#tech x female reader

[dragonrider9905]

Racing Heart

Chapter 2

(Part 1)(Part 2)

Summery: You catch up with the Batch at last...and you can finally learn the truth about Tech and what he feels for you. Warning: Angst with a happy ending; jealousy; feelings of anxiety.

You pulled the drop of your hood further down to obscure your face and swirled the contents of your drink. The colors spinned and turned but refused to be mixed. The blue and purple layers were separated by a yellow one and when you turned the liquid about, it created a fascinating illusion. The lights were dim in the bar where you sat, but the illumination behind the bar created just enough light to throw beams into your glass. The ice cubes caught and increased the colors. It was a good thing it was all the entertainment you needed because you’d been sitting there a long time. 

“Can you please stop that? You’re making me dizzy.” Your companion grumpily slurred. 

He was bent over the counter, same as you, but his eyes darted to and fro, expertly and unsuspiciously. He turned his glass more gently, as if he were a connoisseur trying to decide how he felt about it. You didn’t understand how he could be so cool and act like he’d belong in any setting. You admired it. You wished you possessed the same amazing tactics but you didn’t. You were easier to read than a book. If it wasn’t for him, you'd have been spotted sooner than a sore thumb a long time ago. You’d been seen as you were, lost and far from home in a big and threatening galaxy full of scary beings. You were good with facts and figures. Data and books and computers. Dealing with people wasn’t really your forte.

Of course all that time in the field refined his talents but it was a talent nevertheless. In fact, if Crosshair hadn’t insisted on taking over at Safa Toma, you would have begged him to. 

You and Crosshair walked into the Safa Toma Speedway like you owned the place. The glare and saunter were natural to him, but for you, well, it was less so. Crosshair rolled his eyes. 

“Could you look any more phony? I asked you not to stand out. Your glare looks like you’re going to combust. Literally screaming “ask me, I have a secret”. Just relax and think about the time Wrecker spilled spaghetti sauce all over that white uniform of yours right before the decoration ceremony, and you had to wear that ridiculous looking jacket that didn’t match your pants in front of the entire assembly.” 

You scowled at the memory and your face heated producing a fine, red blush. You’d had to wear your oil stained brown pants from helping Tech upgrade the Marauder with a spare gray uniform jacket. They didn’t match in the slightest, but were the only things you had in the closet as your spare uniform was dry-cleaning after your latest mission. You were the only one out of the ten receiving metals to look that ridiculous. Wrecker apologized profusely and Tech assured you no one seemed to notice. Maybe he hadn’t, but others certainly did. You were completely and utterly humiliated. 

“Precisely, look annoyed and follow my lead. You’ll be fine. Try crossing your arms. Usually does something for me.” 

You huffed a laugh and the corners of your mouth turned up.

“Wipe that smile off your face.”

“Why? Can’t smiles be just as menacing?”

“Not yours. Yours are always too sweet.”

You had to figure out if that was a compliment or an insult or both. 

“Ooookaaaayyyy.”

“Am I detecting a high level of sass?”

You tried hard not to smile, but a chuckle came out anyway. 

“And they say I’m the difficult one.” Crosshair rolled his eyes. “Just don’t say anything. And try not to look like a lost puppy.”

You arrived at the apartment said to be Millegi’s, the sponsor for the racer named Venim, to test your theory about his association with ‘Cid’. Considering he responded with your cryptic message by saying he’d meet you. You were pretty sure you were correct. 

Upon entering the finley furnished apartment, you saw Millegi sat reclined on his sofa, a hint of malicious humor on his face. He cut right to business just as you suspected. 

“I hear you’re looking for Cid. What do you want with her?”

Crosshair put on his coldest face and crossed his arms over his chest. “Let’s say I have unfinished business with her, and I hear you know how to find her.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“I know powerful people, and trust me, I’ll make sure you disappear so fast, you’d wish I’d gifted you with death.”

And that’s how you found yourselves sitting in Cid’s bar. Waiting. Forever. Waiting for the runaways to return home. The longer you waited the more you wished you hadn't come. You didn’t know if dreaming about this moment and wishing so hard it hurt was better than the actual waiting because right here, right now, reality was happening. In your dreams you’d run to Tech and he’d wrap his arms around you and everything would be happy and fine. You could control the outcome. Everything would turn out how you planned no matter the scenario.

This was the unknown. You didn’t know what would happen. And to top it off, what would happen, would be final. No more alternate scenarios. No more differing factors. You didn’t know if Tech would even be happy to see you. What if he didn’t even remember you?!? Despite Crosshair’s assurances and annoyance at something that should be obvious (which was honestly more comforting than the assurances) the familiar anxiety bubbled in your stomach and you felt the bile rise in your throat. Unconsciously, your knee started bouncing against the chair. 

“Hunter’ll hear that all the way from the space port.”

“Ha. Ha.”

“This isn’t exactly an easy moment for me, either.”

Your knee stopped bouncing and regret seeped into your bones. 

“I’m so sorry, Crosshair. I haven’t been considerate. I’ve been so focused on myself and my problems…” You sighed and looked down. “I’ve done so much wrong.” You ran your fingers through your hair, trying not to disturb the cloak too much. “I can’t even seem to do right by my friends. You deserved so much more consideration. Your step took more courage than mine; and I haven’t expressed enough how grateful I am that you came with me.”

“You’ve expressed it almost every day since we left.”

You shrugged. “I am grateful. I just want all of us together again, the way it should be. But this waiting is unbearable. Not knowing how they’ll accept us is the worst part. I mean, you’re they’re brother. You’re more likely to be wanted than me.”

“Don’t count on it after our last meeting. Not to mention what I’ve done since.”

“Crosshair—” You’d been over this so many times with him. Thinking of different ways to defend him but he was obstinate in his self-loathing.

“Save it.”

Crosshair glared but the ice melted when he saw the hurt in your eyes. He sent an apology look, not able to find the words he wanted to say, and not even knowing exactly what to say. But spending weeks with Crosshair on the run, you’d learn how to communicate with him this way. You felt you knew him on a whole new level and could talk without words. 

You wished you could still say the same about Tech. 

Then a noise caught your attention. The three patrons who’d been second-handedly annoying the both of you for the past few hours excitedly welcomed someone. 

“Well look who’s back!” the one you ascertained was Bolo, said. 

“Hey, when are we getting another dejarik game! It’s been pretty boring without you.” the one named Ketch added. 

The female pirate by the identity of ‘Phee’ spoke next. You’d been listening to her stories and they seemed too fantastical to be true, but they were entertaining to listen to while you waited. You thought Crosshair’s eyes would get stuck behind his skull with how often he rolled his eyes while she spoke, claiming he had better ‘real’ stories. But he must have enjoyed them enough because he kept listening and making off-handed comments.

“Well look who it is, if it isn’t my favorite group of clones.” 

You peaked in the direction to see the Bad Batch file in and try to scoot past the overly excited, ‘bored’ patrons. Probably to talk to Cid if they had just gotten done with a job. 

“Limping again, Brown eyes? You really ought to be more careful.” Phee put her hand on Tech’s shoulder and you almost lurched at the hint of softness in her voice. He had found someone after all. In the corner of your eye, you saw Crosshair give you a sympathetic look but you refused to meet his gaze. 

“Maybe this was a dumb idea.”

“No.” Crosshair said sternly. You looked up to meet his eyes and saw a kind earnestness in them. “No it wasn’t. No matter how this ends, what they say, we’re out of the Empire and that’s all that counts. I have you to thank for that.”

You smiled faintly. “We could always trek out on our own. I have the brains and you have…well everything else.”

Crosshair chuckled. “Let’s say we get this over with.”

You could only let out a breathy “Okay.”

You were aware of a hush that came over the boisterous group. 

“Who are those two?” You heard Hunter stage whisper. You didn’t have to look over your shoulder to know he’d crossed his arms and was staring at the two of you. 

“Dunno, they’ve been sitting there since before we came in. Long time.” Ketch said. 

“Hm.” 

You could bet they were sharing concerned looks among each other, trying to decide what to do. Your breathing quickened.

You heard Crosshair’s chair turn. “No one important. Just your brother and your friend.” 

Okay, Crosshair, maybe not the best intro. 

You stayed glued in place, not wanting to face them. 

“Crosshair?” You couldn’t tell which of the brothers said that. All the world started to turn before your eyes. The blood rushed to your ears and you completely missed the exchange happening between the torn Batch. The loud fuzziness overtook all that was happening around you. You were only focused on the void, empty feeling. 

Tech has someone.

“Glad you’re back, brother.” broke through the haze along with the clanking of armor. You could only guess that meant they embraced. 

They wanted Crosshair back. That’s good. Maybe I should just leave quietly…

Maybe you didn’t have a place with them anymore but you did return their prodigal brother to them and that was reward enough. 

Then you heard teary laughing and other clanky embraces. You heard an excited little girl squish her face into her brother’s chest or shoulder (depending on whether or not Crosshair knelt for her or not) and cry happily. 

This was your chance. You moved swiftly and silently like Crosshair had shown you over the last few weeks and made your way toward the back exit. The shadows of the backroom covered you and you took one last glance where the light poured in. You saw happy faces of a reunited family. Laughing and jesting and happy, relieved tears were poured out. Just the way they should be; you felt a smile growing on your face. Yes, all was well. 

You turned to leave with that last happy memory. 

You made your way out the back door and out the alley toward the front entrance and slowly started to make your way to a spaceport to book a passage with the fake ID you made. You had a few credits left. You could get by on them until you thought of what to do next. 

The day was ending and the world was alive. The day-timers were heading home from work and the night-shifters were getting up and going to their posts…or bars. Wherever they kept vigil. That wasn’t for you to know or care. The sun was setting and giving off the most beautiful orange…

You heard your name and you turned around surprised. You knew who the voice belonged to and a part of you wondered if you were dreaming. There would be no way Tech was actually chasing you, could there be? 

You saw him bobbing in the crowd, looking about frantically. You’ve never seen him so scattered. He called your name again, louder, more frantic. If you had half a brain left, you would have answered. But you were tired, numb, and heartbroken. Your feet hurt and you didn’t know if you could face him. Instead of leaving quietly or approaching him, you stood there with your mouth agape, watching as if this were a holofilm and you were not the main character on the screen. You couldn’t be the main character. You’d plain forgotten your lines. 

Your feet decided to move without your brain’s permission. You didn’t know if you were going to go toward Tech or turn away, and you never found out because in that moment, Tech spotted you and your eyes locked. He smiled a full smile and pushed through the moving masses toward you and was by your side in an instant.

“Mesh’la, you’re here! You’re here!” Tech excitedly said. There was a dancing fire in his eyes and a laugh on his lips. “I can’t believe my calculations, you’re here!” Before another moment passed, you were wrapped in a hug. His arms came around you and brought you close to his chest. He lowered his head so it was resting on yours, then stayed silent for so long it started to worry you. Tech was never silent.

“Tech.” Your voice cracked from how dry it was.

He parted and cupped your face.

“Mesh’la.” 

You felt your whole face on fire and you couldn’t look Tech in the eye. Your ears were pink to the tips. You knew what that word meant. He couldn’t possibly mean it. Did Crosshair put him up to this?

“What?” Tech looked taken aback and slightly hurt.

Woops, must have said that part out loud. 

You cleared your throat. “Did Crosshair…I mean…” tears filled your eyes and you sighed. You tried to look anywhere but him but his hand, though gentle, was firm and held your head in place. Besides, you were loath to lose the contact just yet. “Crosshair knew…so I was wondering if he sent you…told you to…”

“Crosshair knew what? Told me to?” He repeated.

You took in a deep breath and held it. You’d say it fast. 

“Crosshair knew that I loved you and was searching for you forever and when I saw you racing I knew I could find you and really wanted to find you so I decided to trust him to see if he wanted to come and we left the Empire together to find you. You’re a good racer, that was good racing.” You let out the rest of the air in a heavy sigh. One breath. 

Tech smiled. “You were searching for me?”

You tried to look at your shoes. “Yes.” Your voice was so small but that was all you had left. 

“You love me?”

“Yes!” That was a little more vehement and you rolled your eyes. You had a transport to catch. If he didn’t mind, you really had to get going. “It KILLED me when I thought you were dead. I didn’t know…”

He leaned in closer to your ear. 

“I love you too.”

You let out a sob and pressed your face into his chest. Your heart felt like it exploded and adrenaline rushed through your veins and you started to feel dizzy. Your muscles relaxed and the tired, achiness returned, reminding you you needed to rest. Tech felt the extra weight and shifted to support you. But your happiness was replaced with confusion.

“But…your girlfriend? How can you love me if you have a girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Tech sounded so surprised you had to look him in the face. His eyebrow was up in a quizzical form. The one he always made when he was drawing a blank. You loved this expression because it was so rare, and he could never replicate it when he tried at your request. It was a look of complete honesty. You almost laughed at the hope your heart started to thud to. 

“Phee, the pirate woman…”

“She is most definitely not my girlfriend. Did she say she was? Or did you draw that conclusion from her rather flirtatious greeting?”

“Maybe I did have incomplete data.”

“Did you notice I did not address the flirtations?”

“No…my mind was too busy reeling.”

Tech smiled again, but this time mischievously. 

“What if I give you a better subject for you to meditate on?”

He leaned in and kissed you. Softly and perfectly. You broke it first.

“We’ll have to continue later.” You chuckled, “I can’t stop smiling.” You rested your head against his chest and heaved a relieved sigh.

“I agree, we shall have to continue this exercise later.”

You laughed and started back toward the bar. Tech limped after you and your smile turned upside down. You hadn't noticed before. He moved with such urgency and swiftness. It had to hurt.

“You’re limping.”

“Yes, I had a misfortunate accident on the last mission.” He shrugged. “It’s nothing.”

“No it’s not. Let me have a look.” You returned to his side and brought Tech’s arm around your neck so he could lean on you for support. “Where’s your ship? Do you have any ice for me to help bring down the swelling, or should I run back to Cid’s real quick to get the ice then bring you to the ship or…” 

You were cut off by Tech’s chuckle. “We have the necessary supplies on the ship. That way.” He nudged his head in the right direction, but his gaze remained on you. It sparkled with all the love and adoration you never thought you’d see aimed toward yourself from the goggled eyes. Your heart swelled and your lips radiated that happiness with the biggest smile you’ve ever made. You were where you were meant to be. You were home at last. 

Dividers by @djarrex and @ve-ti-ver

[spacemagicandlaserswords]

Open and Waiting (Chapter 1)

Gif from this post by @ashr-jedi

Summary: You try out something new with Tech. As it turns out, like with pretty much everything, he knows exactly what he’s doing. 

Relationship: Tech x f!reader (eventual mentions of Hunter x f!reader, Crosshair x f!reader, Echo x f!reader and Wrecker x f!reader)

Warnings: NSFW, cock warming, domination, submission, humiliation, Dominant Tech, submissive reader, cock ring, saliva/drool, restraints, leather wrist cuffs, leather collar, naked and kneeling reader, subspace, tiny hint of poor self worth, star wars swearing, playing fast and loose star wars canon details, not beta read             

Word Count: 1604 (Chapter 1)

Authors Notes: Help I’ve written fanfic. This is the first time I’ve ever written fan fiction and the first time I’ve ever written smut so please be gentle. I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing but this idea has latched onto my brain and refuses to let go so here we are. Creative writing is not my strong suit so I hope this is alright. 

Also, this is absolute filth. If you think this is saucy then strap in cause you ain't seen nothing yet. Tech says some truly filthy things in Chapter 5. Yes, there are 5 chapters of this monstrosity so far and I’m nowhere even close to the end. I’ve written 7700+ words of this thing. There’s 18 pages so far. What have I done to myself?! 

If I’ve screwed something up or forgotten a warning or missed something out, please gently let me know and I will be more than happy to fix it! 

Please read the warnings! And please let me know if you liked it and if you’d like to read Chapter 2 or more.

Chapters: Two, Three, Four, Five, Six | Ao3

Open and Waiting (Chapter 1)

The durasteel floor of the Marauder is cold.

Which makes sense. It is metal after all and we’re not exactly on the warmest of planets right now. 

What makes it particularly noticeable is that my bare legs are currently kneeling on said cold durasteel. In fact, my entire bare naked body is kneeling on the floor of the Marauder. Wrists cuffed behind my back, my right cheek pillowed against fabric stretched over a lean, muscular thigh and my jaw kept open as Tech’s cock just sits there on my tongue and fills my mouth. 

I’m grateful that he chose the softer leather cuffs with the adjustable chain. Saves my shoulders from being constantly wrenched back and the harsh metal of binders biting into my wrists. Tech has always been decidedly considered, thorough and aware of these matters though so it doesn’t surprise me. That man will assiduously research anything and everything, including new kinks to explore. I’m always nervous about broaching these sorts of topics, but at least with Tech I know he will approach the idea with an open, inquisitive mind before launching into discovering everything there is to know about my new suggestion.

When I first bought up the idea of trying cock warming with him, there was a definite flare of interest behind those goggles. It only increased as I did my best to explain the concept while valiantly trying to shove my worries and fears into the nearest storage crate. I know I shouldn’t be ashamed about my sexual interests, and Maker knows they all so gently remind me of this regularly, but old habits are hard to shake. I really shouldn’t have worried though because when Tech came and found me later that night, I’d hadn’t seen him that intensely interested in a new discovery in a while. 

Well, not since we found those rare Tarisian bark beetles anyway. 

So here I am, completely completely naked, save for a leather collar and cuffs, kneeling in the middle of our ship with Tech’s cock in my mouth. Just kneeling in front of him, completely still, arms restrained behind my back, cheek resting on his inner thigh, eyes closed, jaw slack, tongue touching my bottom lip, drool spilling out the sides of my mouth and dripping obscenely down my chin, and that glorious, firm cock just resting in my mouth, filling it up. 

There’s nothing I can do apart from kneel here and drool around Tech’s cock. 

Nothing I’m allowed to do either. Sir was very clear that I was to make no movement whatsoever. Not even to swallow. Which is why my mouth and chin are now covered in my own drool and I’m sure I must be making a complete mess of the floor. 

At least durasteel is fairly easy to clean up and wipe down. Trying to get stains out of the red leather of the cockpit chairs is another matter entirely.

Tech is sitting on a storage crate while he tinkers with a project on the fold down workbench above me. Those long rangy legs bracketing me in. Close, but not quite close enough to touch the rest of my body, apart from where my cheek rests against his inner thigh. 

Damn man knows exactly what he’s doing.

Heavy boots rest on the floor well past where I’m kneeling and serve as another reminder of just how tall and imposing Tech can be. He might not be as overtly muscular as Wrecker or even Hunter but that lean frame belies a beskar imbued strength. At six foot four, Tech absolutely towers over me, even when he’s sitting and I’m kneeling on the floor between his thighs. He’s an all encompassing presence and it’s making something curl deep within my gut.

It’s also making my cunt wet but there’s not much I can do about that right now.

At the end of our pre-session conversation, Tech also gave me strict instructions that I was not to touch myself. While that’s a little hard to do with my hands cuffed behind my back, Tech could’ve bound my hands directly to my cunt and I still wouldn’t have done a damn thing. He knows how desperately I crave praise and will do anything to be his good little girl–

Oh kriff, don’t think about that right now. Don’t think about Tech calling me a good girl. Do not think about it. You’re just going to make your current predicament even worse. 

Dank farrik, my pussy is definitely wetter now. It’s going to end up dripping onto the floor and then there will be an even bigger blotch beneath me.  

The collection of drool covering the lower half of my face and hanging off my chin has been progressively getting worse the longer this has gone on. The humiliation of being turned into a drooling mess is both delicious and excruciating and my poor hazy brain cannot figure out whether it wants to lean into it or run away. I’ve been stripped down and reduced to nothing but a tight, hot void to keep Tech’s cock warm. 

Warm, and hard.

When we started, Tech had certainly been interested but he wasn’t exactly at full mast either. It had been fairly easy for him to slide my open and eager mouth over his cock before gloved hands gently leant my head against his inner thigh. Since then he’s been steadily hardening inside my mouth while he completely ignores me and works on his current project that is strewn in bits across the workbench above. It’s almost like the more I drool, the harder he gets. I can just start to taste the hint of his pre-cum when that clipped, precise voice breaks through the silence above me.

“I require an additional tool and need to momentarily step away in order to retrieve it. This will necessitate briefly moving your position. You will remain kneeling with your eyes closed and mouth open. Am I understood?”

I do my best to answer with a “Yes Sir” around his cock but all it ends up sounding like is a garbled “...eth…er”. Thankfully, this must be enough to appease him because a gloved hand is running through my hair before gently moving my head and then pulling my mouth from his hard cock. I can feel the heaviness of it slide over my tongue and brush my bottom lip as the solid weight leaves my mouth. There’s a moment of bereft emptiness before a collection of drool follows Tech’s cock out of my mouth and spills over my chin in a wave of tantalising humiliation. Tech doesn’t immediately move and I realise he must be observing me. 

Observing his naked, collared and restrained submissive kneeling in front of him with their mouth open and drool hanging from their chin.

I must look like a completely and utterly ruined mess.

The thought only serves to cause a further spike in delectable humiliation.

After a laden beat, Tech rises from the storage crate, effortlessly swings a leg over my head and then marches off towards his bunk. The slide of metal dragging against metal can be heard before a soft click signifies that his personal storage box has been unlocked.

Why is he going through there? His tools are usually kept in mystifyingly precise locations around the ship if they’re not already on his person.

A few more clicks indicate that an internal compartment has been opened and whatever he was looking for must have been inside because the lock-box is swiftly snapped shut and shoved back under his bunk.

A marked stride makes its way back to my position of supplication on the floor but Tech doesn’t immediately sit down. 

I’m being observed again.

I can’t do anything to stop the reactive shiver that runs through me at the realisation. 

There’s an odd, slightly slick sliding noise above me and then Tech is sitting back down on the storage crate. A hand runs over my head as he tells me–

“You will assume your previous position.”

I’m given no chance to respond as he pushes at the back of my head, making my mouth slide over his cock again. My cheek is leant against his inner thigh once more and then I’m left there just as I was moments before, mouth full of Tech’s cock while he goes back to working on his current project.

As I breathe through the returned presence of his cock filling my mouth, I realise that my nose had just barely brushed against something smooth and different.

A cock ring.

So that’s the additional tool he required.

I’m not sure I’d call a cock ring a tool but I’m in no position to argue. Tech must be enjoying this even more than I thought if he’s had to pull one of those out of his collection. I can’t tell which one it is, though if it starts vibrating then at least I’ll know it's one of his later inventions.    

I almost startle out of my rumination on Tech’s assortment of toys when long fingers card through my hair and his palm smooths over my head. The tips of those fingers start lightly scritching back and forth against my scalp and I have to stop myself from moaning and going completely boneless against him. It’s soft and gentle and, despite the fact that I’m basically just a glorified cock sleeve for him at this point, it’s oddly calming. Tech continues to tenderly caress my head and I drift, floating in a haze of submission. 

Drool continues to drip onto the floor of the Marauder.

[ghostofskywalker]

A Worthy Opponent

Tech/Fem!Reader

Words: 1,803

Summary: In order to make a little easy money on the side, Tech starts racing on Safa Toma semi-regularly. But tensions get a little high when a newcomer shows up and poses an actual challenge, and it doesn't help that he can't seem to stop thinking about you.

Notes: spoilers for season 2, episode 4 of the bad batch!

Clone Troopers Masterlist

After his success in the previous race, Tech began racing on Safa Toma regularly. If another one of his brothers went with him and bet on the race beforehand, it was an easy way for them to net extra credits, because Tech always won. It had taken some convincing for Hunter and Echo to go along with it (they were still fugitives of the Empire after all), but eventually the promise and certainty of monetary gain outweighed the risk, and they got used to it. At this point Tech had figured out all the tricks and secrets of the course, so he was practically unbeatable.

Until of course, the day you signed up to race.

Tech stepped out onto solid ground after the latest run, but the crowd wasn’t chanting his name like they usually did. No, it sounded like they were saying something entirely different, and he looked to the sidelines in confusion. Hunter, who had accompanied him to this race, nodded to the side, and he turned to see you, rising out of your seat, smiling and waving to the cheering spectators. Tech stopped in his tracks. He had lost?

“The race was close, but you came in second,” Tech heard his brother say the moment he was in earshot. “Have you ever raced her before?”

After another look at you to confirm his suspicions, Tech shook his head. “No, I have never seen her before today.”

“Think you could beat her next time?”

“With the right amount of information, certainly,” Tech said.

Before his brother could respond, another voice cut into the conversation. “Damn, I knew you were a good racer, but I didn’t think you’d be this attractive.”

“Excuse me?” Tech asked sharply, turning to face you.

You just raised your eyebrows at him and laughed. “It was a compliment, don’t sweat it brown eyes. I just wanted to come over here and congratulate you on a good race, it’s not every day I get to go up against someone who could actually get me worried.”

“I think you should be worried if we race again,” Tech said.

You laughed once more, raising your hand up to tap the skin of his cheek. “You’re cute, but I don’t think I have to lose sleep over it. I’ve never lost a race, and I don’t intend to start now.”

You were gone before Tech could get a word in edgewise, and he couldn’t help the small blush that rose on his cheeks as he turned back to Hunter. “I can’t believe this.”

“What?” Hunter asked. “You know, between her and Cid’s pirate friend, you’ve been pretty popular lately. It’s a shame neither of them realize that you don’t have the capacity to flirt back.”

“That is untrue,” Tech said. “I do have the capacity, I just choose not to respond.”

Hunter laughed. “Well you might want to start soon, I saw the look on your face when she touched your cheek. Come on, let’s get back to Cid’s, I’m sure the others are waiting for us.”

Tech thought that this loss was a fluke, a once in a lifetime thing that he could fix before he raced again, but he was wrong. In every single race that he went up against you, he lost by a few seconds, and he had to sit there as the crowd cheered your name. The last time, you had winked at him as the two of you exited your respective ships, and he couldn’t help the way he clenched his fists. He was supposed to be the best at this, he had specifically been engineered with superior intellect, so why was he all of the sudden being outsmarted by someone he didn’t even know? He had soon resorted to choosing his races more carefully, and only registering for ones where you hadn’t signed on to race as well.

It certainly didn’t help that he couldn’t stop thinking about you, and this one sided rivalry soon caught the attention of his brothers. “Thinking about that racer again?” Echo’s voice cut into his daydream as he was sitting in Cid’s parlor one afternoon.

“No,” he said shortly, but it was clear that Echo didn’t believe him.

“Oh really? Then what could possibly be the reason you look like you’re trying to break a glass just by staring at it?”

“I’m not supposed to lose,” Tech said. “I don’t understand why I haven’t been able to outsmart her yet.”

“Just because you’ve been enhanced it doesn’t mean that you’re always going to be best at everything,” Echo said. “So one person is better at racing than you, I’d still say that’s pretty good.”

“But still, I don’t get it.”

“I think you need to take your mind off all of that for a little while,” his brother said. “It’s driving you a little crazy.”

“That won’t work, I’ve tried.”

“Okay, then why don’t you try to stop thinking about that other racer?”

“I’ve tried that too.”

Echo was silent for a moment before he spoke again. “You know, have you considered another reason that you can’t get her out of your head?”

Tech just rolled his eyes at the question. Echo had accompanied him to the last race he went to, and you had once again come up to him after the race, the conversation going similarly as it did the time when you first met. Hunter had already approached him with this conclusion, and he knew it was only a matter of time before Echo said something as well, they were similar in that sense. “I can assure you, my feelings for her are nothing but disdain.” That was untrue, but he wasn’t going to admit it.

“Really?” Echo asked, raising his eyebrows. “Because I could have sworn I saw a hint of a blush on your face the last time I was at the track with you, when she came up to talk to you after everything was over.”

“You must have been mistaken,” Tech responded. “The flush in my complexion was simply from the excitement of the race, nothing more.”

Echo’s face told him that he didn’t actually believe his brother’s words, but to his credit, he didn’t push the topic, and Tech was able to sulk in peace once more.

***

The next time Tech saw you was before the next race, and he wasn’t ready for it. You always approached him after everything was finished, so what was different this time? “What do you want?” he asked, wary of what you might say in response.

“Nothing much,” was your nonchalant answer. “I just came by to wish you luck.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“And why not?”

“You have to have some kind of personal motive.”

You just laughed as you one again gently caressed his cheek, and he tried not to think about how soft your hands felt against his skin. “Maybe I do, but I’m not lying when I said I came to wish you luck. I think you’re going to need it.” You walked away after that, leaving Tech more than a little confused in your wake.

He didn’t start to really put the pieces together until the middle of the race, when he was desperately trying to figure out why he was performing worse than usual today. Third place was unheard of for him, and yet he hadn’t been able to get ahead once for this entire race.

He couldn’t stop thinking about you, comfortably coasting in first place, and he knew your little visit beforehand had to be personal. There was no other explanation for the way he was racing so poorly, and he was just glad that none of his brothers had accompanied him to this particular match.

His skin tingled slightly where your fingertips had touched it, and he could see a glimpse of your ship up ahead.

Pushing the speed, he was able to overtake the second place racer, a droid that he had seen in a few of these races before. But his second wind still wasn’t enough to beat you, and he flew past the finish line in second place, losing to you like so many races before.

After your obligatory few moments that you spent smiling and waving at the crowd, Tech followed you onto the sidelines as the next race lined up. “That loss was your fault,” he said, his tone matter-of-fact.

“If you’re going to say I was using the Force, I’d have to deny that,” you said, resting a foot against the wall at your back. You looked calm and collected, and he was annoyed.

“I wasn’t calling you a Jedi,” Tech responded. “But rather saying that your little visit to me pre-race was what cost me the prize and what had me sitting in third place for more than half of it.”

You just stared at him for a moment before a smile spread across your face. “So you’re saying I distracted you?”

“It was your gestures and words that cause me to consistently not perform at my best. You got in my head.”

You just stared at him for a few moments before bursting out in laughter (much to Tech’s confusion). "Well of course i got in your head hotshot, that was the plan,” you said. “Don't be mad at me because you can't resist all this."

“I can certainly resist you,” he said, starting to catch on to what was happening.

“Oh really?” you asked, getting closer to him. Tech suddenly found it a little harder to think, but he tried to keep his expression neutral. “I don’t believe you.”

“What if I called for a rematch?”

You leaned in even more. "Fine by me. Name a time and a place, brown eyes."

That was the final straw for Tech. His instincts took over, leaving his intellect to only watch as he placed both hands on your face and pulled you closer, his lips sealing to yours almost immediately. You kissed back with a fervor just as passionate as him, all the pent up energy from your flirtations and adrenaline from the race coming out in the kiss, and when you pulled apart for air, both of you had swollen lips.

You were the one to lean in once more, but you stopped when you were just breaths away from what you knew he wanted: another kiss. “Still want another rematch?” you asked, a glint in your eye that only made him want to kiss you again.

“Later,” he breathed before closing the gap.

“I’m going to hold you to that promise,” you said between hungry kisses.

“I don’t expect anything less, darling.”

Yeah, he was definitely glad none of his brothers were here to see this right now, because he’d never hear the end of it.

- the end -

i no longer have a taglist! if you're interested in being notified when i post, you can follow my library blog @ghostofskywalker-library and turn on notifications!

[starryevermore]

to be loved by him ✧ tech

angst city™ library | send in a request (consult request faqs first)

request: Tech meeting a cute racing mechanic and 100% being smitten and stumbly and bumbly but when he races he's cool and calm and confident. They 100% make out in the pit stop after he wins - @captainsbestgal​

pairing: tech x fem!mechanic!reader

summary: when tech comes to safa toma, you find yourself smitten. lucky for you, he feels the same. 

word count: 2,085

warnings?: mild spoilers for season 2 episode 4 of the bad batch, fluff, making out, little bit of teasing, pet name (cyar’ika), not proofread

Working as a mechanic at Safa Toma Speedway was not the sort of work you always dreamed of you. Working as a mechanic? Sure. That had always been the plan. Machines made more sense than people, after all. There were only so many responses, so many actions, a machine could make. People, though? People…Well, they didn’t like you. They thought you were “too much”. They thought you talked too loudly. They thought you laughed too much. They thought you overbearing, annoying, exasperating, irritating. But machines? Machines didn’t think those things. Except for droids, of course, who were maddeningly opinionated. But that was why you didn’t often work with droids. Until now, of course. But these were extenuating circumstances. 

When the Republic became the Empire, everything changed. Your home planet was no longer safe—or, at least, it wouldn’t be. You may not have liked people, but you knew enough to know to recognize patterns. And the way things were looking, you could already feel the cold, iron grip of tyranny squeezing your home. You took the first ship out of there, which, unfortunately, put you on Safa Toma. 

Safa Toma wasn’t…a great place to be. It housed criminals, smugglers, gamblers, and the like. It wasn’t exactly the safe haven you were hoping for. You supposed it was your fault for not paying more attention when you bought your ticket. But, you were here now, and you made do. 

You ended up being employed at the Safa Toma Speedway. It wasn’t the best work, but it paid well. All you had to do was make sure the droid racer, TAY-0, was working fine and that his speeder ran well. And, of course, aid him in modifying the speeder, since the speeder wasn’t designed for racing. You were grateful for the work, so you kept your head down about the seedier aspects of Riot Racing. Don’t kick a gift horse in the mouth, as they say. 

And, oh, were you glad that you decided to stick around. 

Cid, who often bet on TAY-0, had come to the track, alongside two…bodyguards? And a child. (Part of you wondered if the child was also a bodyguard. Though she didn’t look much older than ten or eleven, she looked like she packed a punch.) You more interested in the handsome, goggles-wearing bodyguard, though. If you weren’t busy working, you would have made a proposition or two. Though, you mused, you might just still have the opportunity. 

The race had gone well, until it didn’t. The other racers destroyed the speeder. It crashed. In the wreckage was the broken bits of TAY-0. An unfortunate turn of events for Cid, who bet her freedom on TAY-0 winning. But then the child—Omega— but in, and raised the stakes. If TAY-0 won the next race, Cid was free. 

Your hand was brushing against Tech’s—one of Cid’s maybe-bodyguards (you still weren't sure on the arrangement)—as you reached for a tool to repair TAY-0. 

“Ope, sorry,” you said, pulling your hand away. 

Tech passed you the tool you had been reaching for. “No need to apologize.”

You offered him a smile before turning back to your task of reconstructing TAY-0’s arm. Kriff, you felt like an idiot around him. Tech, you mean. Not TAY-0. (TAY-0 could kick rocks.) You usually had so much to say that people would tell you to shut up. But when you were around Tech, your mouth suddenly became dry. Your palms became clammy. You struggled to even figure out how to form a sentence. What the hell was he doing to you? 

“So, uh,” he coughed, “how’d you end up working here?”

You stared at him. Was he trying to do small talk? Curious. He didn’t strike you as a small talk sort of person.

“If it’s too personal, you don’t have to say,” he rushed out. There was a pink tint to his face. “I thought it might be nice to talk. Fill the air, you know. We’re going to be here all night. Based on my calculations, we’ll be lucky to have everything repaired and in working order before the race begins tomorrow. And—”

You cracked a smile. His words died in his throat. It was endearing, how nervous he got around you. At least you weren’t alone in that camp. “The Empire,” you said. His brows shot up. You were quick to add, “Nothing happened. Nothing specific, I mean. But they took over my home planet, and I got a bad feeling about it. Decided to trust my instincts and booked the first ship outta there. Ended up here, which wasn’t much better.” You took a moment to look him over. “I think it was a good decision, though. I probably wouldn’t have met you if I ended up somewhere else.”

The pinkness in Tech’s face burned red. “Oh—I—uh—“

“What about you? How’d you end up working for Cid?” 

Tech eyed you, hesitancy overtaking his demeanor. Had you overstepped a boundary? Had you said something that triggered bad memories? Oh, dear. That was the last thing you wanted to do.

Tech stared at you, unblinking. He didn’t blink very much at all, though. His wide eyes constantly took in his surroundings, calculating and categorizing all that he saw. It should have been unnerving, but it wasn’t. It was…comforting. You liked knowing he saw you. “I would rather talk about you,” he said finally. “How did you end up a mechanic?”

You pondered for a moment, tried to formulate a response. You didn’t want to make yourself sound like a fool. “Just what felt natural, you know? I was always good with my hands, always had a mind for puzzles. That’s all being a mechanic is, really. Figuring out the puzzle of the machine, determining what pieces you needed to fit together to make a cohesive picture.”

Tech nodded along as you spoke. “Is it not what you wanted to do?”

You frowned. “What do you mean?”

No one had ever asked you that before. When you told your parents of your chosen career, they shrugged with a quiet sort of indifference. Something about how mechanics are always needed, so you’d always have a job. That it made decent money, so you could have a good life. It was nothing of prestige, so it wasn’t something they got excited about. But it also wasn’t something outlandish, so they didn’t protest, either. Now that you thought about, perhaps your feelings were more similar to your parents’ than you once believed. 

“You said being a mechanic felt natural, but there’s no emotions behind your words. Rather, you only speak with a reluctant acceptance. It is reasonable to assume that you don’t care much for being a mechanic. That it is not what you’re passionate about.” Tech tilted his head. “What are you passionate about?”

You considered his words. There was one thing, a long-forgotten dream that you stuffed away to the far crevices of your mind. It felt strange to be pulling it back out now. “I suppose I always wanted to be a pilot. That wasn’t really an option on my home planet, though. People stuck to the ground. But I remember one time, my family and I visited a cousin on a different planet, and I was mesmerized by the stars, the feeling of traveling through space. When I came here, when I was on the ship that brought me here, I felt like that little girl again. Mesmerized by the stars.”

Tech’s hand came to rest on top of your own. You froze at the contact. When was the last time someone touched you? “When this is over, you should come with us,” Tech said. “I serve as our pilot now, but it’s not really something I care for. If you would like to, I mean.”

“Really?”

“I could teach you the basics, if you’d like, and then you could take over—”

“TECH’S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!” Wrecker shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. He made kissy noises in your direction. 

You jumped away like you’d been shocked. Tech whipped around to glare at his brother. 

Omega tugged on Wrecker’s arm, forcing him to return to their task. “Shh, let’s let them be.”

Tech looked back at you. “We can talk about it more later, okay?”

You nodded. “Okay.”

Now, you worried you would never get the change. TAY-0, who you and Tech worked so hard in restoring, was destroyed just before the race started. All hope seemed lost, but then Tech volunteered himself as the racer. Kriff, it made you sick to think of him on the track. He could handle himself, probably, but there were so many risks. People played dirty out there. If he wasn’t careful, his first race might just be his last. 

You muttered a prayer to the Maker as the race began. You didn’t want to lose him. Not when you just met him. You watched as his speeder took off, falling behind everyone else. 

“Do you know what you’re doing?” you asked, anxiety biting at your nerves. 

“Of course I do,” Tech reported. The nervousness he had around you before had melted away. “I’m being strategic. I have a lot of incentive to win, don’t I?”

Your face grew warm. “Yes, yes you do.”

Wrecker bumped his shoulder against yours. When you looked up at him, he wiggled his eyebrows at you. “Lotta incentive, huh?”

“Hush!”

You chewed on the corner of your nail as you watched the race. With every movement, you worried that Tech wasn’t going to be able to pull through. Then he took the tunnel to the left, and it felt like you died then and there. Didn’t he know that he wasn’t supposed to take that one? Didn’t he know that was dangerous?

“Tech, I swear, if you die out there, I’m gonna kill you,” you muttered. 

He laughed. “Worry not, cyar’ika. I have not intention of dying today.”

And you were glad he didn’t. As he crossed the finished line, winning the race, all of your worries and anxieties exploded into pure joy. All around you, the crowd shouted his name. Tech! Tech! Tech! He got out of his speeder, looking out at the crowd in amazement. Then his focus turned you. 

You ran toward him, throwing your arms around his shoulders, burying your face in the crook of his neck. 

“Oh! This is nice,” he said, his arms wrapping around you. 

“If I’m going to go with you, you’re not allowed to scare me like that again!” you said. 

Tech’s mouth twitched slightly, a small smirk forming on his face. “You know, I think I deserve a good, proper reprimand, don’t you?” When your breath caught in your throat, he continued, “Perhaps we should take this to the pit?”

That was how you ended up seated on a table, legs wrapped around Tech’s waist, fingers pulling at his hair, kissing him so hard you were sure your lips were going to be bruised. His fingers dug into your hips, pulling you close against his chest, like he was trying to mold you into him. His tongue darted out, tracing along your bottom lip. Your lips parted, letting him in, his tongue exploring your mouth like he was trying to commit every part of you to memory.

“We should,” you mumbled against his lips, “go rescue Cid.”

“Wrecker and Omega got it handled,” Tech said, pulling away for a moment to catch his breath. He nuzzled his nose against yours. “Let me enjoy you.”

“Hey, is this is how your flight lessons are going to go?” you asked, your breath fanning over his face. 

Tech let out a chuckle. “Only if you’re a good student.”

“Mm, I promise to be on my best behavior then.”

Tech leaned back in, his lips molding against yours. You moaned slightly, tugging him closer. But, you weren’t given the opportunity to enjoy him like you wanted to because—

“TECH? Where are you? We need to get Cid—OH MY GOD!” Wrecker shouted. “We already got one kid to deal with, don’t be adding another to this!”

You pulled away, laughing so hard you snorted. Tech glared at his brother, but reluctantly unwound himself from you. He held out his hands and helped you down from the table. One hand held onto yours, keeping you close.

“We will continue this later.”

“I look forward to it.”

And, oh, you did. 

[zoeykallus]

Giiiiiirl! We all need some Tech, but something soft and chaste, complicated, slow burning, very angsty! And with some heartache, don't forget the heartache!

😮... erm... Anoooon! Lucky for you, I have something in my wips I could work on that feels like it fits this profile... in a way... I guess. Heartache? Okay, but don't come crying to me later. It was originally a draft with my OC (Which I never would have finished or published anyway), but I think I can fix it up.

Tech/Howzer x 'Jedi'!Fem!Reader - Shortfic / Oneshot - The Misfits

Warnings: Angst/Hurt/Fluff/Heartache/!!!!MAJOR SPOILER FOR TBB S2!!!!!

_____________________

After you fell in love with Howzer, you left the Order. You haven't seen him for a long time and according to rumors he is most likely no longer alive.

In your search for answers to where all the clones are disappearing to, you stumble upon a squad of clones in desperate need of help.

_____________________

AC: I changed some timeline related things as well as canon itself and call it artistic freedom 🙂. Depending on your point of view, there is a happy ending, or there is none. Or a bit of both. I totally went over board with this, but I kinda love it. It's probably one of my favorite things I worked on.

______________________

Above him, the life of his squad hangs by a thread; below him is a yawning void, a deep abyss. Within a few heartbeats, Tech has calculated all possible scenarios. There is only one way out, one way only. He can save his family if he sacrifices himself. Plan 99. Wrecker and Omega beg him not to cut the connection, Hunter even orders him to.

"When have we ever followed orders," Tech says, drawing his blaster.

Every move, that what he needs to do is logical, but it feels surreal, heavy-handed. His heart is pounding up to his throat, yet he feels strangely calm. He knows he's doing the right thing. Tech doesn't want to go, but it's a necessity to ensure the continued existence of Clone Force 99, to give his brothers and Omega a chance to survive.

The few seconds in which he aims and pulls the trigger are forever, seeming almost infinite to him. He hears his brothers calling for him and Omega's screams. In the next moment, the connection is cut, and he drops falls, his stomach tingling, everything tingling, but his muscles relaxed. His heart is racing, but his mind is calm and unusually empty for the first time in a long time.

But something is wrong, his fall slows down, even his direction of flight changes. His mind awakens again. Tech looks around, tries to orientate himself, and realizes that he is heading for one of the towers along which the cable car runs. He has no idea what is happening, there is no logical explanation, no updrafts strong enough, he has no wings and no way to control his fall, it makes no sense.

He gets close enough to grab one of the crossbars on the tower. His heart leaps as his fall stops, and he clings to the tower. Tech still can't quite grasp that he's alive, doesn't quite understand what just happened. A surge of euphoria floods his body; he doesn't have to die.

But his mind sobers up very quickly. His gaze shoots upward. The car with his brothers is moving again, but disproportionately fast, they would very likely crash into the stop.

Up above the tracks he sees a figure, a woman, she moves quickly, elegantly, dodging shots, but most interesting, she wields a green lightsaber with which she deflects the blaster shots of the Imperials.

"A Jedi," he says to himself.

Then comes the realization. He didn't fly, the Jedi must have saved him. Tech begins to hastily climb down, he must be on the ground on foot trying to reach his brothers in time. At the bottom, even as he runs, he hears the car crash into the platform. His guts want to tie themselves in knots, but he keeps running, can only hope that no one is too badly hurt.

You see dust and smoke swirl up as you jump down from the tracks into the crash site. Behind you, you hear hurried footsteps. The one you rescued earlier also reaches the crash site. He stops for a moment, stares at you, his eyes big. Finally, he rushes past you into the wreckage to check on his companions.

Some of them are injured, not fatally, but too badly to fight.

"I assume you have a shuttle," you say, more or less addressing everyone.

"Who's that?" the biggest of them asks with a groan, holding his aching ribs.

You wave it off and say, "We can work that out later. I'll back you up on the way to your shuttle if you'll take me. The imperials shot down my shuttle," you say, helping the girl to her feet, who looks at you wide-eyed, then at Tech.

"TECH!"

The girl hugs the man fiercely as tears stream down her face.

"You're alive!" she says as if she can't believe it.

He wipes away her tears and says gently but firmly, "You need to pull yourself together for a moment, Omega, first we need to get out of here"

"Go!" growls the one with the longer hair and bandana, "No time".

He grits his teeth, stumbles limping through the rubble and almost falls, but you grab his arm and help him. You can sense his pain.

"Thank you," he presses out in anguish, between clenched teeth.

Under fire, you rush back to the shuttle as fast as you can. Tech helps the sergeant, the big one named Wrecker holds up on his own. You fend off incoming shots, more than a few of which would hit one back or another without your help. The blade of the laser sword hums, buzzing through the air like an extension of your body, every movement, fluid and natural.

Tech keeps looking over his shoulder, fascinated. He's seen many a Jedi, but somehow, there is something different about you, something that already draws him in.

Pabu is beautiful, peaceful and the people refreshingly warm. A good place to come to rest, at least temporarily. However, you are a bit frustrated at the moment, your attempts to repair your holopad have failed. Annoyed, you place the device back down on the half-wall in front of you.

"Fuck it," you grumble to yourself as you hear a soft noise behind you.

You turn and see Tech, his helmet tucked under his arm, looking at you in surprise with raised brows. He's unobtrusive, yet somehow always near you.

"Excuse my choice of words," you say with a wry smile.

He shrugs carefully and says, "I may not be a fan of that language, but it doesn't bother me much either. However, I must say that this choice of words surprises me, hearing it from a Jedi. I don't think I've ever heard a Jedi swear before."

You laugh softly.

"What makes you think I'm a Jedi?"

Tech blinks thoughtfully, adjusts his goggles with his index finger, and says, "Well, I thought it was obvious. You carry a lightsaber, use the Force, and you are clearly not a Sith."

You nod slowly, "Yes, I can understand why you would come to that conclusion. But I'm not a Jedi, not anymore, not for a few years now."

He extends his hand to you invitingly and says, "May I help you with that?"

You pick up the holopad again and pass it to him. As he deftly takes the device apart, he cautiously asks, "May I ask why you left the Order?"

You sigh softly and sit down on the half-wall, looking down at the beach for a moment as if searching for an answer there, then look at Tech again.

"I never really fit in with the Jedi. You could say among the Jedi I was an outsider to some extent."

Tech looks up curiously from the holopad. He notes that this is something that connects you, he and his brothers never really fit in among the other clones either. He says, "That must have been difficult."

You nod with a sigh, "Sometimes more, sometimes less. I lacked that absolute calm, that restraint. Although I grew up in the Order from a very young age, I have never been able to put aside my emotional nature. The decision that I had to leave the Order was made when I fell in love."

Tech looks up again, blinking, you sense unease beneath his surface.

"In love?" he asks, swallowing, "Oh. Jedi aren't supposed to do that, are they?"

"No, they shouldn't. Well, it happens to many actually, but a real Jedi, cuts themselves loose from it, I didn't want that to happen."

The little, "Oh" that comes across his lips sounds oddly vulnerable.

Tech is still tinkering with your holopad when he asks, "And what happened to that love of yours?"

You swallow and feel an uncomfortable pressure on your chest as you answer quietly, "I don't know. I haven't seen him in a very long time. He was stationed on Ryloth. After Order 66, I couldn't possibly go there, too many clones in one place, and… I was terrified that he had succumbed to the chip as well. If he had tried to kill me, I don't think I could have stomached it. But from what I've heard, he's probably no longer alive anyway."

Tech looks at you in surprise.

"The man you loved was a reg?"

You frown and repeat, "Reg?"

He shakes his head apologetically.

"Sorry. Regular clone, meaning clones that haven't been modified like Clone Force 99"

"Oh, I see," you say understandingly, "Yes, by that standard I suppose he was a Reg. As far as I've heard, he ultimately acted contrary to programming. He was arrested for treason when he liberated the Syndulla family"

Tech looks up again.

"Howzer?" he asks, surprised.

"Yeah," you say, also surprised, "You know him?"

"[Knowing him] is probably too much of a word. We ran into him. At the Syndullas liberation operation. For that matter, I'm afraid I have to confirm the rumor you heard, Howzer really has been arrested by the Empire for treason."

Your heart grows heavy. You swallow. You feel a slight burning behind your eyes and the bridge of your nose.

"Then I guess he really is dead," you say with a heavy sigh, "Actually, I'm not surprised, I was already expecting it, and we haven't seen each other in over a year, but it still hurts."

Tech put the holopad back together. He gently presses the device into your hand, holding your hand almost tenderly for a brief moment as he does so.

"I'm sorry."

He's really sorry, but part of him feels relief that Howzer can't be a part of your life anymore, and he's ashamed of it. In fact, he's shocked at how he feels about you and how that realization affects him.

As Tech lets go of you, he says softly, "Your holopad is working again."

You blink and look at the device.

"Thank you so much. You're really handy with these things, aren't you?"

Tech smiles gently.

"At the risk of sounding smug, I have to say, 'handy' is probably an understatement, but yes".

Tech's heart beats faster when he sees you enter the room. He looks up, smiles at you briefly, and nervously turns his attention back to the cards lying on a box in front of him.

"You're playing… Against yourself?" you ask, surprised.

He nods and says as a matter of course, "Of course, that's the only way this game is still a challenge for me."

Your soft laugh, turns his cheeks a little pink.

"I actually believe you," you say, amused.

You glance over his shoulder.

"You're probably really good at this, you'll have to teach me when you have the time".

Tech's shoulders tighten proudly, he turns his head to the side to look at you shyly for a moment and shows you his cute little smile, just very briefly, but adorably cute.

You are so close, very close to him, for a moment he can smell your scent even more clearly than before and a shiver runs through his body. If he wasn't sitting right now, Tech is sure, his knees would buckle under him. What's happening to him here, what are you doing to him? Does this have something to do with the Force? Tech doesn't dare ask. But he feels something like a connection, and he feels all warm. Maybe he's just incubating a disease. Are there parasites on Pabu that he doesn't know about?

His thoughts are racing in all directions, but then you move again, sit down opposite him. His gaze follows you, spellbound. Tech blinks several times, trying to collect himself. Spending time with you is so wonderful in a way, so exciting, but it also completely messes with his head.

"Are we going to play a game? Will you teach me?"

His mouth opens, but it takes him a long moment to find his voice again.

"I… yes, I'd love to. But the circumstances aren't exactly fair. My mind is… special, it will be anything but easy to win against me"

With a soft laugh whose sound tickles all the way to his stomach, you say, "I don't have to win, first I just want to learn"

You learn quickly. Surprised, with a very slight tinge of frustration, and not a little appreciation, he notes that you soon beat him over and over again.

"No one has ever won against me until now," he says, impressed, but also thoughtful.

Part of him was hoping to impress you, but now he almost feels a little intimidated.

You smirk.

"Well, this is a game where a lot depends on how well you know your opponent and how to interpret their behavior. I have a simple advantage, I can sense your intentions in the Force, maybe the circumstances really aren't fair."

His pulse races. Instead of being angry that you more or less cheated through the Force, panic rises in him. If you can sense his intentions, can you sense what you are triggering in him?!

You tilt your head slightly to the side and look at him questioningly, which only emphasizes his fear. Tech jumps up, nearly knocking over the box still containing your playing cards.

"I have to take care of something," he stammers and runs out of the room a little too hastily.

Echo enters the cockpit of the Marauder in search of Tech. He finds him there, too, using a medical scanner on himself. Echo's brows go up questioningly.

"Tech, what's wrong?"

Startled, Tech looks up, collects himself, and finally answers, "I'm looking for traces of a disease or parasite."

Concerned, Echo moves closer.

"So you're not feeling well?"

Tech sighs and says, "It's hard to tell. I'm showing certain symptoms"

"Which are?"

"Increased heart rate, queasy feeling in stomach, sweaty palms, shaky knees".

Echo frowns and says, "That doesn't sound like a parasite."

Echo thinks for a moment and then something occurs to him. With a certain undertone, he asks, "Those symptoms wouldn't happen to show up in connection with our Jedi guest?"

Tech lowers the scanner and looks critically at Echo.

"Are you suggesting she might have infected me with something?"

Echo says, amused, "More or less. She's pretty, she's nice, well she's special."

Tech sighs softly and says, "I agree."

Echo sits down in the copilot seat, looks at Tech and says, "You'd rather be sick than in love?"

"In love?!" echoes Tech in near panic.

His brother raises his hands placatingly.

"Relax, it's a normal thing, not the end of the world. But it's also natural to have a certain respect for these feelings. They make us vulnerable and as soldiers we are trained to avoid such things, especially as clones. But there are no regulations anymore, you could take the leap and explore these feelings."

Techs heart beats faster, just the thought that there might be something between you sends what feels like millions of signals through his body.

"Are you scared?"

Tech gulps.

"I'm not sure about that, in a way I guess I am. She can use the Force, maybe she already knows, maybe she's already sensed what I'm feeling."

Echo shrugs.

"I suppose it's possible. But so far it doesn't seem to me like she's avoiding you, that's a good sign after all."

Tech nods slowly, agreeing with his brother.

The sun is slowly setting, but it is still wonderfully warm. Your hands rest on the waist-high stone wall in front of you and feel the warmth of the sun stored in it, which has been shining on it all day. A real, pleasant feeling. Then you feel something else, with your mind.

"Hey, Tech. Did you get done what you needed to get done?"

You turn to him with a smile. It's almost unusual to see him without his datapad in his hand. Tech stands next to you and looks out at the ocean and how the sun seems to be sinking into the water on the horizon.

"Yes, I have," he says softly.

You can sense that something is going on beneath his surface, he is excited and euphoric at the same time, but outwardly he seems quite calm. You look at each other, you feel it coming, but you don't move a muscle. Unsure if you want to let it happen or not. He leans towards you, his lips chastely touching your cheek, then he straightens up again with blushing cheeks and looks out at the water again, unable to face your gaze.

It's a strange feeling. You like Tech a lot, you can't quite place it yet, but something about it feels wrong, maybe because you can't quite release Howzer from your heart yet.

"Sorry," he says suddenly, "I didn't mean to cross any lines."

You sigh softly and carefully reach for his hand. Tech's heart overflows with joyful excitement, you can feel it, it practically spills over to you, but you pull yourself together.

"There's something you should know, Tech."

He does finally look at you again, questioningly.

"You can tell me anything," he says quietly.

With a cautious smile, you nod and say, "I can feel what you feel for me, at least I think I can. These feelings, I must admit, are not entirely one-sided."

There is great joy radiating from him, nervousness, euphoria, but also a bitter undertone of insecurity.

He says, "I have a feeling there's still a 'but' there."

You nod again and say, "My heart is not ready to let go of Howzer. I know he's most likely no longer among the living, but I'm not ready to let him go just yet."

"Oh," Tech says quietly, "That's not a problem. I, um, I can wait until you're ready."

"I can't ask you to do that, I don't know how long it will take" you say uncertainly, lowering your eyes.

You would love to let him hug and comfort you, just let go and snuggle up to Tech's side, but something, hidden deep inside you, prevents you from doing so.

Tech repeats determinedly, "I can wait," and very gently squeezes your fingers in his hand.

At that moment, your heart opens a little wider to him and his, adorably sweet, little, smile.

"Rex is coming to Pabu," Hunter says, "And he's bringing some more of our brothers with him that he was able to rescue from the clutches of the Empire."

You remember Rex, a little bit, anyway. A decent guy, good soldier, he was Skywalker's Clone Captain. Skywalker was the only Jedi at the time who seemed to understand you to some extent, at least you always had a good conversation with him. You wonder where he is now, if he is still alive. But a noise pulls you out of your thoughts.

A shuttle is approaching and lands next to the Marauder, which suddenly seems quite small in comparison. The ramp opens and Rex emerges from it, followed by several other clones.

Tech shows up next to you, giving you a gentle smile before focusing on the arrivals, his datapad in hand as usual.

You greet the new arrivals. Rex even recognizes you, you talk for a moment when you hear someone say, "Hey little Jedi."

There is only one man who has ever called you that.

"Howzer", the name comes across your lips like a whisper.

You turn around and see him standing in front of you. He looks tired, but the smile on his face is still irresistible. Neither of you think for long. You embrace each other stormily and Howzer engages you in a long, longing kiss.

As his lips part from yours, he leans his forehead against yours and says, "Honestly, I hardly dared to hope I'd ever see you again, beautiful."

The world around you has faded out, there is only Howzer and you, even though all eyes are on you. Some confused, others amused. But you also feel Tech's shock, poking through all the other sensations surrounding you, like an electric shock.

The datapad in his hands crackles and creaks protestingly under the pressure of Tech's fingers as he watches your kiss. He didn't expect this, didn't expect Howzer to ever appear on the scene again.

Tech could have imagined waiting until you were ready for him, but this changes everything. The realization is like a shock, and a wave of bitterness rolls over him against his will.

The datapad cracks in his hands. Echo next to him stares in disbelief at the kissing scene, then his gaze shifts to Tech with concern.

"Tech…" he says softly, but Tech drops the datapad to the floor, turns on his heel, and walks away in a hurry.

Hunter and Echo exchange a frown, a worried look.

"I'll go check on him," Echo says, and sets about following Tech.

That same evening, you're sitting on the beach with Howzer, holding hands, talking, telling each other all the things that happened during the time you were apart. Then you feel it again, the tentative, tender presence of Tech. You turn your head and look up at him.

You haven't seen him since this morning, since Rex and Howzer arrived. You don't know where he's been or what he's been doing during that time. But since Echo followed him and also stayed gone all day, you suspect he was talking to his brother.

"I'm sorry to bother you. I know you probably have a lot to talk about, but I'd like to ask for a private conversation," Tech says in a matter-of-fact tone.

Howzer frowns questioningly, but when you agree and leave with Tech, he has no objections, trusting you and waiting on the beach as Tech and you walk away, out of earshot and sight.

"I know," Tech begins, "Things have changed now, of course. Howzer's still alive, and I don't presume to make demands or get in the way. I'm very fond of you, and even though I'd like to be in Howzer's place, all I really want is for you to be happy."

His pain is deep and more intense than you expect, you can feel it almost as clearly as if it were your own.

"I'm so sorry, I-"

Tech raises his hand.

"No, don't be. Neither my feelings nor the current situation are your fault. You should be happy, you have the man you love back."

Everything inside you tightens. Yes he is right, you should be happy, but you are not, not completely. But maybe that's just what you feel going out from Tech.

"Something about this whole situation doesn't feel right," you say so softly that he almost doesn't hear it.

He smiles sadly and says, "That's just because you're a good person, you have a good heart. You know that I feel pain, and you would like to change that. But you can't, this is something that will heal with time."

You take a deep breath, stand on your tiptoes, and he leans towards you. You gently kiss Tech's cheek and say, "You know I still care about you immensely, right?"

He swallows, finally nods, and says, barely audibly, "I know that."

As you part ways, he stares after you for a long time as his hand automatically moves to his cheek and his fingers settle on the spot where you kissed him. He will never forget this moment.

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

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaw

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

@echos-girlfriend

@cpnt616

@dangraccoon

@jediknightjana

@pb-jellybeans

@starwarsnerd111

[angelltheninth]

The Bad Batch + Soft Sex

Pairing: Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, Echo x Fem!Reader

Tags: nsfw, smut, established sex, kissing, body worship, soft sex, handcuffs, overstimulation, cunnilingus, fingering

A/N: Soft TBB men loving you is all you need sometimes.

Hunter makes sure to worship every inch of your body when you're together, leaving no spot unkissed or untouched. Pays a lot of attention to your neck, its about the marking for him, about the shallow breaths you take when his hands and mouth are on your neck and the way he can see you getting wetter the more closer he gets to your pussy.

"I shouldn't need to tell you this sweetheart but you're makin a real mess down there. I haven't even touched you and you've already shown zero self control. You needed me that badly did you? I can see that, my sweetheart needs my cock doesn't she? I've got you, I'm here."

As rough around the edges as Crosshair can be he can also be very gentle and affectionate when he wants to be. Mind you these moments are rare but there will be times where almost the entire session with be one long foreplay where he overstimulates your body by soft touches to the point where you come just from him putting his cock inside you.

"And people say I can't be patient. I told you to wait didn't I? Now you're done and I haven't even started yet. What will I do? The obvious, fuck you until I'm soft again. You got your release, which I spent hours building for you, you can handle this for me."

Wrecker has the time of his life as he caresses, squeezed and pinches your nipples and your breasts. Almost anything is small compared to his hands but to him you're always gonna be the perfect size no matter what. He can't help but lean down and take one nipple into his mouth, feeling it pebble, the other being rolled under his fingers while he eases his fat cock into you and starts a slow, rocking pace.

"Stretching so good around me sugar. Honestly part of me never wants you to be used to my size cause the tightness is perfect for milking my balls dry. These are prefect too, perfect size for me to suck on when I'm like this. Let me at 'em."

Tech honestly loves kissing down your body slowly to get to your thighs and your pretty clit. He's squeezing your thighs softly, massaging them as he introduces the tip of his tongue against your sensitive bundle of nerves, circling it slowly. His hands keep moving while his mouth stay mostly on target, leaving goosebumps all over your skin.

"You need my fingers too, I can see the way you're pulsing around nothing. My poor girl, you've been feeling neglected haven't you, with me spending all this time away from you. No need to worry, we have time now, let me make up for all of it."

No one ever said that using handcuffs can't be soft. Echo can make anything sweet and nice for you if you just let him. Not only do you let him but you use your legs to pull him closer, you raise your head to see his fingers pull out of you, soaked as he wipes them off on his cock before he smiles at you and slowly sinks every inch of himself inside your throbbing hole.

"I know darling, you've been so good for me, barely a plea from you. I always make sure that you feel good don't I? This is no different, just a few extra steps to make things more fun. You liked it, I know you did, its cute how you pout about it though."

[lovelywritersgarden]

GLITCHED

PAIRING: Dick Grayson x Fem!Reader

SYNOPSIS: Y/N L/N, codename 'Metis' has always been extremely intelligent. Because of this, she was immediately placed under the watchful eye of the big bad bat. She was recruited for a team of specialized teenagers a 'Young Justice' as their technical analyst, 'girl behind the chair' , or their 'Tech Support'- hilarious.

STATUS: In Progress

Young Justice: Season 1

Table of Contents

Chapter 00: Prologue

Chapter 01: Welcome to Happy Harbor

Chapter 02: Drop-Zone

Chapter 03: Schooled

Chapter 04: Infiltrator

Chapter 05: Denial

Chapter 06: Downtime

Chapter 07: Bereft

Chapter 08: Targets

Chapter 09: Terrors

Chapter 10: Homefront

Chapter 11: Alpha Male

Chapter 12: Revelation

Chapter 13: Humanity

Chapter 14: Failsafe

Chapter 15: Disordered

Chapter 16: Secrets

Chapter 17: Misplaced

Chapter 18: Coldhearted

Chapter 19: Image

Chapter 20: Agendas

Chapter 21: Insecurity

Chapter 22: Performance

Chapter 23: Usual Suspects

Chapter 24: Auld Acquaintances

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

A/N: Hey guys! I hope you are ready to dive right into the first season of Young Justice! I love the 'girl behind the chair' idea and can't wait to make Y/N a part of it! I will be updating soon, keep your eyes peeled! <3 Thank you!

[littlelioncub43]

i'm so glad tech tuesdays are back!

thought: what if you caught kurt kunkle sneakily livestreaming sex with you, and you decided to let the viewers choose if he gets to cum or not?

Ooooh hohohohohohohohoooo 😈 yes

He's so gross. Let's fuck him.

He really thought he could get away with it. Like, honest to God. He didn't think you'd notice his laptop webcam light on, especially with the screen brightness all the way down. The moment you did a double take at the oddly angled laptop, Kurt knew he was fucked. And he meant literally fucked.

You stopped your bouncing the moment you saw the little green light, your head cocking to the side as you stare at the completely dark screen. Kurt is still under you, gasping and trembling (he was trembling the whole time but now you can tell it's for a whole new reason).

"W-wait—" he stutters and tries to sit up.

"Shut up," you spit and force him back down with a firm hand on his throat. He whimpers when his back hits the mattress, his cock throbbing from how tight your grip is on his neck.

You pay him no mind as you lean over and turn up the brightness. Lo and behold, it's streaming. Countless messages flooding the chat as you realize how long it's been streaming. Nearly 2 fucking hours.

"I'm didn't-I'm sorry," he whines, sounding close to tears. Again, you ignore him, instead opting to read a few messages to yourself. Your silence scares the shit out of Kurt but he couldn't help the way his cock seems to get even harder in his fear. He tries to speak again, but you tighten your grip on his throat, his breath now a gentle wheeze.

"I said shut up, Kurt," you look down at him now, anger pouring out of your eyes, noticing how Kurt tries to rut up into you on instinct. You glare down at him for a moment, thinking about what to do with him while you watch his face turn a soft shade of pink. With a smirk, you start grinding in slow circles on his cock, drawing a thin whine from the boy underneath you.

"You were being such a good boy, Kurt," you tsk at him with a disappointed frown, "I was going to let you cum inside me," he whines brokenly at that, his face crumpling, "but now I don't know if you deserve to cum at all."

"M'sorry! I-I — please! I'm so sor-sorry! Please!" He cries, his eyes watering even more.

"Do you think begging will help you?" You coo mockingly, bringing your lips to brush against his cheek, giving the sweaty skin soft kisses. "Poor, dumb, baby," you whisper before forcing him to look at you, letting him fill his lungs with air again, "it's not up to me whether you cum or not."

You force his face to the side to watch the chat, a constant stream of messages flood the screen.

Don't let him cum!

He doesn't deserve it!

Make him cry 😏

Edge him, it'll be soo hot!

Fuck him faster

You see his brown eyes get even bigger when he reads some of the chats. Kurt was already desperate for his release, he needed to finish or he might actually die. The tears that built up in his eyes finally spilled over with a soft sob.

"Oh n-no! Please! I wan-need it! Need to cu-cum, please!" He cries, his hands clawing at your hips that keep their tortuous pace, trying to speed you up. You giggle and turn him back to face you, your hips now bouncing quickly, blubbering apologies and whore-ish moans pouring from his open mouth.

"Play stupid games, win stupid prizes."

[wenalena]

I had insomnia last night, so I drew our beautiful clones 🖤

(That’s not perfect, but meh…)

[chrollohearttags]

I can imagine playing sum like sexxy red around nail tech mikasa and she’d try to act all boujie and professional at first, trying to ignore you until you get her started and this bitch knows every word LMAOO! Sitting there trying to work and focus like she’s not listening to the song, might even tell you to turn it off until you say something to catch her up.

mikasa: “(Y/N), hand me the nail drill please and stop playing. I’m busy!”

(Y/N): “You like my voice?”

mikasa: “I’d like it if you quit wasting time—“

(Y/N): “it turn you on?”

..

..

mikasa: …”that ain’t nothin, wait till you see it in a thong.”

(Y/N): “knew you couldn’t help it!”

[neon-junkie]

In the Heat of the Moment - Chpt.9

Summary: “Less than ten percent of domesticated species go into heats,” accord to Tech and his research, and (un)fortunately, you’re one of that ten percent. What else are you meant to do? Trapped during a heat cycle with five men - five willing men who are happy to help relieve you, but not all have the confidence to say so.

Relationship: The Bad Batch x fem!Reader (she/her)

Tags: Heats, Mating, Sex pollen, Friends with benefits, Friends to lovers, Slow burn, Sex, Jealousy, Pining, Tags to be added.

Word count: 2k

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 10 - not published yet]

Chapter 9 - An Excellent Listener

Thank the stars that the Marauder not only managed to exit the atmosphere of Tatooine, but also drift off into hyperspace! Everybody let out a sigh of relief as the stars around them turned into a whirlpool of lights, a sign that you’re finally on your way, with Kamino as your destination.

It’s going to take a few standard hours to reach the terraformed surface of Kamino, so the Batch are up to their usual shenanigans. As for you, you’re sticking to your quarters. That argument with Hunter is still brewing in your mind, and you might as well lock yourself away to prevent your poor Sergeant from being bothered by your hormones.

You’ve spent your time doing some cleaning, rearranging, folding clothes and changing your sheets. A deep clean never hurts, and it can be good for the mind.

But do you know what isn’t good for the mind? Or better yet - who isn’t good for the mind?

‘KNOCK KNOCK.’

“Come in,” you respond without missing a beat.

Tall, slender legs come into your line of sight, seeing as you’re sitting on the floor, rearranging your underbed storage. “Figured you might need this,” Crosshair comments as he enters your dorm, a cup of tea in hand.

“Oh,” you sigh. Crosshair was the last person that you expected to be bringing you a cup of tea. Well, besides Hunter…

Crosshair places the tea on your bedside table, and blankly gestures to your bed. “Sure, you can sit,” you nod.

Once seated, Crosshair rests back on his elbows, really making himself at home. His eyes dart around your room, noticing your decorations, memorabilia and trinkets scattered about. He doesn’t come in here often - if ever - so you can’t blame him for having a browse.

“Comfortable?” you sarcastically comment, seeing as his slender form is somehow taking up half of your bed.

“Not quite,” Crosshair responds. “Need to tuck myself into bed,” he grins, and begins untucking your duvet, earning a slap on the hand.

“I just made that,” you grumble.

“I noticed, fresh sheets and all. How kind of you,” he smirks, finally earning a laugh from you. “Now, stop distracting yourself, and come up here and talk to me,” Crosshair orders, giving the blank space on the bed a gentle pat.

“You want to talk?” your brow raises, yet you find yourself finishing off your organising, pushing the storage container back under your bunk.

Crosshair shrugs. “I figured it’s you who wants to talk, and I’m an excellent listener.”

Rolling your eyes, you sit yourself on your bed, getting as comfortable as you can. Only now does Crosshair’s cologne reach your nose, warm and musky, a comforting scent - but you’ll never admit that to him. Crosshairs shifts upright, now resting against the back of your bunk with his legs crossed. At least he’s not wearing shoes, nor his armour, keeping your bed clean!

You’re silent, so after letting out a sigh, Crosshair starts things off. “Hunter does care about you, you know.”

“Ugh,” you groan, already debating shooing the sniper out of your room.

“He does. That’s why he brought you those supplements. I was with him when it happened. He wouldn’t stop mumbling about your little issue, and figured it wouldn’t do any harm to have that option available.”

“He could have spoken to me about it first,” you shrug.

“How?” Crosshair replies. “We had the option then and there, and it isn’t exactly a conversation to be had over the comm. Might as well buy the supplements, and if you decide not to take them, then that’s your choice.”

“Exactly! I’ve chosen not to take them! Hunter can’t complain about my decision-”

“-But Hunter also has the right to be annoyed.” Crosshair shakes his head. Acting as the mediator was not on his list of things to do today, yet here he is. “When you’re part of a squad, every choice you make has the ability to impact others, including those closest to you. You know what Hunter is like. You’ve seen him suffering from migraines, poor vision, stomach bugs. His enhanced senses come at a cost, just like the rest of us.”

“And what’s your ‘cost,’ hm?” you pry. Sure, you’ve seen Wrecker suffer from his aching muscles, Tech with an inability to switch off his mind, even Echo has had his fair share of suffering, despite not being defective in the Batch’s way.

Crosshair lets out a grunt. “You’ve never seen me wearing my reading glasses.”

“Reading glasses?!” you repeat with a laugh. “I didn’t think that you-”

“-Exactly. I don’t wear them around others,” he waves his hand. “Beside the point, Hunter is going stir-crazy from that scent of yours,” Crosshair boldly points to your crotch, causing you to clash your thighs together.

“So, what you’re saying is that I should start taking them, for Hunter?” you question, seeing as that’s what Crosshair has been hinting at.

“No. It’s too late for that.”

“Well, then what?” you grumble, waving your arms up in frustration.

Crosshair raises his brows, offering you a suggestive expression. “Just kriff him already. Do us all a favour, and kriff him until you’re both satisfied.”

“Crosshair!” You yelp, grabbing a pillow to smack him over the head with.

“That’s Hunter’s name that you should be yelling, not mine!” he smirks, ripping the pillow from your grasp to smack you with, before chucking it across the room. “You need to do us all the favour! Hunter’s been in a sulk ever since you started your strange mating ritual, and the rest of us can’t bare to tolerate him any longer!”

With a huff, you send Crosshair a glare, only for him to mimic it. “I’ll think about it,” you grumble. The thought of sleeping with Hunter has been on your mind, but on your terms - not on Crosshair’s, as strange as that sounds.

“You better,” Crosshair playfully threatens. His arms cross against his chest as he leans back comfortably. “And just think…” he trails off, biting back a chuckle. “…Once you’ve had Hunter, there’s only me left to tick off your list.”

“Oh my stars!” you exclaim, your eyes darting around your room to find something to throw at him in frustration. Your cup of tea? Tempting, but you’d rather drink it. Saying that, you settle on swatting his arm before taking a well-needed drink.

Crosshair laughs. He truly, deeply enjoys winding you up! And it’s your own fault for taking his bait.

“Wait-” you sputter, placing the tea on your bedside table. “How did you find out about the others?”

Crosshair sends you a look, but he doesn’t hold back on the juicy gossip. “Everybody can hear you and Tech kriffling like lothbunnies, you two aren’t exactly quiet. Echo quite openly admitted to it, and Wrecker? Big guy couldn’t keep his mouth shut when it happened.”

Letting out a grumble, you come to realise the situation that you’ve found yourself in. Maybe Hunter was right - maybe you should have started taking those supplements, preventing yourself from sleeping with more than half of your squad.

Then again, you’re having some well-needed fun, and it’s not like your men have any issues with it. If anything, they seem more than happy to help with your biological needs, as well as blowing off some steam. However, you know damn-well that you’ll all need to sit down and talk this through when the time is right.

Maybe once you’ve kriffed the entire squad…?

“Dammit,” is all you mutter as a response. Can you blame them? Wrecker especially? You’re certain that you’d be flexing if you slept with someone such as yourself.

“You poor thing,” Crosshair taunts, playfully sticking out his bottom lip. “But then again, we all saw it coming.”

Darting your eyes to Crosshair, you dare question, “what do you mean?”

The sniper lets out a soft chuckle, his arms crossing against his chest. He shakes his head as he explains, “a pretty girl was assigned to a squad of men. Somebody was bound to sleep with you.”

“You think I’m pretty?” you bat your lashes, which only makes Crosshair roll his eyes. Way to focus on the important points!

“Of course I do,” he scoffs, and you’re almost certain you heard him mumble ‘duh!’ under his breath. “But like I was saying, it was bound to happen, even if we all had a pact against it.”

Mouth hanging open, you question, “a pact? What?!” barely able to hold back on your laughter.

Crosshairs lets out a long, exaggerated sigh. “I’m shooting myself in the foot here,” he curses, digging a ditch that he’s content on not escaping. “When you first joined, Hunter made us swear not to try anything with you. Said it would ruin the dynamic, and all that. I guess that’s why he’s been keeping his distance, alongside the enhanced senses issue.”

“Are you serious?!” you let out a laugh. Now that is a sight you wish you could have seen! Little Sergeant Hunter asking his squad not to get physical with the Jedi. It’s understandable, yet you can’t believe they had that conversation!

“And Tech was the first one to break it,” Crosshair huffs, although there’s a sense of pride in his expression. “Didn’t think he had it in him.”

Raising your hand, you defend poor Tech. “In his defence, I did pounce on him. He seemed rather eager, though!”

“Good man,” Crosshair comments with a nod of his head. If it had been Hunter who went first, Crosshair would have been beyond furious. But Tech? Yeah, Crosshair has his back. His eyes flick between you, and your forgotten drink. “Your tea’s going cold,” he gestures. You willingly take the mug between your hands, enjoying what’s left of your beverage.

Rising to his feet, Crosshair bids farewell. “I’ll leave you to your… organising,” he shrugs, heading for the door.

As the door opens, you call out his name. Crosshair looks back with his usual monotone expression, but a small smile appears on his lips as you reply, “thank you for the talk… and the tea!”

“Like I said, I’m an excellent listener,” he mindlessly shrugs, and leaves you to it, shutting the door behind him.

Now alone, you question if you have any energy left within you to do some more cleaning and organising, not that there’s much left to do. Your dorm is, after all, as small as it can be. Curse the GAR for always picking the cheap route! The time on your clock reads that it’s late, and the surprise yawn that escapes your lips helps you decide that it’s time for bed.

Hopefully, snuggled up within your blankets, you can plan on how to approach Hunter… or avoid him even more…

[dragonrider9905]

Racing Heart

(Part 1) (Part 2)

Summery: You are an Imperial officer, formerly an intelligence officer of the Republic. You were friends with the Batch before they defected. You miss them, especially Tech. All hope seemed lost of finding them until a lead came up…from Safa Toma. Warnings: Angst to comfort; feelings of conflict; feelings of betrayal

You sat down in the mess hall to eat your evening meal. It's been months since you’ve interacted with the Batch seeing as how they defected from the Empire…and you didn’t. Well, most of them anyway. You still saw Crosshair here and there when he wasn’t off on some mission. You spent time with him and ate with him when he was on base but otherwise, you ate your meals alone. It didn’t start out that way. You ate with your friends, like in the days of the Republic. You enjoyed each other’s company and found a reason to laugh and smile even if there was a war on. But the longer you worked with the Empire, the fewer your friends got. They either moved away, were killed…or went AWOL. The new people who came in…you didn’t share quite the same ideologies. They never served in the Clone War so they didn’t share your appreciation of the clones…also, your passionate service of helping people wasn’t shared. Most of these new officers were more about making their lives powerful than helping people, like you were. 

At first, you didn’t understand why the Batch ran away. You always wished you could have asked them their reasons. Why couldn’t they just fight for the Empire? It was making the galaxy better. The Republic just evolved. That’s all. Same job, different uniform.

That’s what you thought at first.

The longer you stayed, the more you realized just how wrong you were. 

The Empire was hurting people. Not helping. You sighed and picked at your food.

If only you could have asked them. Asked him. Maybe you wouldn’t still be there, fighting for a cause you didn’t believe in or sign up for. Maybe you could be with them. With him . 

The resident genius must have seen coming what you didn’t. You always did like listening to Tech talk. You saw now they were smart to get out while they still could. You wished you would have gone with them or met up with them or something. You were sure if Tech would have explained it to you, you would have understood and even agreed all that time ago. Tech always had evidence for what he thought. Never whims with him. His decisions were always well thought out and backed up. You trusted him completely. 

Oh why couldn’t you have trusted him that one last time without evidence?

You sighed again and grumbled at the same time. The picking at your food got a little more aggressive the more you thought. You felt yourself grow warm with agitation toward yourself but you couldn’t help the spiral of thoughts. They just kept coming. 

You worked with the Bad Batch on many missions and became really good friends with all of them. What you shared with Tech, well, that was a little more complicated. Being an intelligence officer, you spoke more to him. First for work…then because you enjoyed it. You really wanted to believe he did too, seeing as he sought you out for your opinion on things, even if they were trivial, but you didn’t know for sure so you just took the friendship for what it was, not wanting to touch or ruin it. The longer you knew him, the more you denied how you increasingly began to feel, convinced he didn’t feel the same; but when news of the Batch’s death on Kamino reached you…You finally came clean with yourself and admitted what you wouldn’t before. You loved him. 

Realizing you loved him, and that he was now gone with his wonderful brothers, your friends…was crippling. You cried yourself to sleep for a long time wishing that you had told him how you felt, that maybe the information was wrong, that maybe they could somehow be alive still. You saw the video of the destruction though. No one could have survived that. He died, never knowing your secret and now you were burdened with regret and the might have beens. 

When Crosshair was saved, you visited him in the hospital every day, just grateful to have one of them back. One particularly tough day where everything went wrong, you couldn’t help but to miss Tech even more. He always knew what to do when you were in a jam or how to make you feel better—not because he was great with emotions but because he knew the real you. Your emotions bubbled to the surface. Not being able to share your grief with anyone for so long made your chest feel like lead. 

“So what’s wrong?” Crosshair had asked. You had been sitting there with a grumpy look on your face and not saying hardly anything. You usually did most of the talking when visiting him. Being mostly silent, Crosshair knew something was up (as if the sour look on your face wasn’t an indication already.)

 You looked around cautiously, not wanting anyone to hear you say you wished you were with a group of men once wanted by the Empire. It was treasonous to be sure.

You were sad, angry, depressed and annoyed. At yourself, the galaxy, the Batch, the Empire…You wanted to tell everything to Crosshair but you didn’t know how much you could trust him. Thinking you couldn’t just spill everything like the old days hurt you, but every day in the Empire taught you to be more and more cautious. How much did Crosshair believe in the Empire, you wondered? Cross was still Cross but he was … different. Sadder? Angrier? You couldn’t put your finger on it exactly. If you got more time with him, you were sure you could figure it out. But you didn’t, so trust was fragile, and oh how you hated that. Maybe he was more along your line of thinking than you thought…but you couldn’t know for sure unless you had more data. After all, he could have escaped the Empire and left with his brothers if he had wanted. But he had chosen the Empire after all…

You hesitated. Instead, you turned pink and only told Crosshair about your feelings for Tech (and nothing else) he merely rolled his eyes.

“‘Bout time one of you finally admitted it to yourselves. It was so obvious.”

You chuckled sadly. “Doesn’t matter much now, does it.” You look away all pink faced and blue mood. “They’re all dead.”

Crosshair’s playfulness disappeared and was replaced with a deep soberness. It was Crosshair’s turn to look both ways, and consider something before sharing it with you. 

“He’s not dead.”

That one sentence changed everything.

“W-what do you mean…he’s not dead?!?”

Crosshair couldn’t quite look at you, and you didn’t know why. Perhaps he felt guilty for not realizing how the news of their deaths was affecting you and that they were related to the dark circles under your eyes. But you suspected there was more to it as well. You didn’t press him. 

“It means he’s not dead. They made it off Kamino alive.”

Your mind reeled. Were you given a second chance?

“Just thought you should know.”

After you learned the true events of Kamino from Crosshair, you spent every spare moment looking for them. You used your advanced and massive skills to try to track them down. You had more knowledge about them than anyone else next to Crosshair and Cody. You tried to use that to your advantage.

At first you were full of energy and enthusiasm with your new found chance but now, sitting in the cafeteria surrounded in a sea of faceless, personalityless gray, you felt your energy waning. That day in the infirmary with Crosshair felt like ages ago and you were starting to give up. You didn’t want to give up, but right now, your heart couldn’t handle any more disappointment. Day after day of no results…who could blame you. You had to give them that though, at least they were well hidden and hopefully safe.

You stopped meddling with your unappetizing food and looked down at the gray uniform you wore on a daily basis. It was neat, tidy, impeccable, just how you liked things. In fact, some say it could have defined you. Back in the day, everyone always joked that you were so much like Crosshair because next to him, you would have been the neatest one in the squad (if you belonged with them). But it was so devoid of life. Somehow when the Batch wore gray, it was exciting. When you wore it, it felt meaningless. Your heart thudded a little harder, causing your chest to ache. If Wrecker was here, surely he’d slap you on the back like he always did. He’d cause you to throw your soup off balance and spill it on the spotless clothes. You’d scrunch up your face in false anger, complaining how long it’d take you to get the stain out and he’d laugh…

You got tired of your thinking and picked up your datapad, flipping through the channels for a distraction. You found yourself going through some unusual channels, ones the Empire didn’t approve of (you bypassed those codes so you could access any information you could—just one of many things Tech taught you) and ones you never really cared about. You also widened the range so you could gather information and watch things from all the Rims. You just hoped to come across something distracting enough to get your mind off this for a bit. Then you could start your search again with a fresh mind. You turned down the volume so you wouldn’t be detected or bothersome to the quickly filling cafeteria. No one came to your table in the corner yet. That suited you fine. You didn’t feel like being bothered.

One channel offered cooking. Not interesting enough for right now. Ring fights. You quickly turned that off. Riot racing…you almost switched the channel but your hand hovered for a minute, reluctantly curious. Might be interesting. When you served some time with General Skywalker, he mentioned pod-racing a few times and how fun it was. Maybe this was like that. 

You set the datapad down, leaning it against your water capsule and propping it up with the tray and soon you were sucked into the world of racing. It was enthralling. Spellbound, you were glued to your screen and your chair, losing all interest in the happenings around you. The track was dangerous and unpredictable. The contestants even more so as it seemed anything could go in this game. You knew Safa Toma was sketchy. A lot of the Outer-Rim planets were dangerous this way. Not to mention all the behind the scenes gambling to add to the pressure. Your mind started turning wheels, thinking about the contestants and why they were racing. 

You had to admit, you understood the attraction. You were having fun yourself watching the races, trying to predict the unpredictable, and rooting for a racer. Your eyes went wide and a smile started to form at the corners of your lips. This was just what you needed. You missed the first race but the recaps served you well. You were able to catch up in no time. TAY-O was a new racer but very keen. He won the first, but you watched him crash in the second. That was too bad. You sort of felt sorry for him even though he was a droid. Being double teamed was such a rude move! You decided you wanted to root for him in the next race. 

There was a brief intermission, so you started to search details about the place and the racers and their sponsors for fun. Seeing as how this was live, it was pretty exciting. You shifted in your seat and put your legs up on the chair in front of you to get more comfortable. Then you relaxed against the wall. There were a few races left and your shift ended for the day. You could sit here all evening if you wanted to…

The announcements started for the new race which called your attention back to the games. You switched the screen back to the track. Your stomach rumbled and you realized you hadn’t touched your food in the first race. Somehow, it looked so much more appealing now than before. You eagerly rearranged your tray so it was closer. A stupid grin started to form on your face. This race was going to be good, you could just feel it!

“All right! Place your bets! Our racers are ready. Safa Toma’s Riot Champion, Jet Venim! Bosco, “the Mad Bomber” Brix….” The announcer’s voice boomed into the microphone, excitedly listing off the names.

Spooning your soup, you let your mind wander, having already read about all them during the break. You wondered if TAY-O would win again. His strategy seemed…flawed, you couldn’t help but notice. After all, he was nearly destroyed in the last race. No doubt this Cid person had him put back together. The animosity between TAY-O and Venim would be big this game. Something had to be between the gamblers themselves for those two racers. They singled out each other too much. 

You reached for your cup of juice and brought it to your lips. You wanted to be fully attentive when the racing started. Then the announcer hit you with:

“And finally, Teeeeeeeeech!”

You nearly jumped out of your seat, spitting out your juice, dangerously close to tipping your soup and coughing as bad as General Grievous. Tears sprung to your eyes and adrenaline started to course through your veins. 

Excuse me? What? It couldn’t be?! You wanted to squeal.

You grabbed your datapad and brought it close to your face so you wouldn’t miss a thing. 

The crowd went silent, you noticed, and so did your heart. It seemed to have stopped. 

“Tech? Anything else on this guy?” the announcer continued, “No? Guess he’s a late arrival. Is that his name? Tech? Just Tech?”

“Oh leave him alone!” You said out loud. Too loud. A few people looked over to you and you rolled your eyes, gluing them back to the screen. You didn’t even know if it was your Tech but the idea of anyone making fun of that name just bothered you. Tech is a brilliant name, you ignoramus. You growled and liked the announcer a little less. It had to be a coincidence. Tech could be short for a lot of things. Technically, technology, Techno… It couldn’t be…..

Then the screen panned to a man preparing his racer, looking up a little annoyed at the camera. There you saw the familiar goggled eyes, the helmet, and the unmistakable expression you knew so well…

There he was. The man you’d been searching for…

Tech.

Tech in a racer.

Tech in a racer on Safa Toma.

But why was he racing? Where were the others? What was going on? Why was he there, in a gambling pit and not even using an alias!?! Sure it was a backwater planet…could hide there…maybe he felt safe using his real name for that reason. You’d have to sort that out later.

“Okay, and here we go!”

You nearly stood from your seat as the racers went off but you forced yourself to stay down and you held your breath.

“Go get ‘em, Tech, you can do this.” you whispered to yourself. 

It wasn’t lost on you that TAY-O was no longer racing, and Tech was in the same racer. Your heart started to beat faster the more the gravity started to pull on you. Tech was racing for a racer who was out. Was TAY-O beyond repair? Surely the team had time to fix him before the race. You noticed there was animosity between that Venim person and TAY-O…were you right about the people they were racing for… were they enemies? What had Tech gotten himself into…

“And they’re off!”

It was barely seconds into the race when one of the racers started firing on the others. Everyone was fighting for the lead…except Tech, who stayed in the back. 

You’re last?!?! You’re losing! You can’t lose, Tech! You were afraid of the consequences if he didn’t win…yet, he did seem safer back there for now, letting the other racers fight it out and thin themselves a little. You knew Tech knew what he was doing so you decided to trust him. You had to. You always did before. And you had to admit, that was actually pretty strategic for a game like this.

Sure enough, the other racers were destroying each other—and you saw it all. Whenever you’d see Tech’s racer on the screen you’d get excited and nervous. You couldn’t tell if it was better to see him or not seeing him. Not seeing him, you knew he was safe, but seeing him…well, you got to see him and his genius flying but you couldn’t help but wonder if something bad was going to happen since they seemed to show every accident victim on the screen. 

You started groaning when he was getting shot at.

His shields are overheating. If you’re not going to use your weapons, divert the power!

The next moment, he dropped all his weapons at the pit. 

Your jaw dropped as well. Not what I meant, Tech. You need those!!!!

The camera stayed on the shocked faces of the race crew. You smiled when you recognized Wrecker, a small worrying feeling shot threw you not seeing the others …but there could be a million reasons why they weren’t there; they weren’t necessarily gone…like that. Maybe they went to get food? Hunter would probably die if he saw Tech doing this , you thought. You saw Wrecker shyly wave at the camera. Something warm bloomed in your chest and your throat started to tighten. You couldn’t help but to wave back, even though you knew he couldn’t see you. You smiled looking at him all flustered. Trust me, Wreck, I know the feeling. You chuckled.

Wrecker went from shy to concerned, plastered all over his face. A small, blond girl stood next to him, the same concern reflected on hers. It was interesting to see how deep her connection to Tech seemed to be. Her time on the screen was brief, but you couldn’t mistake the look on her face because you knew the feeling well. 

You wondered who the kid was and how long she’d known them. Maybe she could help you find them. She might be easier to locate than them if she was involved in the races there. You took a quick screen image to study later. 

“Looks like Tech has got a vaporization wish! And has removed all his weapons!”

“Oh shut up.” You mumbled. 

You bit your lip, that bubble of anxiety starting to nest in your stomach again, but you immediately recognized why Tech did what he did. 

His speed. He’s a lot faster now.

You watched as he zipped along the track. You could almost see the focus in his eyes. You knew it was there of course, from experience. You could picture what his face under his helmet was. 

Lips drawn in determination and clamped shut, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Your heart was thumping as fast as his speeder. He was catching up…

Then the two that wrecked TAY-O last race started to box Tech in. 

Oh no. You knew what was coming…it was as if you were given a snippet of the future through the eyes of someone else. A sense of deja vu. You bit your lip harder. You vaguely tasted blood in your mouth and your lip swell. But it was all numb. Tears sprung up again and your breath hitched. An image of the accident flashing across your memory. 

Please don’t get caught! Please don’t get caught!

You watched the two racers fire on Tech, closing in. They were lining up…he was losing his shields!

You wanted to scream but you had no air in your lungs. 

You saw the razer leave the ship in front and your eyes went wide. 

Tech! Your heart made one last agonizing plea as the next seconds went way too fast and way too slow. 

You watched the ship behind Tech prepare the clamper. You wanted to look away but you couldn’t. If something happened to Tech, you had to know. Then, just as the ship reached out for Tech, Tech made his move. He swiftly turned out of the way and dropped back, letting the two plotters destroy themselves. At the last moment, he sped ahead and crossed the finish line.

“Aaaand the winner iiiiissssss! Teeeeeech!”

You watched as the crowd rallied and cheered Tech on, chanting his name over and over again. Tears filled your eyes again but they were good tears. Relief flooded your body and you didn’t realize how tight you were holding your datapad. Your fingers hurt from clutching it so hard, not to mention your jaw that had been clenched tight the whole race. You rubbed your cheeks to try to loosen the muscles stiff and sore.

Pride took root next. The smile from your mouth spread to your eyes. You were glad he was getting the attention he deserved. His skills deserved to be recognized. 

He did the lazy salute you were always so fond of and the crowd went wild.

You crazy idiot. You chuckled to yourself and fell back against the wall, winded and exhausted as if you were racing yourself.

You sat there dazed. What had you just seen? Was this real? You had to get more information on the racers…who they were racing for…their backgrounds. That would lead you to him. You’d find him. You were so close now, you could taste it! You’d have to get a replay of the race, just in case there were clues you missed. You were sure you could find it. You were still salty he used his own name and was on the holoshow, ruining his cover but as long as this didn’t exist in Empire data, he’d be safe. You’d make sure of that. Maybe you could…

Your train of thought was interrupted by a TK-trooper, who seated himself at your table.

“What’s got you all smiling pretty, hey there gorgeous?”

You smiled the brightest smile you could. “My man was just making me proud.” You waved your datapad, careful not to show the screen. 

He got the idea and got up. “Uh, I think I forgot something.”

There ya go. Then a thought hit you. What if he liked someone else? You could easily see someone with more confidence than yourself flirting with him. He was an amazing guy…and now that he was a racing hero as well…you sighed. One thing at a time.

But now you had hope, hope you could see him again and finally tell him how you felt, how you didn’t want to leave him again, how you would help him survive against the Empire and fight against it if it came to that. Being by his side again in the field would be enough for you even if your other hopes weren’t realized. 

You couldn’t stop smiling. You couldn’t believe it. You’d found him.

The world around you kept moving. Trays clanked against tables, people’s talk kept getting louder, troopers were moving too and fro, coming in after their shifts to finish the day with a tasteless meal and the nightshifters rushing in to get their fill before reporting to their posts. 

All of them living unaware of the adventure you just had in the same cafeteria. A few minutes which could change the course of your life. That made the last few months worthwhile. So you continued sitting there, unmoving in the churning rainbow of white, gray and black.

But now what? So much information was still missing…you could deal with that. After all, hope had been restored. Anything was possible now. Your head buzzed. You now had a lead and you wanted to follow it…

“Food’s going to get cold if you keep staring.” a familiar, snakelike voice said, not unfriendly. You’d know the jest in that voice anywhere.

“Hey Crosshair!”

“What’s got you smiling all pretty and in a daydream?”

 You opened your mouth to say more but stopped. 

You wanted to tell him. You wanted to tell him so bad. You wanted to see him proud of his brother. After all, he did have a right to know he was safe, right? But was it a good idea? Perhaps…Tech would be safer if you didn’t. If you kept this to yourself. If you just snuck away and found him…You didn’t know what to do. Crosshair did stay loyal to the Empire. He returned instead of leaving with his brothers. Yet he lied for their safety.

You heard a slight cough and looked up. Crosshair had one eyebrow raised curiously, almost teasingly.

“So?”

You realized you hadn’t answered. He was still waiting for a response. 

So you had to give him one.

Trust or not to trust. That was the question.

(Part 2)

Dividers by @djarrex and @ve-ti-ver

[spacemagicandlaserswords]

Open and Waiting (Chapter 2)

Gif from this post by @ashr-jedi

Summary: Hunter makes an appearance. You continue to warm Tech’s cock with your mouth and ruminate on previous experiences with Crosshair, Wrecker and Echo.  

Relationships: Tech x f!reader, a little bit of Hunter x f!reader, mentions of Crosshair x f!reader, Echo x f!reader and Wrecker x f!reader

Warnings: NSFW, cock warming, voyeurism, domination, submission, Dominant Tech, submissive reader, poor self worth, feelings, smut with feelings, sexual inexperience, inexperienced reader, polyamory, gag reflex, pretend sci-fi technology/science, pretend Star Wars planets and locations, not beta read. Mentions of: Deep throating, face fucking, fingering, thigh fucking, tit fucking, bukkake, cum as lube, finger fucking, grinding, toys, butt plug.

Word Count: 2085 (Chapter 2)

Authors Notes: Please read the warnings! And please let me know if you enjoyed it. The filth continues. Interspersed with … feelings? In my smut? It’s more likely than you think. 

I realised I forgot to give any context for where this story sits timeline wise and who the character of the reader is! Timeline wise, this happens at some nebulous point after Echo joins The Bad Batch and before Order 66. The reader is part of the Batch but beyond that you can interpret them however you wish. The most common example I've seen is a medic but a jedi, mechanic, intelligence officer or some other random reason for the reader being in the squad could all work as well. Whatever works for you. The main thing is that the reader is a submissive that the Batch share between themselves and are the reader's dominants. The Batch are all Dom’s in the AU of this fic, but they all have different ways of approaching it, which you’ll hopefully get a little inkling of in this chapter.

Chapters: One, Three, Four, Five, Six | Ao3

Open and Waiting (Chapter 2) 

I don’t know how much time passes but eventually I hear the faint hiss of the cockpit door opening and a soft, smooth stride moves out into the main area of the ship.

Hunter.

Our sergeant can be completely silent when he wants to be, so he’s deliberately making sure his approach can be heard. An existence created purely for tracking means that he’s basically permanently stealthy. It can be decidedly startling when he just appears next to you out of nowhere. We really need to put a bell on him or something. Though he’d probably figure out how to move so that it didn’t make a sound. Sneaky bastard.

A gruff voice at the end of the workbench announces his arrival.

“That’s in more bits than when I saw it last.”

“Yes.” Tech replies. “I hypothesised that the size of the casing could be reduced by 2.56% if I reconfigured the internal power connectors into a series of bi-linear couplings. I am currently applying this theory to the prototype you see before you, hence the 'bits' on the workbench.”

“That’s a lot of parts to shove into a small box.” responds Hunter.

“They will fit.” Tech testily replies.

“I don’t doubt that.” Hunter answers.   

There’s a brief pause while Tech zaps something and Hunter shifts slightly to the side.

I think I’m being inspected.

Hunter definitely can’t have missed that I’m currently naked, kneeling between Tech’s thighs with my eyes closed, hands restrained behind my back and Tech’s cock stuffed in my mouth.

“You went with the leather cuffs then.” Hunter states.

I am definitely being inspected.

“They are more suited to the purposes of this exercise.” Tech explains. “The focus is on sensation and submission and as an introduction to this practice, I thought it pertinent to ease into the experience gently. The leather cuffs provide an acceptable level of restraint and serve as a reminder of their position, both physically and mentally.”

“Plus you made them.” Hunter adds.

“Correct. Both the wrist cuffs and collar are of my own design and creation.” Tech replies.

They’re talking about me like I’m not even here. Like I’m not currently desperately drooling around Tech’s cock, unable to move or escape their gaze. The thought makes my pussy throb.

“Oh, she’s enjoying this.” Hunter laughs.

“I trust you can smell her arousal.” Tech asks, though it’s not framed as a question.

“Yup.” Hunter answers. “I could smell her in the cockpit like she was in there. It’s stronger than usual.”

“I have observed a number of indicators of her heightened state of arousal myself.” Tech adds.

“Is this what she’s been worrying about?” asks Hunter.

“If by ‘this’, you mean the practice of cock warming that the two of us are currently engaging in, then yes.” Tech replies.

“You’ve just got your dick in her mouth.” Hunter observes bluntly.

“Yes.” replies Tech. “That is the point.”

There’s a rather telling pause and I can just picture the looks that are being exchanged. An arched, tattooed eyebrow is probably being met with a decidedly unimpressed flat stare emanating from behind yellow lenses. Another slip of drool spills from the corner of my stretched mouth and runs down my chin to join the rest of the mess that is covering my face.

Tech shifts and launches into a lecture. There’s probably a finger being raised.

“Cock warming is the practice of placing one's cock in an orifice of one's partner. This can be done via the mouth, rear or vagina, if the penetratee possesses that particular genitalia. The cock is then left inside the partner's orifice where they are to keep it warm. The name speaks for itself. Outside of the basic principle of the act, the parties involved can agree on various additional stipulations, such as how long the penetratee must keep their partner's cock inside them or if they are allowed to move or make noise. I have read numerous accounts where both partners extol the virtues of this practice, describing it as surprisingly peaceful and an excellent way of entering subspace.”

“I’m sure it’s enjoyable, I’ve just never heard of it, that’s all.” Hunter supplies.

“I must admit that I was not overly familiar with the practice myself but it has proved to be a most enjoyable addition to our play thus far.” Tech provides.

I could already tell he was enjoying it, given the harness of his erection currently occupying my mouth. Hearing the verbal confirmation just adds to the feeling of deep satisfaction and submission warming in my chest. Another shiver runs through my body and I can feel more of my saliva pool in my mouth.

“Was there a reason for your interruption of my work?” Tech directs at Hunter in a slightly curt manner.

“That’s not the only thing I’m interrupting” Hunter snarks back.

“Quite.” Tech leaves the implication implicit.

Hunter sighs briefly before adding “Yeah we got a comm from the 369th.”

“Ah. Are they still experiencing difficulty with the Separatist base built into the side of the Markontia Gorge on Bezril IX?” Tech asks, fully aware of the answer already.

“Yeah, they might need our help with their current campaign but nothing’s confirmed yet so we’re on standby for now. If they need us to blast a hole into the Seppie base then we should hear back by the next rotation.” Hunter adds.

“Wrecker will be pleased.” Tech comments.

“I can think of something else that would please Wrecker.” Hunter slyly hints at.

“Wrecker may make use of our shared submissive when it is his turn.” Tech replies swiftly, irascible intent laced through the words, making it crystal clear that I am his right now.

“Additionally, he has made it quite clear that he does not wish to test the limits of her capacity for oral penetration until her gag reflex has improved.” Tech adds.

A slice of shame and disappointment cuts through me. I’ve always had problems with my gag reflex. Lack of experience will do that to you, I guess. I’ve been slowly working on improving it and they’ve all been so gentle and careful and patient with me. I desperately want to be able to deep throat each of them or be face fucked into a wall one day. At the moment though, the best I can manage is the tip of one of their cocks at the back of my mouth and even that still sets the damn thing off sometimes.

Wrecker has been so sweet about it. There is no denying that he is exceptionally well endowed and that his cock is, well, enormous, to put it bluntly. The poor man is well aware of it too. There is nothing I’d love more than to be absolutely impaled on his thick cock, but the first time I saw it I did worry that I’d never be able to fit it in me. I still do but we’re slowly getting there. He’s been so wonderful and understanding of my current abilities and their limits. Wrecker is such a beautiful human to experience pleasure with. He’s so full of joy about the entire thing. I didn’t have a great deal of experience before somehow ending up with all of them and I’d never had a joyful sexual encounter before Wrecker. I didn’t even know it was possible and had burst into tears afterwards. He’d been so alarmed and concerned that he’d inadvertently hurt me but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Thankfully, he’s the most emotionally intelligent out of all of them and we’d had a wide-ranging, open and reassuring conversation about sexual experience and intimacy as I lay curled against his chest. I still struggle with tensing up sometimes and Wrecker has been a great boon in getting me more accustomed to preparation. He’s a big proponent of lube and has a whole assortment of different types that we’re slowly working our way through. One or two of his fingers are more than enough to open me up and I could have those big, thick, slicked up digits sliding in and out of me for hours.

And there is nothing quite so wondrous as lying there laughing and kissing and giggling as he fucks my thighs. Wrecker has been very keen to emphasise that there’s more to sex than just penetration and we’ve been exploring some intriguingly varied ways to experience pleasure together. The first time he’d fucked my tits was something else. His oleaginous, lubed cock sliding between my breasts, cupped in his massive hands as his fingers and thumb played with my nipples. When he’d finally exploded all over my chest, neck and face, I don’t think I’d ever been covered in quite so much cum.

Well, at least not until we had that bukkake session. Trying to get cum out of your hair in a sonic is difficult to say the least and Hunter ended up hand washing it out for me. It had been worth it though for the way they had all looked down at me while they pumped their cocks and came all over my obedient, kneeled form, mouth hanging open and tongue out to catch as much as I could.

I’d knelt there afterwards like a statue. Covered in their cum, stained and claimed in their release. Rivets of translucent white slowly running down my skin. I could feel it pool in the hollow of my neck and drip off my nipples. It sounds ridiculous but in that moment I just wished I could exist like that forever, eternally marked as theirs. Just like I wish I could openly and proudly display the marks they leave on my skin, claims bruised into my neck for all to see. They are all such wonderful dominants, each unique in their own approach. I’m eternally thankful that they all chose me to be their submissive. I would happily serve at their feet and allow them to use me as they pleased for the rest of my existence if this damn war wasn’t going on.

I do need to work on having a bit more self preservation though. One of them is bad enough but whenever they end up scheming together, they start coming up with Plans and Ideas. That’s how I then found myself wiping their cum off me with my hands before eating it in front of them like some lewd and licentious spectacle. Being made to finger yourself using the cum of your dominants as lube while they watch is also a whole new level of depravity. I’d had to beg each of them for permission to cum before I’d finally been allowed to finger fuck myself into oblivion.  

Wrecker isn’t the only one that is explicitly clear that their boundaries for playing with me are guided by my current abilities. Crosshair steadfastly refuses to even entertain my suggestion of face fucking until I can, in his words, “keep my balls against your chin, doll”. Echo had gone all serious when I had timidly requested to go down on him for the first time. There had been some stern yet heart-felt words about the importance of pacing and not rushing into things or pressuring yourself to try something you’re not ready for. We’d ended up grinding against each other instead, which was just as enjoyable. It meant I got to watch him come undone as I thrust my hips into his groin and then he’d made me straddle his leg and grind myself to completion on his thigh. There is something about the sensation of smooth durasteel gliding under your wet, sensitive pussy and pressing against your clit that is otherworldly. I’ll have to ask Tech if he’s able to shape some kind of toy out of the metal. A durasteel butt plug sounds like an excellent idea.

I still wish I could do more for them and wasn’t trapped in my own body and mind. The discontent and shame at my perceived failures is still there, despite how well I might be managing to warm Tech’s cock with my mouth at the moment. My lips are wrapped around a decent amount of his length and the tip of his cock is fairly close to the back of my mouth but I could always do more and try to get him a little deeper. I take a steadying breath through my nose, will my throat to relax and move to take more of him in.

------

Author’s Note: Tiny bit of a cliffhanger! This is mainly because I wrote this all in a giant keyboard mashing haze with absolutely no thoughts of structure. Going back while editing and trying to figure out where to shove in chapters to break it up has been a bit tricky, so if they’re a tad clunky that’s why.

You’ll see how Tech reacts in Chapter 3, along with some musings on previous sessions with Hunter and Crosshair. 

Taglist: @queenariesofnarnia @skywlker-sluvtt @techs-assistant

[lost-in-fiction-like-ur-mom]

Saw your requests are open and thought I’d stop by! How about an Echo x Reader with a bit of angst about Tech’s death??? Thanks!

One Day

Echo x Reader

Summary- Echo is, understandably, not taking Techs death well. Comfort ensues!

A/N- Thank you for requesting, hun! Echo is SO underrated, I love my little half-human <3.

Word Count- 801

Echo looked mournfully to the seat next to him. The Pilot seat sat empty. To Echo it would forever be empty. For, the man who filled it was dead. Dead and never to come back.

The thought sunk Echo's stomach. Sitting alone in the cock-pit, just his thoughts to keep him company. The negative and destructive thoughts. He had considered revenge, but what would that solve? It wouldn't bring his brother back...

The only thing he could do is swear to not let the Empire get what he loved. At least not again. He now thought of you. How losing you scared him.

He gave a small sniffle, one he hoped no one heard. He tried to be strong, the rock you could count on.

Just as he choked down a sob, you entered.

"Echo..."

He couldn't face you. Knowing he would break down if he did, settling for a 'Hmm?'

"It will be okay. One day, it will be." You tried to place a hand on his upper arm, stepping closer to him.

Your heart thumped loud in your ears, especially when he shrugged your hand off.

"It will never be the same." He managed to speak, his words wavering.

"Poor thing..." Instead of trying to touch him again, you moved to his front. Forcing him to look at you, his eyes filled with tears.

"I wish I could make your pain disappear." He just stared, now at the floor.

You sighed, while you were grieving yourself- Echo was much closer to Tech. He had known him longer than you.

"He was your brother, no one can take that away." You built the courage back up to rest a more gentle hand on his knee. This time he let you keep it there.

"I am so sorry, Echo." You couldn't imagine what he was feeling. "You've lost so many... What can I do?"

He swallowed hard, "So many clones- brothers have given their lives up for the Empire, for the Jedi, for-" He let out a small sob, immediately covering his face with his hand.

"I know, I know." You stood up, cradling his head to your stomach. You rubbed his back, trying to soothe him. "Shhh."

He started to mumble, muffled by your body, "Tech died for us. Not some Empire." Tech died... That was the first time he had said it out loud. Another sob overtook him.

You just held him tight, praying he would feel better.

"He was very brave. Very, very strong." You praised Tech's name. Echos head slightly moved up and down, nodding in agreement.

He gave a sharp inhale, leaning back. You quickly wiped his stray tears away with your sleeve.

"He's gone, forever." Echo plainly stated. This time he didn't cry, simply void of emotions.

"But he's not. We will always remember him. Always carry on his legacy. His sacrifice will not be in vain. We will make sure of that..." You rested a hand on his cheek, moving back and forth over his cheekbones. Your thumb occasionally smearing an extra tear.

"It won't be today. It won't be tomorrow, but one day. One day it won't hurt so bad. I promise..." You spoke softly, knowing he was in a vulnerable space.

A slow kiss to his lips showed him you were there for him. With closed eyes he spoke, "Thank you."

"We have to try and be half as brave as Tech was. Clones will soon have freedom. Freedom to do whatever they like, not listening to orders." He met your eyes, a little more hopeful this time.

"They could settle down, find a cozy planet. One where war and fighting won't follow them. Even have a few baby clones if they want... Ones named after their dads brothers-in-arms..." You bit the bottom of your lip, a little scared for his reaction.

"Is that something a clone like yourself would want? Away from death, away from sacrifice." You lifted your other hand to fully cup his face.

"I can't leave-"

"No, no, baby. After it all. After it doesn't hurt so bad..." All he could respond with was a lasting nod.

He so desperately wanted all the fighting to be over. He'd sacrifice himself if it meant no more of his brothers died.

You cradled his head once more when he started to sob again. Simply holding him, whispering comforting words to him.

"Yes, yes." He repeated, you just held him tight.

"Hey, look at me." You slightly pulled back.

He looked up at you, doe eyed. "You will get through this, I promise."

He responded with a sniff, he was unconvinced. Though, one day It would be okay. You'd end up naming your first child Tech, in honor of the man. Your second Fives.

"I love you."

"I love you too..."

A/N- Thank you so much for reading! I fear this wasn't my best work </3. I LOVE Echo, he needs more attention, and the prompt was so angsty!! I hope I did it justice, let me know if there is any way I can improve!

Tags- (lmk if you want to be tagged as well!) @thethreeeyed-raven @dangraccoon @knight-of-flowerss

[starryevermore]

following orders: the goggles (1) ✧ tech

following orders ✧ a tech bad batch story | ao3 

inspired by: a conversation with @captainsbestgal​

pairing: tech x fem!reader

series summary: you don’t want to live in a galaxy where the love of your life, tech, does not exist. but, you can’t abandon your already grieving family. you devote all of your energy to helping hunter and wrecker save omega from the empire and, perhaps, save the wayward crosshair along the way. but the longer you look for the youngest member of the bad batch, the more you suspect that your lost love is not as lost as you once believed. 

chapter summary: the aftermath of plan 99.

word count: 7,223

series warnings?: spoilers for “plan 99”, plan 99, canon-typical violence, hurt tech, canon divergent, fix it fic, angst, grief/mourning, torture, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort, relationship discussions, mutual pining, clone troopers speak mando’a, depression, suicide ideation, memory loss, brainwashing, jealousy, not proofread

chapter warnings?: mention of tech’s death, grief, mourning, suicide ideation, not proofread

“When have we ever followed orders?”

You cradled Omega in your arms as the Marauder traveled through hyperspace. You weren’t sure if you should still be holding her. She’d been gravely injured, and you have enough first aid training to know that it’s safer to let a person be stabilized than to constantly be adjusting them. But holding onto her, your pseudo-daughter, was the only thing grounding you in this moment. And, perhaps a bit delusional at the moment, you told yourself that, when traveling through hyperspace, maybe it was safer to hold onto her than to let her little body be whipped around the ship—not that her brothers would do that. Not now. Not after everything that’s happened. 

“When have we ever followed orders?”

A tear slipped down your cheek. You raised one hand, quick to wipe it away, before returning to holding Omega. You couldn’t cry. Not now. If you cried…That meant it was real. And it couldn’t be real. He couldn’t have…No. He was fine. He was okay. He piloting the ship, he was making last-second calculations to ensure a safe landing. He was…He was not with you. Not now. Not ever. Even if he had beat the odds, used that brilliant mind of his to calculate just the right way to fall…You all left him. You weren’t sure anyone could survive in the wilderness below, even someone as brilliant as him.

“When have we ever followed orders?”

Hunter walked up to you. His face was void of his emotion, save for his eyes. Hunter could play the stoic leader all he liked, but his eyes would always tell a different story. The man was barely holding it together. You could hardly blame him. Losing Tech…No one had seen that coming. No one saw him making the sacrifice play. He was supposed to be on the ship with you. How did he expect you to move on when he meant everything to you? When there was still so much left unsaid? 

“When have we ever followed orders?”

Hunter sat down beside you. Omega’s head rested in your lap. He reached down, stroking her blonde curls. He needed this, too. Everything that all of you did was to ensure that Omega would live, that she might one day get to see a peaceful galaxy. Or, when that was too large a task, at least that she would live a peaceful life. That she wouldn’t become a soldier in an unwinnable war. But what was the point in that when all she’d experienced since joining you and her brothers was unspeakable loss? No kid deserved that, especially not one as kind and innocent as her. 

“We’ll be landing soon,” Hunter said.

You swallowed, trying to choke down any sob that threatened to escape. “Are you sure this is a good idea? When we were…When we were on Safa Toma, Millegi told us that Cid can’t be trusted.”

Hunter kept his gaze focused on Omega. You weren’t sure, but you thought that he kept his head downturned so that you wouldn’t see any tears that were close to falling. “I don’t see how we have any choice. She needs proper medical treatment. AZI is the only one I trust to make sure…”

To make sure she didn’t die. He couldn’t finish the sentence, but you could feel the weight of it. It nearly suffocated you. You couldn’t lose anymore of your family. The galaxy could not be so cruel as to take another from you. You wouldn’t let it. 

“I just worry that Cid will do something. We cut off all communication with her. We may have once been in her good graces, but I don’t know what will happen if she sees us again.”

“I know. But, she has a soft spot for the kid,” Hunter said. His hand fell from Omega’s hair, stroking her cheek. Though still unconscious, she let out a whine. You weren’t sure if it was one of pain, or if she recognized that her father figure was present. “I can only hope that that will grant us some favor.”

“If it doesn’t?”

Hunter’s jaw clenched. He lifted his head, finally looking at you. His eyes were glassy, but hard. With a sort of ferocity you only ever heard from him on the battlefield, he said, “I won’t let anyone take her from us.” 

The Marauder jerked slightly as it entered Ord Mantell’s atmosphere. While Echo was more than a capable pilot, he lacked some of the finesse that Tech possessed. Or perhaps you were hyperaware now of every move, every jump, every jerk. It felt like your senses were on fire. Like you had to perceive everything so that you didn’t have to picture his face. 

Within minutes of entering the atmosphere, the Marauder landed. Hunter stood, then held out his arms to carry Omega. It was a kind gesture, and maybe he wanted to carry her because he also needed to be grounded. But you knew that if you let go of her, for even a second, you would collapse and never want to get up again. So, you shook your head, adjusting your grip on the young girl, so that you were cradling her in your arms as you stood. It was an effort, you had to admit. You were strong, but that did not compare to the strength of a genetically enhanced clone trooper. But the pain, the burn of your muscles, was one of the only things reminding you were alive, that Omega was alive. 

Echo and Wrecker were already waiting outside the ship when you and Hunter emerged. Echo looked much like you and Hunter—stoic, but barely holding it together. Wrecker, on the other hand…The poor guy must have spent the entire journey crying. Tear tracks stained his face, his eyes all red and puffy. Even the tip of his nose was a bright red. When he saw you carrying Omega, he immediately reached out. And, oh, he needed this much more than you. You let him take Omega from your arms, a sob escaping his lips as he held her. 

“I’m going to stick with the ship,” Echo said. “Make sure everything’s in working order for when we leave.”

You shared a glance with Hunter. You wanted to say, We might be here a while. Or, you should probably be checked out by AZI, too. We all need help right now. Perhaps even, Please don’t leave us now. But, everyone grieves in their own way. If this was Echo saying he needed to grieve alone, who were you to deny him that?

Hunter said, “Keep your comm on and close by. We might need a quick getaway.” 

Echo nodded, then turned back to the ship. You watched as his shoulders sagged as he walked back up. You and Echo were never the closest on the team, but you knew enough of his life before the Batch that losing a member of the team hit him hard. Perhaps when Omega was healed, when you all left this Maker-forsaken planet, you would talk to him. Maybe convince him to stick around a little while longer before rejoining Rex. You couldn’t make him stay forever, but you all were his family. This was not the time to be splitting up for an undetermined length of time. 

Hunter squeezed your shoulder, letting you know it was time to go to Cid’s. You let out a shuddering breath, kept your gaze focused on your feet, as you walked the streets to the oh-so-familiar parlor. The entire walk, you tried working on keeping a straight face. You knew you couldn’t hide what happened from Cid—she was far too perceptive to not notice you all were down a man—but you didn’t dare show weakness in front of her. You were already certain a betrayal was on the horizon. You refused to give her anymore ammunition to hurt you with. 

The parlor was empty when you arrived, save for Bolo and Ketch. Ketch’s eyes widened when he saw the four of you. You could only imagine how much of Cid’s wrath they had experienced when you all never returned. Bolo’s eyes flicked toward the bar, and you followed his gaze. Cid was wiping down the counter. It seemed like she hadn’t noticed you all yet, but you knew Cid well enough to know she was waiting for one of you to make the first move. 

“Is AZI around?” you asked as you approached the bar. 

Cid’s eyes flicked up, a snarky remark on the tip of her tongue. But then she saw Omega in Wrecker’s arms, the pained look on his face. Instead of her usual sarcasm, she asked, “What happened to Tiny?”

You looked at Hunter. You weren’t sure how much he wanted to reveal to the Trandoshan. If it was up to you, you would give her nothing. But he was calling the shots, and he might think it better to give something so that she would be more inclined to let the med droid tend to Omega. 

“Mission gone wrong,” was all he offered. “She needs to see AZI now.”

Cid nodded her head toward her office. “He’s in the back doing inventory. Do what you need to do. But when the kid’s taken care of, we need to have a talk about best communication practices.”

You narrowed your eyes at her, a snarky remark of your own on the tip of your tongue, but you held back. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, and all that. If Cid’s concern for Omega was the only thing keeping her from throwing you out, or worse, throwing you to the Empire, you could hold your tongue. For, at least, long enough to let AZI tend to Omega’s wounds. 

You started for the back, Wrecker and Hunter following close behind. But you didn’t make it far before Cid stopped you all again.

“Wait. One of youse is missing.” When you looked back at her, Cid’s eyes were flitting between the three of you. “Is Goggles on the ship or something?”

You decided to borrow Hunter’s words, and only offered her, “Mission gone wrong.”

Oh, what an understatement that was. But she didn’t deserve to be privy to the details. She didn’t have the right to know of the pain that stabbed at you, that bit and clawed at your heart, reminding you that you were alive instead of him. She was not a friend. She was hardly an acquaintance. If you couldn’t even talk to your own family about the ache you felt, why should she get to know? 

True to her word, though, AZI was flitting around the back, taking stock of the various liquors that Cid ordered for the parlor. He lifted his head when he heard you all approach. You might have been imagining things—and you surely were, because droids don’t express emotions in the same way as sentient beings—but the med droid almost looked happy to see you. Part of you had felt bad for leaving him behind with Cid. He had been Omega’s friend after all. But, Hunter wasn’t keen on returning to Ord Mantell back then. Not after the incident at the ipsium mines. You could hardly blame him, so you didn’t push. Now, you wish you had. If you had come back for AZI all those rotations ago, he would have already been on the ship or at least on the sanctuary that was Pabu. There would have been no need to come back here and endanger your family’s lives any further. 

“Oh! I was wondering when you were coming back!” AZI chirped, coming around the many boxes. “Cid had not been very happy when you all didn’t return. But I knew you would come back! And I was right! I knew that if you left, you wouldn’t leave me behind.”

“We need your help,” Hunter said, ignoring the droid’s words. He had previously been standing in front of Wrecker, shielding the droid’s view of the injured Omega. Now, he stepped out of the way. “Omega got hurt, and it’s gonna take more than a few bacta patches to fix her up.”

AZI stared. You could almost sense the hurt he could be feeling. Whether it was at the knowledge that you all weren’t there for him or that his friend was knocking on death’s door, you couldn’t be sure. “I see. I shall get started then.”

You reached out, your fingers grazing the droid. If he could have blinked at you in confusion, you were sure he would have. “Thank you. And…I’m sorry.”

“No need for apologies or gratitude. This is what I’m here for.”

You weren’t sure how long you watched AZI tend to Omega. It felt like days—long, agonizing days as he flitted around her—though you doubted it was any longer than a few hours. You had lost track of time. Between watching him fix up Omega and occasionally tending to you, Hunter, and Wrecker when he needed time for the medicine to work its magic on her, it all kind of felt like a dream. Or, really, a nightmare. The crushing weight of this reality was starting to settle on your chest. You didn’t like this. You didn’t like it at all. 

At some point, Hunter brought you some breads and a glass of water. “Eat,” he said, ordering you like you were a soldier. You and him both knew that you would ignore him if he asked. “He wouldn’t want you to starve.”

You let out a quiet huff of a laugh, if you could even call it that. “He would talk about the benefits of a well-balanced diet, go on about how the food here was hardly sustenance, but that fed is best.”

Hunter wiped away a tear that rolled down your cheek. You’d hardly noticed it. How long had you been crying? You’d been so sure that you were holding it together still. “We’ll get through this.” He nodded his head at the door, gesturing to where Wrecker had disappeared after AZI put his neck in a brace. Wrecker had been placing a huge amount of space between you and him. The guilt must have been hurting him, too—even if he had nothing to feel guilty for. “Wrecker and I were talking about staying on Pabu full time, after Omega is fixed up.”

“What about Crosshair?”

Hunter’s jaw clenched. “I can’t trust that his message wasn’t a trap. I’m not going to lose any more of my family on the chance that he’s switched sides. He’s given no indication that he wanted to join us before.”

“It’s not a trap. I know it’s not.” Perhaps it was a low blow, being so close to the incident, but you couldn’t stop yourself from saying, “Tech knew it wasn’t a trap.”

Hunter swallowed, hard. You watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed. Then— “Tech…died so his family could be safe. I’m honoring his wishes.”

“Crosshair is part of this family. His message, it was a sign that he still cared. That despite everything, he still cares.”

Hunter started to argue, but his mouth snapped shut when Omega groaned. He shot you a look—this wasn’t over. But the conversation would have to be tabled for another day. 

You squeezed his shoulder. “We can go to Pabu if that’s what Omega wants. Whatever she chooses, I’ll respect.”

“Hunter?” Omega managed to say. She said your name as she realized you sat beside him.

Hunter immediately leaned over her, stroking her hair. You reached out, taking one of her hands,  giving it a squeeze. Hunter offered her a small smile, and said, “Hiya, kid.”

“You gave us a right scare there,” you said. 

Omega let out a groan and started to sit up. “W-What happened?”

You and Hunter shared a glance. You could hardly put into words the ordeal you all just experienced. You weren’t sure you could explain it to her without crying, but you also didn’t want Hunter to shoulder that responsibility. He already carried too much weight on his shoulders. 

But before you could say anything, AZI entered the room. He chirped, “Hello, Omega. I am relieved you are awake.” He did a quick scan of her, the light blue light illuminating her face. “You each sustained multiple injuries. However, you all will make a full recovery with proper treatment and rest.”

Omega sat up, a hand clutching her head. Hunter reached around, helping her so that she didn’t make things too hard for herself. You gave her hand another squeeze. At this point, it was probably more for your comfort than hers. She was alive. She would be okay. That’s all that mattered right now. If you could focus on that, everything would be okay. Eventually. 

At the sound of Omega’s voice, Wrecker came into the room. He wouldn’t look at you, even when you tried to meet his gaze. You understood why—the guilt he must feel would be tremendous. He was the brawn on the operation. He was the muscles. It’s his job to make sure that no one in his family has to take the brunt of any injuries. In his eyes, he failed. In his eyes, he’s the reason your heart is broken. In his eyes, he’s the reason Tech died. 

You hadn’t been sure how to comfort him, so you let him go off on his own for a while. You weren’t quite sure how to comfort yourself. So, you let him sit in his misery and you in yours. Now, though, you wish you’d done something. It hurt, him not being able to look at you, even if he thought he was trying to spare you the pain. 

“You’re—You’re okay,” Wrecker said. He stumbled forward, kneeling in front of Omega, letting out a breath. He was the perfect picture of held-back panic. He held Omega in a quick hug, careful not to press on any of her injuries. “Don’t scare us like that again.”

Hunter offered her a drink. “How do you feel?”

“I don’t know,” she mumbled. Her face twisted, contorted into sadness. You’d almost hoped she hadn’t remembered. She doesn’t deserve this kind of pain. She shouldn’t have to know this kind of loss. “The last thing that I remember, we were in the railcar when…”

She gasped, her eyes going wide. Her eyes darted toward you, searching for an answer to the unsaid question. But you couldn’t meet her gaze. If you did, you would cry. And if you cried, you would confirm her worst fears. 

She looked to Hunter. “Where’s Tech?”

Hunter looked away, looked at you. You gave a nod. She had to know. “Omega, Tech didn’t make it.”

You dropped Omega’s hand, letting your hand come to rest on Hunter’s shoulder. You gave it a squeeze. You’d meant what you said, that he shouldn’t have to shoulder all this responsibility. You felt bad for making him say it, but you suppose she would only believe the news from him. 

“We have to go back!” Omega said. “What if he’s hurt? He—He needs us! Tell him, Wrecker! We can’t just leave him!”

You looked at Wrecker, seeing his eyes squeeze shut. Oh, that must have killed him. That must have confirmed every dark thought that swirled in his gentle mind. Was it too soon to force everyone into a group hug? 

“Omega,” you said, reaching out, stopping her from jumping out of the bed. “You saw him. He calculated the odds right before he did it. He knew his chances, and he’s seldom wrong.”

“NO!” Omega smacked your hand away. “Tech’s not gone! You know he’s not! He—He can’t be!”

Her face screwed up as the tears began to fall. Hunter took your place, wrapping his arms around her. She sobbed into his chest. Your heart clenched at the sight. She was alive, but she was hurting. And you weren’t sure what to do about that. Nothing that you said would help her. Nothing you said would bring him back. 

You rose to your feet, glancing between the members of your family. “I-I need to go,” you mumbled, stumbling out of the room.

You didn’t make it very far, nearly collapsing into a seat at the bar. Your shoulders trembled as you tried to keep your sobs at bay. Until that moment, it hadn’t quite hit you that he was gone. You knew he was. You were there when he fell. You saw the calmness in his eyes, his acceptance of his fate. You could feel the unspoken words on the tip of his tongue as he said his final words. You felt the tremble of the railcar, the panic in your chest as the line snapped, as he plummeted…Going, going, gone. 

You’d lived through all of that, but a naïve sort of part of you had hoped. Had prayed to the Maker, to the Force, to whatever cosmic being there was that controlled Tech’s fate that he had made it. But at that altitude? With a railcar plummeting with him? Even if he survived the fall, the railcar landing on him would surely do him in. Tech had accepted his death, but you couldn’t. 

How could you? He had meant everything to you. He was the air you breathed, the reason you stayed with the Batch for so long. When the war ended, you had no reason to stay. Your contract with the Republic ended the moment that battles stopped. But he…He gave you one look, one unspoken plea, and you stayed. 

What was the point now? 

You lifted your head as Wrecker collapsed into a seat next to you. He stared at the bar. Knowing that he wouldn’t make any move, you grabbed his hand, gave it a squeeze. “It’s not your fault,” you whispered. “There was nothing you could have done to change what happened.”

Maybe the words were partly said for your own peace of mind, but it brought neither you nor Wrecker any belief. “He was gonna ask ya out when we got back to Pabu,” he mumbled. “He knew you liked looking at tha stars, so he planned a midnight picnic. Was gonna tell you every fact he knew about every star, planet, comet in tha sky.”

“…Oh.” You weren’t sure what else to say. What could you say? How could express the remorse of never getting to experience a future you so badly craved?

“He wanted to come back to ya. He was supposed to come back to ya. And I’m the reason he didn’t. You should hate me.”

“I could never hate you, Wrecker,”  you said. You squeezed his hand. “I meant what I said. His fate was sealed when he went out with me to make repairs.”

“I saved you. I should have saved him, too. I could have saved him.”

Your bottom lip trembled. “He made you get me first. He made his choice. Wrecker, he knew his fate. You…You did everything he wanted you too. Okay? So don’t, don’t feel bad about what happened.”

The sound of two glasses hitting the bar pulled you from your conversation with Wrecker. When you looked up, Cid was sliding you and him a couple of drinks. Your stomach twisted. You didn’t like the look in her eyes. There was something she wasn’t telling you. “Here,” she said. “These are on the house.”

You pushed the glass in front of you away. “Nothing ever comes for free with you, Cid.”

Wrecker pushed his glass, too. “It won’t help.”

Cid was silent for a beat. “I’m sorry about Goggles. I always liked him.”

“Yeah. Me too,” Wrecker said. 

You watched Cid. She had her arms crossed over her chest, one of her clawed fingers tapping anxiously. You sat a little straighter, sniffed back a couple of your tears. No matter what grief you were experiencing, you needed to keep your mind sharp. You had walked right back into the lion’s den. You needn’t give Cid any opportunity to betray you. 

Wrecker noticed, too. “What’s with you?” he grunted. 

Cid wagged one finger at him. “You know, I tried to look out for you kids. But you got too much heat on you. And you brought it here, to my place of business! I had to make the best of a bad situation.”

You watched the rage contort on Wrecker’s face. Oh, you don’t know if you had ever seen him so mad before. You almost expected him to reach across the bar and kill Cid with his bare hands. Instead, he growled, “What did you do?”

“Sorry, Muscles. Sorry, Killer.”

The doors to the parlor slid open. You were immediately on your feet, shoved behind Wrecker as a group of commando clones entered the parlor, their blasters raised. One shot at Wrecker, and he charged, more stun bolts firing at him. One hit you, and you went down easily, not able to put the same kind of fight as Wrecker. As you fell, you prayed to the Maker that Hunter got away—or at least that he convinced Omega to leave you all behind if he wanted to play hero.

The commando clones had you and Wrecker kneeling with your hands bounds behind two of them, maybe another half dozen behind you, all of their blasters raised at the door, waiting for Hunter. Hemlock stood beside you, watching you curiously as you avoided his gaze. He knew something. He knew something about Tech. Your eyes fell to the case he was holding, wondering what its contents were. Was it Tech’s head? His helmet? Some other cruel piece of his life, of his memory to taunt the fact that you all lost?

Hunter emerged from the back, his blaster raised. You let out a breath. At least Omega wasn’t with him. At least she might have escaped. He wouldn’t have come out unless he was sure she was long gone.  

“That’s not very strategic, Hunter,” Hemlock said. “You don’t need to use your enhanced senses to know you’re outnumbered.”

Hemlock turned to Cid, raising the case. “The Empire thanks you for your assistance,” he said, passing the case to the Trandoshan. 

Oh. It was just credits. Maybe Hemlock wasn’t so cruel to taunt you all with Tech’s death using whatever part of him they uncovered. 

Cid and Hunter shared a look, before Hemlock said, “Our business is done. Leave.”

Cid’s head dropped. She turned, walking past you and Wrecker. She paused for a second, looking like she wanted to tell you something. Maybe an apology. You weren’t sure. All you knew was, whatever she had to say died in her throat as you reared your head back, spitting at her. Childish, sure. Gross, definitely. But Cid didn’t deserve your respect. Not now. Not after she sold you all out. 

Hemlock turned his attention back to Hunter. “Please, consider your next move very carefully. I would hate for this to end poorly for all of you. Here is how this is going to go. You will lower your blaster and hand over Omega. And I will allow you to keep breathing.”

“Omega’s not going anywhere with you,” Hunter growled. 

“Oh. Well, who knew clones are so paternal? Fascinating,” Hemlock said. He paused for a moment. “I was saddened to learn of your friend’s demise. What was his name? Oh, yes, Tech.”

You let out a growl. He didn’t deserve to say Tech’s name. What right did he have to talk about Tech?

Hemlock glanced back at you, his eyebrows raised. As he took in your expression, he turned more fully. He reached out, a finger running down your cheek. You fought the urge to bite him. That wouldn’t end well. “Ah, yes, the girlfriend, right?” he mused. Not technically. You and Tech never made anything official. “From what I gathered, the two of you were rather…intimate. I didn’t know clones could do that, either. Though, I suppose his form of intimacy is far different than a…normal human, wouldn’t you say?”

“Don’t you dare talk about him,” you spat. “You have no right.”

“So protective,” he said. Chuckling to himself, he turned back to Hunter. Beside you, Wrecker growled, only to be hit with a blaster by one of the clones holding you all captive. One of the commando clones handed him something. You couldn’t quite see what it was. “I’m afraid this was all I could salvage. Consider it a gift.”

He tossed the object at Hunter’s feet, and you could finally see what it was. A sob caught in your throat. No. No. No, no, no. If that was all they managed to recover, then that meant…Another sob escaped you before your could stop it. 

“To lose one of your own, it must weigh heavily on you as their leader.” Hemlock glanced back at the clones. Several of them pressed their weapons into Wrecker. One of them reached out, grabbing you by the hair, yanked your head back. He pressed his blaster into your temple. You wondered how eager he was to shoot. At least if you died, then you could be with Tech. “And if you don’t lower the blaster now, you will lose more.”

Wrecker shook his head. You couldn’t do the same, not with the way you were being held, so you did your best to convey your message in your eyes. Don’t lower your blaster. We’ll be fine. 

Still, Hunter slowly lowered the blaster and set it on the floor. He picked up Tech’s goggles, the glassiness in his eyes clear. 

“Wise decision,” Hemlock said. He motioned to the clones, and two of them stepped forward to bind Hunter’s wrists. They pushed him to where you and Wrecker were kneeling on the ground. 

Another clone came from the back and reported, “Sir, the girl is not in the office.”

“She’s long gone,” Hunter said. “Like I said, Omega’s not going anywhere with you.”

“Hmm. We’ll see.”

Oh, how could Hunter have been so right and so wrong all at the same time? Omega was, indeed, long gone, but she’d been taken by Hemlock. Despite your family’s best efforts, no one could stop Hemlock. Part of you wished that Omega had listened to Hunter, that she escaped and left you all behind. But the other part of you understood. She’s lost too much. If she lost you, Wrecker, and Hunter to the Empire…You weren’t sure how she would survive that kind of heartache. But now, the three of you and Echo floated through space, with no idea on where to go. Your mission had been a failure—you didn’t have the first clue where Hemlock’s base of operations was. Everything that you all fought—everything that you all lost—was for nothing. 

Eventually, Hunter told Echo to fly you all back to Pabu. Returning there and clearing all of your minds before making the next move was important. Everyone’s emotions were still high. Even if you all could come to a decision, could fall upon some useful information, there was no guarantee that a rescue operation would be successful. While Omega was in more danger the longer she was in Hemlock’s control, it would do her no good if all of you were captured trying to save her. 

You spent the journey laying in Tech’s bunk. Your face pressed into his pillow, bundled up in his covers, trying to commit his scent to memory. His bunk always smelled clean. Crosshair, back in the days of the Republic, once told you that Tech had been incredibly messy before you were assigned to the team. But the moment Tech met you, he went out of his way to keep his area as clean as could be. Back then, you thought Tech was just trying to be kind, to make you feel welcome. Now, you realized he was trying to impress you. 

Tears burned at your eyes at the memory. You tried blinking them away, focusing on the scribbles on the wall of Tech’s bunk. Most of them were about ship repairs that he would be doing with you, or upgrades to weapons. But there was one in the corner, near his pillow, that caught your eye. 

In his messy scrawl, he had written out a series of steps to win a woman’s heart. Most of them were checked off, save for three. Step 7. Take her on a date—make sure it’s something she would enjoy. Step 8. Kiss her—refer to holofilms for best approach. Step 9. Ask her to be yours—let it be her choice. 

You let out a choked laugh, running your fingers over the words. Wrecker was right. Tech had been planning to ask you out. Oh, he had planned everything out. You wondered how long he had this plan. What you would give to have him back for just a moment, to ask him every question you ever wanted to ask, to listen to his voice, to be with him, to tell him you love him, too. 

When the Marauder landed, you reluctantly left the comfort of Tech’s bunk, joining the boys. As you walked out of the ship, you saw Phee waiting. She wore a bright smile on her face, her eyes twinkling. Considering your abrupt departure, you had no doubt that she had a million questions she wanted to ask about the mission. 

“Didn’t think you guys would be back from your secret mission so soon,” she teased. “Did you get what you were looking for?”

You looked at her, and shook your heard. It was one thing to tell Cid that the mission was a failure—she didn’t really care about your family. But to tell Phee? Who had gone out of her way to bring you guys to a place to a call home? Who showed time and time again that she cared, even if she had a funny way of going about it? It hurt. 

Her smile didn’t waiver. She understand yet. “Ah, well, that’s okay. I’m sure you guys’ll get ‘em next time! Say, what’s the long face’s for? The mission wasn’t that bad was it?”

Hunter squeezed your shoulder. You reached up, squeezed his hand back. Behind you, you could hear Wrecker shuffle his feet and the quiet whhrr of Echo’s scomp as he fiddled with it. No one offered an explanation.

“Geez, you guys look rough. Must’ve been real bad out there.” Phee glanced between the four of you, her smile falling. “Say, where’s Brown Eyes? Where’s the kid?”

You opened your mouth but no words came out. You looked back at Wrecker, Hunter, and Echo, but none of them seemed keen to answer. Phee seemed to know, though. You all wouldn’t be so put out, so mournful looking, if something bad hadn’t happened. When you looked back at her, she had stepped closer to you, a hand coming to rest on your shoulder. 

“I don’t know what happened, but I’m sorry,” she said. 

Your lip quivered. Kriff. You couldn’t take this. None of this was supposed to happen. You all were supposed to find out where Crosshair was, you were supposed to rescue him. Everyone was supposed to be reunited. You all were supposed to come back to Pabu and live as normal a life as you could manage. You weren’t supposed to lose Tech. Omega wasn’t supposed to be captured. 

Shrugging off Phee’s hand, you ran off. No one bothered to follow you, to call after you. For that, you were grateful. You didn’t want to be around anyone right. Not for a while. 

You settled on the docks. It was nearly dusk when the Marauder landed, so most of the fishermen had docked their boats and returned to their families with whatever they managed to catch. It was the perfect place for you. Almost no one around to bother you. You were as alone as you felt. 

Sitting on the edge of the dock, you let your legs hang over. You leaned all the way back so that you stared at the sky. The beautiful reds and oranges soon faded into a black abyss. The stars started to peak out, winking down at you. Once upon a time, you would have killed for the opportunity to watch the stars like this. There was seldom free time like this in the last few years. The stars once brought you comfort, providing you a map for your way back home. But it was different now.

The stars no longer brought you comfort. What was the point in the stars guiding you home if he wasn’t there to go with you?

Your eyes fluttered shut. For the first time since the incident, you let yourself cry. Sure, tears had escaped before, when you didn’t want them to. But you had been holding them at bay this entire time, trying to focus on the tasks at hand. Now, there was nothing to do. There was nothing you could do. Nothing, except mourn. A sob wracks your chest. You cover your face with your hands, letting everything you’d been holding in out.

You cried, and you cried, and you cried. Until there were no tears left. Until you uncovered your face, staring back at the stars, sniffling. 

A steady clunk! of a set of boots alerted you to a guest. You had a one-in-four shot of guessing who’d come to comfort you, but you didn’t care enough to see who it was. Did it matter? None of those four people were the one you wanted. And none of those four people was the kid you were supposed to protect. 

You saw Hunter’s face as he finally reached you, sitting down beside you. He said nothing. Hunter was never really the comforting type. He’d gotten better since Omega joined the team, learning to navigate his emotions so that he could be a better parent. But this wasn’t the sort of thing he’d been prepared for. None of you were prepared for this.

“I asked Shep to set you aside some dinner if you decide you’re hungry,” he said. “He said you can come into his house anytime you decide you’re hungry and take it. It has a note on it for you, in his fridge.”

“Thank you,” you said.

A silence passes over you. There’s so much to say. There’s so much you want to say. So much you aren’t sure how to say. How do you navigate this sort of sudden loss? What was the right way to grieve? What was the right way to comfort? A thousand possibilities flooded your mind. None of them felt right. Finally, you settled on an apology. 

“I’m sorry for running off,” you said. “If I worried you, I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intent.”

Hunter shrugged. “I knew where you were. I figured you just…needed time.”

“No amount of time can bring him back.” You sat up, looking out at the dark sea. If you jumped in now, you might sink fast enough under the weight of your armor that, by the time Hunter dove in after you, it would be too late. Even with his enhanced senses, the water would drown it all out. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save Omega.”

“You’re sounding like Wrecker now,” he said. He had heard your conversation with him back at Cid’s. Usually, he kept quiet about conversations he overheard. But things were different now. No one knew how to navigate this sort of hurt. “They got us while we were down. I don’t know if there was anything we could do to save her.”

You rested your hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “We’ll get her back.”

“We will,” he affirmed. He reached for something that you couldn’t quite see. When he brought his hands back into your view, you gasped. “I, uh, came to give you these.”

“Hunter, no—”

“I talked with Wrecker and Echo. We all agreed that he would have wanted you to have them. Anything of his, it’s yours. But these especially.”

As he pressed the goggles into your hands, a tear rolled down your cheek. Oh, this was too much. How could you look at these goggles and not want to jump off the dock? How could you look at the cracked lenses and not picture his eyes squeezing shut as he hit the ground? How could you not imagine the way he looked at you, in the split second before he made his choice? How could you not see of how he looked before, when you all were leaving for the mission, the fire in his eyes as he searched for a way to rescue his brother? How could you not dream of the soft look in his eyes the night before, when you rested your head on his shoulder and told him how you wished the two of you could have a peaceful life? You ran your thumb over the light that used shone red, indicating his constant filming of his surroundings. It was off now. Part of you wondered why, but you dismissed the thought. It was probably broken in the fall. 

“What do we do now?” you ask. You look up at Hunter to see him already looking at you. His eyes were glassy still. You wondered if he had allowed himself the privacy to cry yet, or if he was still playing the part of the stoic leader. “Echo’s probably going to return to Rex soon. Wrecker’s in no position to fight. Kark, neither of us are either. We don’t have the first clue where to look. We don’t have—”

Hunter squeezed your shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. I don’t know how, but…We’ve faced horrible odds before.”

“We had a hundred percent success rate back then.”

“I don’t know what we’ll do,” he said, “but if we stick together, we’ll figure it out. I know we will.”

You wanted to push back, to argue, to feel something other than this grief, but you didn’t want to hurt Hunter in the process. So you let it go. Instead, you asked, “Could you tell me about? What he was like before I joined the team?”

Hunter let out a chuckle. “When we were cadets, Tech was a complete menace. Worse than the rest of us, if you could believe it. Always challenged the Kaminoans at every turn.”

You laughed, the picture forming in your mind. You leaned back against as Hunter talked, and soon he did, too, telling you everything about what little Tech had been like. For a moment, you forgot all that you’d just endured. For a moment, you felt at peace. But then you felt the weight of Tech’s goggles in your hands, and you were thrown back into the reality you were faced it.  

Tech was gone—you were sure of it. But he died to make sure his family would live. You weren’t going to let him die in vain. No matter what it took, no matter what you had to do, you would get Omega and Crosshair back. 

You swore it. 

[zoeykallus]

Tech – Thank You For Loving Me 34 - Firefights and Card Games

Warnings: Angsty/Strong Language

_________________

To pass the waiting time, Hondo wants to play cards with you and his men. Tech is not very good at letting the pirates win for the sake of peace.

Hunter, Crosshair, Wrecker, Echo and Rex run into some problems with their mission.

________________

What Happened Before

Nervous Flutter

Part 2 - Help Me To Let Go

Part 3 - Asking For Advice

Part 4 - Devotion

Part 5 - The Explorer

Part 6 - You’re The Best

Part 7 - Experimental (½)

Part 8 - Experimental (2/2) - Not Fully Functional

Part 9 - Not Alone

Part 10 - Cared For

Part 11 - Don’t You Worry

Part 12 - A White Lie

Part 13 - Hope

Part 14 - Games To Play

Part 15 - Work Work Work

Part 16 - Trouble

Part 17 - In Loving Domination (½)

Part 18 - The Game Changer

Part 19 - Wild Animal

Part 20 - Embarrassing Vulnerabilities

Part 21 - Between Hangover And Love

Part 22 - The Future Ahead Of Us

Part 23 - About Making A Baby

Part 24 - It’s Going To Be Okay

Part 25 - Returning A Favor

Part 26 - Baby Fever

Part 27 - A New Life

Part 28 - Daddy Tech

Part 29 – Back Home

Part 30 - Pleasant And Unpleasant Surprises

Part 31 - I’m Gonna Be A Sniper!

Part 32 - Pirates

Part 33 – The Deal

34 - Firefights and Card Games

The hours passed and Amy had fallen asleep in Tech's arms. You sat close to him, one hand always on his arm, as if you were afraid Tech might suddenly be lost to you. You suddenly heard him say softly, "We should get Amy into her little bed and wait in the shuttle, it's getting chilly." You nodded and stood up with Tech. "Where are you going?" asked Hondo. "We're taking our daughter to bed," you said quietly but clearly. The pirate nodded and said, "But not alone." Tech refrained from rolling his eyes and set off, along with you at his side and followed by Hondo and two of his men. You didn't like the idea of taking strangers into your home, but at the moment you had no choice. The pirates waited at the open door to Amy's room while Tech and you carefully put your daughter to bed. Amy slept on nicely, the day had been exciting, and the girl was consequently tired. Tech prepared the baby monitor he had made himself so that you would hear immediately when Amy woke up. Then you left the room. However, you refused to leave the Shuttle, you would not leave Amy alone in here when strangers were present.

Hondo said, "But she's asleep, and you have that thingy." "Baby monitor," Tech said dryly. Hondo nodded, "Yeah, that one" You stubbornly crossed your arms in front of your chest and said calmly but firmly, "I don't care. I'm not leaving my baby daughter alone in the shuttle when we're surrounded by strangers" Hondo sighed and rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine by me," he finally relented. In the small kitchen, across from Amy's room, you sat down at the counter and Hondo suggested a card game. The thought worried you a little. You knew that if Tech didn't let the men win on purpose, they wouldn't win against him. You sat down close to him, leaned close to his ear, and muttered as unobtrusively as you could, "Try to let the guys win once in a while, we don't want to upset them" Tech raised his eyebrows, then sighed softly and mumbled back, "Something like that is what I had in mind" You could tell your man wasn't really expecting to be challenged. Hondo asked with a wide, smug smile, "How good are you two at these card games?" You shrugged and said, "Um, average, I guess." Tech next to you has to pull himself together, he was about to stare at you indignantly. But your hand rests on his upper thigh and squeezes gently to keep him from blabbing.

Rex leapt forward and swept Crosshair off his feet, just in time. The blaster shots went into the air instead of hitting the Sniper in the back. Crosshair grumbled and rolled into the nearest cover, right up there with Rex, Wrecker, Echo and Hunter. "Going great," Echo said sarcastically. "So much for the element of surprise," Hunter grumbled. Crosshair rubbed his aching joints from Rex's rescue mission and looked around. Hunter saw his brother surveying the situation and asked from his cover, "How's it looking? Can you do another one of your famous trick shots?" Crosshair smirked, took out one of his reflectors, the discs that were in the back of his belt, and threw it into the middle of the room, between the container and the enemies, then a second and a third. Before the hostiles can really react, Crosshair fired. The shot ricocheted several times, and like in one of those wild pinball games, it hit all the targets in the room with only one shot. The men had no time to react, the moment their colleague went down, the blaster shot hit them as well. After a short moment, it was suddenly very quiet in the warehouse. Crosshair smiled again with satisfaction.

Rex said, laughing with relief, "I had almost forgotten how good you guys are" Wrecker, pushed a container aside to clear a path and said with a grin, "We're better than good" Crosshair said matter-of-factly, "Tech would now say that there is no increase of good, but only gradations in the intensity of the perception of a state... or something like that" For a moment, everyone paused and stared at him. The Sniper shrugged and said grumpily, "What? It's just unusual that he doesn't put his two cents in on every other statement."

Again and again, you gently but firmly nudged Tech, unobtrusively. He won a little too often, and when he lost, he wasn't very convincing. Tech was a very bad liar, which is why it always surprised you that he kept winning at poker. He didn't like to sell himself short, and actually that wasn't wrong under normal circumstances, but here and now it was unfavorable. Your gaze kept wandering nervously around the table, carefully examining the highly concentrated, tight-lipped faces of the pirates. In the case of two of the men, it looked as if they weren't far from beating the crap out of Tech at any moment. Hondo bobbed his foot impatiently, staring repeatedly at his cards and at those on the counter. Finally he looked at you and said, calmly but with an undertone, "Average, huh? Have you been lying to me?" You blinked and said nervously, "Beginner's luck, I guess." Hondo slowly, leisurely draws his blaster and sets it down on the counter in front of you, his hand resting on the handle. "You sure?"

Tech dropped his cards on the counter and slid in between you and the pirate, just as slowly and deliberately. He didn't want to trigger any nervous reactions with hasty movements. He pushed you behind him and said, "You promised that my wife and daughter would remain unharmed. Neither of us acted violently or provocatively. Maybe now you'll holster that blaster again?" Hondo eyed Tech for a long moment, a few seconds in which you got hot and cold and your body was already about to produce adrenaline. Finally, the pirate laughed and said, "Well, you have to be able to lose, don't you? That also includes, a certain grandeur" "Indeed," Tech confirmed calmly. Hondo put the blaster away again, but Tech remained standing in front of you for a moment. The pirate noticed this, of course, and he said with a grin, "It's okay, relax again. I wouldn't have hurt her anyway, I just wanted to make you a little nervous."

You stifled a comment and just smiled, barely noticeably. Finally, Tech sat down again and you continued the card game. It was quite late by now. Neither of you knew when Hunter and the others would be back, but you hoped soon, because you didn't really feel like falling asleep with the pirates around.

"Okay," Echo said, taking a deep breath, "We lost them, but the Marauder took a good beating. Some sensors are down, one of the side thrusters is only working at half power, but the hyperdrive is still going." Hunter dropped into the copilot seat, Wrecker and Rex standing behind him. Crosshair was in the main room, stowing his equipment. "Let's hope everything went smoothly for Tech and his family in the meantime," the sergeant murmured. Wrecker growled, "I'd better, I'm going to get every one of those pirates if anything has happened to them." Rex calmly put a hand on the giant's shoulder and said, "Relax. Hondo is a crook, he's cheeky and rude too, but he's not tired of living and usually not cruel either" "You've had run-ins with him in the past?" asked Echo. Rex shrugged and said, "Not that often myself, but my general and his master now and then. And Commander Tano."

Echo nodded, "Ah, yes I remember, I've heard a story or two about that before". Crosshair comes out of the main room into the crowded cockpit and growls impatiently, "What's going on? Why aren't we in hyperspace yet?" At the same moment, Echo activated the drive and said, "Because the route wasn't calculated yet. Now we're on our way." Crosshair grumbled, "About time," and retreated from the cockpit again. Rex remarked with a raised eyebrow, "He's very anxious." Hunter confirmed, "Yes, we all are" "Hmm," Rex said, "He seems to be the most worried of us" Echo said understanding, "He's gone through a relatively big change since Amy was born. Crosshair is not just a soldier now, and he has a lot more to lose than his own life. He has a sense of really having a family for the first time, a sense of belonging that he was always so desperate for in his job, with the Army and his superiors, which is why he was more susceptible to the chip to begin with. Through Tech, his wife and Amy, a real family has suddenly grown around him that he belongs to in a way. Of course, he's afraid of losing that again."

Rex nodded in understanding. Hunter said, "I couldn't have explained it any better. We all feel that way in some way, or something like that. But Cross has always been more sensitive than the rest of us." Wrecker laughed softly, "And he's always been the most concerned of us that no one notice." Hunter nodded in agreement and finally asked, "How long until we arrive?" "Just under four hours," Echo replied. Wrecker grumbled uneasily, "That's still a long time." Rex said calmly, "Don't worry, I'm sure Tech has everything under control"

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

@ilovethosebrowneyes9904

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@clone-whore-99 @chxpsi

@the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond

@andyoufollowyourheart

@kaliel2310

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