#like my love of Echo lead immediately into my love of Crosshair

[skellymom]

"SLIDE"

The Bad Batch Fan Fic x Non Gendered Reader

(My first ever TBB Fan Fic posted 7/31/23. Unfortunately, I didn't realize at the time putting the MATURE label on the bottom of the post would make Tumblr hide it's presence)

Background: Force Sensitive learns to grow their Force powers. This timeline is several months after leaving Crosshair on Kamino, near the end of working for Cid. The Batch is trying to figure a hook to be independent and possibly start actively rebelling against the Empire. This is set well before Mt Tantiss. 

Warnings: Canon and non-canon violence, swearing, momentary and possibly gruesome death of main characters (no worries, they don’t stay dead forever), Crosshair is an angry psychopathic killer with a vengeance (no hate, I love his problematic ass), mild Hunter fluff, touchy concerned Tech, Echo swears (of course).

Word count:  2.1 K

You hadn’t expected to be separated from the rest of the Batch, however, Omega had other ideas “to help” on this mission. The Batch infiltrated this Imperial base for intel and possible chain codes to steal. You volunteered to run after and bring her back.  Spotted by Imperial stormtroopers in a corridor, you and Omega try to lose them, but they are hot on your tail. Omega hears the Batch’s voices down a hallway and runs to them. 

You and Omega skid to a halt at the edge of a missing bridge while the rest of the Batchers are on the other side.  The precipice between is a several hundred story drop within the Imperial base. The group of stormtroopers rocked up behind you, guns lowered.  Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker looked on impotently across the chasm, weapons trained on the stormtroopers.  The Batch are poised, holding fire, trying to avoid any possibility of you and Omega getting caught in any crossfire. 

Unfortunately, you had not finished training with your Master. Your Master did not survive Order 66. You were SO CLOSE to obtaining Jedi status.  Now it was up to YOU to save yourself and Omega.  Being captured was not an option at this point.  Although, allowing the Empire to take you and Omega might allow time for the Batch to retreat safely to fight later.  That carried serious risks.  You were very limited in options as far as your Force abilities.  Master had not given you a light saber, remarking that the Force had a different path for you. 

The lead stormtrooper immediately grabbed you as a human shield, just as Wrecker let loose a shot from his blaster.  He intended to shoot the stormtrooper but hit you in the chest.  You slipped out of the stormtroopers grasp and off the edge of the bridge. You met Omega’s eyes as she called your name, while being dragged away by the same trooper.  As your body went into free fall down the chasm, you could hear your Batchmates scream, curse, and start blasting away.  

As consciousness slips from your body, you close your eyes.  The sense of falling disappears, but you expected that by eventually reaching terminal velocity from this height.  You open your eyes and are standing on an outstretched infinite path within an ever-expanding universe.  Before you is a HUGE hulking creature with glowing eyes. 

“What’s happening?  Where am I?”  You are simultaneously shocked, afraid, and unsure if this is all a dream. 

The creature stares down, sizing you up. 

“ In The World Between Worlds.” 

“Am I dead???” 

“No. It is not yet your time.  You are here to finish your training.” 

“My friends need my help!  I need to get back to them!!!” 

“You will return to help them; it is part of your training.” 

“Who are you?” 

“That matters not.  Only your path is of importance.  You cannot progress until your training is finished.  The lives within your care hang in the balance.  You and your group are linked together in that realm.  Your failure will be their failure…until you succeed.  Then you will be released from this realm to continue your path.” 

It feels like the creature is staring into your soul, “The point of entry is behind you.” 

You turn around to see…a doorway?  A dark threshold surrounded by cryptic symbols, suspended among stars.  

“Are you ready?” 

“No! I…” 

“Begin!” 

Your vision becomes a blur as you leave that place and return to where you were standing before falling off the platform.  The vertigo messes with your senses, and it all feels like you had a momentary hallucination.  Now back in this moment, you quickly spring into action. 

You yell “NO WRECKER” immediately and Wrecker stops in his tracks.  Hunter is sensing something, but unsure what it is.  The Stormtrooper grabs you as a shield.  A second trooper grabs Omega and drags her away.  Omega starts using swears that only Echo could come up with as she is taken.  The Batch stand with blasters trained on the stormtroopers in defense but not wanting to hit you in the crossfire.  The trooper violently puts a foot in your ass and kicks you off the platform, then commences to start firing on the Batch.  You free fall down the chasm and… 

…pass The World Between Worlds for a split second, and then appear back onto the platform.   

You try again. 

Omega is led away swearing up a storm while the stormtrooper is holding onto you.  Hunter calls to you, and in that moment, you sense the concern and love in his heart.  You also sense a dark presence in the Force, look up to the platform above and see Crosshair with his Firepuncher trained on you.  He was watching this exchange the whole time, waiting for the opportunity to shoot.  In his jealousy and anger, he fires, hitting you dead center between the eyes.  The very last thing you see is Cross grinning as he hears Hunter lose his shit. 

The fabric of the connected realms brushes past you. 

Again. 

You yank the stormtrooper into Crosshairs blaster bolt as his body is hit, he stumbles into Omega and both fall off the platform to their impending deaths.  The stormtrooper behind him, seeing the target they were looking to take is now gone, opens fire on you.  You fall off the platform. 

Again. 

Before the trooper can grab you, you grab Omega and jump off the platform into the chasm.  With any luck, you can use the force to stop yourselves before hitting bottom.  Unfortunately, you and Omega’s fall velocity was too much for your Force abilities.   

Again. 

You grab Omega but try to save only her.  As you fall past hundreds of platforms, you try to yeet her onto one as you fall.  You are falling too fast, and your throw was severely off.  You hear a sickening thud as she hits something. 

Again. 

You attempt to Force jump, and only make it just short of the other side.  You yeet Omega across the chasm towards the Batch, Hunter jumps for her from the other side, and she slips from his grasp.  You hear them both scream above you as you fall.  Fortunately, Tech and Wrecker send out their grappling cables and catch both.  Blaster fire starts from the stormtroopers.  Tech is hit, falls off the platform, and takes Omega with him since she is attached to his cable.   

Again. 

You Force jump again, Hunter jumps but misses Omega.  Knowing Wrecker will catch Hunter with his grappling hook, you send out a Force block in front of Tech. He is shielded from blaster fire, but Wrecker is hit by several bolts.  He falls off the platform taking Hunter with him.  You hear Wrecker’s insanely terrified scream as you all fall.  Hunter sends out his grappling cable and it catches.  His fall is stopped, but Wrecker’s weight wrenches Hunters body horribly.  He screams out in agony as he feels muscles tear.  They are hanging and safe momentarily…or so it seems.  A shot is heard from Firepuncher and Hunters cable is severed.  Both Batchers scream as they fall. 

You try to hold onto the edges of the realm as you pass through, but it evades your grasp. 

Again. 

You grab the lead stormtroopers gun while he is still holding onto it and keep pushing his finger onto the trigger, you shoot him and several other imps.  You fire several shots towards Crosshair, preventing him from shooting at you.  However, one hotshot trooper in the back squeezes off and hits you right in the back fatally.  

Again.   

Same scenario, but you spin the trooper around and use him as a human shield and the hotshot misses you.  However, Crosshair blasts you at the base of your skull.  The last thing you see is Omega’s terrified expression as you fall onto the platform next to your teeth his shot loosened in the blast. 

AGAIN?

You are getting sick of playing this fucked up reset game already.  In your anger, you quickly grab the stormtrooper and throw his ass off the platform.  The Batch and Omega watch shocked at your anger.  The other stormtroopers are taken by surprise, as you advance on them and grab another.  Crosshair is attempting to aim, but you are moving too much. The hotshot trooper aims his weapon. You and the trooper in your grasp struggle violently. The hotshot cannot get a good clear shot.  Finally, he squeezes one off and misses you. However, he didn’t consider where Omega is standing, and she takes a direct hit. You hear your Batchmates scream in outrage. You scream in outrage. The hotshot screams in frustration, then double taps you and the trooper in your grasp in the head simultaneously. 

AGAIN??

You grab the stormtroopers gun while still in his hand and shoot yourself in the head.  You just want this exhausting mess to be over. 

AGAIN???

You fall onto the platform in a crumpled pile crying.  Stormtroopers AND Crosshair shoot you at the same time, resulting in a horrible, charred mess. 

AGAIN???

You scream bloody murder and obscenities at Crosshair.  He shoots you between the eyes. 

AGAIN! 

You jump off the edge of the platform screaming obscenities like a crazy person. 

Before reset, you see the expression on the creatures face.  He looks disappointed and replies, “You aren’t even trying.  Reach out beyond the boundaries of your realm” As you angrily try to spout off to him, you are thrown violently into the next reset. 

AGAIN!!!

Standing on the platform, you take a deep breath and survey the scene.  You mull over the creatures words.  Time seems to slow down: You sense the stormtroopers behind you, looking into each of eyes of the Batch; Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, up to Crosshair, finally resting on Omega.  You mouth, “Trust me” to her and she nods. 

Time suddenly slams into overdrive, and you instantly pivot to bearhug Omega.  The trooper misses your shoulder and grabs open air.  The shot from Crosshair’s Firepuncher, originally meant for you, hits the trooper right between the eyes and he falls off the platform.  You reach deep within the Force, grab the thin tether of this realm and open it wide.  You then realize you were only meant to grasp it at the start of your actions, not at the end.  You “push” through with the Force, taking Omega with you.  As you “slide” from one location to another, you pass the creature.  He nods as you pass from the world you left only a millisecond ago, through the timeless World Between Worlds. 

“Congratulations, Jedi!  Your training is complete.” 

You part the curtain to your world again, entering behind the Batch.  Hunter, before his eyes even register your disappearance on the opposite platform, senses a presence behind them.  His head whips around to see you and Omega are now out of harm’s way.  His jaw drops inside his helmet.  Tech, seeing Hunters reaction, immediately spins around, his eyes are visibly dumbfounded “What?  How?”  Wrecker calmly looks behind him, seeing you and Omega there safely, doesn’t question.  He barks, “MUAHAHAHA!  YEAH!!!” and opens fire on all the befuddled stormtroopers standing on the opposite platform.   

With Wreckers cover fire, Hunter grabs Omega and runs down the hallway while yelling, “Let’s go!”  Tech runs past and grabs your hand.  He’s usually not touchy feely, but somewhere deep in his logical brain he understands that whatever happened saved your and Omega’s life.  All the quick calculations he was running in his brain logically ended in you both dying.  Wrecker is happily hopped up on blaster fire and the relief you are both safe.  He follows running behind. 

Crosshair is left on his sniper’s roost.  He hasn’t EVER missed a target.  This was his first time. You were there one second and gone next to his surprise.  Stares down at all the dead troopers laying on the platform below, gnawing hard on his toothpick.  He’s angry…but intrigued.  Maybe instead of killing you outright next time, he can land a stunning blow.  The Empire might be VERY interested if he brought you in alive.  Cross sprints away down a shortcut. 

Your group reaches the end of the hallway and bursts out into the ship hangar bay.  A large battalion of stormtroopers meet you there, with guns aimed.  You all stop, out of breath, and possibly out of luck.  Echo swoops in with the Marauder hovering and laying down suppressive cannon fire.  Unfortunately, there are too many imps for him to dispatch while also landing successfully.  Hunter and Tech are furiously looking for a way out.   

You reach out with the Force and envelope Hunter, Tech, Wrecker, and Omega.  Before opening the fabric of this realm, you feel eyes on you.  Looking to a ledge several stories up, Crosshair meets your gaze.  You both stare intensely into each other.  Without even realizing it, you reach out and speak with the Force: 

“Why???” 

“Because…” Slight shock registering on Crosshair’s face “…I can.” 

“You’ll regret this someday…when you’re all alone.” 

“I already am.”  He’s angry and hurt.  There is nothing more you can say. 

You slide through, taking all the Batchers with you and suddenly appearing within the Marauder.   

Wrecker: “WHOA!” 

Tech: Speechless, wide eyed…and STILL holding your hand. 

Omega: Dizzy and winded. 

Hunter: Rips helmet off his head. His expression is wild eyed and looks like he saw some serious shit.  “What was that place? Who was that creature?” 

Echo:  Spins around in the pilot’s chair, eyes wide “WHAT THE FUCK!!!” 

You grin.  And watch the Batch trying to piece together their sudden location movement and glimpse of the creature between worlds. 

Giving the order to Echo you bark, “Let’s go, soldier!” 

He’s still sitting there with a shocked expression, then laser blasts pepper the ship, and he regains composure.  Echo flies the Marauder out of the Imperial facility, off the planet, scrambles the ships jump signature, and punches it into hyperspace. 

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[the-bi-space-ace]

There’s gotta be a correlation between Echo fans and thinking Echo and Crosshair would be close. So many of us that adore Echo also love Crosshair and think they’d be friends.

What, in our deep unending love for Echo, made a lot of us look at Crosshair and go:

…Yeah they’re best friends actually.

[soaringthroughthegalaxy]

Hello. It's Talita from Ao3 here, I said I would come. 🤭😂 So I'd like to request Hunter x shy fem reader with the last smutty prompt: ❛ i love that no one else has seen you like this, that no one else has felt you before, been inside you. they don't get to have you, but i do. ❜ Maybe the reader's inexperience might come to the surface when they're all in 79s and a drunken Crosshair suggests she get someone to f*c*? But reader waits for the right partner. ♥️

Hey Talita! Thanks for the request and all the love you’ve been sharing 🥰

Shy readers seem to be the flavour of the moment, as I just went out with one for Crosshair!

This one ran away with me. It’s my longest to date. Hope it's okay 😊

Waiting for You

A night out at 79’s leads to a revelation that surprises the whole batch, and with feelings becoming increasingly more difficult to hide, it was only a matter of time before you and Hunter reached a crossroads. (Pre Echo)

Pairing: Hunter x f!reader

Word count: 6.8k

Rating: 18+ MINORS DNI!!

Warnings: friends to lovers (🤌), Cross is a shit stirrer (what else is new?), alcohol consumption (but both parties are sober for spicy time), sibling teasing/banter, sweet sweet tension and yearning, sexually shy!reader, virgin!reader, first kiss, first time together, oral (f!receiving), light fingering, unprotected PiV, reassurance and comfort, pet names, praise, sprinkle of dirty talk, soft aftercare.

Translation: (Mando'a) Gar ru'lis ganar kaysh. – You could have her.

The thump of the music wasn’t so heavy, tucked away in a back booth of 79’s. It wasn’t often you visited, preferring to frequent other bars and clubs whenever you and the boys had shore leave - there were perks to them not looking like Regs. However, 79’s was close to where you were all staying and cheap enough that the few credits you’d all managed to save would go much further than they would anywhere else.

Wedged between Wrecker and Hunter, with Tech and Crosshair taking up the seats on the opposite side of the booth, you watched as Wrecker pried a well-worn card from the pile in the middle of the table. During your last Venator stop, you’d made a few trades with some of the Regs and had walked away with a small pile of loot, including a set of ‘drink or do’ cards. They were common amongst the clones during downtime, providing distraction and intoxication.

Wrecker flipped the card over, huffing as his eyes skipped over the text. “Let the group message anyone on ya datapad or take two shots.” He read the card aloud.

Crosshair’s hand immediately extended for the datapad, fingers curling in a ‘give it here’ gesture. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, and you laughed as Wrecker huffed, handing over his device to his younger brother.

“You are aware this is a group effort, yes?” Tech asked, leaning in towards his twin to look at the screen. Out of all of you, Tech had elected to stay sober, hating the way his mind went fuzzy with the effects of alcohol. One of you needed to ensure you all returned to the hotel in one piece.

The deadpan look Crosshair gave him pulled a giggle from you. You were several drinks deep by now – some of the cards you’d drawn had been wholly inappropriate, so shots had been the only option. Everything felt good, your inhibitions lowered, and you knew you were safe. Your men would look after you. 

A year you’d been with them, traversing the galaxy, trying desperately to keep them alive. Nat-born medics were a rarity in the GAR, but sometimes they were called in. You’d been head-hunted from Coruscant Medical after the Batch had been out in the field for a few months –they hadn’t gotten on well with the Reg medics initially assigned to them.

“Please pick Fox.” You insisted, leaning a little across the table. Gasping, you had a new idea. “Wait, no! Wolffe.” You leaned back with a wide grin, enjoying Wrecker’s groan. Knowing Crosshair, the message would be salacious, and you knew a few of the men in the Wolfpack who would absolutely fill you in on their Commander’s reaction in the morning.

Crosshair lifted a finger, pointing it at you. “I like the way you think, doll.” He complimented. Only when he was several drinks in did his tongue loosen and compliments flow more freely.

“That’s why you keep me around.” You tease, watching as the sharpshooter taps out a quick message. A gentle hand on your knee has you turning your attention to Hunter, your smile widening at his touch and how he pushes a glass of water closer to you, encouraging you to hydrate properly to stave off a hangover in the morning. Warmth seeps through you at his care, and you’re grateful for the cacophony of sounds and stimuli in 79’s that mask the way your heart rate spikes a little.

Although Hunter indulged a little this evening, he knew his limits. He’d been nursing a Tsiraki for most of the night. If he wasn’t careful, it didn’t take much to frazzle his senses and cause a two-day migraine. Keeping his wits about him also meant he could look after you. 

Nestled between Wrecker and himself, the laugh lines on your face and the glint in your eyes told Hunter that you cherished these moments despite the chaotic nature of their lives. He appreciated how you fit into their world, understanding their quirks and unspoken communication. You navigated the challenges of their unique existence with a grace that fascinated him. To him, you weren’t just their medic; you were their companion, their confidant, a source of solace in a gritty galaxy.

Hunter’s gaze lingered on you as Crosshair added the final touches to the message. The playful banter and easy camaraderie were the moments he adored the most. Yet, beneath it all, there was a yearning, a quiet ache that he couldn’t quite put into words.

He saw the weariness that sometimes lingered in your eyes – chased away this evening by liquor and laughter – and wished he could erase the shadows that sometimes clouded your gaze. It fuelled his desire to protect and shield you from the harsh realities that had become their norm. 

Taking a sip of his Tsiraki, Hunter let his gaze linger on the curve of your profile. The way your hair fell, and your fingers traced absentminded patterns on the table while you chatted with his brothers stirred something within him. Something that he wanted to grab with both hands and hold close.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the moment you turned to him, your eyes meeting his with a warmth that sent a shiver down his spine. “What do you think?” You asked. “Suitable enough?” 

Hunter blinks once, twice, and then nods. “Sure, sounds good.” He answers, having no idea what you’d been asking about. As you turned back to face the others at the table, Hunter caught the knowing look Tech sent him. Try as he might to hide that ache in his chest, his brother was too smart to miss it.

“Ya can’t send that!” Wrecker protests, mild panic in his eyes as Crosshair, eternal torturer of his siblings, grins at his brother as he pushes the send button. “Ahh, I don’t wanna know if he responds.” Wrecker shakes his head, though a smile also tugs at the corners of his lips. He turns his head towards you. “You’re next.”

Reaching for the stack of cards in the middle of the table, you pry the top one free and pull it towards you. You scan over the instructions, grimacing. “Name five different places you’ve had sex or take three shots.” You read it aloud, tossing the card down onto the table.

Beside you, you feel Hunter shift, Wrecker and Crosshair break into laughter, and Tech offers you a sympathetic smile. With a resigned sigh, you reach for your glass. But before you can grasp it, it’s snatched away from you. 

“Cross!” You gasp, jaw slackening as you watch mischief dance in the sniper’s hawkish eyes. 

“You’ve skipped out on nearly every ‘do’ task tonight. But you’re not skipping this one.” Crosshair insists, dragging your drink away so you can’t take it back. His motives were two-fold. One, he was nosey. And two, he wasn’t stupid. He’d seen the way Hunter had been looking at you for months now, and watching his older brother squirm as you shared your sex life would be fantastic. 

With a huff, you cross your arms over your chest, resting your elbows on the table. “Is your sex life so bland you have to live vicariously through mine?” You tease, arching an eyebrow. Boisterous laughter erupts at the table, and you can’t help but giggle along. 

Crosshair scowls. “Please. I could have any woman in this place.” He snorts, leaning in and lifting a hand with his five fingers up. “Five places. I’ll count them off for you.” He challenges.

“Nu-uh.” You refute, unfurling an arm to wag a finger at him.

“Only kriff in a bed then. How boring.” He can’t help but bite back, turning the tide onto you.

Rolling your eyes, you huff, used to this song and dance with him. “No.”

“Out with it, then.” He pushes.

Worry curls through you. You trusted these men with your life, knew that their teasing was all light-hearted and they’d never genuinely mock you, but some things were private. “Cross…” You mumble, fingers finding the neckline of your shirt to play with the fabric nervously. 

“Pretty little thing like you probably has many stories to tell!” Wrecker laughs, giving your shoulder a light nudge.

You laugh awkwardly, trying to make up some stories on the spot, ones you can quickly sell, teeth sinking into your lower lip.

Curiosity painted itself on Tech’s face – he’d spent long enough studying your body language to aid him in understanding nat-born social cues, to pick up on the subtleties. “You do not have any stories.” He states, with no judgement in his tone.

The certainty of Tech’s comment captures Hunter’s attention, and he tilts his head in your direction, brown eyes taking in the nervousness and mild panic that’s now on your face.

“Don’t tell me you’re a kriffing virgin…” Crosshair is equal parts horrified and amused. There was no way in hell you – you – hadn’t been with anyone.

Embarrassment seeps through you, and you drop your gaze to the table, fingers going back to trace the patterns of the wooden surface. 

Crosshair couldn’t believe it; this was wilder than any other confession they had shared during the night. “You’re kidding me…even Tech’s been laid a handful of times, and you haven’t?”

Tech sighs at his twin’s barb, though he’s used to them by now and doesn’t take it to heart.

At your silence, the boys share a glance, trying to hide their surprise at the situation. 

Mulling it over, Crosshair looks around the bar. “Plenty of pickings in here. Then again…Regs.” He sneers.

“I don’t want a random hookup. I want the right one.” You admit quietly, shyness taking a front-row seat.

Crosshair baulks. “Oh, hell. You want romance and love.” The idea horrifies him even more. He goes to speak again, but Hunter interjects.

“Crosshair…” Hunter warns, voice low. He’d picked up on your discomfort and wanted to end it.

A smirk tilts Crosshair’s lips at the reprimand. He’d opted not to say anything or show his hand in the past, keeping his knowledge about Hunter’s affection for you quiet. “Gar ru'lis ganar kaysh.” He teases with a toothy grin, unleashing that hand.

Tech and Wrecker can’t hide their snorts of laughter at his words. Hunter’s lips press together, and he huffs, reaching for a card to bring the focus back to the game and off you. Crosshair’s dark chuckle seeps into the air, delighted at getting a small rise from his older brother.

The Mando’a catches you off guard – you didn’t know enough to understand what had been said, but the laughter and Hunter’s reaction had you frowning. The boys had only taught you the odd word or two as they didn’t use it as much anymore.  As Hunter pries his card from the pile and flips it over, he places his hand back on your knee under the table, reassuringly squeezing it. Reaching down, you give his wrist a light squeeze, appreciating that he’d taken the heat off you. His hand stays in place as he reads the card aloud, and the game continues. 

Your shore leave had been a welcome reprieve, especially as six back-to-back missions had followed it. You’d wrapped up the latest hours ago, and the Senator you’d helped had been exceptionally grateful for the assistance. He’d offered for you all to stay on the planet for a little while to rest in one of his many hotels. A quick comm to Command had seen it okayed for two days, so here you were, hanging out on the balcony of Hunter’s suite.

You’d accidentally discovered that you had connecting rooms, having knocked on a random door in your suite and been amused to find Hunter on the other side when it had opened. He’d immediately invited you in, and you’d headed for the balcony to watch the city go by while he finished the last report. Crosshair and Wrecker had gone off searching for food, while Tech had decided to tinker with his latest project.

Leaning against the railing, laughter from down below captures your attention. Eyes falling to where the sound was coming from, you watch a couple embrace on the side of the street, sharing lingering kisses. From your vantage point, you can make out their broad smiles.

An ache settles in your chest, that old pesky feeling of yearning tugging at you. Unconsciously, you tug your cardigan around you a little tighter – whether to keep out the chill in the wind or offer some comfort, you don’t know.

In the suite, and with the reports finished, Hunter pauses at the doorway, unable to pry his eyes off you. Something about how you’re standing, the expression on your beautiful face, makes unease sink into his gut. He wants to chase away whatever is making you look so sad.

It was becoming harder and harder for him to ignore his feelings, to tamper them down, especially as he knew his brothers were all aware. How long would it be before you picked up on it, too? That blasted night at 79’s kept replaying in his mind, his fingers itching to reach for you at every opportunity and to make a move before someone else snapped you up and took you from him. Hunter knows he doesn’t have much he can give you and can’t promise a safe or long life together – anything can happen in a war – but he knows he can provide you with romance. He knows he can make you the centre of his galaxy, and you’ll never have to question his devotion.

But would you want that from him, though? It was the one thought that stopped him.

Realising he’d been watching for a while, Hunter joins you on the balcony, moving to your side. You don’t startle; you’re used to him and his brothers silently approaching by now. He follows your focused gaze, watching a couple on the street share kisses before flagging down a taxi. “They look happy.” He comments quietly, wondering if that was the cause of your sadness.

“Mhm.” You hum in agreement, wondering for a moment longer what it would be like to be so carefree and in love. Before falling too far down the ash-rabbit hole, you focus on the man at your side. “Plans for the evening?” You ask, changing the subject while hoping to lighten your mood.

Not wanting to push, Hunter lets it go and instead lifts a hand to count off each element of his plan on his fingers. “Room service, a holodrama, and sleep.”

“Okay there, Grandpa.” You tease, the wind whipping around you a little more as you break out into a smile.

Hunter’s pretty sure your smile could end this war if you turned it on the right people. With a fond shake of his head, he chuckles. Unable to help himself just this once, he reaches out and gently tucks a stray strand of your hair behind your ear.

The action makes you pause, smile faltering, lips parting slightly in surprise. For a moment, you look at one another, the air seeming to crackle with something. Hunter had always been soft with you, but he’d been even more attentive since the night at 79’s.

“Join me?” He asks, not willing to let you go just yet.

“Sure.” You reply with a soft smile, not even needing a moment to think about it, and Hunter leads the way back into the suite. The balcony door closes behind you, muffling the sounds of the bustling city outside.

You settle onto the couch and Hunter orders room service. As you wait for the food to arrive, you fall into easy conversation, discussing missions, the state of the galaxy, and anything else that comes to mind.

The food doesn’t take long to arrive, the aroma filling the room, and you both enjoy a quiet dinner. Between you, you select a holodrama that turns out to be surprisingly entertaining. But as it progresses, you find yourself drawn to Hunter’s presence. His arm casually rests against the back of the couch, not quite touching you but close enough to send a shiver down your spine. A fluttery feeling erupts in your belly as your brain helpfully supplies that this kind of thing always happens in the trashy romance novels that clog up your datapad.

Nearing the end of the holodrama, a feather-light touch brushes against the nape of your neck and you instinctively lean into it. Hunter’s fingers trace gentle circles, and you feel a warmth spreading through you. Glancing towards him, you find his gaze fixed on you.

“Sorry.” He murmurs, withdrawing his hand slightly.

“No, it’s... nice.” You respond, surprising yourself with the admission. Hunter’s hand returns and the soft touch continues.

Hunter is at war with himself – if there was ever a time to make a move, it would be now. His senses are on overdrive, homed in on you, picking up every errant breath you take, the heavy thud of your heart, and your soft swallows.

The weight of the moment sits, the holodrama becoming background noise as you witness the conflict in Hunter’s gaze. It doesn’t last long, though, and the subtle touch on your neck becomes bolder, his hand shifting around to cup your cheek as his thumb brushes against your lower lip.

Inexperience makes you nervous, heart thumping wildly. You go to dip your head to break the eye contact, but Hunter’s pointer finger hooks under your chin to stop the movement.

He leans in slowly, closing the distance between you, giving you time to pull away if you’re uncomfortable. But you don’t. You remain still, those pretty eyes of yours focused on him even as your heart rate spikes and your breaths turn a little shallower with anticipation. “Cyar’ika…” He murmurs, a hair’s breadth away from you, gaze dropping momentarily to your lips.

The flood of feelings instead of you is overwhelming - excitement and nervousness, worry and anticipation. It’s hard to single each one out. You’d been telling the truth in 79’s - you were indeed waiting for the right man - but you’d omitted that you were sure it was the man now sat at your side, letting you decide whether to push your friendship into something more.

You lean in ever so slightly, and finally, his lips brush against yours in a tentative, exploratory kiss. It’s soft and sweet, testing the waters. Your eyes flutter closed, savouring the warmth that spreads through you.

The kiss deepens, becoming more passionate, and you respond eagerly. The taste of him, the feel of his hand on your cheek, it’s much more than you expected.

Hunter’s other hand moves between you and the couch, resting on the small of your back, pulling you closer. Your hands find their way to his shoulders, fingers intertwining with the fabric of his shirt as he draws you onto his lap.

Breaking the kiss, Hunter pulls back slightly, his eyes searching yours for any sign of discomfort. Instead, he finds his desire mirrored. “You okay?” He double-checks quietly, his breath mingling with yours.

You nod, a small smile playing on your lips. “More than okay.”

Hunter grins, his thumb gently caressing your cheek. “Good.” He whispers before capturing your lips in another kiss, the intensity growing between you. The holodrama plays on, completely forgotten, as you lose yourselves in the moment.

The touch of his lips and the warmth of his embrace all feel right. Hunter’s hands explore your back, and you feel the gentle press of his fingers as they slide under your shirt, sending shivers down your spine. Eventually, you both pull back, foreheads resting against each other as you catch your breath. The air is charged with electric energy, and the room feels warm.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” Hunter admits, his voice a low, smoky murmur, but conflict shines in his eyes. “I can’t give you the things any other man could. There’s no guarantee of tomorrow. I know it’s not right an-“

You meet his gaze, feeling warmth in your cheeks. “It is right.” You cut him off softly, breaking eye contact, focusing instead on the slight hollow of his throat as nervousness sweeps through you. “This... with you, it feels right.” You confess quietly.

Delight simmers in Hunter’s veins, and his fingers trace patterns on your back. He still feels guilty, but if this is what you want, and you’re sure it’s right, then who is he to protest? Pressing a kiss to your forehead, he smiles. “Then I’ll do everything I can to ensure you always feel that way.”

Your fingers find his chest, the buttery softness of his shirt doing nothing to conceal the firm muscles beneath it. A slight hum of contentment slides from him as you brush your fingers up and down his sternum. The nerves are back, your eyes flitting up to gaze at him, noting how his own are closed and contentment is painted across his face.

On your next stroke down, your fingers dip slightly lower, catching the first few ridges of his abs. A deep rumble vibrates his chest, giving you courage. Head tilting down to watch your actions, your heart pounds as your fingers skirt close to the hem of his shirt – and the waistband of his pants. A tattooed hand wraps around your wrist, stilling your motions, and you look up from under your lashes.

Meeting your gaze, Hunter’s thumb rubs small circles on your pulse point. “Feels good, cyar’ika. But there’s no rush.”

“I know, but…” You trail off for a moment, averting your gaze. “I want this. I want you.” You confess quietly, feeling warmth return to your cheeks as you chance a glance at him. “I’m tired of waiting, and I-I want you to be my first…”

Hunter was a good man, a strong man, but hell if he didn’t crumble at your confession. His fingers find your face, tilting your head upwards so he can look at you properly. He was touched by your admittance but didn’t want you to regret anything. “Promise me?” He asks gently, knowing how much value you placed on promises.

Meeting warm brown eyes, you couldn’t help the soft smile that crossed your lips. You were nervous, yes, but this felt right. “I promise.”

Leaning in, Hunter’s lips capture yours in a heated kiss. His hands shift, moving to cup your ass, and he lifts you up as he stands. The small noise of surprise you let out and how you grasp at him for stability draws a deep chuckle from him, though the sound is muffled by the kiss. It’s only a few steps over to the bed, and as he lowers you down gently onto the plush surface, he follows, hands smoothing across your hips as he rests a little of his weight against you.

Lips trailing from yours, he drags kisses across your cheek and down to your jawline, following the curve of your throat, giving a light nip as he reaches the juncture where your shoulder and neck meet. How your hips buck at the contact, breath catching, clues him in to how much you enjoy it. Your hands shift down Hunter’s body, and he can feel the nervousness rolling off you. Propping himself up above you with one hand, he uses the other to guide your hands towards his body, encouraging you to touch him in return. “There’s no reason to be nervous. We only do what you’re comfortable with.” He tells you, wanting to make that abundantly clear. “And we can stop anytime.”

You nod, chest rising and falling with each quick breath as your hands meet Hunter’s body. Encouraged, you explore the ridges and planes of him, fingers smoothing over him before gripping his narrow waist. His mouth is back on you, dragging across your throat, pulling soft noises from your lips as you familiarise yourself with the man above you. As your hands shift, a flash of courage rips through you, and you reach down, one hand landing squarely on his ass, giving the firm muscle a soft squeeze.

Hunter startles, not expecting the action, and warm puffs of his breath fan across your neck as he chuckles. “Cheeky.” He murmurs against your skin, the vibration of his laughter sending pleasant shivers down your spine. The atmosphere in the room is charged with a mix of desire and nervous excitement as you continue to explore each other.

Hands pull at clothes, material discarded, fluttering to the hotel room floor as acres of skin are revealed. You’re warm to the touch, the earlier chill from the balcony chased away by Hunter’s hands. Self-consciousness creeps through you as your underwear is cast aside, thighs pressing together to try and hide yourself.

“Cyar’ika…” Hunter tuts, strong hands moving down your body until he can rub and squeeze at your thighs. “Don’t hide from me. Wanna see all of you.” He murmurs, kisses trailing down your body. Tongue gliding across your breasts, he draws a nipple into his mouth, the corners of his lips curling upward as you gasp, your fingers tangling in his hair.

Pleasure rolls through you as you tug gently at Hunter’s brown curls, back arching to press more of yourself against him. He’s warm against you, bronze skin and dark ink pressed as close as possible, and it’s difficult to ignore the weight of his half-hard cock against your thigh.

Switching his focus to your other nipple, Hunter lavishes it with the same attention before he starts to creep back down your body. “Wanna taste you.” He breathes against your stomach, lips drawing across soft skin, fingers teasing your thighs. “Make you feel good.” He adds, pausing to glance up the length of you, finding your eyes focused on him. He can see your trepidation but also your burning curiosity and desire. “No one’s done that for you, have they?” He asks with no judgement.

Embarrassment burns through you, teeth sinking into your lower lip as you shake your head.

Hunter’s heart aches. How had no one loved on you before? Their loss was his gain, he supposed. “That’s okay.” He reassures you, pressing a kiss to the juncture where your thigh and hip meet. “Only if you want.” The reminder is gentle, fingers skirting back up your body to not put pressure on your decision.

You know you could say no, and that would be the end of it, but you’d seen many women enjoying it on the holonet, and they certainly seemed to like it in the novels you vicariously consumed. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to try. “Please.” You push out the word, embarrassment still sitting in your chest, though it evaporates when you meet Hunter’s hungry gaze.

He hadn’t been expecting your agreement, content to work you up in other ways, but that soft little plea from your lips sent fire through his veins. Hands finding your thighs once more, Hunter slowly pushes them apart. “A little wider, baby.” He encourages, a deep groan vibrating in his chest as you follow his order, and he shifts to lay between your thighs, greeted with the prettiest pussy he’s ever seen. Dropping soft kisses to your inner thigh, his tongue darts out to wet his lips.

Eyes flitting up to gauge how you’re faring, his cock twitches where it’s trapped between his body and the mattress as he catches you watching him. Holding your gaze, he leans forward, nose pressing against you as he inhales, committing the intimate scent of you to memory.

He starts slow, a gentle press of his tongue against your entrance, dragging it up through your folds until his tongue flicks over your clit. You jolt, letting out a small keening noise that he’s desperate to hear again.

Spurred on, kitten licks accompany broad, sweeping tastes, soft open-mouthed kisses dropped against heated flesh as Hunter closes his eyes and focuses on bringing you pleasure. His tongue drags across your clit again, and he grunts as your fingers, tangled in his hair, try to drag his face impossibly closer.

You’d watched for as long as you could, engraving the sight of Hunter between your thighs into your mind. Head tilting back, eyes fluttering shut, warmth coils through you. Letting out low whimpers and quiet gasps, your hips rock, chasing the pleasure he’s so beautifully giving you. Now you understood the fuss, why all those women on the holonet and in the novels adored this.

Lips wrap around your clit, and your grip on Hunter’s hair tightens as the pleasure curling through your body climbs, the light suction and the rapid flick of his tongue across the sensitive bud pushing you ever closer to the edge. The warm wetness of his mouth was better than anything you’d ever been able to achieve with your fingers.

“Hunter.” You moan out his name, enjoying the groan he lets out in response. One of his hands slides up the bed, fingers interlacing with those on your free hand as he doubles-down his efforts.

Most of the time, Hunter considers his heightened senses a curse rather than a blessing, but right now, with the scent of you in his lungs, the taste of you on his tongue, and his name falling from your lips like a prayer, he’s never been more grateful for them. Tuning into your body, to every thud of your heart, every sharp inhale, and the little whines you let out, he uses them to guide him until you’re close, teetering on the edge.

Two fingers enter the mix, pressing against your entrance, slipping in with ease as Hunter laves kisses and licks across your folds. His lips find your clit again, applying light suction as he crooks his fingers right against that sweet little spot.

Caught off guard, you come with a cry, the noise echoing in the room as the pleasure that had been building crashes into you. Thigh’s quivering, tiny trembles coast through your body as you pant through the high, body going pliant as your release works out of your system.

Enraptured, the pride Hunter feels is undeniable as he pries his fingers from your pussy, sliding them into his mouth to clean them off and savour the taste of you even more.

Staring up at the ceiling as you drag your breathing under control, a small snort of laughter escapes you. “Oh, stars, you can do that again whenever you want.” You vow quietly, enjoying Hunter’s chuckle as he shifts back over you, capturing your lips for a deep kiss, the tang of you lingering in his mouth.

As Hunter pulls back, he rests on his knees between your thighs, soaking up the sight of you naked. He still can’t believe this is happening, that you’d chosen him.

Your gaze travels over his body – broad shoulders, firm chest, defined abs. He was gorgeous enough to be a carved statue in a fancy Naboo garden. Eyes roaming lower, you swallow at the sight of his cock. Hard and flushed, it twitches with his heartbeat, girthier than you’d expected.

“It’ll fit.” Hunter can’t resist teasing, tattooed hand shifting down so he can give himself a few lazy strokes. The way you watch the movement gives him ideas for the future. “Still want this, love?” He checks in.

Your earlier nervousness is still there, but it’s smothered by anticipation. Eyes flitting up, you meet Hunter’s gaze, parting your thighs just that little bit more.

Delight flares in Hunter’s eyes, and he moves to rest back over you, one hand supporting his weight as the other stays wrapped around his dick. Holding your gaze, he drags the velvety head between your slick folds, enjoying the way your breath stutters as he brushes against your clit.

“I’ve got you, princess.” He coos, lining up before pressing forward. “Doing so well.” Hunter praises, focused on your face and your body’s reaction as he bottoms out, hips flush to yours.

The sensation is unlike anything you’d experienced before. The stretch burns slightly but gives way quickly to pleasure as he feeds the last inch of his cock into your heat. Love and adoration weave through you, that earlier sense of rightness rearing its head as you squirm a little beneath him.

Hunter’s now free hand drops to your hip, grip firm as he holds you still. “Just…give me a second.” He murmurs, voice strained as his eyes close. “Been dreaming about this for a long time, and if I don’t take a few breaths here, I’m gonna kriffing embarrass myself.”

The revelation that he’s dreamt of this moment makes you involuntarily clench around him.

“Not helping…” He growls quietly, words lacking any bite. You feel like heaven, like everything he’s ever wanted and desired.

Mirth dances in your eyes as you lift a hand to trace along his inked jawline, still unable to comprehend that he wants you and that he’s buried inside you, the two of you connected in the most intimate of ways.

Dark eyes snap open at the contact, and Hunter takes you in, soaks in the sight of you sprawled underneath him, hair fanned on the pillow, lips plush from kisses and eyes still a little hazy from your orgasm. “Kriff, baby. I love that no one else has seen you like this, that no one else has felt you before, been inside you. They don’t get to have you, but I do.” He rasps, letting the last fragments of his feelings for you eke out of the box he’d kept them locked away in for far too long. “Feel so good wrapped around my cock.” He groans.

Hand leaving your hip, Hunter tilts your head back up as he sees it start to dip down. “Don’t go getting shy on me now.” He whispers. “Keep those pretty eyes on me.” He slowly draws his hips back, watching as your lips part and the sweetest sound slides from between them as he pushes himself back inside. Hunter takes his time, building up the pace, focusing on every noise you make, every shift of your body, every flutter of your heart.

With every roll of Hunter’s hips, that earlier pleasure starts to build again. Hands grasp at his sweat-dampened shoulders, providing leverage as you move with him, the harsh sounds of your breaths filling the room alongside the noise of your bodies meeting. The air feels hot, matching the heat inside you as Hunter’s lips crash against yours, devouring you. A whine escapes you as his tongue presses forward, tasting you. It’s unrefined and needy, his usual self-control long thrown out of the hotel room window.

“That’s it, baby, that’s it. You can give me one more. I know you can.” Hunter whispers against your lips, pulling back just enough to slide his free hand between your bodies, thrusts never faltering. Dragging his lips across your jaw, he peppers kisses down your throat as his fingers circle over your clit once, twice, and on the third round, he nips at your throat.

The building pleasure slams into you, tipping over into ecstasy as you cry out his name, back arching, and body clenching around him as the high washes through you. Panting for breath, nails digging into Hunter’s shoulders, you coast through the feeling, small shakes rocking your body as Hunter’s hips snap against yours a little roughly.

The way you’d tightened around him, the sound of you crying out his name in the throes of pleasure, it was all too much for Hunter. “Kriff, cyar’ika. Where?” He asks between ragged breaths, thrusts sloppy as he closes in on his own climax.

It’s probably a stupid idea and could go very wrong, but it’s the first one that comes to mind. And you’re desperate to experience it. “In me. Come in me. Please.” You insist.

Hunter crumbles for the second time this evening, unable to deny you anything, consequences be damned. A few more rough thrusts and he’s growling out your name, pressing himself into you as deep as he can get, lips finding yours for a passionate kiss as he finds his own release, cock twitching as he fills you.

His hips slow to a stop, and your kiss turns softer and more reverent as the haze of lust dissipates. Hands stroke across each other’s bodies reverently, lips parting as Hunter mouthes down your throat to the spot he’d nipped earlier, pressing open-mouthed kisses to your skin. He sucks lightly, just to leave the slightest mark, so faint that unless someone was standing right beside you, they wouldn’t see it.

Contentment curls through you, hand brushing Hunter’s hair, fingers snagging on his bandana. Feeling cheeky, you pry it off, wrapping it around your wrist, enjoying how his eyes darken.

“Playin’ with fire again, cyar’ika.” Hunter murmurs, lips moving up to ghost across the shell of your ear.

A smile paints itself on your lips. “If that was me getting burned, then tie me to a stake and call me a Nightsister.”

Hunter’s whole body shakes with his laughter, amusement shining in his pretty brown eyes. “Oh, one day I’ll tie you to something, don’t worry about that.” He vows.

A thrill shoots through you, your own laughter joining his. As it fizzles out and the room falls silent, you’re left staring into each other’s eyes.

“How’d you feel?” Hunter asks, slowly shifting you both down onto your sides. The movement has him slipping from you, and you wince a little. Hunter’s arms loop around you, drawing you close.

“Loved.” You answer honestly.

“Good.” Hunter smooths a hand across your hair, pushing it back from your face. He captures your lips for another soft kiss. “Because you are.” He shares as the kiss breaks.

Warmth sweeps across your cheeks again. He was getting too good at pulling this reaction from you. “As are you.” You reply, wanting to ensure he understands how much you care for him in return.

Hunter’s smile is blinding as he draws you closer, suffocating the space between you, tucking you safely under his chin. Burying his nose in your hair, he inhales deeply, picking up on your combined scent.

As the night draws on, the two of you lay entwined, finding comfort in the shared warmth of your bodies. The soft glow of the cityscape filters through the window, casting a gentle illumination in the room as you share quiet conversations.

As sleep begins to claim you both, you whisper a quiet promise into the stillness of the night. “No matter where the stars take us, I want to be with you.”

Hunter holds you a little tighter, kissing your forehead in silent agreement. Together, you drift into dreams, wrapped in the warmth of love and the certainty that, no matter what challenges awaited, you would face them together.

[crow-hoards-things]

The Bad Batch Series Finale

FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a vent post. I’m angry and hurt. After I get this out of my system I’ll be more open to discussing the positives of the episode.

Warnings: Ranting, Spoilers

Hooo boy. Okay. I am… less than satisfied?

Quick rundown since I haven’t posted much of anything Bad Batch related: Tech is my favorite Batch member, immediately followed by Crosshair. I’m also a HUGE Republic Commando Nerd (read all the books, played the game, despised Bad Batch as a whole initially because I felt the commandos were being unfairly ignored, can sing + translate Vode An, etc.) and Scorch was my favorite Delta. The Bad Batch grew on me shortly after Season 1 finished up, and I immediately latched onto Tech when I began watching. He’s the reason I watched the first two seasons. (Crosshair + delusions about Tech were the combined force behind watching the final season)

NOW, onto my actual thoughts on the episode, in no semblance of order because my brain is still trying to process, Ft. Cry count:

• Wish Tech was here. He would’ve loved the Zillo being freed.

• “‘Cause I’d do the same thing” no you wouldn’t. Fives would’ve. The you I fell in love with would’ve yelled at Fives about it being a terrible idea and then promptly gone along with it anyway. That said it was a really cute moment and I loved his nonchalant little “come on” afterwards.

• C: “Echo or Omega?” W&H: “Omega” THEY KNOW THEIR GIRL SO WELL

• When Hemlock went to get the operatives I got excited thinking maybe, just maybe we’d get Tech back.

• CROSSHAIR LOST HIS FREAKING HAND!?!? WHAT THE HECK!?! I will never stop being salty about this. He’s been through enough. [Near Tears]

• Rampart sucks

• Nala Se got to blow stuff up and I appreciate that even if I don’t really like her

• I’m glad Wrecker’s okay. He had me scared for a bit. Hunter, conversely, never really did? He’s Omega’s Dad, he had to survive.

• Did anybody else see that one operative whose helmet seemingly had goggles built into it? We had a lingering shot on his helmet for a few seconds and they looked like a red version of Tech’s goggles.

• SCORCH IS DEAD AND YOU’D BETTER BELIEVE I’M MAD ABOUT IT! [First shedding of tears]

• HECK YEAH, HEMLOCK IS DEAD!!! [Tears of relief combined with grief over Scorch]

• I’m so glad Omega hugged Crosshair first. I fully expected her to just run to Hunter, and Crosshair needed that hug.

• Echo’s goodbye was disrespectful. 0/10. He’s family and they don’t even care that he’s leaving???

• SOMEONE IS MISSING FROM OUR NICE LITTLE GROUP SHOT!

• I never really got super invested in the dynamic between Omega and Hunter, but the ending between them was cute I guess.

• We were robbed. We could’ve gotten Crosshair and Wrecker as old men and we were robbed.

• Tech is dead. Like, seriously, really and truly, dead. As a delusional “Tech’s alive guys, trust me” fan, it feels like he just died all over again. I’ll talk more about this later because I’m not over it. [Que sob-fest]

alright, circling back around to my main gripes, in order of appearance:

#1. Scorch.

I hate how they handled him. At first when he showed up I got super excited. That was my boy! In the Bad Batch show!! He’s making an appearance!!! Maybe they’ll do something with the Delta boys!!

Even as the episodes went on and I started to suspect where his path was leading, I consistently would go “Scorch!!! <3” every episode, because that is my boy and I love him dearly.

The levels of offended I am on Scorch’s behalf are not within my ability to express with words. The complete and utter disrespect he was shown over his time on the show is appalling. Why bring him in if you’re going to drain him of all his personality, make him have zero plot relevance, and then murder him?! They could easily have made a new clone for that, as seen by the number of operatives who exist and got 0.5 minutes of screen time.

But no. They brought in a beloved character with 10 seconds of canonical screen time prior, stripped him of everything that made him lovable, didn’t even have him DO ANYTHING, and then murdered him. It feels like a spit in the face and a kick to the gut all at once.

I will mourn. I’ve already cried and I’ll probably cry again. But right now I’m angry and I think Scorch deserves to have people be angry about how he was treated.

#2. Tech

Yes. I admit to having been a “trust me guys, Tech’s alive” person. I will also admit that at the end of episode 13 I wanted him to stay dead because I had zero faith they could satisfactorily bring him back.

My gripe is not with him staying dead. Yes, it feels like losing him all over again. Yes, I will mourn him again. Yes. That sucks. It’s not what’s making me mad.

What makes me mad is how his death was handled.

• It served ZERO purpose narratively other than to up the stakes and make us worry about whether anyone else would die (Spoiler alert: They didn’t. Tech was the only one who died) • Nobody mourned him. No one seemed affected by his death at all. No one cared. I don’t care what anyone says, that will NEVER be okay. • The first actual mention of Tech *dying* was in the finale. Sure, we’ve had name drops and goggle appearances, but actually talking about what happened? One line. One. Freaking. Line.

I feel like I’ve been slapped in the face, you know? He deserved better and so did we. He was a part of that family and they couldn’t even be bothered to address the responses to his death. He was beloved by many of us and they couldn’t even respect him or his fans enough to treat his death like something to be mourned.

That’s wrong, no matter how you look at it.

[zoeykallus]

smutty hcs? yes please!

how about some turn ons for the bad batch?

one for hunter should be the reader stealing/wearing hunters clothing *mainly sweats and bandanas hehehehehehe

I was so sure I've done something like this before.... but I can't find it in my documents nor in my Masterlist.... strange. well maybe I imagined that! Okay turn ons, let's see.... As alaways if you don't give me a gender, I assume female ^^' Hope that's okay. I hope I got it right.

The Bad Batch - Spicy Headcanons 6 - Turn Ons HC's

Strongly Suggestive 18+ (Partly SMUT)

Hunter

He can't help it if you run around half-naked in his sweaters or shirts, that automatically gets him going. Just the thought of his clothes smelling like you makes his blood boil. When you walk past him, he will grab the fabric of his clothes and pull you towards him. His hands will be so fast under the fabric and on your breasts that you will hardly have time to complain or realize that he is holding you. He will immediately be all over you, wild kisses, groping and little love bites will follow shortly after.

Wet clothes, he didn't know he was into it until you got splashed more or less by accident at the pool and your shirt was wet against your skin. As quickly as he dragged you into the next quiet corner, you can not really realize what's going on, but then you feel very clearly his hard length on your leg through his trunks.

Echo

Shiny skin, when your skin shines, through oil or lotion, Echo is completely lost. The moment you find this out is heated and nervous, the usually submissive rather reserved Echo is suddenly quite fiery and can't keep his hands off you.

Dirty praise. The moment you utter a dirty praise for the first time during your lovemaking makes him downright vibrate. "That's it Echo, eat that pussy, you're doing very well". His cock twitches with excitement, he moans and almost rolls his eyes, he is suddenly so horny that he can't wait for you to sit down on his hard length.

Wrecker

Dirty Talk. The dirtier the better. Tell him how much you want his cock, how great he feels, what you want to do with him, he will be wax in your hands. Best of all, be loud, that turns him on. He loves it when he can hear that he is doing something good for you.

Suggestive movements. Bending over seductively or dancing around him with a suggestive hip swing already gets him going. He likes it when you are vibrant and if you can show it in the context of your sex life, he will be blown away. A lap dance is the best and hottest surprise you can give him. He will spoil you so much that your legs will tremble when you even think about his touch.

Tech

Surprise him with new ideas that you want to try. It doesn't matter how busy he is, if you go to him and whisper a new sexy idea to him, he will drop everything, he loves your experimentation and open-mindedness very much. He finds it incredibly sexy when you share his curiosity.

Keep your clothes on during sex. You can try many different combinations, he likes it best when what you wear reveals as much as possible without revealing everything. Breastless corsages / corsets for example with a panty that has an opening through which he can fuck you, one of his favorite outfits. Whenever he sees you wearing that, he's immediately hard. Leather, latex and vinyl he loves on you, if you have high heels on, he tends to let you take the lead every now and then and dominate him if you like.

Crosshair

Call him names. Especially call him authoritative names, Master, Daddy, Sir, as an example. He loves to be dominant and when you play along he is blown away. For example, you walk up to him and look at him: "I've been naughty, Master". He will blink while several things are happening in his body at the same time. "Well then, I will have to punish you". If you let him, he will tie you to the bed and you can expect several hours of hot play. He'll wear you out until you can't take it anymore.

He also likes bondage games, of course, but he has another preference that you will probably find out only after quite a while, because he will not address you on it. He likes sex in total darkness, when he can't see you but only feel you. This is something very personal for him, very intimate and as hard as in this moment, you have not experienced him yet.

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

Sorry, Wrong Comms! : Hunter x Medic!Reader [Chapter 7.5]

Warnings and Information: Intended audience is 13+ (18 if you squint.) **THIS IS PART TWO OF CHAPTER 7.** I needed to cut the chapter in “half” to avoid a massive word count! Should hopefully know the drill about my use of italics, Mando'a and headcanons by this point in the series. Couple of lines throughout both halves get suggestive.

Party shenanigans continue! The birthday presents are described in a vague, general manner to leave it up to your imagination and better fit all manner of hobbies/interests! Sorry Hunter, siblings will be siblings, and that means some teasing/plotting. Mostly Star Wars swearing. Medic!Reader (finally) meets the Captain. Rex being a proud older brother; bonus healthy emotional outlets for everyone! Some accidental eavesdropping leads to discovering how much our broody sergeant worries about getting involved with the Empire (and other things). Tech takes his turn at trickery. Local Man brags/rambles about his family in a confessional love letter like A Weirdo (Affectionate); the way to Hunter's heart is caring for his brothers and sister. Mild panic and awkwardness. Hints of the writer's thinly disguised current romantic fantasies? It's more likely than you think. Someone steps on glass, but no blood! Unintentional sibling "trickery" (Echo's, referenced from Chapter 3, if you can even call it that) and two counts of very intentional, suggestive teasing during one instance (ten credits if you guess both correctly, five if you guess one right) are also present amid other occurrences of sibling shenanigans.

Word-count: 8,540

"Start with the smallest present!" Omega called, clambering excitedly into Wrecker's lap as he barely got himself lowered on the floor after carrying all of the presents into the common area from Echo's room. 

The medic laughed with a curious brow quirking at the smallest Clone who was the big sister of the Batch, plucking the indicated item off the top of the pile at her feet. It was clearly just a small envelope that'd been swaddled in gift paper at the first feel of things. The gift-giver's name was a short, illegible smear of ink and all [____] could make out was the general markings of "cresh" of the Aurebesh alphabet somewhere in the middle of it. "Uh-oh, things got more than a little messy I see. I wanna see if I can guess who this is from. Ink smear is a little too short to be Crosshair at least." She teased, carefully removing the wrapping paper before working her nail under the edge of the seal flap to ease it open. 

"How sure are you about that?" Crosshair challenged all in good fun with a wicked grin over the rim of his fourth different mocktail combination, "While it's nothing like your's, I'll have you know that's my best handwriting yet, doc." The sniper's sarcastic nature was only further spurred on by the exaggerated eye roll and equally-sarcastic yeah-yeah-yeah murmuring of the medic and Hunter pinching the bridge of his nose with a muted sigh before flashing him two hand signals.

Knife. Stop. 

Crosshair smirked impishly, drawing out each word in a galactic language other than Basic in mock-challenge. "Why don't you make me cut it out? Just having a little fun, sarge. You should be having some fun, too." 

[____]'s head snapped up in confusion just before she finished opening the envelope, eyeing the marksman quizzically. "What was that, Cross?" 

"Oh nothing," Crosshair chuckled, flicking his free hand lazily in a dismissive gesture, "just reminding Hunter of something for later while I was thinking about it." To Hunter's relief the medic found it satisfactory enough of an answer to turn her attention back to the envelope in her hands and finish tearing it open rather than ask further questions. 

She knew immediately which brother this gift was from once the seal flap was pulled back. Tucked inside the envelope were two collector's foil tickets for her favorite intergalactic band; marked for the night they'd be on this planet and closest to the spaceport. The location she'd joked she'd have an easier time talking herself into abandoning her clinic for the night in favor of going and seeing the live performance on this leg of the band's touring route. "Aw, Tech…! Thank you, that's so sweet!" 

Tech smiled shyly before tugging his goggles back in place with an easygoing voice, eyes fixed on his knees. "You're quite welcome." He sharply ducked Crosshair's hand reaching out to mess with his hair as he teased his brother for looking slightly red in the face at the attention. "I would recommend Omega's gift be opened next. It will be in the larger envelope." 

The second envelope was made of more rigid material than the first, difficult to bend or flex without great effort. [____] smiled at the cheerfully written "Open HERE!" with a smile and the stern "DON'T open THIS end!" warning on the identical entry-points at the short edges of the rectangle. Heeding the notations, she opened the appropriate end and gently shook out the contents; a plastic gift-voucher card to a store just on the edge of the spaceport the medic frequented for one of her hobbies, and a few pieces of artwork carried out in painstaking detail to accurately depict [____]'s favorite species of flora and fauna from around the galaxy. She swore louder than intended, turning around the print of a large flower in particular to excitedly show the rest of them. "Holy kriff! Omega, you made these?" 

"Uh-huh!" Omega giggled, laughing and kicking her feet in half-hearted protest to Wrecker tickling her in-between the explanation she'd locked herself in her room immediately after breakfast this morning to work on the three illustrations, and didn't come out until lunch.  

"These are so beautiful," she swooned, eyes lingering over the attention to minute details for a moment longer before putting them back in the safety of the envelope, "thank you, sweetheart! I think I'll hang these in my bedroom… and put the voucher to good use. Who's present should I open next?" It seemed so far that the person who's present was opened last was choosing the next sibling's, and she didn't mind. (Maybe just a little curious why Tech's was specified to be first; perhaps it was because the literal big-ticket item was the most expensive and they were eager to see her reaction.) "You should open Crosshair's!" Omega decided. 

She now wondered if the remark from the Clone with the short crop of stark silver-gray hair about her handwriting was deliberate when she opened his gift next; a package of the writing pens she liked best for filling out the occasional old-school medical charts on paper. Trustworthy and reliable writing implements she'd recently run dry on. Of course Cross would have noticed and made note of when she'd thrown away that last pen with a sigh; and it didn't surprise her he'd have gone for a gift on the more practical side. The corner of his mouth twitched in a half-smile in response to her thanks. 

"Heh... Don't mention it, doc. Big guy's turn." 

Wrecker's gift was squished down into an old paper grocery sack that'd been stapled shut, and it popped out the moment the last staple had been freed. "Aw, Wreck, it's so cute!" [____] squeezed the stuffed rendition of her absolute favorite animal in all the galaxy to her chest, relishing the way the slightly chubby little body squished against her. Oh Maker, it was so soft! "I love it, thank you!" 

Wrecker grinned broadly at her, releasing Omega when the youngster made to get up from his lap, either restless or tired of sitting on the floor so she squeezed herself up by Hunter in his seat. "Yer welcome, kid! Hopefully the candy in the bottom of the bag didn't get too badly squished while I was tryna fit in the toy, heh." She quickly confirmed that wasn't the case, and was now eagerly looking forward to the particular treat she didn't get the chance to have as often as she liked. "'Kay, Echo next!" 

The gift from the ARC trooper was also in a paper bag, stapled much more neatly across the top thanks to a less bulky shape inside. Pulled open, [____] saw the tightly-tucked item and had to laugh softly as she pulled it out. "Ho boy. Of course there's a way to fold a blanket according to regulation-standards," It was so soft and comfortable to the touch, a welcome bonus to her favorite color and pattern. "old habits?" she asked, hoping to tease an answer out of him.

Echo just laughed, unlacing his arms and sitting up in his seat now that he was talking. He wasn't afraid to tease her in kind. "Be thankful for those old habits, burc'ya; it's the best way it'll fit in the bag when you have to carry everything home." 

"O-or have someone help with that," Hunter cut in suddenly with a nervous cough, proposing an offer, "It'll probably be late, so one of us would be more than happy to walk you home, by the time the party's over…" his hand started to climb back up towards the new gauze in a nervous movement before he caught himself and instead put the hand around Omega's shoulder in a tender gesture. Echo barked with laughter in response, eyes glinting with a unique hint of mischief. "Sounds like someone's trying to volunteer, kid: how nice of you, Hunter." 

[____] tucked the plush new blanket back into the paper bag, deciding it would replace the old, scratchy and threadbare blanket that was thrown over the cot in her back office and picked up the last gift, Hunter's, with a pleasant chuckle. "I'd be happy for the help, no matter who it is." she promised, cautiously breaking open the package. "Alright, last but not least, Hunter's gift-"

"And then it's dinner time!" Wrecker cheered, briefly forgetting his manners as he eyed his timer with glee. He wouldn't tell her what he'd been planning for her special dinner, adamant that it would be a surprise to her. Ended up being a good thing she'd been so absorbed in that holofilm and hadn't eaten anything yet, whatever it was waiting for them in the kitchen smelled delicious.

Methodically wrapped in clumps of thin tissue paper within the last birthday present were an assortment of accessories, each a beautiful and unique style. [____] gasped softly, marveling under her breath as she took a closer look at each little piece. Some rings, others a pair of earrings, or something to pin in her hair if she wanted. All were made a little differently, no two styles the same. It looked like they'd all come from different planets, if she had to guess based on some of the materials used to make them. "Oh stars… These are beautiful, Hunter. Oh kriff, I almost missed this one here at the bottom…" 

Omega stifled a gentle gasp at the sight of the necklace pendant the moment [____] had it unwrapped. She recognized that one in particular best out of all of the other accessories Hunter had been collecting in secret. She and her brothers had been on an assignment that they'd been promised a healthy windfall of credits for if they completed it successfully, dating back months ago now. It'd been the first mission they took once Omega was better after she'd been sick. 

Once they were done and set to return to the Havoc Marauder to return to their employer with proof of a completed contract, they'd passed through a small market where Hunter had been the first to stall the rest of them once something caught his eye. 

That Nabooian pendant [____] now held gingerly in her hands. 

The first hint that Hunter felt some kind of way about the medic was when Omega watched him ever-so-gingerly pick up that necklace from the tray out of everything else the jeweler had to sell and exchanged the appropriate amount of credits for it. After he'd walked some distance away, still holding the free gift box that came with every purchase from the vendor that now held the necklace inside it, Hunter had paused with a great, sudden look of uncertainty after showing it to Echo before it was finally put away for safekeeping. 

"What's the matter, sarge? Having second thoughts on if it's the kid's style after all?"

"N-no, I'm certain it'd look nice on her, that's not what I'm worried about. But… What if she thinks I'm weird for just… giving her this out of the blue?"

"Then, don't. Wait for like a - ohIdunno - special occasion or something. She'll like it either way, I'm sure." 

Omega realized these feelings Hunter had for [____] had been brewing much longer than initially thought. So she was right when she asked Hunter if he ever thought of someone special: the answer was sitting right there in his footlocker where he kept his armor kit for months along with everything else he'd been secretly collecting!

Of course. She should've realized that when she found everything neatly wrapped up in a pair of too-small blacks (probably Hunter's last set before his final growth spurt shortly before reaching full Clone-maturity) the time he'd asked her to grab something out of his footlocker.

In a flash, the medic had opened the clasp to the necklace and reached behind her neck to put on the accessory to try it on first out of everything. Five sets of eyes swung in Hunter's direction once she'd closed the mechanism and took a moment to admire the pendant as it hung from her neck and lay comfortably against her chest. "Oh I love this… Thank you, Hunter!" 

He was redder than one of Mustafar's lava fields even under all the cool-toned party lights as he barely stuttered out a you're welcome before his voice was overshadowed by the excited, whooping laugh as Wrecker ducked into the snug kitchenette to bring out the main course for everyone, making the effort to move in such a way that it concealed what he was carrying until he got it to the table in the breakfast nook. 

"Hope you're all hungry! Cause it's ready!" Tech, Echo, Crosshair and Omega were quick to claim their seats around the table, the joint effort once more seating [____] and Hunter next to one another, this time by force. Crosshair grinned lazily, leaning one elbow on the table once his brother and their collective friend had seated themselves. "Smells good, big guy. What is it?" 

Excited as he was, and this close to reminding Crosshair he'd helped him gather all the fresh ingredients just this morning, Wrecker did his best to stick to the script just like his sharp-eyed brother. "Thought we'd all have a taste of home tonight: [____]'s home, that is!" He lifted the lid to the tray to finally reveal what he'd cooked up, and he was sure that he looked a little pink after all the excited chatter from the medic as [____] explained to Omega (as she also pretended she had no idea what it was Wrecker had made) that this was one of her favorite things to eat where she grew up; that she hadn't eaten it since she'd moved from her home planet and came here. 

They were still on track, after all. If Hunter wasn't going to show that letter to her tonight, feeling it wasn't the right time for any reason, all he had to do was give Tech one little hand signal. 

Barricade. 

So far, there'd been no sign of it.

So, so far so good!

Following dinner, they had gotten at least one round into a short, modified game of Sabacc before everyone was interrupted by a loud GNK unit coming up the street. 

Bwonk! Honk, honk! 

Wrecker looked up from his current hand, both brows reaching for the ceiling. "Huh? Wha's Gonky doin' outside the door? He usually stays with the ship unless it's really important… Excuse me, ad'ika, I better go see what 'e wants. H-hold these for me, will ya?" 

She took the cards, careful to keep them face-down so they didn't become a spoiled hand. "Sure, no worries Wreck." [____] promised, holding Wrecker's current hand of Sabacc cards to her chest for further security. The front door whipped open, the hydraulics cracking sharply as the blastdoor opened and closed as Wrecker stepped out onto the stoop for a brief moment. 

Everyone playing at the tight table quickly abandoned the effort of guarding their current hands from spying eyes to see why there was suddenly shouting, fearing that there was some kind of trouble when they heard Wrecker and another man bellowing. 

"No-no-no, put me down!"

Everyone quickly jumped to their feet. Crosshair easily swept Omega off his lap and held her against his back with one long arm, and completely disregarding his injuries that he really should not be fighting with, Hunter stepped protectively in front of the confused medic; each veteran brother telling their prospective charge they were minding to "Get behind me!" in unison, swiping anything in reach that could be used as a makeshift weapon. Tech and Echo moved closest to the door, ready to act however necessary to buy Cross and Hunter time or to come to Wrecker's aid.

It proved to be an unnecessary measure by all, but no less sweet or so selflessly brave. There was no Imperial threat.

"GUYS! Hahaha! Look who it is!!" Wrecker was not alone when he came back inside, the door rocketing open to reveal the boyish giant with so much excitement in his mismatched eyes over this very familiar-looking man struggling in his arms, feet so far off the ground and kicking desperately for purchase on something, anything. Imperial threats didn't get carried into the house with a look of unfettered glee by someone trying to deal them secretive, critical blows.

"Wr-Wrecker! Every time?! Put me down!" the other Clone tried near-fruitlessly, still struggling in the arms of the explosive ordnance expert. 

Makeshift weapons were dropped. The five faces of the Clone brothers previously flooded with fear quickly fell and gave way to relief, Echo's gaunt face changing the most as he staggered against the wall, loosely clutching his chest, practically halfway to tears in a bittersweet blend of excitement and comfort. "Oh, Maker! It's the Captain, not a damn Imperial… oh Maker it's just the Captain." (Omega swiftly caught the attention of the medic and, happily, declared it's really okay, we know him; he's very nice! in a whispered voice.)

Echo didn't talk about just anyone like that; the Captain? [____] heard how much Echo respected, loved this particular older brother, always calling him "one of my brothers, Rex" and "the Captain" depending on the cybernetically enhanced soldier's mood or decided topic of the day when he swung by her clinic just to talk. 

So between Echo's painfully obvious relief, Omega's seal of approval, and a memory that the Batchers got along best with a select few of their "Reg" brothers in the GAR, [____] was nearly certain this must be Captain Rex, based on the whooping and crushing hug he was (still, unfortunately for him) receiving from Wrecker; and he was likely coming by to see how Hunter was recovering. "Oh, of course, of course; you must be wondering about Hunter! I'm personally not aware or sure that anyone had let you know that he was okay when Echo accidentally… hailed me but… he's, um… Echo? What's wrong?" she trailed off, seeing the ARC shrink further against the storm-blue wall with every word.

If the slight paleness in his skin could possibly go any paler, Echo had found a way, eyes enormous and both shoulders practically in his ears as he stammered through his explanation. "Uh… I'm not sure I'd call hailing you an accident… exactly. I did mean to hail the Captain, but I, uh, I-I-I also meant to contact you for medical help and I wasn't sure what communication frequency I dialed in when I started speaking and-!" 

"You boys are a real mess." The sigh from the captain was fond. Nostalgic. "Just like old times… Wrecker, mind finally setting me down so I can introduce myself?" On his feet, the Captain with closely-shaved blonde, curled hair could now properly greet the medic, offering a firm handshake. (Maker, the sheer strength in those fingers alone!) "The name's Rex. Thanks for taking care of these boys, and their sister, ma'am. I know it can't be easy." 

She knew what he was playfully alluding to, fully familiar with these siblings and their proclivity for danger in the almost-a-year she's known them by now. She firmed up her handshake and chuckled humbly. "Heh. Nonsense! I knew the job had its thorns when I went to school for it; easy would be out of the question. They just keep my job exciting for me, that's all. I'm [____]. Pleased to meet you, Rex!" 

"Likewise, [____]. Likewise." Rex pumped the handshake one last time before he was content to release the medic's hand and greet each of his brothers, starting with a warm, comforting chuckle for Echo once he was pulled to his feet. "Easy there, little brother; sorry for the scare. It's good to see you, Echo."

"I-I'm fine…" Echo sniffled, face buried into the Captain's shoulder. She'd never seen Echo cling to anyone so tightly before, not even the frightening occasion he was in the deep throes of hypothermia and Wrecker had volunteered himself to assist in raising Echo's core temperature. "M'fine, Captain… H-how'd you find us?" 

"I knew how to find your ship," Captain Rex confessed, thumb doing a few slow, circular laps where he held it against Echo's back. "Tracked it down here to this planet and docked myself a few shipyards over. The GNK-series droid aboard your ship led me here when I asked if he knew where I could find you boys. And Omega." he added, grinning at the youngster now hanging off Crosshair's wrist once it was made clear that she wasn't in any danger, waiting quietly and politely with a smile of her own. 

"And [____], too," Omega insisted, releasing herself once the Captain had let go of Echo and next offered the other curiously blonde Clone a hug in greeting, "it's her birth-day, so we're throwing her a party!"

"Ah, is that what all this is for? Wondered what Wrecker was doing wearing a party hat or what the place was so decked out for… Looks like you're all having fun! Even ol' Crosshair's managing to smile." 

The sniper laughed dryly and sarcastically, rolling his eyes and the toothpick from the last spicy snack sausage he'd plucked from the collection of snacks set out for the party as he spoke. "Very funny, Captain…" He allowed the Captain a brief hug before he started to wiggle out and stood within arm's reach, "Glad to see you made a clean get-away from the transport. It's good to see you." 

"You too, little brother," Rex agreed, patting Crosshair on the shoulder before turning his sights on the exceptionally-minded, "And good to see you too, Tech!" 

Tech backpedaled defensively, dodging a threat of close-quarters contact he wasn't always fond of. "A-ah-! Please don't hug me!" he blurted, knocking into Wrecker with a mild yelp. (Though it wasn't his fault, Wrecker apologized for getting in the way as his brother had tried to avoid undesired sensory input.) The Captain just chuckled agreeably, taking no offense. "Alright, alright. Then I won't. Won't force you to do anything you're not comfortable with." Tech nodded gratefully, not meeting Rex's eyes and allowed himself to take a singular and friendly clap on the shoulder before he sidestepped out of the Captain's reach. "Th-thank you, Captain..."

"Awh, s'okay Captain, I already gave ya a hug!" Wrecker scratched around the back of his neck in a self-soothing motion to go with the sheepish laughter, settling for a good handshake instead. "Thanks, though!"

"No, better not while I'm still healing… What brings you here again, Captain?" Hunter asked, waving off the offered hug and taking a shoulder-clap of his own on the right side instead.

"Came to make sure you especially were okay, like [____] guessed; but everyone else too, really, since I could track down your ship with the help of a friend in the network. I'm afraid I can't stay long…" Omega pouted at these words, and the unmistakable sense that Rex was a man who cared so damn deeply for his fellow Clone brothers (and sister) filled the medic's heart as she watched him comfort Omega with a curled finger and thumb pinching together to cup her chin and better meet her eye. "I don't want to put anyone in danger by lingering too long, Omega. I can probably stay for a little bit after I speak with Hunter about something, but I don't know for sure." Omega nodded, showing she understood. 

Captain Rex looked at [____] to seek approval before speaking again. "Mind if I borrow your friend here for a while? Promise I won't keep him forever so he can return to the first proper party this lot's had in ages. Good for them." 

She laughed softly, nodding at the two of them with a playful salute that made the Captain grin slightly wolfishly, and Hunter chuckled softly in relief after meeting Rex's eye. "No worries, I understand. We'll keep ourselves out of trouble and plenty entertained in the meantime!"

As Hunter suggested he and the captain retreat further into the house to speak, his bedroom perhaps, Wrecker carefully slugged [____]'s shoulder approvingly. "Haha, looks like the Cap'n likes ya kid!" 

Captain Rex just smiled humbly over his shoulder as he followed Hunter's lead. Though she'd scarcely met the man, she certainly didn't doubt it. She had the impression that this beloved, respected Captain was much like the Sergeant: the type who you earned their ire if you were unkind to their men, and the kind who regarded you with great respect if you got along well with the people they called their family.  

"Gotta say…" Rex's voice caught on [____]'s ear as she was stepping out of Omega's room to grab more snacks for herself and the girl as they worked together on a special piece of art. She'd gone in there initially because the youngster was excitedly showing off more drawings she'd done that morning while her brothers decorated the house once she'd finished making all the party hats to kill some time while Hunter and Captain Rex spoke, and [____] paused in the hallway. 

Hunter and the Captain were speaking in the smallest bedroom, the door open just a crack. Enough that she could hear the men without great effort. "Kid did a good job patching you up and removing those stitches, Hunter. Got a hell of a healer's touch; don't think anyone will be able to tell you got caught in that blast unless they looked at sealed medical records. Think she'd be willing to take on one more patient on the down-low if I ever got hurt that badly out there?" Both of them chuckled at the Captain's joke. Warmly, but also careful and guarded. 

(No, she wouldn't mind helping the Captain on the down-low at all and in fact would be happy to, she decided quickly.)

There was a long pause, the sound of resticking tape, then fabric sweeping over skin. Hunter had probably shed the top of his civvies for the Captain to inspect the healing injuries and get a sense of his little brother's recovery. "I'd ask her for yourself if you're serious. But I think she'd be willing. She's… got a good heart. Good head on her shoulders." 

"I can tell," was all Rex had to say initially before she decided she needed to move and go get those snacks before one of them caught her eavesdropping. [____] got some more of the snack-mix, and then watched while Echo held open the door as Wrecker lugged Gonky through the door and into the house with a laugh. "Felt bad for Gonky, goin' back an' being out on the ship by his lonesome when the rest'a us are havin' fun… So I brought him for the party too!" Gonky whomp!'d happily at the affectionate pat from the ARC once he was on his feet and could slowly shuffle through to the common area. 

"Here. He can have my party hat," Tech offered eagerly, "the elastic strap is beginning to prove a bothersome sensation." 

"Hey, if you need to take a moment to destimulate, take it, okay? I don't want you becoming miserable, Techie." Tech nodded softly in promise, looking touched by the concern for him coming from someone other than a vod as always. "I… think I will."

When [____] went back to the door of Omega's room after giving Gonky an affectionate pat of her own to say hi and welcome him to the party as well, she could tell the conversation between the Clone Captain and Sergeant had shifted.

"There's no rush, no pressure, Hunter, but I did want to ask if you were any closer to deciding on… y'know. Helping in the fight against the Empire as regular members of this little resistance I'm throwing together." Hunter sighed sharply and moved closer to his door, the darting shadow sending [____]'s heart into her stomach for just a second; he never opened or shut the door, instead grabbing something before he moved away.

"Right. That. I still don't know, Captain; I don't know how to balance what everyone wants along with keeping everyone safe… I can't. Help. Worrying. About the safety of my me- family." Hunter stopped and sucked in his teeth before he continued to the superior officer, and [____] risked lingering longer out in the hallway to listen. "I've tried. Maker, I've tried! I understand Echo's motivations behind wanting to help your cause, Captain. I do. It's important to him; it's an important cause. I guess I'm hesitant to involve myself… all of my family… because we nearly lost Crosshair less than a year ago and I haven't been talking about that as much as I should have with him." 

There was a long, long pause after some comment [____] could not understand from Captain Rex; it most definitely was not in Basic, at least. "… I don't know, Captain. When Echo's ready for it, I know our scrappy, resilient little ARC trooper will help with the next prisoner transport ship so more of our brothers are liberated. But after the… the karking mess I ended up in trying to make sure the way was clear for Omega to take more information from the bridge…" Hunter faltered here, a distressed, unhappy lilt in his voice that pinched her heart uncomfortably.

"I understand, Hunter. Just glad you're still with us, brother. Thanks to your… good friend." The pause in the Captain's words was almost unnoticed, and for a moment she worried she'd lingered too long and gave herself away to them. As she ducked into Omega's room, face burning and heart beating at a blistering pace, she managed to catch one last thing. 

"Thanks to [____]." Hunter agreed softly.

Her comlink began to chirp just as everyone was ready to start a round of Dejarik in teams, startling Wrecker just as he began to take a pull from his bottled beverage they'd gathered for the party. No spirits, but something fizzy and sweet [____] liked that Omega wouldn't be excluded from. "Oops. Think that's an old friend from back home. Excuse me, boys."

Tech looked at her with an imploring expression, one brow quirked in question as he blotted the front of Wrecker's now-sticky civvies, trying to be helpful. "Do you want us to wait for you until you are-"

She reached the back door and gave it a tug with her free hand so she could step out on the also decorated back patio, shaking her head. "Nah, it's okay, Tech. But thank you. You guys go ahead and start Dejarik without me. I'll join you in a few minutes." She shut the door behind her, the cool air a balm to her warm skin. The decorations in the house were lovely (wholly sweet and nothing short of lively), but some of them were covering some of the air vents and it was becoming a little hot inside with the reduction in airflow. 

She depressed the button of her comms and excitedly blurted out the name of her friend with a cheerful "Heeey! So glad you called, it's been a while!" fully expecting it to be them on the other end.

It was not her friend. Kriffing scam telemarketers on her birthday, just her luck. "Hel-lo! We've been trying to reach you about your speeder's extended-"

"Still think this part's a bit too unkind." Echo murmured, squirming in discomfort as the brothers huddled up around Tech and Hunter on the couch back inside the house, and soon Tech's datapad trilled, signifying she'd disconnected the call before there was a short string of soft cursing outside. If she had paid closer attention to the frequency, she would have seen Tech set it up so it was off by just one number from her friend's. "Finding an excuse to get her here and surprise her with the party is one thing because no one's feelings get hurt and there was truth to the stitches excuse, but she thought she was getting a call from a friend…" 

Though he was getting better used to it, bending rules and regulations still made the Corporal uneasy, even if being a part of a team with a 100% success rate during the lifetime of the GAR was admittedly a thrill in and of itself. 

Tricking their friend felt like a slight step too far, even if it was just a small part of the plan Tech put together so Hunter could have an opening to tell [____] how he felt with the letter, just the two of them. "As I've insisted, I don't think it will be of much consequence for long, if at all." He scooped up Hunter's datapad and tossed it at Hunter without so much as making sure he was paying attention. He knew Hunter would catch it. 

"What makes you so sure?" Crosshair hummed, chewing on another toothpick that had come with one of the spicy snack sausages in the party platter (he liked the way it made his gums and tongue tingle).

"I have a good feeling about this." was all the elaboration Tech was going to provide his vode. 

The sound of the door mechanism clicking caught [____]'s attention, finding Hunter hesitating just slightly when he realized he had been spotted in the doorway. "Oh, hey there; you can come out, it's okay. Guess it was just some lousy scammer calling to wish me a good birthday. Figures, right?" He smiled weakly at the joke before he made any further moves. 

Hunter joined [____] out on the little back patio, shutting the door to the housing before stepping closer with a hand outstretched, dark eyes boring into the wall, the ground, everywhere but her eyes as he held out the datapad to the medic. A funny expression she couldn't quite read crossed his face. Her curiosity was certainly piqued. 

"What's this? Found something funny on the Holonet?" 

"I'd like you to read something." Hunter wasn't acting quite like himself, looking at her with darting, fleeting seconds of eye contact. He'd never been so afraid or uncomfortable to hold her gaze in the past. Not even when she'd stepped into the barren and snug sleeping space Hunter called his bedroom and helped him remove the loose shirt and the gauze to free him of the irritation caused by the stitches in his shoulder.

What was going on? Why was he looking at her with such anxiety now?

"N-now? Heh, sure, just uh… here." She gave Hunter her drink she'd carried out here and plucked the datapad from his hands when she couldn't find a level spot to set down her beverage. "I'll trade with you so I can see what we're working with here. Is it this, on the screen?"

"Yes."

"Someone's chatty." [____] said teasingly, turning her attention to the screen after a slightly flirty wink, emboldened by a muffled, raucous whoop from Wrecker somewhere in the house. His giant, child-like nature was simply infectious tonight in particular and everyone was acting differently. Maker, she wished he'd been there for every party she'd ever had growing up, he could really liven things up when it came down to it. A shame that Captain Rex had to duck out just before they were ready to start a friendly game, she would have liked to talk with him some more. "Okay, let's see…" 

[____]

Guess I should cut the chatter: I've been made aware that you now have an idea of how I feel about you. Echo encouraged me to tell you the full truth myself. So that's what this letter is meant to do, [____]. It'll be easier to lay down a foundation for a later conversation in a letter first… if that's what you want.

She stole a little look from the datapad after the first few sentences, the confused feelings surging with the half-smile never budging. "Keep reading." Hunter simply pleaded, his smoky voice impossibly soft. 

If not, then maybe we can communicate this way for the time being. I'll leave that up to you. But it's important that you hear from me how I feel. How I am. Or, can be.

A second stolen look, the datapad falling half an inch from her face as she paused. This is exactly what she thought it was. Wrecker was too loose-lipped and his brothers probably put Hunter up to writing this out. 

This felt like a plot line from a steamy holonovel; a brooding, mysterious and troubled man with a murky past just trying to keep his family afloat falling for an unassuming nobody of a woman, giving such a strong emotional outpouring in the starlight on the night of a special occasion. 

Heh, this couldn't be real, right? She was dreaming. Had to be. But those dark eyes… those nervous, nervous eyes both fixed on her and flying to look at anything else out on this little back patio every time she tried to meet his gaze…  Was his heart already racing against his ribs like her's started to? 

You've known us a while now. Always seen the best in all of us as you came to know us and gave us all a soft place to land in this galaxy. Learned that Omega's (likely) the oldest out of all of us; observant, intelligent, highly aware. Eager to learn and try new things. She picked up the notion of giving art a try after seeing some of the pictures your pediatric patients had gifted you after you offered to keep her company so she wasn't home alone when the rest of us took that job out on Florrum. She's gotten so good at it.

She's likely watched all of us go through our enhancements and modifications, save for our older, scrappy and resilient ARC trooper Echo. Given time, he can adapt to most everything. He was one of the 'Regs', once; he's told you parts of his story before I offered him a place on my squad and took him into our fold of rowdy rule-breakers. You've been a tremendous help to him and I should've been explicitly stating my thanks a million times over, but I guess I just couldn't figure out how when I was just so relieved he was sleeping again.

Even in a romantic confession, Hunter's dedication to and pride in his family (these days they were only ever referred to one another as a "squad" when they hired themselves out for the odd jobs to put credits on the table) was so blatantly evident. She kept reading, wondering where Hunter was going with this. It was certainly odd and unconventional that he was bringing his vode into this, but there had to be a good reason when Maker, he cared so deeply for them. 

Parasite or no parasite, you've never once shied away or been put off by Crosshair's behavior or that sharp tongue to match the sharp eyesight that would leave your jaw on the floor if you ever get the chance to see him in action. He was a real menace against those Clankers in battle. (He'd be all too happy to show off, [____]; all you have to do is ask.) Wrecker shows off all the time; no denying his brawn, or his explosives expertise to give us a good explosion out on the battlefield, now is there? You've never once treated Wrecker like he's stupid and forgetful, and you're a good sport about all the times he's gotten over excited and given you one of those spine-tingling hugs of his.

 Warms my heart that you aren't threatened and are rather endeared by Tech's archive-worth of knowledge he's jammed in that brain of his to talk on and on for hours. That you'll engage with him instead of tuning him out, and actually ask him genuine questions in the hope of learning something rather than doing so just to be polite and shut him up for a while.

Tech retains just about everything he's ever learned, and it's gotten us out of so many jams I don't bother keeping count, because I'm certain he does.

All this to say "And then there's me". Probably know the least about me ever since Tech brought us to your clinic when we realized Cross was sick. 

That's right: they'd come to her because they were avoiding Imperial attention. Wrecker had carried Crosshair into the clinic just before closing as he writhed and thrashed in his discomfort, doing his best to fight against the biochemical response from the parasite. They'd probably have been kicked out of the other, larger health center had they tried going there anyway because he was so combative with his vode when the parasite got the best of him. 

Made him a danger to himself and those around him that it necessitated a very specific sedative she didn't like using on her patients because of the common side effects, but she couldn't leave him helpless and in pain. Not with the way a little girl with blonde hair tucked in the crooks of arms both cybernetic and flesh cried with a plea to help their sick brother surrounded by three other men as they got him strapped into a padded examination chair for the medic who anxiously agreed to help him. Something had been said between all of them in something beyond Galactic Basic as they came to an agreement that on a count of three, all four limbs were locked down and she was given the go-ahead by this band of then-strangers.

I was avoiding getting close in case we weren't staying long on this planet and went on the move again… playing it "safe" by being distant so yet another goodbye since the GAR's dissolvement would sting a little less. Thinking the less you knew about me the better, so this new Empire wouldn't do anything to hurt you… in case they heard about the "one off" of you helping one of our own. 

Yeah right… "One off". It's been nearly a standard year since the parasitic souvenir from Kashyyyk and there's been nearly a hundred injuries since. A hundred injuries since the collapse of the GAR and everything familiar about it… everything I was created for, [____]. My "desired genetic mutations" that made me useful to the GAR and the Jedi, my fellow soldiers, the experimental special forces 99 Unit: the enhanced senses, the ability to feel electromagnetic frequencies, expert navigating and more… What place do any of those desired defects have with all of that gone, now? 

I spend every day in discomfort due to the nature of my defects, but I made it work for the sake of my men. For the sake of all of my brothers in the GAR, even if I never fought alongside them much. There was a bigger picture I believed was worth fighting for, so I fought through the overwhelm and the onslaught on every unorthodox mission I'd been allowed to command. Nothing is familiar anymore. I have no larger safety net beyond the Batch and other deserters scattered in the galaxy. Every one of those hundred or so injuries since was another reminder of what I was trying to avoid in the vacuum of the GAR's absence. 

Reminders how alone I've become. 

Oh… stars. The datapad felt too heavy in her hands, her hands buzzing with nerves the same way they did before every dreaded medical school exam, the patio swayed and rocked under her feet for a brief moment and she had to lean back against the wall to find support. Poor Hunter… she had no idea how extensive these struggles were. How much he'd kept to himself. How much he said he was shouldering on his own. "Yo-you…" she swallowed down her stomach and sinking heart, mouth drier than the Dune Seas of Tatooine. She couldn't think straight, and Hunter was now standing so close she was beginning to feel like a cornered animal under the unblinking gaze of his warm eyes, glittering in the party lights like rich tourmalines. 

"... keep reading, cyare." It was soft. A request. Or maybe encouragement. She couldn't tell, her head was still swimming through a thousand emotions. Sadness. Confusion. Pity. Empathetic understanding. But she did as he said, eyes dropping where she had left off.

Somewhere in those hundred injuries, something changed, of course. The night Omega got sick. I couldn't avoid coming to your clinic. I couldn't avoid the discomfort. I hate clinics. (I'm sure you've been wondering that for a while now.)

But I don't hate the doctor. It's not their fault- it's not your fault - that these places are so karking uncomfortable for me. I think that was the night I realized I felt something for you, watching how sweetly you took care of my 'little' sister. I wasn't even your patient, and you still asked me how I was doing, if I was okay, if you could get me something while you were holding Omega in your arms. I think that was the night I finally saw things… differently.

Saw you differently. Authentically. Comfortably. I could start telling you more that I used to leave unsaid… something I still need to get better at and actually tell you that I trust you, that I had thought of you as a friend. That there were a million ways I wished I could have repaid you for your help and your kindness and the ways you treat my brothers and sister with such genuine care. The friendship and love that you've shown them…

And just two days ago. Maker, I'd never felt safer with a medic, or at your clinic. I still hate your clinic. 

But, oh, mesh'la… I could never hate you, [____]. 

Confessing my feelings for you on your birth-day has to be such a cliche if these Holofilms I've seen Omega watching are using this plotline a lot, so I apologize if the timing has made you uncomfortable, but I felt it was time to stop pining… and start doing something to say how I feel. Stop bottling up my feelings and be avoidant to all discomfort and unfamiliarity, and to be honest and open with you, starting with this:

I think I've loved you for a while now. But now I know for sure that I do.

-H.

Oh stars. Oh stars oh stars oh stars!

So it was real.

Springing away from the wall she'd backed herself into, something dropped and shattered near her feet. Hardly a flinch as large fragments of glass are stepped on in their collective hurry. She's acting without much thinking, and it's caught him by surprise when she's suddenly in his arms. Hunter's recovered from the initial shock of catching [____] so suddenly, the cloyingly sweet taste of the mocktail fresh on her lips spurring him on. He just hoped the spice of the party snacks he'd been helping himself to all night weren't bothersome to the medic as they feverishly, eagerly traded kiss after kiss after kiss. 

One of his brothers can be heard clear as day from inside the house once they had either finally noticed where the two of them had gone, or finally daring to break their silence after watching this whole time. "Awh yeah, Hunter! About damn time!" 

Another spoke up, first chiding the disturber, then proudly egging his brother on with a teasing question. "Oh k'uur, he'd have gotten out of his karking head eventually. Do we need to scram so you two can have some quality time, dear vod?"

Neither Hunter or [____] cared, or completely noticed. They were both so lost in one another's eyes once they pulled away to catch their breath that they didn't even seem to care that they'd been standing half-barefoot in the sticky puddle of the red, fruity mocktail this entire time since it had tumbled out of Hunter's grasp. They didn't notice when Tech shuttered the blinds in the house that looked outside after a long moment, or the faint klic! of his datapad.

"Hell'd you take a picture for?" Echo questioned, face bearing a grin to rival a nexu's that betrayed the accusatory tone. 

Goggles were adjusted before brother answered brother. "Well, since Crosshair seems to have started taking pictures with my datapad to capture our squad's happy, or dare I say… "cute" moments, I figured it would be the obvious thing to do to capture something to commemorate the occasion. I dare say Hunter's letter was… successful, and more importantly reciprocated." 

"Your datapad makes the most sense: you record everything." Crosshair countered simply, a wry smile forming around the current toothpick. 

"... Hm! I guess it does."

Omega was the last to leave the window that looked outside, straining to hear her little brother when he broke that silence swimming between him and the woman he'd fallen so hard for. "Kamino's rain… glad to finally have that off my chest…" 

"I had a feeling something was up; I kinda overheard you talking with Captain Rex tonight… and from the moment Wrecker let the Loth-cat out of the bag, of course." [____] admitted softly. 

When Omega dared to pinch the blinds apart to peak outside, she could see [____] smiling gently, kindly at Hunter as she gingerly tucked away a curling lock of his hair that had fallen out of place. Hunter finally looked truly relaxed, relieved that everything had gone well. "But I wasn't going to rush you. I'm sorry if you felt the need to rush your little letter, too… I certainly wasn't planning on going anywhere, handsome."

"I-I didn't feel rushed; I really did want to tell you sooner than later. If I wasn't going to do it tonight, it would have been soon enough after. Honest." Hunter promised her, closing that space between them once more. [____] flashed him a smile that suggested she would guess otherwise about Hunter rushing himself, but she said nothing before winding a hand around the back of his neck and head to bring him closer.

Omega dropped her hand from the blinds and joined her other brothers on the far side of the house, everyone quietly celebrating their brother's success for themselves, proud of themselves for helping everything come together tonight. 

"I give it 'til the end of next week before he's watching romance holos for ideas." came Cross's chuckle. "Going to have to set up Hunter's datapad with limited screen hours like Omega's after dinner." 

Omega sighed disapprovingly, "Don't make fun of Hunter now that he's told [____] how he feels," she said, wagging her head at her little brother, "And I don't have the limited screen hours anymore." Hunter had removed the setting from her personal device within a week after it'd been set because she proved she could be responsible. She would much rather spend time with her brothers than bury her nose into the screen for hours on end. The quality time with her brothers was something she cherished.

And now she'll probably get to spend more time with [____] very soon, doing the same thing.

Taglist: @dragonrider9905 @ladytano420 @the-hexfiles @ilovethosebrowneyes9904​

Note from Frost: Guess it didn’t end up as long as I initially planned after doing some last-minute trimming to fit material that was found to be better suited for other chapters with my editing-eyes on. :’) If you would like to be added to the taglist that is currently just specific for Sorry, Wrong Comms!, (I may start a taglist for all Star Wars related fanfiction projects that will be marked accordingly with #frostfics in the near future if there is interest) don’t hesitate to shoot me an ask or a comment loves. 🩷

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[moonlightdarlings]

bad batch first kiss

a/n: pics not mine! nonnie, i too, would like to kiss the bad batch boys 😵‍💫 this was a nice break to write from the current renovations i’m doing in my room 🥲 i did bullet points bc i felt like doing something new

tech

while fixing the comms system

he’s working so hard trying to get the comms back up and you sense that he’s stressed; so you quickly peck him on the cheek🥹 i feel like he’d short circuit and all thoughts stop for him. he has no idea what to do??? you kissed him? his brain is officially broken and then it kicks in- the realization that you like him back- which leads to him putting his hand on yours and kissing you back :))

hunter

hiding from the empire

he’s definitely a good tracker, and you’re well-aware when he pulls you behind a crowded shop and near an alleyway. he whispers how there aren’t much options to escape but he has one in mind: kiss you and hope the guards suspect nothing. it becomes a kiss where he’s grasping at your sides, holding you so tight…as if he’s confessing through his emotions and trying to make you feel his love for you 🫠

wrecker

while on a supply run

your first kiss is one where you’re eating snacks and fruits on leave with wrecker- and clichè: playfully throwing food at each other in which you end up accidentally on top of him. he’s definitely the type to immediately ask if you’re okay and then gently brush your hair off your face. he’s so delicate with you 🥰 before he asks, “can i kiss you?” and when you say yes, your whole world becomes sparkly, soft, beautiful and loving

crosshair

before a mission

crosshair, despite his attitude, is probably the most romantic. he’s quiet and mysterious, yes, but he’s also incredibly attentive to you. he gets shy, again despite his confidence, and rehearses in his head what he wants to say to you :) he goes to you before he is dispatched, presents his flowers and hurriedly tells you that he’s love you since he first met you! you share a passionate kiss and it’s like you always dreamed of 😌☺️

echo

at a gala

can’t get enough of echo and having a kiss while dancing?? same. so your first kiss happens when he’s at a gala (pretend it’s like bridgerton) and you look like a dream come true 🫶🏼 he notes how your skin glows and how everything just falls so beautifully on you! he’s in love and realizes he has to have your heart :)) he asks you, “may i have this dance, mi’lady” and obviously you say yes!! (who wouldn’t?) as you dance, you both naturally lean towards each other and the room begins to fade away until it’s only the two of you. he gently whispers, “may i kiss you, darling?” and the moment you say yes, his lips meet yours. you feel his love rush through you and you wish to never leave his side 🤭😌 little did you know, he’s wishing the same thing

a/n: man, this was so so cute to write and think about! i’m so in love with how echo and tech turned out :)) once again, don’t hesitate to let me know if there’s anything i should fix 🫶🏼 i genuinely love and appreciate all the support you give me! i’m always looking to improve and i’m always grateful to answer requests <3

[silverwings22]

Caught in the Crosshairs: Chapter 43: Dead Man Walking- Jelly Roll

Series warnings: Smut, mind control, canon typical violence, childhood trauma, language, chronic illness

Chapter Warnings: racism against clones, depression, murder, Crosshair being a little shit

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32 rotations. 32 days and nights mostly in the rain, on a platform on Kamino. At least he'd had water.

Crosshair had been livid the entire time, cursing every name on his former squad for leaving him there… except the Jedi. Every time he started to try to talk himself into hating her, he heard her voice. 

You can always come home, Crosshair. 

But he didn't want to come home. He'd chosen the Empire, chosen to be her enemy even when Hunter told him directly that none of them were his. So why, in the weeks following his rescue from the platform where he'd been confined to his bunk to recover, did he keep thinking of her? 

The loud, annoying alarm woke him, like every morning, and he groaned faintly when he sat up. He was recovered, cleared for duty as of yesterday, but he still felt like garbage. She was right. When you're used to having someone in bed with you, sleeping alone is garbage. When had she told him that? When she was stabbed by Ventress, the day he'd snuck into the Temple to see her… the first time he'd told her he-

That's over now. Stop it. 

He got up and headed for the mess hall for breakfast, telling himself it didn't matter. He didn't love her anymore. He couldn't, not when she was a traitor. Even if he did occasionally hear snippets of her voice when he was tired. 

He sat down with his tray at the table with two regs, giving them a cursory glance. Whatever they'd been talking about died in the air, and they both just got up and moved a table over. He was used to it, the rejection from regs. He'd lived with it all his life, but… he'd always had his brothers back then. Tech would huff and point out the average IQ of the table was increased by their absence. Echo would roll his eyes and mutter under his breath that 99 would have been ashamed, while Wrecker asked too loudly why they'd want to hang out with regs anyway. Hunter would just smile a little, shaking his head like it didn't bother him. Maybe it didn't, Hunter had always looked more like a reg before the hair and tattoo. Miria would have just slid a little closer to Crosshair, because she always knew when he was upset, and put her little hand on his knee. He could practically hear her voice. "It's alright, my darling. They just can't see that shining star in you, and it's their loss."

"CT-9904 please report to Vice-Admiral Rampart's office immediately." 

Crosshair glanced up at the PA speaker. Ugh… what did that rat faced bastard want now? He got up and left his tray behind. The regs had killed his appetite anyway. 

Rampart's office looked like a monument to his ego, polished and pristine. "CT-9904. I see you've been medically cleared. How long were you on that Kaminoan platform?"

"32 rotations." Crosshair drawled. Something about the use of his CT number bugged him today. It shouldn't have, everyone here used it. But… he had the strangest desperate desire to hear his name. The name she always said, the name she'd asked him for three years ago without even wanting to hear the number. 

He was thinking too much about her again. 

"Left for dead and you still returned. Why?"

"I'm a soldier of the Empire."

The answer seemed to please Rampart. "Your loyalty is to be commended. I have a mission for you."

"What squad will I be leading?" 

Rampart snorted, and it felt knee a slap in the face. "You're not ready to play Commander again. Your new Commander will handle it. Report to the War Memorial at 0900." 

Crosshair froze, fists clenching. Back to taking orders instead of giving them… what the hell?! What did Rampart know… had he somehow found out that Crosshair lied about the Batch being dead? If he had, why was he sending him on a mission instead of executing him? 

"You're dismissed."

Crosshair stiffly nodded and headed back to his bunkroom to get his armor. What had he done wrong? 

"He knows, you know. He's trying to decide if you lied in purpose, or if you didn't know."

Crosshair jumped, reaching for his weapons as the door shut behind him and a voice rang out. 

Standing behind the door was a girl… a teenager by the look of it. She was leaning against the wall with a foot up, arms crossed casually. 

Crosshair eyed her. She was dressed in armor, similar to a clones but of a different metal he wasn't familiar with. It was painted gold and purple, with a fin on the left paldron. "Aren't you a little young to be a soldier?"

"Nah. I'm good for it." She chuckled. She had a strange accent, curling at the vowels like Coruscanti upper-class and staccato on the consonants like a Mandalorian soldier. "And I'm older than you are right now."

He huffed. "Who the hell are you, and how'd you get in here?"

"I'm Mayrin. You'll know me." She gave him a crooked smile. "And trust me. I can always find you. My ba'vodu made me a damn good tracker, and you don't really cover your tracks. I guess a ram'ser doesn't really need to, but still."

"You speak Mando’a." Crosshair started putting on his armor quickly, weirded out by her presence but sure she wasn't a threat."

"I'm Mandalorian. Funny how that works." She tucked a curl of her messy silver hair behind her ear. She wore it short, around her chin and framing a heart-shaped face and large lavender eyes. A natural tan just seemed to make them more striking. "On both sides, if you wanna get real technical. My dad's related to Manda'lor Jaster Mereel. Mom's a part of Clan Vizla."

"Huh. Bloodline." Crosshair frowned. "What are you hunting me down for?"

"Personal interest. I'm mostly just wondering how long it's gonna take you to get your head out of your shebs." She smirked. "Empire isn't doing you too many favors here, are they? Left you on that platform over a standard month, then demoted you?"

"The Empire wasn't the one that left me out there." Crosshair hissed.

"And I suppose you think it's Clone Force 99's fault?" She adjusted her stance, cocking a hip. She oozed attitude, more than any Mandalorian he'd ever met. It was at odds with the cute face. 

"They're dead." He said sharply

"Yeah right. Tell Command what you want, but you can't lie to me."

His scowl darkened. "What the fuck do you want from me?" He hissed. If this kid knew he'd lied, who else knew? He'd be up for the firing squad if it leaked. 

"Easy, tough guy. Your secret's safe with me." Mayrin laughed. "If you go down, so do I. It's not exactly in my best interests."

"So what do you want, then? I don't have anything worth blackmailing me over."

"I wouldn't call it blackmail." Mayrin shrugged. "But what I want is your company. I'll turn up whenever, and you're going to talk to me."

"And if I refuse?" Crosshair growled.

"You won't. You're lonely." Mayrin smirked. 

Crosshair huffed, securing his rifle and glancing at the chrono. He had fifteen minutes to get to the memorial. "Don't expect much conversation."

"I wouldn't dare. But tell me something?"

"Hm?" He shoved a toothpick in his mouth. 

"Why'd you lie?"

Crosshair froze. Why wouldn't be lie? The Empire would never stop hunting them if he didn't. They'd never be free or safe or- no. He wasn't supposed to care about that. "So I could stop chasing them and get on with my damn life." He finally muttered savagely and walked out the door. 

She followed him out, a half step behind. When they got to the memorial, he waited with his helmet tucked under his arm while she inspected the wall of names. "None of these are clone names." She finally said. "They all have first and last."

"What's it matter?" He shrugged. 

"Doesn't seem fair, does it? You clones did most of the fighting. Shouldn't you be remembered too?

Crosshair paused, glancing back at the rows and rows of names. All fallen soldiers, people who'd faced the same kind of hell he had and died for it. "Memorials are for the living, not the dead. Who'd bother to remember us?" He finally said bitterly.

"Your brothers." Mayrin whispered, touching the wall. 

"Crosshair." The sniper stiffened and turned as a reg Commander walked up. The man was in gray and white armor, a mourning color. Crosshair didn't recognize him until the helmet came up, revealing a scar across his left temple.

"Commander Cody. I didn't recognize you."

"A lot has changed." Cody agreed. "It's good to see you. I heard the rest of your team went rogue after Order 66 went out."

"Are you surprised?"

"Not really. Your squad was different by design." Cody said mildly. Crosshair couldn't help but think about the two regs in the mess hall, and his jaw tightened. 

"Regs have gone AWOL too."

Cody nodded. "I've heard rumors that more and more clones are… questioning the order."

"We're loyal to each other, not some Empire."

"You never even tried to come back. We'd have taken ya…"

"Incorrect. Locating you has always been the primary objective."

"There's nowhere else to go, Crosshair."

His brother's voices called through time and space, memories tinged sour by the aftermath of their escape. Mayrin was right, he was lonely. He missed the four clones, and the brave little woman whose last words haunted him constantly. 

"You can always come home."

He shoved the feeling down viciously, before it turned him into a treasonous bastard like her. "Then they're traitors. Like the Jedi."

Cody gave him a sideways glance, an unreadable expression in his eyes. Crosshair glanced over his shoulder to see what Mayrin made of the conversation, to display his resolve in case the kid thought his indiscretion about the Batch's survival was more than he'd claimed. But she was gone, vanished like she'd never been there at all. 

He frowned but didn't comment on it, turning to follow Cody to the transport. He was already regretting not grabbing the rest of his breakfast off his tray… he had a headache coming on.

Scrapping clankers felt good. It felt familiar, even if he wasn't with his old unit. Cody was competent and let Crosshair do his thing without micromanagement, which the sniper appreciated. He'd already taken out a tank with a shot directly up the barrel, a shot he was proud of. 

Top that, Wrecker. The thought gave him pause as he and Cody fought their way up a spiral staircase crawling with super commando droids. Wrecker wouldn't see that shot. None of the Batch would. They'd have been impressed, joked about it later, and Miria would have given him that doe-eyed look she reserved just for him when she whispered "Absolutely impeccable, my darling."

Maybe her memory was trying to kill him for revenge after what he'd said to her on Kamino, because the momentary distraction had him caught by the throat. His helmet was wrenched off, the sniper coughing for air as he gritted out the only name available to possibly save him today. Not his squad, to his dazed regret. He wouldn't have had to call out, if they'd been here. They always watched each other's backs… "Cody!"

The Commander turned and threw his knife through the droids head, sending it and Crosshair collapsing into the stone steps. "You okay?"

Crosshair coughed, checking his bruising throat. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Hang tight. I'll take out the tactical droid."

Crosshair handed him a mirrored puck from his hip. "I can make the shot from here. Just get me a line of sight."

Cody nodded, glancing back at another super commando approaching. "Where do you need the puck?"

"Just throw it!"

"How far?"

"As far as you can!" Crosshair hissed. Goddamn it, he wasn't used to this much talking on a mission. He and the Batch moved in sync, years of training making most communication just nods of a helmet. Cody was quick, probably the only reg he actually respected, but he wasn't his team. 

But he followed suggestions well, the hurled the puck as hard as he could. Crosshair lined up, took a breath, and fired. 

Direct shot to the tactical droid's head. "Nice throw." He muttered as Cody helped him up. 

"Nice shot." 

They walked into the belltower, guns up and ready. Over the comms, another clone was telling Cody the droids were scrapped. "Good. Fan out, find Grotton."

"There's no need." A female voice huffed from the darkness, a tall and short-haired woman stepping out with the Imperial governor in a choke hold. She had a blaster to his temple.

"Do something!" Grotton snarled. He had a high voice, suitable to a sniveling coward. 

"Easy, ma'am. Let's talk about this." Cody said calmly. "Let the governor go."

"I'm Tawni Ames. The rightful governor of Dexis. As soon as the Empire acknowledges this, Grotton and his men will be released."

"We have Imperial orders. We're not here to debate politics." Cody didn't like holding a gun on this woman. He knew she was trying to do what she thought was best. So was he. 

"If you were, you'd see how unjust your actions are." Tawni shook her head. 

"The Empire is trying to establish peace and order." Cody coaxed.

Tawni's eyes darkened. "I used to believe in peace… I even helped charter a bill with Republic and Separatist alike, that would have ended the war. But your Chancellor rejected it! That's when I knew that peace was never an option."

Cody had a snap decision to make, and years under General Obi-wan "The Great Negotiator" Kenobi's leadership. He took his helmet off and set it and his gun on the ground. "It's an option now. Let him go, and we'll negotiate for a peaceful resolution. We've both lived through one war, let's not start another." He waved for Crosshair to lower his weapon. "Do this for your people."

Crosshair slowly lowered his rifle, watching Cody from his peripheral. The Commander had his hands up, voice calm and composed. A natural negotiator.

"Where'd you learn to talk people down like that, baby girl?" Miria was curled up in his arms in their bunk, bandaging a cut on his forearm. She'd managed to talk them out of getting killed by a group of dugs on Malastare, after an ill-fated double cross by a fuel baron. He'd still caught a knife intended for her, but it was a small price to pay. 

"Fifty crechelings demanding a later bedtime will teach you a lot." She laughed, bringing his palm up to kiss it. "Obi-wan asked me to teach him, when he took Anakin as a padawan. My, that boy loves to argue."

"You're pretty good at it."

"The trick is to know what someone cares about. With little ones, it's easy. If they want to stay up late, you remind them that they'll be tired the next day and not have fun in the lesson they're looking forward to. Adults are harder, because what they care for is more complex. Those dugs were double crossing us for credits, but it's not money they love. It's their families they're providing for. Once I reminded them that their actions put those same families in danger of reprisal, they wanted to put an end to the standoff."

"How would you negotiate with me?" He smirked, pulling her closer.

"You're proud and independent, love. But you care about your brothers. And me. If you were doing something that endangered us, I'd only have to remind you." She said sincerely. 

"I was hoping you'd take your shirt off. That's more entertaining."

Miria giggled. "I suppose that might work too."

Crosshair twitched when Tawni let Grotton go. The man scrambled to Cody, eyes wide. "Well done. Now execute her!"

Cody looked stunned. "Sir, I promised a peaceful resolution-"

"You did. I didn't. Now execute her!"

Tawni sighed, resignation printed on her tired and war-weary face. "So much for peace."

Grotton was getting heated, voice raised as he threatened Cody over disobedience. Crosshair had no one left to protect but the former Marshall Commander, and the idea of Cody catching a brutal punishment turned his stomach. So he took the shot instead, and Tawni Ames slumped to the floor with a death rattle. 

Cody didn't look him in the eye as Grotton kept talking. "Put her body in the square. Let it be a warning to the rest of them."

Crosshair watched Cody’s shoulders slump, fingers twitching. He could reach out, pat his arm and tell him he'd tried at least… but he couldn't make himself do it. Instead he just turned to follow Grotton out of the belltower. They'd done what they had to do. They had their orders.

Good soldiers follow orders. 

Crosshair didn't know why he'd come back to the memorial. Maybe he was hoping to see Mayrin again, to have someone to tell his story to. It wasn't like there was a name on this wall he'd care about… the only names he'd have cared about would never be memorialized by the Empire. Not after what they'd done. 

Cody stepped up beside him, looking at the wall in silence for a while. He looked… troubled, to say the least. "This new Empire." He finally murmured. "Do you think we're making the galaxy better?"

"We're soldiers. We do what needs to be done." Crosshair drawled. 

Cody looked at the helmet in his hands. "Do you know what makes us different from battle droids? We make our own choices… and we have to live with them." He picked up his kit and turned, leaving Crosshair standing alone once again as he walked away. There was something… permanent feeling about the way he marched. Crosshair couldn't understand it, Cody was a hard-lined soldier from head to toe. The last person he'd expected to doubt anything. 

He shook his head. Cody wouldn't turn traitor. He wasn't like that… everything would be better in the morning. Maybe he'd even get to work with Cody again. Have a friend, a brother he could count on after his abandoned him. Cody was no Force 99, but it was better than nothing. 

He picked up his kit and headed to his bunk, laying his armor down and checking everywhere for any hiding sassy teenagers. Satisfied he was alone, he lay down and slipped into a restless doze. 

Why did he have to bring up what she wanted? She could never have it again, no matter how beautiful the dream was. It was stolen, ruined by filthy hands clamped tighter than a chokehold. She could focus on what she had to do, follow a path of expectation set by necessity. But want? 

"What I want won't ever be mine. I wanted to build us a home on Naboo. I wanted to keep our team together after the war. I wanted to live!” 

Her reflection in the shaving mirror was staring at her. Lavender eyes, tears in the corners, but not sorrowful. No, those eyes were angry, hotter than Mustafar. It bubbled like lava under her skin, nowhere to send it but out. And she hated that face staring back at her in the moment. That was the face that had failed. It hadn't saved those helpless younglings. It hadn't spared Anakin from the dark side. It hadn't saved the man she loved. 

Failure. Broken, useless, weak Jedi. Worse than nothing at all. 

Her fist was moving before she could stop it, hitting the image in front of her until it shattered under her hand. It should have hurt, but she couldn't even do that right. The shards warped the reflection, the red tinge in her vision going gray and listless. 

Blood welled up and rolled down her skin, the hot feeling kicking in at the wrist. Droplets trickled onto the sheets, muddy looking on the gray fabric. Another thing she ruined. Another thing she'd broken. 

The many eyes in the broken reflection widened, softened as the tears began in earnest. 

"Miri…"

"I'm sorry… I don't know what came over me."

Something was wrong with her. She was collapsing, sinking into the dark… 

How would she ever save him now? If she couldn't save herself, Crosshair was-

Crosshair’s eyes snapped open, minutes before his alarm. He lay in the dark, breathing hard as a disembodied fury he'd never felt so strongly burned across his skin. The rage wasn't his own, but he was swept up in it. 

Miria. It was Miria… something was wrong. 

He sat up slowly, rubbing his face as he shook the cobwebs from his mind. What the hell…

His knuckles ached like he'd hit something, a phantom pain the vision hadn't experienced. He examined them as the lights came up. There was a bruise between his first and second knuckle, deep and blackening. 

He elected to ignore it, putting on his gloves and armor before heading to the mess. At least he could try to eat and forget this weird Jedi shit. He was just sitting down when the PA went off. "CT-9904 please report to Vice-Admiral Rampart's office immediately."

Dammit. This time he was taking his food with him. 

He'd shoved it in his mouth before he got to the office, letting himself in. Rampart was kicked back at his desk again, and the deja vu was not lost on the clone. 

"Your actions on Dexis were most impressive. I'm sending you on another mission. Report to CC-1223 for your debrief."

Crosshair blinked. "Why not Commander Cody?"

"Cody?" Rampart snorted. Crosshair was, for a moment, confused. Didn't everyone know the man who'd been the Marshall Commander of the Third Systems Army? But… individual names had been deregulated. Of course. 

"CC-2224."

"You'll never be more than a number to them." Hunter's voice in his head was almost accusatory now. 

Rampart huffed. "Oh. It seems he's gone AWOL."

That took Crosshair by surprise. Cody? AWOL? "...I see."

"It seems clone loyalty is not as advertised anymore." Rampart mused, not missing the opportunity to compare them to commodities. "It's funny, all these clones around you seem to go missing."

Crosshair felt his fists clenching again, the bruise on his knuckles alerting him. Why? Why did everyone that might have kept the crippling loneliness at bay leave? First the Batch, then Howser on Ryloth for as annoying as he'd been, now Cody? 

"Is there a problem?" Rampart narrowed his eyes. 

"No… sir." Why did the honorific taste like ashes in his mouth? 

"Then you're dismissed."

Crosshair walked out slowly, stiff as durasteel. What the hell was wrong with him? 

During the infrequent times Miria had been on Republic flagships during the war, she'd always found herself stopping at a wall somewhere. Every ship had one, started usually in the dead of night by some brother who couldn't sleep because the bunk next to his was empty. So he'd find a unadorned expanse of wall, take his vibroblade, and carve his broken heart into the durasteel in the form of a name and CT number. At some point, it had simply become tradition to have a memorial on board. Clones left little trinkets to the fallen, paused on rotations to remember, and occasionally whispered a prayer to whatever faith the galaxy had offered them comfort in. 

Miria had always counted herself lucky there was no such wall on the Havoc Marauder. It was almost a mark of pride, in the way the guys preened about their perfect success rate. They'd never failed a mission. She'd never lost a soldier, never stood at the foot of a covered casket and bid a good man goodbye to a chorus of Mando’a. 

Maybe that pride was why the wall in front of the medbay hit her so hard. She'd gotten up early, heading for the galley to make tea and caf for the boys, when she saw it. 

It was a small shelf, mounted at about head height for her. Clearly the team had been in on it, judging by the trinkets left there. A box of toothpicks from Hunter, a detached and heavily modified rifle scope from Tech, a miniature whiskey bottle from Echo, and a single unlit cigarra from Wrecker sat tucked in Lula's lap where Omega had offered her up after Wrecker gave her the toy. The doll was listed to the side, button eyes scuffed and well-loved as it waited for someone to pull it into their arms for comfort. Etched into the wall just above the little shrine was the name. The only name, the only soldier Miria had ever lost.

Crosshair. CT-9904. 

Her knees buckled before she realized it, the Jedi sinking to the floor with a ragged little noise. Her palms pressed into the durasteel, fighting the shakes and losing. 

"Miri?" Omega whispered behind her. 

"He isn't dead…" Miria sobbed. "He isn't dead, Omega."

"I know. But… Echo thought it would help." The girl walked over, putting her hand on Miria's shoulder. "Don't cry, Miri."

Miria didn't want to cry. She wanted to scream. Crosshair wasn't dead! He didn't belong in a memorial to the fallen! She wasn't giving up on him! "This feels like surrender." She finally whispered, swallowing her tears before they could steal her tenuous breath and have her hacking up her lungs here on the floor. 

"Nobody's giving up." Omega said with an adult firmness that startled Miria. "Wrecker said, if we all left something, that maybe it would bring him back. Like a call."

Miria looked up at the shrine again through wet lashes. "A call?"

"We've tried everything else. He's got to make the choice on his own, but maybe it'll reach him. You said the Force works in mysterious ways." 

Miria wiped her cheeks. "You're… you're right, little love." She finally croaked. "I'll leave something too."

"Good. I'll turn the caf maker on, you go wash your face." Omega helped her to her feet. 

Miria shuffled to the fresher slowly, splashing cool water over her stinging cheeks before creeping back to the bunkroom. The rest of her friends were sleeping, in various states of sprawled out, so she carefully opened Crosshair’s old footlocker and pulled out the envelope of his letters. There was a small stack of blank pages at the bottom, future letters for her that he hadn't gotten to write.

She picked them and a stylus up, sitting cross-legged on the floor with the locker as a desk for a moment before pressing the ink to the page. Her handwriting might not be as good as it once was, but why should that stop her now? 

My darling,

I've read every letter you wrote me-

[madameminor]

In More Ways Than One - Bad Batch x F!Reader

Summary: A night out with the Batch almost turns into a bar brawl, until your quick thinking sets up the perfect cover. Then your squad starts thinking it doesn't have to stay a cover. Sharing is caring, after all.

Tags: Implied smut, but mostly build up, fluff, and backstory.

Warnings: Sexual harassment by other clones.

Notes: Hey y'all, first fic posted here on Tumblr. I love writing and I wanted to give back to this community- I was feeling so ashamed of my thoughts, and then my friend pointed me to tumblr, and I found all you thirsty hos. (Thank goodness). This will be a series, of sorts, that will be mostly smut after this starter. Enjoy!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 3.5 Part 4 Part 4.5 Part 5 Part 5.5 Part 6 Part 6.5 Part 7 Part 8 Part 8.5 Part 9 Part 9.5 Part 10

“OHHH YEAH!!” Wrecker cries, breathing in the atmosphere of 79’s. “It’s about time we had this kind of fun!”

Clone Force 99 was on shore leave, and as the squad’s medic you had prescribed them all IMMEDIATE non-combative fun - mostly because YOU needed it (heh, the perks of power). Just you and the boys, YOUR boys, unless someone picked up an extra companion for the night… which never seemed to happen. The Batch is still in their armor, but you chose to relax a little- just some easy out and about evening clothes that make you feel good about yourself. Sometimes under all that armor, you forget what it’s like to be a WOMAN.

It helps that the Batch call you ‘the Queen’ - you wield your medic privileges like a scepter, ruling the ship’s wellness like your own little kingdom. It was the reason clone command kept you on with the 99- they wouldn’t take regs, and every other medic had quit within a month. You, however, weren’t scared off by their reckless risk taking- you THRIVED on it, knowing that if they planned to continue this thrill ride, then they’d better be healthy and hearty, dammit. When put like that, the squad started seeing you as an ally, not an enemy, and adopted you as one of their own.

You look around at the Batch, feeling your heart smile at each of them. Hunter leads the column, as always- ready to defend, senses alert even here, grounded, aware. This trip was for HIM, too- giving him a chance to take the night off from being on constant alert- but you could only ask so much from a highly sensitive active-duty Sergeant.

Wrecker and Echo follow, Wrecker getting pumped to the music, Echo looking around to see if he knows any of the clones present. The innocents- sort of. Wrecker with his unbridled glee for life, Echo with his purity of self, always looking to do the right thing for his brothers and the Republic. You link arms with both in a moment of joy and they both smile at you.

Tech and Crosshair bring up the rear. Tech is finishing some repair notes on his holopad (insisted he couldn’t relax until it was done). You allow it only to let his mind wind down before you claim a table- he’s still paying attention. Crosshair just observes the crowd. His silence is comfortable by now- he’s always listening, he just doesn’t speak unless he has something to say. Hunter might be able to detect more physically- but you suspect Crosshair sees more intellectually.

“Why are we here again?” Crosshair asks, unimpressed.

“It’s the only place that Wrecker can enter the dance floor without hitting all of the overhead lighting. That, and the Queen enjoys it.” Tech says, glancing up from his work. “There are fouler places.”

“Come on, you two, lighten up. It’s not like you have to live here.” Wrecker says, punching Crosshair in the arm as you all head to a table off in a dark corner- Hunter is wearing a device Tech fashioned to be able to bear the sights, noises, and smells, but it could only tune out so much.

“True, living with YOU is far worse.”

“Oh stop it, Crossy.” You know he hates that nickname, so you use it when he’s being a- “Just stay over here and glare everyone away, you’ll be fine.” You turn to see his reaction. “See, you’re so GOOD at it.”

“You give me lots of practice.”

“You’re welcome.”

Wrecker pounds the table with both fists. “Enough with the talk, more with the drinks!”

Hunter looks over to the Genius. “Who’s turn is it, Tech?”

Tech finally holsters his holopad. “The Queen’s, then mine, then Echo’s.”

Wrecker grins at you, “Alright, your majesty, you’re up!”

You push your chair out. “Yes, yes, but only because I am a kind and benevolent ruler. Don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone, please?”

“You’re the one who attracts trouble,” Hunter counters.

“It’s not MY fault I’m cute,” You snort, heading for the bar.

Wrecker looks at Hunter while the others watch you leave. “It’s not?”

Hunter smiles. “Eyes front, boys.” Three heads snap to look at him, blushes creeping up on their faces.

-------

The bar isn’t very busy- there’s a lull at this time of night- the early risers are trickling out, and the late night partiers have yet to come in. You slide up and smile at the bartender, leaning over on one hand as you casually order your drinks. The bartender starts working, and you settle in to wait.

“Look, fellas, that’s an invitation if I ever saw one.”

You can tell that he’s drunk by his voice alone, and you mentally roll your eyes. To play nice, or not to play nice?

You stand straight and look over to the three clones down the bar. You don’t recognize the markings on their armor, but you do recognize the high level of inebriation in their body language. Fabulous. This is nothing new, regs hit on you all the time, but this promises to be of the very unpleasant variety.

You keep your tone even, but you don’t force a smile. “Can I help you, trooper?”

“Oh no, you can go back to leaning over if you want, I was just enjoying the view.”

“Unless you want to give us a closer look.”

“No thank you,” you say dismissively, looking back towards the bartender, hoping that’s the end of it.

“Aw come on, don’t be such a prude. At least give us a smile.”

“Is there a problem?”

You all turn to see Crosshair standing with his arms crossed, glaring at the regs. You raise an eyebrow at him.

“They sent me to help carry drinks.”

Uh-huh. You smile to yourself- the boys could be a bit protective, even if you could take care of yourself.

The one on the left takes note of his markings and laughs. “The defect squad’s in 79’s? That explains it, you must be their little ice queen!”

You work to keep the irritation from your face. Did those damn Regs even turn your NICKNAME into an insult? WT actual F?

The one sitting in the middle takes a swig of his drink. “I’ve heard of you. Won’t give any clones the time of day, huh? Hands full satisfying the Sad Batch?”

“Are you done here?” Crosshair gives good cold-shouldered contempt- probably why he was sent over instead of the others. You call to the bartender, asking him to bring the drinks to your table. He waves, so you nod at Crosshair.

“Excuse me.” As you start to walk away, you feel one of them catch your wrist and pull you back. It’s the one in the middle. This one is working on your LAST nerve.

His grin is mean, his face is close, his breath smells like whiskey. “You don’t have to go with these rejects, you know. Don’t you want to see what REAL clones are like? Trust me, we’ll show you a much better time.”

Before you can react, Crosshair latches onto his wrist, squeezing it until the reg loosens his grip with a yelp.

“Leave. Her. Alone.” He spits the words out like the threat they are, dropping the clone’s wrist like it was something nasty. You smirk as you massage your own wrist, following Crosshair.

“No wonder they call you the whore of the 99- you come whenever they call. Probably in more ways than one.”

Oh, so this reg wanted to die.

Crosshair whirls, murder in his eyes. You have about .5 seconds to decide to help him or stop him.

As much as you’d LOVE to see your Marksman trounce these idiots, that would get you thrown out. A mischievous thought crosses your mind: they had given you the answer, something to keep them and future aspiring lovers off your tail.

“Cross, CROSS…” You stop Crosshair’s advance with your hand on his chest, leaning in close to him, your nose nestling in his neck. “Ignore them.”

“He CALLED you a-“

“I know, love.” You wrap one of his arms around your waist. Crosshair finally looks down at you, the murder fading from his eyes as he realizes what you’re doing. “They’re just jealous they aren’t you, or anyone else on the squad. They’re just jealous I’m yours.” You glance at the open mouthed regs over your shoulder. “If you start a fight, everyone will join in. Why waste your time on them when you could all be spending time with me?” You take his ever-present toothpick from his mouth, the other hand tracing a finger down his jaw line. “I know which I would prefer.”

Your finger gently pulls his jaw forward into a kiss. He stiffens for a moment, then relaxes into your lips. They’re so soft, supple from all that toothpick teething. This feels way less strange than it should… You both linger a little bit longer than necessary…for show. Right?

You pull away just enough to whisper against his lips. “Lets go have our own fun, honey.” You turn, looking the shocked troopers up and down before flicking the toothpick at them. “Boys.”

You walk towards the squad, enjoying- er, feeling Crosshair’s hand on your hip.

His voice is close to your ear. “You’re letting them off too lightly.”

You grin up at him. “You mean letting them off alive?”

He looks down at you from the corner of his eyes. “I wouldn’t have killed them.”

“And that would be unforgivable.”

Crosshair smirks but doesn’t take his eyes off you when you face forward. That was quick thinking on your part, and probably very effective… and incredibly, incredibly hot. He finds himself hoping more regs bother you throughout the night, if it means he needs to keep proving “you’re theirs”. He blinks and looks towards the squad, trying to shake the thought out of his head, just like all the thoughts of you before today. His hand is suddenly aching to start tracing the outline of your spine- he moves it away before he can oblige.

“You owe me a toothpick.”

Hunter is sitting with his arms crossed, face unreadable as you rejoin them.

“What in karking hell was THAT about?”

“Yeah, what were you two KISSING for?” Wrecker says, confused more than anything.

You speak before Crosshair has a chance. “I wanted to make it clear I was unavailable.”

“Did it work?”

You turn to the Marksman, eyebrow raised. “Crosshair?”

He looks at you out of the corner of his eyes before looking back at Hunter. “They’ll leave us alone.”

“Good!” Wrecker grins as the bartender appears, a full tray of drinks in his hand. “Then let’s have some FUN! YEAH!”

-------

You’re all on your second drinks, belly-laughing at one of Echo’s gossipy stories about the Captain of the 501st before you excuse yourself for the restroom. The Batch watch you walk away before turning en masse to the Marksman.

“Alright, Crosshair, what happened?” Hunter asks, eyes intent on his brother’s face.

Crosshair moves his toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other, glancing to make sure you were out of earshot. “They called her a whore.”

“They WHAT?!” Echo and Wrecker are on their feet.

Crosshair folds his arms and leans back in his chair. “Apparently that’s what the regs are calling her- the whore of the 99.”

Wrecker’s anger only subsides a little in his confusion. “What…What does that mean?”

“That she’s making it with all of us, that she’s OUR whore. Saying that’s why she won’t flirt with any of the regs.”

Tech relaxes, indignant but assured. “Well, I’m glad she had the chance to set them str-“

“She acted like it was true.”

Silence. For once, even Tech was at a loss for words. “She…she what?”

“That’s what she meant by ‘making it clear she wasn’t available’.”

Echo sits again in disbelief. “Wait, wait, she wants this rumor to continue?”

Wrecker looks around at his brothers, trying to piece this all together. “So, is that why you kissed her?”

“It stands to reason that if this were to work long term, we would all have to be ready to help her back up this claim," Tech muses.

“So we’d ALL have to kiss her?”

“I don’t think any of us are particularly opposed to that.” Hunter says quietly, looking at his squad. Each one turns red, only Crosshair keeping his head up.

“Stop that, it’s annoying,” he glowers.

Echo recovers next. “But sooner or later it’s going to come out that it isn’t true. We can’t be worried about play acting while we’re on missions with other squads.”

“What if we weren’t play acting?” Hunter asks pensively.

They all look at him blankly.

He sips from his glass. “What if she WERE ours?”

Wrecker’s mouth hangs open. Echo can only blink. Tech puts his chin in his hand, thinking. Crosshair silently stares at them all. No one objects. No one says anything.

“I know none of you would mind the idea- and I’m well convinced she wouldn’t either.”

Echo finds his voice. Barely. “Hunter, you can’t be serious. She’s in our SQUAD. She’s a SOLDIER. Command would never allow it.”

Hunter’s laugh is short and low. “We’re the Bad Batch, trooper- we’ve always done things differently.”

Tech speaks up from his musings. “Theoretically, this scenario works well- she wouldn’t need to worry about solicitations... and we…”

“We get to share the one woman we’re all attracted to without compromising or segregating our squad.” Hunter’s serious face gives way to a small smirk. “Even share her at the same time- on occasion.”

They fall silent as each member wrestles with their own excitement. Could this really happen?

“There’s no way she’ll go for this.” Echo quietly reasons. “One, MAYBE two, but not… ALL of us.”

Hunter stands slowly, finishing his drink in one gulp. “Only one way to find out.”

“Where are you going?” Tech asks, adjusting his goggles.

“Those regs are facing where she is- gotta help make it convincing.” He walks off towards the dance floor.

Echo massages his face in exasperation and disbelief. This squad was INSANE. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Nothing has happened yet.” Tech finishes his own drink. “For all we know, Hunter could be letting the spotchka do the talking…” He looks up to where Hunter disappeared. “Though, I, for one, hope it isn’t.” His voice is quiet, but earnest. The rest stay quiet, thinking their own thoughts, unsure of what to hope for and what to expect.

------

You finish checking your reflection in the mirror, that kiss with Crosshair still on your mind. You had broken one of your rules- don’t seem to pick one over the others. You hadn't really MEANT to, it was just all you could think of in the moment. They probably accepted it for what it was- just a tactic, you were worrying for nothing. You groaned to yourself and massaged your temples. In your ideal world you knew how each of them kissed, how each one felt beneath your hands or in your mouth or between your thighs- but this was the real world. And you couldn’t bear the idea of picking just one. So you picked none. And that was just the way it was. With a resolved sigh and a wink to yourself in the mirror, you open the restroom door to make your way back to the batch.

Looking at the dance floor, you see the regs from earlier seated at the bar, watching the dancing throng. You roll your eyes, turning to head back to your table- but a hand lightly grabs your arm and pulls you towards the wall. Ready to punch, you make eye contact with…

“Hunter!” You lightly punch him in the arm. “Don’t DO that, I was about to deck you!”

He grins, pulling you in so you can hear him against your ear. “Didn’t think you would hear me.”

You smile. “That’s probably true. What is it? Did you come to babysit?”

“Kind of.” There’s something different in his voice. You notice his hand has moved to your back, that you’re pressed up close to him. “Crosshair told us about what the regs said.”

Your eyes were getting sore from all this rolling. “Of course he did.”

“He also told us you played along.”

“Yes, hoping it would spread to others. I don’t exactly RELISH fighting them off.”

“Shall we make sure they get the point?”

Confusion. Suspicion. “What do you mean?”

“You wanted it clear that you belonged to ALL of us, right?”

Small lightbulb. “…yeees?”

“Well then,” his voice was practically a purr, “shall we give them more proof?”

You pull back to look at him. Your mind is screaming at you to remember the rule you JUST TALKED ABOUT, but you can’t keep the suspicious smile from spreading across your face. “…If you think it would be a good id-���

He tilts your head up to him and kisses you, starting off light, gentle, but deepening with each wave. Maker, he was a good kisser. You slide your arms around the back of his neck, ignoring that inner voice and giving in to the moment. He lightly bites your bottom lip, swallowing your gasp before pulling your body into his. You barely manage to keep your tongue under control. Thank goodness his armor separates your bodies, or you might take it too far-

And just like that, it’s over, he pulls away slightly to smile down at your swollen lips. He glances up towards the bar.

“Looks like they got the picture.”

You laugh lightly. “Damn, Hunter, I think every clone in a 3 click radius got the picture.”

“Good. Then they’ll believe you’re ours.”

“Exactly.” He can hear a thrill in your voice, subtle, but present. He was right. He could feel himself pushing against his codpiece at the thought, emboldening him in his next steps.

“It doesn’t have to be pretend, you know.”

You turn to him, eyes suspicious. “Pretend what?”

“To be ours. You could be, all of ours. If you wanted to.”

You blink, unsure you heard correctly. “Hunter, have you had too much to drink?”

He smirks. “No, but I can see how you would think that.” He leans in again, his voice next to your ear to be sure you hear each word. “Just think about it, mesh’la. We have.”

They have? All of them would agree to share you? Excitement sends a thrill down your spine and through your core, making you shiver ever so slightly. Damn. You hate that he probably knows exactly what just happened, his sensitivity gives him such an annoying insight into your reactions.

He grins. Yeah, he felt that. “Ready to head back? Or could they do with more convincing?”

You swat his arm playfully, smiling as you push yourself upright. “You are a bad man, Sergeant.”

“Comes with the territory.”

------

The rest of the night is as fun as you hoped- drinks, dancing, laughter, deep conversations, and late-night food, REAL food. No one mentions the clones from earlier, or what happened with Hunter and Crosshair- it feels like nothing’s changed. It isn’t until the end of the night, heading back to the ship, that a thought pops unbidden into your head:

What would going home be like if you belonged to them?

You imagine being pinned to the floor of the marauder, Wrecker holding down your arms with Hunter’s head between your thighs, screaming for him not to stop. On your hands and knees with Echo in your mouth, Crosshair pulling you back onto him, their breathe fast and shallow. Tech losing control while you’re spread out on his worktable on Kamino, teeth biting into your neck as he-

“Your Majesty.”

You start and look up the ramp to see Hunter smirking down at you, leaning on the doorframe.

“Caught in a daydream?”

You want to make an excuse of some kind, cover it up, but it wouldn’t make a difference- he’s picked up your heartbeat, pupil dilation, your pheromones- fine. You’re a medic. You can play this game too.

You walk up the ramp one step at a time until you’re face-to-face. You lean in slowly, hands on his chest. “YOU told me to think about it, Hunter. So I’m thinking about it. And tonight, I’ll think about it as long as I want to. And you. Can. On. Ly. Listen.”

You feel his heart skip a beat before attempting to pound its way out of his chest. You smile at a point scored right in his face. He eyes you up and down as you smirk and walk past him into the ship.

“Boys, I brought one more round as a nightcap- who wants one?” Your suggestion is met with cheers and laughter. Could it really get any better than this?

Apparently, yes, yes it could.

[photogirl894]

This mini fic was inspired by an ask I got a while back (that I sadly am unable to find right now) from @thisistheendtimes about Hunter dancing with you to the song "I Don't Dance" by Lee Brice, which is a very lovely song!

"I Don't Dance"

Pairing: Hunter x fem reader

I'll never settle down

That's what I always thought

Yeah, I was that kind of man

Just ask anyone

I don't dance...

You sat outside with your radio, listening to the song that was playing. Of all the songs that had to start playing, why did it have to be one like this?

It had already been kind of a sad night for you...and you didn't need anything reminding you of Hunter.

You and your friends, Clone Force 99, had decided to go out for a night on the town on Alderaan while you were there because there was a carnival of sorts going on. There were all sorts of activities and merriment happening, but then you found out there was dancing. Wrecker had immediately pulled you onto the dance floor, wanting a dance with you, and you were more than happy to oblige while the two of you participated in a fun little jig. Echo then called the next dance with you, which was a swing dance--and wow, he was good--and even Tech danced with you, as well, participating in a line dance. Crosshair had naturally disappeared, which you expected.

Then the others encouraged Hunter to take the next dance with you, which was a slow dance. They knew that you had feelings for the Sergeant and wanted to help things along, so this seemed perfect. However, he had shaken his head and, without even looking at you, said, "No thanks, I don't dance," and had walked away. Your heart had sunk down to the ground. He was always so kind and willing and you thought he would've granted you this, but you found yourself disappointed. The others were shocked, too, and they felt bad that Hunter had responded like that. They felt bad for you and could see the pain in your eyes. They tried to cheer you up throughout the rest of the evening and you put on a smile for them, not wanting to bring down their mood, but deep down, you were just too hurt by what Hunter had done.

You didn't see him for the rest of the night. He had either gone back to the Marauder, was wandering around or maybe he had found Crosshair. It didn't matter. You didn't even know why you were so upset. It's not like you two were a thing; there wasn't anything between you. There was just you and your feelings for him and you were pretty sure he didn't reciprocate them. You supposed you were just hoping to have one nice moment with him; one fantasy involving him that you could've lived out and that would've been enough.

Right then, just as you were about to turn your radio off, not wanting to hear the song anymore, you heard slight movement beside you and you found yourself looking up at Hunter. He had an apologetic look on his face.

He held out a hand to you and said, guilt ridden in his voice, "I...owe you a dance."

You just stared at him, shocked, for a moment while the music continued playing before you looked away and replied, "I thought you said you didn't dance?"

"I don't...because I don't know how."

Astonished, you looked back to him and saw he now appeared nervous. "Hunter, why didn't you tell me? I can teach you," you said to him.

Hunter reached his hand further out to you. "Then teach me," he stated, a small smile on his lips.

Your heart began to flutter as you slipped your hand into his and he gently lifted you to your feet.

"Well, you hold my hand and then you put your other hand on my waist," you told him, your anticipation building at the thought of his hands holding you.

He did as you instructed and his other hand came to rest at your waist. There was no way this was happening, but feeling the warmth of his hand on your body told you that it was. This was real.

Collecting yourself, you then stated, "Then all we do is just sway from side to side and go around in a circle. You lead and I'll follow. It's easy."

With that, he gave you a nod and he started leading you, a little timidly at first, as your hand came up to his armored shoulder. The two of you swayed to the side, slowly but gracefully.

Love's never come my way

I've never been this far

Your eyes caught his looking at you and you shyly looked down at your feet, your chest tightening at his gaze.

'Cause you took these two left feet

And waltzed away with my heart

No, I don't dance, but here I am

Spinnin' you 'round and 'round in circles

It ain't my style, but I don't care

"This song seems too perfect, don't you think?" he asked you.

Before you could answer his question, he then brought your arm up and twirled you around, astonishing you even more and you let out a surprised laugh. Then, to your surprise, he pulled you back and he wrapped his hand around to your lower back, pulling you in closer until you were right up against him. You gasped softly as your gaze met his and you kept dancing.

"I'm sorry," Hunter whispered. "I shouldn't have walked away from you tonight."

"Why did you?" you asked him.

He looked down for a moment. "I saw how happy you were dancing with the rest of the boys. I didn't want to tell you I didn't know how to and disappoint you, so...I panicked and left."

You hadn't seen Hunter so shy and nervous before. Not to mention so embarrassed and guilty either.

"I understand," you reassured him, bringing your hand from his shoulder up to his cheek, "and you could never disappoint me like that, Hunter."

He stopped for a moment and looked deep into your eyes. Where he had ceased dancing, the moonlight landed perfectly on his golden brown eyes, illuminating them with its radiant light and you could see there was a softness in his eyes at what you had said.

"You mean that?" he asked in return.

You cupped his jaw. "Of course, I do."

In that moment, he smiled in the sweetest way you had ever seen and leaned into the touch of your hand. Your other hand released his and came up around his neck, bringing your forehead to his as you both resumed slowly swaying to the music. His other arm came around your waist and pulled you even closer than you already were.

The moment was perfect. The music playing, the calmness of the night, the light of the moon shining down on you and your beloved Sergeant and you being in his arms just like you'd always dreamed.

I'd do anything with you anywhere

Yes, you got me in the palm of your hand, girl

You felt him stop again and when you looked up to see what was wrong, Hunter leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours in a gentle kiss, sending an explosive wave of joy through your whole body.

When he pulled away, his lips still brushing your own, he whispered, "I also should've done that a long time ago."

"I've been wanting to do the same," you told him before wrapping your arms all the way around his neck and kissing him excitedly.

You could feel him smiling against your lips as he hugged you against him, lifted you in his strong arms and spun you around in circles as he continued to kiss you happily.

Now this was better than anything you'd ever dreamed of.

'Cause I don't dance...

More Hunter fics

Bad Batch Writing Requests

[nahoney22]

I'd love to see a one shot of just something cute with Hunter 🥰 I'll leave the rest to your brilliant mind!

Intoxicating

Hunter X GNeutral! Reader

word count: 2.1k

In which you, an assigned medic to the Batch, have been injured unbeknownst to you after a mission which leads to Hunter being more moody and broody than usual which then leads to some feelings being revealed.

Warnings: Mostly SFW. Angst, some fluff, little bit of injury but nothing major and a tiny tiny hint of arousal.

A/N: okay so this is my first one shot, like ever! Feel free to lmk what you think. I’ll do requests 💜

——————————

The Bad Batch along with their newest recruit were doing what should have been a simple scout mission. With gathering the intel they needed and ready to pass it back to the Republic so they could hit their next move, the team were making their way back to the Marauder when a surprise wave of battle droids had emerged from the South just where Tech had parked the ship.

Immediately getting into position, you soon found yourself pinned back against the rear of the ship when a swarm of clankers had almost boxed you in.

You called out for backup on your Comm device, a wave of dread filling your insides as your hands started to ache from the constant firing of your blasters and trying to shield yourself with whatever was accessible; which was barely anything aside from your gear.

Switching to your left, you quickly managed to take out a Droideka that had rolled its way up to your position, knowing it to be a lot more deadly than the average clanker. You thought you were in the clear, no assistance needed as the blaster shots quietened down allowing you to breathe for a moments peace.

Your shoulders slumped but you still felt the adrenaline from the rush run through your veins. You holstered your weapons before making your way round to the front of the ship where you had heard Wrecker cheering loudly followed by a small grunt from Echo who simply said ‘we get it Wrecker, they’re dead. Stop shoving it in our faces’ to which Crosshair silently agreed before making his way up the steps and inside.

You waited for the others to head on in but paused when you saw the Sergeant marching right up to you, a face full of thunder.

“What do you think you were doing?” His tone was short and snappy when he stopped in front of you, causing you to squint at him behind your visor before pulling your helmet off your head.

“What are you talking about? I-I was doing what you guys were doing?” You defended yourself, not quite sure how to react to his sudden hostility towards you.

“You’re meant to stay behind me at all times. How’d you think it would make me look if you were injured or-or killed?”

Truth was, when you were assigned to tag along with the Bad Batch for some missions due to your medical background, you hadn’t expected to be there for any longer than a month. But here you were six months later. And still, Hunter was rather protective over you. You could hold your own, there was no deniability of that, but you would always find yourself partnered up with Hunter on missions whilst the others did their own thing. You didn’t mind it as you liked Hunter. In fact, you couldn’t help but get a little jittery when he stood close to you which made your heart beat fast. You had certainly developed some form of feelings for the clone but this sudden shortness of temper had been happening for around a week now and you wasn’t sure where you had gone wrong... if you even had.

“Why are you being like this with me? So what if I separated from you for a small while? You know I can handle myself.” You found your voice and spoke up, looking up to the Sergeant. Your eyebrows creased as you frowned at him. He was always usually soft spoken and gentle with you but these sudden mood changes were starting to drive you insane.

Before he could answer, you had turned and started to make your way up the steps to the ship when you felt a hand take a hold of your shoulder followed by a string of ‘woah woah woah’s’. You snapped your neck in his direction to see him gazing down at your legs with wide eyes and that’s when the sudden pain hit you. Conveniently, the adrenaline had soon died off and that’s when you felt the blaster shot in your thigh to which Hunter had spotted.

“Oh... Kriff.” You grumbled, bending over slightly to assess the scenario. You knew it wasn’t all too bad as you hadn’t passed out yet and you were not bleeding but Hunter clearly thought it was the worst thing to happen as he had grabbed you by the arm and hoisted you up the steps and called after for Tech.

“Tech! Come back here, now!” Hunters voice was urgent and almost furious sounding, making your eyes widen as you sat down in one of the chairs and heard the scurrying feet of Tech.

“What is it?”

Hunter only nodded down at the medics thigh and Tech pulled his lips into a straight line. “Ah. That’s not ideal.”

The comment made you stifle a small laugh at Techs blunt response but Hunter had fixed his eyes upon yours and you suddenly felt that laughter die down.

“Can you fix it or not?” Hunter was growing impatient, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead, frustrated.

“Well of course I can. But I’m sure Y/N is plenty capable of fixing an injury as small as this. We should really be departing from this planet before any others show up.” Tech informed Hunter who grumbled under his breath about getting Crosshair to get the ship flying and stormed into the cockpit, the door sliding shut.

You let out a heavy sigh and looked over to Tech who had already started gathering a stim and some bandages.

“Thanks Tech but I’m sure I can handle it.” You reached out your hand as he turned to you and he simply accepted the fact you didn’t need help but stood by just in case. As you fixed yourself up, bending your leg in and out carefully to make sure the bandage was properly secure you couldn’t help but replay the look on Hunters face when he saw your injury or when you heard the tone of his voice.

You snapped out of your thoughts briefly when Echo entered and offered you a small smile when he noticed your bandaged leg. “Say, it’s weird to see you the one bandaged up rather than one of us.”

You hummed in amusement but the smile didn’t reach your lips. “Echo, Tech, can I ask you guys something?”

“Well that depends on what it is you are asking. Are you asking about the mission? Something that none of us can feasibly answer? Is it-.”

“It’s about Hunter.” You quickly cut Tech off before he could continue, earning a playful smirk from Echo who nodded his head for you to continue. “Do you think he’s been... acting weird?”

Echo shifted in his spot whereas Tech looked on silently. “How’d you mean?” Echo asked.

“I-I don’t know. I just feel like he’s being short with me recently? He’s being way to over protective and I feel like everything I am doing is wrong, y’know?”

Tech tilted his head slightly. “It could simply be because you were assigned to us by Commander Cody and you being injured in battle would reflect badly on us from a military point of view.” Tech offered but you were glad that Echo was also with you as he had a inkling he knew what was going on. In fact, Echo and Crosshair were more than certain they knew what was going on with Hunter but it was not in his place to say.

“That’s a possibility,” Echo started, crossing his arms over his chest, “or it could just be because he cares and doesn’t really know how to express it without coming across as... that.”

You listened to his words and looked to the cockpit where he was now copiloting the ship. You obviously wanted to talk to him about it but you knew for now that the safest bet was to let him cool off and chat with him later.

“Thanks boys. I should go rest my leg up before we get back to base.”

————————————————— A few hours had passed and most of the boys had turned in for the night. You had managed to get some shut eye but Wreckers snoring had caused you to stir awake. You sat up and grabbed your bottle of water, taking a swig before standing to your feet and assessed the situation around you. You countered four sleeping bodies and none of which were Hunter.

Combing your fingers through your hair you walked towards the cockpit, hesitating before you decided to enter and sit down in the copilot seat beside Hunter.

The silence was deafening between the two of you as you both stared at the glittering stars ahead of you. Your mouth ran dry, the water clearly doing nothing but you were thankful that it was Hunter who spoke first.

“How’s the leg?”

“It’s fine...” you replied airily, gently swinging side to side in the chair. “How’s the attitude?”

It was a bold question to ask, especially with your seemingly off relationship with one another. You held in your breath, waiting for some moody remark back but instead he sighed. “Not good, clearly.”

You turned to him and tilted your head to the side as you arched an eyebrow at him. “Is it me? Have I done something wrong?”

His knee was nervously tapping up and down, his chin rested between his thumb and finger before sparing a glance in your direction where he felt his whole breath almost got sucked out of his lungs as you looked at him those innocent eyes.

It was the same feeling he got when he first laid eyes on you. The Batch were waiting in the hanger when Commander Cody and other clones of his regiment had greeted them. He knew they were being assigned a medic (to much of Crosshair’s displeasure)but he didn’t expect to feel an instinct attraction when he spotted you glide towards him with a wide grin plastered on your face and saluted him in greeting. Since then, six months ago, he was smitten. He thought it was some childish crush that he would soon get over as it wasn’t particularly responsible for him to get such feelings but they didn’t fade.

They got stronger and stronger to the point his senses had sent his mind into a frenzy when he could sense you in the ship. He could hear the thumping of your heart beat when you laughed, the scent of blood when you got it on your hands whenever you had bandaged up Wrecker. These things never used to happen as bad until you came along. Kriff, his mind went into overload to the point he thought he would short circuit when he could smell you when showering in the refresher. It was pure intoxication at this point.

“No.” Hunter said simply. “It’s… well, it’s me.”

“Oh.” You answered kind of hopelessly. “Well, is there anything I can do? Have you been injured and been hiding it from me?”

“It’s nothing Y/N.” He hoped he didn’t sound as snappy as he had done previously but as he spared another glance, he was glad that you didn’t seem upset. Instead, you looked worried.

“Hunter… please tell me? I hate seeing you act this way towards me. You’ve been acting so strange with me. I can’t help but feel like you’re pushing me away. Do you… do you want me to resign and you get a new medic? Because I will if you feel like I could hinder your status to the Republic?” You rambled accidentally, something you often did when nervous.

“I care about you. A lot.” Hunter cut off your rambling, turning his pilot seat to face you more, leaning forwards and clasping his hands together. “I just can’t help but feel worry when I don’t… when I don’t see you.”

This wasn’t something you were expecting at all but nonetheless, you could feel your heartbeat speed up by his confession and she was more than certain that he could hear it as he looked up at you with those soft brown eyes. “I like you, more than I should. I never want to see you hurt, especially when I could prevent it.”

You swallowed the breath you were holding and stared across at Hunter. He liked you. “Hunter,” you smiled softly and bravely leaned forward and carefully placed a hand over his, rubbing soft circles into his skin, “I like you too. Probably more that I should too.”

His eyes widened as complete relief washed over him at your words. The feelings of your hands on top of his own ignited something inside him and he didn’t know what else to say but he certainly knew what he could do.

He pushed himself out of his chair and took a step towards you. Instantly, you found your hands on his shoulders whilst his large and calloused hands had gently placed on either side of your cheeks and your lips were on his at the same time; both of you wanting this. Your lips moulded together perfectly as your hands made their way to his long hair, gently running your fingers through it before he let out a breathless whisper into your mouth:

“You’re so intoxicating to me, mesh’la.”

—————————————————

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[zoeykallus]

Ohhh HC time!

How would TBB and let`s see: Maul, Fox and Kit Fisto ( I just had to add 3 others hehe ) and how they would reach to their sweet lill lady wanting to adopt a pet?

Ohhh kay!

:)) Pets! Love pets! Let's see if the batchers do too!

The Bad Batch /Maul /Fox/Kit Fisto x FemReader HC's - Adopting A Pet

Mostly Fluff

Hunter

"A pet?"

You nod eagerly.

"I don't know love"

Hunter is hesitant. He may be fond of animals and nature, but taking care of an animal is a certain responsibility, he knows.

"But I don't know where else to take him. He was injured, his pack left him behind and-"

"Wow wow wow, slow down! You already have an animal? His pack? What are we talking about here?"

"A wolf pup."

Hunter's eyes widen.

"Cyare! Are you out of your mind! Where are you hiding him?"

You lead him to your bunk where a small dog pup sits. Hunter laughs in relief.

"That's not a wolf, honey. That's a puppy dog."

You play surprised.

"Oh. We couldn't have kept a wolf?"

"No, absolutely not"

"But we can keep a dog?"

"Yes, a dog is quite different"

You kiss him on the cheek and beam at him.

Hunter blinks.

"Wait a minute… you tricked me"

Your smile turns into a wide grin.

"But I did it with love"

Hunter sighs, but can't resist your smile or those cute puppy eyes.

Echo

He is not fundamentally averse to the idea, but he has reservations and wants you to deal with it and think about it rationally. The life you are currently leading, as mercenaries and on the run from the Empire, is precarious and unsteady. There are some animals that do not fit into such a life and also some that cannot stay for a long time in closed spaces like a spaceship in space. Then there are some that would not survive hyperspace and so on.

His objections are unfortunately logical, conclusive and finally discouraging.

Still, he surprises you when he arrives one day with a Loth cat.

"This one can go to its own bathroom, stay inside for quite a while, and is quite independent. You were so sad when we realized we probably wouldn't have a pet, so I thought again."

You stroke the cat and give Echo a long, loving kiss. He smiles contentedly.

Wrecker

Wrecker is fond of animals. Very much so. But he suggests the wildest things, including even a Nexu. You actually have to slow him down and talk to him for a while, because he jumps from one wild idea to the next.

As he suggests a ranccor you sigh wearily.

"Honey, come on be reasonable," you say a little impatiently by now.

However, his pout softens you again immediately and you gently kiss his chin.

"Honey it has to be an animal we can keep on the Marauder. We are on the road a lot."

In the end, Wrecker persuades you to go with him to get one of those colorful birds that can be taught to talk. To your discomfort, Crosshair has taken a liking to secretly teaching him swear words. Whenever someone turns off the lights, he says, "Bantha Ass" and when the lights come on, "Stupid Hunter," repeatedly.

Tech

Unfortunately he is allergic to pretty much everything that has fur. Dogs, cats, horses even nexu. Tech has already started to teach Wreckers bird some things and to exhaust the animal's moderate intellect.

But you insist on getting your own pet. However, you can't think of much, since most animals are eliminated for various reasons, not just his allergy.

While you're still thinking and racking your brains, Tech has already got something. He arrives with two cute mini turtles.

"Don't need much, easy to take care of, quiet and allergy-free," Tech says contentedly as he sets up the massive terrarium in your cabin.

You had actually imagined something else, but somehow they are cute and Tech is so enthusiastic about his idea that you don't want to contradict him.

Crosshair

He is a cat guy. You are sure of that. He resists your desire to have a pet, Crosshair tells you quite clearly that he is against it.

"I don't want to have a critter to take care of. I'm fine with my brothers and my needy little girlfriend."

You roll your eyes and snort. You turn away, but the last word has not been spoken. You just get a cat and you can count on it, he'll be grumpy and upset about it.

However, he will cuddle with the cat, they will be very fond of each other and Crosshair will take care of the animal, gladly even. But if you catch him doing that, he will give you a sharp look. It takes quite a while until he admits that you were right.

Maul

Pets he doesn't have directly, unless you count the Nexu he tamed. However, he is not very cuddly. The Nexu is more meant to scare and hurt enemies. But Maul likes the animal, he takes very good care of it and is concerned about its safety.

In fact, you are afraid to get another animal because the Nexu might eat it. You will not get Maul to break away from the ravenous animal.

Unfortunately, it looks like you'll have to give up your desire for a traditional pet.

"You can pet the nexu too".

Fox

Fox is the type for cats or ferrets. You will most likely not be able to make something else appealing to him.

He likes independent animals that do not require much care. Fox works a lot, generally does not have much free time and a pet in constant need of care is rather counterproductive. He will most likely already have a pet cat when you meet him, a well behaved animal that he can take to the office.

It is unlikely that you will get other animals together except maybe a second cat.

Kit Fisto

The Nautolan is close to nature, especially to water. No surprise when you consider what race he belongs to. Fisto finds pets rather unnatural and therefore it is difficult to unlikely to convince him to have a pet. Even ornamental fish, even if he finds them beautiful, do not please him.

"These animals swim in their confined tank all day long, it's a depressing sight"

If you have your own apartment and pets, he won't find fault with that. However, he's not thrilled about it either.

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

[an-anticlimactic-bass-drop]

Tall

Prompt: Tech is too tall for his own good. Constantly hitting his head on objects and desks as he works on projects. The other bad batchers make fun of him for this but you find it endearing. 

Tech X Reader

Slow Burn/ Angst

Warnings: Mild 1.10 Spoilers

Word Count: 1.5K

Part 1/?

This was 100% inspired by this gif from episode 7 of Tech under the main control desk.

You enter the cockpit of the Havoc Marauder late at night slowly and quietly as you try not to disturb the tall man who is working on the wires under the main panel. 

“Tech?” you call softly to him when he doesn’t notice you. 

He abruptly sits up hitting his head on the underside of the panel and laying back down quickly with a loud thunk. 

“Well that was unpleasant.” he says with a grimace of pain as he leans out from under the panel. You try to not look worried when he rubs his head where he had hit it on the panel. 

 “Is there something you need?”

 “Sorry! I just couldn’t sleep. Figured you were still up here.”

 He nods slowly as he leans back down to continue working on the wires. 

“Do not mind me. I am upgrading the general security system of the outer walls. The door has been slow to close recently and I am trying to fix the timing. Feel free to sit in here as long as you want. I could use the company.” 

He becomes absorbed back into his project as the time passes. Mindlessly chatting about the upgrades he's making and the general gossip of the other men and Omega. It is mostly you gossiping honestly. Tech isn’t the biggest gossip in the world but he listens like every detail you talk about is the most important and interesting information he has ever heard. 

“I’m pretty sure Omega thinks we don’t notice when she borrows our blacks to sleep in. I swear every time I turn around I’m missing another shirt out of my basket. I think it must be a comfort thing.” you say with a yawn as you fight back the call of sleep. Tech’s presence is a calming one and you love hearing him talk. He is your favorite of the bad batch and you might have a small crush on him but you would never admit it to him. He is your best friend. Tech nods absently as he pulls another wire from under the panel. 

“I have noticed mine disappearing too but I assumed Echo was doing laundry and got them mixed up with Hunter’s again.” he says slowly. His goggled eyes glance towards you with mirth in his eyes at the joke.

 “If Echo is confusing your black’s with Hunter’s then he really must be bad at laundry. You have at least 5 inches on him and your blacks are much bigger. At least he doesn’t think they are Wrecker’s.”  You chuckle sleepily at the thought. 

Tech crawls slowly out from under the panel, making sure not to hit his head again, apparently done with his upgrades. “I think it is time for you to go to sleep,” he says with a small smile in his voice. You don’t complain as he helps you stand and leads you towards the bunks where the rest of the crew is sleeping. 

“You need sleep too.” you protest as he turns to go back towards the cockpit. He smiles wryly at your pathetic attempts to chastise his insomniac tendencies. “I will be fine. Someone needs to stand guard until morning.” 

You wake up to the sounds of the rest of the Bad Batch moving around and packing up for the rest of the day. Hunter is passing out rations, Wrecker is curling Gonky like a barbell, Echo is slurping what is obviously his 2nd cup of caf of the morning, Omega is still curled up in her little corner with her clone trooper doll and Wrecker’s blacks on looking more like a night tent than a nightgown, and Tech is nowhere to be found but is more than likely in the cockpit still.

 “Any caf left?” you ask in Echo’s general direction. He grunts in the direction of the pot that still has ¾ of the brown liquid in it. You pour 2 cups of the precious drink and head towards the cockpit. Tech is absorbed in his datapad and again doesn’t hear you enter. You wait in the doorway and watch the tall man as he scrolls through the information he has been pouring over all night. The smell of the caf fills the cockpit. Tech sniffs the air and turns towards you as a smile appears on his face. 

“Is that for me?” he asks hopefully. You hand him the cup you prepared for him just the way he likes it. He smells the cup before he takes a sip. “It is perfect. Thank you.”

You fall into the co-pilot seat with your cup and start to examine the new security system that Tech spent the night working on.

  “Looks good to me! Anything I need to know before you all leave for your mission?” 

Tech starts explaining the broad strokes of the new system and how the upgrades make it easier to use. You nod along as you listen to the explanation. The men are headed out on another one of Cid’s bounties. This one is on Raxxus? You think. 

“Isn’t Raxxus the separatist capital? Why are you all headed there?” you ask slowly, not comprehending. 

“A job is a job. We must pay back our debts.” He’s doing the really cute finger thing he does when explaining things.

 Your heart melts at the gesture. He doesn’t realize how cute he is sometimes. Tech gives you a strange look as you realize you have been staring at him for a moment too long. 

“Hey Tech!” Hunter calls from the back of the ship. 

Tech stands up to head back towards the bunks where the other men are gathered around a map of some kind. He hits his head on the top of the doorway as he forgets to duck while walking through it.

  “OW”

 You stifle a laugh as he rubs his forehead and pushes through to the back of the ship. You can hear Echo making a crack at Tech’s mishap with a light laugh. 

“Watch out for the roof Tech. Your head might damage it if you aren’t careful.” 

That man is too tall for his own good. He towers over you when you stand next to him and you won’t deny it makes you feel things. You have had a crush on the nerdy clone pretty much since you joined the merry band of deserted clones. You joined in the aftermath of Order 66 with Omega from Kamino. You were her nanny and you gladly went with the clones when the imperials took over. You never quite trusted Palpatine when he was the Supreme Chancellor and you trusted him even less when he turned the clones against the Jedi and declared himself Emperor. The Bad Batch offered you freedom and you seized the opportunity. Shaking off the memories, you make your way back towards the back of the ship. Omega is awake now but is still sitting in her bunk. Her big eyes are blinking away sleep. You help her down and she immediately goes to stand next to the clone she has claimed as her makeshift father. Her nightshirt is almost dragging the ground with how long it is and you chuckle at the sight. Hunter gently pats her hair, mussed from sleep. Echo hands her a ration bar then turns back towards the map. Tech has an angry red mark on his forehead right above his glasses from where he hit the top of the doorway. 

“So what is the plan?” You ask as you look over the map. It appears to be a blueprint of the palace on Raxxus. Hunter starts explaining the mission in simple terms so that you can understand. Basically they need to rescue the senator from the Imperial clones. Omega and you are to stay on the ship and protect it from patrolling clones. Omega protests this as you frown at the idea. Hunter shuts down the complaints with a wave of his hand. 

“It is safer for you two to stay on the ship than risk losing you to the imperials” He says quietly. “I can’t lose you again.” he says to Omega as he bends down to her level, “This is the best option right now. We don’t know what we are walking into on this planet. We already have 2 at least bounty hunters after you and the last thing we need is the clones to find you too. We still don’t know where Crosshair is or if he is even alive after the last encounter. I can’t lose anymore of you.” 

He finishes slowly and turns back to the men gathered around the blueprints scattered on the table as he rises. Hunter nods to the others and they head towards the ramp. You gather Omega up in your arms and head up to the cockpit to watch as the men depart. She is not happy at the thought of being left behind and her big eyes are shining with anger and hurt. You hold her close as you watch the men disappear into the trees with the droid client. I hope they are going to be okay. You think to yourself.

[omegas-spaghettios]

In Defense of Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Echo

I want to clarify that I like Crosshair. I used to love him and I just kinda like him now, but he's a great character. I hold nothing against his fans. I just want to talk about how people are slandering these 4 like they did everything wrong when everything they did was pretty justified.

I need to talk about Crosshair's chip, because that affects how we all view these final episodes. While I agree things don't add up completely, Cross has no scar, nursing a headache, etc., his behavior DOES indicate he is telling the truth.

Chipped clones have been shown to show loyalty to the Empire above all else. They killed the jedi, they'll kill innocents, they forget all sentimentality, and we see with Jesse that they will more than happily die to accomplish the chip's commands. The Batch has experience with this with Captain Grey in the premiere and later Wrecker. Chipped clones are basically battle droids.

Crosshair does not act like that at all. He shows sentiment and loyalty to personal history, he defies orders to even kill his fellow imperials, and he puts aside his anger in order to escape Kamino. NONE of those things are congruent with him having a chip in at all. So while it doesn't add up completely either way, the evidence honestly seems to favor that he's telling the truth as his behavior is a huge tell that has not been shown to be able to be countered for more than a few seconds (love you Rex) while an absence of a scar could indicate a variety of things and the headache can honestly just be chronic pain from his insane head injury in Episode 8. I'm not saying that is the truth, but what I am saying is the evidence provided can easily line up to more than make it believable that Wrecker, Echo, and Tech believe he has it out.

Wrecker does know what a chip feels like, so we all expected more empathy from him, but Crosshair is not acting the way did Wrecker did AT ALL. Wrecker lost all control and immediately tried to kill the people he loves most, while as stated Crosshair is exhibiting almost opposite behavior. Wrecker knows what a chip does to you and Crosshair is definetly not showing that, so why would Wrecker show empathy for it? Wrecker knows first hand that is not what the chip does to you so it more than makes sense that he sees Crosshair's behavior and story and believes it.

Crosshair's intense feelings of Supremacy and loyalty to the Empire are not out of no where. We see in TCW that he is incredibly cruel about regs, he has always hated them. So considering the journey he went on this season it does feel like a realistic progression of belief.

Crosshair also is hurting his own cause here. Now we as the audience know for sure he had it in for Episode 1, we are shown explicit evidence. We have no idea when he got it out though due to the lack of a scar, and his refusal to specify hurts him here because what he actually did as himself vs. chipped is VERY important. I also want to say that while the audience knows Crosshair has the chip in in Episode 1, no evidence is provided to the Batch to know that, so Crosshair saying he had it out "a long time ago" means it is reasonable that the Batch could even suspect everything he did since Episode 1 was him. And here's a quick rundown of some things he did this season that the Batch would know about:

Obeyed Order 66 and shot at a child jedi even when ordered to stand down

Advocated to kill civilians to the others

Shot Wrecker and used him as bait to lure the others out

Lead dozens of Troopers to Bracca to kill them

Went out of his way to order his troops to kill Omega during that confrontation within earshot of Hunter

Tried to burn them all alive with an Ion Engine

Contributed to the oppression of Ryloth

Arrested Howzer, a clone who was trying to do the right thing

Spouted supremacist jargon about how they are superior to regs (something Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker have been shown to be softening up on)

Said the might of the Empire was the only way and basically gave them all the choice to join or die.

And remember, our heroes just got the revelation that potentially all of those actions were taken of Crosshair's own free will. They have every right to be harsh or unwelcoming after that. Sure they didn't try to rescue him but he also tried to put multiple blaster bolts through their heads, no one is innocent.

So the general coldness and harshness is more than understandable considering that Crosshair just admitted to trying to get them all killed on multiple occasions on his own free will, that would sour your relationship with anyone I reckon, so why are they expected to be okay with Crosshair doing all of that?

Anyway, to specifics. When Wrecker says Crosshair never even tried to come back and that they would have taken him, there is truth to that. During both Bracca and Ryloth, Crosshair was right there and had opportunities to turn heel and help them all escape, but he never did. I've seen this described as victim-blaming but you guys need to realize that Crosshair has potentially done ALL of this of his own free will and is actively trying to pull the others to the Empire. Wrecker is right, Crosshair put more effort into killing or converting them than he ever did in returning. It's harsh but it's true.

And Tech saying it's in his nature is like, classic Tech. I don't necessarily agree that they all have set paths due to their biology like Tech does, but Tech began this season rattling off about how Wrecker was made to be the way he was, this is just how Tech rolls.

The one I see a lot is after Crosshair rescues Omega and they still have the guns up and then never thank him. First of all, Crosshair never thanked them either for saving his life so let's not go around expecting any shows of gratitude from everyone. But more importantly, how were they supposed to know that Crosshair was saving Omega? As a viewer I legit thought he was aiming for Hunter there, it makes more than enough sense that they pulled their weapons on him. And considering their recent history, it makes sense that all three of them keep their weapons up longer than needed, both Hunter and Omega are potentially at risk. We all saw how quickly all of them drew their weapons in Episode 13 at even the slightest hint of danger to Omega. Considering everything before, it makes sense they kept them up until he disarmed himself, that's just good self defense honestly.

And my final point:

CROSSHAIR WAS NOT ABANDONED AT THE END OF THE SEASON

He was given multiple invitations and opportunities to join. Sure, he was not made to feel all that welcome, but even after all of the season and the finale, Wrecker stops to ask if he is coming and Hunter gives him one last chance. He was given many opportunities to go with them. He said he made his choice, that isn't abandonment, that's stepping away.

In Conclusion

Honestly all 6 of the main characters really dropped the ball on this season's conflict and no one is blameless or unjustified.

I'm not mad about it because it makes for compelling character drama, but everyone involved kinda didn't do their best, so maybe let's not slander one side over the other?

(Small lists of commenters who showed interest is seeing this: @violettavie @shilsvampsinger @rain-over-kamino )

[masterjedilenawrites]

hey, could you do a fic on how would the bad batch react to Omega's first period? idk if you've done it already, but i love your writing and you describe the characters really well!

I haven't actually written for Omega yet so I'm excited to dive into this one! Definitely love the single dad energy (x5... because in this house we pretend Crosshair was never left behind and it's the big happy family we all deserve)

Omega & The Bad Batch | 1.3k words

Omega closed her eyes in an effort to stop the wave of anxiety that rose in her chest. But when she reopened them, she was met with that scary red stain again.

She was so confused. She didn't remember getting hurt. She wasn't in any pain. Where was this blood coming from? And how was she going to get it to stop? She really didn't want to have to tell the team about this. They already worried about her over every little thing. If she could just figure out what was wrong first....

A sudden knock at the refresher door startled her. Her heart raced as she heard Hunter on the other side.

"Omega? You alright in there?"

She could hear the concern in his voice and it made her panic. She quickly flushed the toilet and fumbled with her clothes.

"Uh, yeah... yeah, I'm okay, Hunter... Everything's fine. Almost done!"

Hunter wasn't fooled. He rarely was, much to her annoyance.

"Omega," he said evenly, "if there's something wrong, you need to let me help you."

"Nothing's wrong!" she said quickly, starting to turn in circles, unsure what else to do. She should probably put something down there to stop the bleeding, right? Until she could figure out what else to do about it.

"You're hurt, I can tell..."

She was unrolling a wad of toilet paper and paused as she remembered the Sergeant's heightened senses. There would be no hiding this. But she would have to try anyway.

She unlatched the refresher door, letting it swoosh open to reveal Hunter's hardened gaze looking down at her. She quickly stepped out and started making her way around him toward her bunk, careful to keep the toilet paper out of his eyesight.

"I'm not hurt. See? Everything's fine. Just using the fresher like everyone does. No big deal."

Her scene with Hunter was starting to attract the attention of the others. Tech and Echo peered down the hall from their seats in the cockpit while Crosshair and Wrecker paused their daily weapons cleaning to watch.

"You're hiding... toilet paper," said Crosshair, perceptive as ever.

"And I know you're bleeding," said Hunter. "What did you do?"

Omega paused just below the ladder up to her little room. His comment made her snap. Why was he always assuming she was getting into trouble? It didn't matter that she'd been with them a few years now and had more than proven herself as an equal member of the squad. He was still suspicious and way too over-protective.

"I said I'm fine, Hunter!" she shouted. "Why can't you leave me alone?"

She climbed the ladder as forcefully as she could and threw the little curtain closed. She wasn't sure why she felt so angry, so emotional. It'd been like this for a few days now, where even the smallest things frustrated her, and she hated she couldn't control it. She didn't want any of them to think of her as a child anymore and these emotional outbursts certainly weren't helping. She clutched the toilet paper to her face and cried softly in it, forgetting about her little predicament for the moment.

On the other side of curtain, Hunter had moved to follow her up the ladder with an exasperated call of her name, but Tech stopped him.

"Hunter," he called from the cockpit.

"She's hurt, Tech," Hunter huffed over his shoulder, one hand on a ladder rung. He need only go up one step before reaching eye level with the curtain.

"Yeah," agreed Wrecker, ready to follow after her as well. "We need to help her."

Tech shook his head. "The best way to help her in this case is to understand her."

Hunter and Wrecker paused in their journey to look back at their brother, holding up a holopad in his usual signal of having more information than them. They shared a look before reluctantly changing course to see what Tech had to say. Even Echo and Crosshair were leaning forward in curiosity.

"I started researching after Omega mentioned having pains in her abdomen yesterday. Coupled with her more sensitive emotions lately and the odd blemishes that have appeared on her face, I wondered if it wasn't all connected somehow."

Tech looked between all of them, dragging the explanation out as he always did, delighting in being the one to teach them something. Usually Hunter could ignore his brother's theatrics, but he was already on edge knowing Omega was hurt. He couldn't be so patient now.

"And?" he prompted with an annoyed furrow to his brow.

"There are a few explanations, but your mention of bleeding has confirmed my primary suspicion. Omega has started what is known as her menses."

The others only blinked in response. Tech held back a self-important smirk and continued to explain.

"You are all familiar with the concept of puberty, yes?"

They nodded slowly. Even with their accelerated growth, the clones had still experienced a degree of it.

"Well, with girls, it is accompanied by the start of their menstrual cycle, which is a process by which the body naturally discards the inner lining of the uterus, roughly every twenty-eight rotations. It is ultimately a sign that pregnancy has not occurred."

The air in the small space of the ship immediately became anxious as the others fully processed Tech's words.

"Oh."

"Uh...."

"Hmm."

"Oh my..."

Tech pushed his glassed up matter-of-factly, the only one unbothered by such things. "It's a natural bodily process for most female humans. And it does lead to the other symptoms we've been noticing from Omega. The cramps, the pimples, etc. All a normal part of the process."

"Is that true?"

It was Omega's voice that reached them, and they all turned to see her timidly standing nearby. It was clear she had overheard enough of Tech's lecture so that it wouldn't have to be repeated.

"It really is normal?"

"You know if Tech says so, then it must be true," said Echo with a friendly smile, the first to recover from the awkwardness, mostly to throw in a little jab at Tech.

Hunter found himself feeling guilty. Looking at how shy and scared Omega stood before them, he knew she was going to need their full support in figuring out this strange new part of herself.

"And it's nothing to be worried about," he affirmed, instinctually bending lower to face her, even though she was getting tall enough now where he didn't really need to do that. "I'm sorry I upset you earlier. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I know," she said, wiping at her eyes. "And I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"So what do we do about it?" asked Wrecker. "She's just going to be bleeding forever?"

"Of course not," said Tech, his voice edged with annoyance. "Didn't you listen? It's a cycle. It'll run its course over the next several days, and then she'll be fine for about another month. It varies from person to person... In fact... You should probably have a calendar to track it, Omega."

While Tech got up to dig around in a chest of old holopads, Echo leaned over to look at the scans on the ship.

"There's an outpost only one short jump away, near a human-inhabited planet. Surely there will be some special supplies for this sort of thing there."

"And if you still need to blow off steam," said Crosshair, "we can test out that new blaster I got on those old clanker heads."

"Okay," said Omega, perking up with every offer of help from the boys. "I'm also kind of hungry..."

"I got you covered there, kid," winked Wrecker.

Hunter placed his hand on her shoulder. "We've all got you, Omega. We'll figure this out together."

She started tearing up again, only this time it was in relief. What had started as something scary and mysterious and embarrassing, had now turned into a rally of support and love from her team. Her family.

It also seemed like a great opportunity to be spoiled a little... She'd have to work on figuring that part out herself....

[happytroopers]

Fives and Dogma for 20. "What-ifs/Alternate Timelines" maybe?

Fives:

In my mind, he survives the whole Chip ordeal. Like skin of his teeth everyone besides Rex thinks he’s dead

Rex smuggles him to Salecumi (idk how to spell it) where Cut and Suu nurse him back to health

Think Fennec in the Mandolorian, mechanical insides and such

Obvs this makes Rex more Savvy to the chip situation but like one battle at a time

Once Fives stabilizes and is able to make more sense, Rex gets his chip out, which enables him and Ahsoka to rescue a couple more clones when order 66 comes around

When Rex first suspects Echo is still alive, He keeps it from Fives not wanting to get his hopes up for nothing - plus it’s dangerous to communicate too much lest Cut and Fives be discovered.

But until he can be sure Echo is still completely himself he can’t tell Echo ab Fives but he never explicitly says he’s dead either he’s always just like “he’s not WITH US anymore”

Flash forward to post order 66, Echo is with the Batch, Fives is with Cut, the galaxy is currently in chaos

As we know, Rex blew through Salucemi and finally told Fives everything. He’s mad at first but long term understands, he’s relieved that Rex and Ahsoka are alright, and they both mourn the 501st together

Fives knows he has to go find Echo, bc the domino squad sticks together and he lowkey feels guilty he left him at the citadel AND never figured out he was alive

BUT Cut and Suu notice all the empire stuff and know they have to get them and the kids out of there so instead of leaving with Rex he agrees to stay and help Cut and Suu until they leave and then he’d strike out on his own

He goes to town the next day for whatever reason

Low and behold when he comes back there’s this little blonde girl that looks a lot like him playing with the kids

And then Cut comes out followed by the batch

He doesn’t immediately recognize Echo

Echo would recognize that stupid goatee anywhere

OBVS they reunite and it’s beautiful and touching and heartbreaking.

I genuinely think Fives and the Batch would vibe ESP without Crosshair ++ I just know him and Omega would get along

Idk how he’d really fit in the plot of the Bad Batch / helping Rex with the rebellion

But after the chip incident I doubt he has a lot of trust for any form of over arching authority

But he’s just like “I FUCKING TOLD YOU REX.”

But I doubt that he and Echo would separate again

This leads them to get their chips out earlier saving Wrecker a lot of trauma

Speaking of, I think he’d REALLY vibe with Wrecker Bc Wrecker would remind him of Hardcase

Tech upgrades his mechanical lungs and such bc the black market stuff Rex was able to get his hands on was not up to Techs standard.

Hunter is slightly indifferent but appreciates another set of eyes and hands, more ppl to keep Omega safe. He’s glad Echo was reunited with Fives though bc he knew how hard it was for Echo to come back and barely know anyone but Rex.

He and Crosshair(should our fave sniper ever return) would not vibe. At all.

Think Steve and Bucky but if Steve didn’t time travel back to his side piece

Dogma:

My alternate timeline Dogma makes very little sense but I love him all the same

So the event of Umbara happen as they did canonically

Despite feeling a lil guilty ab it Rex sends him back to Kamino feeling a lil guilty ab it but Dogma understands. His brother don’t trust him anymore which is heartbreaking all in it’s own right, he doesn’t trust himself, and now he’s learned that he can’t even trust command as he used too

But despite all that he’s seeing the world through a mew lens. His moral code has been flipped upside down, he’s not sure who to trust and for the first time he’s allowing himself to question things

He’s distrustful of the Kaminoans as they move him through his “psych eval”. They keep saying that as soon as he’s deemed fit for duty, he’ll be reassigned to a new unit

He stops answering their questions as honestly, telling them the “correct answers” he knew he was supposed to

One day as he’s waiting for his brain scans he sees a data pad laying on the side table, outline his treatment plan.

This wasn’t a brain scan- this was reconditioning. To forget what he saw on Umbara and be retrofitted as a maintenance clone.

He does a little more digging as he waits for the Kaminoan scientist to come back, and of course he eventually comes to some information ab the chips.

First and foremost, after having his world view rocked, he’s immediately like, “ok excuse you, you can’t take my memories just bc you don’t like the negative light this puts on you and the Jedi.”

Then, esp with this newfound distrust of the Jedi and most of high command, he’s really not as chill with the chip as he once would have been

At that moment there’s no way to escape, he’s sitting on an operating table, there’s two armed guards on the other side of the door, he’s in nothing but Kamino plain clothes, there’s approx 100,00 soldiers between him and anything that could fly, not to mention the blockade around the planet. He needed more time to plan al he could do was grab a piece of flimsy and write down bullet points on what he found and who he was, he shoves in between the layers of his clothes and just hopes it’ll be there when he comes out on the other side

He has to put everything as he found it. As the Kaminoan comes in and asked questions as if they weren’t about to psychologically torture him, he forces himself to answer as if he knows nothing. Even if it’s through gritted teeth and with a harsh glare.

They give him a sedative and all he can think before the medicine takes affect is “don’t forget who you are. Don’t forget what they did to you. Don’t forget what they’ve done to your brothers.”

He wakes up in a random bunk, he feels angry but can’t remember why. He knows there’s something he needs to do, but can’t remember his purpose. There’s a uniform folded on his foot locker- he recognizes as Kamino Sani-Workers uniform?? Was that what he was supposed to do? Why couldn’t he remember doing it before? But what did he do before?

He sits up, something is rustling and crinkling under his clothes. Even more confusion but before he gets the chance to check a Kaminoan escorted by an officer walk in.

They call him by his CT number which shouldn’t have been a problem, but he knew that’s not what he should be called- but didn’t know what he was expecting. They say their glad he was awake, that he injured himself in a fall while cleaning- that would explain the amnesia, but somehow he just knew that was wrong. He was almost shocked by the amount of anger that surged through as his brain just screamed- they’re lying to you!

The Kaminoan told him that once he underwent some scans and check ups, another Saniworker would fill in any gaps and explain his jobs, and then left saying they’d be back for him tomorrow, not to leave to room barracks and that dinner would be brought to him later.

Once he was alone again and he knew he was alone, he inspected the odd rustling in his clothes and pulled out the flimsy that had been shoved behind in between the layers. It was folded twice and the handwriting inside was frantic.

It was bullet pointed, informing his that his name was Dogma, it outlined the events on Umbara, Don’t trust the Jedi was underlined emphatically, Don’t trust high command was next, that they had reconditioned him and then something about a chip in his brain that needed to come out once he got away.

Some of this sparked flashes of memory and surges of emotion, a bioluminescencent planet, a blonde clone with an angry look on his face and then the same clone with a sympathetic look in his eye, two clones in an execution block, they looked scared and angry, Dogma was holding a gun, then he was holding a different gun, he was in a cell, and now another blaster it was smoking, a Jedi in cuffs was dead, he killed the Jedi? A surge of anger, pride, and then immediate wariness- a transport to Kamino, scientists poking and prodding at him, a syringe, the inside of a scanner, darkness…

The onslaught of images- memories, he realized- split his head with a migraine. Later he would find out that reconditioning was most successful when subjects are unassuming and not brought into contact with environments or people that could trigger memories. But even unsuccessful, it fractured the mind to be toyed with like that.

With nothing to do, all he can do is sit in his bunk and think about what he knows, even if it splits his head to do it. He slips the piece of paper into an air vent, wedged under a loose screw so it wouldn’t blow into the wrong hands.

Days pass, all he can do is play into this new role he’s been cast in. Old memories flood back, a trooper with long hair and a tear drop tattoo, a human Jedi that didn’t spark the same hostility as the other. But so did inorganic memories- his brain trying to fill the gaps of his reconditioning. False memories of never leaving Kamino, spending days cleaning and fixing things.

He fights against those, forcing himself to read his piece of flimsy every night. Leaning into the memories that felt real, but not quite sure if he could trust those either.

Weeks have passed, it’s harder to not stay mad at the kaminoans and high ranked officers who knew what happened. How could his brothers let this happen? Did his former squad know this is what would happen when they shipped him off?

But the good thing about maintenance clones is that no one plays him any mind. Dogma knew that. So he kept jobs done perfectly adequate and perfectly on time for weeks, and before long the Kaminoans lost interest in him. Assuming the reconditioning had done its job.

This gave him wiggle room. He knew where the cameras were, and therefore the blind spots. He knew when security made their rounds, when which cadets went where for training. He knew that how much time he had down the second that he wouldn’t be seen as he accessed the data terminal in one of his blind spots.

It was in those tiny time pockets he learned more about himself. What he accomplished, this missions and planets he’d been on, who he had served with, the names and numbers of his batch mates and which ones of them were still alive. He had been in the 501st, with war heroes CT 7567, ARC 5555, ARC 1409, Commander Ahsoka Tano, and General Anakin Skywalker.

It was also there that he found the nitty gritty about the Umbara mission, the unabridged version of what happened there. He used a stolen data stick to download both Captain Rex’s, Arc Trooper Fives’, and a Tup (one of the last remaining member of his squad.) so he could watch their debrief statements in their entirety.

And since the Umbara mission was still under investigation, it was there he found his his armor and weaponry were being held in Kamino’s archives.

One day, when being assigned his tasks for the week, he’s assigned to a hangar bay for the almost every day. That’s when his plan formed.

Using help from his maintenance droid co workers, he used them to transport his armor to a cargo ship- civilian piloted- and then once he had the chance, he smuggled himself on the ship.

He felt a little guilty for stunning the poor civvie, a peach skinned twilek girl who hadn’t even seen him before she slumped over unconscious. With her stunned and safely locked in her quarters, he landed the ship on the nearest backwater and disappeared into a city’s underbelly with the ships cargo.

Which was immediately pawned off to a black market dealer- dogma didn’t feel too bad, the ship was mostly carrying first aid supplies and droid poppers, nothing too dangerous, and it padded his pockets with enough credits to get by for a while. The republic would think it was raided by pirates.

With his distrust for his brothers and the army now, he could never bring himself to fully don his armor again. He mostly used the arm guard vambrances, shin guards, and occasionally the chassis. But old habits died hard, even the pieces of armor he didn’t use were kept in pristine condition.

The pistol labeled “ARC 5555 DC17, execution weapon” had been in the same box as his armor. If the files and his fractured memories were true, he had used that to kill the traitorous Jedi that killed his brothers.

He carried that everywhere, a reminder to himself to never value authority over morality. And a reminder that he could do what needed to be done.

Eventually he got in the the private security sector on the backwater planet he landed on.

And once comfortable, he got a shady medical clinic to remove his chip

The war came and went, the Empire eclipsed the Republic. If Dogma had a distaste for the Republic, he harbored hatred for the Empire.

He never officially joined the rebellion, but every now and then Rex would hear rumors of a rogue clone that sabotaged an Empire shipment or freed Imperial prisoners.

Eventually found a comfortable life hopping between the same four planets, he made friends he could trust and eventually learned to trust his own mind again. It took him awhile but eventually he forgave his brothers for letting what happened to him happen

It might have taken years but Dogma did find peace