#the bad batch family

[neyswxrld]

never the same

POV Hunter, no pairing

summary: While Omega is on a mission, Hunter realises that it never will be like the good old times again.

warnings: a lot of nostalgia

words: ~1410

a/n: hello there! this is it. the final fic for @summer-of-bad-batch. with that i fulfilled all 28 of the offered prompts, and i'm actually very proud of myself for that. this event definitely was one of my favorite adventures this year, and it definitely motivated me to write a lot more. thanks for hosting this! prompts: radio silence and "yeah, kid, we're fine."

MASTERLIST

SUMMER OF BAD BATCH MASTERLIST

"Still nothin'?" is the first thing Wrecker asks when he comes down the stairs in the morning.

He looks still a little rough from sleep, his shirt is wrinkled and his short, gray beard still manages to stand up in different directions.

A grin appears on Hunter's lips. The familiar sight of his brother in the mornings isn't anything he'd ever like to miss. Especially since he's finally able to sleep in a bed that is big and comfortable enough for the giant.

"Good morning to you, too," Hunter smiles and eats one of the delicious cookies Crosshair brought over a day ago. He'd never thought the former sniper would find a liking in baking sweet stuff, but here they are, and he's sure it's not the last reason his tummy got so soft in the last years.

But he wouldn't complain: Crosshair's food is tasty and he actually likes the sight of himself in the mirror like that.

"Mornin'..." Wrecker muffles and starts to brew himself some tea, looking at Hunter expectantly.

"No, didn't hear of them. But you know how it is - radio silence means no com chatter," Hunter unnecessarily explains.

Wrecker just rolls his eyes, but also picks up a cookie, already sighing at the taste before he even put it into his mouth.

"I know, I'm just worried," he admits, after chewing and swallowing down.

Oh, how familiar Hunter was with this feeling, too.

He's always worried about Omega. She'll forever be his baby sister who needs some kind of protection, but at the same time, he also knows he just can't always provide it for her.

Besides, she's all grown up now. He taught her everything he could. She can protect herself just fine.

"What do you think, how long will it be this time until we hear from her again?" Wrecker asks and Hunter just shrugs his shoulders. "Last time it was a week, before that a few hours. Could be anything between that and even longer," Hunter says, as if they haven't had that conversation several times now.

Wrecker sighs.

"It's just so... quiet without her. Boring," the big clone says, and a shadow of sadness crosses his face.

Hunter knew. He knew so well. First Crosshair moved out. He and his partner found a beautiful little home a few houses over, and even though Hunter was genuinely happy for his youngest brother, he already recognized how much more quiet the house was. How empty his place at the table was.

Then Omega tried to just sneak away a few years later. He knew her reasons, but he was still glad he could properly say goodbye to her.

And even though Crosshair was just a few houses over, and even though Omega sometimes visited and called in regularly, the house just felt empty, quiet, and boring.

He was so glad Wrecker was still by his side, even though he sometimes asked himself if his brother really was happy with their current situation.

But every time he asked him, Wrecker immediately got defensive and almost scared of Hunter leaving him, so he just kept that question for himself.

If Wrecker was ready or wanted to move on, he would.

"What's your plan for today?" Hunter asks him, and Wrecker thinks for a few seconds, before answering.

"I'll go and help Phee with some crates she has on her ship. She requested my help specifically," Wrecker grins and Hunter raises his eyebrows. Just like everyone's enhancements, Wrecker's also faded over the time. Of course, he is still a lot stronger than the average person, but Hunter knows his brother and his habit of overestimating himself too well.

At the same time, he knows Phee, and he immediately is sure she'll look after his brother, too. If he's being honest, he thinks she already packed the crates in a way that they aren't as heavy as they used to be. He's sure she could probably transport them herself, and just wants to make Wrecker happy.

"Sounds good. I'll probably go and help Shep. Some new arrivals landed tonight, and they need to get settled down," Hunter nods, taking a bite of another cookie.

"You remember today is Batch day?" Hunter asks, and Wrecker nods excitedly.

It's a weekly occasion, that they'll meet at the beach, in a bar, a restaurant or their houses and catch up with each other and spend time together.

Even though the three of them see each other often enough, they still decided to spare this one evening during the week to indulge in nostalgia and make it feel just like the old times.

They'd never miss the day, not for anything in this galaxy.

Wrecker and Hunter complete their morning routine, say goodbye to each other and try to fulfill their tasks as best as they could.

Hunter manages to help settle down about three new villagers. One of them was an elderly lady who smelled weirdly like dried fruit and old books, a man about his age with a small baby in his arms who cried the whole time, and a young woman, about thirty years old, who smiled at him weirdly, and said goodbye with a wink.

The day is over faster than he thinks and soon he's sitting in the living room of his and Wrecker's house. The latter one is stretched out over the couch, complaining about his aching back, and Crosshair is sitting next to them, irritating Wrecker even more.

Yeah, just like old times, he thinks and smiles to himself. Almost, at least.

It's in exact that moment, that his comm beeps. First one, then two times. Immediately, the other two stop bickering, and looking at Hunter expectantly.

When he takes out the small device and checks the callers ID, a small smile appears on his lips.

"It's Omega," he announces and Wrecker groans, relieved: "Finally!"

Hunter opens the com channel, while he and Crosshair try to move Wrecker upwards to a sitting position.

Well, it wouldn't be Wrecker if he was easy, right?

He starts laughing and just takes Crosshair and Hunter, pulling them down on him, pulling them close and huddles them close to each of his side.

"Oh, maker, are you okay?" Omega asks from Hunter's com, surely able to just see blurry forms and colors, due to Wrecker's unpredictable actions.

"Yeah, kid, we’re fine," Hunter says when they're finally able to look into her sister's face again. Omega jokingly rolls her eyes at his little "nickname" for her, but doesn't say anything about it. She's always going to be his kid in his heart, and she knows it.

"Oh, Omega! I missed ya!" Wrecker immediately exclaims and grins from ear to ear, his back pain already forgotten.

"I miss you, too," the young woman starts to smile and Hunter's heart warms just a little at that.

It's been so long since she's been here with them already.

"How was the mission?" Crosshair asks next, and Omega immediately starts talking about what they did and how they managed to pull some secret data out of an even more secret outpost and that most of them made it out unharmed.

When they each catch themselves up on what's going on and what happens around them on Pabu and in the Rebellion, all of them always have a huge smile on their face.

And even though it almost feels like the old times again, Hunter realizes one thing in this exact moment:

It doesn't matter how hard they try to make it work like the old times again. The bitter truth is - they can't. It will never be the same again. Too much happened, too much time passed, and too many people weren't here by their side anymore, who definitely deserved to be.

But what they can do is try to make it all worth it.

Live their lives how they're supposed to do. Be proud of what they've overcome and of what they figured out for themselves.

Be proud about what they did and what they made of it.

They still can enjoy the moments they have with each other and make the best of it.

Instead of trying to make old times again, they should start to look forward to the new ones.

There's still so much waiting for him, for them, and it would be a shame to miss out on that.

Even though it won't ever be the same again, it doesn't mean it's bad at all.

TAGLIST

@isthereanechoinhere96 @trixie2023 @freesia-writes

[131-vr]

NEXT

This took way too long, I'm kinda embarrassed posting this. School and life got in the way. This is going to be in 3 parts I guess, stay tune.

[lornaka]

He's a Disney prince ♕

[riyo-soka]

Omega: so am I force sensitive?

Ventress, looking at Omega’s family of emotionally unstable men who would try to blow up the entire galaxy if she got anything worse than a paper cut: if you are it’s not my problem

[crosshairslongasslegs]

brothers till the end

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

I might be in the minority in that I have never read any hint of jealousy at all from Hunter in this scene.

What I see is Hunter noticing that Omega and Crosshair have developed a bond; and considering that Crosshair has obviously been through excessively traumatic experiences, Hunter is wondering the full extent of what Omega went through for her and Crosshair to have become so close.

And he's concerned for both of them.

In the same story arc, he goes on to defend Crosshair when the other clones distrust him, and even steps back enough to let Crosshair look after Omega (that was a deliberate choice on Hunter's part, he saw that Crosshair had Omega covered and let it be, and no one will be able to convince me otherwise).

Add to this the fact that in the next story, "Bad Territory," Hunter tasks Omega with getting Crosshair to start facing the reality of his hand tremors (an assignment that will only be of benefit to BOTH siblings), I think Hunter is much more sensitive and understanding of what his siblings have gone through than we may have initially given him credit for.

[alligatorpie1945]

Season 3 is off to an amazing start! Im so proud of our girl and I cant believe how much she has grown since season 1. (And Im laughing at all the people who thought she was annoying in the beginning) She has been awesome this whole time!

Prints are available here

[vivaislenska]

Tech right before he gets comforted AF by his fam 🤞

…. Another 🫠 but I’ll post a finished piece in a few days if I get some time. And I may even post live 😳

good luck to everyone for the upcoming eps!

[marvel-starwarsfangirl]

I swear I thought this was photoshopped at first but it’s real! I’m missing them so much rn (especially a certain someone missing from this photo)

[skygirlstars]

Star Wars girl dads you will ALWAYS be famous to me <3

[shieldmaiden-tabris]

Omega believed in him.

Hunter believed in him.

So when it mattered most, Crosshair's hand didn't shake.

[neyswxrld]

memories

Bad Batch Family (no pairing(except Phee and Tech))

summary: Omega makes her brothers a present that is full of their favorite memories.

warnings: none, it's just fluff

word count: ~1250

advent calendar masterlist

a/n: this is the twenty fourth fic for my advent calendar! i hope you enjoy! merry christmas to everyone who is celebrating today already!

i also found this lovely piece of art by @blazedeclipse of omega playing with her camera a few weeks ago, and it was so cute and somewhat fitting that i have to show it to everyone!

It's been a few months since they were finally able to settle down on the quiet and peaceful island. The stress from the war and its aftermath has slowly disappeared. At first, Omega's brothers were a little lost. Nobody knew what to do, now that they finally had time for themselves, without any missions or shady jobs to gain a handful of credits.

It took a while for all of them to gain a foothold and live their new lives. Wrecker managed to help the people where he could and became a valued member of Pabu's society. He also discovered his passion for cooking and was making the best meals for them.

Tech finally had time to reinforce his relationship with Phee and had fun with teaching people different things about everything.

While trying to get accustomed to this new place and people, Hunter slowly but surely let his walls fall and laid down his role as the strong leader. He became the best father figure Omega could have ever imagined.

But Echo and Crosshair didn't manage that well at first. While Echo was restless and antsy, trying to be useful in every way, Crosshair had a very hard time. He was sad, and angry, and at the same time his guilt was eating him up alive.

It took both of them a lot of time to finally adjust to their new lives.

And Omega? She was just happy. She finally had the family she ever wanted. She lived with her brothers in a small house. She could visit her friends whenever she wanted. She simply felt good. She wasn't scared or troubled anymore. Just happy.

Months passed by and she collected countless memories and experiences. Memories, she never wanted to forget.

Because of that, she had begged Tech countless times to make her goggles just like his, so she also could record everything.

The Problem was, that she didn't need any glasses. Her eyes worked perfectly fine. So Tech decided to make a small device that had the same functions as his goggles and gave it to her about a year ago.

Since that moment, she took the small holo-recoder with her everywhere she went.

She took pictures of the sea and the nature, of animals, of her and Lyana, of Wrecker and how he proudly holds up a new meal he made, Tech and Phee laughing, Hunter when he was sleeping on the hammock in the garden, Crosshair scowling at Hunter, Echo smiling shyly and of herself.

With the time, she collected picture over picture. Some of them, she had printed out and put them on her wall.

But she wanted to share those pictures and memories. It just was right on time, when Phee was talking about some festivities called Christmas and about traditions. Watching holo movies, eating cookies, meeting with loved ones, and presents.

She immediately knew what she wanted to give her brothers for this special day.

On the same day, she sat down and decided so make a photo album for them. Over the next few weeks, she planned, printed more pictures, glued them in a small empty book she bought from the market and decorated every page in its own style.

Hunter even got a little worried because she was in her room so much and didn't let anyone of them in. But well, it should be a surprise, right? 

After about three weeks of hard work, she finally finishes the album and proudly holds the thick book to her chest. Christmas was going to be amazing.

When the said holiday finally comes around, she already wakes up with the biggest smile on her lips. For a small second, she is scared that maybe her brothers won't like her present, but as soon as her eyes fly to the finished photo album, all her worries fade away. They will love it as much as she loves it!

The whole day is like Phee described it already. They watch classic Christmas movies in the afternoon and eat some of the baked goods she brought around.

After some time, Wrecker gets up to start cooking. Here and there, one of them helps him and after about two hours they eat dinner.

She's a little bit absent. Her mind is mostly occupied with the photo album. When Hunter notices and asks if she's okay, she just nods, too tense to speak. She doesn't notice how Echo and Hunter exchange a quick, concerned glance, seriously worried by now.

The rest of the meal is relatively quiet and everyone is savoring the unbelievably delicious food on their plate. When all of them are done, they clean up the table and the kitchen together.

When they're finally finished, Omega decides that now is the right time.

"I have something for you," she says, her voice thin and shaky.

Before anyone can say a thing, Omega runs up to her room, grabs the wrapped book and soon after, she is standing next to her brothers again.

"A gift?" Wrecker asks excited when he sees the colorful paper.

All the attention lies on her now. Everyone is watching her as she comes closer and places it on the table.

"Yes, I- I- thought... That maybe you'll like it," she nods, sliding it towards them.

While the others are a little unsure and don't know what to say at first, Wrecker is all excited. He grabs the present and before anyone can protest, he already rips the paper away, gasping as he gets a good look at what's inside.

"A book?" he questions, looking over at her.

"A photo album," she corrects, but nods.

Wrecker's eyes get big.

"I thought... Well, Phee talked about Christmas gifts and I wanted to give you something back because you care for me so much. I care too. And... this is a small thank you for everything you do for me," she says quietly, looking around all of them.

All of them look a bit confused at first, before understanding settles in their eyes. When she finishes, she feels proud of herself and when she interprets Hunter's face right, he is too.

"Come over here," Echo is the first one to break the silence. When she reaches him, he lays his arms around her.

"Thank you so much, Omega. This is very kind of you," he tells her, stroking through her short hair.

All of them say their thanks in their own way. Whether it's a silent nod and a pat on her shoulder by Crosshair, the red glint on Tech's face as she tells him that the pictures are taken with his holo-recorder or Wrecker's bear hug. Hunter is the last one that pulls her close.

"Thank you," he whispers in her hair, before pulling her down on a chair next to him. "Let's give it a look on the inside!"

Said and done.

In the next hour, they're sitting huddled together at the dinner table and look at all the different pictures.

They laugh, and smile and retell different stories they remember when they see pictures.

Phee went to clean the last few dishes as soon as Omega came around with the present. When she finishes, she quietly sits down with them, enjoying their conversations. She keeps in the background, not wanting to disturb their family moment. They still have too less of them, in her opinion, and seeing all of them so happy and careless warms her heart.

TAGLIST:

@isthereanechoinhere96 @trixie2023 @freesia-writes

[131-vr]

I'm in the Hunter needs to sleep Clan.

Everytime I draw something like this i'm Cracking up while i post it, Its kinda stupid.

[cherrirui-official]

"You know... You didn't have to take that with you."

"But I promised him I'd take him out to see the ocean one day."

[the-good-batch]

THE WAY IT KEEPS BEING MILKED BY TBB CREATORS/VIEWERS HOW DARK THE SECOND HALF OF SEASON THREE WILL BE IT CONCERNS ME

[alligatorpie1945]

Manifesting.

I just want a happy ending, PLEASE.

(Also Echo isnt here because he and Rex are just off screen happy that one more clone could be saved)

(Also Also, I just couldn't see him willingly hug anyone, besides Omega. I dont really see Hunter and Cross doing that either, but Tech was their Batchmate, so I'd imagine they would make an exception.)