I Forgot My Mask (You Don't Need It)

I Forgot My Mask (You Don't Need It)

Fandom: The Bad Batch Relationship: Wrecker x Reader Words: 1142 Content Warning: Anxiety, masking, meltdown Read on ao3

You slipped out of the party. The cool evening air was a welcomed blast after the stuffiness of the crowded room. You scrubbed a hand across your face and leaned against the porch railing taking deep breaths. Why were you like this? Why couldn’t you just be normal? Especially around Wrecker’s brothers? He’d never invite you ‘round them again after that stunt. You hadn’t meant to insult them, the words (sarcasm probably?) just slipped out. You’d forgotten to mask. It was just…you felt like you knew them. After all Wrecker had talked about them, you thought you’d be fine letting them see the real you. But then they’d stared at you in calculating silence and just huffed. Ugh. You heaved a heavy sigh and not for the first time tonight wondered why couldn’t you hold a normal conversation with people? 

“Hey sweetheart,” Wrecker wrapped his arms around you, dropping a kiss on your hair. “You okay?”

With a single breath, the mask went back up, shame and guilt pooling in your stomach for hiding any part of yourself from Wrecker. “I’m fine, just got too warm. There’s a lot of people in there.” A half truth. It was really warm in the house. Maybe that would satisfy Wrecker.

“I saw you talking with Crosshair and Tech.” You stiffened involuntarily in his arms before you relaxed again. Unfortunately for you, Wrecker is more observant than people give him credit for. “Did they say something to you? I knew they were gonna do something. I told them to be nice. I will go back in there and beat both their asses.” The normally cheerful man blustered at the thought of his brothers doing anything to you. You practically preened at hearing him defend you like this, but you wouldn’t throw his brothers under the bus like that. It wasn’t fair. Especially when it was your failing not theirs.

“Wrecker,” you soothed while turning in his arms so you were looking up at him. The lantern light of Upper Pabu lit across his face. “Your family is great.”

He moved his hand gently up and down your spine. You leaned into his touch. “So what’s wrong?” he asked, confused.

You dropped your head into his chest, not wanting him to see the tears that burned behind your eyes. “It’s me,” you mumbled.

“Come again?”

“Me, I’m what’s wrong. I thought I could just…But then they…and now I…” you rubbed your forehead and tried to shake off Wrecker’s touch. “I’m sorry for embarrassing you tonight. I’ll just go.”

“Oh no you don’t.” He braced his arms on either side of you, capturing you against the balcony. “We’re gonna need to clear up a few things. First,” he said leaning close, “There’s nothing wrong with you. At all.”

“Wrecker, please,” you frowned. “I’m a mess.”

“Maybe,” his grin stretched across his face and he kissed the tip of your nose, “but you’re my mess. But that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you, okay? Second, I have no idea what happened with Tech and Cross, but my offer still stands. I’ll beat them up for you if you want.”

“Wrecker,” you playfully hit his chest, laughing. He grabbed your hands, his thumb smoothing across the back of your hand.

“There’s that smile I love so much.” He brought your joined hands to his lips and kissed them. “Now what number are we on?”

“Three.”

“Right, three,” he nodded seriously, making sure he had your attention before he continued. His gaze was so sure. You wanted to run away from his scrutiny. “You have never once embarrassed me. If anything, I’d be worried about you being embarrassed by me.”

You wrinkled your eyebrows at him. “Wrecker, you’re a decorated war vet, the community loves you, and you’ve got an awesome family. Not to mention you’re so smart and sweet and handsome. Why would I ever be embarrassed by you?”

“Because I’m loud. I can be a lot. And I’m not really that smart.”

“I watched you defuse a bomb in under ten seconds one time.”

His face flushed, “Well anyone can do that.”

“No Wrecker. No they can’t.”

After a moment, he cleared his throat and said, “How did this become about me? We were talking about you.”

You worried your bottom lip. “Sometimes I think I’m too much,” you admitted.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you have a big personality. And I love that. It’s warm and bright and colorful. But me? There are days I spend twenty minutes trying to convince myself to get out of bed. And I only manage it because I know if I don’t, I’ll lose my job. Not that I like my job, but I like getting paid,” you chuckled sadly. “And I forget to eat real food, or even worse, I stare at the cabinet for an hour because the thing I know I want to eat isn’t there but I don’t have the energy to go get it and I can’t bring myself to eat one of the gagillion other things that is actually there. I hate crowds,” you flicked a hand to where the party still bustled. “I don’t know how to relate to people. Wearing the ‘normal person’ mask is exhausting and I just want to wrap up in my blanket and not come out for a week.”

“The good news for you is that none of my family is very ‘normal’,” he mimed air quotes around normal. He raised a hand, ticking of fingers, “Hunter’s hypersensitive to magnetics, Tech can infodump for hours, I’m blind and deaf on this side, Crosshair gets chronic migraines, Echo still has phantom pain, and we’ve all got enough trauma to keep Pabu’s therapists in business for years. Any time we get together with people beyond our immediate family, we’re always keeping an eye out for one another, making sure no one is triggered. That’s what family does.” He cupped your face, “And you’re a part of that now.”

You brought your lips to meet his, the kiss conveying the words you couldn’t say. You never thought you’d be in a relationship with someone like Wrecker. With someone who saw you. He saw all of you and he still loved you. 

“Is everything okay out—” Wrecker grunted, annoyed at Tech’s voice interrupting the moment, but broke apart from you. Tech continued, “Oh. Apologies. I see all is well.”

Wrecker glared at his oblivious brother. “Techhhh, go away.” 

“Right. Of course. It was nice to finally meet you, Y/N.”

“You too,” you gave a small wave.

“We should get out of here before the rest of them come out here.”

You linked your fingers together. “Hey Wreck?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

He scooped you up in his arms and you squealed. “I love you too. Now let's get you home.”

Wrecker has a praise kink.

Sure, he likes hearing you compliment him. But more than that, he LOVES seeing you squirm when he calls you beautiful.

He looses his mind when you try to close your eyes, when you turn your head away, unable to think under the heat of his eyes. He can't get enough of watching every worry leave your face with each sweet, cooed word.

When I was working on this, I saw that @superiorsniper sneaked in, abolutely in character without any interaction. I think you felt that I just worked on Lula in your face 😀 That‘s it – welcome, enjoy and get Lula‘d for superior grumpyness 😀🫶🏼

This time I tracked time again on this piece. It took me 1 hour and 19 minutes. I‘m getting better 😎

Happy I felt like drawing Wrecker cause it's bbg day!

Just sketchy stuff not finalized but I had fun working on it! that's why it's a little inconsistent mostly just going with the vibes. Y'all posting that hes on the chopping block are scaring me stop that. THERE ALL GONNA LIVE EVERYTHING IS GONNA BE FINE ( I am in denial)

Here comes the sun!! 💥 Remember we were talking about Wrecker‘s hugs? This one is clearly the deadliest – poor little cantina soup shinies 😂 You wanted it, so now get WRECKERED! 💣💥

I didn‘t plan this lighting! I just wanted to add some comic style lines for more dynamic and I thought, hm… this looks like Wrecker is shining… Okay, let him shine and decend upon these poor clones like the day of the last judgement 😂 Sorry not sorry for that, I had so much fun!

This is the first time I didn’t have a template for a face! Wreckers face is drawn completely free-handed and now I‘m a proud lil drawing padawan 🙈 Now roast me, what do you think about it 😂🙈

okay but giving wrecker trailing kisses on all of his scars? starting behind his ear and making your way across his face? ending with the softest, sweetest kiss on his eyelid? or when you’re laying in bed, helping him fall asleep by gently tracing the scars that cover his big, strong arms and torso as you lay on top of him? you’re kinda like a weighted blanket for him with added bonus of lulling him to sleep with your light touch. wearing one of his shirts to bed because it’s basically a nightgown on you. i could go ON AND ON!!!