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moonstrider9904 · 2 years

Text

Teachings

Chapter 7 of Moonlight

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{crossposted to AO3}

Chapter summary: After disaster on Bespin turned into a treasured memory for Clair thanks to her beloved sniper, she and Crosshair become increasingly closer as their journey leads them and the rest of the Bad Batch back to Coruscant.

Warnings/tags: Mature. Soft!Crosshair and some Jealous!Crosshair (a deadly yet fine combo). Self-defense training. Aside from that, just fluff.

Word count: 8.1k

Playlist: spells to fall asleep, opus 2 (piano version)

As they got farther from Bespin, the euphoria from her first kiss with Crosshair went down little by little, leaving Clair to think about what had happened. She’d been in danger, she’d been helpless upon a situation that could have ended very badly had Crosshair not showed up in time. She was so grateful he did, but there was still a thorn stinging at her.

She had been helpless.

She felt embarrassed, ashamed, foolish, even naïve. To think she wanted to go to Bespin with the boys as though it were a simple outing with friends. Maybe if she’d stayed in the village, she wouldn’t have become such an obstacle in their mission. And once she was, she didn’t know the first thing about how to defend herself. She’d been driven by fear and unable to do anything useful.

“Clair?” The mention of her name was muffled by the door of Hunter’s room, followed by three light knocks.

Well, at least his voice could calm her down. Her dress was off being washed, so she wore another borrowed set of pants and a t-shirt, both belonging to Crosshair even though his pants were too long for her. She took light steps up to the door before opening it to look up at his perfect figure as he looked down at her, concerned yet still soft.

“Morning,” Clair couldn’t help but grin at him despite her previous turmoil. Crosshair was perfect. He was tall, handsome, strong, and he looked at her with more love and sweetness than his eyes would ever muster at anything else. She still couldn’t fully believe he returned her feelings, let alone that she’d kissed him less than one rotation ago, and yet there he was.

Crosshair mustered a hint of a smile, but his hand went to hold hers and he gently interlaced his fingers with Clair’s. “Morning, Dumpling.”

Clair’s grin softened into a gentle smile as her body began to sway closer to Crosshair’s. She still wasn’t very clear on the whole displaying-affection thing, or on what they actually were, all she knew was they had strong mutual feelings and that she wanted to be near to him, breathe in his scent that would calm her down from any storm and make her feel safe. She noticed Crosshair also moved closer to her with a hand cupping her cheek so she could lean into his palm.

“What’s the matter?” He asked her.

“Nothing,” she said sweetly, her eyes still closed as she felt the warmth of his hand.

“I’m serious.”

Clair’s eyes opened. “You can see right through me, can’t you?”

“That and Hunter told on you,” he smirked. “He can feel whenever you’re tense, remember?”

“Right,” she cringed at the thought of never hiding anything from Hunter. How much did he know about her already?

“So tell me, what is it?” Crosshair prompted again.

She was still enjoying the feeling of his skin against hers, taking in every ounce of comfort she could. “I’ll tell you later…” She looked up into his eyes and smiled a bit wider. “Just hold me for now, will you?”

Crosshair returned that soft smile, and as much as he needed to know what was wrong with her, there was no way he could ever resist Clair. That girl was his weakness; any wish of hers was a command to him. He trailed his hands up to cup her cheeks, a gesture he previously never saw himself doing. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she looked up at him, seeming so soft, innocent, warm. And, just to add to all he already felt, she was wearing his clothes. He felt somehow, he was marking her as his and protecting her just with fabric that would usually be on him. All the love he felt for her hit him like a blast, spreading over his chest, and involuntarily his smile widened.

“You look cute in my clothes, Dumpling.”

Somehow, her smile became more beautiful, threatening to make Crosshair fall to his knees.

“They smell like you,” she said softly. “I love them, Berry Pie.”

Crosshair chuckled. What did he ever do that made him end up with such a lovely girl? He gently released Clair’s face to wrap his arms around her as he bent down, and though it was slow, he didn’t hesitate to press his lips onto hers. He could feel the way Clair smiled into the kiss before her lips moved in sync with his, her fingers gently tracing his neck and jawline before she wrapped her arms fully around his neck. Just as their kiss began to deepen, the hallway door opened followed by the sound of loud and indiscreet crunching invading the silence of the hall.

Though still in each other’s arms, Clair and Crosshair broke the kiss to look at the hallway’s entrance to see Wrecker leaning on the doorframe, gawking at them with overly curious eyes as he kept munching on salty snacks. Clair flustered and bashfully looked away, but Crosshair kept his gaze menacingly on Wrecker.

“Oh, don’t stop for me,” Wrecker said with his mouth full (such a classy gentleman). “You guys keep goin’.”

“W-Wrecker, we’d prefer to be alone,” Clair managed before Crosshair went full-on prick on his older brother.

“Oooh, ho ho!” Wrecker laughed and shot Clair a suggestive wink. “Alright then, get in there. I’ll warn you if anyone comes. I won’t make a sound and you won’t even notice I’m there, hearing everything.”

“Wrecker, I will stun you,” Crosshair snarled. “Leave.”

Wrecker shoved another handful of chips into his mouth before innocently throwing his hands up, dropping a few chips on the floor in the process as he turned around and left the hallway, closing the hall door on purpose. Clair let out a long sigh of relief as she wondered how she’d ever get any privacy with Crosshair while in the Marauder, meanwhile, Crosshair rolled his eyes heavily before his gaze landed on Clair again. At least the sight of her made him calm down a bit.

His eyes were still stern, a gesture she’d learned to decipher as concern rather than annoyance. “You’re not off the hook. What’s wrong?”

Clair sighed. “I’m just overthinking about what happened… how, maybe if you hadn’t arrived on time—”

“But I did.”

“I know, and I’m glad—”

“Stop,” he pressed a finger to his lips. “It didn’t get worse than that and I’m not letting you out of sight again. You’re never running a risk like that again.”

Clair softened and wondered if she was hearing what she thought he’d meant. Was he swearing he’d protect her at all costs? It sounded that way to her, and she was so grateful and humbled that she pressed herself onto him and hugged him close, albeit without thinking beforehand. Despite the gesture being sudden, Crosshair hugged her back and he allowed his breath to hover over the top of her head, letting her scent fill him entirely.

“Thank you…” She said in a whisper, worrying she might break into sobs.

“I’m not letting anything bad happen to you,” he repeated. “Don’t think about what could have happened, you’re here.”

She enjoyed the feeling of hugging Crosshair a few more seconds, and she truly felt safer than she ever had in her life. Still, it felt as though the hug had ended too soon when Crosshair walked to the hallway door, opening it once more and gesturing outside.

“After you, princess.”

And just like that, he’d made her forget any nasty thoughts and exchanged them for the worry of her knees wobbling too much. With a blush, she walked past the door with Crosshair following after her as they made their way to the cockpit where the other three Clones were spending their free time, except for Tech who seemed to be filing a report. Wrecker let out an indiscreet whistle as he saw them approaching followed by his signature loud laughter.

“Look who’s finally back!” Wrecker teased. “That was quick.”

“Stow it, buffoon.”

“You were totally making out in Hunter’s room!”

“We were not!” Clair corrected quickly.

“Oh, so you stayed in the hallway,” Wrecker winked at her. “Nice.”

“We weren’t doing anything,” Clair shoved Wrecker playfully and barely making him move in his chair only for Crosshair to approach afterwards to punch his arm.

“That’s a relief, I was worried Crosshair here didn’t last long,” Wrecker grinned.

“You son of a bitch,” Crosshair pushed Wrecker out of his chair only for the two of them to engage in a small wrestling match.

It was clear they were being really playful in their wrestling, so Clair didn’t do anything to stop it. Instead, she enjoyed watching the brothers try to one-up each other, and thinking of Crosshair’s playful nature with them stirred soft and fuzzy feelings within her. The Marauder’s cockpit was silent except for the wrestling as Tech continued typing away on his datapad and Hunter approached Clair, also looking at the fight before he scanned Clair up and down.

Hunter chuckled. “We need to find you some clothes that fit.”

“These are fine,” Clair admitted as a dreamy grin appeared on her face. “They’re Crosshair’s, so I can’t complain in the slightest.”

“Yeah but the pants are too long for you,” Hunter replied with friendly concern just as Crosshair and Wrecker finished their wrestling.

Wrecker laughed. “If those pants are too long for her—”

“I’ll gut you if you finish that sentence,” Crosshair threatened.

“Woah!” Wrecker threw his hands up innocently again. “I wasn’t going to tell her to take them off!” He looked deviously at Hunter. “I was going to suggest Hunter to lend her his pants. You know, since he’s the shortest of us four.”

Hunter looked unamused as the sound of Crosshair’s and even Tech’s snickering filled the cockpit.

“Ain’t that right, small king?” Wrecker kept teasing as he crouched down to be at Hunter’s height.

Crosshair loosened up and went to stand next to Wrecker, crouching down as well with that smug grin Clair loved so much.

“You know, he prefers to be called Hunny.”

“You two must feel great about yourselves,” Hunter dismissed as the two returned to their normal height.

“Nah,” Wrecker answered. “But we feel big.”

“Stop being so mean to your brother,” Clair said with a playful smile.

“Yeah, it’s not like Crosshair would tolerate seeing lovely Clair wearing my clothes,” Hunter slyly teased back. “Though they would be a better fit.”

“Lucky for all of you, Crosshair’s clothes are the only ones I want to wear,” Clair intervened. “Besides mine, of course.”

Wrecker went “Awww!” while Hunter smirked over at Crosshair, who in turn smirked at Clair for a couple of seconds before turning a way and taking a toothpick up to his mouth in an attempt to hide the shade of scarlet taking over his skin. Hearing those words coming from Clair meant more to him than he was willing to admit in front of his three brothers, so he simply went to see what Tech was doing on the holopad to not draw attention to himself.

“You alright?” Hunter approached Clair with a caring gaze, catching her off guard until she remembered Crosshair mentioned Hunter could sense when she was tense.

“I’m doing better now,” she answered. “I was just overthinking.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Hunter reassured. “Not as long as you’re with us. You already know he won’t let anything happen to you, and well, neither will we.”

She smiled sadly at him. “That really means a lot to me, Hunter. Thank you.”

“We do it gladly,” Wrecker said. “Think of us as your four personal bodyguards. Anyone tries coming near you, they’ll answer to my iron will,” he held up both of his fists.

Clair truly was moved by how they wanted to take care of her and reassure her, but her bitter feelings returned, and even with Hunter’s enhanced senses, Crosshair was the first to notice as he looked up from the holopad and stared at Clair. She avoided meeting his gaze, but now she felt the four clones looking at her closely.

“I…” She began. “I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“What?” Hunter said as he gently held her shoulder. “Why?”

“Because I feel like an obstacle!” Clair blurted. “I was foolish to let my guard down—”

“Clair, we were the ones who told you there was no danger around,” Tech said, putting the holopad down. “You are not to blame.”

“Even so, I—” she cut off and sighed. “I was so wrong to go with you. You’re soldiers and you have duties to do, I’m just a civilian. It would have been best if I’d stayed in the village.”

The four clones exchanged looks, and then Crosshair nodded at Hunter, who then looked at Clair.

“You’re not getting rid of us,” Hunter said. “And nobody blames you for what happened. We’re all fond of you, Clair. To tell you the truth, none of us want to see you leave.”

“Yeah, we’ve grown too used to your company,” Wrecker said and nudged Crosshair. “This one even got the hots for you.”

Clair blushed.

“And we will never see you as an obstacle or a burden,” Hunter told her with a kind smile. “Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with us.”

Clair smiled, moved by their kindness. “Okay, but that doesn’t change the fact that you interrupted your mission to go save me.”

“Which we did happily,” Hunter said.

“We were getting bored anyway,” Wrecker said, though it wasn’t of that much help.

Clair then met eyes with Crosshair. He didn’t speak, and she knew he wouldn’t anytime soon, not with his three brothers listening. His eyes were enough to get her thinking, though. He’d run off without asking any sort of permission, he’d simply gone to where she was to make sure she was safe. Afterwards, he’d remained with her making sure she’d be okay; he took her to a cute little bakery and kissed her under the skyline. The night couldn’t have ended more perfectly, and she couldn’t be more grateful.

Crosshair made his way to her and he looked at her softly, so much that even Hunter was surprised at the way he gazed at her. He’d never seen Crosshair so soft or genuine before. The sharpshooter gently took her hand as she continued to remember the scenery of their first kiss. Knowing he wouldn’t want to display much affection in front of his brothers, Clair settled for squeezing Crosshair’s hand.

“Well, then…” she said. “I’d at least like to learn some self-defense.”

“I told you, you won’t need that,” Crosshair said lowly.

Clair smiled up at him. “My safety isn’t a task you should take up on your own. I want to be prepared for a worst-case scenario, even if to just push someone down so you can do the rest of the kicking.”

“That’s our girl,” Hunter said.

“Clair, I’m going to protect you,” Crosshair insisted.

She smiled and squeezed his hands a bit tighter. “I know you will, Berry Pie.”

It softened Crosshair up to the point he accepted her wish to learn to defend herself, seeing it as something she should know and would never have to use. They looked at each other lovingly and for a moment it was as if neither of his brothers were there as they were all in full silence, only hearing the ship’s whirring in the background.

Wrecker brought his chips up again. “Now kiss!”

Clair playfully slapped the air in front of Wrecker as Crosshair looked at him with threatening eyes, and before they could start bickering again, Clair looked up at Hunter once more.

“I’d also like to learn more about what you guys do and help out wherever I can.”

“I appreciate that, but it isn’t necessary either,” Hunter said gently.

“I want to!” She said with more hope than before. “If I’m, as you say, stuck with you guys, and I couldn’t be happier for that, I’d like to pull my weight.”

It was Hunter’s turn to feel moved along with all of his brothers, and he wanted to insist to Clair that she had nothing to be concerned about. She’d lost her home, her life’s work, and she’d recently been through quite the scare. He didn’t want her putting too much pressure on herself, but before he could explain any of that to her, she spoke up again.

“At my age, I already had my own restaurant for three years,” she said. “I can’t not do anything, Hunter. I don’t have to be a soldier, just teach me how to keep the ship running, how to file reports, those sorts of things.”

Upon hearing her words, every light bulb in Tech’s mind began to turn on and he became more excited than he had been in a while.

“If I may suggest,” he began, struggling to hide that excitement, “this could not have come at a better time. Clair, you are skilled in culinary arts and you are good with your hands. You could put both of those skills to the practice.”

“How?”

“Well, if you want to learn, I could show you some of the ship’s controls. You could be my copilot, that way it won’t just be Hunter and Crosshair whenever Wrecker has to stay behind to fly with me. I could also teach you to tinker with some of the systems for whenever we need them. But what I’m primarily interested in is your knowledge of ingredients and how to blend them. You could develop blends for any purpose, for example, healing.”

Clair’s jaw dropped. “Are you asking me to be your medic?”

“More of a support or a healer,” Tech said. “To be a medic you’d need thorough medical training, which you could get if you made the decision. However, I have no doubt that with some intensive courses and practice, you could exploit that ability without straying too far from the path you’ve chosen.”

“So why couldn’t this come at a better time?” Hunter asked Tech.

Tech held up the holopad which displayed some sort of report on its screen. “Because we have just been called to Coruscant. Clair can take an intensive healing herbology course there. It’ll only last two and a half days. She won’t need any longer.”

“That’s great,” Clair said, “but why are you being called back to Coruscant?”

“The incident on Bespin as well as your background have linked us closer to the conflict with these brigands,” Tech explained. “Since the Republic is evaluating whether or not to take action against them, they want us there in Coruscant if and when they decide to move out.”

Silence lingered over the cockpit as they all realized what that meant. If the Republic entered the conflict, those ghastly pirates would have justice. None of it would have been in vain, and that thought gave Clair a determination and hope that a better future might be nearer than she realized.

“I’m plotting the course to Coruscant now,” Tech said. “There we will meet with Jedi General Plo Koon and his division. Of all the Jedi, he seems to be among the most understanding. He’ll have no problem with Clair tagging along and taking that course on short notice.”

“Well then, I suppose things have lined up,” Hunter said as the Marauder entered hyperspace and looked over at Clair. “It’s going to be a while before we get to Coruscant, how about I get to teaching you the basics in the meantime?”

“I’d love that,” Clair answered.

“Come on,” he gestured her to follow him to the center of the ship where they’d have more space.

Crosshair followed and watched warily if only to make sure Hunter wouldn’t accidentally hurt her. As much as he wanted to be the only one to protect Clair and to give her anything she would ever need, Crosshair was proud of her. He was proud that she wasn’t the type of person to wait for someone to give her an opportunity, she’d make all her opportunities for herself. She looked up at Hunter as he began explaining some of the basics of self-defense to her and she paid close attention to him, even though she snuck a few glances at Crosshair now and then.

Wrecker walked up next to Crosshair and they both watched as Hunter began to teach her.

“She’s really something, isn’t she?” Wrecker said quietly and with no intention to tease.

Crosshair didn’t remove his eyes from Clair, he found he was well near unable to do so. “Yeah.”

Wrecker chuckled softly and lightly patted Crosshair’s shoulder before walking back into the cockpit, leaving the sniper to observe the lesson in self-defense.

“You’ll need to know how to differentiate between when to fight and when to run away,” Hunter said. “Often, you’ll want to escape. For this, you’ll need to make sure the attacker is at a disadvantage to give you enough space to run for it,” he began gesturing at several spots along his neck, arms, torso, and legs. “These are pressure points. There are nerves in them which if you strike hard enough will cause your attacker to cripple.

“You also need to know how to escape common holds and restraints. You’re small and seemingly vulnerable, this will make the average attacker either want to carry you or put you in a choke hold. I’ll teach you to escape those in a moment, but right now I want you to try hitting one of my pressure points. Any one of them.”

Clair hesitated. “I… I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Clair, I am a genetically-engineered trained sergeant for the Grand Army of the Republic, and more importantly,” he gestured at Crosshair and the cockpit, “I deal with those three every day. Come on, hit me. You’re not going to hurt me, and it’s for the sake of teaching you.”

Clair chuckled lightly before positioning herself and taking a light strike below Hunter’s arm. It made him tingle, but it didn’t cripple him enough, in fact, he wound up laughing.

“Harder than that, Clair. Come on.”

She was still hesitant, but she rounded up her resolve and struck that same point again with more force, this time making Hunter flinch and drop to his knees. Clair felt a wave of pride wash over her as she saw Hunter himself, the 6-foot soldier with half of his face tattooed dropping right in front of her, and the sight even made Crosshair chuckle. Still, her pride faded soon and she realized one of her best friends had just gone crashing to the ground because of her.

“Sorry!” She cried out and helped him stand.

“There we go,” Hunter strained as he got up. “Good. That was good, you have it in you. That was lesson one, now let me show you how to escape some common holds.”

He carefully brought his hands up to her shoulders, simulating the intention to choke her. He showed her to throw her hands upward to spread the attacker’s arms, after which she either had the opening to run away or to shove him further and maybe even knee him to the stomach, which Hunter also taught her to do. Overall, Clair was a very quick learner and Hunter didn’t have to explain anything more than once before she could carry out the movements decently.

He eventually got Wrecker to help teach her how to escape if an attacker tried to carry her as well as how to fight back if more than one person tried to gang up on her. After a while, when the ship was steadily in hyperspace, Tech and Crosshair joined as well and the four of them trained and motivated Clair, each teaching her something different. Hours were well-spent in that lesson and they all lost track of time as Clair improved constantly and the brothers took turns “attacking” her one-on-one.

“But remember this,” Wrecker said eloquently, “in these cases, a kick to the nuts will always be your best friend.”

Clair chuckled; she agreed, surely anyone who had the guts to approach her with the intent to hurt her deserved not one, but many kicks to the nits.

Tech was the first one to face off with Clair, and he was pleasantly surprised by Clair’s agility and good reflexes. Next was Wrecker, who as she expected tried to carry her. She struggled to get out of Wrecker’s rock-hard grip, but eventually she did, and she figured that if she could escape him, she could escape anyone. After that, Hunter tested her with several holds and moves, which she deflected nicely. She even surprised Hunter by targeting pressure points she hadn’t targeted before, knowing he’d be the type to memorize her moves, which surprised him and made him proud of her.

After that, the only one left was Crosshair. He didn’t seem excited to fight Clair even in pretend, and by this point his brothers had already made bets with each other on whether or not Crosshair would attack her. He walked up in front of her, not doing anything, and Clair’s mind was racing trying to figure out what he was going to do. The training had left her sweaty and flustered and her hair was messy, making Crosshair chuckle softly.

In a swift movement, the sniper turned Clair around and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up in bridal style, a hold she hadn’t been taught to deflect.

“You need a shower,” he told her.

She didn’t want to break from his grip, anyway. She knew by that point Crosshair wasn’t pretending to attack her. As Hunter received credits from both Tech and Wrecker having won the bet, Crosshair carried Clair into the hallway that led to the bedrooms.

She hopelessly looked up at him with dreamy, loving eyes as Crosshair walked her over to the refresher, and she allowed herself to relax in his arms with the gentle sway of his steps. When they arrived at the door of the refresher, Clair didn’t want to be put down. She wrapped her arms tighter around Crosshair and leaned her head on his shoulder, enjoying his warmth and taking in his scent. Still, Crosshair began undoing his grip on her and he set her feet on the ground, opening the door for her.

“Get in, I’ll leave your clothes out here.”

Clair hesitated to get into the refresher, she wanted to spend more time with Crosshair even if they were both just standing in silence. She found it adorable that he refused to attack her even if it was for training, and it only made her realize how much of a softie he was for her. She was about to perk up on her toes to kiss him, if only just to peck his cheek, but he was tapping her chin and walking off to find a spare change of clothes for her before she could do anything and she had no choice but to step into the refresher.

She didn’t take long, but feeling the water brush down her relaxed her to the point where she began to feel sleepy. How many hours had she been training with the boys? It made her feel great that they’d accepted to teach her, she truly felt better now that she knew she wouldn’t interfere with anything they did. They never thought of her as an obstacle, and that was touching for Clair as well.

She turned off the water of the refresher and patted herself dry with one of the towels nearby to then wrap it around herself and crack the door open. Just outside was the spare change of clothes Crosshair had left for her, which she took with a dreamy smile and put on back inside the refresher. She noticed Crosshair’s scent in the fabric, but it was stronger than the shirt she’d had on before.

It was the shirt he’d been wearing all day.

Clair took all the time she needed to swoon and sigh inside the refresher, hugging herself and tugging the fabric with her fists. She liked wearing his clothes, it made her feel protected and loved, even though he hadn’t said that word to her yet. When she was ready, she exited the refresher and went back to the cockpit. Wrecker was playing a card game against Hunter while Tech and Crosshair watched and made bets with each other. Clair met Crosshair’s gaze with the brightest smile as she walked up next to him to keep watching the game, sneaking a few peeks of Crosshair while they were at it. He was now wearing a different, pitch-black long-sleeved shirt that looked amazing on him, bringing out his silver hair.

The game eventually ended with Wrecker beating Hunter and they all had to listen to Wrecker’s boasting for the remaining hours of their day. In those hours, Tech taught Clair how to verify that all the ship’s systems were working correctly as well as how to run diagnostics, both for regular check-ups and to detect any type of error if they ever heard a weird noise with the ship. In the meantime, Tech was fascinated by the fact that Clair was such a good listener and would pay close attention to everything he’d explain to her.

Afterwards, Tech got a twinge of curiosity and he asked her to tell him about her cooking, how she learned, how she set up the restaurant. As it turned out, Clair was also one to talk a lot about what she loved doing, and Tech was fascinated by hearing how she perfected her own recipes and dedicated so much time to practicing and gaining experience.

Between his teachings and her stories, more hours wore on until Clair noticed as Hunter discreetly shooed Wrecker off the cockpit before he approached her and Tech.

“It’ll be a while before we arrive on Coruscant,” Hunter explained. “After that, we’ll all be pretty busy, so I suggest we get some rest now.”

“I can stay here on the cockpit, I have no problem. You could even sleep in my room, Clair, and Crosshair can keep his for the night—”

“Tech, you’re the one I need most alert,” Hunter said. “You have all the data and I can’t have you slip up, not when we’re trying to convince the Republic of moving in.”

“Me? Slip up? I am indignant,” Tech began to question, but Hunter’s gazed pierced into that of his brother and for a while he remained silent until his eyes widened and his jaw dropped in realization.

“Ah, I see,” Tech spoke and got up without further protest.

The little scene was a bit too confusing for Clair as she knew by now that wasn’t the way they’d usually behave. Tech could go days without sleeping, why would Hunter be worried about that now? Well, his argument did make sense… they were going to try something big with the Republic, they all had to be in their best condition, including herself.

She stood up from her chair at the edge of the cockpit and went to the center where Crosshair was still casually sitting in one of the chairs, both of them looking after Hunter as he walked off with Tech. When Clair was just about to say she’d be off to sleep too, she noticed Hunter looking back at her and saluting discreetly just before he pressed the controls of the cockpit door and it closed, leaving her alone with Crosshair.

A smile instantly curved her lips as Hunter’s actions became deliberately clear, and she blushed as she noticed Crosshair walking up to her. She looked up at him, reveling in the way the white and blue specs of hyperspace reflected off his eyes, making her smile widen into a grin. He was so beautiful it was almost painful.

“Did you put him up to this?” She asked him.

Crosshair chuckled. “I thought you did.”

It was her turn to laugh. “It’s sweet to see he’s practically your wingman.”

He gently scoffed and made his way to the front of the cockpit, gazing out at hyperspace. “He has been from the beginning, in a way.”

“What?” Clair raised an eyebrow as she approached him, resting her hand softly on his elbow.

“I had no intention of making any moves on you when we figured out you’d be staying,” he said. “Hunter’s the one who convinced me.”

Several thoughts hit Clair at that moment. It explained why he’d been such a jerk, but why did Crosshair not want to do anything? Why did Hunter try so hard to convince Crosshair otherwise? What would Hunter have gained, anyway? It was all really moving, and then Crosshair turned around to look her in the eyes again.

“Well then, I have to thank him,” she said softly.

Crosshair smiled ever so slightly at her as he gently brushed her cheek with his fingers to cup her face the way he had that morning. Both of them had grown fond of that gesture, and Clair instantly relaxed in his grip and allowed her dreamy smile to widen, enjoying the feeling of being alone with him at last.

“I loved the way you carried me today,” she whispered.

Crosshair chuckled softly as he tapped her chin. “Me too. You’re so tiny and easy to carry that way.”

“Well then, you should do it more often.”

As their conversation died down, both of their gazes fluttered down to each other’s lips. Crosshair took one of his hands down to Clair’s waist to pull her closer to him while still cupping her face, and he leaned down until his lips were finally on hers. Clair’s hands rested softly on his chest as their lips danced together slowly in a kiss full of longing. Her arms snaked up around his shoulders as she pressed herself more to him and he added just a bit more strength to his kissing, but he didn’t want to be rough on her. It wasn’t the time for that yet. Crosshair wanted to savor every second he had with her, he wanted to treat her with all the softness she deserved.

Clair swooned into the kiss and felt fireworks erupt inside her whole body the way she’d felt when she first kissed him. It amazed her how gentle he could be with her when he always had a tough exterior. He’d teased her about being tiny before, and she indeed felt small when she was with him. She loved that he could wrap his arms around her, shield her with his body, transmit all his warmth to her.

With every passing second of that kiss, Clair felt herself more drawn to daring to think of the word love. Would it be too soon? Was that what she felt? Anyone would argue that it was soon, but that moment was so intimate and peaceful that everything within her was going soft except for her heart, which seemed to pound stronger with every moment.

He broke the kiss for a short while and just looked into her eyes, smiling softly at her as she gently caressed his cheek, running a finger tenderly over his tattoo. Crosshair’s smile widened only softly before he continued to kiss her with the same sweetness, this time letting his hand travel through her hair as he supported her weight completely. Even he was surprised at himself for how gentle he was being, but he didn’t care. Clair deserved nothing but the best and he hoped he was going about it right, that he was worthy of her. He added just a bit more strength to his kissing, going from sweet and caring to loving, bordering on passionate. Soon, he could feel the way Clair’s heart was pounding and he took a moment to look at her face. She was flustered in the most adorable way, causing him to chuckle at her as he pulled away from her and steadied her with a firm grasp at her shoulders.

“Come,” he said.

“Where?” Clair was still catching her breath.

“You need to rest too.”

Her heart sank just a little; she didn’t want to part from him, not yet. She wasn’t quite ready to let go, she wanted to keep feeling him next to her. He took her hand and led her down the ship to the bunks, pleased to find that none of his brothers had been eavesdropping this time. The lights had been turned low and the ship was eerily quiet except for its usual whirring. Crosshair led Clair gently down the hall until they reached his room, where she was supposed to spend the night.

“Sleep tight, Dumpling,” he told her.

In her eyes, he could tell she wasn’t too happy with the idea.

“What?” He whispered.

“Stay,” she said softly. “Please?”

Crosshair initially scoffed at her proposition, but the more he thought of it, the more he realized he wasn’t willing to part from her either, not even for the few hours of sleep they could get. Quietly, he began stepping into his room with her pulling at his hand and he closed the door behind him. He led her to the bed where she got in first and curled up under the blanket for him to join her, resting firmly on the pillow facing up. His perfect eyesight allowed him to notice Clair’s bashful expression even in the darkness, but she slowly made her way to lean her head on his chest as he draped an arm around her, covering her well with the thin blanket.

Silence reigned over them as Clair continued to curl up and make herself comfortable next to Crosshair, feeling safer and warmer than ever. Lying next to him was like a dream come true; his chest provided the perfect pillow and the sound of his heartbeat soothed her until it eventually lulled her closer to sleep.

“Goodnight, Crosshair,” she whispered.

He felt his lips curving up softly at the mention of his name and he couldn’t help but lean down to kiss her forehead, only to trail his way further to reach her lips to kiss her with the same tenderness as he had in the cockpit while his hand traced featherlight patterns over her back.

“Goodnight, Dumpling,” he whispered softly as he continued trailing kisses over her face until he reached the top of her head to plant a final kiss. “Goodnight, princess.”

“Goodnight, Berry Pie…” Clair said sleepily and with a big smile on her face even though Crosshair couldn’t see it. He didn’t need to see it, though. Neither one had to look at the other to know there was nowhere they’d rather be.

Although Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker tried not to make it blatantly obvious that they knew Crosshair and Clair had spent the night in the same room, the couple had to put up with several looks. Fortunately, no one commented anything thanks to Hunter sentencing Tech and Wrecker not to tease them, but Wrecker would grin widely whenever he saw Clair with Crosshair.

The arrival to Coruscant proved to be smooth. Unlike the last time she’d been there, Clair didn’t have a lingering feeling of dread. There was no risk of leaving the boys this time, or of them leaving her. In fact, she dared say she was in the best position she had been in a while. The whole squad was in the cockpit during the landing, all of them watching the marvelous landscape of Coruscant’s endless skyline.

Even though it put Bespin’s skyline to shame, Clair still seemed to prefer that one, preferably at night and alone with Crosshair. She looked up at him standing next to her, now donning his full armor except for his helmet. He had his stern soldier expression on as his eyes scanned the scenery, part of his sniper nature. He was certainly far more discreet in front of his brothers, but Clair never held it against him. She knew now wasn’t the time for them to get too close again, and besides, having slept in his arms was already more than she ever could have asked for. He was more than she ever could have asked for.

Despite his steady demeanor, Clair could notice how Crosshair would look at her for brief moments. In one of those, she caught his gaze and directed a small smile at him, which he returned with just a hint of a curve no one else would be able to notice.

She’d grown fond of his tough exterior, that was certain.

Shortly after Tech landed the Marauder on one of the landing platforms of the imposing Senate building, they all exited in a formation that made the four soldiers look like Clair’s personal guardians. The four clones wore their full armor while Clair still wore the oversized shirt and pants, but when she realized they had a welcoming committee, she desperately wished she was wearing her dress instead.

She nearly died of embarrassment when she realized that welcoming committee consisted of a Jedi as well as his second in command along with a few other clone troopers. Just being in their presence made her feel even smaller and suddenly she wanted to hide behind Crosshair, or at least run back to the ship and change. Still, they all arrived before the committee and Clair had made no rash decisions, but she was pretty flustered at the Jedi along with his clones, who demanded respect.

For starters, the Jedi was a Kel Dor who at first sight would seem very unfriendly, whose face and eyes were covered by breathing masks and he was even taller than Hunter (it became clearer to Clair why his brothers would tease him about his height). It would seem as if he were frowning, and though she knew the Jedi were peacekeepers and he wouldn’t wish the slightest ounce of harm on her, he still looked intimidating.

The clones flanking him weren’t much different. Where this Jedi was striking on, well, Jedi standards, the troopers were on clone standards, even standing next to the Bad Batch. Their armor was embellished by light gray patterns and the visors on their helmets were much narrower than those of the average helmets. Then, they all removed their helmets, and Clair’s gaze lingered on that of the trooper in the center, the Jedi’s second in command. He had a hard expression that somehow made him seem older than all the other clones, and his right eye had been replaced by a mechanical one. She also noticed the scar over his right eye and wondered how painful that must have been for him.

Her boys took their helmets off as well and the Jedi looked straight at Hunter.

“I am pleased that you have safely made your arrival,” he spoke in a low voice that was far more soothing than Clair could have imagined. “We’ve been arranged to meet shortly with the 501st division to look closer into the matter.”

Hunter gave a firm nod. “Yes, sir.”

When he spoke, it seemed strange to Clair that he answered to someone else. Now that she thought of it, they didn’t work with Jedi often, and suddenly she became interested in seeing how that would pay off.

But then, she noticed several pairs of eyes on her, primarily those of the Jedi and his commanding officer. Their gazes felt so heavy on her she felt she could squirm, suddenly wanting a shell to hide under.

“Is this the civilian you mentioned in your reports?” The said kindly.

“Yes, sir,” Hunter gave her a little nudge. “This is Clair, she’s been with us since the attack on Naboo.”

Clair discreetly took a deep breath and forced herself to gain her composure; the last thing she wanted was to appear naïve and crippled in front of everyone. She looked the Jedi in the eyes and gave a small bow.

“I’m Clair,” she repeated. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

As she looked at the Jedi, she felt comforted, much to her own surprise. She noticed the way his brow muscles relaxed as he looked at her, and she inferred he’d be smiling at her if he didn’t have that breathing mask.

“The pleasure is mine, little Clair,” he spoke softly. “I am Master Plo Koon. The loss of your home was indeed terrible. I cannot make promises yet, but we are indeed trying to bring justice to you and everyone else affected.”

“I’m very grateful for that,” Clair mirrored the softness in his voice.

“Unfortunately, your friends must come with us, and though you are involved in a way, you must remain outside any official briefings.”

Clair gave a slight nod of understanding at the Jedi Master, finding it somewhat easy to trust him. He simply inspired that aura of confidence around him, letting you know he was someone you could turn to if you needed help. Then, the clone trooper at his right stepped forward to formally greet Clair, his rough expression softening slightly at the sight of her.

“I’m Commander Wolffe,” his voice was low and somewhat husky. “If you’ll allow, I’ll escort you to your quarters.”

Clair could feel the way Crosshair shifted behind her when Wolffe approached her, and he reached into one of his compartments to pull out a toothpick and bring it up to his mouth. Wolffe locked eyes with Crosshair for a moment in which the sharpshooter made sure to make the most of his gesture, deliberately catching Wolffe’s attention, as though telling the reg that Clair belonged to him.

“Quarters?” Clair asked, if only to break the obvious tension between the clones.

“You won’t be remaining in the same barracks as the soldiers,” Wolffe addressed her again. “You have a separate room. Shall I take you?”

“A-actually, I was kind of hoping to take an intensive herbology course,” she said (and Tech could not have been prouder). “I can take it here, right?”

Wolffe glared at Crosshair. “You’re taking her into battle?”

Crosshair was about to puff up, and Clair knew this perfectly well, so she deliberately had to stand between the two clones.

“I don��t want to be a soldier,” she said. “I just want to make myself useful for as long as I stay with them.”

Doubtful, Wolffe looked over at Master Plo, who continued to observe Clair intently. He stepped forward, immediately dissolving some of the tension, at least on Wolffe’s part.

“The desire to learn is admirable, as well as that to help your friends whenever they may need it,” Master Plo told Clair before looking at Wolffe. “Escort her to her quarters first, I’ll send a protocol droid to help her with the rest. Once you are done, return to the briefing.”

“I’d much rather take her myself,” Crosshair spoke up.

“I understand your concern,” said Master Plo. “However, your squad is vital if the Republic is to consider moving out against pirates. You will be needed at the briefing at all times.”

It was as if Wolffe had wanted to scowl at Crosshair but refrained from doing so at the last second. He’d dealt with him before and knew all about his little superiority complex, and though he would have loved to give the sniper a piece of his mind, he also figured neither General Plo or the young woman would appreciate it. Still, Crosshair’s sight never betrayed him and he noticed the hint of a gesture Wolffe had managed to make, and his already piercing eyes narrowed menacingly at the commander.

Clair hesitated for a moment and felt Crosshair’s prying gaze behind her. Quietly, Hunter reached out to Crosshair and placed a reassuring pat on his shoulder.

“She’ll be fine,” Hunter whispered to him.

Clair finally turned around to face Crosshair with gentle eyes and lightly placed her hand on his forearm, careless as to whether or not they should even be displaying any affection.

“Go,” she said. “They need you there. I’ll be fine, and I have the comm device.”

Crosshair sighed but eventually agreed and flanked Hunter while Wolffe moved up next to Clair, looking down at her and (almost, to Crosshair at least) seeming like a gentleman.

“This way,” he said softly to her.

Clair nodded slowly and gave her squad, particularly Crosshair, one more reassuring look before being escorted away from them.

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#moonlight series #moonstrider writes #tbb crosshair fluff #the bad batch fanfic #tbb fanfic #tbb crosshair #the bad batch #crosshair #tbb crosshair x oc #clone trooper crosshair

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