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sskim-milkk · 6 months

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A Bad Batch Thanksgiving

Words: 2K

Warnings: None. Pure fluff!

Also posted on my AO3

“Papa! Nana!” Omega squealed as she invited herself into Ninety-Nine and Lilly’s home, pushing open the large wooden door. The Batch all beamed at her with pride. Their little girl was so smart, remembering what her grandparents’ house looked like. She sure came here enough. Ninety-Nine and Lilly made it their goal to have little Omega over as much as possible.

“Is that an Omega I hear?” Ninety-Nine asked in a silly voice as he entered the foyer, Lilly following behind. Ninety-Nine was dressed in nice pants and a button-up shirt while Lilly had on a beautiful ankle-length dress.

“Papa!” She squealed again, lifting her arms up to him. Her grandfather happily obliged. He playfully groaned as he lifted her into his arms as if she was heavy.

“Hello, boys! Come in, come in!” Lilly greeted, gesturing with her hands for the five men to come in from the cold. They messily shuffled in with their various bags and dishes they had spent the past couple of days preparing.

“Hey, Dad and Lilly! Happy Thanksgiving!” Wrecker cheered, wrapping his large arms around both of them. The pair shivered against his cold coat, but smiled at him all the same and gave hugs to all the other men too. They too were well-dressed, all wearing different colors of pants and button-up shirts like Ninety-Nine. Tech opted to wear a tie to be extra fancy.

“Fives here yet?” Echo asked as he handed Lilly a bag of food, moving to take his coat, beanie and shoes off. The house was warm and comforting. The heat of the nearby fireplace in the living room diffused throughout the home, and the mix of good, homemade food and candles burning could not make for a better Thanksgiving already.

“No, you know he likes to be fashionably late,” Ninety-Nine chuckled. Echo rolled his eyes.

“More like he forgot to make something so he’s rushing to the store now.”

Omega squirmed in Ninety-Nine’s arms, now reaching out to Lilly to be held. She was dressed in an adorable long-sleeve, fall-themed dress, white tights and tiny black Mary-Jane shoes, and her blonde curls were done up in pigtails. Lilly cooed, holding her tiny granddaughter against her chest.

“Ohh, hello, sweet girl. Are you going to try lots of tasty things tonight now that you’re a big girl with those big ol’ teeth?”

“Yeah!” Omega nodded as she fiddled with Lilly’s necklace.

“That is the plan. Though, if she is proving to be uninterested in most foods we have brought some foods that we know she’ll eat,” Tech added in as he made his way upstairs with a multitude of bags for Omega. They would be staying the night, and Tech had triple-checked to make sure they had everything they needed for their tiny tot before leaving.

“What a beautiful home,” Hunter’s girlfriend marveled as she slowly made her way through the downstairs portion of the house. Hunter followed her, occasionally adding in comments about how different the house looked during his childhood or what he and his siblings would get up to. There were a few holes or cracks in the walls, which Hunter also explained were the fault of him and his siblings.

His girlfriend, Abi, was kindly invited to their Thanksgiving this year. She had a bad relationship with her family right now, and no friends since she recently moved to the area. Ninety-Nine and Lilly were never the type to allow someone to spend Thanksgiving alone. They welcomed her with open arms despite only meeting her once before during the one year her and Hunter had been dating.

Meanwhile, Crosshair marveled at the dining table all set up. When he was little he loved helping his dad set the table. He felt so proud of himself when he was old enough to carry the heavier glass dishes out to the table. Lilly made excellent additions to the table along with Ninety-Nine’s already exquisite decorations. The same could be said for the rest of the house. Despite its old age it was warm, inviting and homey. He was still very happy with how good of a match-maker he was with these two. His dad and Lilly were truly a wonderful couple and it was comforting to know neither had ended up alone in their older age.

As they all got settled, the cacophony of voices throughout the house made the place more lively in the way that only families coming together could. Crosshair made his way to the kitchen to help prepare the last of the dishes and heat up the ones they brought. Echo got out the wine and started pouring drinks for everyone. Tech was showing Ninety-Nine how to operate the radio and speakers he had set up for him last Christmas. The poor old man still didn’t understand all the buttons and cords. He had to first find his glasses, notebook and pen and make Tech slowly-”hold on, son, hold on”-explain how to operate the damn thing. At last, soft instrumental jazz music started flowing from the speakers.

Meanwhile, Hunter and Abi were keeping an eye on Omega as she attempted to play with Ninety-Nine and Lilly’s cat, Hugo.

“Cat!” Omega squealed as she toddled after him even though the poor thing was trying to get as far away from this energetic, unpredictable little menace as possible.

“Gentle, Omega,” Hunter reminded her as the little girl caught up to Hugo and was patting his head.

“You want to play with some toys, honey?” Abi said in a high-pitched baby voice that made Hunter wince a bit. Lilly and Ninety-Nine had some toys for Omega in a box next to a bookshelf. Goodness knows she had plenty at home, so the batch opted to bring some toys over for when Omega stayed here so they had less to bring.

Abi dragged the box over and pulled out some wooden blocks. Omega toddled over with interest. She helped Omega stack up a few blocks before sitting back against Hunter’s chest, his arm draping around her. It was a perfect moment, watching the little girl play with the fire crackling next to them, the sound of familiar voices and music in the background. Hunter gently cupped Abi’s cheek, tilting her head up towards him to drop a soft kiss to her lips. Abi hummed in satisfaction.

“No! Daddy, no! Mine!” Omega protested as clambered up onto Hunter’s lap, the blocks now forgotten.

“Ow,” he winced as her heel dug into his knee. Omega squeezed herself between Hunter and Abi, leaning her own head against Hunter’s chest. She glared at Abi.

“Mine,” she pouted.

“Wha-?” Abi stammered, looking at the pair in shock. Hunter, meanwhile, was trying not to laugh. It was quite funny how protective Omega could be when it came to her dadas and their various girlfriends and boyfriends.

“Yeah, um…” Hunter scratched the back of his neck. Before he could continue, the front door opened.

“Hey, hey, hey, everybody!” Fives cheered as he walked in with, to nobody’s surprise, store-bought pumpkin pies and surely already-melting ice cream.

“Unca’ Fibe!” Omega screeched, getting off the couch and running towards the door to greet her favorite uncle (that’s what Fives says, at least.) Hunter smiled at how quickly both his daughter’s mood and attention could change so quickly.

“She’s a little protective of us,” Hunter admitted sheepishly as he and Abi made their way to the front door as well. He knew they should probably try to fix that behavior if any of them were going to marry someone someday. She was only little though and just too cute with her big brown eyes, chubby cheeks and pouty lips.

“Ya don’t say,” Abi giggled. “It’s super cute.”

Back in the foyer, the gang had all come to greet Fives with hugs. The man in question had Omega in his arms and was blowing raspberries against her belly. She was screeching with laughter, face all red.

He apologized for being late, as he did every year. He quickly found his twin and slung his arm around him, the two catching up as they went to the kitchen to get Fives a drink.

Everyone sat or stood around the kitchen island and ate a few hor d'oeuvres whilst chatting. Wrecker managed to get Omega to try some cheese and crackers. She seemed to enjoy them, leaving only crumbs all over her face, dress and Wrecker’s shirt.

Once the food was ready, the clan moved the remaining dishes to the large table and found a chair to stand behind while Ninety-Nine gave the blessing before sitting down to eat. The table was marvelous. Though it was now dark out, the soft light in the room continued to give off that warm feeling felt throughout the home. A beautiful red table cloth was set with lace trimmings dangling off the edges of the table. Gold flower-patterned place mats and napkins were set throughout at each spot. The food was all squished together in the center, two candles set in the middle. Steam and all sorts of smells wafted throughout the room. People set down glasses of water and wine at their place. Echo lit the two candles in the middle, and all looked to Ninety-Nine.

“I know that we’ve all had highs and lows this year, but we’re just so grateful to have you all here in good health and spirits. We’re so proud of you and feel so happy to be able to have little Omega here these past two Thanksgivings. What a lovely time to be able to come together to eat, drink and be happy together. Dig in!” With that, they all cheered each other’s glasses and sat down for a feast. Omega alternated between sitting in Ninety-Nine and Lilly’s laps throughout the meal, at the head of the table, of course.

The food was amazing. Roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, and salad. Wrecker, especially, was in heaven. Everyone continued to chat throughout the meal. Hunter was pleased to see Abi laughing and chatting with everyone too, seeming to be in good spirits.

Omega took a liking to all but the salad. Ninety-Nine and Lilly would scoop small servings of everything onto a plate for her. She had her own plastic silverware, but the toddler preferred to use her hands to gobble everything up. She giggled and clapped at how yummy everything was.

“Ugh, I’m full!” Wrecker groaned, tossing his napkin onto the table once he had cleaned his plate. He patted his swollen tummy. Everyone seemed to be in agreement with him. Lilly tried to persuade everyone to take more of everything to no avail.

“Well I hope you all saved room for dessert,” Lilly tsked, the small lady getting up to start clearing people’s plates. Abi and Hunter got up to help, not listening when Lilly hit them with her towel to get them to stop. She let them help eventually, though not without a frown on her face.

The family seemed to find new fervor when pies and cookies and ice cream were brought out. Omega had a few bites of pie and ice cream, humming happily about the yummy treat. Everyone bid her goodnight when Crosshair scooped her up to put her to bed. He was a bit worried she would have a hard time falling asleep since she rarely spent the night here, along with the ruckus happening downstairs. Luckily, the girl was pretty tired and was soon snuggled up in her warm jammies, blanket, and Bunny in the travel crib.

Back downstairs, everyone helped to clean the mess. Really only food was put away. Dishes could wait for tomorrow. No-one wanted to deal with them tonight. They all migrated to the living room, alcohol flowing in their systems.

As the night wore on, they all kept chatting as endless conversations were had. A few games were brought out too like Cards Against Humanity and Clue. Wrecker and Fives were of course the loudest and had to be reminded a few times to keep their voices down so Omega wouldn’t wake up. Ninety-Nine and Lilly eventually went up to bed, thoroughly worn out but happy from the last couple of days filled with cooking, cleaning and family fun.

It wasn’t until after midnight when everyone was in their beds. All went to sleep with full stomachs and happy memories made after yet another successful Thanksgiving.

#star wars #star wars tbb #the bad batch #baby omega #tbb tech #tbb crosshair #tbb hunter #tbb echo #tbb wrecker #tcw fives #tcw 99 #fluff #family fluff #baby clones #parental bad batch #the dad batch

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casual-violinist-fangirl · 1 month

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All I can do to Keep you Safe is Hold You Close - 2,317 Words

A part of the collection I have fondly named 'Kaminoans are Assholes.'

Omega has been having trouble sleeping because of nightmares and her solution to that is to... not sleep. Hunter's Jango Fett gene has well and truly activated!

As always this fic is on my AO3 account here, and the link to my masterlist is here.

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The first time he had noticed something was wrong was when Omega started asking if she could drink caff in the mornings. Jokingly, Wrecker had let her have a sip of his, him and Echo laughing when they saw the expression on her face. She clearly hadn’t enjoyed the taste. When Tech had enquired as to why she had wanted to try the bitter drink, she had simply shrugged and said that there wasn’t really a reason.

That had been a lie.

Lying in front of Hunter was almost impossible; he could sense even the slightest of changes in a person’s body for crying out loud. To add to that, Omega was an awful liar, making it easy to spot from where he was sat. Glancing around the cabin, it didn’t seem as though any of the others had noticed this, although when he caught Crosshair’s eye he noticed an air of suspicion in his expression. He had noticed too.

The day had gone on as usual and Omega hadn’t asked any more about the caff… Hunter almost allowed himself to forget that she had even lied about wanting to drink it in the first place. She was a little girl, for crying out loud. She was full of energy and the last thing they needed was her pinging about the place before crashing in a heap when the affects ran out. That night, when he had put her to bed, tucking Lula and Trooper into her blankets with her, he had asked how she was. It had come out innocently enough, but clearly he had spooked her because almost straight away her barriers went up, and she was insisting that she was absolutely fine. Not knowing what to do if she didn’t want to talk to him, he had bid her goodnight and climbed back down the ladder from the gunner’s mount.

A week or so later it was becoming more and more apparent that Omega was exhausted. She kept falling asleep on missions at every opportunity she got to rest her legs, and it was getting to the point where Wrecker was having to carry her about. Sheer exhaustion rolled off of her in waves, and the rest of the batch were beginning to be more and more concerned for her wellbeing. She was their little sister… Hunter’s ad’ika (though he would never admit that to his brothers) she deserved to be happy and healthy like all little girls her age.

After one particular mission, Omega had collapsed in a heap in Cid’s bar; the loud music didn’t seem to bother her as she slept, drawing the attention of the Trandoshan.

“What’s with Tiny?” she asked, nodding her head towards the booth where she was resting. Hunter scowled, but that was more because he didn’t know the answer than because she was prying. He went to respond, but Tech stepped in.

“It would appear that Omega has… over done it on the past couple of missions,” he answered in a very reasonable tone. “She clearly needs to go to her bunk when we get back to the ship.”

Cid hadn’t said anything else following on from that, but Hunter could tell that she didn’t buy what Tech had told her, and that even she was concerned for the little girl. “Right…” she responded. “Well you see that she does get that sleep. I can’t have clients coming in thinking I let little kids pass out drunk in my bar.”

Omega had let Hunter scoop her up and carry her back to the ship, her head lolling on his shoulder as she wordlessly took in her surroundings. He had thought there and then that maybe he’d be able to get her into bed quickly when he got back to the Marauder…

He could not have been more wrong.

The moment he mentioned the ‘b’ word, Omega had perked up and started insisting that she wasn’t even remotely tired. “Can’t I just stay up for a little longer, Hunter?” she had asked, her big brown eyes trying to persuade him that he didn’t need to send her to bed. He had sighed, crossing his arms and trying to put on his best ‘dad’ face.

“You need sleep, Omega,” he reasoned as he reached into the gunner’s mount and pulled her pyjamas down. She pouted at him, and for a moment he was convinced that she was going to start crying.

“B-but…” she trailed, and Hunter could see an element of conflict on her features. She wanted to tell him something, he just knew it, but before she could get any words out Wrecker came parading into the room, a little tipsy. So much for talking to her.

"I’m sorry Omega,” he continued, watching her body deflate with disappointment. “I’m not budging on this one.”

She had gone to bed, but he had noticed how she tried to drag out every element of getting ready; she had taken nearly twenty minutes brushing her teeth for kriff’s sake. Looking back on that now, he should have seen just how reluctant she was to sleep and realised that something was wrong. He should have reached out to her.

Other abnormalities in her behaviour should have stuck out to him, and he found himself cursing for not noticing all of this sooner. Especially given what was about to come.

——

(Three Weeks Later)

There were plenty of times that Hunter cursed his enhanced hearing; being on a ship full of snorers when he was trying desperately to sleep was one of those times. As he lay in his bunk, all he could hear was the heavy breathing of Wrecker directly above him, and the light snores of Tech from his chair in the cockpit. He had ear buds for times like these, but whilst the noise irritated him to no end, not being able to hear made him feel vulnerable and he tried not to use them unless he absolutely had to.

Rolling over and resisting the urge to groan, he buried his face into the GAR standard issue pillow. It wasn’t exactly comfy, but being a solider meant that you had to be able to sleep anywhere. This lumpy pillow and hard bunk was a godsend compared to some of the situations he’d found himself in over the years. Distantly, he could hear the tapping of keys on some sort of device… it sounded a little like Crosshair’s data pad. Clearly he had joined Echo on watch then seeing as he couldn’t hear either of them anywhere else. They weren’t sleeping, that’s for sure.

Having Crosshair back had meant a little bit of adjusting for the members of the Bad Batch. For the first couple of days he had been incredibly isolated, not wanting to go near any of his brothers or even his little sister. Then, slowly, little by little he had started to integrate himself back into the lives of those who loved him. He had taken a shine to Omega, although he was loathed to show it to anyone except the little girl herself… now that Hunter thought about it, the only time he had seen Omega sleeping peacefully over the past few weeks was the morning she had been found in her bunk, clinging onto Crosshair’s sleeping form as though it was the only thing keeping her from floating out of the ship.

Hunter made a mental note to ask Crosshair about that in the morning, but his train of thoughts was cut off when he heard what sounded like a muted sob. Sitting bolt upright in bed and suddenly no longer tired, Hunter’s eyes darted around the room as he searched for the source of the sound. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, he frowned, which deepened when he heard the sobbing sound a second time. Having been ready this time, he climbed out of bed and tiptoed towards the noise. Almost as though she could sense his presence, Omega’s snivels stopped as he reached the bottom of the ladder leading to her room.

“’Mega?” he asked quietly, not opening the curtain… he didn’t want to spook her or make her feel as though he was intruding on her space. There was silence for a moment before a quiet shuffling of blankets could be heard and a small hand reached to open the curtain.

Omega’s face was blotchy and red, her cheeks tear-stained and her eyes puffy from her crying; how had Hunter not noticed her sooner? He cursed to himself, making a mental note to be more aware in the future. “H-Hunter,” a small sob escaped her as she launched herself at him without hesitating and clung to his neck.

To his credit, Hunter reacted quickly; he carefully scooped Omega out of the gunners’ mount, cradling her trembling form as he wondered quietly back to his bunk and sat down. The little girl still clinging onto him, he stroked a hand through her hair and whispered soothing nothings to her as he waited for her cries to subside.

When her breathing eventually did even out and the sniffles came to a stop, she looked up at him with a bleary look on her face. Kriff, she looked exhausted. How long had she been going on like this?

“Ad’ika,” his voice croaked as he used the term for the first time. Omega’s eyes widened at the expression, and if he didn’t know better he was convinced that she pulled him just a little closer. “Have you been struggling to sleep?”

Bingo. He’d hit the nail on the head it seemed, as the little girl in his arms cried even more.

“E-every time I close my eyes,” she sobbed. “I see something different and it’s horrible…” she took a shuddering breath. “I’ve been trying to stay awake at night so that the nightmares don’t come.”

Hunter let out a shaky breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “You’ve gotta get sleep, ‘Mega,” he soothed as he kept stroking her hair.

“I’m so tired,” she mumbled as her tears slowly came to a stop, reduced to small hiccups now as she rested her head against his chest.

An idea occurred to him, something that he hadn’t done since he and his brothers were cadets, all cowering away and petrified of Nala se. “You could always stay here for the night,” he whispered, his suggestion catching her attention. She didn’t move to look at him but nodded, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her new pyjamas (Crosshair had insisted that she have sleeping clothes, though he wouldn’t say why he had become so interested). Shifting carefully, he set her down on the bunk next to him and went to put his back against the wall to make more space for her.

That clearly wasn’t what she’d had in mind as Omega frowned slightly and clambered over him, putting herself between him and the wall. Hunter let out a small chuff of laughter as he rolled over, letting the little girl get comfortable; by the time the pair of them had stopped fidgeting, Omega was curled into Hunter’s embrace, the arm he draped over her clutched to her chest as she hugged it like it was Lula. The sergeant was a little uncomfortable, but any thoughts of that melted away as Omega whispered something that only he could hear.

“Goodnight, buir.”

He just managed to choke back the sudden wave of emotion that washed over him. That was… unexpected. Clearing his throat, he smiled softly at the little girl in his arms.

“Goodnight, ad’ika.”

————

A week or so later Hunter was lying in bed, reading off of his holo pad. Omega’s nightmares hadn’t stopped, of course they hadn’t, but knowing that she could go to her buir when the nightmares arrived made them that much easier to cope with. It meant that he’d had to contend with having Omega, Lula and sometimes even Trooper in bed with him but if that was the price he had to pay for the girl’s comfort? So be it.

Speak of the devil, a sniffle to his right caught his attention and he looked up only to see that Omega had snuck out of her bunk and to his bed. She looked at him with pleading eyes for only a moment before he lifted his blanket.

“Come on,” he whispered, allowing her to climb into the bed and to her usual spot between her buir and the wall. Her head rested on his chest as he continued tapping at the holo pad; he had been doing some research into a new knife he’d had his eye on, but turned that off in favour of a mind-numbing game he knew Omega enjoyed watching him play. It was a game where you had to match three blocks of the same colour in order for them to disappear and for the items trapped at the top of the screen to reach the bottom.

He thought the little girl had drifted off to sleep, but was proven wrong when a small hand reached out and tapped three blocks on the screen. Letting out a small laugh at her antics, Hunter pressed a gentle kiss to the girls’ temple before the pair continued playing the game together, taking it in turns. He knew they’d both be tired in the morning but they had nothing planned for the day, a little lay-in wouldn’t hurt anyone. It was in moments like these that he allowed himself to make the most of the normality of it all, in the vain hope that one day he’d be able to give his little girl the childhood she deserved.

“Love you, buir.”

“Love you too, ‘Mega.”

Yeah, he could definitely put up with sharing his bunk with his kid and her toys if it meant that he got to have moments like these.

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