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crosshairlovebot · 29 days

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you good? / crosshair x gn!reader

pairing: crosshair x gn!reader (no y/n). reader has a nickname.

description: crosshair returns to you on shore leave to find you unwell, so he takes care of you.

word count: 2,521

needed to write a crosshair version of the hunter one i did. i love him so much i can't even talk about it properly. hope this brings comfort to anyone who's reading and sick. you deserve a gentle crosshair looking after you.

also posted this on ao3. feedback is welcomed, reblogs are appreciated.

Crosshair had intended to use his unexpected shore leave to surprise you. To knock on your door and see you light up at the sight of him. That feeling always made him warm inside, to see you happy that he was standing in front of you. He relished in the feel of your arms being thrown around his shoulders and wrapping him tightly. He could live inside your arms if the galaxy let him. His chest would expand with contentment when you would gush about how happy you were to see him, knowing that happiness was not only in response to no longer being alone in your cold, quiet Coruscanti apartment, but also the knowledge that he was okay, and safe, and alive in a war that only seemed to become more endless as the fighting went on.

Crosshair would let you fuss over him, give him real food, let him have a warm shower before you would both fall into bed together, wrapped in each other’s arms – feeling like he had never left. It was easy to pretend he was just a man when he was alone with you. To get lost in the normalcy of sharing a home. You’d both play pretend for as long as you could before the inevitable end of his all too brief shore leave would sneak up on you both, and he would be shipped out again, for who knew how long with only infrequent comms for both your comforts.

He had been looking forward to the familiar routine of his shore leave, to seeing your entire body lift once you opened the door to him, but those hopes were dashed when he knocked on the door and you opened it, blanket wrapped around your shoulders like a cloak, sniffly and half-closed eyes.

“Crosshair,” you croaked, excitement clear in your voice before you began coughing into your blanket. “You’re home.”

“Ca’tra,” Crosshair breathed as he took in the sight of you, concern immediately spiking inside him. “You’re sick.”

“It’s nothing,” you brushed off, sniffling and stepping aside so Crosshair could enter the apartment. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“It’s not nothing,” Crosshair scolded as he watched you press the close button on the door and shuffle into your tiny living room without even hugging him like you usually do.

You had made a bed on the couch, full of pillows and other blankets. The holo was on and playing some movie he didn’t recognise. You sat down, making a sound that made it sound like walking and standing had been a big effort for you. He shrugged off his pack and placed it by the door before he moved to crouch in front of you, hands on your knees.

“How long?” he asked, looking at you.

You tried breathing in, but your nose was blocked. “Was feeling a little off yesterday but woke up today feeling much worse.”

Crosshair stood up and he watched your neck crane up to follow his gaze. He placed one hand under your chin and the back of the other against your forehead. You were warm, but not feverish. With the coughing and sneezing, it must just be a bad cold. He knew you didn’t take much time to relax, usually opting to keep busy to distract yourself from his absence. He guessed it was all catching up with you, the exhaustion manifesting itself into sickness.

“Have you been to a med droid?” Crosshair smoothed a hand over your hair in a gesture so soft, that on a regular day, he would’ve watched you close your eyes and smile in response. Instead, you barely reacted before pulling away gently.

You were more unwell than you were letting on.

“Too expensive. Too much effort,” you coughed before letting yourself fall on your side, head hitting one of the many pillows as you groaned.

Crosshair watched you, crease in his brow. He sat down on the caf table, elbows on his knees. “Tell me what hurts.”

You huffed and curled yourself into a ball. “Throat. Head. I’m so tired.”

Crosshair looked at an empty plate on the floor next to the couch. “Have you eaten?”

You breathed through your mouth, rubbing your nose. “Small things. Crackers. Bread. Low effort stuff.”

Crosshair let out a breath. He hated seeing you like this. He’d never been sick, since clones had been engineered to be immune to nearly all diseases, but to not feel like yourself didn’t seem like something he would enjoy.

Crosshair pulled a blanket out from the many under your legs, and you frowned at him as you watched him drape it over you wordlessly. He pulled it up to your chin, the way he liked as a cadet before he bent over to tuck you in.

It wasn’t even a decision for him to take care of you during his brief shore leave, more like something he was willing to do simply because he loved you.

When you loved someone, you tried to do anything you could to make their life easier, to release them of their burdens and carry them yourself.

Crosshair would shoulder all your burdens unasked, no matter what they were. The act of caring for you wasn’t and would never be something you had to ask for. He was glad he was here, that way he knew you would be well taken care of under his watchful eyes.

Though he had become better at articulating his love for you with words, the best way for him to show how much he loved you was still with actions.

“What’re you doing?” you croaked, brows furrowed at him as he pushed the blanket around the edges of your body.

“What does it look like?” he replied tersely as he adjusted the pile of pillows you were reclining on, making sure they were supporting your head properly.

“Cross, you don’t have to take care of me,” you told him.

Crosshair only scoffed in response as he took in the rest of the living room.

It was messier than you usually kept it, with several plates and empty cups littering the floor and the caf table he sat on as well as small piles of discarded face napkins.

He started gathering up the dishes before walking them over to the sink. He hated mess, and he knew you did too, so the fact that you hadn’t at least taken the used dishes to the sink told him how sick you really were. He started rinsing them before he placed them in the small bench-top dishwasher he’d helped you pick out a few shore leaves ago.

“Cross,” you said from the couch, having made yourself sit up and ruin his perfect tuck-in job.

He couldn’t be annoyed at you, no matter how hard he tried.

Crosshair ignored you as he made his way back to the couch to gather up all the face napkins and put them in the trash. You said his name again, this time falling into a coughing fit as your breath caught in your sore throat. He grabbed a clean cup from the cupboard and filled it with some water. He came back over to you and sat on the coffee table, holding the cup out.

“Drink,” he ordered softly.

You gave him a look like you weren’t happy with him. But he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to leave you to fend for yourself, not when he was here. It was his job to look out for the people he loved.

You wordlessly took the cup, and the bottom of it immediately went on your knee, like you lacked the strength to bring it to your lips. Crosshair sighed. You needed some proper food in you. He took the cup from you as he shuffled closer then placed his empty hand behind your head.

“Head back,” he told you. You did what you were told, and he helped you take a few sips of water. After, he ran his thumb across your lip to catch a stray drop. His hand stayed for a moment so his thumb could caress your cheek. He wished he could take this away from you.

“Cross, I’m okay,” you tried to tell him.

“No, you’re not,” he said, placing the cup next to him. “Lie down. Rest.”

“I’m not good at resting,” you grumbled.

“Too bad.”

You groaned and the strain on your throat only made you fall into another coughing fit. Crosshair gave you another sip of water before he tucked you in again, tighter this time so you wouldn’t get up.

Once he was satisfied you weren’t going to move again, he told you he’d be right back before quickly going to your bedroom. He stripped out of his armour and blacks before taking the speediest shower of his life and dressing in the spare clothes he kept here.

Now in loose pants and a threadbare short-sleeved top that smelt faintly like you, Crosshair padded barefoot into the living room again. He was relieved to see you in the same position as before, eyes closed. He watched you from the doorway for a moment and looked at how small you looked on that couch. He didn’t like the thought that if he hadn’t come home when he did, you would be suffering through this by yourself, without him to care for you.

He tried to move quietly, but your eyes cracked open once you heard him enter the room, a small smile on your lips. Crosshair returned it and came and sat back down on the caf table, facing you.

“You good?” he asked, placing the backs of his bare fingers on your cheek. You pulled a hand out from under the blanket and grabbed his, moving the backs of his fingers to your lips, kissing them gently. He smiled, warmth blooming in his chest at the simple gesture of intimacy. It’d been a long time since he felt your lips on his skin.

“Better, now that you’re here,” you told him honestly, your voice scratchy.

Crosshair smiled. He liked being here as much as you liked having him here.

“You’re all warm from the shower,” you smiled, pressing your face against his hand, holding his arm close to you.

“Been a while since I had a decent one.” The corner of his mouth tipped up. You chuckled and kissed his palm. He let you cradle his hand and arm, and he would’ve let you hold onto it forever, but he wanted to make sure you were taken care of before he wrapped himself around you.

“Hungry?” he asked. He frowned when you shook your head, nose rubbing against his wrist. “You should eat something. Even if it’s small.”

He sighed when you wrinkled your nose at the thought. He went through what he remembered from the Kaminoan training module on nat-born illnesses. “Have you taken anything?”

You nodded. “I took something a couple of hours ago when I woke up.”

“Did you eat then?”

You nodded again. He would have to be satisfied with that. Maybe he could get you to eat something when you were due to make more medication, but for now, he just wanted to let you rest. He’d try again later.

He searched your face, his mouth pressed in a line. He wished he could do something more for you, it frustrated him to not be able to fix this easily; that he had to wait it out with you. He was patient when it came to sniping, he could lie in the same position for hours before taking a shot with no difficulty. But he was not so patient when you were in pain or unwell. He felt himself scowl. It was the restless and useless feeling he hated. Crosshair never liked feeling useless.

“I feel bad,” you told him in a small voice.

Crosshair’s spine straightened in alarm. “What can I do?”

“No, I mean, I feel bad about this,” you gestured to yourself lying on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket, poorly.

“You?” He couldn’t hide his surprise. “Why?”

He was just silently commiserating about how bad he felt that he couldn’t absorb your pain and experience it just so you wouldn’t have to. Why would you feel bad?

“It’s your time off,” you told him, your hold on his arm tightening. “You barely get any and now it’s ruined because I’m sick.”

Crosshair let out a breath. Is that what you thought? That your being unwell was an inconvenience to him?

He shook his head. “It’s not ruined.”

“We can’t even do anything fun. I’ve been wanting to take you to this new diner that opened a few levels up. I haven’t even been there because I wanted us to go together.”

Crosshair smiled at the thought. “There will be other times, ca'tra.”

You let out a frustrated breath. Crosshair crouched down and smoothed your hair back off your face with his free hand, and you watched him with those eyes of yours that rivalled even the most beautiful of stars. Crosshair leaned forward and placed a lingering kiss on your forehead. When he pulled away, you were looking up at him with slanted brows, like he was the single most amazing thing you’d ever seen, and that made his chest tight with the kind of feeling he’d only ever read about.

Never in the entire galaxy did he think he would ever be loved the way you love him.

You yawned as Crosshair stroked your cheek softly, tenderly. “You should sleep.”

You tugged on the hand you still had gently. “Lay down with me?”

Crosshair stood up and shut the holo off before lifting up the edge of your blanket. You wordlessly shuffled over and when there was enough room, he lay down next to you. His feet dangled off the edge, his frame too long for the piece of furniture.

You wriggled around trying to find a comfortable position in the narrow space of the couch, before you finally settled to lying half on top of him, head on his chest, arm wrapped around his torso, and leg hooked around his hip.

Crosshair grunted as he adjusted his position, he predicted he would not be moving from this spot for some time. He didn’t care. He’d let you lie on him until you were back to normal, and even then.

He let out a breath as he draped the blanket over you both, tucking it around your frames. You relaxed on top of him, and there was something so comforting about having your body right next to him like this. He rubbed a hand gently up and down your back as you sighed, the breath all broken with your sore throat.

“Thanks, Cross,” you whispered. Crosshair smiled and kissed the top of your head. He didn’t need to be thanked. He’d do anything for you.

“Love you,” you murmured as your breathing became deep and even as you fell asleep. Crosshair tightened his hold on you as your heartbeat pressed into his. He loved you more.

banner art by @vimse thank you reading! i love writing soft crosshair so much :') it's literally my mission to fill the crosshair/reader tag with soft crosshair fics

🏷️ @starrylothcat @sinfulsalutations @moodymisty @nahoney22 @freesia-writes @nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius @bobaprint @crosshairsnose @jesseeka @thegalaxys-edge @chopper-base @shredderwest @leavingkamino @r2d2staser @beckbucket @pb-jellybeans @mylifeisactuallyamess @padawancat97 @littlecrowtime @jedipoodoo @ezras-left-thumb @lovelycurls @fruitsaladtree @literallydontlook @burningfieldof-clover @queencousland101 @clonethirstingisreal @skellymom @hopelessromantic727

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#larissa writes #crosshair x reader #crosshair reader fic #bad batch crosshair x reader #crosshair fluff #crosshair bad batch fluff #soft crosshair #crosshair bad batch #crosshair bad batch fic #the bad batch hunter fic #the bad batch fluff #tbb x reader #tbb crosshair x reader #tbb crosshair #tbb crosshair fic

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dystopicjumpsuit · 1 month

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The Plant Prowler of Pabu

A/N: I’m scared that Pabu is going to be toast after this week, so I wrote a little fluff to make myself feel better. Also, this is the first time I’ve been able to finish a fic in six weeks, so… yay me!

Pairing: Crosshair x Reader (GN)

Rating: T (but MDNI as always)

Wordcount: 2.1K

Warnings and tags: mild language; fluff; a kiss; spoilers for The Bad Batch season 3

Summary: Exploring the island during his first morning on Pabu, Crosshair encounters a mastermind of botanical crime: you.

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Whoever said, “It’s darkest just before dawn” had clearly never woken up to go for a walk before sunrise. Even if Crosshair hadn’t had enhanced vision, it would have been easy for him to navigate his way down to the beach of Pabu in the dim half-light. Hunter had wordlessly watched him exit the Marauder, pretending to still be asleep, but Crosshair knew that his brother would have drawn his vibroblade in a flash if he’d even glanced sideways at Omega.

Crosshair didn’t exactly blame Hunter for his caution, but it didn’t make it any easier to swallow. The squad had arrived on the idyllic island the previous day, and Crosshair was immediately swarmed by a horde of curious locals. With Hunter determined to keep Crosshair in sight at all times, there had been no escape from their onslaught of hospitality, and by the time the celebrations had died down, Crosshair had been clinging to the tattered threads of his patience and sanity.

It was a hell of a thing to go from barely speaking to anyone for months on end to suddenly being plunged into the midst of a vibrant and chaotic crowd of nosy spectators. He’d escaped to the Marauder at last and pretended to sleep, keenly aware of Hunter’s eyes on him. He’d spent enough time under the microscope in the past several months, though, and he was ready for some privacy.

And so it was that he found himself wandering down the empty terraced walkways of Pabu, making his way to the shoreline in the pale gloaming. He didn’t encounter a single soul as he walked—barring the ubiquitous moonyos that seemed to frolic across the island at all hours. Pabu was the sort of place that seemed too flawless to be real. Too flawless to last.

Not quite as flawless as it seems on the surface, he acknowledged as he turned down a path that snaked through one of the sections of the island that had yet to be rebuilt after the catastrophic sea surge he’d heard about countless times at the welcoming party the previous night. The buildings had been reduced to rubble, and judging by the weeds sprouting in the cracks of the walkway, the locals tended to avoid this particular part of the island.

Perfect.

The gentle breeze off the ocean was chilly, and he told himself it was the reason his hand trembled more than usual that morning. He shoved both hands deep into his pockets as he navigated the last few levels before he reached the beach. As he stepped onto the sand, a gust of wind buffeted against him. It was bracingly cold, and it smelled like salt and aquatic vegetation and wet earth, and he closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply and focusing on the sensation.

When he opened his eyes, a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision had him snapping his head to the side. He froze. A figure meandered slowly down the beach, sticking close to the bottom of the hill where the lush foliage grew thickly right up to the edge of the sand. He was certain you had spotted him, but you didn’t immediately acknowledge his presence.

He watched for a moment as you paused and stooped down to examine one of the plants, then carefully plucked a few bunches and laid them in the basket you carried. Bizarre. What the kriff was this person doing out here so early? Nothing innocent, that was for damned sure. Why would anyone sneak down to such an isolated stretch of the beach at this obscene hour if they didn’t have nefarious intent?

Aside from me, obviously.

He squinted slightly. Even with his enhanced eyesight, it was dark enough, and you were far enough away, that it was difficult to make out your features, but he was reasonably sure you hadn’t been at the party the night before.

Hmph.

He turned and walked the opposite direction, away from the person who’d had the audacity to interrupt his solitude by getting to the beach first. Better not to get involved.

Crosshair took a different route the next morning, arriving at the beach just as the sun rose. As bad kriffing luck would have it, you were exiting the beach just as he arrived, and your paths inevitably intersected. He braced himself for a conversation, but you simply met his eyes and nodded quietly as you passed him.

He suppressed a sigh of relief. Stepping aside to make room for you to pass on the narrow trail, he couldn’t help noticing that your basket was filled with a variety of neat bundles of leaves and twigs. Odd, but your hobbies were none of his concern. Even if they did involve herb rustling and grand theft shrubbery.

He continued his path down to the shoreline and wandered along the water’s edge, staring out at the horizon. Out of the corner of his eye, he could still see your solitary figure making its way up the steep slope and into Lower Pabu. He was now completely sure that you’d not been at the welcoming party, nor had he encountered you in the village. It wasn’t that surprising; after all, hundreds of people lived on the island, and he wasn’t in any particular hurry to meet them all—or any of them, if he were honest.

Of course, he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. Wrecker had flatly refused to allow Crosshair to isolate himself, while the gregarious mayor Shep Hazard seemed equally dedicated to the twin causes of thrusting Crosshair into the community and plying him with as much fruit as he could eat in a lifetime. He was starting to feel a tiny surge of violence every time he saw a jogan fruit.

On the third day, Batcher woke up with Crosshair and scrambled out of the Marauder, bounding ahead of him down the ramp and then turning to wiggle her entire body in anticipation as he followed. He let the lurca hound pick the path that morning, not bothering to hide his thin smile at Batcher’s endless curiosity and enthusiasm. She crisscrossed the walkways incessantly, sniffing and exploring, chasing the moonyos playfully down the hill, investigating every nook and cranny of the village, and easily running five times the distance that Crosshair traveled on their way down to the water.

The beach was empty this morning, to Crosshair’s relief. At last, some peace and quiet. Or at least as quiet and peaceful as it could be with Batcher rocketing back and forth across the wet sand, grunting and huffing as she charged into the surf and back up to Crosshair, crouching into a bow as she tried to entice him to play with her. When he didn’t immediately comply, she took off chasing a flock of seabirds, scattering them into the air in a cacophony of indignant squawking.

She chased the birds down the beach, barking joyously as she splashed through the surf. When the hound disappeared around a bend in the shoreline, Crosshair sped up slightly, not wanting to risk Omega’s wrath if anything happened to her pet on his watch. As he rounded the bend, he was greeted with a most unexpected sight: Batcher was lying on her back on the sand, writhing with delight as you rubbed her belly.

Your basket was overturned, and all the neat little bundles of herbs were strewn across the sand. It wasn’t hard to deduce the instigator of such carnage. Batcher spotted Crosshair and immediately jumped up and shook the sand off herself before rushing to greet him.

“Down,” he said sternly as she jumped up and swiped at him with her massive paws.

She dropped obediently, and trotted along next to him as he approached you. You’d already begun picking up your fallen bundles of leaves, and he quickly bent to assist you.

“Sorry about that,” he mumbled.

“No harm done,” you replied, shaking a bit of loose sand out of the bundles before you dropped them into your basket. “They all get washed before I hang them up to dry anyway.”

“So you’re not just engaging in botanical heists for the adrenaline rush?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah, it really gets the blood pumping,” you replied, deadpan. “My day just doesn’t feel complete without a little horticultural larceny.”

“I can see you like to live on the edge,” he said with a tiny smile. “The Plant Prowler of Pabu.”

“And I would have gotten away with it, if it weren’t for a mysterious stranger and his meddling dog.”

He liked you. Damn it.

Crosshair didn’t see you for the next several days. He assumed you’d moved your criminal enterprise elsewhere on the island, and after the team returned from Barton IV, he didn’t feel the same need to escape the Marauder as he had previously. Still, he wasn’t sleeping particularly well, and after an excruciatingly restless night, he slipped out of the ship not long before dawn and wandered aimlessly down the streets of Pabu until he found himself in the unstable section he’d discovered on the first day.

As he picked his way through the ruins, he spotted movement two terraces below, and he grinned. Forcing himself to walk casually so you didn’t suspect how pleased he was to see you, he sauntered down to your level, only to find you ripping weeds up from between the fragments of pavement with uncharacteristic abandon.

“What did those plants ever do to you?” he asked.

You must have spotted him before he arrived, because you didn’t even flinch at the sound of his voice.

“Invasive species,” you replied. “I try not to over-forage, but in this case, I’ll make an exception.”

“And I thought your crimes only extended to vegetational theft,” he drawled. “I had no idea you’d escalated to floral murder and agricultural vigilantism.”

“The hero Pabu needs,” you said with a smile that had no business being as charming as it was, considering you were currently covered in a fine layer of dirt and assorted bits of leaves and twigs. “If this plant gets established on the island, we might never be able to eradicate it. It will outcompete the native plants and could cause significant disruptions to the ecosystem.”

“How altruistic of you,” he remarked drily.

“Not at all,” you laughed. “It also happens to be delicious.”

Crosshair stooped down and pulled one of the plants up by the roots, examining it closely. “It’s on sight, then.”

“Exactly. No mercy.”

As the first rays of the sun appeared on the distant horizon, you packed the large bundles of weeds into your basket, then stood and dusted your hands off on your trousers. You stretched a bit, clearly a little stiff from your labor. Impulsively, Crosshair spoke.

“Want to watch the sunrise with me?” You looked surprised at his offer, and he cleared his throat, looking awkwardly away. “Or do you turn into a meiloorun if you stay out past dawn?”

“Yes,” you said. “I mean, no. I mean, yes, I’d like to stay. No, I don’t turn into a meiloorun.”

You bit your lip and stared down at the bundle of weeds in your basket, poking at it ineffectually as you muttered something unintelligible under your breath. Stifling a laugh, Crosshair climbed up onto the crumbling half-wall of a destroyed structure and extended his hand to help you up after him. You scrambled up and sat down next to him, gazing out at the tranquil ocean as the sun began to paint the high clouds in brilliant shades of gold and pastel.

“Not a bad view, is it?” you asked quietly.

“Definitely worth waking up early,” he replied, watching your face as the light caught on your cheekbones and reflected in your eyes.

Without making a conscious decision, he lifted his hand and brushed a little loose dirt off your cheek. His damned hand trembled, and he mentally cursed. You didn’t seem to notice the slight tremor, though—or if you did, you didn’t say anything about it. Instead, you turned your head slowly, grazing your lips across his fingertips as you met his eyes. It seemed the most natural thing in the galaxy to continue to trace the line of your jaw until his hand curled around the back of your head.

Your lips were soft and warm in the cool breeze, and you tasted like sea salt and dew and something he didn’t quite recognize. Something new. He liked it. You leaned into his kiss, and when at last it came to its natural conclusion, he drew in a shaky breath.

“Hi,” he whispered. “I’m Crosshair.”

---

Want more Crosshair? I have another Crosshair x Reader ficlet here!

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#crosshair x reader #tbb crosshair #crosshair fluff #crosshair bad batch #gn reader #bad batch fic #tbb season 3 spoilers #tbb spoilers #dystopicjumpsuit writes #Spotify

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freesia-writes · 3 months

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Hey there! So... I saw your Valentine post and I would really love to read a little something with my beloved, if that's alright! I really like your blog and your vibe so I figured it would be a great read!

So if it's alright, I'd love to request a Crosshair x Fem!Reader where the reader is shorter than him, kind of with a grumpy/sunshine or a "stoic man goes soft when he looks at the woman he loves" kind of thing... I'm so weak for that trope, honestly, and Crosshair always sweeps me off my feet ❤️

No pressure at all, love! I'll be happy to read what you write for this February 14th.

Hugs!

Hellooooo friend! :) Thanks so much! I hope this is a warm and fuzzy little read for ya. Dividers courtesy of @stars-n-spice via this post. I wasn't sure if I should post them all on the 14th or just churn em out as I finish, but I figured I'd space em out a bit. 🤓

Crosshair x Reader (I think it could be Fem or GN; hair in the face is mentioned, as well as "looking pretty", but I think that's it)

1.2k words - SFW - content warnings are just flirtin n kissin. 😜

The indoor shooting range on Kamino hummed with the steady rhythm of blaster fire, the loud noise constantly reverberating off the walls. You stood at the edge of the range, observing the troopers as they honed their skills and ready to provide additional instruction or advice as needed. A tall, lanky figure caught your eye, and your heart skipped a beat. Clone Force 99 must be on world.

Crosshair's presence always commanded attention, his tall frame towering over the troopers as he moved with purpose and precision. It wasn't the first time you had encountered him here, and each time, you found yourself captivated by his silent prowess and unwavering focus.

As he lined up his first shot, you couldn't help but admire the way he handled his weapon with ease, his movements fluid and controlled. Despite his stoic demeanor, there was an undeniable magnetism about him, an irresistible pull that drew you in like a moth to a flame. The interactions you’d had over the last number of months had always left you wanting more; you were sure of an incredible depth and complexity beneath his icy exterior, and the few quips and jabs you’d traded in the mess hall as well as the firing range had only served to fuel your interest.

The presence of other troopers always kept his walls up, though. You noticed the way he’d walk -- steady and focused, unaffected by anything around him. His gaze was steely and his affect flat, save for the few glances you’d shared where you could swear there was an imperceptible softening in his sharp eyes.

"Nice shooting," you called out as he completed the course, a genuine smile playing at your lips. "You make it look easy."

Crosshair grunted in response, but there was a flicker of something in his amber eyes, a hint of appreciation for your words. It wasn't often that he received praise, and you could tell it meant more to him than he let on.

"It is easy," he replied gruffly, his lips hinting at a smile. "You ever shoot anything in here, or do you just stand around and look pretty?”

You chuckled at his comment, feeling a warmth spread through you at the compliment. "I guess I just stick to what I’m best at," you replied, unable to hide the smile in your voice as you peered up at him.

Crosshair's smirk grew, a rare display of emotion from the typically stoic sniper. "I guess," he conceded, his gaze lingering on you for a moment longer than usual. “You want a lesson?”

The air between you crackled with tension, the unspoken attraction simmering just beneath the surface. You could feel the weight of his gaze on you, and for a moment, it felt as though the world around you had fallen away.

“I suppose a little extra preparation couldn’t hurt,” you attempted, casting one last glance down the range to ensure that everyone was alright on their own for now before stepping into one of the stalls.

Crosshair stepped in behind you, slipping a basic blaster into your hands and nodding down the alley, where the targets had begun to move and shuffle around one another in their predictable way. You took a deep breath, suddenly feeling wildly self-conscious, as though you’d never handled a weapon in your life.

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” you confessed.

“Performance anxiety getting to you?” he teased, stepping closer so his chest was pressed against your back. He reached around your shoulders, easy for him from his height, and fitted his hands around yours where they rested on the blaster. Your heart skipped a beat at his proximity, suddenly swimming in this scent and closeness and presence. Almost automatically, you found yourself nestling into his embrace, completely and totally unaware of everything else going on. You heard him inhale behind you, then he quickly compensated by leveling the blaster at the first target. “Come on, show me what you’ve got.”

You sighed, bringing yourself back to the task at hand and raising the blaster to your eye, squinting to get a good aim and waiting to get the timing right. You watched the rhythm of the targets, memorizing the track and speed of each, then squeezed off a few shots, hitting some of them but not all. A self-effacing little chuckle fell from your lips as you set the blaster down on the tray in front of you, stepping to the side to look at Crosshair sheepishly.

“You make me nervous,” you admitted, seeking an excuse but realizing it was more of a confession.

“So sorry,” he crooned, stepping a bit closer and brushing a strand of hair back from your face. You sucked in a sharp breath, caught off guard by the sudden intimacy of the gesture.

"You've been watching me," he murmured, his voice low and smooth. "I've noticed."

Heat flooded your cheeks at the realization that he had been aware of your gaze all along. "I... I have," you confessed, meeting his gaze with a mix of nervousness and anticipation. “Sorry. You’re just really good at what you do.”

“Mmm. Is that it?” he prodded, moving his hand to brush your cheek with the backs of gently-curled fingers.

“Geez, Crosshair,” you breathed, eyes dropping to his chest as your heart pounded in your chest. You were utterly speechless, simultaneously frozen in place and yet fighting every urge in your body to reach out and touch him, pull him hard against you.

“Maybe a lesson of a different sort,” he suggested, a gleam in his luminous eyes that made your knees weak. Before you could respond, he leaned closer, gaze flickering down to your lips and back, hesitating for a second as though waiting for you to pull away. But you were drawn in, moving without your permission, reaching up to bring your face to his as your hand snuck around the back of his neck.

And then he was kissing you. It was gentle at first, hesitant and questioning, then slowly grew firmer as he took one more step closer, cupping your face with two strong hands. Your eyes were closed so tightly that you thought you may have been dreaming, trying so hard to commit every single detail to memory, from the shocking softness of his lips to the intoxicating sensation of his frame curled around your own. Pulling back, he met your gaze once more, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

"Not bad," he remarked, his tone teasing. "But I think it could use some further practice."

You couldn't help but laugh at his playful arrogance, the tension between you dissipating like smoke in the wind. Lingering for a moment, you cupped his cheek before stepping back, resting a hand on his chest for a second and then dropping it to your side.

“Anything for the Republic,” you said with a cheesy salute, cringing immediately at your own attempt at humor.

He slipped a toothpick into his mouth, flicking it into one corner as touched your chin with some lightly curled fingers before giving you a wink and sauntering away, leaving you standing there, dumbfounded.

“If you’re done making out with the weirdo, can I get a reset on the lane over here?” a clone voice called out, evoking a bright blush across your face as you rushed over to help him, ignoring the taunting grin on his face.

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#the bad batch #tbb #bad batch #star wars fanfiction #the bad batch fanfiction #tbb crosshair #crosshair x reader #crosshair #x reader #reader insert #x reader fluff #crosshair fluff #tbb crosshair x reader #crosshair romance #first kiss #clone fluff #tbb fluff

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kiwicopia · 2 months

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❤️ Crosshair x Fem!Reader | Blurb ❤️

TW: slight spoilers from the new season, fluff with Crosshair, soft touches, written with a female reader in mind.

(🫠 I die inside every time his hand shakes)

Neither of you said a thing when finally left alone together. After all this time, after everything that happened, neither of you uttered a single word. You wanted to ask him so many things, yet bombarding him with questions wasn't the wisest decision right now. He looked lost in his thoughts, which you knew were no doubt muddled with questions of his own that he refused to ask.

His right hand trembled, and he was quick to conceal it with his left. Whatever happened to him had been horrific, though you wouldn't press him on the matter. The silence hung heavy between the two of you, until you broke it.

"Cross?"

Oh, how he missed your voice. He could never forget how sweet it sounded, but he also felt a twinge of guilt in his gut at how worried you were. It was like a vibroblade twisting his insides around, and he hated it. With reluctance, he finally lifted his head and met your gaze. He hated the way your brows furrowed with concern, and the small frown on your lips stirred up feelings he thought died long ago.

"Sorry," he muttered.

It was a soft apology. Perhaps for the way he betrayed his brothers, betrayed you, or for the horrid threats that spilled from his lips when he let you go the last time. Either way, you didn't care. You didn't care for his apologies, having decided to keep everything in the past. Who he was then would be buried, because all you cared about was him right now, in the present.

You scooted closer to him, slowly, yet he made no effort to move away or show discomfort towards your action. "Don't be," you told him. Crosshair looked down, avoiding your gaze once again, and you watched as he rubbed the back of his right hand with his left thumb. "I'm glad that you're back."

"You should be angry." You frowned at his words. "After everything I've done."

His body tensed when he felt your hand on his shoulder, but it quickly relaxed under the gentle touch. "Let's leave all of that in the past," you said. When the man glanced at you, his chest tightened at how softly you stared at him. It was as if you meant your words, but he knew better than to believe they were a lie.

Crosshair gave a slow nod before reaching for your other hand with his right, only to stop short when it trembled again. He grumbled under his breath before he began pulling it away, but you didn't let him. The light shakes that coursed through his hand ceased when yours wrapped around it, encasing it in a soothing warmth that he didn't want to admit that he missed.

The silence that came was no longer awkward, and he let out a small, content sigh when your body finally scooted close enough to press against him. His eyes closed as he finally let himself relax against you, and you smiled in response. "I've missed you," he finally admitted.

You already knew that. You also knew that he missed you as much as you missed him. Even if he wasn't vocal about it, you could always tell with his little actions. The way he leaned into you, how his thumb gently rubbed your hand as it held his, you knew all too well.

He was here to stay. Crosshair would never leave now. He was finally home.

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taska-rokanh · 4 months

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Snowkissed - Crosshair x Reader

Found this in my drafts and thought it was pretty cute!

Don't forget that requests are open!

Warnings: Low self-esteem, mentions of former imprisonment, emotional constipation

Word Count: 1.2 k

Crosshair was not nervous. Crosshair didn’t get nervous, no matter what bantha fodder Tech spouted about his heart rate. You were meeting him—you were meeting the five of them in the cantina like you always did, it was like any other weekend, with just one small adjustment. There was nothing to be nervous about.

“You’re still looking a bit pale, Cross,” Hunter mumbled to him, probably trying to be helpful or something of the sort.

“That’s what happens when you’re trapped in a mountain for months on end,” he growled.

“Given that I’ve regained full consciousness and faculties since our rescue, I doubt you can still use that excuse plausibly,” Tech offered, completely unhelpfully.

“Yeah! What he said!” Wrecker agreed gleefully.

Crosshair only kicked them both under the table as he saw you walk in. “Hey everyone! How’re you all doing?”

“Well, thank you,” Echo replied politely, taking a sip of whatever that stuff was he always drank. The others chimed in briefly, leaving Crosshair the only one who didn’t really say much of anything. Such was normally the case.

You wedged yourself into the booth on the other side of Tech. Crosshair told himself it made sense. You were better able to keep in line with the table, and this way each side of the table had a lined up set of three. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that you were next to Tech and across from Echo, the ones who were always the best at holding your attention. It seemed like the three of you could talk for hours without an awkward lull. Except for when he came around.

Kriff. He was about to get up and let you alone to your fun, when—

“You’re looking good, Tech. You too, Cross!”

He hoped he was still pale and not, well, blushing. “Thanks.”

“You’ve been recovering so nicely! Getting color back, getting muscle back. I’m so proud of you two!”

Crosshair told himself you were just trying not to leave him out. Just being nice. Because who was nicer than you? Who was kinder, sweeter, more generous with their time and attention than you? “We were just discussing that. I believe—” Tech was already locked and loaded with his latest spiel. Crosshair wouldn’t stop him. How could he?

He left the table without a word.

Tech noticed the moment your gaze left his face. It wasn’t too long after he had felt Crosshair’s absence on his left. “Is he… okay?”

Tech sighed good-naturedly. He had been watching the two of you clumsily waltz around each other for far too long. You were a good actor, excellent at playing at nonchalance when he knew all you wanted was to be as close to his ram’ser brother as possible. Crosshair, less so, but you were so concerned with your own performance it was difficult for you to notice. “It might be helpful for you to go check on him. I believe he is… struggling, tonight. He could use someone with your level of interpersonal aptitude.”

“Excuse me, then, please,” you said with a small grimace, your brow furrowed. Echo gladly made room for you before shooting Tech a knowing glance. Hunter and Wrecker were kind enough to keep up their ruse of ignorance and continue to converse.

“Cross? Is everything alright?” You found him in the alley behind the cantina. It was a safer place than most areas in the galaxy you had visited, but you felt especially safe knowing that Crosshair was right there. He had that effect on you.

You tucked your cold hands into your armpits to protect them from the cold as you approached him.

“I’m fine. You should go back inside, it’s cold.”

When you didn’t budge, he tried again. “You looked like you were in the middle of something with Tech. Don’t let me interrupt you.”

“Tech will be fine. What’s up?”

His hazel eyes lingered on your face for a long moment before he looked up at the sky. “Why is this so difficult?” He muttered, unsure if you could hear him.

“Talking about your feelings is always difficult,” you commented, and for a moment, he wondered if you knew how close you were treading to the subject at hand. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. What’s bothering you Cross, please? I promise that my lips are sealed to anyone else.”

He didn’t say anything. Why was it always so hard to just say something?

“I like your jacket,” you switched tactics after a few moments, plucking lightly at the elastic wristband of the leather jacket. He had always marvelled at how easily you complimented other people, and it always felt so genuine. And now you were millimeters away from actually touching him, separated by nothing but his wristband and the thin fabric of his gloves. He had half a mind to take them off, but moving to do so would surely scare you off. This closeness was enough.

“What’s it like to love someone?” He asked suddenly, and the question was so startling that your hand froze, still hovering over his.

“Wha—you mean, romantically?”

He nodded tersely.

You tittered nervously, and he noticed a blush spreading across your cheeks. He had to fight a smile at the sight. “Well, I wouldn’t be the best source of information on that subject, it’s not like I’ve been in many relationships or anything like that, but… I guess it feels like finding your other half. Someone that makes you feel ten times better just by being around, you know? Someone that you can’t stop thinking about, where, even when you’re not trying to, just looking at or hearing the right thing brings everything right back to them.” You didn’t look at him as you spoke—you normally did—your eyes focussed on the little pilings of lint on his glove.

“Like that song they played at the store yesterday,” He said. You glanced up at him briefly, his gaze still on the stars.

“What song was it?”

“I don’t remember the name,” he admitted. “All I know is that I thought I wasn’t thinking a thing, and then that song came on, and suddenly I realized everything I was doing was for you.” He finally made eye contact with you. “We have your favorite cookies at home, by the way. If I hid them from Wrecker well enough.”

Your eyes were wide and awestruck, unable to look anywhere but him.

Crosshair wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry the longer your silence went on. “Cat got your tongue?” He said as a default, hoping to shake you from your stupor so you could at least reject him outright.

You shook your head lightly, blushing more deeply with a breathy laugh. “Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you to feel the same, and I—”

He cut you off by pressing his lips gently to yours, turning to take your hands in his. He still wished he had taken his gloves off, but this was good enough for now. He pulled back after a few seconds—best not to smother you—and looked at you anxiously for your approval. He hoped your nervous smile was a good sign.

“Is that what was bothering you?”

“For a while, yeah.”

“Will it work to kiss it better?”

“We can try.”

#star wars #star wars fanfiction #the clone wars #tcw #tbb #the bad batch #the bad batch x reader #crosshair x reader #crosshair x reader romantic #crosshair x reader fluff #tbb crosshair x reader #tbb crosshair #crosshair fluff #the bad batch platonic #the bad batch x reader platonic

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whole-lot-of-fandom · 1 year

Text

Crosshair in a Lula hat. Hope you like it. ❤️🖤❤🖤

Please credit me

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thejediscrolls · 1 year

Text

Sunrise

Crosshair x medic reader

A trip to the Outpost along with a clone who refuses to tell you his name… What’s the worst that can happen?

Angst / Fluff

Pt 2 of Sunrise

“Crosshair…” I squinted my eyes from the light shining over me.

I felt the coolness of an operation table underneath me as I tried to gather my senses. I came quick to the conclusion that I was in some kind of a medbay. I don’t like the wave of nausea that came with the movement of trying to look around at my surroundings.

The walls were clearly a silver, shining as if it were sterilized a hundred times. The room was an average size for a medbay, set with medical equipment set up to oversee patients.

Movement to the right startled me as I quickly looked toward that direction. There stood a woman dress in white, her brown hair tied back as she typed away on her holopad. Behind her stood two armed storm troopers.

“You’re awake. Good.” The unfamiliar voice stated as she glanced over at me.

“Who are you?” I asked her.

“I am a nurse who will be overseeing your conditions.” She replied.

“There’s no need… I’m a medic.” I stated slowly as I tried to think of where I could be, “I can oversee my own medical care, thank you.”

This certainly wasn’t on the transport ship or the facility I was stationed at in Coruscant before I was sent here.

“Where… Where am I?” I asked as I blinked away the stinging in my eyes, “I don’t recognize this place.”

“You’re in a medbay. You have committed treason and the empire sent you here. But don’t worry, the doctor has some use for you.” The voice murmured.

“I didn’t commit treason…” I spoke slowly as I tried to recall the events when I was station at the outpost.

Everything came back in a blink of an eye and suddenly I was trying to get out of my restraints.

Crosshair. Where was Crosshair?

I immediately felt the panic rise in me as I tried to sit up, “What about Crosshair? Where is he? He didn’t do anything wrong, I swear! It was the Lieutenant, he was the one who was dangerous. He let a trooper die and he tried to kill-”

“You need to relax.” The nurse quickly signaled for the storm troopers to hold me down.

“Don’t… Hurt… Him…” I muttered as I felt myself slipping, “Please.”

It wasn’t long before a needle pierced my skin. My senses fleeing from my body into the abyss of darkness.

The next time I came to, I found myself in a holding cell. The bars of ruby stone, glared at me as I pushed myself up from the cold mat underneath me.

Was what we had done so wrong that we had to be sent here? I wondered. Where is here exactly? Why won’t they tell me anything?

“This must be a secret facility of some sorts.” I whispered to myself.

That was the only reason I could think of. I crawled as close to the ray shield as I could, inspecting any fault in it.

“Looking for a weakness in the shield won’t help.” A gruff voice stated across from me, “You can’t get out of here, trust me.”

I looked straight ahead to find a clone leaning against a wall in his cell. He stared straight ahead without so much as glancing my way.

“How long have I been out?” I wondered as the dizzying haze began to ware off slowly, but surely.

“Four days.”

Four days? That’s not good.

“Do you know where we are?” I asked him.

“We are being held on a base somewhere on a remote planet. No one can find us out here.” He answered grimly.

My brows furrowed, “Why were we taken to a place like this? Why not a trial or to a coruscant prison?”

“I dont know for you, but us clones are being tested on. That’s why my vods and I have been captured and placed here.” He stated.

My eyes widened at the information, “No… That would mean they plan to hurt Crosshair.”

Suddenly his head turned towards me in surprise. I could see a clear scar on the side of his face as he studied me.

“You know Crosshair?” He asked.

I nodded, “I met him on an assignment that didn’t end well for the both of us and now we’re here. At least now I know for certain we haven’t been separated.”

He nodded in understanding, “He’s come to his sense about the empire then.”

“We both have.” I muttered, “How do you know him?”

“Back during the New Republic. Worked with him and his team a few times.” He answered.

“It’s nice to meet you then.” I trailed off.

“Cody.” He introduced himself.

I quickly returned the favor, relieved to meet a new friend and possible ally, “Nice to meet you Cody.”

“I never knew he had a team.” I said after a few moments of silence, “Well I knew because each clone has a squad of course, but he never talked about them.”

“Clone Force 99. They called themselves the Bad Batch.” Cody answered.

I snorted in amusement, “That sounds about right. He seems very standoffish.”

“Crosshair is a man set in his ways. It was his brothers, who kept him in line especially one by the name of Hunter, but now… It is rare for anyone to get close to him.” Cody admitted, “The last mission we were on together...”

“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.” I intervened.

He nodded, “He was too loyal to the empire just as I was, but I’m glad to see he is starting to change his ways. Slowly, but surely.”

“He didn’t even tell me his name until right before we were taken.” I sighed looking at my hands, “But Crosshair… He saved me and I don’t even know how to repay him.”

“Being alive is enough of a payment as any.” Cody’s tone was sad as he looked ahead of him, undoubtably slipping into an old memory.

Suddenly footsteps were coming down the hall and the two of us quickly broke off our conversation. Him leaning against a wall in his cell as I crawled back to my thin mat.

I had just sat down when a new face greeted me at the front door to my cell.

“Ah. You must be the medic.” He grinned maliciously, “I can see why he’s so protective of a pretty thing like you. This should be fun.”

My eyes squinted into a glare, “You must be the doctor.”

“Smart girl too.” He stated un seemingly impressed, “Then you will know better then to try and cause a scene yes? Otherwise you won’t ever see the clone again.”

I stood up swiftly, “Where is he?”

“Why don’t you follow me and see for yourself?” He turned off the ray shield that was keeping me locked in my cell.

Without waiting to see if I would follow him, he began to walk away. It was as if he knew I wouldn’t defy him and he was right. How could I when he was leading me to the man who has changed my very world around?

I glanced discretely at Cody before following after the doctor as the guards trailed close behind me. His look of concern didn’t go unnoticed by me and I made a silent promise to tell him how Crosshair was as soon as I got back.

“What have you done to him?” I asked keeping some distance from the eery looking man.

His very being left me unnerved with distaste as if he were the very embodiment of an evil madman hungry for power.

“Nothing I haven’t done to any other clone before.” He replied simply as if what he was doing wasn’t that bad.

Maybe he was…

He’s acting like I know who and what his experiments are… I don’t even know the man. From the tilted chin and long stride he must work closely with powerful people. Maybe the surprime chancellor? If so then we were absolutely screwed.

“Here we are.” The doctor stated.

I looked to my left and found myself standing in front of another cell. Though this one made me want to dive head first into the red shield.

“Crosshair!” I cried out in relief, taking a step forward as the ray shield dissipated.

Crosshair was quick to stand up though his movement was slower than usual. His three long strides and my quick paced ones were met in the middle of his cell.

It was as if we were water and oil. Wanting to fall into each others warmth, but stopping just within reach.

He placed his hands on my arms as he looked me over for any possible injuries while I did the same to him.

“I’m alright.” I confirmed, placing my hand over one of his, “Are you?”

That seemed to calm him and he nodded in return. His heated gaze turned towards the doctor with malice.

“She’s not involved in any of this.” Crosshair growled as he pushed me behind him as if he could shield me from the world.

Maybe he could or he would sure as hell try to.

“Let her go Hemlock.” Crosshair all, but growled.

So the madman’s name was Hemlock.

“Now now.” Hemlock stepped forward, “There is no need to get worked up.” He chuckled.

Moving to the right side of the room, Hemlock trailed his hand along the muted grey wall, “This is your fault after all.”

“How so?” I glared at the man, “He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Oh, but he did.” Hemlock’s gaze locked onto Crosshair, “He is going against the empire by keeping secrets and now Crosshair…” He sighed for dramatic effect, “You have left me with no choice, but to bring your little friend into this. If you won’t give me the information I need then I must use… Other methods to obtain it.”

“What information?” I asked.

“I need to know where the clone girl is.” Hemlock replied as a nurse, the same nurse who stuck a needle in me a few days ago walked up behind him.

“I don’t know anything about a clone girl.” I replied quickly, “I didn’t even know a clone girl existed.”

“Oh I know you don’t know, darling.” He said and his endearing word made me want to throw up.

Hemlock’s eyes gleamed in the lights above us before his grin was directed back towards Crosshair, “But he does. It’s your choice trooper. The clone girl or your little girlfriend here.”

I looked towards the sniper to see the conflict clear across his face. It was easy to see that whoever the girl was, she meant something to him. My heart ached, knowing that I would be putting myself into harms way, but if she really was important then she needed to be protected from this deranged doctor at all costs.

I knew deep down he wouldn’t say a word, but I wouldn’t put myself first. How could I? My life over a girl who was technically his sister?

Whether he knew his answer or not I wouldn’t make him choose. I could handle a little pain.

From as little as I have known him, I knew for a fact that Crosshair was, a fierce protector and loyal friend. At least that was the man I saw dragging Mayday back to the outpost before all of this mayhem went down.

I quickly turned the sniper towards me, “You are strong and unyielding Crosshair.” I spoke as quickly as I could, “I’ll be okay, don’t tell them anythin-mmph!”

A hand was wrapped around my mouth to keep me from screaming as a storm trooper dragged me to the cell next to his while the others strapped Crosshair back on his table.

The red shield came back up once everyone except for Crosshair was out of his cell.

“I know how easy you clones can get passed visual horror, so how about you listen to her scream. It’ll make you want to claw your eyes out wondering what is being done to her.” Hemlock smirked at the memory, “I’ve seen it happen to a prisoner here once. His lover sadly didn’t make it after the… Trials.”

“Trials?” Crosshair asked nervously.

“New drugs I’ve been working on meant to incapacitate and cause sever hallucinations in the subject. So far it has only resulted in death, but maybe your girl will make it through.”

“I will kill you.” Crosshair all but growled, his eyes holding a fierce promise.

“Oh I know you’ll try, but you won’t succeed.” Hemlock snapped his fingers for the nurse to begin.

Crosshair all, but winced as the first piercing scream came from the medics lips. He barely knew her… She all, but irritated him when she showed up at his side at the loading dock, but by the force above he wouldn’t tare that man’s throat out for hurting her.

It went on for what felt like years, each day being dragged from my cell to the one next to him. Barely any words of consomment as they dragged me past him. Each needle prickling my skin as they drugged me with painful concoctions that made my skin burn and felt as if they were dousing me with lava. I could barely move my muscles as flashes of memories and horrors of war filled the cell around me as if I was back in the trenches, patching up as many soldiers as I could.

“What are they doing to you?” Cody asked once the guards tossed me back into my cell.

“They need…” My eyes closed from the pain of my voice that was hoarse from screaming, “Information.”

“What information do you have?” He asked.

“Not me…” I groaned.

Cody’s eyes lightened in understanding, “Crosshair.”

By the seventh day, I could barely keep my eyes open. The pain felt like a dull ache becoming apart of my skin. It wasn’t until I felt hands dragging me to another cell that I realized I was in Crosshair’s arms and my body sank into his.

I groaned in pain as he tugged me as gently as he was able to towards his chest to check my condition. I knew I was covered in dark purplish bruises, a side affect caused from the drug. I wanted to ease his worry, but I could barely form one coherent sentence.

“What have they done to you…”

If I wasn’t so close to him, I wouldn’t have heard those broken words that fell from his chapped lips. I chose to not tell him what they were doing and instead I asked him about something I’ve been wondering since I first woke up in this dreaded place.

“Do you think it’s morning?” I whispered weakly.

“Save your strength.” He said gruffly.

I continued on anyways, my words sounding muffled in my own ears, “My favorite thing in the galaxy is a sunrise. I especially miss… The sunrises on Coruscant. The sunrises there had the sunlight glittering off the buildings like shimmering stars. The city bustling with life no matter if it was night or day. I miss the birds the most… They always wished me a good morning.” I laughed lightly before cringing at the pain.

“I don’t know how to ease your pain.” Crosshair muttered.

“M’fine.” I said trying not to worry him.

He only shook his head at the absurdity of my answer, “That’s stupid.”

I grinned slightly at the old Crosshair, the one I first met before this. We fell into a moment of quietness as he held me in the middle of the cell.

“Mom.” I whispered as I saw her as clear as day standing in the corner of the cell.

She smiled before blood began to stain her dress from the very slot she was shot.

“Mom…” I hiccuped, “No no no no no.” I shook my head as my breathing began to pick up, “You can’t die! You can’t leave me all alone again!”

Crosshair glanced towards the direction I was looking at, it was empty and bare.

Hallucinations. He remembered the doctor saying.

He looked back towards me in concern, “There’s no one there.” He tried to say as he held me closer to his chest, “Don’t look. Just close your eyes.”

I pressed my face into his shirt as I sobbed.

“Shh…” He tried his best to consol me, but the fear rose in his chest at my distress. His voice was merely a whisper as he said, “I don’t know how to help you.”

It was a long while before my visions became clear though any ounce of strength had fled from my body.

“You don’t need to save me.” I whispered when I was able to catch my breath, “She is your sister. Your family. You need to do whatever you can to keep her safe. Promise me.”

“I promise I will save you and the girl.” He stated with promise and truth.

This man who held so much determination and loyalty in his very being. He made it so very difficult to stop the warm feeling that I felt only for him seep deeper into my heart.

I smiled closing my eyes, “What do you miss most about your home?”

Crosshair thought for a moment, but one yearning of home overcame everything else that he missed.

“My brothers.” He stated simply as if it were his very heart.

“Siblings… I never had any siblings, but I know that for others they make their entire universe whole.” I muttered as began to drift off, “I hope you find them again one day.”

He pressed his lips to the top of my head, his fingers curling around my head, “You’ll see a sunrise again, I promise.”

“Have you had enough now?” Hemlock asked as he motioned towards me, “It seems that she has.”

“Enough of this.” Crosshair hissed, “Torture me all you want, but stop hurting her. Let her go.”

“You have shown that you can wait and torture during your little attempt to break out. She however, can not and I will gladly set her free if you tell me where the clone girl is.” He stated with a wave of his hand, “If not I can just up her dosage.”

Crosshair clenched his fist in anger, “I don’t know anything!” Crosshair glared, “I have been with the empire all this time.”

Hemlock raised an eyebrow, “We can keep going if you don’t tell me where she is.”

“Don’t…” I muttered as I slipped in and out of consciousness.

“You can torture us all you want. I don’t know where they are.” Crosshair growled.

“You do.” Hemlock confirmed, “I know you do.”

“I won’t tell you anything so just kill me and let her go free.” Crosshair growled.

Hemlock stared at the clone, thinking over his next words carefully, “You will tell me what I need to know when she is on the very brink of death and she will have no one to blame accept for you to leave her to that dismal fate.”

Crosshair took in a sharp breath, watching as multiple storm troopers gathered around Hemlock. He watched the doctor turn off the ray shields.

“Take her away.” Hemlock stated and like the first time he saw her alive here, the storm troopers were coming once again to take her from him.

Crosshair quickly lean down just before they reach the two sat on the cold floors.

He pressed his lips as softly as he was able to on top of her head as he whispered, “Hang in there a little longer sunrise, help is coming.”

Taglist

@arctrooper69 @valla-valla @edenassassin

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midnightdjarin · 25 days

Text

crosshair drabble cause that man has taken over my thoughts

- crosshair is the type of guy to literally act like your bodyguard. you wanna go on a mission by yourself? funny.

“I’ll be back in a few hours.”

He picks up his helmet, “That’s nice. I’ll meet you on the ship.”

- will absolutely pick you up and throw you over his shoulder whenever you give him attitude.

“roll your eyes again, pretty.”

so you did. the two of you had gotten a little agitated with each other on this particular mission.

he sighs and flicks his toothpick to the ground.

you see his hands reach for your waist, “what are you-“, you cut off with a yelp as he throws you over his shoulder.

“I’ll put you down when you’re done with that attitude.”

“I’m gonna kill you.”

he pats the area behind your knee, “how touching.”

- LOVES to pull you into a random alcove of the marauder and kiss you like the ship is going down. any minute he can get alone with you is a blessing. idc what anyone says, this man is a gentle kisser. the kind to put his hand on the back of your head to keep you in place UGH!!!

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crosshairlovebot · 1 month

Text

enclosed intentions / crosshair gn!reader

pairing: crosshair x gn!reader (no y/n). reader has a nickname.

description: amid your growing feelings for the silver-haired sniper, you and crosshair are paired together on a mission that goes awry, which brings to light intentions you've been aching to know.

word count: 9,934 (pHEW!!)

warnings: near-death experience (everyone lives). landslide. heavy storms. enclosed spaces. minor injury. minor injury description. making out. light angst.

been wanting to write another crosshair fic for a while bc he's my GUY and i love him!!! season 3 is only fuelling the burning fire he stokes in my chest. i hope you enjoy this! strap in! it's a long one! (sorry if there are any errors, i've edited this but it's so long it's entirely possible that i missed some <3)

also posted this on ao3. feedback is welcomed, reblogs are appreciated.

More often than not, Clone Force 99 was sent on dangerous missions – missions too specialised for the regular battalions and squads that filled the Grand Army of the Republic. The missions that troubled Jedi Generals regarding the potential loss of men. But Clone Force 99 and their specialised skills took on those missions with ease, enthusiasm even.

You were about to embark on another one of those missions.

When you’d first joined the GAR as a medic, you’d heard rumours about the squad of defective clones and their enhanced skills, and you would be lying if you said you weren’t impressed by their reportedly unbroken mission success.

When Echo walked into your medbay after he’d been rescued from Skako Minor and you were the first to check over him – making him feel comfortable after years of prodding and inhumane treatment – it only made sense for you to join the team as a field medic to continue to treat him and the other members of the squad.

Though they were initially dubious of the idea of a nat-born joining their ranks, they had always been a misfit crew – you were only another addition to that, and it wasn’t long before your presence with the squad felt like being at home.

You got on with each of the members well, even if they grumbled and complained about your regularly scheduled medical check-ups after missions.

Tech was a great help in collating the medical files he’d made from when he acted as the informal medic. You joked along with Wrecker, who often used you as an alternate barbell, lifting you over his head to warm up before a mission. Hunter often conferred with you before mission briefings to go over any hazards that could harm them. Echo was probably your strongest bond, the trust that existed between you both created a level of closeness not shared with the other members of the squad.

But Crosshair…

You’d soon discovered that Crosshair was weary of anyone who wasn’t part of his immediate family, and you joining Clone Force 99 – and in such constant close quarters, meant your relationship with the sharpshooter was a little more distant than the others.

You tried not to let it bother you so much, but it was hard when you were joking with Wrecker, and you could feel Crosshair’s discerning enhanced eyes on you. You often ignored his gaze as best you could, but sometimes you would look over at him, and hold his eyes for a moment before he got up and walked away.

You wish you knew what those looks meant. You would lay in your bunk at night, and think about it, trying to piece together any patterns and figure out why Crosshair’s eyes never seemed to truly leave you.

Despite the distance between you both, it didn’t deter your intrigue about him. There was something about him that drew your attentions towards him.

If you didn’t feel his eyes on you, your eyes would find him. He was so fascinating to watch. Everything he did, he did with purpose; intention. Nothing about Crosshair was insignificant. Every word, every gesture, every look held meaning. You liked trying to figure it out, but you had yet to decipher much of it – especially when it was directed at you. He was like a puzzle that didn’t want to be solved, hiding all his answers in disappearing ink, you had to hold him up to the light to try and unravel him. You wished he would let you, but his terse demeanour kept you at bay - not wanting to disturb what balance you had.

So you were content to watch him from a distance. He was methodical about everything. Cleaning his rifle the same way after every mission, never missing a step, always performing each of them in the same order. His armour went on the same way. You would watch how his toothpicks would always dangle from his lips as he cleaned his prized weapon, and you would almost be hypnotised by the way he moved the wooden stick between his teeth. You spent so much time staring at his mouth, that you could probably draw it from memory.

He was magnetising.

Whenever you needed to perform a medical check on him, you would do so quietly and draw it out, as if trying to soak up every moment of the closeness to him, catalogue it all.

When it came to checking his hands, you would gently hold them in your palms and gently massage the joints that could get cramped from holding the rifle tightly. You would check the nerves with a light prick on each fingertip and around the palm. Those examinations were so tense, his eyes on you the entire time watching your every move in the tiny medbay on the Marauder. You could barely focus in that room, there was nowhere to hide from his sharp eyes. And when you dared meet his gaze, his eyes would hold yours in a way that left you breathless and you were never able to look him in the eyes for very long. They’d look right into yours, an expression dancing in them you could never place.

But he never said anything to you – not unless you asked him a question about pain. But you’d think about each interaction for days afterwards.

Your silent exchanges filled your head at night, spilling over into your dreams. Dreams where those hands you’d just inspected in the waking world would be holding you tightly, that mouth you’d stared at brushing against your cheek and neck, whispering things you pretended not to remember once you woke. You’d wake up from those dreams confused, still feeling the ghost of his touches on you. It didn’t hit you until several dreams later that that initial intrigue had given way to feelings much deeper; to an intense crush that only seemed to build the longer you spent with Clone Force 99.

If anyone else noticed, they never said anything. You carried on as normal and hoped Hunter’s heightened senses didn’t pick up on the way your face heated or your heartbeat increased when Crosshair was near.

Except the silence between you broke a few days ago.

After the last mission, you were scheduled to do the weekly checks on the squad. You always left Crosshair until last, knowing he liked to clean his rifle as soon as the mission debrief was over. When you called him into the tiny room, he sat down on the bench, and you completed the first part of the check-up smoothly.

It was when you were massaging one of his hands, loosening the stiffness with your own fingers, that you felt his close around yours.

You had stilled and slowly looked up at him. His brown-eyed gaze met yours and you felt the air get sucked out of your lungs. You watched his eyes flick between yours, his throat working as his fingers were warm around yours. He was holding your hand, and it was warm and strong despite its slenderness. It was such an innocent gesture, and yet the sensation of his touch made your face burn and heat unfurl in your chest as your feelings for the sniper were unleashed in full force. You didn’t know what to do, but you would be lying if you didn’t like the feel of his fingers around yours. But this was Crosshair – the Crosshair who barely spoke to you, who watched you like he was analysing your every move.

“A-am I hurting you?” you managed to stammer out.

Crosshair blinked, seemingly jolting himself out of a trance and pulled his hands away roughly, frowning. “No.” His voice was like gravel, and he stood up and quickly left the room, check-up unfinished.

You had no idea what had happened, what you had done, what he had done, but you stood in that room trying to quell your racing heart for ages before you worked up the nerve to emerge. You spent that night thinking about the warmth of his fingers around yours and the way his throat bobbed like he wanted to tell you something.

What was it that he wanted to say? You knew Crosshair was always intentional in everything he did, so what was his intention with holding your hand like that?

Now, as the Marauder flew into a planet you couldn’t remember the name of, you felt those brown eyes on you from where Crosshair sat in one of the seats in the cockpit, his arms crossed and toothpick between his lips. Echo helped Tech guide the ship as Wrecker bench-pressed Gonky in the corridor. Hunter stood nearby as you held onto the back of Tech’s pilot seat as the ship flew into the planet’s atmosphere.

Since joining the squad a mere two months ago, you had been to more planets than you ever thought you would visit in your entire lifetime, but you had never seen anything like this.

The sky was full of enormous floating rocks, with thick greenery on top. You didn’t know how they stayed floating like this.

“This place is unbelievable,” you murmured. “How is this possible?”

“The rocks are held up by the planet’s unique gravity, creating a balanced pull that tethers the rock to its place. Think of them as miniature planets that exist within the atmosphere,” Tech explained.

You hummed in amazement as Tech flew past them all and steered towards the planet’s surface, which lay beneath a thick bank of dark clouds. The clouds gave way to rocky terrain, with a mountain range that jutted up from the ground haphazardly, not unlike their floating counterparts, as well as canyons and valleys. The whole planet seems to be rocks in various states. Tech landed the ship in a clear area and then everyone turned to Hunter.

“So, what’s the plan, Hunter?” Wrecker called out, finally giving Gonky a rest and placing him back on the ground.

Everyone gathered around a holomap Hunter had brought up. You felt Crosshair slide in next to you, his crossed arms grazing yours. Heat prickled your skin, the memory of the warmth of his fingers coming to life again, and you shifted slightly, drawing your arms closer to your body. You looked up at him but for once, his gaze wasn’t on you, but on the blue graphics in front of him. Your face burned. It was embarrassing how much of an effect he had on you, and even more so now after that moment in the medbay. He seemed to have completely forgotten about it, and here you were still having phantom feelings of the way his fingers wrapped around yours.

“We divide our squad,” Hunter begins. “Break off into pairs. The mineral we’ve been sent to recover is located across this entire sector, but according to Tech, not all of it will be viable.”

“There is a very narrow window in which the mineral is usable, and it will be difficult to find. But we will need to be cautious. The viable mineral is highly volatile when handled. And there’s an incoming storm headed this way, and due to the unique gravitational field on this planet, the storms here are quite lethal,” Tech tapped on his datapad.

You took a deep breath in. It appeared there was a lot that could go wrong.

Hunter nodded. “I can feel it. We’ll need to move fast, so let’s get going. Echo, you’re with me in the Badlands. Tech and Wrecker, you head west for the Valley. And that leaves Crosshair with N’edee up in the Mountains. Comm if you find any viable mineral and triangulate your position as best you can for reference before extracting as much as possible. Then head back to the Marauder where we’ll reconvene. Questions?”

Everyone shook their head. “The terrain is tough out there, so let’s try to avoid N’edee having to patch up any injuries,” Hunter added, sending you a smile. Everyone nodded before Hunter signalled everyone to move out.

N’edee was the little Mando’a nickname they’d appointed you. It meant ‘no bite’. After you’d first joined, you’d witnessed your first ever disagreement between Crosshair and Hunter and, not used to their scuffles yet, tried to mediate between them. They were so amused it stopped the argument and earned you the name – since you’d rather try to keep the peace instead of letting them fight it out.

Now, you knew better, but the name stuck. You wished you hated it, but Crosshair’s smirk as he called you it the first time was the first time he ever sort of smiled at you.

And the last.

The squad grabbed their gear, and you strapped your med pack to your back and holstered a blaster you barely ever used. You felt your whole body go into overdrive, not only because of the risk of the mission but also because you were paired off with Crosshair. The thought of being so close; just the two of you sent nerves running through you. If it was anyone else, you wouldn’t hesitate to ask what happened in the medbay, and try and sort it out and move forward, but you didn’t have that kind of closeness with Crosshair. There was no way you felt comfortable bringing up the way he held your hand – this was an important mission, and you didn’t want to risk ruining it by making Crosshair uncomfortable and clam up so tight you’d lose the modicum of trust you had.

Whenever intention he’d had, you weren’t destined to ever know what it was. So, you’d just have to take a page out of his book and pretend it never happened.

You made your way down the Marauder’s gangplank to find Crosshair waiting for you, helmet under his arm and holding the barrel of the sniper with his free hand as the hilt rested on the ground. He was the only one there, the others had already started their treks. You quickened your steps down as he looked over at you, heat blooming up your neck.

“Sorry,” you told him. Crosshair shook his head, either dismissing the apology or disappointed in your slowness to get ready – you couldn’t tell.

“Let’s go, the storm’s moving quickly,” he informed in that way of his. He placed his helmet on and started walking. You watched him walk away, not looking back at you as his long legs carried him quickly through the rocky ground in the direction of the mountain range.

“Try and keep up,” he called back, and you huffed, adjusting your med pack and jogging after him.

Crosshair kept a quick pace as you both walked, and his height didn’t help. The rhythmic beeping of the scanner Tech provided you with and your footsteps were the only sound between you both. You tried to keep up as best you could as you approached the base of the mountain range, but you were still lagging a couple of metres behind him.

You had been worried about the awkwardness a conversation about what happened in the medbay would bring, and yet you were not even close enough to have one.

You huffed, a light sheen of sweat covering your brow, as you stepped over a bunch of rocks, moving between them as best you could, looking down at your feet to ensure you didn’t fall. The weather was beginning to change, and you knew the storm was getting closer as the wind picked up and nearly knocked you off balance a few times. But you had still to find any viable mineral. You looked at the scanner and saw it was indeed picking up signs of the mineral, but none of it was suitable – either too old or too young a sample. You sighed. This was going to take longer than you thought, and you only hoped you had more luck once you reached the mountains, and that the storm would hold off.

“Watch your step,” Crosshair called back to you. You looked up to watch him as he stepped on a boulder and jumped down into what must’ve been a small ditch at the foot of the mountain range. You frowned and kept walking. As you got closer, you were surprised as you realised he was waiting for you. His helmet was trained on you as you reached the rock and you tried to pretend like it wasn’t a big deal to you. You stepped on top of the boulder, the wind whipping around you as his gaze tilted up at you. For once, you towered over him. You couldn’t help but smile playfully at him.

“So, this is what the world must look like for you,” you joked, trying to ease the tension that was still thick between you.

Crosshair let out a small scoff at your joke before holding out his hand. “Hurry up.”

You widened your eyes at his extended hand, your eyes flicking to it and then back to his visor. After the medbay, you hardly imagined he’d be offering a hand to you again in a clinical setting, let alone to help you descend a boulder. You looked at his outstretched hand, letting a moment pass as you waited for him to retract it, but he didn’t.

This gesture was intentional.

You slowly placed your hand in his. His hand was as warm and strong as it was several days ago, and the familiarity of it made your insides jolt as you felt it wrap around your palm. The nerve endings in your hand tingled in excitement as they ignited from his touch. Heat coiled its warmth through your whole body as you crouched down to a sitting position, doing your best not to topple over not only from the wind. He helped you slide off the edge down to where he was standing, his hand steadying you.

You wobbled on your feet slightly as you landed, and you looked up at him, wishing he wasn’t wearing his helmet right now so you could discern his steely gaze. Though you had a feeling his bare face still would not betray anything of what was going on in his head.

Was he acknowledging what happened? Or was he just being considerate of the terrain?

Before you could open your mouth with a ‘thank you’, he let go of your hand and started walking up a pathway that seemed to wind up the mountain.

You guessed it was not the former.

You took in a shaky breath, body tingling with the remnants of his touch as you felt its cold absence and started after him; scanner poised as you walked.

The pathway up the mountain was wide enough to walk on, but too narrow to walk side by side comfortably without worry of falling over the edge. So, you trailed behind Crosshair once again, who had now slowed down that the route had grown more precarious. You clenched your jaw as you followed his steps carefully, avoiding any loose rocks as you walked. You tried not to think about the increasing ascension of the mountain, the ground below getting smaller and smaller the higher you both trekked as you continued to scan the side of the mountain for any trace of a viable source of the mineral, but still, there was nothing.

The higher you moved the wind that whipped around both your bodies increased as the clouds rolled in. You had to move your hand alongside the mountain as you waked, too afraid you’d blow away as the gusts of wind threatened to knock you over.

You’d been walking for a few hours by now and with the weather getting worse, the constant pace was starting to wear on you; arms and legs sore and feet aching, face stinging. You looked out over the cliff and saw you were almost halfway up, and the sky was getting darker as the storm continued to draw closer. Every time you looked, it seemed to be moving towards you quicker, so as much as you wanted to stop and rest, you knew that you couldn’t – especially when you looked ahead at Crosshair and saw he didn’t seem to show any signs of exhaustion.

Though you knew clones had been engineered to withstand increased levels of physical exertion, you still felt inadequate not being able to keep up. Even after two months with the squad, you still weren’t used to the physicality of the missions. You weren’t initially trained as a field medic, but you still didn’t want to look like you couldn’t handle this simple mission – even if it was more gruelling than you anticipated. So, you gritted your teeth and kept walking, despite the way your body protested with each step.

Crosshair began to slow before he stopped and turned to look at you. “Picking up anything?”

You shook your head and hoped you didn’t sound as puffed out as you felt. “Nothing viable. Not even a false read.”

Crosshair grumbled. “Another wild bantha chase.”

You tried to sound upbeat, but you weren’t fooling anyone. “Maybe the others have had more luck?”

“Maybe,” Crosshair said, his helmeted face drifting from you to the sky. He removed his helmet and scowled as the storm drew closer and closer to your position on the mountain. It was close enough now that you began to see flashes of lightning strike within the clouds, and you jolted when a crack of thunder sounded like it was almost on top of you.

“The storm is too close,” he said, shaking his head in concern.

“I know. Should we head back to the Marauder?”

“There’s no time. We need a pickup,” Crosshair sighed and placed his helmet back on, pressing the side of his helmet. “Hunter, do you copy?”

You watched him, hand gripping the mountain as the wind grew stronger with each passing second. You were starting to feel spits of rain hit your skin as more thunder and lightning struck. Your body was shaking with exhaustion and all you wanted to do was lie down in a safe place and fall asleep.

“Wrecker? Do you copy? Tech? Echo? Hunter, are you there?” Crosshair spoke into his comm, his voice getting harder with every word. He let out a frustrated sigh.

“I can’t reach them. There’s too much atmospheric interference with the storm, maybe even the gravity too.”

You looked at him and tried not to sound panicked, but you knew your face betrayed you anyway. “What do we do?”

A crack of thunder sounded, and it was like the sky was splitting open. The mountain shook under your feet, and you fell to your knees, yelping. You felt Crosshair crouch next to you, a hand on your back to steady you. You looked up at him as the rain started to pelt down heavily on you both. You tried to shield your face, but the rain was so heavy it felt like knives cutting as it hit the skin of your face.

Crosshair hooked a hand under your arm and hauled you up. “We have to move.”

“We need to get off this mountain!” You shouted over the rain.

“We need to find shelter. Come on,” Crosshair skirted you in front of him and you both started to run up the path in the pouring rain. You held a hand against your brow to try and see, but the rain and wind intensified more than you thought possible, blurring your vision.

“Crosshair, I can’t—”

You slipped on a rock loosened by the wet ground. You cried out and fell forward, landing on your hands harshly. You felt your palms sting as you tried to get to your feet, but Crosshair slid his hands under your armpits and lifted you just as there was a flash of bright light, and the mountain shook again, this time more violently. It felt like the lightning had hit the mountain this time, and when you tried to look up to check, your worst fears were confirmed as the sound of rocks tumbling began to get louder over the heavy rain. Panic coursed through your veins.

“Go!” Crosshair yelled, hand steady on your arm as you both ran, him pulling you forward. You could feel rocks landing behind you and you tried to run faster, skin numb from the rain.

“There’s a cave up ahead! Hurry!” Crosshair shouted as he led you towards the mouth of the cave. Your thighs and calves burned, and Crosshair pulled you inside just as rocks fell and covered the entrance of the cave, trapping you both inside.

You fell to your knees, catching your breath as you looked around and realised how dark it was. You’re eyes hadn’t adjusted yet, so could barely see anything, but you heard Crosshair’s body hit the ground nearby as he sat down, grunting as he took his helmet off. His breath moved quickly too as you blinked and tried reaching out to see where he was.

“Crosshair?” you said, patting the hard ground next to you until you found his knee.

“I’m here,” he said, placing a hand over yours. You sucked in a breath as his fingers curled around yours. “You okay?” He asked, his voice raspy.

Your heartbeat which had only just started to slow, picked up again as he held your hand again. How many more times was this going to happen? Would you ever not freak out when he touched you now? Was that his intention?

You swallowed. “Yeah, I’m okay. Are you?”

You felt the muscles in his hand flex. “Yeah.”

You took in a shaky breath and let him hold your hand again, relishing in the feel of his fingers wrapped around yours for a moment, so warm and solid. The feel of his knee under your palm, a part of the body you had originally thought completely savoury until this very moment. After a moment too long of no sound except the roaring rain on the other side of the rock, you cleared your throat before you felt around you with your other hand. “I can’t see.”

“I can.”

You blushed profusely and hoped to the Force you didn’t look as bewildered as you felt. “Right. Of course.”

Crosshair slowly let go of your hand but made a point of keeping your empty palm on his knee, like he knew you needed to feel him close by.

The word intentional flashed in your mind.

Your stomach turned over at the gesture and you wiped your face with your other hand, shoulders beginning to shake. You heard Crosshair take off his pack and scramble through it, pulling out a small light that he usually placed on the end of his rifle. He clicked it on, and you shielded your eyes, before blinking your vision clear. Now you could see Crosshair’s face half illuminated, his brow was creased as he held out the light to you.

“Thanks,” you said, taking it from him. You pointed it around the cave and realised it was not so much a cave, but an oversized cavity in the side of the mountain. It wasn’t very deep, and it looked like its width was only a little bigger than Crosshair was tall. But it had saved your lives. You looked behind you, at the rocks that had fallen there.

“How are we going to get out of here?” you asked, running the light over the edge of the cave to see if there were any openings, but there were none substantial enough for you to try and get leverage to move the rocks that blocked you both in. Some rain fell through the cracks, the water landing on the rock as the storm carried on outside. That was good – at least you had some airflow.

“We need to wait for the storm to pass before we can see if comms will work to call the others,” Crosshair explained. “If we can’t contact them, we’ll have to wait for them to find us.”

The thought of being trapped in here for an undetermined amount of time made your heartbeat begin to race. “And if they can’t find us?”

“They will.” Crosshair’s conviction was comforting. You’d learnt that his belief in his brothers was unwavering, and never misplaced. If he believed that they would find them, then you did too.

You looked at him, careful not to shine the light in his sensitive eyes. His gaze was on you, and this might’ve been the first time you didn’t feel the need to avert your eyes. As intense as his gaze was, it was soft, and the brown of his eyes shined in the low light. Your hand was still on his knee and your eyes flicked down to it. You didn’t know if removing it would make it more awkward, or if leaving it there would. In the split-second moment, you were debating it in your head, with your body still shaking when Crosshair interrupted your thoughts.

“You’re shivering,” Crosshair said. “You need to get dry.”

You looked up at him and realised just how much you were shivering, now that the adrenaline had worn off. Your clothes were soaked through from the downpour, and the chill was sinking into your bones. You knew that if you didn’t get dry, you would get hypothermic.

You held out the light to Crosshair to take, which he did wordlessly. With shaky hands, you pulled your med pack off your back and placed it in front of you. Crosshair shined the light where you needed it as you searched through the items for a reflective blanket and when you found it, you pulled it out, the light bouncing off the shiny fabric. You looked at Crosshair, heat crawling up your neck.

“Um, I need to…”

Crosshair turned his head immediately but kept the light pointed in your direction. As quickly as you could, embarrassment flooding your trembling frame, you removed the layers of clothes you had on. You kept on the black GAR issue bodysuit you wore under all your clothes, even if it was slightly damp – you weren’t going to be completely bare with just a blanket between you and Crosshair. As you stripped everything off, you noticed the palms of your hands were grazed from the fall, and it hurt to move them as the skin stretched. You would deal with it once you weren’t shivering anymore, but the priority right now was to get warm.

Once you piled all your clothes together – there was no hope in everything drying whilst you were stuck in here, you pulled your knees to your chest and wrapped the reflective blanket around you tightly.

“Okay.” You said and Crosshair looked over and he squinted as the light bounced off the blanket, gaze searching your frame.

“What about your hands?”

“My hands?”

“You fell. I saw your palms are grazed.”

He was so perceptive, you wondered what else he saw that he never acknowledged. “I’ll patch them up after I stop shaking,” you told him, wrapping the blanket tighter.

Crosshair shook his head. “Aren’t you always telling us that injuries should be treated as soon as possible? Give me this—” he pulled the med pack in front of him and pointed the light inside.

“Crosshair—” You said as he dug around your pack, pulling out some antibac wipes and bacta patches. “You don’t have to. It’s not your job.”

Crosshair sent you a withering look before he placed the light between his teeth and gestured for you to show him your hands. You sighed and pulled your hands out of the blanket as best you could without it slipping off your shoulders. You turned your palms up, still slightly tremoring. They weren’t bleeding, but they were red and rubbed raw from the gravel you landed on. And they stung, but you were trying to be brave about it.

They were easily treatable, but your hands didn’t look pretty, that’s for sure.

Crosshair looked at them, adjusting the light in his mouth so they were completely illuminated before he shook his head with a frown, ripped open an antibac wipe, and cradled one of your hands in his.

He met your eyes, a silent question in their gentle expression as his hand was poised, wipe ready to be drawn across your palms. You’d never seen him look at you like this before; this softly. It was so easy for your crush to bloom when he looked at you like this. You looked into his brown-eyed gaze, cheeks heated, and you nodded.

Crosshair gently placed the wipe on your palms, and you sucked in a breath as it stung the exposed skin. You felt the hand that cradled yours tighten and then he slowly began to clean the wound. With his attention on your hand, you could watch him unabashedly. The roles between you had now reversed. He was treating your hands as attentively as you treated his. The way he held your hand in his large palm was so gentle that your heart fluttered. You could feel the heat permeate from under his gloves into your skin, and you felt your hand slowly begin to still, the warmth returning to you with his touch. You were so touched at the way he was doing this for you, without you even asking. The way he insisted upon it. You hadn’t expected it after the medbay, and you ignored the little voice in the back of your head that asked what his intention was and simply savoured this moment of kindness from the man you were hopelessly crushing on.

He was as methodical as he was when cleaning his rifle, wiping the wound on one hand in even strokes that coated all the raw skin twice before he moved to the other hand, a new wipe this time.

You watched the way the light was poised between his teeth, and when his eyes flicked to yours for a moment, you averted your gaze back to your hands reflexively. You heard him breathe out through his nose harshly as he discarded the wipe and grabbed a bacta patch, pressing it between his palms to warm the liquid. You watched him, your eyes meeting his tattooed gaze once again as your hands remained suspended between you.

You thought back to the medbay, at how his fingers had curled around yours so naturally like it was instinctual; at the way he pulled his hands away so quickly and so forcefully it was like your hands had been burnt; at how fast he’d left you standing there, reeling from his actions. You tried to think of what his intention had been, and what you had done that had made him retreat.

“I’m sorry…for the other day.” Your voice was quiet in the small space. The storm continued to rage outside, but there was no way he hadn’t heard you. Crosshair looked at you, knowing exactly what it was you were referring to, and placed the bacta patches in one hand before removing the light from his mouth to talk, confusion etched into his brow.

“Why?”

You brought your lips between your teeth as your eyes flicked between his. “Because I upset you.”

Crosshair looked at you for a moment, an undiscernible expression passed over his half-shadowed face as your eyes stayed locked on each other. What you would give to know what he was thinking, what thoughts swirled in his head. Two months of watching him had barely scratched the surface – you wanted to know everything, to be privy to the innermost workings of his mind.

Crosshair was the first to break his gaze, shaking his head.

“You didn’t upset me.”

You frowned at him, but before you could ask him what he meant, he had placed the end of the light back between his teeth and started applying the bacta patches to your palms, activating the adhesive and smoothing them down over your hands with his thumbs. He held one of your hands in both of his, his fingertips touching the back of your hand as he ran his thumbs along the edges of the bacta patch. He pressed them gently down, and you could already feel the bacta doing its job. He did the same thing to the other side.

You watched him and you realised you’d never felt so cared for before. Never had you been held so gently, treated with such practised methodical hands that were also so soft and caring. Your heart swelled.

He took the light out of his mouth. “Bandages?”

You cleared your throat. “They’re in the side pocket.”

Crosshair took some out and started wrapping your hands up so the bacta patch would be more secure. He was so good at this. With the light dangling from his teeth, he circled the bandage around one hand, before he tied it off and tucked the end, and then the same on the other side.

When he was done, he dropped his hands from yours and removed the light from his teeth for the final time.

You looked at your hands. You couldn’t have treated them better if you had done it yourself. You hadn’t even had to coach him through what to do, and that impressed you. It only made the warmth in your chest grow, that hopeless crush in full bloom and only growing more hopeless by the minute.

“Thank you,” you told him and pulled your hands back underneath the blanket.

Crosshair hummed and then placed the light up on its base between you both and leaned it against the rocks behind you, so the beam of light shined upwards and illuminated where you at. You watched him then sit back against the rock, stretching his long legs out in front of him and closing his eyes, sighing. You sat facing him and brought the blanket around you tighter. You no longer shivered, but you still wanted to be warmer than you were. You stared at the side of his face, Crosshair’s profile half-lit in the light. You gazed at the brown of his skin, the sliver of his hair, the slope of his nose, the purse of his lips. You noted the stubble lining his angled jawline, and wondered what it would feel like against your lips. He was beautiful.

“Crosshair?”

He only hummed again in response.

You tightened your hold on the blanket as you worked up the courage to ask the question that was burning inside you. You couldn’t sit here anymore and not know.

“If I didn’t upset you…what happened?”

Crosshair opened his eyes, but he didn’t speak straight away. It was like he was searching for the right words, the best way to explain what had happened. You waited patiently for him to answer, your anxiety only building in anticipation.

Crosshair scraped the sole of his foot on the floor of the cavity as he brought one of his knees to his chest, resting his elbow on it. You swore you saw the tips of his ears turn pink, but you weren’t sure in this light. “I…crossed a boundary, and I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry for acting the way I did.”

You blinked at him, confused. That was the last thing you expected him to say, especially his apology. “Boundary? What boundary?”

“Does it matter?” Crosshair grumbled, his voice scratching.

“It does to me,” you told him gently.

He turned quiet again. He avoided your eyes, instead choosing to focus on a spot on his knee, frown etching deeper into his brow. You wished he would look at you. All those times you caught him watching you, now you willed him to meet your gaze. If he looked at you, you would be able to tell him with your eyes that he could trust you with whatever it was he was having a hard time verbalising. That you wouldn’t judge him the way you knew so many people did. That you saw him, how underneath all that surly exterior was a kind heart who’d been wounded too many times. But he pointedly didn’t look at you, and all you wished to say would remain your secret.

Crosshair sighed, breaking the silence. “You’re our medic, that’s more important.”

That only puzzled you more. “More important than what?”

Quiet descended again, and after several moments, you tentatively reached out and placed a bandaged hand on his shoulder pauldron. His eyes darted to you, wide like they were before in that medbay, and he shrugged you off, his voice hard and frustrated, and his cheeks tinted pink.

“Just forget it. It won’t happen again.”

You watched him, and the way his hands were clenched on his knees. The way he wasn’t looking at you anymore. You recalled the panic in his eyes that you saw in the medbay when he allowed himself the comfort of holding your hand, and how he’d had that same expression just before. You thought back to all the times you caught him looking at you, the way his eyes never left you – even when it was just the two of you during check-ups. The way he brushed up next to you when standing in mission briefings. The way he didn’t hesitate to touch you when he was helping you or keeping you safe – because it was easier to hide behind those gestures than the curling of his fingers around yours alone in the medbay.

Intentional. Intentional. Intentional.

Oh. Oh.

You felt your heartbeat increase as heat rushed through your body, your stomach flipping over at the realisation. You bit the insides of your mouth to stop yourself from smiling before taking a breath. It all made sense now.

Crosshair wasn’t upset at you, he was embarrassed. The man who was so careful about everything he said and did, had one moment where he allowed himself to do something on a whim, and it had made him vulnerable. The impulse had revealed a secret part of himself he had always intended to keep hidden, and now it was out there, and he was embarrassed about it.

He was embarrassed because he thought you didn’t feel the same.

What a fool. A beautiful stupid fool.

Nerves rattled through your body, but you couldn’t sit here any longer and not let him know how you felt too. “Crosshair…” you said his name softly, barely above a whisper.

Crosshair didn’t move, his eyes stayed glued to the middle distance, his hands still clenched into fists. You let out a breath and held out your bandaged hands. At the movement in his periphery, his eyes slid towards your hands and then up to your face. You flexed your fingers, a silent signal to place his hands in yours. His mouth turned into a line and just when you thought he wouldn’t, he slowly placed one of his tight fists in your palms.

You cradled his hand, the back of it resting in your bandaged palm. As best you could with your other bandaged hand, you began to manually unfurl his fingers, spreading them out slowly against yours. He let you, his hand as pliable as it usually was when you did this – there was no apprehension in this moment, only trust. You began to slowly massage his hand, pressing and kneading the joints of his knuckles and the centre of his palm. Neither of you spoke, and the storm continued its fury on the other side of the rock, but it very well could’ve been a parsec away with how intimate this moment was. All you could focus on was him. You could feel him watching you, wondering what you were doing, but you didn’t let his intense gaze pull you away. Not anymore.

Once you reached the end of the massage, you slid your palm over his, fingers lined up. You moved your hand slowly like he was a baby tooka you had to coax into your lap, you were giving him time to pull away. You let your fingers fall between the gaps of his and then curled your fingers down, so you held his hand.

You felt him tense as he realised what was happening, and you looked at him, but his eyes were locked on your intertwined hands. You waited to see if he pulled away, but he didn’t. His hand stayed firmly in yours, his fingers still splayed out – but his palm stayed pressed into yours. You heard him take in a shaky breath as he finally looked at you.

His eyes had softened on the edges, but his shoulders were still tense, and he had an expression that looked like he was pleading with you; begging you not to play with him like this.

You wouldn’t dream of it.

“Is…is this the boundary?” you asked. You felt Crosshair shift, and his voice came out in a rasp and his ears were definitely pink in this dim light.

“Yes.”

You looked down at your intertwined hands and squeezed his gently. “And me being your medic is more important than this?”

His reply came a second and a half later, all strained and breathy. “Yes.”

You looked at him, his tattooed gaze boring into your face. Ever the perceptive one, you could see he was trying to figure out what you were doing, and why you were doing it. You offered him a smile as you gave him the answer.

“This…this isn’t a boundary for me. Me being your medic has never mattered when it comes to this with you, and never will.”

You watched his eyes widen minutely, and if you didn’t know his face so well, you wouldn’t have noticed anything. But other than that almost indiscernible change in expression, Crosshair remained unmoving, his shoulders still rigid and his fingers still splayed out, not touching the back of your hand.

You searched his face and suddenly felt like you had completely misjudged his actions. Maybe he didn’t have the same crush on you, you did him. Maybe he had just held your hand by mistake, that what you thought had all been intentional, wasn’t actually intentional at all.

Your face burned and embarrassment flooded your body. You started to pull your hand away from him.

“But if it’s a boundary for you—”

But Crosshair’s fingers came down before you could rip your hand away, and he held your hand to his tightly, stopping your palm from leaving his. His hold was secure, warm and purposeful. There was nothing to hide behind anymore.

“It’s not,” he told you, his voice as soft as you’d ever heard it. He looked at you, and he was more vulnerable than you’d ever seen him. You felt your heartbeat flutter. You knew this was hard for him, vulnerability of any kind wasn’t Crosshair’s comfort zone. You smiled at him as reassuringly as you could.

“Good.”

You felt his shoulders drop as his whole body relaxed. Your heart almost burst when you saw the corner of his mouth turn up at you – a smile that was yours and yours alone. You smiled at him, that warmth in your chest glowing brightly, making you feel so at home, you almost didn’t mind you were trapped in this space. You were with Crosshair, and that was enough.

You both sat there, holding hands in the torchlight. It was such an innocent kind of intimacy, but for you both, it held so much. So many unspoken feelings now known through the feel of your palms against each other. You never wanted to let go, and you suspected he didn’t either. You felt his finger muscles flex and you squeezed his hand. He lifted his thumb and placed it on top of yours, stroking it gently in a ministration so comforting you could’ve sobbed. You smiled at him, and he returned it.

A genuine Crosshair smile was a rare gift so few received. He kept them, saving them for the people he trusted and loved. To get one now, to see the corners of his eyes crinkle and the smile lines in his cheeks stretch in a closed-mouth smile, you felt honoured. You never imagined you would ever see Crosshair smile at you like this, to let you close like this – to let you close at all. The dim light of the cave had revealed the disappearing ink of his feelings, and it was extraordinary. You would tell him the full extent of what you felt for him in time, but for now, your feelings were wordlessly exchanged with just you two for witnesses.

You watched as Crosshair tentatively and wordlessly brought the back of your hand to his lips. With his tattooed gaze on you the whole time, he placed a lingering kiss there. You inhaled sharply at the gesture and the skin tingled under the bandage where he kissed you. The rain outside was heavy, but your heart felt light – like if you weren’t trapped in this space, you float away and join those rocks in the sky. You watched him pull away, brushing his lips on the spot for a moment before he let your hands drop between you.

“Was that okay?” he asked, his husky voice asked softly.

You chuckled, a grin stretching across your face. “Yes. More than okay.”

Crosshair hummed, his eyes smiling. “Good.”

The mountain shook again, and you looked around you frantically as dust from the cavity began to fall on you both. Crosshair pulled you against him, arms going around you as he shielded you to his chest. You held onto the edge of his chest plate so tight it dug into your fingers, your face pressed into his chest as he held you tightly. You squeezed your eyes shut and tried to focus on the mixed smell of soap and wood of Crosshair instead of the panic that coursed through you. When the tremor stopped, you looked up at him, and him at you.

“You okay?” he asked

“Yeah,” you lifted your head but didn’t dare untangle yourself from Crosshair’s arms.

Crosshair adjusted the blanket on your shoulders, pulling it tighter around you. “The longer this storm goes on, the more danger we’re in.”

“Should we try the comms again?”

Crosshair let go of you briefly to grab his helmet and put it on. “Hunter, come in. Tech? Wrecker? Echo? Do you read?”

You waited. Crosshair’s arm tightened on you, but he let out a frustrated sigh and pulled the helmet off roughly, setting it down next to him. “Still nothing.”

You let your head rest on his shoulder as you sighed. “What do we do?”

“Wait.”

You groaned. Crosshair chuckled and you felt his hand run up and down your back soothingly. It was a simple gesture, but one that conveyed how much he cared for you. A man of few words, he let his actions show his feelings for you. And you had no doubts about it.

After a minute, you lifted your head to find him looking down at you intensely. You felt his arms tighten on you as this hand travelled down to your waist and stayed there. You blinked up at him, drawing your eyes across his face before they landed on his lips.

They had been so soft when they touched the back of your hand, what would they feel like pressed against your own? You’d dreamt about it, but you had a feeling that it would be nothing to the reality of it.

“N’edee?” His voice was quiet, but you feel the weight on them in your stomach.

“Hmm?” you hummed innocently, but there was nothing innocent about what was running through your mind right now.

“Can I test another boundary?” His tone was hesitant, careful as he leaned in a little closer to you.

Your voice came out in a whisper. “Which one?”

“This one.”

Crosshair slowly closed the distance between you and pressed his lips to yours. It was like your whole body lit up inside, igniting you so completely you were aware of every nerve ending you had. Your fingers tightened on his armour just as Crosshair languidly pulled away after too brief a moment. You stared at him, dazed with your mouth parted slightly, and in need of more.

“Well?” he asked, his voice like silk.

You were breathless. “Not a boundary. Kiss me as much as you like.”

“If you insist,” he smirked and pressed his lips to yours again.

Kissing Crosshair was an all-consuming kind of feeling. That magnetic pull he already had on you only seemed to intensify the minute his lips descended on yours. You wrapped your arms around his neck as he hoisted you onto his lap, your thighs falling on either side of his as you straddled him, and the blanket slipped off your shoulders – not that you needed it anymore with the heat that thrummed through you.

You melted into the kiss, and you were right – your dreams of his lips were nothing compared to the real thing. You felt the tickle of his breath on your cheek as you arched yourself closer to him. With just your body suit on, you could feel every hard ridge of his armour against you. His arms moved across your back, and you could feel his fingertips searing along your shoulder blades. His hot mouth moved against yours and you allowed yourself to nip at his lips. You felt him flinch before his lips stretched into a smile against yours, a chuckle vibrating his chest.

“Guess you do have some bite, N’edee,” he mumbled against your lips.

“Just for you,” you breathed, and he groaned into your mouth, kissing you deeper.

He was just as starved for you as you were for him, and you wondered how long exactly he’d been feeling like this towards you, but you’d ask such questions later. His mouth was heavenly, his lips like a caress against yours. Your lips parted and he took the chance to deepen the kiss as you dragged your hands up into his buzzed hair, feeling the short strands against your fingernails. And you felt just how skilled he was his tongue as it slid against yours, and you silently thanked his toothpicks for giving him the practice.

You’d never been kissed with such passion before, with such intention. Now, he was no longer embarrassed, he did not hold back his kisses and touches. That knowledge made it all the more thrilling as Crosshair pressed you into him, pulling your hips against his with hands that you knew to be tender, but now held with you with such desire you felt dizzy.

He moved his lips down your jawline to just below your ear, and you panted as you tightened your arms around him, rocking into him. He sucked the skin there, his tongue darting out and wetting the area. It made you moan so loudly you were glad no one else could hear how desperate you sounded.

“Crosshair,” you moaned.

You felt him smirk against your skin before he made his way back to your lips. Groaning into your mouth again, you felt his hands move from your hips to your ass and back up again, and you felt your body go into overdrive, pulsing with a wanting need. Where did he learn to kiss like this? You wanted to thank whatever Kaminaon training module taught him, or the illicit holos you knew Tech had stashed on the locked-down data drive you found a week after you joined them – whichever it was.

You were so lost in his kisses, the way they grew in fervour with each press against your skin, you almost didn’t hear the beeping of Crosshair’s comm in his helmet.

“Crosshair,” you said when you finally heard it, pulling away, but his mouth just found your neck instead. You patted his shoulder. “Crosshair, the comm.”

“What?” he said raggedly. His lips ceased their attentions, and he pulled back. His lips were all swollen and you smiled at the knowledge that was all you. You stayed perched in his lap and he grabbed his helmet and put it on. You could hear the other voice when you were this close to him.

“Crosshair, come in.” It was Hunter.

“Copy, Hunter,” Crosshair said, and you mentally applauded him for not sounding as breathless as you would’ve.

“Are you and N’edee okay?”

Crosshair’s hand squeezed your thigh, and you squirmed on top of him, smiling. “For the moment. We’re trapped on the mountain. The storm caused a cave-in, and we can't get out.”

“We’ll lock in on your signal and fly to your location. Stand by.” You realised then the rain and thunder had stopped, and that the storm had now passed.

“Copy,” Crosshair said before he removed his helmet and placed it next to him again, and you both looked at each other. He gripped your hips. “They’re on their way in the Marauder. Wrecker will be able to push the rocks out of the way, and we’ll be free.”

You breathed in, relieved help was coming. “I didn’t even realise the storm had passed,”

“Well, we were busy,” Crosshair snided.

“Right,” you laughed lightly.

Crosshair looked away from you for the first time since everything changed between you, and his hands on your hips loosened. You frowned as you watched his once open expression, slowly begin to close off again in the dim light. He looked uncertain, all in his own head again and you realised that he was worried – worried that this moment together was but a brief interlude in which you got caught up in the danger of the situation. You wanted to shake his shoulders and tell him he was being absurd, how he could think such a thing after all you just said and did. But you didn’t, because like baby tooka, Crosshair needed gentle reassurance; that his vulnerability and his feelings were not being played with.

Later, when you had more time and were back on the Marauder and tucked away in the medbay just the two of you again, you would tell him just how much he had nestled his way into your heart. That your crush was much more than that, that you saw all of him, and though you were still learning to decipher the riddles he was made of, you never wanted to stop. That you saw all his intentions, and now yours was to hold his heart in your bandaged hands the way he held yours.

But for now, in your final moments alone with him before his brothers rescued you both, you locked your eyes on him and gently grabbed the hands that had slackened on your hips, linking your fingers together once more. You watched his eyes find yours, his brows slanted at the ends as he looked at you with all this apprehension. You brought his knuckles to your lips and kissed them, lips lingering there as you let the gesture convey wordlessly your intention to keep nurturing what was between you for as long as he let you. That this didn’t end once you were both bathed in sunlight again.

“I hope we’ll be busy again later? And many laters after that too?”

Crosshair’s shoulder relaxed and you smiled as the corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk, his eyes smiling as he squeezed your hands once more. “Oh, I’m counting on it.”

banner art by @vimse thank you reading! if you made it this far, thank you! i appreciate it so much! this is the longest standalone fic i've ever written!

TAGLIST FORM

#larissa writes #crosshair x reader #crosshair x reader fic #crosshair fluff #crosshair angst #soft crosshair #tbb x reader #the bad batch crosshair #tbb crosshair fic #the bad batch fic #bad batch crosshair x reader #tbb crosshair x you

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the-oc-lass · 1 month

Text

*Rings a bell* CROSSHAIR GIRLIES COME GET Y'ALLS FOOD

In light of all that angst we got last week, I decided to do some mental/emotional stability damage control and write a cute little fluff fic featuring Crosshair and a baby.

It is aptly titled Crosshair and a Baby and it's currently on Ao3. The baby and its mom are OCs but that's not important to the story. I'd like to think this takes place in some version of a post-season 3 timeline. Idk, though, because at this point I have no idea how this season ends. We're all in this stress together, my friends.

In case anybody doesn't want to go to Ao3, the full fic will also be here as well. Have at it:

Echo Yothia—or, more commonly and affectionately just called “Ec” so as not to confuse him with the man he was named after—is a bundle of joy and a beacon of hope among the clones. With Ec’s mother playing the role of general to the clone rebellion, the boys are more than happy to help her look after her kid. After all, he’s half clone, and therefore like their collective nephew (or son, technically, since they have the same DNA, but they’d much rather be the fun uncles). Omega, however, happily plays the role of big sister to little Ec, playing with him and keeping him occupied when the others are busy.

As of right now, she’s holding the baby while standing beside Crosshair, watching as Wrecker lifts Omega’s friend Ky—a Nautolan former-padawan—above his head while Ky giggles. Omega smiles and Ec giggles and squirms slightly, reaching a little hand toward Wrecker.

“Omega!” The young clone turns her head, and Hunter waves a hand at her. “Come here a second.” Omega nods, then turns toward Crosshair.

“Here, you hold him while I’m gone,” she says. Crosshair looks between her and the baby, giving her an unamused look. “Come on, Crosshair! I won’t be gone long. All you have to do is not drop him!” Crosshair looks at her for a moment more, then sighs.

“Fine,” he says, carefully taking the baby. He’d never admit it, but the reluctance is mostly for show. He likes Ec about as much as every other clone, really. Omega smiles at him, then runs off to see Hunter. Crosshair watches her for a moment, then turns his attention down to Ec. The infant stares up at him with big brown eyes, smiling at him and giggling slightly. Crosshair frowns slightly, gently poking at the child’s nose. “What are you looking at, runt?” The little nose boop only serves to make Ec giggle again, and he lifts tiny hands to grasp onto Crosshair’s finger. As soon as his finger is in Ec’s clutches, Crosshair stills. Ec was a “preemie” (according to the nat-borns) born almost a month before he was supposed to, and he’s been small and tubby since then. He’s the type of baby that the Kaminoans would’ve never kept around, a fact that lingers with many of the clones—Crosshair included. In addition to the small child being so, well, small, he’s also being raised in the middle of a rebellion. You can’t blame them for being so protective of little Ec. Say what you will about Crosshair, but he’s not cold and heartless. In fact, he admits that when Ec grabs onto his finger, a warm feeling spreads through his chest, loosening a knot that he’d forgotten was there. Calling the kid “runt” is practically a nickname by now. He’s careful when he extracts his finger from Ec’s grasp, briefly punching a tiny cheek before he shifts the child in his arms. Ec whines a little, but Crosshair shushes him gently. For just a moment, Crosshair turns his gaze back in Omega’s direction, trying to see what she and Hunter are up to. However, Ec whines again, insistently patting at Crosshair’s jaw. The clone sighs and looks down at the infant, watching his eyes sparkle when Crosshair gives him attention again. Crosshair sighs, stroking his hand over the child’s short hair. It’s mostly brown, but there’s a tuft of his mother’s green coming in at the front. He’s going to have weird hair when he grows up. Ec giggles and pats at Crosshair’s jaw again. “Dada!” The entire galaxy stops. Planets stop rotating, stars fall out of motion, and the air is ripped out of Crosshair’s lungs. He knows the significance of that word for nat-borns. Logically, he knows that Ec probably doesn’t know which of the clones is his actual father and because he’s around them all the time, he’d probably call any of them “dada.” But as far as Crosshair is aware, this is the first time Ec has spoken anything coherent. It’s his first word. And he just said that word to Crosshair and called him dada. The clone stares down at the baby with wide eyes and Ec’s face scrunches into something a little sadder. “Dada?” Crosshair finally breaks out of his stupor, lifting his hand to stroke the baby’s cheek. Ec’s look of happiness returns, and Crosshair briefly looks around. It seems like no one else heard what Ec said. As Crosshair looks back at Ec, he decides it’s for the best. It’s a strange sort of honor to be the first one to hear Ec speak, but that honor should go to Ec’s mother, or Echo, or his actual father. Crosshair smiles slightly at Ec. This can be their little secret. He glances around again before planting a quick little kiss on the top of Ec’s head, and the baby giggles. He doesn’t speak again the entire time that Crosshair continues to hold him, and is eventually passed back to Omega to be brought back to his mother. Even when he’s gone, the warm feeling lingers in Crosshair’s chest, and he smiles contently to himself.

#the bad batch #tbb #the bad batch s3 #the bad batch season 3 #tbb season 3 #tbb s3 #tbb crosshair #crosshair tbb #crosshair bad batch #crosshair and omega #omega tbb #omega bad batch #crosshair #crosshair fluff #bad batch fic

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nahoney22 · 2 years

Note

Congrats on your 2k followers! You deserve it!

I would like to request something soft and sweet with either Echo or Cross.. ❤

Thanks!

Unpredictable

Crosshair X F!Reader

word count: 2.3k

Reunited back with his brothers and sister, Crosshair also wasn’t expecting the party of six to be seven when you showed up. A kind hearted civilian who makes sure you’re all in check, Crosshair can’t help but harbour feelings for you as you show him what a little bit of kindness can do.

warnings: fluff for the most part, Crosshair has crush on reader, little bit of angst, mentions of the Empire and imperial Crosshair with chip removed. Enjoy. 🤍

———————————

There was a definite strain on the squad at the present moment with Crosshair returning. He was quiet usually, never being a conversationalist anyway but now he was pretty much mute.

He’d grunt his responses about any topic, stayed out of planning missions and just followed orders without a question.

It was Omega who had definitely made a big effort to bring Crosshair out of his shell but he had once caught her staring at his burn and snapped at her about it.

She apologized straight away and he felt a twinge of regret when he saw her eyes get a little misty. The girl hurried away with her tail between her legs but Crosshair sighed and shook his head at his attitude. He should know better than to be hostile towards her. After all, she had saved his life when Kamino fell.

“Don’t worry, she’ll forget about it.”

Crosshair looks up at the sound of a sudden voice beside him. Your voice.

Right away, Crosshair was intrigued yet skeptical about you. Of course he was wary of new people and had trouble with trust now. After all, he had a chip in his head his whole life that made him lose control. He tried to kill his brothers… but all of these thoughts left when you spoke to him.

Problem was, he wasn’t very good at showing his interest towards you. Often he would be a little moody but for some reason unknown to him, you didn’t seem to mind. Instead, you just smiled at him and moved on about your day. He had a feeling you may have rolled your eyes behind his back whenever one of his brothers saw. But still, Crosshair couldn’t help but stare from afar as you tended to each of his brothers and sister.

“Maybe.” He manages out at long last of staring at you, glancing away as you sit on the chair across from him with a cup of caf in your embrace.

“No, she will. She likes you a lot.” You chuckle, watching as Omega began to climb onto Wreckers back as he did push ups just outside the cockpit door.

Crosshair watched too before stealing a glance your way, watching the way your lips pursed as you blew the radiating steam away from your cup before taking a sip. Your eyes closed, a content look on your face as you drink its contents and let out a little ‘ah’.

“Do you want some?”

A jolt of panic shot through him as he realised he got caught staring, a tinge in his mouth as he tried to swallow down the slight embarrassment. “No.”

You raise a brow, always slightly amused by his lack of manners but you came to the conclusion quickly that he had always been that way pre-Empire. Regardless, you enjoyed his silent company. He never chewed your ear off as much as you like Tech, he didn’t bicker when you wanted a moment's peace like Echo and Hunter did and he certainly did not try to use you as a weight during one of Wrecker’s workout routines. Oddly, the silence was often bliss when you were with him. Also, you could read him pretty well and knew when something was bothering him.

“Alright. May I check your scar?”

Crosshair grumbles internally but he had been aggressively itching it in his sleep, causing it to blister and it had seeped a little.

Tech first addressed it to him with a closer inspection, literally almost crawling in his lap to plant his goggles as close up and personal as he can to inspect the injury but the only person he’d let close to him at this moment in time was you.

Albeit, it was possibly because he did have a little crush on you. He couldn’t help it; you had shown him nothing but kindness which couldn’t really be said for his brothers. Understandably of course. They had tried with him but his temperament was something that needed work on.

“In the bunks. C’mon.” Crosshair gruffs, making his way to the bunks, leaving you behind.

“Lead the way, sir.” Your sarcastic tone rang in his ears and he almost cursed at himself for his bossy attitude when you’re just about to help him. Regardless, he sat on the edge of his bunk as you walked in and began to assess the scarring on his head.

“Does it feel sore?” You ask, head tilting as you analyze his injury and turn away to root for some supplies.

His arms fold over his chest, watching you only when your back is turned before looking down at his feet when you turn back with a spray in hand. “Not at the moment.”

You set the supplies down beside him and stared at him for a moment. You didn’t know what Crosshair was like before. Was he often this sullen? So distant? You felt yourself pitying him and you were so lost in your own thoughts that it took him to clear his throat to gain your attention back. “What are you staring at?”

You jolt a little, eyes looking at his face to see him staring right at you with a furrowed brow.

“Sorry, was just thinking about the best way to go about this.” You say smoothly, covering yourself with a lie rather than saying what you were actually thinking.

“Right,” he shifts a little in his spot, maybe starting to get a little uncomfortable. More so than before. “Just get it sorted or whatever you have to do. Wanna do some training.”

A small smile finds its way onto your lips and you grab some wipes and give him a quick warning that the spray may sting. “That’s exciting! What training are you thinking of doing today?”

Crosshair felt his jaw clenching, uncertain how he could respond just as eagerly as you did. You sprayed at his burn and you were right, it did sting but you were none the wiser if it hurt him. His face looked unfriendly even before the spray went on.

“Just shooting.” He replied.

You hum in acceptance at his answer although it was very boring. Ever so gently, not even realising you were doing it, your hand placed on his shoulder as if to give yourself balance when tending to him. You were using the wipes now, wiping away the excess spray as well as little spots of blood that dried around his skin.

The Sniper stiffened but he wasn’t sure if it was due to the pain or because you were touching him. He kept his head straight but his eyes drifted to the side, seeing your fingers gently rest on his shoulder and he felt different. Almost content that you trusted him enough to touch him.

“You know,” you speak up, bringing him out of his thoughts, “maybe you could take Omega with you?”

That content feeling vanished in an instant, almost annoyed that you would even suggest that. “Yeah? Don’t think the others would let her come with me alone.” He spat and you almost flinched at how he turned from almost calm to bitter very easily.

“Sorry I just thought-.”

“You thought wrong. That kid would get in the way.”

You sigh and pull away from him and instantly Crosshair misses your touch as you turn away and throw the used items away. “I disagree with you. She’d be interested in learning from you.”

“Doubt it.” He grunts. For someone so quiet he can be a right pain in the behind when he wants to be.

“Are you just going to not speak to her? To any of them?” You raised your voice a little, finally showing a sign of annoyance towards him. He was surprised but it wasn’t exactly a shock that you finally snapped at him. He knew he was being difficult but he knew he was gone beyond repair at this point.

He uncrossed his arms, fingers gripped to the edge of his bunk as he saw a certain glow in your eyes. He lost his voice, his reasoning at this point. He had done so much bad he felt as though there was no point of redemption, no matter what he did.

You could see the war in his mind from where you stood and you let out a dejected sigh and folded the medkit up and stowed it away. “Just try, please. I know we don’t know each other well and you don’t have to listen to me but just try.”

Crosshair stares at your back, not saying anything as his eyes squint a little before you turn back around and quickly put a patch on his head without giving him a second glance. “All done. You can go.”

He chews on the inside of his cheek, noticing how your usually relaxed shoulders are tense and he thought about your plea. He didn’t want to argue, especially with you so he slowly stood.

You were trying to occupy yourself by slowly packing stuff up, not wanting to seem that you were in a rush to get away but if he was going to be hostile, there was no point in you staying any longer. Even if you found yourself wanting to.

Your ears perked up, hearing some rustling and then a subtle tap to your shoulder.

You glance over to see him holding his arm out to you, something bunched up in his grasp. He wasn’t looking at you but his cheeks were a flaming glow which peaked your interest.

“What’s this?” You question, now turning to face him fully.

“Just… take it.” He winces, looking straight ahead at the door he was almost getting ready to bound out.

You reach out your hand and that’s when he dropped something into it. You pulled it towards you and your heart swelled and your eyes began to water. “Why?” Was all you could ask.

A week ago or how many rotations it was, you had all been in a market place. You were with Omega, glancing at a makeshift store that had little beaded necklaces and bracelets. Your eyes lingered on a bracelet for far too long that when the keeper abruptly went ‘are you going to buy it or what?’, it had caught his attention as he walked on by.

At the time, you had no credits and shook your head, apologising and moved on but Crosshair didn’t move. He looked at the bracelet, then to you as you walked off and then back at it. He didn’t know what possessed him but he knew he had to buy it and so he did. He wanted to give it to you sooner but with his emotions being rattled, he postponed.

He shrugged at your question. “You do too much for us. The others don’t appreciate you.”

“And you do?”

He snaps his head towards you, ready to object but he sees that teasing smile on your lips and watches as you slip it on your wrist. “Thank you, Crosshair.”

“Don’t mention it. Ever.”

You giggled softly, and nod. “I won’t.” He nods and begins to walk away, almost satisfied but pauses when he hears you speak up again. “As long as…”

He looks over his shoulder, raising a brow. “As long as you take Omega with you.”

Conflicted, he’s about to object but you take a step towards him and tap your new and loved bracelet. “Or I tell the others you like me.”

“I don’t like you.” He says, rather quickly. Too quickly to know he was full of it and judging by his cheeks that are still pink, you humble him.

“You’re a good guy, Crosshair. I know you haven’t always been like this.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Tell me then, have you?”

He licks his lower lip before yet again, shrugging his shoulders. “I know I haven’t killed innocents before the Order.” He grimaced, looking away from you and bowing his head in shame.

Ever so gently, you reach out to him and tug on his arm so he could face you. “That wasn’t you. You couldn’t help it.” You say softly as Crosshair, surprisingly, let you stroke up and down his arm. The touch was foreign and he felt that odd feeling in his stomach he usually did when he looked at you.

“But-.”

“No buts. Times have changed and your back with your family. You’re not a bad person; you’re just someone that had bad things happen to them. We move forward now.” You say quietly, only realizing how close you two came.

He became rigid, breathing heavily as he scans your face, eyes falling on your lips for more than he would’ve liked. You noticed and he knew you noticed. “I meant what I said. You do too much for us.”

You hum, tilting your head and taking a small step closer to him. “Should I do less?” Your idle gesture to you touching him, his mouth drying but he shook his head.

“No, but you need to look after yourself.” He breathes quietly.

“I’ve got someone like you to look after me.”

At that moment he felt for the first time in a long time accepted. His heart began to race, palms a little sweaty and the look he was giving you was none short of adoring.

He takes a gamble, very unpredictable, and leans forward with two hands resting on your cheeks, noticing how soft you felt before placing a kiss to your forehead.

A gasp escapes your throat, eyes fluttering closed as his lips linger, pulling away for a moment and ever so gently lowers his head. His lips traced along your nose, kissing the tip before he got lower and lower until his lips hovered just over yours. “You’re right. You’ve got me, pretty girl.”

But he doesn’t kiss you. He didn’t want to overstep it. So he pulls back, gently letting you go.

Your heart almost punches its way out of your chest. Your eyes were still closed when he left, only opening when you heard the door whoosh open and spot him making a path straight towards Omega.

You couldn’t hear what he was saying but he had picked up his rifle and left the ship with a beaming Omega running straight after him.

He really was unpredictable.

—————————————

Crosshair Works

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#Crosshair fluff #tbb crosshair x reader #bad batch crosshair #the bad batch #bad batch #tbb #Crosshair x you #nahoney22 writes #nahoney22 requests

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freesia-writes · 3 months

Note

hello friend, for the valentines rec - would you be interested in doing a fake dating/relationship situation b/w Crosshair and f!reader? go wild with why they have to fake date 😂

thankssss ❤️HB

THE CROSSHAIR EFFECT got me on this one! 😂 Sometimes when I write him, I just get absolutely sucked in. So this one had me in a mood and I quite enjoyed it. It's a little stereotypical or trope-y or something, but it's delightfully indulgent in my doofus opinion. So I hope you enjoy! 😊 Dividers by @stars-n-spice on this post here.

Crosshair x F!Reader Word Count: 2000ish, hehe Content Warnings: just kissin and in-universe cussin

OH, and since this takes place at a fancy gala, I have to link this gorgeous fanart by @perfectlywingedcrusade because it's just fitting and should be appreciated by everyone. They're lovely images of Crosshair and her OC, so check em out!

A kiss on the hand and a cup of the face

Holding each other close in fancy attire

Out for a stroll while lookin good

The grand gala was in full swing, the opulent castle venue aglow with soft, golden light and the murmur of animated conversations. You and Crosshair, disguised as a wealthy couple, moved gracefully through the crowd, your steps synchronized as you navigated the sea of elegantly dressed guests. The stoic sniper's presence beside you was palpable, his every movement calculated and precise. His sharp gaze swept over the room, taking in every detail with a keen eye for potential threats. Despite the formal attire he wore, there was an unmistakable air of danger about him, a reminder of the skilled soldier lurking beneath the facade of a sophisticated gentleman. And it kinda gave you the tingles.

As you exchanged pleasantries with other guests, your mind raced with the mission at hand. The two of you had been tasked with infiltrating the gala to gather intel on a new weapon being developed by the Separatists. It was a high-stakes operation, and the success of the mission relied on your ability to blend in seamlessly with the crowd while discreetly gathering information.

You stole a glance at him, marveling at the effortless way he maintained his cover. His demeanor was cool and collected, his expression unreadable as he engaged in polite conversation with the other guests. You marveled at his ability to remain composed under pressure, and if you were being honest, you’d admired him for a long time, and had given in to an increasing amount of time spent thinking about being with him in various scenarios. So when this mission had come up in such a way that required you to pretend you were in a relationship, you’d had to fight hard to keep your face neutral and even harder to ignore the pronounced eyeroll and scoff of disgust he’d made.

You were still trying to push the thought from your mind as you leaned against the bar, having split up to different parts of the room. You could swear there had been some significant moments between the two of you, conversations that showed some vulnerability, slight softening in his piercing glares… But sometimes you wondered if the entire dynamic was just wishful thinking on your part.

“Haven’t seen you around here before,” a fellow attendee said, sidling up beside you at the bar. You gave a small smile and a nod, just enough to acknowledge him without being memorable in any way, hoping he would take the hint.

He didn’t.

“Where are you from?” he pressed, stepping slightly closer and holding up two fingers to the bartender, who had waved to him for his order. “I feel like I’d remember a beautiful thing like you.” You had your selection of default answers, offering some uninteresting and vague information, but he was a bona fide hemorrhoid, weaseling ever closer both verbally and physically.

“I feel like you’re not being entirely honest with me,” he purred, tilting his head and reaching to trace fingers along your arm.

“I’m not sure I want to tell all my secrets to someone I just met,” you replied, matching his suggestive energy to avoid triggering any toxic masculinity. You gave him a small smile, but it was met with a furrowed brow that made you start to feel a little anxious at how to get out of this particular situation.

Right on cue, however, Crosshair stepped in, his arm sliding around your waist as he pulled you close. Your heart skipped a beat as you glanced up at him, face relaxing into content familiarity.

"Darling, there you are," he said smoothly, flashing the intruder a charming smile. The honey-sweet words in his sibilant, smoky tone were absolutely intoxicating, and you silently cursed the flush that bloomed across your cheeks without your permission. "I've been looking all over for you."

The guest faltered, taken aback by Crosshair's sudden appearance, and when the sniper turned to face him fully, positively exuding confidence, he excused himself with a polite nod.

"Thanks," you murmured, grateful for the diversion.

"Don't mention it," he replied, his gaze lingering on you for a moment longer than necessary. "We have to be convincing, don’t we…”

“Sorry you got stuck doing this with me.” You felt a wave of frustration wash over you, beginning to feel tired of the way he seemed to jerk you back and forth between softness and harshness, fondness and disdain. You wished he would just come clean one way or the other.

“A mission’s a mission.”

“Mhm,” you agreed, feeling your mood souring by the second.

“Problem?” he asked quietly, forcing the fakest smile you’d ever seen as a couple passed by and fluttered their fans in your direction. It made you want to punch him.

“Nope. Just… On a mission.” You pulled your fur more tightly around you, scanning the room for the targets who were supposed to have the inside info. You’d had yet to locate them, despite schmoozing for the last hour or two. You didn’t notice the way his eyes followed the flow of your hair into a regal bun at the nape of your neck, nor the way they continued back up across your face, unreadable emotion flickering just beneath the surface.

“Oh, Chris, you’re hilarious,” you proclaimed, in the snooty voice you’d adopted around others. You could tell it grated on Crosshair’s nerves, and you couldn’t help the smug sense of satisfaction you felt when his steely gaze met yours for a moment in the privacy of a quick sideways look. You knew there’d be hell to pay later for randomly giving him a name like that, but you didn’t care. Your feet were aching and you’d been done with all the fake socializing about an hour and a half ago. But the two of you had finally worked your way into the “inner circle of sleemos”, as your partner had deemed them, and now were the critical moments upon which the entire mission hinged.

“Not nearly as delightful as you, my little poodoo,” he answered, earning a round of gasps and chuckles from the uppity crowd.

“I say!” declared a man with a huge space-walrus mustache. “That is quite the nickname, my good boy!” He chuffed heartily, casting a side glance at his tall, spiky wife who clearly didn’t approve. Quickly changing his demeanor, he was shaking his head in somber disapproval by the time he looked back at you.

“Oh, we’re just so… so close…” Crosshair continued, almost choking on his words as he looped an arm around your waist again and pulled you against him so abruptly that a little bit of your drink sloshed out of the glowing martini glass. You quickly turned your splutter of indignation into a playful giggle, not so subtly digging an elbow between his ribs as best you could. “I could just call her every name in the book,” he gushed, poking the tip of your nose with a single finger.

“Oh goodness,” you laughed, downing the rest of your drink in one huge gulp. “Would you excuse us? And can I get anyone else another drink?” You turned away so quickly, grabbing your partner by the arm and dragging him along, that you didn’t see Mr. Walrus Stache lifting a finger to take you up on that drink offer. Instead, you did your best to hide the absolute rage you felt beneath the surface as you found a side door out onto a small balcony. There was a single member of the waitstaff there, a Rhodian who was taking a drag off a long cigarette, and his luminous eyes narrowed at the two of you as you appeared, flicking the ash off the end of his smoke and dropping it to the ground before stalking back to work.

“What’s gotten into you?” Crosshair began, turning on you as soon as the last tails of the server’s apron were out of sight. You looked up at him, too frustrated to enjoy how close he was as he loomed above you furiously. “We finally get--”

“ME?!” you spluttered, grasping the shiny lapels of his suit jacket, “You think we’re gonna get anywhere with you calling me poodoo?!” In any other context, the sheer ridiculousness of the situation would have been hilarious, but the simmering undercurrent had risen to a rollicking boil, and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Well if you weren’t acting like such a little shi--”

“You’re ridiculous!” you yelled, fists clenched at your sides. But before you could finish the rest of your retort, his hand was clapped over your mouth, cutting off any further attempts to lash out at him. It did not, however, help to quell the fury within. You grabbed his arm with both hands, pulling at it in futility, then froze completely as he stepped in close, wedging a thigh between your legs and flattening you against the stone wall of the castle with his entire body. “What the f--”

“Just shut up for one second,” he hissed, and the sheer intensity of his presence combined with the exhilaration of him pressed against you took every last thought and word right out of your brain. You let out a breath, heart pounding against his chest where he’d bent himself around you, eyes large as they locked on his. He slowly removed his hand, wiping it on his pants with a slight wrinkle of the nose, then tucked it into his pocket, leaving the other arm braced on the wall above you. “Listen,” he said, quietly now, with an urgency yet softness that melted you to your core. “Whatever… this… is…” He took a deep breath, then continued, “We need to get that intel. Then you can… take care of yourself…” He finished with a tiny, confident nod, stepping back in surprise when you burst into laughter.

“Take care of myself?” You slapped your hands flat on his chest, pushing him away with playful force as you felt yourself puffing up again to put him in his place. “Crosshair, you don’t have a damn clue, do you…” You ran out of steam as you registered the myriad of emotions on his face, slowly falling silent as he closed the distance between the two of you again, emanating a different kind of energy this time.

“Care to enlighten me, then?” he asked, tilting his head at you with equal parts condescension and provocation. There was a smolder in his pale brown eyes that made your heart skip a beat, and you were so overrun with feelings of your own that you couldn’t even begin to sort out one from another. You reached for his lapels again, now using them to pull him back against you as you brought your mouth to his with a forceful, determined kiss. His tiny huff of an exhale had a million possible meanings, but you didn’t care, because one of his hands found your waist and the other cupped the back of your head, pressing his face into yours with a hunger that set your… heart… on fire.

You lost track of everything else as your senses were flooded with every magnificent aspect of him… His scent, touched up with a ritzy fragrance he’d added for the evening… His slightly raspy breathing… The warmth and passion that radiated from his strong, focused frame. The feeling of his mouth on yours was everything you’d imagined it to be, and he pulled back for a short breath of air before turning his head the other direction and capturing your lips again, slightly more open this time as you melted against him.

It felt like a split second and an hour later when you separated, with deep, ragged breaths and a blissfully dumbfounded look on your face, staring at him in awe and unabashed delight. He kept his face stoic, though there was a slight glow to his cheeks and a spark in his eyes that made your knees weak.

“Now can you keep your head on straight?” he poked, stepping back and straightening his suit.

“Absolutely not.”

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