melliejellybellybean - Tumblr blog

melliejellybellybean · 13 days

Text

Thank you! The interrogation was my favorite part to write!

It's a Tradition, Right?

Wrecker/Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3.5k

Warnings: none really? does accidentally written miscommunication need a warning???

Food is the way to a man like Wrecker's heart. When his favorite Pabu resident surprises him with his favorite snack after a mission, he just can't help but confess to her. But is it really the picture perfect confession he imagined?

I am back! Once again participating in an amazing @cloneficgiftexchange organized by @ghostofskywalker.

This particular fic is written for @hunterscyarika with the prompts, "I'm falling in love with you" and "You're always on my mind." I really hope you love it! Wrecker was, surprisingly, the hardest clone I've written for so far, and I really hope I did him justice. Without further ado, I present to you: Wrecker's Guide on How to NOT Confess to Someone.

Well, if you squint your eyes and tilt your head, maybe it does look like the holo Omega showed you. The colors are a little off, and you lost count when you were measuring out the sugar, but that’s not what really matters. As long as it tastes like Omega and Wrecker’s beloved mantell mix. As long as you get to see one of Wrecker’s brilliant smiles when he tries it.

Pabu was one of the most special places in the galaxy. A paradise comprised of so many people from so many systems and cultures coming together in a perfect blend of peace and harmony. Even when tragedy strikes, like the sea surge a year ago, it provides an opportunity for the community to grow closer as a unit. It also provided you with an opportunity to meet the group of clones that called themselves the Bad Batch.

You volunteered to help distribute blankets and other emergency supplies immediately following the surge, and your curiosity about the newcomers led you to approach the two little girls and one much larger man who fell asleep against the trunk of a large tree. You first placed a blanket around the two girls, then turned to the man and stopped short. He was gorgeous. Everything about his physique showcased the dangerous weapon that he was designed to be, but the way he laid there, entirely open and vulnerable, made you think there was so much more below the surface for him. He must’ve sensed your stare because he shifted and opened his eyes a bit, startling you out of your trance. You quickly tossed two blankets on him, only hesitating once before tossing one more for good measure and hastily walked off to hand out more blankets.

You were perfectly content to leave your interactions with the clone and his sister at that, with you hopelessly pining from a distance while he was blissfully unaware of your existence. That plan lasted for about 12 hours, when the very next morning, the two clones waltzed right back into your life to help you distribute supplies. The girl cheerfully introduced herself as Omega and her brother as Wrecker while he effortlessly swooped up the box of rations that you had been struggling with just a minute before. The pair bonded quickly with you, and before long you found yourself thinking of them as your closest friends on Pabu.

The time you spent with Wrecker did nothing to help your crush on him, and the time you spent apart helped even less. So, while the Batch was out with Phee on another adventure of liberating ancient wonders, you were stuck replaying your last interaction with Omega and Wrecker in your head.

“It was a tradition on Ord Mantell.” Omega explained, “After every mission, we’d head straight to the mantell mix stand.”

“I would do anything to have one last carton.” Wrecker reminisced.

The spark in his eye was the thing that stuck with you the most. You wanted to see him with that look of pure adoration and happiness again. That desire led you to manically interview anyone you possibly could on Pabu for information about this mantell mix. None of Pabu’s current residents had come from Ord Mantell, and those that had visited it at one time or another were equally unhelpful. Eventually, you grew desperate enough to comm Echo, and after he scolded you for using his hyper encrypted comm channel for something as low priority as a mantell mix recipe, he was able to provide a really good description of the snack. Echo had been to many systems and planets during his time in the 501st, so eventually he was able to relate mantell mix to another type of sweet popped corn that you had eaten.

Once you knew the basic principle of mantell mix, you were able to find ingredients and start attempting to recreate it easily enough. It took an embarrassing amount of batches to have a product that you were semi-happy with, and even now if you had more time, you would likely try it again. But Omega had commed you earlier that day to tell you that they would be arriving back to Pabu in a few hours, so this batch was as best as it would get. The corn wasn’t completely or evenly covered by the syrup, and the slightly grainy texture of the syrup made you think that you may have added too much sugar after you lost count, but a glance at your chrono let you know that you were running out of time. You hurriedly scooped some mantell mix into little cartons that looked somewhat similar to the ones in the holo, it had taken you an entire day to hunt those down, and set off to the top of Pabu’s mountain to wait for their ship to touch down.

Pabu was a small island, and word must have caught that the Batch and Phee would be arriving today because there was already a small crowd forming when you got to the top of the mountain. Excited children were accompanied by their curious parents waited to hear the stories of this latest adventure, while young scholars and old historians gathered to see what ancient treasure Phee had tracked down this time. Once the ship landed, and the landing ramp descended, it seemed as though every person in the crowd was holding their breath. Eventually, Hunter stepped out of the ship, followed by Phee and Tech, then Omega, and finally, Wrecker. Some people in the crowd approached them with their questions about the journey, and many parents had to physically restrain their children from piling onto Wrecker, but you decided to stay put. If this mantell mix thing ended up going south, you’d rather have a smaller crowd of witnesses. You were currently holding the two cartons behind your back, your hands slightly shaking, and taking some deep calming breaths. What if the mantell mix brought back bad memories of Ord Mantell? You had never been able to hear the whole story of how the Batch ended up on Pabu, not that it was your business. What if you get their hopes up and then they’re crushed with disappointment over your attempt at recreating their favorite snack?

But what if it went right? What if the surprise makes Wrecker’s face light up with that beautiful smile that you secretly hoped was only for you? What if he realizes that you’ve been here all along, hoping for the day that he’ll pick you up and twirl you around and-

Your embarrassing daydream is cut off by the sound of someone shouting your name. Looking up, you see a large figure, in gray and yellow armor, coming at you full speed with his arms spread wide for a hug. You come to your bearings, just fast enough to dodge out of the way, worried that his bear hug would crush the two cartons in your hands.

His smile dips in confusion for just a second, but you greet him before he’s able to dwell on your aversion for too long, “Wrecker! How was the trip?”

“Oh, you know, the usual.” Wrecker smirks, “Weird alien thing attacked us, Tech almost crashed, but Phee got her ugly vase, so our record is still perfect!”

You laughed, his carefree attitude helping lift some of your nerves, as always. “Was it a hot desert planet or a swampy humid one this time?”

“Neither! It had these nice grassy hills and mountains, and the weather was perfect.” Wrecker glanced down at you for a second, “I think you’d really like it, we’ll have to go back one day and maybe even have a picnic.”

Your brain short-circuited at the thought of having a picnic in a grassy field with Wrecker, but before you could ask who “we” entailed, exactly, someone shouted “Boo!” and jumped out from behind you.

Starting, you whirled around, “Omega! How long were you standing behind me?!”

“Only for a bit.” Omega answered, in between her laughs, “Wrecker almost gave me away, but I signaled for him to be quiet.”

You turned towards the older clone, a brow raised, but noticed that he hadn’t been listening to your conversation. His eyes were glued to your hands, which were miraculously still holding onto the two cartons.

“Oh.” You backed up so both clones were in front of you and brought your hands out from behind your back, “Um, I remember you guys talking about mantell mix a few weeks ago, and I got really curious about it so… I did a lot of research, and talked to some people, most of which were not helpful, but I guess that’s expected. You would be shocked at how few people there are on Pabu that have been to Ord Mantell, and I think I still owe Echo and Rex an apology. But I think I got it right, or at least I hope so, I’ve never had it, so taste tests were pretty useless, but-” You cut off your rambling, took a deep breath, and held out the cartons, “It’s a tradition, right?”

You were met with silence as five wide-eyed faces stared back at you. Apparently, in your rambling, you hadn’t noticed the two other members of the Bad Batch approach along with Phee. You only had a beat to start regretting all of your life choices, before everything exploded. Omega snatched the cartons out of your hands, thanking you over and over. Hunter sighed and rubbed his face, likely imagining the sugar high Omega he’d need to deal with later, but thanked you as well after seeing how happy she was. Tech began asking question after question about your research methods into Ord Mantell snacking culture and what other planets had similar treats and how they differed from other planets he had researched.

You could hardly keep up with answering the questions and accepting the thanks and giving Hunter apologetic smiles every once in a while, when Phee interceded, “All right, this is exciting, but we do have things we need to finish up. Hunter, didn’t you say something about dropping off those crates by the docks? And Omega, I think Lyana’s been looking for you. I’m going to drop off this vase in the Archium, in case anyone wants to join me.” Hunter and Omega split off to their forgotten tasks. On her way past you, Phee gave you one last sly smirk and a wink before heading off with Tech trailing behind her, his face buried in his datapad.

That left you alone, once again, with Wrecker. You noticed that his mantell mix sat untouched in its carton, and your nerves returned full force. Slowly, he picked up a piece and put it in his mouth. His composure melted, and he looked up at you with a blinding smile. There’s that spark.

He ate two more pieces and hummed in satisfaction. “I’m falling in love with you. This is perfect.”

“Oh thank you.” You answered, before fully registering his first sentence to you. You froze, but he just continued to eat his snack. You blinked, “It took more attempts than I’d like to admit.”

“Do you have leftovers from those? I’ll eat them too.” Wrecker spoke casually, like he hadn’t uttered anything about his feelings for you.

“Um, yeah, a bit.” You desperately tried to keep up with the conversation, even though you were internally screaming. “I can bring some over, if you’d like?”

“That’d be great. Oh! I didn’t even notice,” Your heart stopped as he sheepishly looked up, “I was supposed to help Hunter with those crates, I hope he’s not mad.”

He quickly ate the rest of the mantell mix, then turned to rush off. If he bid you goodbye properly, you didn’t notice. You were too busy lost in your thoughts. The rest of the day went by in a blur. The entire mantell mix fiasco took up most of your mind, and the words “I’m falling in love with you” replayed over and over.

“That’s enough!” You snapped to yourself as you laid in bed that night. “You’re being ridiculous. It just slipped out. It doesn’t mean anything. It changes nothing.” And for the first time, your mind went quiet. Of course. Wrecker was friendly and loud. He’s very loving to everyone. In the heat of the moment, with the shock of the surprise, the words slipped out. He didn’t even notice. It was an accident.

But what if it wasn’t?

Groaning, you rolled over, not knowing how you’d sleep tonight.

…

Wrecker slept great that night.

His dreams were full of sugary mantell mix and beautiful smiles, both of which made him think of you. Not that he was complaining. Thinking of you was his favorite pastime.

“Wrecker, it’s time to go.”

Unfortunately, Wrecker hadn’t had a good chance to see you since he confessed two weeks ago.

“Wrecker, don’t make me say it again.”

Whenever you both happened to be in the same general area, one of you was being rushed off in some direction and the most you could spare was a wave to acknowledge the other’s presence.

“Wrecker! Can you hear me?”

But Wrecker finally had an afternoon free, and no matter how busy you were, he was determined to steal you away, even if only for a moment.

“Wrecker!” Hunter finally burst into Wrecker’s room. “The garden fence isn’t going to fix itself. Stop daydreaming about your girlfriend, get off your shebs, and come help me.”

“Sorry, Hunter.” Wrecker finished putting on his boot and stood to follow Hunter out of the room.

Hunter nodded in satisfaction, starting to turn around. “Wait a minute.” He whirled back to face Wrecker and shoved his chest. Wrecker, caught off guard, fell back to a sitting position on his bed again. “You didn’t correct me.”

“Huh?” Wrecker tried to stand up again, but was only shoved back down.

“You didn’t correct me.” Hunter pulled a chair up and sat on it backwards, his crossed forearms resting on the back. “Every single time I call that girl your girlfriend, you correct me. But not this time. So what did you do?”

Looking towards the doorway, Wrecker attempted to avoid his brother’s squinted gaze, but only met an identical one from Tech, who had heard the commotion and curiously wandered by. “I, uh…” Wrecker brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “I told her how I felt.”

He shrugged and tried once more to stand up, but one look at Hunter’s face told him that this conversation was not done.

“And?” Hunter pressed. “What did she say?”

“What do you mean?”

“He wants the details, Wrecker.” Tech sighed from the doorway, where he made himself comfortable leaning on the frame. “How did the conversation go?”

“In exact words.” Hunter ordered.

“Well, it was the day she gave Omega and I the mantell mix. And I told her I was falling in love with her.” A subconscious smile grew on Wrecker’s face as he remembered how enchanting you looked that day, with the sun setting behind you in Pabu’s sky. Then, for Hunter’s benefit, he added. “Oh, and that the mantell mix was perfect.”

Frustrated, Hunter snapped his fingers in front of Wrecker’s face. “What. Did. She. Say?”

“Uh,” Wrecker shook his head, “she said, ‘Thank you’.”

“I don’t care about what she said about the mantell mix!” Hunter snapped.

“Wrecker,” Tech interrupted before Hunter resorted to violence, “What was her response to your confession? Are the two of you romantically involved in a relationship now?”

“Well, yeah! I told her I loved her!”

“Yes, and what did she say?”

“She said, ‘Thank you’!” Now all three brothers were frustrated.

“Okay.” Hunter took a deep breath. “Forget the garden fence, Tech and I can handle it. I think you need to go talk to your girlfriend.”

Tech sputtered some protests about his busy day and the plans he had later that were ruined now, thanks Wrecker, but those were largely ignored.

Wrecker was more than a little confused, but he didn’t need to be told twice to spend time with you. He found you in the market, inspecting some produce from a nearby stall.

You turned when he called your name, and this time, you weren’t quick enough to sidestep his hug. “Good morning, cyare.” He muttered into your ear.

“Hey,” You greeted, “I didn’t expect to see you this morning. I heard something about a garden fence?”

“Nah, Hunter’s got that taken care of.” Wrecker pulled back from the hug to look at you, but he kept his arms firmly wrapped around you.

You both stood there for an awkward second. Wrecker looking at you in contentment and you at him in mild confusion. “Did you… need something?”

“Do I need a reason to come visit my girlfriend?” Wrecker asked.

Your eyes widened. “Your what?”

It was Wrecker’s turn to be mildly confused. “Yeah? Is something wrong?” His grip had loosened enough for you to step out of it.

“I just… I didn’t know…” You shook your head, trying to ignore the feeling of your heart breaking. “I’m happy for you, she must be a lucky girl.”

Wrecker looked at you for a bit before bursting out laughing. “Oh, I get it. You’re messing with me. That’s a good one, really had me going!”

“What are you talking about?” You crossed your arms, “You didn’t tell me you got a girlfriend.”

Wrecker blinked. “But you’re my girlfriend.”

“I’m what?!” You scoffed. “Since when?”

Wrecker’s smile started slowly slipping away, “Since I got back from that mission… for Phee’s ugly vase? Two weeks ago?”

“Were you planning on telling me?” You raised a brow.

“I did! When you gave me the mantell mix!”

The words that have been haunting you for the past two weeks rang through your mind. “I’m falling in love with you.”

Your jaw dropped. “I thought you were joking.”

“Why would I joke about that?” Wrecker asked, shocked.

“Because you joke a lot!” You defended, “Because you didn’t wait for me to respond and you didn’t bring it up again. I thought you weren’t serious.”

“You did respond! I told you I was in love with you and you said-” Wrecker stopped. You said “Thank you” for his compliment to your mantell mix. And then he had to leave to help Hunter. You never did respond to his confession. “Oh…”

He looked at you. Your eyes were glued to the ground, your arms crossed in front of you. Taking a step toward you, lifting your chin so your gaze met his. “I’m so sorry. I was so excited about getting to tell you how I felt that I didn’t even let you answer.”

“It wasn’t your fault.” You stepped towards him this time, “I mean, it was a chaotic day for everyone.”

“Yeah.” Wrecker cleared his throat. “I’m still really sorry about this mix-up. You probably had a lot on your mind that day, and you probably don’t feel the same, so I’ll just be going now.”

You grabbed his hands before he could turn away. “You’re always on my mind.”

This time your confession left Wrecker speechless. So you continued. “I think about you all the time, and when you told me you loved me, I really hoped that you were serious. But then we didn’t see each other and when we did you acted like everything was normal, but I didn’t want it to be normal. I still don’t want it to be normal.”

Then that smile crept onto Wrecker’s face. The one that accompanied that gorgeous spark in his eyes. “So is that an ‘I’m falling in love with you too’? And an ‘I’ll go out with you’?”

“I’m falling in love with you too.” You responded, finally, “And going out with you depends. Will you actually ask me this time?”

“Will you go out with me?” He asked, finally.

“I’d love to.” You leaned in to place a small kiss on his cheek, but Wrecker had other plans. He turned his face, catching your lips with his at the last moment. Neither of you felt particularly motivated to pull back immediately, but when you did, it was accompanied by relieved laughs and loving glances.

…

Omega was getting spoiled. She knew that, at any moment, she could visit your house and you’d have a supply of mantell mix ready for her. She also knew that, at any moment, she could mention visiting you and Wrecker would be more than happy to join her in her sneaking mission. However, she noticed that he never joined her in enjoying the mantell mix spoils, which was unlike him. Whenever she offered him some, he just smiled at you and said, “I’ve already got my prize.”

For Wrecker, eating mantell mix on Ord Mantell gave him something to look forward to. It always meant that the mission was over and he was home with his family. On Pabu, he didn’t need to eat mantell mix to feel at home, he just had to look at you.

Of course, you still greeted him and Omega after missions with a carton of mantell mix, and of course, he ate it then. You made it for him. And it was a tradition, wasn’t it?

63 notes · View notes

melliejellybellybean · 13 days

Text

PLEASE let me know if you turn it into a series!!!

Aim For The Heart

Summary: In an attempt to make yourself feel more useful with your crew of protectors you attempt to learn how to shoot a rifle. Crosshair is not impressed with your attempts, but he does offer some pointers and even maybe something more…

Character: Crosshair and F!reader (no use of Y/N)

Word Count: 2,564

Warnings: Use of a rifle (probably poorly) some kissing and gentle fluff at the end!

A/N: This is entry for the incredible secret gift exchange hosted by @cloneficgiftexchange thank you so much for doing these and giving me a reason to finally write again. I have never gotten to write for any of the Bad Batch boys and I was super excited to do this prompt. It definitely took me out of my comfort zone, but I took a risk and tried something new for the wonderful @melliejellybellybean. I hope you enjoy this silly little piece as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, any comments or reblogs with your thoughts are appreciated.

“What are you doing Cyar’ika?” Came a voice smooth as silk behind you making you wince as you froze and squeezed your eyes closed. Slowly moving your hands off the rifle you had been balancing on the rocky outcropping you’d managed to drag it to while waiting for the others to return from their scouting mission.

Flashing your brightest smile, you turned to the tall, lean sniper currently glowering down at you. A toothpick pressed firmly between his lips as he quirked an eyebrow in your direction. Waiting for your answer to the question you realized.

“Would you believe me if I said that this was an accident?” you managed to get out weakly.

Crosshair shot you a look that reminded you very much of the Shriek Hawks you’d been fascinated with as a child. All dangerous power wrapped in a concentrated glare.

“No,” he said smoothly. “I would not.” He took a step closer to you. “So why don’t you try again. What are you doing out here?”

You swallowed thickly as he met your gaze. Your traitorous tongue laying like a stone in your mouth, unable to come up with an answer that wouldn’t make you seem like some kind of stalker.

“I just wanted to see how it worked,” you admitted finally. Your eyes falling to your boots as you kicked at a pink pebble. Watching it and hoping the bright sun hid away your blush.

“Why?” Crosshair asked again. You watched his armored feet walk closer to you but kept your gaze down at your feet. “You’re not a soldier like us. Just the daughter of a senator who’s always had people looking out for her. Even now.”

His voice was closer now and you could hear your heart beating against your ribs, blood rushing in your ears. His voice was almost soft when he spoke again. Close enough you were sure if you looked up now his eyes would drown you.

“So I’m going to ask again… why did you take the rifle?”

Because you always look so handsome using it, you thought. Because I’ve never seen such violence and such grace handled so easily in one set of hands. Because you are a mystery wrapped in an enigma and I just wanted to try to understand it. Because I wanted to impress you. Because I wanted to be more than what I am. Because….

“I just wanted to see if I could do it,” you blurt out. Suddenly wanting to be very far away from the rifle, this planet’s strange scenery, and the clone who made your heartbeat stutter and made you question everything you thought you knew.

Wiping your sweaty palms on the outside of your loose-fitting pants you let out a long sigh and turn your back on Crosshair. Choosing to take in the sprawling jungle that stretched out in the valley below the rocky cliff where the two of you were standing instead of his face.

Flowers bloomed on nearly all the trees, and you heard the calls of unfamiliar birds and animals. Even if you had more or less crashed here on your way to Kamino you couldn’t deny the beauty here. Maybe if this had been any other time you might have suggested exploring some, but the war had made such simple pleasures a rare occurrence. It’s how you’d ended up here anyways. With Crosshair and the rest of his brothers. Kidnapped by pirates working for the Separatist’s your father had spared no expense, and called in every favor he could to get the very best men to find you. The very best men it seemed, were Clone Force 99. Though you thought the best of them was the Sniper who had captured your attention since the moment he’d pulled you from your cell with a sarcastic quip and a firm hold on your arm.

You shook your head to get rid of the memories. You still weren’t home thanks to being pursued and chased by the same pirates and at this rate you weren’t ever going to see home again. That was another reason you’d wanted to try the rifle. You weren’t a skilled soldier, or really any type of fighter at all. You could handle a blaster if it was an absolute emergency but that was it. You hated feeling useless and yet more often than not you sat in the Marauder, strapped to a chair while the others fought their way out of a situation. More often than not you found yourself pressed against Crosshair’s back while he aimed perfect shot after perfect shot to keep you safe. Grumbling about your inability to protect yourself but always being he first volunteer to watch you. Like now.

“Well, I guess I’ll just head back. I’m sorry I took—” you started. Turning back to face him yet still unable to meet his piercing gaze. You never did get to finish your sentence though.

“You weren’t holding it right,” he said certainly. Your eyes shot up to his but he’s looking down at where the rifle is still propped up on the boulder. “Your elbows are too wide, and you’ll never get a steady shot with your stance as unbalanced as it is.”

“Oh,” you said. Half disappointed and half surprised that he was being so calm about all this. “Well, I—”

“Get into position again,” he ordered.

You blinked at him. Startled and frozen as you stared at him until he met your gaze, and you closed your mouth. Whatever protest you had been about to say dying in your throat. Your legs moving before your mind had finished agreeing. Adjusting your stance a little as you tried to mirror what you thought his own stance looked like. Making the adjustment of tucking your elbows against your body more and spreading your knee out wider to create a larger base of support. You didn’t feel very balanced like this but then again, you could also feel the warmth of Crosshair’s body close to your own and that might have been what was making you off balanced. Your fingers trembling as you gripped the hand guard on the barrel and the placed your finger on the outside of the trigger guard, so you didn’t shoot until you were good and ready. The butt of the riffle rested harshly against your shoulder, but you didn’t mind the bite of it.

Crosshair moved closer behind you and tapped your knee with his foot to make it closer. You felt him kneel behind you, mirroring your stance, his arms coming around you to rest on your own as wrapped his hands over yours.

“Breathe Cyar’ika,” he whispered. His lips brushing your ear as the words made you shiver despite yourself. Your breath hitched and you could swear you felt him smirk behind you. “Line up the scope. Aim for that log over there, four clicks out.”

You followed where he pointed with his hand before closing one eye and lining up your shot. The sun was low and if someone had been standing in front of you the shadow cast from the scope’s crosshairs would have given you a matching tattoo to the man behind you.

His hands made small adjustments to your own. The calluses rubbing against the back of your hand as you tried to reax and breath normally. Impossible when goosebumps were already racing up and down your mostly covered skin from the contact with his. The sun having nothing to do with the blush you prayed to the maker he couldn’t see.

“Breathe,” he ordered again. “Take your time and line up your shot to the smallest part of the target.”

“Why?” you squeaked. Cursing the way, it made Crosshair turn his head closer to your ear. His silken voice speaking even lower as he explained.

“Aim small, miss small,” he said. “Precision comes with time. If you aim for the smallest part of whatever you want to hit and you miss, which you likely will, you may still hit it anyways. Just a little off center. If you aim for the largest spot and miss, then your shot will go wide.”

You supposed that made sense, but it was really hard to focus when he readjusted himself to be right behind your head so you could line up your shot in the scope without him knocking into you. His breath moved your hair and his hands slid down your arms to rest at your tucked embows.

“Just take your time,” he whispered. “You’ve got all the time in the world. Breath in when you aim, breathe out when you fire. Nice and easy. Just take your time. Drown out the distraction around you. There is nothing but you and the target.”

And you, you thought. I’ll never be able to drown you out. Doing as he asked you found a tiny knot on the log through the scoped and breathed in, steadying your hands, and slipping your finger to rest over the trigger as you prepared to fire. Mouthing his words as he continued to whisper then in your ear.

You fired. Jerking back a little into his slid jest from the recoil of the rifle but keeping your eye through the scope as you looked for your shot and—

“I did it! It hit!” You cheered loudly. Spinning in his arms you released the rifle and threw your arms around his neck. “Did you see that?! Thank you, thank you!”

If Crosshair hesitated a moment before lightly hugging you back, you were too excited to notice. You did notice the smirk when you pulled away, and you certainly noticed the fact he was no longer holding the toothpick in his lips.

“You did good Cyar’ika,” he said. Standing and pulling you up with him. “Not exactly a bullseye but it will do for now.”

“Thank you, Crosshair,” you said as you watched him pick up and clear your rifle with the same graceful hands you found yourself admiring all the time. “Not just for this, I mean for everything since you found me. I know I’m not a soldier and I don’t make this very easy on any of you but….” You looked away and fell into step beside him. “I don’t mean to get in the way I just want to help. That’s all I was doing before I was kidnapped too just…. Just trying to make a difference.”

Crosshair was silent for a moment. You watched his handsome face crease with thought. Shoving your hands in your jacket pocket to resist rubbing your finger between his eyes and teasing him about working out the crease there. Silence made you uncomfortable so you looked ahead to where you could see your waiting ship and continued right on talking.

“Maybe it was silly to think I could do anything about any of this but, I had to try you know? I want to fight to protect myself, to protect these worlds that are being torn apart by a war none of them asked for. There has to be something better then all this, but I don’t ever want to feel like a burden to you or your brothers. I don’t want to keep hiding on the ship when—”

“Oh, Maker, would you stop,” Crosshair said with a sigh. Readjusting the rifle on his shoulder as you looked up at him with a half-formed question on your lips. A question that was quickly shut down by his hands rising up to cup your cheeks and his lips pressing to yours.

The kiss was soft and sweet and so utterly surprising that it took you a second to kiss him back. Hands sliding to his waist and resting against the sun warmed armor he wore there. He kissed with the same efficient and deadly grace he shot with. It left you breathless and startled when he pulled away.

“What was—” you tried to ask but he shook his head. The sun casting warm light through his honey amber eyes that did make it easier to stop talking and just stare into their depths.

“You’re right, you’re not a soldier, but you are not a burden to us,” he started. “You make Wrecker laugh so loud the ship shakes after any mission that weighs too heavily on his shoulders; and always buy him a snack whenever we go somewhere even if we’ve just eaten. You listen to Tech ramble on about whatever he’s interested in without complaining once, and you ask questions and pay attention enough to talk about it later too. You are always first to volunteer to hand Echo tools or go over maps with him long after everyone else has gone to bed. You are extra quiet around Hunter, always ensuring you find us paths through cities that will overwhelm his senses the least. You help my brothers in ways no one else has ever done. You look at us like we’re people and not… experiments or property.”

Tears pricked your eyes as you listened to him speak. You’d never noticed any of that before. Never thought they noticed either. You weren’t trying to be different, you just wanted to help take care of them, and you saw the way they got treated by most of the people you met. It wasn’t right, or fair. You just loved them all and wanted them to know you appreciated what they did. You loved them all nearly equally.

“What do I do for you?” you whispered out. Hands still gripping his waist as you felt his thumbs brush along your cheeks.

He paused as his eyes studied yours for a moment. A small, real smile forming on his face, and for just half a second you were almost sure he blushed.

“You give me something to fight for,” he said gently. Softer than you’d ever heard him speak before.

“I’m…not sure I understand,” you replied. Wanting to look away but being unable to.

Instead of clarifying he leaned down and kissed you again. Pulling away just as quickly as before and leaving you even more weak kneed and breathless.

“Does that answer your question?” He was smirking again, and you could not help but laugh yourself.

“Maybe… I think I may need to have a follow up lesson and explanation just to be sure.”

Now it was his turn to laugh and by the Maker it was the best sound you thought you’ ever heard. You’d fall flat on your face if it meant you could hear that sound over and over again.

“I think we can arrange that,” he said. Stepping back and flipping another toothpick into his mouth as he started walking away again. Leaving you to keep up with his longer strides. “Next time we’ll take my Firepuncher for you to practice with.”

“Really?”

He shot you a wink over his shoulder. “Just don’t tell the others.”

You could do that. Grinning you hurried to catch up and looped your arm through his as you walked. Your heart still racing and your body still buzzing from the ghost of his kiss that lingered on your lips. You could hear the others calling out for you and Crosshair pulled his arm from yours but let you stay close to him.

Baby steps, you thought.

48 notes · View notes

melliejellybellybean · 13 days

Text

Thank you so much! That means more to me than you could ever know!!