tips as I struggled though this!! And its finally here! I am so sorry it took so long but I hope you all enjoy it despite the wait! I have another one planned to follow that hopefully will not take as long haha so I'm excited to get to work on that too! Also praying that by posting this, I can manifest a S3 trailer haha

Nelvaan

Ever since the disaster of Ord Mantell and from the second they’d managed to flee; Hunter had been doing everything he could to find you and Omega again. He’d tormented himself with the various possibilities of what could be happening to the two of you. Every day he’d been apart from you both had seen him fighting with himself. Possible informants and Imperial soldiers he could cope with just fine, what had been proving to be a struggle was fighting the complete hopelessness that had overwhelmed him as the weeks dragged on with no sign or information on the whereabouts of either of you. Every failed lead had left the bitter taste of disappointment and there were times when he felt like he would be crushed by the weight each defeat brought.

Things had started to shift however when they came across the various wanted posters and holoimages of you that were strewn across the galaxy, particularly in the Outer Rim. So, when Echo had decided to do some work on his own and went back to working with his contacts within the Empire and reported back that you hadn’t actually been taken, he’d felt that flicker of hope he hadn’t been able to find for a long time and the plan changed. Echo would continue to utilise his allies in the search for Omega whilst he and Wrecker looked for you. Once Hunter had you back, the four of you would reconvene and find Omega.

To get to Omega, they needed your skills and… and Hunter just needed you but there were moments in the early stages of the search where it seemed impossible. Knowing you were out on your own helped with finding his way out of the darkness but knowing you were alive and finding you alive were very different things, the latter was proving to be incredibly challenging.

You may had stopped hiding what you were, but you were remarkably good at making an impression somewhere but still finding a way to go unseen. Every location they’d gone to, they’d been too late, and you appeared to have moved on. You never stuck around anywhere for too long and it was making things a lot harder.

The most recent trail of half-baked information he and Wrecker had followed had led them to this pawn shop- ‘Hidden Gems’. According to rumour, you’d been in asking about them, yet another piece of knowledge that only added to his frustration that they always seemed to miss you by a matter of weeks. Hunter opened the door, but the owner’s back was still turned to them as they pashed the threshold.

Kedrin heard the bell clang as the door opened and shut. “I’ll be with you in a flash.” He said as he finished writing up the recent sales. He closed the book and turned around with a salesman smile on his face, but that and his words of welcome instantly died on his lips as he saw who had walked in.

Immediately upon seeing these men, Kedrin was reminded of a description given to him a while ago by the Jedi everyone had been talking about and he did not want them here. He did not want to deal with this anymore. “Ah, well actually gentlemen, I was just closing up for the afternoon. You’ll have to come back.” He said, wringing his hands nervously as the bigger one split off and began wandering the shop whilst the one with the bandana stayed where he was.

Hunter leaned his back against the door and lazily played with his vibroblade. He knew by the beads of sweat on the owner’s brow and the anxious pounding of his heart that they were in the right place. “Where is she?” He asked, his voice low and hostile as he turned the sign from open to closed, his eyes never leaving the owner.

Kedrin retreated to behind the counter. “I um…” His throat was as dry as sand and he swallowed to get some moisture back so he could speak properly. “I don’t know who-” He cleared his throat again. “Who you are referring to. Perhaps-”

“There’s not point in lying to him. If I can tell you are, he definitely can.”

Kedrin’s eyes darted to the bigger one who had offered the advice, but he had to bring his attention back to the tattooed soldier who was staring at him with such cold and dark eyes that fear creeped up his spine, making his hair stand on end and goosebumps rise on his flesh.

“Where is she?” Hunter asked again as he pushed off the door and steadily walked towards the man.

“I’m- I’m afraid I don’t- don’t have the answer you seek.” Kedrin stuttered. As the soldier drew closer, Kedrin reached under the table and grabbed the blaster he kept concealed there. But, as he lifted it out, in the blink of an eye, the weapon was shot out of his hand and his head was smacked down and being pressed harshly into the countertop- a strong hand on the back of his neck reducing his struggles to break free to be no more than a pitiful effort. His resistance ceased altogether when he felt the sharp tip of a blade being pushed into the back of his hand and he cried out in discomfort as the metal broke the skin and blood began to spill from the cut but there would be no respite for him.

“Try again.” Hunter hissed as he brought his head down to the man’s level.

But all Kedrin could do was whimper in pain.

“She was here. We know she was here. Where did she go?” Hunter growled into his ear, applying more pressure to the point of the blade, ignoring the agonised yelp.

“I don’t know!” Kedrin protested in distress, his voice slightly muffled as his lips touched the cold material of the counter. He hated this part of the job, it wasn’t his fault he had access to other ports of information, it just worked out that way and for the most part he hadn’t gotten into too much bother. But ever since that Jedi woman had come to him with her threats, he’d vowed to himself that he would turn over a new leaf. He’d leave this element of his work behind, and he wouldn’t just be a pushover to whatever or whoever came in demanding his extra services. He felt the hand leave the back of his neck. He uneasily straightened up and tenderly analysed his injury on his hand but was grateful to see that it had felt and looked worse than it was. He took out a handkerchief from the lapel of his jacket and wrapped it up before he tidied his hair in an attempt to regain some calm and control over the situation. “Now, I ask that you leave this instance before I call the proper authorities.” He demanded, but he couldn’t shake the quiver in his speech which removed any forcefulness. He walked around the counter and gestured to the door.

Hunter ignored his requested. He simply took a step back and nodded sharply to Wrecker who cracked his knuckles and neck in intimidation.

Well, he could always start next week. “Wait wait wait! I actually might have something!” Kedrin back peddled fearfully as the larger one stalked towards him and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, raising him to his tiptoes. “My brother runs our partner pawn shop on Christophsis and he’s said there’s been Jedi activity there. Apparently, it’s been going on for a while now. Could be who you’re looking for?”

Wrecker glanced back at Hunter who signalled to him to drop the man.

Hunter silently turned on his heels and led the way out of the shop and back to the Marauder. He’d been powerless for far too long and had failed one too many times but that wasn’t going to happen anymore.

This time they weren’t going to miss you.

--

Christophsis

When the hour had finally got late enough, you grabbed your blaster and sheathed your vibroblade and made the final adjustments to your armour before you sneakily opened your door to dark and empty main room of the run-down apartment. You pulled your hood and mask up as you stepped out and headed for the exit.

You got as far as activating the panel for the door to open before the lights turned on.

“You’re going out again.”

You closed the door and huffed out an irritated breath. You swivelled on your heels to see Lyra standing in the doorway of her room. You tugged down your mask. “Yeah… and?”

“And I thought after the last time, you were going to take some time and-”

“You know I can’t do that.” You interrupted icily.

“You’ve barely recovered. I just think-”

“I’ve recovered enough.”

“It’s just one more night. If not for your sake, then do it for mine… please.”

“We’ve already settled here for you, didn’t we?” You retorted.

“After I begged you too! If it were up to you, we’d still be living on that hellhole of a ship and never staying anywhere for more than two weeks! And I don’t know if what we have right now is all that better!”

“I gave you an out months ago! Back on Ord Mantell and again on Corellia! You didn’t have to follow me!” You snapped angrily.

Lyra scoffed. “Corellia was when you finally deemed it fit to fill me in on the whole story after I saw you choke the life out of a man without laying a hand on him. I had known something was off in the weeks since Ord Mantell and then Corellia told me you needed someone. Forgive me if I wanted to stick around to try to help you!”

“I don’t need saving.” You said tightly. “And anyway, he got what was coming to him.” You said utterly uncaring with a simple shrug of your shoulders. “Now, can I go now? Are you done scolding me?”

Lyra looked at you imploringly. “Don’t you see what this is doing to you? You’re losing who you are and it’s-”

You couldn’t listen to the speech again. “I’m not doing this with you again, Lyra. Just go back to bed and I’ll be back later.”

Lyra looked at you in disbelief. “Later? Last time you said that I didn’t see you for three weeks and you came back tortured and half-dead! You’re no good to them if you die in the process of finding them!”

You just shook your head and lifted your mask and turned to open the door again.

“I can’t watch you kill yourself for this anymore.” Lyra said quietly to your back, her words laced with pity and sadness.

“Then don’t look.” With that, you stepped outside into the night.

--

Kirion stepped into the small kitchen in the back of his shop and sifted through the second cupboard. Instinct meant he didn’t need the light and he found what he was looking for.

“Trouble sleeping?”

Kirion yelped and dropped his mug. It smashed to the ground but that was not his concern anymore. The dark outline by the window was. “I don’t want any trouble.” His voice trembling.

“Do you know what they say about people who can’t sleep at night, Kirion?” You asked as you hopped off the counter, the yellow hue of the streetlights coming through the window illuminating your figure.

“N- no.”

“Plagued by a guilty conscience. The crushing weight of knowing you’re not doing enough, or you’ve gone too far can get to you. Or say, being a pawn shop owner intent on ripping everyone off for that extra bit of profit.”

Kirion cleared his throat nervously. He didn’t know how you knew that, but you’d gathered quite the reputation in the time you’d lived here, and he didn’t want you around. “Why are you here then?” He asked shakily. “Guilty conscience too?”

You laughed humourlessly. “You get the pleasure of my company because you have something for me.” Somewhere deep down, you had a different answer, but you wouldn’t allow yourself to bring that to the surface. It would get you nowhere.

“I don’t. I swear I-”

“Oh, this’ll go a lot better if you don’t lie to me.” You said, your voice hardening. You patted him roughly on the shoulder as you stepped past him.

“I don’t know if I have the information you’re looking for.”

“You know who I am?” You flicked the light on and waltzed into the storefront filled with clear glass cases with various pawned off items. Heirlooms, artifacts, jewellery, random items- all seemed to have a place here, whether they were genuine or not. You beckoned him to come in.

“It’s um kind of hard not to.” He wringed his hands anxiously as he followed you in and signalled to the front of the store. He took that opportunity to press the button under the table by the credit register.

You followed his stare and chuckled as you saw the backs of the posters in the front window. “I can sign one for you later.” You started scanning variety of items he possessed. “Quite the business you’ve got here.”

“Keeps-” He swallowed nervously. “Keeps the credits coming in.”

“Shame a lot of it is all garbage.” You smashed your elbow against one of the glass panels. “Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber?” You snickered as you picked up the item and sure enough, you got nothing from it. “Please. Nothing here but a bunch of dressed up metal material and a design anyone with access to an old holonet could copy. Then again, you probably knew that, but it doesn’t stop you underpaying for it and then charging a steep fee for the poor sucker that falls for it.”

Kirion gulped as he watched you continue your assault on his store.

You shattered a few more glass panes with claims of ‘Jedi artifacts’ in them. “Some of this is just embarrassing. You actual convince people that this stuff is worth the price?”

“What do you want?” Kirion interjected swiftly as he saw you getting ready to break another one.

You paused your movement and angled yourself to face him. You mimed applause. “That’s the right question. See, you gave yourself away earlier, Kirion. I’d expect you to know who I am, but to know that I’m after information? You had no way of knowing that, not officially and it’s the fact that you do know, that makes you of use to me.”

“Of use?” Kirion repeated fretfully.

You stalked closer to the desk register, the broken glass crunching beneath your feet. “You run this place in a back alley and get everyone from all walks of life coming in here pawning off their shit that you then rip off, but I really don’t give a fuck about that. What I do give a fuck about is that you hear things. People will tell you their stories, the things they’ve seen and overheard in the streets or on their travels. You are a fountain of knowledge of the underground happenings in this galaxy. Or, at the very least, you know people that run in the circles that have what I’m searching for.

“I-”

You placed a finger on his lips to shush him. “Here’s how this will work: So long as you don’t lie to me, and you don’t call the Empire, I won’t hurt you and you get to keep your life. Are we clear?” You removed your finger.

“C-crystal.” Kirion stuttered, very much regretting what he’d done in the beginning of this meeting.

“Good.” You released a short breath. “Now, I’m looking for a group of clones. They don’t look like the ones you may come across these days, rare as that seems to be now. One wears a red bandana and has a tattoo on the left-side of his face. Looks like this.” You pointed to the white insignia on your top. “But it’s black. The other is tall and bald with a scar on his left temple and he’s blind in his left eye. Heard of anyone like that?”

“I don’t know. No one like that’s come here.” Kirion shifted his feet awkwardly.

You tossed your head back in aggravation. “I really don’t have time for this.” You summoned the Force and lifted him against the wall and started to compress his airway. “I told you; I don’t like liars.” You gave him a pitying stare as he couldn’t help but clutch desperately at his throat. “Wanna try again?” You relaxed your hold slightly to give him the chance to speak.

“Okay- they- they- could be- be- coming here.” He gasped.

“They’re coming here?” You double checked as you eased your grip and let him get his feet back on the ground.

Kirion panted as he felt the invisible hold around his neck loosen. “Yes, my other store got a visit from some men that match what you’re saying. The manager there told them there was a Jedi here and called me earlier to let me know they might pass this way. That’s all I know, please, get out!”

You narrowed your eyes at him because despite his now honest words, you could tell he was getting anxious, and it wasn’t all because of you now. It was then that you heard the familiar pounding footsteps grow closer and halt outside the front door. You released an exasperated sigh and tutted. “Kirion… I thought we had an understanding.”

“No- wait! I-”

You called on the Force and snapped his neck before he had a chance to finish his plea and a second later, you heard the door crash open.

“You’re-”

“Under arrest?” You finished as you watched Kirion’s limp body slide to the floor. You heaved a sigh and turned to face the squad of ten stormtroopers that were lining the rows and blocking the path between you and the door.

“Get-”

“On my knees? Place my hands behind my head?” You interrupted, boredom evident in your tone as you crossed your arms and leaned against the till counter.

The troopers faltered slightly at your blatant dismissiveness of them.

You pretended to look confused for a moment. “Now, I can never keep track of where the Empire is in that whole phasing out thing so I always gotta ask this- any of you got a CT number?” You straightened up and hovered your hand over your blaster. “It’s always much simpler when none of you do.”

“Last chance, Jedi!” One of them called out as they readjusted their stances.

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. “Yeah… you all say the same thing.”

--

You quietly walked into your place and pulled your hood and mask down, ignoring the sting of pain as the material caught on the cuts on the bridge of your nose and your lip. You ran your tongue along your mouth and could still taste the harsh metallic taste of blood as it continued to ooze from the wound. Your nose was also still bleeding so you turned on the dim kitchen light to find something to stop it.

“Thought you’d be outta here by now.” You commented cooly without looking up as you heard her door open, and the soft padding of footsteps walk towards you. You fished out a cloth and ran it under some cold water and wiped away the congealed blood on your face before you held it to your nose.

“We don’t have a ship anymore, remember?” Lyra reminded you as she sat by the small kitchen table.

You’d forgotten about that. After the two of you had found this place, you’d sold it to someone who claimed to have word from Hunter. Unfortunately, that had turned out to be a rather bad deal and it was your first experience of dealing with the Imperials stationed here. “There are transports.”

Lyra just shook her head at you. “You still don’t get it.”

“Don’t really see what there is to get. Just hop on the next ship outta here, I won’t stop you.”

“I care about you, dumbass. Whatever is happening to you, I can’t just leave you alone in it.” Lyra replied wearily. Part of her wanted to, she’d even started packing a bag this time, but after these months spent with you and especially after what you went through recently told her you were one step away from a full-on breakdown and whether you would admit it or not, you still needed someone.

You ground out a sigh and stared down at the floor. She kept doing this. She kept having that faith in you that you couldn’t see but you didn’t deserve it. She should leave, she’d be better off without you but you didn’t have it in you to give her that final push. So, you worked on freezing her out, pushing her away until she realised you weren’t good for her or anyone else. But she refused, she was still here with you, and you couldn’t fathom why.

“Did you get what you were looking for?” Lyra asked, deliberately avoiding asking the state of the people that had clearly got in your way tonight. She’d seen what you were capable of but found that living in as much ignorance as she could saved her a lot of trouble. That and reminding herself you were not yourself right now.

“Yup.” You rinsed out the cloth and got ready to move into your room.

“I need to check your stitches. You weren’t ready for a fight yet.”

You knew what she would find if she looked. “No, you don’t.”

“(Y/N), let me see.” Lyra caught your arm as you went to move past her.

You huffed out another irritated breath but took your armour off before you lifted your first layer over your head. “Knock yourself out.”

She pushed up your vest top. “Yeah, you ripped a few open.” Lyra winced as she saw the lines of blood secreting from the sore and irritated looking now open wounds on your back.

“It’s fine.” You said dismissively. The pain wasn’t bothering you. You needed to come up with a plan of how to know when they got here.

“It’s not. Sit down.” She insisted as she went for the medkit. She had gotten well-acquainted with the item over the months, the most recent incident in particular had really tested her skills.

You released a resigned sigh and sat across from her and let her start cleaning them and closing them up again.

“They’re coming here, Lyra.” You found yourself whispering into the silence.

Lyra paused her process. “You’ve been told that before. The same thing happened on Cermau a couple months ago and it didn’t pan out. You-”

“I know what happened on Cermau. This isn’t like that.” You said defensively. It had to be different. You thought to yourself. You weren’t sure how many more dead ends you could take.

Lyra finished up the last few stitches. “You can’t know that.”

As soon as you felt her complete that last stitch, you stood. “Yes, I can.” You grabbed your armour and strode had over to your room without another word and shut the door.

You braced your hands against it and took a few deep breaths. You did have a way you could do but it had been so long since you’d gone near it, and you didn’t know if you could cope with the failure it might bring.

--

You settled in the middle of your crappy bed, the mattress sinking to the bedframe beneath as you shifted around to attempt to find some level of comfort. When you had found what you figured would be the ‘best’ spot, you crossed your legs and placed your hands on your knees.

You inhaled slowly, deeply, blocking out all the distractions of your mind and the sounds of the late-night life outside, and closed your eyes. You reached into the Force but what met you wasn’t any familiar signature. It was scenes and voices that you had tried so hard to forget.

Flashes of the people you’d hurt… you’d killed.

All that happened to you a week ago.

Tech hanging below the rail car.

Plan 99.

Omega, unconscious and injured on the ground.

Such an exquisite creature.

The torture he made you go through... and enjoyed.

His words to Hunter- To lose one of your own, it must weigh heavily on you as their leader.

Omega being carried off.

Hemlock letting you and Hunter have one last goodbye before you were taken away.

I love you.

No, it was too much. You couldn’t do it. Your breathing was shaky as you tore yourself out. You wiped the cold sweat from your palms. “Come on, get it together.” You told yourself as you took a long calming breath. You needed to do this right.

You centred yourself and went again. Except this time, all you could see was a vast space of darkness. No light, no hope, only darkness. Was this to be your fate? To be tormented by the fact you had let yourself fall and there was nothing left for you. How could you find them in this? You had no light left in you to give.

Spark.

You felt yourself twitch in discomfort. You knew that voice. That name. Only one person ever called you that.

Spark, you’re still not focused.

Let go of your anger. You’re not as lost as you view yourself to be.

No, no it couldn’t be. How could it be? No, this wasn’t right. You pulled yourself out and you looked around your room in a blind panic as you fought to get your distressed breathing back under control.

But it was only you in there. How could you hear him? It had to be some trick your mind was playing on you. Payback for all you’d done.

You exhaled heavily and braced your hands behind your neck as you looked to the ceiling. You stood and paced the confined space, shaking your hands as if you could shake away the bad feeling sitting on your chest.

You sat back on the bed and rolled your shoulders as you found your focus again. Faint rays of sun now came through the cracks in your window along with the sound of rain pattering against the fractured glass, but the new time meant nothing to you.

You didn’t care how long it would take; you were going to find them.

--

Hunter and Wrecker walked out of the ship and departed the bay to enter the streets of Christophsis- the rain sliding down their armour as they moved between the crowds.

“Well, we’re in the right place.” Wrecker commented as he nudged Hunter in the direction of the first holoscreen that had your image appear and a quick look at the immediate buildings followed that theme since they all had multiple paper posters in their windows and on their doors.

Hunter swallowed tightly as he saw holographic picture of you. There’d been one too many ‘right places’ in his search for you. He wasn’t going to accept that philosophy until he had something more than a wanted sign for you. “Come on. We’ll start with Kendrin’s brother.”

--

“So, you’re saying you saw a figure head in that direction after the disturbance last night?” A trooper pointed in said direction as she questioned the current resident on her list whilst the rest of her squad proceeded to clear the pawnshop.

“This looks like her handiwork, Sarge.” Wrecker uttered from the corner of the street they were observing from as he studied the scene ahead. Squads of troopers had cornered off the street and where questioning the civilians that appeared to live in the neighbourhood. And being carried out on stretchers were the dead bodies of troopers, but not all had blaster burns on their armour.

Hunter nodded his agreement and felt his heart beat that little bit faster with the flutter of hope. “Come on, we can’t stay here too long.” He directed as he and Wrecker turned away from the pawnshop.

As Hunter began to track your movements based on what he’d heard the trooper say, this finally being the right location was starting to feel a lot more plausible now.

--

There it was! You saw that faint glimmer of light in all the dark. It had to be them! You could feel it!

You jumped from your bed and grabbed your top and armour, hastily putting them on as you opened your door and bolted for the exit.

--

The weather had taken a turn for the worst, but you barely registered the pouring rain as you left the building. Your clothes were already soaked but it didn’t matter, you were too focused on holding onto that feeling of them.

“You’re the Jedi everyone is searching for.”

You whipped out your blaster and turned in the direction of the voice.

“No, wait! I don’t mean you any harm!” She came out from behind the skip with her hands in the air. “My name is-”

“Don’t tell me.” You interrupted sharply as you studied the Twilek before you. “How’d you find me?” You asked coldly. You didn’t lower your blaster either.

“It wasn’t easy. I’ve been following you since I knew of your arrival here. I thought I’d lost you when you disappeared for those three weeks.”

The fact you hadn’t sensed her presence at all told you that you were not what you used to be. You never used to be so sloppy. “I can’t have you knowing where I am.” You rested your hand over the trigger.

“Wait!” She reached a hand out to you. “I haven’t told anyone, and I won’t. I just need your help!”

“My help?” You repeated. “I can’t help you and I’ve got somewhere to be so-”

“Please.” She begged. “My sister, she’s sick and we barely have enough credits to feed ourselves, let alone get medicine.”

“Not my problem, I’m sorry.” Satisfied though that she wasn’t a true threat, you put your blaster away and got ready to leave.

“It wasn’t my sister’s problem that she got caught in a blaster fight and her wound got infected! No one asks for that!”

That made you pause. You’d had your fair share of shootouts in this place but you’d also you’re your best to minimise the damage to outsiders. “Where was the fight?” You found yourself asking quietly.

“About a month ago by the old shipyard on the outskirts of the city. We’d been told we could find some cheap transport off world, but something went down with the Imperials stationed there and my sister… I didn’t tug her down fast enough. I didn’t know what to do and then I heard of the Jedi that had landed in Christophsis and I knew I had to find you.”

A month ago… but that was where and when you’d gone to sell the ship… where’d you’d first been ambushed by the Imperials… no, there wasn’t meant to be anyone else there. Maybe you could… no, you didn’t have the time. Your aim was always good, it wouldn’t have been your shot that hit her. “I can’t.” You said dismissively, but there was a fading sense of conviction in your voice. Some part of you wanted to do the right thing by her. But it wasn’t enough to stop you pushing past her.

“I thought Jedi helped people!”

You stopped in your tracks and made a noise of resigned frustration as you turned around to face the young Twilek. “Wait here.”

You hastily ran back into your building, silently entered, and grabbed a few spare medical supplies from your kit before you ran back out to meet her again. “Alright, show me.”

--

Your place looked like a luxurious penthouse compared to where this young twilek and her sister were staying. It was virtually a single room with cracks in the walls and ceiling and there was a distinct damp aroma in the air. It was no wonder that they wanted to leave this place.

You then saw the smaller and younger twilek lying on a small mattress in the middle of the floor. There were drops of sweat dotted across her brow and she was shivering uncontrollably.

You’d never wanted anyone innocent to be affected by what you were doing yet it had happened with Lyra and now this child. “I’m sorry.” You whispered to her as you kneeled down beside her. You saw the bloodstain on her clothing and delicately lifted the end of her shirt to see the wound on her hip being covered by nothing more than a ripped piece of a shirt.  

“Can you help her?”

You half- turned to face the sister who was looking on fretfully. “I can clean the wound and reclose it. After that, it’ll be down to her. But the fact that she’d held on for so long is a good sign. She’s strong, she should be okay.”

The sister sighed in relief.

You brought out the supplies and recleaned and applied to bacta before you re-dressed the wound. “Do you have water?” You asked.

The sister nodded and dashed over to grab a cannister. She passed it to you.

“Lift her head.” You instructed gently.

She murmured words of comfort to her sister as she propped up her head.

As tenderly but as effectively as you could, you pushed the pill past her lips and got her to swallow it down with some water.

When her breathing had grown more controlled and her shivering had subsided, you go to your feet. “I’m leaving you some bacta and wound dressings along with some pills that’ll help with the fever. That’s all I can do now.”

“Thank you.” She clasped your hand tightly. “I won’t forget this.”

“It’s better that you do.” You said grimly. “And once she’s better, if you still need a way out of here, use the actual transports off this planet.” You chucked a bag of credits on the ground before you walked out of the room.

You rounded the corner but swiftly pressed your back against the wall since there was a group of stormtroopers directly in your path. You would have no chance of finding them with those soldiers in your way. You needed to find a way around them and what better way to do that than going from roof to roof. You summoned the Force and jumped to the top of the building and got moving.

You would get a better view from above anyway.

--

When another small squad of troopers made their presence known ahead, Hunter signalled him and Wrecker to an alleyway out of the line of their sight. He knew they were close to you, but the Imperial presence was making it hard to track you effectively.

“We can’t keep hiding like this, Hunter.” Wrecker grunted in frustration.

“I know, Wrecker.” Hunter agreed, equally as irritated. “If I could just-” He stopped suddenly.

“Hunter?”

“Someone’s here.” Hunter muttered quietly as his hand fell over his blaster.

“You’re getting sloppy, Sergeant. I’ve been following you the past 3 blocks.”

The voice that he’d been longing to hear and that was so familiar, he’d recognise it anywhere. His breath hitched with the realisation at what this finally meant. Hunter took off his helmet and turned around to the distant sound of feet hitting a puddle in the ground. And it was you. Standing there before him. It was finally you.

“Hello, Hunter.” You said softly, so softly you could barely hear the words themselves due to the sound of your own heart thundering in your ears. If it wasn’t for the flash of recognition in his eyes or the way Wrecker’s jaw dropped as he propped his helmet atop his head, you wouldn’t have been certain that you’d said anything at all. You tugged down your coverings and let yourself be unprotected to the rain.

He felt like the air had been punched out of his lungs. Hunter dropped his helmet and something akin to a choked gasp fell from his mouth as he could at long last lay his eyes on you. He started to slowly walk towards you but that soon became a run, water kicking up against him, but he didn’t care.

Your feet slapped against the wet ground as you met him halfway and crashed into his arms with a thankful sigh and buried your face in his neck. Even as you held him tightly to you, part of you still couldn’t believe that it was him. You felt something swell in your heart, a feeling you couldn’t place but knew you hadn’t felt in a long time.

Did you deserve this? Did you deserve to have him back after all you’d done? Pushing the thought away, you readjusted your embrace as if you could somehow hold him even closer.

He twisted his hands in your clothing and breathed you in. He’d imagined this moment for so long. When things seemed too dark and hopeless, he’d clung on to this. To think about how it would feel to finally see you again. To hold you again. And imagination couldn’t compare to the utter joy in his heart that reality brought him. He almost didn’t want to let you go for fear that you could be taken away again but practicality took precedence, the two of you couldn’t stay this way forever, as much as he might want to.

Tears mixed with rain streamed down both your cheeks as you parted from one another.

You cupped his face in your hands. “You’re here? You’re actually here?” You murmured, your voice cracking with emotion. You’d driven yourself crazy with picturing this moment, you needed to make sure this wasn’t your brain’s idea of a cruel joke.

Hunter removed your hands from his face and kissed your gloved knuckles. “I’m here.” He whispered back, his breathing still shaky as he pressed pressing his forehead into yours.

“You’re here.” You repeated as you looked into his soft brown eyes.

Hunter’s thumb gently caressed the cut on your lip, and he noticed the other wound on your nose. “Did they-”

You pulled his hand away. “Doesn’t matter. This is all I care about right now.”

Before Hunter could push the matter, he felt his brother approach.

“And what about me?”

You glanced past Hunter to the indignant but affectionate voice. “Hi, Wrecker.” You met his open armed invitation and let him swing your around as he hugged you.

“Good to see you, (Y/N)!”

“How’d you find me?” You asked as he placed you back down.

“You didn’t make it easy.” Wrecker griped. “We always seemed to be two steps behind you.”

“I haven’t exactly been hiding though.” You disputed as you pointed to a discarded wanted poster on the ground beside you.

“Between the Imperials and dead end leads and your rather annoying ability to hide in plain sight, it was tough. We got a lucky break with a guy whose brother owned another pawn shop here. Saw the results of a fight and figured we’d finally caught up with you.” Hunter explained as he came to stand in front of you and took his helmet from his brother.

You gulped. You’d be careful to make sure the people you’d gone after had no one they’d be leaving behind. You didn’t realise you’d messed up with that this time. “He- he had a brother?”

Hunter tilted his head at the unusually emotive response. “Apparently but I’m assuming you had a good reason for ending it the way you did.”

You coughed. “Yeah, totally.” You straightened your back and changed the subject. “Where’s Echo?”

“Using his contact to try to get more intel on Hemlock. We still don’t know where he’s holding Omega.” Hunter kicked the ground. “Don’t suppose you have anything?”

“I wish I did but everything I gathered was either old or what we knew already. He’s good at laying low.” You seethed.

“We’ll get him, though. We have too.” Wrecker stated firmly.

“How soon can you leave?” Hunter asked.

“Um, well-” You cut yourself off as your sight drifted past Hunter’s shoulder to the end of the alley at the lone trooper that had a blaster pointed at Hunter’s back.

“Watch out!” You yelled as you pushed Hunter out the way of the incoming blaster bolt. You drew your blaster and fired a shot that landed in the centre of the trooper’s chest, and he dropped to the ground. But you knew, where there was one stormtrooper, there would be at least five more behind them.

“We need to move out.” Hunter urged as he got back to his feet and put his helmet on. “A firefight will draw too much attention.”

“No time.” You stated simply as you pulled your hood and mask back up.

“We’ve got more incoming!” Wrecker confirmed as he lowered his helmet and opened fire on the small squad of troopers that had arrived.

The three of you took cover behind a skip, only firing defensive shots back. You needed to draw the soldiers closer before going on the offensive.

When they had gotten close enough, Hunter threw a smoke bomb, the action allowing the three of you to advance and take out the troopers one shot at a time.

As the firefight continued, however, you began to feel unsteady on your feet and your movements felt unbalanced. Your tingling limbs ensured that your aim was skewed too. All that, combined with the wetness you felt pooling from your stomach meant the trooper had better aim than you credited them for- you’d been hit. You couldn’t afford to think about what this meant, right now, you needed to get outta here.

But you’d been distracted long enough for one downed soldier you’d dismissed as being a threat to come around and jab their blaster against your knee. You grunted with the impact but turned your blaster on him and he lay limp on the ground.

Hunter and Wrecker tidied off the few retreating stragglers. They could deal with this small group but anything more would prove difficult.

With the last trooper taken care of, you braced yourself against the wet wall. The fading adrenaline in your system now being replaced by agony and you ripped your mask down and took deep but laboured breaths.

“Their reinforcements won’t be long. We made a bit of noise.” Wrecker said as he holstered his blaster.

But Hunter wasn’t paying attention to what Wrecker was saying. His gaze was fixed on you and the way you were struggling to hold yourself up against the wall. “(Y/N), what-” He stopped as he saw the crimson drops that mixed with the rainwater drip from the hand pressed to your stomach onto the ground. No, no, no. He thought to himself. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t lose you when he’d only just found you again.

Your knees buckled and you fell to the ground, Hunter catching your shoulder was the only reason you were able to stay sitting up but without the distraction of the fight, the pain was overwhelming. Black spots danced in the corners of your vision, but you couldn’t succumb to them, not now. Not after all this. You tried to lift your head to speak but all that left your mouth was a tortured groan.

As collected as he wanted to be to deal with this, he couldn’t totally keep his panic at bay. His hands trembled as he attempted to get you to look at him. He delicately brushed some loose strands of hair from your face. “Sshh, I’ve got you.” He whispered tenderly, fighting to keep the worry out of his voice. What made it all the worse was that he knew this wound didn’t occur through the fight they’d just seen out, you’d been hurt shoving him out the way of that first shot that drew the rest of the stormtroopers in.

How could he have allowed this to happen? What good were his enhanced senses if he couldn’t protect the people he loved. You shouldn’t have needed to push him out the way of that blaster bolt, he should’ve known the trooper was there and now you were paying the price for his mistake.

“What can we do?” Wrecker asked quickly.

You winced and tried for words again. “Medical centres are a no. Where’s- where’s the ship?”

“Landing bay 6.” Wrecker replied.

You inhaled sharply. Your current state made things all too easy for the Imperials to catch you making your way there. “Too far. We- we gotta get to my place. She- she might kill me but- argh!” You broke off with a cry of pain as you reached a hand up to Hunter. “But it’s safe there and- and she’ll know what to do.”

“Hold on.” Hunter rasped as he took a grip of your forearm and signalled to Wrecker to keep an eye out as he pulled you to your feet.

You pressed your hand into your side with a pained gasp as Hunter put his arm around you and supported most of your weight and the three of you got on the move.

--

“This is it?” Wrecker asked- his scepticism evident despite the pressing matter at hand- as he stared at the condemned building.

“All the regular penthouses were taken.” You kidded before you swayed on your feet as a wave of dizziness struck.

“Woah, easy.” Hunter cautioned as he strengthened his grip.

“Second floor.” You hissed. “And mind the fourth step on the second staircase. Half of it is missing.”

“It can never just be simple.” Hunter grumbled anxiously as Wrecker opened the decrepit door to the building.

“Would it really be a reunion if everything went well?” You joked deliriously.

“Right now, yes I would definitely prefer it.” Hunter fretted as he saw your head dip. You were losing the battle of staying conscious with each passing second. The next time it happened, he wasn’t sure you would be able to lift your head again.

--

Lyra had barely any time to process the familiar people standing in her doorway as she answered the pounding knock. All she could do was stare at you, half collapsed against Hunter’s side, your hand cradling your stomach, and then her eyes caught sight of the trail of blood that had followed your path up. “What-”

“Hey, girl. Remember- remember how I promised I wouldn’t put you through something like this again? Turns out, I shouldn’t- shouldn’t have done that.” You said through gritted teeth before you stumbled as you tried to take a step forward, prompting Hunter to lift you up.

“Please.” The hoarse plea was all Hunter managed to say.

“Lay her here.” Lyra quickly stepped aside to let the three of you in and pointed to the couch.

Hunter hustled inside and delicately placed you on the worn soft. He took off his helmet and kneeled by your head and stroked your hair back from your forehead. “You’re going to be alright. You need to hold on for me, okay? I’m not losing you again.” He whispered against your temple before he left a light kiss on your brow.

“Good news, it’s not as bad as last time.” Lyra said as she examined the wound before getting up to go gather the medical supplies.

“The bar is rather low on that front, Lyra.” You moaned.

“Last time?” Hunter found himself asking as he tore his stare from your bloody injury to Lyra.

Lyra didn’t respond, she was too busy staring at the depleted supply of medical care. She took a deep breath and braced her hands against the countertop. “(Y/N)… what happened to the bacta?”

Seemingly forgetting that you were currently in severe pain and bleeding out, you went to prop yourself up but Hunter’s hand gently pushing against your shoulder stopped you. “Hey.” You protested wearily.

“You can answer the question like that.” Hunter chastised.

“The bacta?” Lyra pressed as she rifled through the other cupboards in case it had somehow been misplaced.

No, not yet. You told yourself as the black dots returned. You blinked them away and took a strained breath before you answered. “I- I may have given it away…”

“You-” Lyra had to take a deep, calming breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You gave it away? What in all the galaxy would possess you to do that?”

“Well, I saw someone in need and decided-” You broke off with another pained wince. “Decided to finally be a good citizen.”

Lyra released an exasperated sigh. “Do I need to remind you of your track record? You need bacta like the rest of us need water.”

“In my defence, I wasn’t planning on needing it anymore. This- this time really wasn’t my fault.”

“I quite frankly don’t give a fuck! You can’t just-”

“Can we do this later?” Hunter interrupted as he saw your face contort in discomfort. “Preferably when she’s able to hold a conversation without convulsing in pain?”

“I can run back to our ship and get some.” Wrecker offered as he lifted his helmet.

“Go.” Hunter said with a nod, but Lyra held out a hand to stop the bigger clone from going.

“She doesn’t have that kinda time. I can cauterise it the old-fashioned way, but it’ll just hurt like hell.” Lyra said with a grimace.

“That’s fine because I don’t think I’m going to be conscious for much longer.” The darkness encroaching on your vision was all too tempting and you were completely exhausted.

“No, you stay awake.” Lyra ordered sternly.

Hunter and Wrecker turned their attention sharply to you.

“Come on, (Y/N). You gotta hang in there.” Wrecker urged as he reached over the back of the couch and placed a large hand on your shoulder.

“Sweetheart, keep your eyes on me.” Hunter begged as he saw them flicker open and shut but it was a battle that he knew you were going to lose.

You wanted to; you really did but you just couldn’t. You shut your eyes and embraced the peace of the darkness.

 “Hunter, she’s still breathing right?” Lyra asked as she picked up the last few things she needed.

“Shallowly but yes.” Hunter said with a thankful sigh.

“That’s good enough.” Lyra ran back to the couch and began to start to process of stabilising you.

--

You were in a dim corridor. The only light seemed to at the end of the long passageway. You made to walk towards it, hoping it would show you a way out but as you walked, it seemed to move away from you. You broke into a run but the distance between you and the light only grew. You paused your run as you thought about what this could mean. It was then though that a voice spoke up and a figure appeared next to you.

You won’t get to it.

You faced the figure. It almost sounded and looked like you but there was something off about it. There was a yellow shimmer in the eyes and the face was gaunt and mean-looking, with lips that seemed to be in a permanent sneer. The voice carried a cruel, sinister overtone that made your blood run cold and the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

It’ll keep staying away from you.

But why? You studied whatever it was before you as they circled you. When it walked, it was cast in constant shadow.

You think after all you’ve done; you can have that light back? You think you deserve it?

Before you could form a reply, your attention was drawn to a scene unfolding to your right.

Aww this was your first failure. But it brought me to the surface, so I remain pretty grateful.

Your breath caught in your throat as you recognised the moment. You saw your master completely surrounded by battle droids, taking hit after hit. And you saw yourself as a Jedi Knight sprinting to reach him. You went to turn away, but a strong hand grabbed the back of your neck, forcing you to keep looking.

There’s you. Being too late to save him. Do you remember the last words you said to him?

You did and they were words you had regretted ever since.

‘Stubborn, foolish, out of touch, old timer whose only purpose was to be a pawn for the orders of the Jedi Council’ I believe they were.

Stop it.

He died knowing you failed him.

You squeezed your eyes shut as you heard the final shot that sent your master crumbling to the ground.

You got a taste for it then.

Despite the fact you wanted to refuse, you found yourself opening your eyes to seeing yourself utterly decimate the remaining droids by your master’s dead body. You saw the merciless gleam in your eyes and the callous smile that graced your face as you destroyed them. You had enjoyed that. The scene finished with you repeatedly bringing your lightsaber down on the final droid, the blue blade moving in unrestrained fury. Why did you show me that? You asked bleakly.

But the darkness didn’t give you a proper answer. It only pushed an icy finger on your lips. Pay attention, we’re not done yet. It took you a while to accept that this was always in you. You worked on shutting me out. You managed for a while… but then she left.

You wanted nothing more than to leave this place and this darkness before you, but all control had been taken from your body. Your feet began moving of their own accord and you were directed to another moment on your left this time. You were stopped and the hand took a harsh grip of your neck again. You were forced to watch Ahsoka walk out the Council Chamber doors, with Anakin following her and then you viewed yourself in horror as you saw the rage written across your face and heard the venom in your words as you yelled at the Council. Had you really been that uncontrolled? That angry?

Even though you finally left those uptight pricks, you still insisted on keeping me hidden though. Rather irritating I must say. I wondered what it would take for you to accept me. And then he came into your life.

You were pushed along the hall again to the next part which was replaying your first interaction with Hunter and your chest felt tight. Leave him out of this.

Oh, but he’s the best part. Your figure taunted nastily.

The scene switched and were now being greeted with flashes of your intimate moments with Hunter. Enough.

The only reply came in the form was an unkind laugh.

Giving into that lust felt good, didn’t it? The possessiveness, the selfishness that came with having someone just for you was too enticing to pass up.

No, that wasn’t what it was at all. Stop.

You liked the feeling of knowing you could use that attachment to excuse any darker actions. You would be doing it for him, so it made it okay. It wasn’t love for him you were feeling, it was a love for the freedom to channel me that you craved. He was merely a convenient vessel.

No, you’re wrong! You insisted but your voice lacked conviction, everything was getting so twisted that you were now doubting the feelings you thought you never would.

The darkness just gave you a pitying look. Just keep watching and you’ll see I’m right.

So, you did. You were shoved further up the corridor to see you and the Batch together. Memories that you once would’ve looked back on in fondness were now tainted by pain and disappointment that you’d dragged them into your mess. The darkness took no notice of your distress, it just continued talking.  

Much to my delight, you grew to care for all of that group. I knew that attachment would lead to something marvellous for us and then it finally happened.

You moved along to the next scene and your breathing grew uneven as the image of Eriadu appeared. You couldn’t bear seeing this again but once more, you were left with no choice but to hear Tech say that dreaded plan and watch him fall to his death.

Of course, he was another one you were too slow to save but-

You wouldn’t hear this. No, we didn’t have the time. There was nothing I could’ve done. What happened was-

Oh, I know you tried telling yourself that, but my very existence tells me that you know if you’d allowed me in earlier, the situation itself wouldn’t have happened. You’d have killed Gerrera before he even had a chance to set those explosives off.

No, you’re wrong. You said through a shaken whisper, but you didn’t believe the words you were saying anymore.

Although I must say, I’m glad you didn’t quite give in then since I am rather pleased with how it all turned out. His death was the catalyst to a glorious chain of events. So much loss and broken trust. Finally, you had the reason to welcome me without restraint or regret.

You felt your anger rise as the voice kept talking whilst the scene changed from his death to Cid’s betrayal and Omega being captured and you being separated from Hunter. Nothing about that had been a blessing. It couldn’t have been. Shut up. You snarled. But the figure only smugly beamed.

There it is. There’s that power. You can deny it all you want but that was the best thing that happened to you. You let me in and from that point on, nothing stopped you getting what you wanted. And it felt divine. You know it did. Look at how formidable you are with me being a part of things.

You were dragged along the hall and all that appeared around you were the people in the galaxy you’d threatened, brutalised, and murdered. You had no other option but to watch and hear their tortured pleas and screams. You didn’t need the darkness to talk you through these this time, you recalled very clearly that during all of this, you’d felt not one bit of remorse. You’d thought they deserved it. You’d fallen so far, and a way back now seemed impossible.  

The darkness commented on a particular time where you were torturing a woman who’d been very difficult to track and get information from. Even when you did find her, she’d been loyal to the Empire, insisting you should’ve died with the rest of the Jedi traitors. You’d responded by cracking the individual bones in her fingers and hands before moving up to the bones in her arm. You’d broken her right clavicle before she’d finally told you what you needed to know. I particularly liked this moment. Do you remember how she couldn’t stand afterwards? All she could do was writhe on the floor in agony. Quite a humorous sight.

You remembered them all and it made you feel sick to your stomach now as you watched the endless stream of tormented and pained faces of people you had tortured and killed in your quest for information.

The last scene disappeared and despite the fact you had been walking along the corridor that whole time, the light had still remained far out of reach.

See? No matter how far you go, you’ll never reach that light. Why bother searching for it anymore? You know you’re better off alone. All you need is this power and you’ll be unstoppable. But since I know some part of you still cares for your clones, don’t trouble them with this. It’s not something that can be shared or fixed.  

The figure faded and you collapsed to your knees in defeat. You had succumbed to that darkness and hurt and killed too many people. You’d crossed that line, and you weren’t sure there was a way back for you and you wouldn’t take Hunter down with you. Or Wrecker and Echo. They deserved a chance to rescue Omega and set things right, and if being with Hunter meant that chance would be at risk, you wouldn’t take that from them. Even if it would kill you, it would be the last thing you did to protect your family. ‘No attachments. There is no emotion, there is peace.’ You had to finally listen to that part of the Jedi Code that you had fought against for years and… and you would let them go.

--

Once it seemed things were more under control, Wrecker broke the quiet. “I’m going to go keep watch.” He said before walking out.

There were a few minutes of silence, the only noise being the quiet hiss of Lyra sealing shut your injury now that she’d cleaned it.

“Didn’t know you had this skill set.” Hunter said into the quiet as he watched Lyra.

“I tell myself it’s not so different from stitching and making clothes. Plus, she kinda made it that I had to learn quick. There were just some things she couldn’t handle on her own.”

There was a dip in conversation again.

“I was sorry to hear about your kid... and Tech.” Lyra said quietly as she worked on you. She placed a bandage over your now closed injury and started to put away the medical supplies.

The mention of his brother’s name had him stiffening his posture. “Yeah, well, we’re going to find her.”

Lyra nodded understandingly before she indicated to you. “She’s been non-stop since Ord Mantell. She wouldn’t rest until she found you. Didn’t matter how dangerous things got, she wouldn’t stop.”

Hunter continued to stroke your brow. “She’s not the only one.”

“I almost wished she would. I thought the search was going to kill her. Especially after what happened last time.”

This wasn’t the first time she’d mentioned this now. And from the dynamic between the two of you since arriving here, he figured there was key subtext he was missing. He glanced over to Lyra. “What are you talking about?”

Lyra took a short breath. “It was a few weeks ago. She-” Lyra stopped as she heard you let out a soft groan.

“Hey you.” Hunter said softly as you slowly opened your eyes. “How are you feeling?”

You didn’t answer him. Whatever soreness you were experiencing wouldn’t come close to the misery your next course of action would cause you. “Thank you. Again.” You said to Lyra instead.

Lyra nodded. “I’ll go keep Wrecker company.” She said before grabbing her sniper rifle and making her exit.

Hunter brought his focus back to you and provided a supportive hand on your back as you sat up. “Take as long as you need. I figured once you’re feeling more up to it, you can say your goodbyes and leave with us. After-”

“You have to go.”

“Yes, I know…” Hunter said, tilting his head at you. “But you need a bit of time and-”

“No, you need to leave without me.”

Without you? No, you couldn’t mean that. “What’s-” He stopped for a moment to try and recover from the confusion your statement caused him. “What’s changed between that alleyway and now?”

You knew he wasn’t going to make this easy but every minute you had to do this was tearing you apart. “Everything has. The Empire knows what I am. It’ll add unnecessary heat.”

“We’ll cope.”

You swallowed harshly and grimaced as you readjusted your sitting position. “It’s not just that. Things changed when we got separated. I changed.”

“That doesn’t scare me.”

“It should. All I’ve done…” You trailed off and gulped. “I’m not who I used to be.”

 “I’ve done things I’m not proud of too. But we can-”

 “Hunter, I don’t belong with you anymore.”

Hunter couldn’t accept that. “You’re one of us. You always have been. Since the first moment you stepped in front of those droids on Devaron, you were one of us. I don’t understand why-”

“There’s someone else.” You blurted out and fuck you hated yourself for it. You knew by the way he recoiled from you and from deep hurt and betrayal that flashed across his face, you would’ve been better off hitting him. You knew you had to hurt him. Even if he left hating you, you could find a way to let him go. But you hated that you had to do it.

“There’s someone else.” Hunter repeated quietly, his throat bobbing as he kept his voice tight.

You had to push it. It was the only way, but it felt like your heart was being ripped out of your chest as you said the next words. You forced yourself to keep your voice cold and level. “I’ve moved on. I only needed to know that you were alive. And now I do. You can go now. Just leave and don’t think about me again. It’ll save us all a lot of bother.” You couldn’t face the wounded look in his eyes and you turned your own away from him and had to blink away the tears that threatened to fall.

Hunter clenched his jaw and swallowed thickly. “Look me in the eye and tell me that again.” He implored.

He knew you too well. You wouldn’t do it. If you did, he would know you were lying. So, you opted for something worse- you would manipulate his heart. “If any part of you still cares about me, you will go. That’s all I want now. I need you to leave. You’ll only be hurting me more if you stay.” You said firmly as you faced him again.

You sounded so sure, and even if he thought he could see something in your eyes that took the conviction out of your words, he’d never want to cause you pain, he wouldn’t be able to stand it. Better him be the one to take the hurt, no matter how unnatural it felt, no matter how much every fibre of his being yearned to stay by your side and work this out. So, Hunter got to his feet and walked over to the door. “Every part of me still cares about you.” He murmured back to you before the door opened and he walked out. He was walking out on you- something he thought he’d never do- and it left him feeling like he had a gaping hole in his chest.

--

As you heard the door shut, a broken sob left your lips and you let the tears fall.

--

“Where is she?” Lyra asked as Hunter came out from the door behind them.

“Keep her alive.” Hunter said numbly to Lyra before he walked away.

“Hunter-” Lyra started to say but the clone wasn’t stopping.

“Eh, well, I guess it was nice to see you.” Wrecker said hurriedly before he darted after his brother.

“Bye.” Lyra said with confusion as she watched the two clones go. She turned to go back inside and hopefully knock some sense into you.

--

You’d managed to drag yourself into the sanctity of your room, but the isolation wasn’t helping things. The regret you were feeling was overwhelming but what was done was done. You needed to stand by your choice, it was what was best for them, you just needed to learn how to cope. You needed something, anything, to distract your brain from the self-doubt running rampant in your head so, staying mindful of your wound, you tentatively sat back on your bed and closed your eyes, drowned out the pouring rain smacking against the glass, and found your centre again.

Not to your surprise, you were only surrounded by darkness. You’d let the last light in your life go, there was nothing left for you now.

Spark.

Not that voice. Not again, you couldn’t handle that. “No, I’m not doing this.”

Yes, you are. You need to listen to me, Spark.

You sighed and saw the figure of your old master appear in the vast space before you. “So, either I somehow took a turn and I’m dead or I’m hallucinating.”

Your master simply chuckled. Must it always be extremes with you?

“You taught me what I know, you tell me.”

Well, based off your past choices, I would say you’ve forgotten much of what I taught you.

“This is why you’re in my head? To lecture me about my choices? Yes, I broke the code, big whoop. I never liked it anyway. And now I’ve given into the dark side, sorry to have disappointed you.” You grumbled as you looked down at your feet.

He sighed. It hurt him to see you look so defeated, this wasn’t the young Jedi he’d raised. Evidently, you were going to need more help than he expected. This isn’t some meditative trick. I’ve always been with you, Spark, and now I’m with you because you need help. You’ve strayed from your path, and you need guidance.

“You’re a few months too late, Master.” The title came back into your vocabulary so naturally, you’d nearly missed the fact that you’d reverted back to your student/teacher dynamic so quickly.

That defeat you’re feeling is exactly why I’m here now. This dark side you seem to think is your destiny is not decided, but if you continue to stand by the decision that you just made, it will be. There’s a chance for you, Spark, don’t throw it away.

You couldn’t bring yourself to believe him. “If you’ve truly been around for all of this, you’ll know what I’ve done. You’ve seen what I’ve become. I wasn’t as strong I thought I was.”

You haven’t fallen yet. He reiterated. What you’ve gone through would wreck most people, the fact that you’ve only strayed from the light now is a credit to you. But this choice you’ve made to let them go is what will seal your fate.

“What are you talking about? I was on this path long before what happened on Ord Mantell. I saw it!” You said, your voice rising in frustration and distress. Why was everyone around you so insistent that you could heal from this? You’d shown your true colours years ago, you were only doing what you were obviously meant for.

He raised his hands to calm you. Spark, listen to me. You’re not-

“I had to let him go! I had to let them all go! You should be glad, Master! I’m finally following the teaching you worked so hard on getting through to me!” Your breathing grew more uneven and the word that left your mouth were filled with self-loathing, but you couldn’t stop them. “I’m damaged goods, I have been from the beginning, and I couldn’t bring him down with me! I couldn’t bring any of them down with me!” You felt tears slide down your cheeks as the emotion you had been trying to hard to push down came crashing to the surface.

And is letting attachments go part of the Jedi or Sith philosophy? He asked gently.

His genteel manner caught you off guard. You huffed out a quick breath. “Why does that matter?”

Answer the question, please.

You released an agitated sigh. “Jedi, I guess but-”

And let me ask you this, you said you saw what you’ve done? How?

You regained some composure. “I don’t know how to describe what it was I saw, but whatever it was took me down a lovely stroll through memory lane and I saw what I was. There’s no denying it now.”

It was starting to make sense to him now and with this new understanding, he finally knew the best way to help you. Yes, the dark side can be very manipulative that way. Especially when it knows there’s been pain plenty of pain and sorrow. It preys upon that and I’m just sorry it got to you before I could.

“What are you talking about?”  

What you saw, it wasn’t the whole truth.

Not the whole truth? “What do you mean?”

He looked at you with intrigue. What do you think I mean?

You inhaled deeply to find some patience. “Master, please. I’m not your padawan anymore.”

He bowed his head in acknowledgement. You’ll always be my padawan, Spark. But I understand this may not be the best time for one of my lessons.

Despite everything, the nostalgia his teaching persona brought you had you humming out a quiet laugh. “I guess working together on whatever cryptic lesson you’re going to impart on me will be fine, for old times sake if nothing else. Just don’t leave it all to me. I’m not clear-headed enough to do all the thinking.”

He nodded and smiled knowingly at you. It will be less cryptic that the lessons I used to give you. Let us begin.

You knew that gleam in his eye and you forgot that no matter how agitated or frustrated you’d been growing up as his pupil, he’d always found a way to put you at ease and you’d been more open to learning again. Even dead, he still seemed to possess that ability. And it was because of that, you found yourself getting ready to welcome whatever wisdom he felt could get you out of this hell you’d put yourself in.

Now, I understand that you are feeling a lot of guilt and self-loathing, correct?

Feeling it? You felt like you were drowning in it.

And you have convinced yourself that your clones, particularly… Hunter, isn’t it? He waited for your nod before continuing, are better off without you because you’ve done too much. Stepped over that line one too many times? A lost cause, yes?

“I guess you could say that.” You mumbled.

He hummed in thought before he spoke again. You mentioned something about you were this way from the beginning. Can you tell me to which beginning you are referring to?

You inhaled shakily. “I- I saw you die again. I watched myself destroy the rest of those droids in undisciplined rage and- and I was reminded of what I’d said to you.”

Ah yes, that was quite the day. Rather humiliating on my part, I must say. I should’ve just listened to you from the start. My we exchanged some choice words. He ruminated with a small chuckle.

You remembered him having a rather dry sense of humour, but this just seemed absurd. You’re laughing about this?! I was awful to you! I saw you die and all I could do was wreak havoc on a group of droids and I enjoyed it! I held your dead body in my arms and the last thing I had done was insult you and forget everything you’d taught me for some fucking battle droids!”

He held up his hands to appease you. You’re right, I shouldn’t have laughed but that wasn’t quite how it went.

You furrowed your brow. “What? I saw it! I remember it pretty clearly, even without the reminder. I’m haunted by it and you’re telling me that wasn’t what happened?!”

He shook his head. Not quite. Remember, the dark side has a remarkable ability to alter events to fit its needs. It only picks out the moments necessary to draw out those darker emotions. What you saw was true, from a certain point of view, but it didn’t show you everything.

“Then what am I missing?” You asked, desperation in your voice because if there was anything that could help ease the ache from that day, you needed it.

I wasn’t dead when I hit the ground. Fret not, no amount of medical attention would’ve saved me. He interjected hastily as he saw the panic that graced your face. Although the sadder truth is I did in fact die in your arms but… He angled his head to catch your eye again as you had shied away from him upon hearing that. He started again, but your last words to me were not fuelled by irritation or cruelty, you apologised for what you said as well as how you handled those droids. You told me that I was the best teacher you’d ever had, and you promised you would continue to work on what I taught you and to make me proud. That was the last thing you said to me before I passed on. And I can honestly say, Spark, that you kept your promise, despite how it might seem currently.

You went to speak but found that you didn’t have the words. All these years spent being tormented by a memory that in fact had another side to it, could that be right? Seeing it again had made it seem all the more true but there was nothing but sincerity in his face and voice as he told you this. He wasn’t looking to feed you a false narrative, there was no vindictiveness in his tone.

You don’t have to believe me immediately, I know things have been tough but we’re going to go through this and I’m going to help you see the truth, okay? He said tenderly.

You could only nod.

Okay. He straightened up. I’m going to make an educated guess and say that if that incident was the starting point, the next situation would’ve been that unfortunate time with Ahsoka and the Jedi Council and also the day you decided to leave?

You gulped and found your voice again. “Um, yeah.”

And I expect you were shown yourself in an untamed rage with little concern over the words you used?

You gave a stiff nod of your head.

Uh huh, well, once again, you were shown a manipulated memory created from shame. You were unhappy, and I can’t say I blame you, they really fucked that up if you pardon the phrase.

You couldn’t help but snort at his gentlemanly manner and you were reminded of the many telling offs for language you’d received growing up.

And while you were disappointed in them and frustrated, you never lost control of yourself. Your voice was raised but level. You were clear in your points, and you never said anything untoward save for some unsavoury language sprinkled in. He watched you impart the familiar eye roll as he said that last statement, but he took that as a positive sign. Your attachment to Ahsoka didn’t cloud your judgment, your decision to leave was made with a steady heart and a focused head. And I watched you do it and I knew it was the best decision for you. It did set things in motion, but they were good things for you, Spark, and it’s important that you realise that again. He looked at you earnestly.

You held his gaze, and, in his eyes, you saw the master that had been with you through thick and thin. The master that had put up with your questions and doubts about the Jedi Order that the Jedi Council could hardly tolerate. You saw the master that had mentored you and fought by your side for years. He was one of the people that had known you best. He wouldn’t lie to you, and you felt your heart opening up to what he was saying to you.

Shall we continue? He asked after giving you a minute to process.

You shook your shoulders and exhaled heavily before you looked at him and give him a single, firm nod.

--

He had taken you through various events bit by bit. Pointing out that elements that demonstrated you were still being pulled towards the light. Things like you would’ve either left or killed Lyra the second she’d gotten you out of Ord Mantell and her use was over. Things like you wouldn’t have offered so many opportunities for people to talk to you before you injured or killed them, you would have hurt them first and asked questions later- killing and pain had never been your first port of call. And any firefight that ensued, when possible, you made sure you remained the primary target and civilians would be out of harms way.

Concern for others and worry about the consequences of your actions… Sith and dark side users tend not to feel or allow for these things. He surmised.

Even if what he was revealing to you was the whole picture, there was still the pressing matter of how you’d been in the recent months. “But Eriadu and everything that followed after… I let something in, what was it if not the dark side?”

He gave you a sympathetic smile. You had never experienced loss and betrayal in such quick succession before. What you let in was the anger and anguish you were feeling which you weren’t trained to handle properly. The more you went on, the more those emotions twisted your brain which allowed the darkness to creep in and make it more effortless to act on said emotions. It was easier for you to get what you needed with your emotions being what they were, and you didn’t have to think about who was getting hurt. You got a rather bad case of tunnel vision- you were doing bad things for good reasons, but they were not senseless acts of violence.

“But I have done so many bad things.” You said with self-directed disgust.

Yes, but what you can do now is work towards finding that line again. To finding that control you had in the past. You’ve been on that path since this morning, the self-awareness of what you’ve been doing wasn’t present in the months before today. However, you cannot get back to that place alone anymore, you’ve changed since you left the Order and most of it was for the better, but more attachment means more support. You will not be able to find that balance if you let your family go. He said with a sense of urgency. He needed you to grasp what he was telling you, no matter how unnatural it might feel.

Your pulse quickened. Surely, he wasn’t suggesting what you thought he was? “What are you saying, Master?”

Do you know where your nickname originated?

Confused as you why this was suddenly relevant, you angled your head at him. “I always figured it was because word spread that I made my lightsaber slightly wrong the first time and nearly set it on fire when I first ignited it.”

He chortled. That acted more as a visual aid and a helpful addition to the true origin.

“Then where did it come from?”

He took a deep breath. In the weeks leading up to the time for us to choose a youngling to take under our wing, you caught my eye from the start. It wasn’t just your natural ability with a lightsaber or your quick grasp of the Force, it was how you interacted with the people around you. During the trials, you had a heightened care for how the others were performing and you aided them whenever you could without a second thought. It made you more focused, more effective. You were unique from your peers in that sense and in a way that I’d never seen before, and I knew I had to get to know you more to understand what it was I was picking up on.

“Yeah, I remember. I’d never expected someone to choose me so eagerly, especially since my disciplinary record was far from perfect, even at that age.” Youreminisced with a sigh.

Yes, my fellow Jedi were surprised at my decision, but there was just something within you I had to see for myself. As we got to understand each other and I could officially begin your training, I watched you continue to demonstrate this quality and I could feel it residing in the Force within you. You had this spark, this fire that drove you which would worry even the most disciplined Jedi Masters but with you, it was as much a part of you as the Force was with the rest of us. You were completely at peace with it, and it was something you probably didn’t realise was so rare. You could feel attachment without rejecting the light side of the Force to do so.

So, the name made a bit more sense after all these years, but you still couldn’t see why this was being brought up. “Okay…”

He could tell you were still hesitant to all this. Do you know which General had the most victories with the fewest casualty numbers? Quite a feat to have during war time I might add.

You huffed a heavy breath from your lips. “I have no idea. The war was such a mess and there were so many of us that it was hard to keep up with the results of each battle.”

Fair point. He conceded, but that doesn’t change the answer which is that it was you.

You were taken aback for a moment before you thought back to that period and part of it did make sense. Many of your strategies had seen you take on the most dangerous elements for the sake of the clones in your battalion despite protests from them, your master and pretty much everyone that was involved, but all that mattered to you was that they worked, and you did what you could to protect everyone else.

He knew you enough to recognise that face and he figured whatever it was you were thinking about would relate to his next question. And which General had the most visits to the medical wing? Another impressive award. He added with a hint of disapproval, his mask of control slipping slightly as he frowned at the memories of the countless notifications he’d receive of your admittance to the healing wards of the Jedi Temple.

You cringed as you remembered the fact you had been on a first name basis with all the medical personnel. “I did.”

He nodded. Attachments didn’t bring you down, they lifted you up. Their most negative consequence in that period seemed to be the recklessness they gave you- and my hair greying faster than I would’ve liked. He couldn’t help but say before he continued, but they didn’t unbalance you like they did most of us. And it is on that point my dear Spark, that I failed you.

“Failed me?” In what galaxy could he have possibly failed you when you were the one that had forgone all you stood for and was one slip away from total self-destruction.

When it became clear to me that this was indeed one of your best qualities and strengths, I was thrilled! It presented a challenge for me as you Master that I was looking forward to exploring! Your emotional attachment to people and causes was one I wanted to teach you to manage, not forbid. Your love and care didn’t make you more susceptible to the dark side and its dangers, it drew you closer to the light. That fire that burns within you isn’t a threat, it’s your way to become something greater. But the Council… He trailed off with a regretful sigh. They rejected my proposal that I mentor you in this way. So instead, as you got older, I worked on forcing you to dampen that flame within you but- He stopped for a moment and chuckled wryly. As you may remember, that was when the root of our conflicts started. Foolishly and rather selfishly-and this is an example of how even those of us that followed the Jedi Code to the letter slip from time to time- you passing your trials into Knighthood gave me profound relief. Not only did it mean I could see you become the Jedi you were always meant to be, but it meant my duty as your teacher was over and I could stop doing something I was against. But I shied away too much and stopped teaching you altogether, had I just been less of a ‘pawn of the Council’ as you quite rightly put it, what you’re experiencing now could have been avoided.

You took a moment to let his words sink in, but you wouldn’t let him blame himself for how you’d behaved in recent times. “I still made the choices to hurt those people, Master. You’re not responsible for my actions.”

Perhaps not, but I could’ve done more to make sure you were better equipped to deal with the loss attachment could bring rather than just tell you to stop feeling it altogether. Not that you listened to that anyway. He added with a slight grin.

You allowed yourself half a smile at that before his face turned sombre again.

But I should’ve stood up for you and for that I’m sorry.

You bowed your head in acceptance of his apology. “But what does all of what we’ve talked about have to do with where I am now?”

Everything I’ve shown you, everything you’ve felt in these recent months illustrates someone who had to cope with a tremendous amount of grief when they had been told their whole life to not feel or get attached. Even with your strength and abilities, Spark, that was a big ask, your actions, and the internal conflict you’re going through is an understandable outcome. But even in dealing with that struggle, you were never purely evil or sought to abandon your Jedi teachings. The only time I grew truly worried before now was whatever you did a few weeks ago. Even I couldn’t see you; it was like the very light around you was getting snuffed out. Care to tell me what you did?

You shook your head adamantly.  

Very well. As I was saying, all you’ve learned, all you’ve done and means you can heal from this. You are not a lost cause, not a source of darkness and despair. You are good at heart, Spark!

But Master, I-

No, don’t talk yourself out of this. Really think about what I’m telling you. You never abandoned Lyra, you did your best to ensure no civilian would be caught up in your fights, you offered chances to those people before you hurt them. And you were able to sense Hunter and Wrecker arrive. That source of light wouldn’t have shown itself if you were too far down that dark path.

Maybe so but-

He wouldn’t let you second guess yourself anymore. And when you realised that they were indeed on this planet… what did you do first?

You pondered for a moment before you remembered. I helped those sisters.

And when you found one another, you felt alive and hopeful again but because you’d been lost and confused for so long, it got manipulated into that guilt and regret and hurt you are experiencing right now that has left you exposed to this darkness. But before that, you were ready to free yourself of it, whether you truly realised it or not.

“Right…” You said distantly as you were slowly starting to understand what revelation he was guiding you towards.

I can see you working it out, you’re almost there. He encouraged.

Each lesson and aspect of this entire conversation began to click into place. “So, you’re saying that Hunter’s my light? He’s my way out of this?” You uttered quietly.

Isn’t he? He challenged with a supportive smile. And I believe he too made that fact very clear before you sent him away.

“I thought that was what I was supposed to do.” You said in dismay as your mind finally began to listen to what your Master had been telling you and you gained some proper clarity. What had you done?

He looked at you fondly. You were always a bad student when it came to applying and learning the history of our Code, it would fit that the first time you apply the philosophy to your life would be the poorer choice. They never unbalanced you, Spark. At the very least, they’re your way of staying true to the light side and your dark side knew that, hence it’s enthusiastic efforts to turn you.

You hid you head in your hands in embarrassment. You wouldn’t know a right decision if it smacked you in the face.  

Oh, and with regards to Cid and Hemlock, I leave that side of things entirely up to you, with your family by your side, I know punishing them however you like won’t ruin you.

“Thanks, Master.” You replied, a smile in your voice.

Not every Jedi gets the chance at a family, Spark, don’t throw it away now.

You glanced up in time to see him fade away but what was around you wasn’t pure darkness anymore; rays of light had broken into the gloomy space, with more fighting to get through.

--

You opened your eyes sharply and wiped away the damp residue of the tears that had escaped your eyes from your cheeks. He was right, they were the light in your life, and you’d been so stupid to let them go.

Ignoring the lingering pain of your injury, you hastily got to your feet, grabbed a couple bags of credits, and left your room only to be greeted by the disappointed and unhappy face of Lyra. “Hey, I was just-”

“You need to go after them. I’m sorry but I’m drawing the line here. I have not watched you put yourself through hell and risk your life month after month to find your family again only for you to throw it away for some stupid, fucked up, self-sabotaging reason! If you let them go, it will destroy you and as someone else who cares about you, I cannot allow you to do that! They’re your family, you need them, and they need you. And your kid needs you, you can’t just stop! And Hunter… that man is so in love with you it’s sickening, and you are as equally disgustingly in love with him! Whatever is holding you back, the two of you can get through together!”

“Lyra-” But she held up a finger to stop you.

“And you don’t need to worry about me, I will be fine. I’ll get a job and might even find a place that’s not a condemned building to live. You have to go!” She finished with a nervous exhale as she awaited your reaction.

“You’re right.” You agreed.

“Yeah, I am and- wait… what?” Lyra stared at you, shocked.

“I’m going after them.”

“You are?” She double checked.

“Yup.”

“Oh, thank fuck!” Lyra exclaimed before she darted forward and wrapped you up in her arms.

“How long were you coming up with that speech?” You kidded as the two of you hugged.

“For however long you were holed up in your room.” Lyra said with a laugh. “And in case you didn’t listen to that, I had my rifle set to stun and was fully prepared to drag you.”

“Glad we could avoid that.” You replied drily. “Also, ‘sickeningly in love?’” You quoted.

“I meant that as a compliment. Most people can only dream of that.”

You managed a short laugh. “I was an ass to you.” You mumbled shamefully.

“You were, but you were going through a lot.” Lyra said kindly as she removed herself from your hold.

“I was broken and hurting but that wasn’t an excuse to treat you how I did and I’m so sorry. I’m truly grateful for you and your friendship and well, just everything you’ve done for me. I won’t ever forget it. There are some spare bags of credits from those jobs I pulled whilst we were on the move in my bedside drawer, take them. And if there’s anything, and I mean anything you need, I will be there. You only have to get in touch.” You passed her the details of the Marauder’s comm channel.

“Go get ‘em.” Lyra said with a grin.

You gave her one last quick hug before you ran out the door, concern for your injury was pushed far to the back of your mind. You only prayed to the Force that you hadn’t left it too late.

--

“But I still don’t understand why we’re going without her. What you’ve said makes no sense.” Wrecker questioned as he followed Hunter up and down the Marauder as he got stuff ready for take-off.

“Not my problem, Wrecker. I don’t really want to relive it all again so that it makes sense to you.” Hunter said gruffly as he avoided making eye-contact with his brother and instead focused on keeping himself busy.

“She met someone else and you’re basically doing the whole ‘if you love someone you let them go?’”

“I guess that about sums it up.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Wrecker-”

“I’m sorry, Sarge, but it’s true.”

“You weren’t there. You didn’t hear her.”

“She can’t have meant it! She still has your insignia, if there was someone else, why would she keep that?!”

“Wrecker, drop it.” Hunter said sharply. His brother’s insistence that you were making all this up was only rubbing salt in the wound.

“We’re really just going to leave and forget about her?”

“Yup.”

Wrecker just couldn’t accept that. “If you love someone, you fight for them! Otherwise, what’s the point in what we’re doing right now, why should we bother going after Omega?”

Hunter paused his pacing by the doorway and released an exasperated sigh. “What do you expect me to do?”

Wrecker went to speak but changed his mind as to what he was going to say as he saw the figure in the background. “Actually, I don’t think you’ll have to do anything.” Wrecker said, looking past Hunter’s shoulder.

Hunter turned to follow his gaze and that was when he saw you. Standing in the torrential rain a few feet away from the steps to the Marauder, was you and you were obviously trying to catch your breath.

--

You started to speak before you caught your breath, so your words were leaving you in a desperate and winded manner. “I was always a bad student.” You raised your voice over the sound of the pouring way. You wiped some drops away from your face, a futile gesture given the intensity of the downpour, but the motion assisted in grounding you for this moment.

Hunter studied you from afar for a second, unsure as to why you’d started this way.

Sensing his uncertainty, you cleared your throat and started again but your words still spilled from your lips in a nervous ramble. “So, it turns out I was always a Jedi who developed attachments and love for people, but apparently that’s a pretty strong and unique quality and applying the Jedi philosophy of ‘letting attachment go’ is a mistake and- and it felt like one. I have such a poor grasp of that concept that even when I went to use it properly, I got it all wrong. I was always a terrible student but for once, for once in my life, I have never been more grateful for it.” Your voice quivered as you said these next words. “I love you! I love you so much it hurts but it’s the kind of hurt that I can’t imagine not having in my life. You, this team, are what keep me balanced and alive, and I was stupid to think letting you go was the solution to everything I have done!”

Hunter could feel his heart thundering in his chest as he listened to what you were saying.

“Finally seeing you again made me feel hope and brought a newfound sense of purpose in my life I didn’t think I’d have again but it got all twisted, I let it get all messed up! I saw you and Wrecker, and I felt that love again and it terrified me at first! I had been acting out and miserable for so long that I didn’t think I deserved to feel this way again or that I should burden you all with my past. I needed to be punished and this was the best way I could think of. I allowed whatever darkness that had been driving me for that period we were apart to convince me that you were better of alone and I had to say whatever I could to get that to happen and for that, I am sorry!” You were in full flow now, all the emotions you’d been supressing came crashing to the surface and for once, it actually felt good. You weren’t existing as a husk of armour anymore.

Hunter couldn’t stand the gap between you anymore and he got his feet in motion. He needed to be near you, he needed to hold you again. You didn’t seem to notice his movement though because you carried on talking.

“There was never anyone else, there could never be anyone else! You’re it for me and this-” You stopped and gestured to the half white skull insignia on your top layer. “When I had this and said that you were a part of me, I truly meant it! Even when we weren’t together, that feeling never faltered. Half my heart beats for myself and this family I was fortunate enough to find. The other half beats for you! You are so deeply engrained in my very being that when I didn’t have you, I could hardly call it living! And then I got you back, and I was flooded with all the emotions I’d been missing since that day we were separated, and they collided with everything I’d done wrong, and I just panicked! I entered self-sabotage mode and thought letting you out of my life was what I had to do! I ruined one of the few remaining good things in my life and was preparing myself to let it be so. Thankfully, it was pointed out to me just how incorrect I was and I’m sorry!”

Hunter kept slowly walking down the steps towards you, the heavy rain instantly cascading down his face and body, but he didn’t care. His sole focus was on you now and the words you were saying. The words that were now healing the open wound he’d had since leaving you in that run down apartment.

“I need to come back. I need to be with you and I’m sorry I got everything so wrong! I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, but you have to let me come back!”

“Yes.” He said as he continued to shorten the distance between you both.

“This family is the light of my life. You are the light of my life. So, either, let me come with you or just shoot me because without you, without this squad, I am just a shell of a human being and I’m done feeling like that now! You have to let me come back!”

“Yes.” Hunter said again as he stopped in front of you.

“And I-” You cut yourself off as you finally registered what he was saying and that the space between you both was now only a matter of inches. “Really?”

Hunter nodded and his hand fell to your waist whilst the other cradled the side of your face.

“I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.” You whispered softly as your hand rested on his now unarmoured chest and you got utterly absorbed in the feeling of his heart pounding beneath your fingertips- each beat emphasising that this was real, you were actually with him now- and you had no doubt that he could pick up on the way your own pulse was racing.

“It’s okay.” He breathed. “I love you too.”

“I love you.” You croaked out again as you felt the emotions rise in the back of your throat.

“You never stopped being a part of me either.” He murmured, his breathing heavy as his self-restraint was hanging by a thread, but he needed you to be sure. “Can I-” Hunter started to ask as he angled his head and slowly brought his lips closer to yours.

“Yes.” You cut him off. If he didn’t kiss you now, you felt as though you might stop breathing.

Hunter swiftly bridged the remaining distance and the dread he’d been experiencing at the idea of never finding you, at the idea of leaving you behind instantly evaporated in this moment as he finally placed his lips on yours.

You sighed into the sensation of experiencing this again and what began as hesitant and careful, soon became a kiss between two people fuelled by passion who had been apart for far too long and who would never be apart again. You wrapped your arms around him and pressed yourself against him.

Hunter first made sure he held you securely in his arms but as the kiss progressed and both of you became more immersed in feeling each other once more, his hands started caressing everything he could find. The actions elicited a small but desperate noise from you which he already felt drunk off of and he needed to hear more of you. The rain that had once felt like a harsh cascade of cold, damp water now felt gentle and tepid. He got utterly absorbed in your warmth and he tasted the water on your lips, but the interference didn’t bother him, he just relished the feeling of having you back in his embrace again.

You faintly registered the sun breaking through and the rain lightened in its deluge as you kissed him. If it wasn’t such a perfect moment, you might’ve laughed at the cliched nature of it all, but you were too caught up in this feeling that you ignored it. You threaded your fingers in his hair and lightly tugged, soliciting that raspy and familiar groan from him and your stomach fluttered at the feeling.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t ignore your current injury any longer and you felt it strain as Hunter held you tighter to him in response to your actions.

Hunter forced himself to pull away upon feeling your wince, his chest heaving as he worked on getting oxygen back into his lungs, but you interrupted his incoming question by continuing to plant light, affectionate kisses on the rest of his face and he couldn’t help the low but happy laugh that he let out. He lightly grabbed your shoulders and took a slight step back to take you in. The way the sun fell across your face had his breath catching in his throat. Your eyes were bright and looking at him with an adoration that he knew was reflected in his own gaze and the blissful smile on your lips beautifully captured the feelings of this moment. He rested a hand on the side of your face.

You looked into his own shining dark brown eyes and leaned into his touch with a soft and content sigh.

Hunter continued to slowly caress your cheek. “Not to disrupt your healing journey, but I have to ask… where do you stand on Cid and Hemlock?”

“Oh, don’t worry, they’re getting fucked up. I have permission on that front.” You said with a decisive nod. “I just have to watch the line with those that aren’t exactly personally involved.”

Not going to question where this permission came from exactly, he was just grateful whatever had happened, had brought you back to him so he just focused on the last part. “I can help with that. And you can look out for me too. We don’t have to do this alone anymore.”

You gave him an agreeing and grateful smile before you planted another tender kiss to his lips and grabbed his hand as the two of you walked back to the ship.

“This you officially back with us now?” Wrecker asked with a grin as you stepped aboard.

“You won’t be able to get rid of me.” You replied with a small smile as you gazed around you. There were times where you had felt uncertain as to whether you would stand amongst these comforting and familiar walls again, and your senses were flooded with the memories you had created and shared here. You swallowed harshly as you saw Omega’s and Tech’s spaces, but you regained your composure as you walked along the hallway. Your hand traced along the bunk you shared with Hunter and a soft sigh left your lips as you were instantly reminded of the slightly more personal moments you had experienced there.

It felt good to be home.

“Ready?” Hunter asked as you finished in the cockpit. He came beside you and wrapped an arm around your waist and pulled you tight to him as Wrecker put the ship in hyperspace.

You nodded. “Let’s go get our girl.”

Next Oneshot>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @fuckoffthanos, @tpwkcalli, @graciexmarvel, @arctrooper69, @nightmonkeysstuff, @brujaporfavor, @flyingkangaroo, @sunkissedclones, @ladytano420, @keep-calm-and-drink-caf, @yyourmotherr, @xxeiraxx, @dragonrider9905, @skellymom, @lokigirlszendaya

[themoonitselff]

Love Letters | Kurapika x Gender Neutral! Reader

Warnings: Slightly mentions of depression, just angst and fluff. THIS WAS MADE WITH TRANSLATOR, BE GENTLE. Any suggest is fine💖

Summary: You always send poems to Leorio, but they arrived to his best friend.

You lived on the other side of the world, you were a writer known for your novels who worked in a bookstore to support your few earnings in your works, you had several friends, among them, Leorio Paradiknight, you knew him for a long time, since you were teenagers, but you took different paths, he was a doctor who helped those who could not afford his treatments, and a hunter who survived the dark continent, while you went for the artistic faculties side and a more peaceful life, but what could never be erased since you met him were your feelings for him. You usually write to each other from time to time, he tells you about his adventures with his friends and the reckless things he usually does with his money, and you respond by telling him about your new ideas for new stories, you were so close but yet so far ....

This time, you found yourself determined to write him poems anonymously, with your writer name, because he thinks you put your real name on your books, but you didn't. You took a pen and started writing, every word was aligned with your heartbeat, every sentence seemed to be taken out of a fairy tale, and the way you expressed yourself was different from how you used to talk to him, you were cordial, polite, kind, and flattering, you finished the letter and when you read it, you were surprised with your own words.

"My dear, your beauty resembles the luster of a pearl.

Delicate, brilliant, unique.

Let me be the golden chain that complements you, because from me you will never fall, golden prince."

Short, but ethereal.

You put it in a beige envelope, and sealed it with red wax, next to a daisy, finally you added perfume as a detail, and wrote his address, your heart almost coming out of your throat. The days passed, and became weeks, and the weeks became 2 months, and he still didn't answer, but he kept writing you normally and he didn't answer your anonymous letter... Did he get it? Did he like it? Did he know it was you? Does he like you?

2 months before

He was in his room, a depressing room with four walls and little light, next to the mess that all his discomfort was causing, he was rotting in the agony of revenge, the thirst for power and seeing the face of those who took his family away from him in silence. Suddenly, a ding dong chimed at the front door, Kurapika felt a strange feeling in his stomach, since no one knew where hr was staying, not even his friends.

He got up from his dying bed and opened the door.

"Good afternoon, this letter has been sent to you a few weeks ago, from [Your continent]." mused the delivery man, he seemed rushed by his tone of voice.

"A letter? "Kurapika took it, it had a postcard and it smelled quite nice, you could say the scent made him wake up.

"That's right... Well, I have to go, I have more things to deliver!" and he ran off, leaving the young blond behind him at the door.

"Wait! ... Damn!" Kurapika exclaimed, he went inside his apartment and closed the door, looking carefully at the letter.

It had vintage details, and it was in perfect condition, it had no Nen on it, it was a harmless letter and not a trap from any of his enemies looking for him: The Chain User.

He sat on the couch in front of a short legged table, and opened this letter carefully, unfolded the sheet and read the text carefully, it was very short, but the words embodied provoked a different feeling in him.

Warmth in his chest, tickles in his ribs, butterflies in his stomach. He was enraptured. He saw the author's note and his eyebrows went up, his favorite author of novels was writing to him. To him!? It couldn't be, because they didn't know each other.

"I have to return this letter, this is a mistake" He muttered, he was about to leave his place when, again, that feeling in his chest attacked him, it's like when fire embraces you with its burning embers, but it didn't burn, not at all. His intrusive thoughts wouldn't let him give it back, even if his morals attacked him, an internal struggle with himself not to be nosy and steal something that isn't his, use the identity of the author's lover, maybe.

But how bad could it be?

His feelings and illusions ended up winning over his brain, and he went to a table to write in response to that beautiful poem that caught his attention.

It sparked an interest in them.

You didn't think he was going to answer you, but he did, week after week waiting at the letter carrier's office for his message, and viceverse, both were in love with each other, but without knowing each other yet, you thought he was Leorio, and Kurapika didn't know who you were. But what you both knew is that soon, that was going to change, you were planning a flight to Japan just to see him and reveal him your identity, who you were, you never thought that Leorio could be so serious, mysterious and charming, you could say that even the writing was different(MAYBE BC HE'S NOT LEORIO👹), but it doesn't matter, you fell harder for him, you were going to meet in Yorkshin specifically, on an iconic bridge of the place, you couldn't wait to meet his lips with yours, his eyes pierce your soul and connect both of your bodies.

The day came, you got your bags off the plane and went to your reservation at a luxurious hotel, at this point you were already loaded with money from your excellent sales, it was no problem where to stay, you dressed up as best you could and 10 minutes before you were already on site.

When you arrived, no one was there yet, you sighed with relief, you didn't want Leorio to notice yet, you ran the risk of losing the relationship you had with him for a long time, but a part of your heart said it didn't matter, we were all born to die.

Minutes passed and, he still didn't arrive, you stared at the lake below the bridge until the Sun set and you gave up, your crystal clear eyes ruined your facial routine and your feet were tired of waiting, telling yourself what a fool you are for believing that someone like him would set his eyes on you.

Then, a tall, blond, pale-skinned man stood next to you, you didn't notice him, it was as if he had appeared out of nowhere, you jumped in fright and then realizing you were crying, you wiped your tears and looked away.

"Excuse me, do you know where [xxx] is? "You asked him to leave at once, your foreign accent was noticeable for miles.

"It's six blocks from here." He answered dryly, without looking you in the face, his eyes were droopy, empty, they didn't shine despite the evening illumination, his aura was mysterious, dim, interesting.... But you already loved someone else.

"Thank you." You thanked before you left.

Before you turned around, the stranger turned to see you, your appearance looked similar to him, he searched in his memories who you looked like until he realized that you were that famous writer, he didn't hesitate to go behind you to take your arm and stop you.

"Excuse me." He said, you turned to look at him confused, tilting your head slightly waiting for him to explain himself. "I... I know you."

"I don't know who you are.." You said, still dumbfounded.

The stranger looked lost, as if he was searching for an excellent answer, he was silent for a while, you just rolled your eyes and disengaged from his grip, going on your way.

Then, you heard his voice again behind you.

"Wait!" You saw him again. His eyes unlike the first time you saw them, they were bright, flashing red pigments, you could feel a good feeling from him, from his very formal dress, his long straight hair, his style so.... Hungry for life.

"Yes?"

...

"I'm your prince... Your golden prince."

THIS WQS MESSY I KNOW I MEAN I DIDN'T EVEN MADE A MASTERLIST HAAHHAJA IDK HOW TO MAKE ONEZ ANYWAYS

[hellhound5925]

One shot (that isn’t really a one shot) - Sargent Hunter

Warnings:

18+, It’s filth so enjoy accordingly. Dark smut? Mentions of being a victim.

Masquerade (Part Three)

Summary:

Wrapping up the night of her dreams Circe rides into night her knight in shining armor. Not much else to say about this one.

Thank you to my girlies for their help as usual 💖 Part Two linked here and Part One is linked in the second one.

Reminder: Dance Macabre by Ghost was the original inspo but now I’m feeling a little Hunters Moon and you’ll see why.

After being dragged out onto the street, Hunter stops for a moment and looks around.

"Whats the matter? Get a little lost?" I tease. He gives me a sided eye glare and huffs a sigh. An idea hits and I start to take me heels off.

"What are you doing?" confusion laced in his words.

"I can move faster without them and besides...." I grunt struggling to pull off the second one. "They aren't that comfortable" the shoe finally frees itself from my foot almost sending me tumbling over. Two strong arms catch me before I can actually fall. Hunters face is only inches from mine, his breath fans over my face.

"Thanks" I say under my breath. My eyes wonder his face, tracing the skull tattoo before stopping at his lips. At this distance it wouldn't take much to reach...

He lets go and we both collect ourselves for a moment. Taking the mask off my face, I gather my things into one hand before grabbing my dress with the other. I start walking off in one direction and realize he isn't following me.

"Are you coming?" I sass not really meaning to. Hunter hesitates for a moment before joining me.

Feeling bad for him I decide to make conversation "This must be a lot for you. All the noise...your senses are probably working overtime."

He signs and looks down at his feet before responding, "Sometimes it can be, yeah."

Letting go of my dress, I take his hand. "Well don't worry. Where we are going, it'll be quiet. Promise."

When he looks at me his eyes seem to sparkle under the walkway lighting. He gives my hand a light squeeze and my heart skips a beat.

We stroll for a while and make small talk to get to know each other more. I've interacted with him a few times before but solely on a professional level, things never got personal. The one thing I notice is he only seems to talk about his brothers...the other members of Clone Force 99.

"What about you though? You talk about your brothers so much. What about you?" I prod him a little hoping he will give me more.

"What do you mean?"

The clones have done so much for this galaxy whether they wanted to or not, the Sargent...a man...deserves at to want. I sigh trying to figure out how to word it, "I mean what does Sargent Hunter want?"

He thinks for a moment, "I've never really thought about that. We were bred for war and my job is to protect my men. That's all I know."

We walk in silence until we reach my apartment building. I take him up to the roof where its nice and quiet as promised. He follows me over to a small table with two chairs.

"I put this up here when I moved in. I like how quiet it is." I explain, setting my things on the table before sitting down. Hunter sits in the chair across from me, staring at the ground deep in thought.

"Everything okay Sargent?" I try to lighten the mood. "If it's something I've said, I'm sorry. I mean no offense but just curious is all."

He still doesn't look at me which worries me more, the war between his feelings - one he probably never thought existed - was written all over his face. Feeling like I ruined everything, I get down on ground in front of him and rest my hands on his knee, looking up at him. At this point he's forced to look at me and his expression changes back to the unwavering confidence of a Sargent. 

"You" he says like he's giving his men an order.

I'm even more confused, "Me, what?"

"I want you" the words fall from his lips and hit me square in the face. My heart begins to race and heat pooling in my core, as a smile spreads across his face. His words ring in my ears as I process the fact that this is really happening.

The moonlight bathing us in its bewitching glow, this moment is too perfect. It's everything a girl could have ever dreamed. The two of us sitting on the roof top staring into one another eyes and in this moment thats the only thing the matters. I reach for his face, the stubble a welcomed sensation under my palm.

"Then you'll have me."

Before I can even process whats happening his lips are crashing into mine, they are softer than I'd imagined. His tongue begs for entrance to my mouth and I welcome it with my own. The taste of him like a divine revelation, a start of a new chapter for both of us. Pulling me onto his lap, the warmth of his arms sending a rush of excitement through my veins. I make myself comfortable pressed completely against him, forcing him to lean back in the chair. His arousal makes itself known between my legs, creating a new desperation. I deepen the kiss to prevent a sound from escaping.

We break, foreheads pressed together and both panting from the lack of oxygen. My eyes flick down to his lips, they are stained with my lip stick. Huffing a small laugh, I lean back. Confusion plastered all over Hunters face, until I notice him look at my lips. Reaching up he gently, runs a thumb around the edge of my lips - probably from smeared lip stick. His hands return to their place on my hips. I take the time to delicately return the favor and watch as his facial expression turns to one of a starved man.

Leaning in, I kiss his neck which causes his chest to rumble with a low growl. I make my way back up to his ear and whisper,

"Make me yours."

His breath hitches in this throat, he's a complete mess like I was earlier in the night. "Are you sure?" He asks between heavy breaths.

Dragging my nose across his cheek - making sure to take my time - both hands firmly on his chest. Slowly I trail both hands down his torso, he inhales sharply and I can't help the lusty chuckle that graces us with its presence.

"I'm sure"

My hands find their way down to his waist, undoing his belt and carefully undoing his dress pants. The entire time neither of us dares break eye contact. He takes care, to adjust my dress in a such a way to not ruin it but allow him access to my center. One of his hands makes it was up to my shoulder gently tracing over my collarbone in such a way that I close my eyes in anguish. His other hand, tails up one of my tights before his fingers skillfully make themselves at home in my core.

Suddenly having removed his hand, I whimper at the cold. He adjusts himself before grabbing my hips and burying himself as far as he can inside me. I let out a sharp gasp and reach behind me squeezing what I can grab of his thighs, throwing my head back. Hunter lets out a deep lusty grunt that sends a wave of vibrations through him into me. Never in a million rotations could I have imagined the rapturous delight that flowed through my body at the hands of a man.

I’m so close to the edge, his slow and steady movements are almost painful. Throwing my arms around his shoulders pressing myself back into him and taking over. His hands slide down my hips to my thighs, grip tightening as he takes back control.

"Easy Meshl'a...I'm going to....m-make you mine" he grunts pulling me closer kissing and nipping at my collar bone. As he makes his way up my neck, to the spot behind my ear I can feel the marks starting to form.

Both of us so caught up in the moment that seems to end too soon. The two of us sit in silence, unmoving for a moment. I look up at the sky and notice the stars and moon are willing themselves to peer through the foggy sky. Hunter doesn't take his eyes off me, I can practically feel it.

The feeling of finally giving in and having had a sweet taste of intimacy with one another lingers. Covered in a thin layer of sweat and arousal, I’m left panting and heart beating so fast that it feels as though it might leap from my chest. Peaking together in our shared extract felt like a drug. I craved more… no I needed more. More touch, more kissing, more lust… It was the reward of my longing.

I meet his greedy gaze, greedy for me. Not being able to hold back any longer, the kissing and touching begin once again. Our cloths from the evening hurriedly piled on the ground. It all happened to fast, the cool night air was quite a surprise to my bare skin.

He effortlessly, stands from the chair with me still in his lap and places me on the table. I wrap my legs around his waist, trapping him there. Without much warning, he once again buries himself in my center, his thrusts into me hard and fast. I feel every inch of this mammoth size, making every part of me his. This time was different…this time it was selfish, greedy, and feral.

"You smell so incredibly mouth-watering when you're aroused" he grunts between pants and moans.

For a moment I find myself unable to speak, a response is on the tip of my tongue, yet I swallow it, far too engrossed in pure pleasure he sends burning through my veins. Hunters gaze glides over my body, hot and demanding, his hand grips my chin before his tongue again dominates your mouth, each velvety collision sends explosive fireworks racing through your body. He lets go of me for a brief moment taking a deep breath expelling it as his eyes meet mine, his pupils dilated to the point they resemble an animal with its prey in sight.

"Hu... oh Hunter" I cry out like the hopeless victim.

My whole abdomen trembles as his pace becomes more brutal, the intense feeling of being so close to our peaks is almost too much. Hunter rails into my dripping wet opening greedily my lust filled cries only encourage him. Inhailing our scents deeply, he closes his eyes briefly and lets out an animalistic groan.

“Fuck mesh'la, You feel so good around me."

I feel his pelvis slap harshly against me again and again, naked skin against naked skin, a glistening layer of salty sweat coats our skin.  The speed he fucks me at, his regal voice send my body over the edge, I come undone for him, coating this throbbing cock in my juices. Pure white hot liquid pleasure surges through my veins, my vision clouded with all the stars in the galaxy. I shake and shudder underneath him moaning and cursing in my native tongue.

"Hunter!...Osi’kyr (Oh shit)!"

I feel the force of his blaster calloused hands grip down onto my hips once again, knowing I will be bruised from this encounter. He half swallows a moan as his pace now becoming irregular, the base of his cock swelling inside of me smacking against my cervix. Every nerve ending in my body feels on fire. My sounds are not my own as he finally spills his warm seed inside of me, we grip onto each other as he fucks me savagely through our highs. Seeing the Sargent fall apart like that for me was completely exquisite.

Hunter rasped a breathy moan as he softened inside me pulling out slowly, once more he presses his forehead to mine nuzzling my face and kissed me sweetly on my temple.

“Now you’re mine” he whispers between panted breaths.

Taglist: @cloneloverrrrr @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @idoubleswearimawriter

@savebytheodore @savebytheodoresnonjosestuff @jediknightjana @techs-goggles9902 @clonethirstingisreal

[lawliet-ryuzaki-ryuga]

chapter 12

H X H ( ILLUMI ZOLDYCK)

CONTROL

WC: 1341

TW:  none really

A/N: I'M BACK BITCHES!!!!!! sorry for all the typos

masterlist

Chapter 11-- chapter 13

When taken back into the blimp with the remaining contestants, you’re told to just rest up until the next part of the exam comes in. With that you walk around and explore around until you catch the two young ones, Killua and Gon. You watch as they joke around and sit next to one another, looking out the window before them. Listening to their conversation and when Killua tells Gon that his parents are assassins and the destiny that was mapped out for him. You could see the look of shock and confusion over take young Gon when Killua describes wanting to get rid of his parents.. Hearing Killua speak so enthusiastically about the bounty the world might have on his parents. 

Oh how you remember your own thoughts of your parents when you were his age, Oh how you wanted to get rid of them yourself. Sometimes it was all you could dream about. As always your thoughts come to a stop when you feel a presence behind you, though they tried to conceal it, you can already tell the familiar Aura behind you. 

“ Hello Gittarackur.”

“Hello.”

You turn around to face the pierced man with not much of a smile to give, “ Stalking me i see.”

As always he is a man with few words, not much to share or say, but will always provide you with his presence. You turn back to face the two boys and that’s when you sense another person in the room, the chairman… What does he want with them? Slowly you pull out your small hair pin, in case you must attack the chairman, wanting to make sure Killua and his friend that he has made are safe at all costs. But to your surprise the chairman invites them to a game and if they win, they’ll be hunters on the spot. With that the boys walk away with him getting ready to play.

“ Why do you wish to protect those boys?” Gittarackur speaks from behind you.

“ It’s none of your business.” you glare at the man and begin to walk away, but he follows right behind you.

“ But I can tell, you would give up your spot if it meant protecting them, foolish of you. If they cannot fight for themselves they aren't worth saving.”

“ don’t tell me you're threatened by those two.”

“ Not at the very least.”

I laugh at his response and walk to your sleeping area, you notice that many men sit around the floor and look at the both of you in what looks like possible fear. 

“ All of you get up and leave.” I command them, but they all look at you as if you’re joking. With a small huff I pull out your pin once again and just before you're gonna aim for someone, Gittarackur stops you.

I look at Gittarackur as to why he stopped you, but he had already pulled out his own needle and aimed it at all of the individuals in the room. 

“ Leave the room now and don’t come back.” he instructs in a very firm tone. A tone I’m all too familiar with..

“ I could have done it myself.”

“ I’m Well aware Noa.”

“ Then you should have let me.”

“ I wouldn’t have been a gentleman.”

I let out a scoff at that comment and make your way to one end of the room and sit down. And begin removing all the pins from my hair. And massage any parts of my body that ache.

“ So Gittarackur, do tell me, do your needles change your appearance?” 

“ No.”

“ Lies, 

“ Maybe so, maybe not.”

“ So tell me Gittarackur, what is it that you do for a living, or why do you need a hunter's license?”

“ For work.”

“What work is that?”

“ None of your business”

“ But here’s the thing Gittarackur, you’re in my presence so I’ll ask again, what work is that?”

“ a mission.”

“ Gittarackur save you and I both the trouble and elaborate before I make you against your will. I look at him like im giving him a warning, and then turn back to examining my nails. Hmm they need some filing.

“ I’m what one would consider an assassin.”

“Hm really? I haven't seen your work, you must suck at it then.”

“ No, I just don't leave a mess behind.”

“Who said i leave a mess behind?”

“ Considering you and Hisoka get along rather well, it says alot about your style i suppose.”

“ He is an interesting one, but you’re friends with him, thus the same conclusion can be said about you.”

“ I don’t like any types of mess.”

“ i know you don’t.”

“ What?”

“ nothing Gittarackur, we should get some sleep.”

I go ahead and stretch my body before laying on my back and shutting my eyes in hopes to get some rest. But I don't hear Gittarackur shift or make a single sound.

“ Gittarackur you should rest, you’ll need it.”

“I don’t need it.”

“ We all need it, just because you were trained to not need it as often, doesn't mean your body doesn't require it. Now don’t be stupid and get some rest, besides if you’re really an assassin you would have been trained on the tunnel sound, you do know what that is right?”

With that Gittarackur huffs, “ Yes I know what that is, I just like to be alert.”

“ Just say you suck at the basic skills of assassination, obviously you haven't mastered that skill.”

“ I wouldn’t speak of things you don’t know about.”

“ Well Gittarackur, I know a lot more than you think. So keep your advice for yourself and don't speak of things that you yourself don’t know about.” 

With that i listen for Gittarackur to speak another word, but he doesn’t as usual. You lay in complete silence and feel as the atmosphere becomes ever so familiar. So tense, yet so calm.. So strong, yet comforting. You know this Aura, you know it all too well.. It was sometimes the only aura that would calm you. Like the arms you can be held in, the hands that would move through your hair. You knew it all too well. 

I slowly begin to even out my breath and heart beat until I know that Gittarackur will think I'm sleeping. It was when I heard the slight sound of something. Though to most people they wouldn’t have heard it, I can hear the  sound of a needle being dislodged from the skin. That was when I heard a small hum of satisfaction, and a few pops of one’s neck.. And a silent whisper of “ killua you’re such a pain.” 

That was all I needed to know, to know that the Aura, the needles and way of speaking was that of the one I knew the most. With a small smile to myself, and decide that it’s time to have a little fun.

“ Gittarackur” I speak out, knowing i did startle him as i hear him jab the needle right back to it’s old spot.

“ Why are you up!” he speaks up. 

“ I heard Hisoka in the distance, he’s about to come in.”

“ I didn’t hear anything, what games are you playing at?”

“ I’m not playing any games, I hear his heart rhythm in the distance… just like i hear yours… and just like i heard you pull that needle out, i heard it. Thus you lied and i was right. It does change your appearance.”

“Go to bed.”

“ So tell me, do you change the way you look because you’re just terrible to look at, thus this look is better than how you actually look like..  Or are you spying on someone?”

“ What are you getting at? Just spit it out.” he huffs

“I’m just saying Gittarackur, that you’re a mystery to me is all. And don’t worry, i didn’t see how you look. I respect you enough to give you your privacy… But you can tell me.. Are you hideous too look like without your disguise?”

“ I said go to bed.” He instructs me

“Fine.” i bite back

“ Good”

“Good”

“ Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Gittarackur.” 

[meadow-of-daisies-and-lavender]

[samspenandsword]

SFW Alphabet: Sergeant Hunter

Summary: SFW alphabet for everyone’s favorite clone dad, Sergeant Hunter Pairing: Sergeant Hunter/Reader — gender-neutral reader with no mentions of their appearance Rating: GEN — SFW Warnings: None — Fluff and romance, established relationship headcanons, some language, mentions of war and canon-typical violence, sibling shenanigans, kissing and physical affection, mentions of children and having a family Word Count: 3.7k

You can find the template I used here

NSFW Alphabet

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Hunter is pretty affectionate. He really enjoys being close to or touching you in some way. A hand on your waist or back, brushing the hair from your face, hugging you, squeezing your shoulder, holding your hand, keeping a hand on your knee or thigh. He is openly affectionate, not as much as Wrecker (who has no awareness of the concept of PDA), but to the level where if you’re not comfortable with that level of open, casual touch then you will need to communicate this to him. He’ll respect that 10000%. Hunter also isn’t afraid to kiss you in front of others. Not full-level make out, but a quick goodbye kiss, or a peck on the cheek when you make him laugh. Again, if open affection isn’t your thing, make sure to set that boundary, otherwise Hunter is going to be showing everyone that you’re spoken for. He’s also a sergeant, however, so when I say he’s openly affectionate, I just mean in front of his brothers or the general public. In more formal military settings, he is both expected to and wants to maintain a modicum of professionalism. You test his patience however lol.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?) 

Hunter as a best friend is more like an older brother than anything, even if he’s technically younger than you. He’s protective, he’ll tease you about your crushes or choice of drinks and snacks. He’ll listen to you vent and offer advice, and he’ll give you as many hugs as you want. He steals your hairbrush without asking (it’s remarkable how much his smirk resembles Crosshair’s every time he does this), scolds you for forgetting your jacket, makes you a warm drink when you need comforting, buys you drinks at 79s and breaks the fingers of those who get too frisky, teaches you self-defense, keeps all your secrets, embarrasses you mercilessly by reminding you of every time you’ve fallen flat on your face in front of someone attractive (both literally and figuratively), grumbles when you steal his bandanas, nearly pisses himself laughing every time you do a surprisingly good impression of Crosshair’s haughty sneer or Tech’s patented sniff of derision, even Echo’s impressive eye roll, and Wrecker’s infamous snoring. And most of all, Hunter will always be there for you. You are part of his squad, and no matter the differences between you all, Hunter protects his squad. 

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?) 

Being in a relationship with Hunter, whether romantic or platonic, means cuddles will happen. Either way, Hunter adores you and, as mentioned, is openly affectionate. I genuinely believe that for all of Hunter’s heightened senses, he is pretty comfortable with touch and can even be a total cuddle bug when he wants to be. However, due to his heightened senses, there are times where he can get overwhelmed. You’ll have to learn how to read him and his body language, because there are definitely times where he isn’t in the mood to be touched. He won’t ever deny you, of course, because Hunter is a giver and caretaker before anything else, especially in the days following the fall of the Republic (au au au au), but learning to read him when he’s feeling overstimulated will make him feel so special. 

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Come on, is there any other answer? Hunter absolutely wants to settle down. He sees families on his missions, and children and backyards and farms, and he wants that. He wants it so bad his chest aches sometimes. As soon as the war is over, he wants to settle down with you and start a family. Hunter’s not a great cook, he’s been living off military rations his entire life, but he wants to pull his weight at your home. If you cook, he’ll wash the dishes. If you do laundry, he’ll change your sheets. If you go get groceries, you’ll come home to find the floors clean and windows sparkling. You’re his partner, not his servant. You’re a team, and Hunter never wants you to feel like anything less than that. 

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

I feel like I have this answer for a lot of Clone Wars era characters, but I believe that Hunter would only end a relationship if he felt like it was putting you in danger. Especially following the fall of the Republic (au au au au). Associating with a clone deserter is a surefire way to put a target on your back, and Hunter just wants to keep you safe. He might try to end it for that reason. And being the gentleman he is, Hunter would definitely want to have that conversation in person. He still loves you, and you deserve a proper face-to-face about this. 

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?) 

Hunter would propose after two months if he had less self-control. The man falls hard and fast, so much so that even he is a little overwhelmed by it. He is committed to you, 1000%, right from the start. And if you get along with his brothers? If you hit it off with Omega? That’s it. Game over. The man is fully in love with you. In short, Hunter is an all-in sort of guy. There are few things more important to him than loyalty and commitment. 

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?) 

Emotionally, Hunter tries to be on the gentler side. His life, especially during the war, and maybe even afterwards, does not lend itself to stability, so he tries his best to give you that in your relationship. He never wants you to feel pressured or rushed or overwhelmed. But inevitably, a relationship with Hunter is passionate. Both emotionally and physically. Because he feels so deeply and you are one of the few consistent, safe, stable things in his life. It���s so hard not to return his passion, because it’s Hunter, and falling in love with him just seems so easy and inevitable, so how could you not?

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?) 

Hugs actually aren’t as common as other types of physical affection in your relationship, but they definitely still happen. They most often happen when you two are reunited after a mission (that is, if you’re not the medic for the Bad Batch like we all internally want to be), or just before he has to deploy again. There are a lot of “I’m so glad you’re alive” hugs, and side-hugs when you two feel like being cuddly and romantic and making Crosshair roll his eyes and gag. There are a lot of hugs where Omega is crushed between the two of you, and hugs where Wrecker is nearly crushing both of you with his exuberance. So hugs happen, but Hunter would much rather express his feelings for you with a kiss, or by cuddling on a couch or bed. He does, however, love to hug you from behind. He doesn’t do it often, but you both love it every time he does. 

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?) 

In a relationship as inevitably deep and passionate as the one you share with Hunter, he would pop the L-word much sooner than generally considered appropriate. To be honest, it is likely that the two of you may be experiencing feelings at vastly different paces. He manages to bite his tongue however, because the last thing he wants it to make you uncomfortable by shoving his feelings in your face. You definitely notice that in the first months of your relationship, Hunter very much lets you set the pace when it comes to verbal affection. But if you happen to be as competent on the battlefield as he is, or if you’re particularly good with his brothers and Omega, Hunter might just let those three little words slip.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Hunter is prone to jealousy. Not because he doesn’t trust you or anything close to that, but because he knows he snagged someone insanely attractive and desirable and he wants everyone to know that. He will plaster himself to your side at bars, hold your hand in public, kiss you openly. In a more true sense of jealousy, Hunter does have to reign it in sometimes if you’re not a member of their squad. Because he comes back to you, hears all your new stories about life on your planet, and gets a little upset at all the times he misses out on. Because there are a lot of people out there who could spend every moment of their lives with you, and Hunter just realistically can’t give you that during the war. 

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Kisses are the most common form of affection in your relationship. Hunter just loves to kiss you. He kisses your cheek, your temple, your forehead, your nose, your neck. You have experienced everything from quick pecks on the lips, to tender kisses, to long, passionate kisses, to full-on horny makeouts, and everything in between. But besides your lips, because Hunter could makeout with you for hours if he had the time, his favorite place to kiss you is right over your pulse point, because he can hear and feel the way it leaps when he does so. Not to mention you scent is so strong there, and he loves burying his face in your neck. He personally loves it when you kiss his jaw, especially if it’s the only place you can reach because you’re shorter than him. He finds it so adorable every time you stretch onto your toes and press a kiss to his jaw. And oppositely, if you’re taller than him, he melts every time you lean down, dip beneath his jaw, and press your lips to his skin. 

L = Little Ones (How are they around children?) 

Okay folks, we all know that as soon as Hunter got used to the idea of Omega being around full-time, he became A+++ dad material. Just one more Star Wars dad for us all to fall in love with (and make no mistake, I love Din Djarin, Kanan Jarrus, Bail Organa, and Plo Koon so much). Hunter might be somewhat nervous and hesitant to have little ones of his own, but once his life settles into something resembling peace, he becomes more and more open to the idea. And he has no qualms about adoption vs natural birth. He really does just love the idea of raising children with you. He wants a family with you. 

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?) 

Mornings with Hunter tend to not be the most relaxing, to be honest. If you’re not being woken up by Omega and her endless amount of energy, you’re being woken by an argument between Echo and Tech, or Wrecker crashing his way into the barracks or through the ship. Very rarely do you and Hunter have the opportunity to have lazy mornings together. Most often, the both of you get up, dress, eat, and are instantly ready to go. 

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Opposite of mornings, nights are the calmer times for you and Hunter. His brothers and Omega have likely gone to bed already, so the both of you can just settle in together. One of Hunter’s favorite ways to spend quiet time with you is just to be with each other in bed, slowly and steadily falling asleep. There is no where he feels safer than beside you.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Hunter’s not inclined to spill his guts about all his insecurities and trauma on the first date, but he’s also not a brick wall (Crosshair). Over time he’ll open up, as the two of you grow closer. He’s always willing to tell stories of him and his brothers on their missions. And then, later, he’ll tell you stories of the shit they got up to on Kamino growing up. Eventually, he’ll start to reveal his insecurities, though he tries not to phrase them like that. A lot of the things Hunter reveals are things he doesn’t say — more than most of his brothers. Learning to read him will bring the two of you closert, and when Hunter realizes you’re noticing things about him, he’s never felt more seen.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?) 

We all know Hunter gets angry, of course he does, he’s human. But Hunter’s anger has a high threshold. He’s been putting up with Crosshair and Tech and Wrecker his entire life. There are things he has simply learned to tolerate. So he gets annoyed, and irritated, but his real anger is not as common. But there are some things that definitely get him going. And truly, no one seems to anger him as much as his brothers sometimes lol (sibling culture, my dudes). When it comes to a partner, however, Hunter tries incredibly hard not to let anger get the better of him. He never knows when he’s going to be deployed, so the last thing he wants is for the two of you to fight and then he has to leave, maybe for weeks, before you can reconcile. With you, especially, he wants you to always try working through your anger and fights and not let them fester.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every ittle detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Hunter has a memory for the small things, the offhanded things you mention liking or enjoying. But something the bigger facts get lost in the shuffle. He’s jotted down your birthday somewhere because he can guess it within three days or so, but can never for the life of him remember exactly which day it is. He might also not remember exactly how long you’ve lived where you are, or who your favorite band is. But he does remember that you apparently had a pair of socks when you were 14 with tookas on them and have been lamenting their loss ever since you wore them through. Hunter also remembers that you crave that one specific junk food when you’ve had a bad day, and the story behind your childhood nickname. So yes, he remembers things about you, of course, but it’s usually the strangely specific things. 

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Hunter remembers, so distinctly, this one time, before the fall of the Republic (au au au au). He and his brothers were all piled into your apartment. Crosshair and Tech were on your couch, arguing loudly over what to watch on the holo. Somewhere behind them were Wrecker and Echo, the ARC trying desperately to keep Wrecker from accidentally breaking everything in your apartment. You were in the kitchen, trying to put together a meal for the six of you, whether by ordering in or cooking. Hunter remembers looking at you, from where he sat in an armchair, and seeing the smile on your face. It was nothing short of fond. And between that smile, and the way you had accepted the five of them so readily into your space and life... Well, if Hunter hasn’t yet realized he’s in love with you, this is when it happens. 

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Hunter is pretty protective. To be fair, Hunter is protective of everyone he feels even a modicum of care for. And he is a naturally caring and giving person. It’s what makes him such an effective sergeant — he respects the skills of his crew, is able to maximize their effectiveness as a team, all while still taking care of them. So Hunter is used to protecting others, and isn’t sure how he’d react if someone was similarly protective of him. It’d take him a bit to get used to, but over time would come to realize it was just a natural way for you and him to show your care for each other. 

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?) 

Hunter puts a lot of effort into the time he spends with you. He wants to make your dates special. Especially if you’re a member of the unit and you get to spend every day together. So the times with just the both of you should be something special and different, and Hunter genuinely puts in the effort to make them so. Your favorite flowers. Dinner reservations. Romantic getaways. A bottle of your favorite wine or drink. He wants not only the time you spend together to feel special, but for you to feel special and loved as well. 

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?) 

Hunter can be overprotective. Not in the sense of him giving you his jacket when it’s approaching chilly outside, and not in the sense of him protesting to you coming on missions. And not even really in the sense of him plastering himself to your side at bars when you get intrigued looks (though he does do that), or when he holds your hand in busy cities. Hunter’s true overprotectiveness comes out in the aftermath of a battle or mission, especially in the early days of your relationship. He might try to convince you that you’re better off with another unit, or back at home, away from the war. He’s overprotective in the sense that he wishes desperately that you could be shielded from the horrors of the life he leads, and it has led to a few arguments between you.  Hunter also does not do laundry. The stench in the Bad Batch’s barracks is partly because of Wrecker’s molding snacks, sure, but also because of the multiple pairs of dirty black undersuits lying in piles on the floor, and the bedsheets that haven’t been changed in months. Please teach him how to do basic chores, dear god. 

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Hunter’s not the most vain person in the galaxy, but he still likes to maintain his appearance. Especially his hair. He spends a lot of time on his hair when he can. Especially because the majority of the time, it’s stuck under his helmet. So when he gets to show his hair off, he’s going to make sure it looks good. Hunter also likes to keep his armor looking good. He buffs out the scuffs and scratches when they get out of control, touches up the paint when it’s needed. He also loves his tattoo, and I’d hope anyone who gets half their face tattooed ends up liking the result lol. But Hunter really does like it, and he enjoys the way it enhances his natural good looks. So admittedly, he likes looking good for himself, but also for you. Hunter, for as confident and self-assured as he is, does possess that tiny hint of insecurity that he is a clone, and that there are a million men out there that look very similar to him. So he likes to look good, for both you and himself. 

W = Whole (Would they feel imcomplete without you?) 

In an everyday since, no. He doesn’t feel incomplete without you, because he always knows, while he’s gone for weeks at a time, that he has you to come home to. In a grander scheme, maybe. Before meeting you, Hunter didn’t really feel incomplete. However, after meeting you, something slid into place. Something he hadn’t realized was missing. If he were to lose you, it would take a long time for him to adjust to the hole you would leave in his and his brothers’ lives. If he would ever fully adjust at all. 

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them)

Beyond physical touch, which is something Hunter very much takes comfort in, I headcanon Hunter’s love language as quality time. During the Clone Wars there was rarely a time when he wasn’t on a mission or just with his brothers. This doesn’t change much after the fall of the Republic (au au au au), so one of the ways he shows that he really cares for you is when he carves out time for you, plans a date or outing where the two of you can spend time alone in each other’s company. He knows he doesn’t have much time to give, but he still wants to give you as much time as he possibly can. Because he loves you, and you deserve at least that much.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Showboating is something Hunter doesn’t really enjoy. Accolades, bragging, showing off. It really doesn’t do it for him, or anyone from the Bad Batch. Whether you’re a friend or partner, he cannot stand someone who would use your relationship to gain status or clout. Or even in a less conceited sense: Hunter just doesn’t like anyone he knows showing him or his brothers off. 

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

The reality of Hunter’s heightened senses means the constant stimuli of day-to-day life for him wipes him out. He can and will fall asleep in seconds if he allows himself to. And when he sleeps, he is liable to cuddling you like a teddy bear, but he is equally liable to flipping onto his stomach and burrowing his head beneath the pillow to block light and sound. It’s both hilarious and concerning. 

______________

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