Crosshair X Fem!reader - Tumblr Posts

Yes. This is just perfect and is now cannon.

bad batch hurt/comfort drabble cause i said so🤚🏻(pt 1)

hunter- probably the best at communication in the batch tbh. he may have not known what to do the first time you had gotten upset, but now he knows EXACTLY what to do. definitely the typa guy to hug you until you fall asleep(im sobbing)

he rubs your back gently and says into your ear, “tell me who did this, i’ll deal with the rest.” 😫

crosshair- he has a lot of trouble but you bet he tries his ABSOLUTE best. this man is HORRIFIED and internally panicking everytime you get upset bc he will ALWAYS think it was something he did.

is he a little awkward at first? yes. does he stand there with his arms at his sides when you hug him for the first 20 seconds? also yes. is he secretly trying to find out who had the audacity to hurt your feelings so he can deal with them immediately? absolutely.

you walk into the ship with puffy eyes and a tired look on your face, and the first person you’re met with is crosshair.

he looks at you for a few seconds before grabbing his favorite blaster, “tell me everything.”

Part 1: Making Friends on Pabu

Quick summary: You're new to Pabu and looking for a new start. You meet the Bad Batch under some. unusual circumstances, and Crosshair immediately stands out to you as handsome and someone you can trust. ---

This is my first stab at some fan fiction. It's fluffy AF and probably mostly safe for work? I'll list my "warnings" below as I've seen in other posts. The whole team (except Tech) is in the story, but it's mainly focused on Crosshair. Crosshair x fem!reader | Word count: 3,016ish. Warnings: Alcohol, Flirting, Gun Fire, but it's pretty SFW. I might write more and I'm just letting myself write whatever, so who knows, it could get NSFW later. So don't get hooked on this story if you're underaged. Lmao, but I'm really not that confident in my writing. It was a fun exercise and felt a bit like journalling. I haven't just, written for fun like this since creative writing in high school over a decade ago. I'd like a fresh start on Pabu. Lmao. I hope you all enjoy. I really liked reading the fan fiction I could find from other Clone enthusiasts on here. Ya'll are a cool bunch of people.

The mercenaries were right; Pabu could be the means of a fresh start. You had cut ties with nearly everyone you knew, took your shares of the earned bounties, bought a ship, and then bought a boat. 

Out on the water, you sailed until you couldn’t see the island any longer. You cranked up your club music to an ungodly level, poured yourself a drink, and kicked back under the stars. 

It doesn’t get anymore remote than this, you thought to yourself. You let your heavy eyes close and you faded into a deep sleep; your body recognized it hadn’t felt this safe in years. You slept through the night and into the late hours of the morning.

—-

“Is all that noise coming from that ship?” Omega looked at Crosshair. 

“Uh-huh.” He scowled and squinted his eyes to examine the ship on the morning horizon.

“Well, we’re not going to catch any fish at this rate. They should know not to be so noisy this early… Or ever.” Omega continued. “I guess we can turn the engine back on and see what’s going on with that ship.”

Omega ignited the ship’s engine and steered the bow to the mysterious vessel. The water was smooth in the early hours. The sun reflecting off each wave and rock on the sea. Crosshair enjoyed these early mornings with Omega. Sometimes Wrecker would join, but as he had become a staple in the Pabu fishing crowd, he found himself surrounded with friends easily. Crosshair, still silent and stoic in most circles, often stayed with his family.

“Hey!” Omega called out to the ship. “You’re scaring off all the fish!” She steered her ship parallel and killed the engine. The music’s thumping bass pulsed through the water, shaking their ship.

“This is louder than 79’s,” Crosshair yelled to Omega.

“What? What’s 79’s?” Omega yells back.

“A club!” Crosshair tries to be heard over the booming bass.

“A club, like to hit something with?” Omega was confused. Crosshair just shook his head, not wanting to scream over the music a third time. He looked over into the ship to see you, motionless through the music. He and Omega shared a concerned glance that you were perhaps dead and floating out on the waters of Pabu alone. Omega jumped into your boat, racing over to your side to see if you were alive. 

She touches your shoulder, which sends you from your deep sleep into a panic. You grab your gun off the side table out of instinct, but before you can turn back, you hear a blaster fire; then you fade back asleep. —

You awake again, still on your boat. The music had stopped. Your head pulsing with every heartbeat. The world spun; the ship gently rocked back and forth. You clasped your head in your hands as you swung your legs to the side of the beach chair to sit up properly.

“Did you stun me?” You looked at the young blonde stranger on your ship. You felt at ease seeing that only a child had climbed aboard.

“I did.” A voice behind you hissed. You spun around to see a tall, thin, but built man leaning against the rails of your ship. 

You raise an eyebrow as you look back and forth between the two invaders. Their eyes, similar in shape and color, you asked the young woman, “Is he your father?”

“Father?” She said back with a confused face. “No, I’m Omega, and this is my brother, Crosshair.”

You look back at the man. Crosshair nodded in your direction to acknowledge his introduction. His eyes, mysterious and dark, studied your figure. You followed the outline of his jaw to his lips, which pursed a toothpick. Crosshair was deeply handsome. You turned your attention back to Omega.

You whispered to her, “Is your brother single?” Omega, turning confused towards you again, “What do you mean is he single?” Omega stammered at a normal volume. 

“Shhh!” You put your finger to your lips and hush her softly through a laugh. “Geez, kid. Relentless.”

You look back at Crosshair, who had obviously heard Omega repeat what you asked. His eyes narrowed and he looked at you suspiciously. 

“Anyway, I’m sorry to have woken in such a fright. I came out here to be alone.” You rebroke the awkward conversational ice.

“Obviously.” Crosshair rolled his eyes at your remark.

“We’re out here fishing. Your music was really loud, so we came over to ask if you could turn it down.” Omega explained.

“Oh.” You nodded back. “I’m sorry for all the noise. I guess I fell asleep.” “How do you sleep through all of that?” Omega questioned.

“I didn’t think I would drift off to it. I guess I was that tired.” You apologized.

“Well, don’t bother us again.” Crosshair flicked his toothpick in your direction and jumped into he and Omega’s ship. 

“Sorry, he’s pretty… severe in nature, as my other brother would say.” Omega whispered in your direction. “Do you live here on Pabu?”

You shrugged and began, “I–” “Omega! Let’s get back to work!” Crosshair called from their ship. “Sorry, gotta complete this morning’s mission.” And with that, Omega ran to the railing and hopped to her ship. “I’ll see you around, right?” Crosshair hit the throttle and they were off. Omega waved goodbye to you and then cast a net out for fishing. You watched the pair accelerate away, leaving you alone. You looked to your chair-side table to see your pistol missing. “Dammit, he took my blaster.”

—---

You docked your ship at the lower levels of Pabu late that afternoon. You had wasted nearly an entire day as the sun set on the ocean once more. You gathered your pack from the ship and jumped from the ship’s bow to the dock.

“We built ramps to walk up the dock, you know.” A long-haired fellow laughed. 

“Right, sorry.” You nodded in his direction. “Cool tattoo.”

The man touched his face, as if he had forgotten it was there, “Thanks. The name’s Hunter.” He threw his hand out for you to shake. 

You dropped your bag and shook his hand firmly, looking into his dark eyes.

“Huh, you have the same eyes as someone else I met today.”

“Hey! It’s you again!” You heard Omega run down the dock towards you and Hunter.

“Ah, that would be who I met.” You said to Hunter. Omega, with her running start, leaped onto Hunter’s back to be eye-level with you. 

“That’s the woman that asked me if Crosshair was single!” Omega announced. Hunter laughed, “Oh, is that right?” With a look of comedic-disbelief, you raised your finger to your lips once more “Shhh!” Omega giggled, “What? I don’t see what the big deal is.” Hunter, picking up your bag and asked “Well, do you have a place to stay tonight?”

Feeling uncomfortable, you take your bag off his shoulder and slide it back on to yours. “Yeah, I have my ship.” You studied Hunter cautiously.

“Well, do you have food for tonight?”

Hunter was kind and genuine. “I have some rations, but are you extending an invitation?”

“Indeed we are.” Hunter smiled softly. You thought about turning them down, but it had been a while since anyone wanted to see you. You were thought to be an introvert because of the solitude you maintained, but rather, your solitude was only from broken friendships and bad deals. “Please?” Omega smiled. You nodded in her direction. “Okay. But only because Crosshair stole my blaster.”

Hunter rolled his eyes, “Of course he did.”

—-

“And this is my brother, Wrecker!” Omega led you into the kitchen area, parading you around like a trophy. 

“Hey Kid! And, kid’s friend!” Wrecker howled. Astounded at his size and volume, you took a step back. His whitened eye, connected to visible scar tissue screamed of life experience and horrors. His demeanor juxtaposed his appearance, as his jovial laugh filled the room. 

Omega led you to your seat at the table and sat down next to you. “Wrecker! She’s the woman that asked if–” You turned to Omega, jaw-dropped that she was about to embarrass you once again. She met your eyes and changed her sentence halfway through. “Asked if–you were a good cook?” Omega shrugged. “Am I a good cook? Well, I’ve never killed anybody in the kitchen!” Wrecker laughed. “Well, except for that one time–” And he stopped himself. You laughed, “What one time?” Your laugh drifted into an uneasy silence as you looked at his scars again, now realizing it probably wasn’t a joke. Hunter broke the silence, “Well, we’ve seen a lot of action over the years. But I promise you, it’s all over now.”

Wrecker threw a pot of food on the table and with a proud smile announced, “Dinner is served.” “Where’s Crosshair?” Omega asked Hunter. “I–I don’t know. I let him know we had company.”

“He’s probably out watching the sun set again.” Omega reached for the serving spoon. “Uh, Omega, let the guest serve herself first.” Hunter motioned towards you to take the spoon. “Right, I’m the one to check if it’s poisoned.” You replied back, halfway joking. Wrecker shot a smile your way, “I promise my food has never killed anyone.” He had that similar genuine kindness that Hunter expressed. You reached for the serving spoon and dished up. 

“So, what’s your story? Or, I guess, what’s even your name?” Hunter taking the serving spoon says. “Right, uh.” You give them your first name and paused for a moment. Your fears quelled in your gut as it hadn’t been easy to tell your story lately. “I’m from–I was, well, I’m starting over here on Pabu.” 

“We are too!” Omega beamed.

“What do you like to do?” Hunter asked.

It was such an easy question, but you went blank. “I–I guess I’m figuring that out again too.”

“Hmm.” Hunter studied your face. “You look like you’ve been through a lot.”

“I get a similar feeling your family has too.” “Was it the Empire?” Omega touched your arm. The sincerity of experience in her voice pulled at your heart. You realized then they were all survivors, fleeing the Empire. “In a way, but no.” You responded back. “I was involved in a close-knit group, but some of us had a different idea of how to run things. I cut my losses and wrapped up what ends I could to escape.” You stirred the food around your dish, “I wouldn’t expect anyone to understand.” “We might understand better than you’d think,” a familiar voice hissed from the door. 

“Glad to see you back, Crosshair.” Omega jumped up and pulled out a chair for her brother. In a single protective motion, he sat in the chair and moved Omega to stand behind him. “I see you didn’t follow my instructions to leave us alone.” Crosshair leaned over the table to invade your space. You felt the tension of the room ignite as he stared into your eyes, hoping to intimidate you. 

“Crosshair!” Hunter interjected. You relaxed and leaned back in your chair, proving Crosshair’s intimidation tactic didn’t work. “Give me back my pistol and I’ll be on my way,” you replied. Wrecker groaned, “Aw, but you just got here!” Crosshair leaned towards Wrecker, “But you don’t know what she is!”

Omega’s face drained into a look of concern, “What do you mean, ‘what she is?’ ” Crosshair took his toothpick from his mouth and emphasized his words, “She’s a bounty hunter.” Omega, concerned glances from Crosshair back to you. Hunter and Wrecker tense up a little. You didn’t react well. Grabbing a pathetic dinner knife, you stand up from the table in a combative position. Knocking drinks from the table, Wrecker, Hunter, and Crosshair all pull weapons from their belts, and the stand-off begins. 

You and the men wait for someone to move first. Their six eyes, or well, five eyes, melted your skin. Omega broke the silence. “Can you stop with that? Crosshair, how do you even know she’s a bounty hunter?” Omega says as she lowers Hunter’s knife for him. 

“Tech’s records.” Crosshair sighed. “She matches a description of a bounty hunter that engaged with the Separatists near the end of the war. Then I cross-referenced with Echo’s files which revealed her deals with the Empire.”

Hunter looks at you, “Well, is that true?” “Would it matter if it was true?” Your voice broke. “Yes!” All three harmonized. “Look, I’m not a bounty hunter anymore.” You started, then dropped your guard completely. “Like I said, I’m here for a fresh start.” You put down the dinner knife and met their gaze once more. They were still ready to jump on you.

“And I’m not involved with the Empire any longer,” you insisted.

Omega motioned Wrecker and Crosshair to lower their weapons. They relaxed a little, but kept their eyes focused on your movements. You nodded in Omega’s direction in gratitude and broke the silence again, “Thanks for the dinner invite, but maybe this won’t work out.” In a moment of trust, you turned your back to the family and walked out of the home. 

You started towards the space port. 

—- You unlocked the door to your ship as you heard someone call your name. You stopped and turned. Crosshair made a small effort to wave hello as he walked closer to you. 

You put your bag in your ship and locked the door again. You walked down the ramp to meet Crosshair. His lips opened slightly, as if he were to begin a sentence, but instead rubbed his forehead. You waited in silence with your arms crossed. “Here.” He reached out with your pistol in hand. You met his reach and he pressed the pistol into your palm. For a stoic man, his brow and eyes communicated a lot. He glanced up at you and back to the ground. “Thanks.” You placed the blaster back in its holster. 

“We, or I, don’t trust very easily.” He revealed. “Omega, Wrecker… And Hunter, they’re all I have left.” He motioned towards your weapon, “So, don’t point that at my family again.” “I’m sorry.” You looked to the side, “You know, I don’t trust anyone a whole lot either. I mean, how could I?” 

He didn’t even look to acknowledge the comment. He really wasn’t much of a conversationalist.

You looked up from the ground again and started in a monotone, “What did you read in my file?”

Crosshair stood a little more upright and engaged back with you, “You have a reckless reputation... And worked bounty jobs for the Empire.”

“I’ve made mistakes,” you corrected, then calmly stated, “But I couldn’t keep living like that.”

Crosshair took a deep breath and focused his attention to the ocean.

“I too have made mistakes.” Crosshair nearly whispered as he took a step away from you and placed his right hand into his left. “Reckless mistakes.” 

You looked closer, only to realize his right hand was mechanical. Crosshair turned to face you again. You studied the scar on his temple and his face tattoo. 

“I should get back.” He turned, but you reached out and touched his shoulder. 

You started, “Look, I was wondering, if —“ 

Crosshair cut you off “If I’m single?”

You felt the corners of your lips creep up into a small smile and you let your hand slide down his arm.

“No, well, that too, but I was wondering if you were thirsty?”

Crosshair raised an eyebrow.

“Do you want to come aboard my ship for a drink?” You motioned towards your ship.

“Why do you have an interest in me? What trick are you playing?” He scowled.

“No tricks,” you promised. “You… intrigue me. And somehow, I feel I can trust you.”

He stood there in silence, evaluating his options. Crosshair knew he could just go home, listen to Omega talk about her dreams, and have a peaceful evening overlooking Pabu from his bedroom balcony. Or, he could take this stranger up on her offer and escape being “Crosshair” for a moment. He realized it would be nice to talk to someone that didn’t know his past.

“One drink.” He insisted. 

You gave him a soft smile and remotely opened the door to your ship. 

—-

You and Crosshair were three drinks in when he turned to you and realized time had slipped by faster than expected.

“Omega is going to tease me relentlessly for the next week.” Crosshair chuckled and swirled his drink. 

“What else are little sisters for?” You smiled back.

Crosshair continued to chuckle for a moment, thinking of Omega and how close they’ve grown. As he sat next to you in your ship’s booth, he turned to face you.

“Do you have siblings?” Crosshair inquired.

“I did, yes.” You begin to tap the table with your fingers. His eyes bore into your soul. 

“Did?” Crosshair muttered.

“I believe they’re all still alive, but I expect I’ll never see them again. Well, they don’t want to see me again.” You shrugged.

Crosshair looked intrigued. 

You continued, “I grew up in a rather… well, orthodox society. Everything was laid out for me in life: education, code of conduct, dress standards, diet, who I’d marry, and more. When I left, it was required by the society that my family no longer contact me.”

Crosshair listened intently. The unexpected attention made you feel at ease.

“How old were you, when you left?” Crosshair questioned.

“Old enough to turn to bounty hunting for quick money.” You shrugged. “Desperation will make you do some stupid things.”

“That it does,” Crosshair agreed. 

You leaned forward slightly and raised your hand to Crosshair’s cheek, letting your thumb trace the outline of his face tattoo. 

“Is this out of desperation? Your… fascination with me?” He took your hand from his face and held it between you and him.

“You didn’t see me stick around to see if Hunter was single.” You laughed.

His face remained unchanged.

So you continued your joke, “And we both know there’s no way Wrecker is single.” 

That line earned you a small smile from him.

You took his hand in yours, tracing his fingers.

“No, I don’t think it’s out of desperation.” You looked up into his eyes, “Do you trust me?”

Crosshair clasped his hand around yours.

“Oddly enough, I do.”

—

Part 2: The Warning

Part 2: The Warning

Read Part 1: Making Friends in Pabu Warnings: Fluffy AF, Alcohol, Flirting, Slowest Burn of Burns, Death, Blaster Fire, Explosions, Light Romance (SFW), Comfort.

Crosshair x fem!reader | Word Count: 3704

I decided to keep writing for fun. This one is a bit spicier than the first part as the relationship deepens between the reader and Crosshair. In good Star Wars fashion, I'm hoping this hooks you all in with some twists and action. The reader is a badass woman and I really wanted to fuel the character further with talents and quips. I hope she's a cool character to escape into. Enjoy!

“Come find me tomorrow?” You called to Crosshair as he exited your ship. He turned and waved a little to acknowledge the comment, but didn’t respond with anything endearing. You sighed as your company walked alone under the stars, leaving you feeling a little empty. You bit your lip and closed the door to your ship. You looked at the table where you and Crosshair had enjoyed the evening together and questioned if you should leave the small mess to wake up to; as a reminder that you weren’t completely alone that night. —--

“Did you get any intel on her?” Hunter sat on the steps of the Bad Batch’s well-decorated porch. “You’re still awake?” Crosshair’s words slithered out of his still buzzed mouth. “Are you drunk?” Hunter tried not to laugh. Crosshair ungracefully sat next to his brother and pointed a finger at the sky. “Was drunk.” Crosshair grinned a little. Then he put his head into his hands as his emotions swung back and forth. “Are you okay?” Hunter reached out and touched Crosshair’s shoulder. Crosshair stayed silent for a minute, then shifted to regain some composure. “We can trust her,” he began, “Or, I trust her. She’s no clone, but has also escaped a life of conditioning.”

Hunter let go of Crosshair and folded his arms as he leaned back into the staircase. “So, she’s not going to bring any trouble?” Hunter questioned Crosshair. “I can’t say for sure. I meant to talk about details of what I read in her file, but I didn’t get around to it.” Crosshair looked down at his feet.

“You spent hours over there and you didn’t even ask? What could you possibly have talked about?” Hunter said slowly, but with a hint of frustration.

Crosshair opened and closed his mouth a few times in an attempt to begin an answer. Hunter’s look of concern returned as he knew while Crosshair was a man of few words, he was always one to have words. 

“I tried to play her guitar. She plays beautifully,” Crosshair said to the stars. He looked at Hunter, “I think I may have made a friend.”

“Huh,” Hunter smiled. “Well, if you trust her, I’ll trust her.” He stood up and shook his pants from the sand and dirt on the steps. “But, we’ll need to watch out for her too then.” 

Crosshair nodded in agreement. 

Hunter was careful with his words, but he still felt something wasn’t right. He couldn’t tell if it was his previous run-ins with bounty hunters after Omega clouding his senses, or if there was something new to be concerned about. Hunter sighed and watched his loneliest brother stargaze.

I won’t ruin this for him. Hunter thought to himself. Shaking off the feeling of worry and dread for a moment, Hunter stepped inside, and turned to see Crosshair still sitting on the steps. “Are you coming inside?” Hunter yawned while he held the door open. “In a while, maybe.” Crosshair said unbothered. —-

Crosshair woke late that morning on the porch surrounded by Wrecker’s plush toy Lula, pillows, and a draping sheet to create a tent. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, causing the tent to collapse around him. He heard the front door open. “Oh, sorry, Crosshair!” Omega exclaimed. She set a plate of fresh pancakes in Crosshair’s lap and removed the sheet from his head. “I was hoping we could have breakfast together in a pillowfort?” Omega smiled. “Of course.” Crosshair said while pulling the sheet overhead to fix Omega’s pillowfort. —-

It had been a few weeks since getting to know the family that called themselves “the Bad Batch.” You had been to their home for meals a few times and Crosshair spent nearly every evening with you. In the mornings, you’d see Wrecker, Crosshair, and Omega out fishing, with Hunter in tow sometimes. On occasion, Crosshair would jump to your boat to spend the day with you.

Omega waved as their ship skipped over the choppy water to your vessel. Wrecker cut the engine and as the ships drifted closer, Crosshair jumped into the water and swam towards your boat. You reached down into the water and pulled him aboard. 

He grinned, “Hi, beautiful.”

You smiled and threw him a towel. “We could have waited until we were closer for you to jump on.”

“I decided I couldn’t wait any longer,” Crosshair said through the towel as he dried his face. 

From the ship, Omega, Wrecker, and Hunter waved. 

“Don’t keep him out too late!” Omega yelled as their ship took off towards the island, leaving you and Crosshair alone. He turned to you and sighed a breath of relief. 

“I have a surprise for you today,” you smiled as you held up a box of clay birds. 

“Target practice?” Crosshair raised an eyebrow. “How touching. You do care about me, don’t you?” 

“I could get used to caring, yes,” you replied as you tossed the box at him. 

“I didn’t bring my rifle,” Crosshair ran his fingers over the box and opened it to reveal clay birds ready for tossing and shooting.

“No worries, I have a few things stashed,” you vocalized while digging into a storage space beneath the deck. You pulled out a few blasters from below deck, a pistol, and two rifles. 

“They’re not much,” you grinned, “But it’s hard to get anything with the Empire running things these days. Will you keep my secret?”

Crosshair picked up one of the rifles and looked down the barrel and shot a look of approval in your direction, “Oh, I’ll keep your secret.”

You put a pair of binoculars to your eyes and scanned the horizon, then asked Crosshair, “Do you think we’re far enough out that nobody will notice?” 

“I’m sure you could blame this one on me and nobody will bat an eye,” he chuckled.

“Okay then, you’re up, Mister Sniper,” you laughed as you wound up your arm with a birdie ready to toss.

“No, no.” Crosshair motioned you to come closer to him, “We’re going to judge your marksmanship skills first.” 

You took the rifle from Crosshair with a bit of a confused look written across your face. You didn’t argue with him and you lined the rifle up with your shoulder. 

“Ready?” Crosshair looked at you and you nodded back. He threw the birdie high into the sky. Pulling the trigger the second it aligned in your sights, you blasted it to pieces. 

“Deadeye.” Crosshair looked at you impressed. 

“Okay, now it’s your turn.” You tossed the rifle towards Crosshair. He lined the rifle up to his shoulder as a serious expression washed over his face.

“Remember how I said I was a sniper?” He spoke softly as he looked down through the sites. “That’s a big emphasis on was. Throw it.” He instructed.

You tossed the bird into the sky, he followed it with the barrel, pulled the trigger, and blasted the bird to pieces.

“Seems to me like there’s still a sniper in there somewhere,” you said in admiration as the pieces fell into the ocean. 

“Hmm.” Crosshair replied with a grunt. He looked at his mechanical hand and placed it back on the trigger. “Again,” he prodded. 

You tossed the second bird into the sky, Crosshair followed it, pulled the trigger, and again blasted the bird to pieces. He looked up from his sights with a soft gaze and watched the pieces fall into the water. 

“I’m surprised I can hit anything at all anymore,” he snickered to himself while studying his mechanical hand once again. You watched his eyes glaze over, as if he was watching a movie scene play out in his head. 

“You okay? We, we don’t have to do this,” you implored. 

“No, it’s okay. Throw a few into the air at once, if you could,” Crosshair coaxed. 

“Is it cool if I shoot some with you? Want to see who’s faster?” you challenged.

Crosshair looked down the barrel, “You’re on.” 

You tossed several birds out at once with precision. None of them floated for long as you and Crosshair blew them to smithereens within seconds. About ten minutes after repeating this routine, you were out of clay birds to throw. 

“I don’t think we missed a single bird,” you bantered, throwing the empty box onto the deck.

“I guess you could say we make a good team,” Crosshair blushed and stepped closer to hand the rifle back to you. You let your hand slide down the barrel as you took a step closer to him, gazing up into his eyes for a few seconds too long.

“What is it?” Crosshair swooned a little. 

“I don’t mind these little moments with you,” you professed. “You’re different.”

Crosshair responded with a soft smile and small laugh, “I’m defective.”

Completely missing the joke, you respond “You shoot perfectly, even with a mechanical hand. I wouldn’t call that ‘defective.’” 

“No, like I’m defective by nature?” His eyes narrowed as he tried to explain, “My family, we’re all defective clones.”

“Oh.” It finally dawned on you why they all looked very alike, “Like defective clone troopers,” you muttered.

“You didn’t see that immediately?” Crosshair was a little stunned.

“No, I just thought you were… Well, take no offense to this, but regular people,” you admitted.

“You thought we were regular?” Crosshair laughed. “And Tech was always the one that said none of us would pass a psychological examination.”

You sat down on the deck, pulling on Crosshair’s hand to join you.

“Who’s Tech?” you asked.

Crosshair sat down on the deck next to you and put the blaster to his side. He pulled his legs close to his chest and crossed his arms in front of them. He was afraid to open up to you and to let you in. He took a deep breath in and exhaled, just as Omega had taught him in meditation, and just as he breathed behind the sniper scope for so many years.

“Tech was my brother.” Crosshair spoke more to the ocean than to you. “We all knew the risks to living a life as a soldier. Tech died protecting Omega and my brothers.” He paused for a moment, then resumed with hesitation, “He died trying to save me. We’re a family, but in a lot of ways, we’ll never be the same without Tech.” 

The boat rocked back and forth on the water as the ocean breeze responded to Crosshair’s words. You sat in silence next to him watching the birds fly just above the water. You reached out your arm across his back and leaned your head against his shoulder. It felt forced, this one-sided embrace, but you held him for a moment to share your condolences without breaking the silence. 

Surprised by your grasp, Crosshair breaks his tucked position and pulls you in, looping one leg around you and pulling you against his chest. His embrace tightened as his face fell to the nape of your neck. He exhaled slowly into your skin. You too relaxed into his grip.

Your comm rang, ruining the moment. You slid the small circular device out of your pocket and watched it ring.

“Are you going to answer that?” Crosshair inquired. His embrace broke slightly as you sat up a bit higher. The ghostly look on your face as you studied the device answered some of Crosshair’s question. “You’re afraid to answer it.” He muttered, releasing his embrace entirely. 

“What are you hiding?” He questioned.

“We’ll answer it together,” you answered the call.

A blue hologram figure appeared, floating above the small device. The figure was wearing a helmet to mask his face. He was unfamiliar to you, so you asked, “Who are you?”

“You don’t remember? Always so impersonal.” The voice was deep in response. “I have a warning for you. Vinn Carvel knows it was you that took the artifact from the compound upon your exit. Turns out, you were doing him a favor.”

“A favor?” You blustered in bewilderment. You felt Crosshair’s eyes shift from the hologram to you. Your heart sank.

“That artifact had an Inquisitor at our door this morning. Looks like you took something— priceless.” The hologramed voice continued, “If you’re on the run, I’d keep running. That’s the last you’ll hear from us.” The hologram switched off.

“What’s he talking about?” Crosshair sounded concerned. You met his gaze with a dissociated look.

“I might be dangerous after all,” you attested. 

—

You and Crosshair fled back to the island. The ship chopped roughly along the water as you held the throttle to the max. Crosshair rode on the opposite side of the ship in silence. The water around you began to darken, as if something was blocking out the sun. You look up, only to find your deepest anxieties ignite in the shadow of an Imperial shuttle.

The Imperial ship followed you to the island, appearing larger and larger as its altitude dropped. Crosshair picked up one of your rifles and held it close. You knew there was nowhere to run, but you needed to get Crosshair back to his family before conversing with the Empire.

You docked the boat and yelled to Crosshair, “Run!” He jumped from the boat to the dock and sprinted up the mountain out of sight.

Knowing what the Empire was after, you grabbed the backpack that rarely left your sight and jumped to the dock. You spied the shuttle landing at the spaceport, so you started running towards the Imperial shuttle.

Just throw them the bag and get out of there. You told yourself, but there was an unsettling feeling that it wasn’t going to be as easy as you’d hoped. 

Just as you got into the spaceport, you were met by two Imperial officers.

“Get on the ground with your hands up,” they barked. You followed their orders and immediately knelt with your hands up. 

From the main entrance of the shuttle, a hooded figure appeared and walked down the ramp. The inquisitor’s lightsaber ignited and they dragged the red blade alongside the ground as they walked towards you.

“Funny how you’re on this side of things now, Tarkin,” the Inquisitor snarled. “Your uncle was most displeased when he learned of your… desertion.” 

“Imperial royalty wasn’t my idea of a good life,” you hissed back. 

“Where’s the holocron?” The Inquisitor wasted no time.

“Just take the backpack,” you insisted.

The imperial guard behind you unzipped your bag and ruffled through it. He paused for a moment and pulled out a glowing pyramid. 

“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” The Inquisitor smiled and accepted the holocron from the guard. “Lord Vader will be most pleased.” 

“Lord–who?” You quipped back.

“Guards, take her into custody and back with us to Mustafar,” the Inquisitor bellowed.

It was seconds after the guards forcefully applied the cuffs to your wrists and yanked you to stand that you heard blaster fire. Both guards fell to your side and the Inquisitor spun their lightsaber blade inches from your throat. You froze.

“I see you’ve made friends,” the Inquisitor deadpanned.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Crosshair slide down the lookout tower's side and walk closer to the Inquisitor. 

“You dare challenge me?” The Inquisitor called out.

Crosshair squeezed the trigger, causing the Inquisitor to block the blaster fire. You fell to the ground and shuffled away from the blade’s reach. Crosshair continued the onslaught of blaster fire, until one shot landed. Then another. The Inquisitor’s blade retreated and they fell to their knees staring up at Crosshair. 

“You can’t kill a force wielder,” they managed to utter in a weakened voice.

“Unfortunately for you, I was designed to.” Crosshair said as he pulled the trigger once more, causing the Inquisitor to fall lifeless at his feet.

Crosshair studied his kill, but directed his voice towards you, “Are you okay?”

You nodded in disbelief and responded in a near whisper, “You came back for me?”

He stepped over his kill towards you and ordered, “Turn around.”

You turned and gave him your hands. He took his knife and cut through the restraints and turned you to face him, his hands not leaving your sides. His eyes, broken with mistrust, looked longingly into yours.

“I have to go now,” you rasped. “I have to get this thing off the planet and away… from you. I’m so sorry.”

Crosshair, at a loss for words, moved his hand from your waist to your cheek. 

“Go.” He shuddered. You fell into his embrace and pulled away after a few second’s time. Crosshair planted a soft kiss on your lips and let go of you; you broke him. 

Detaching yourself from the screaming emotion of unspoken affections, you turned your attention to the mess you and Crosshair had made. 

“Help me get these bodies onto this ship,” You began. “I’ll follow their previous flight path, mess with the computer, and make it look like they never got to the planet. I doubt they’re tracking their Inquisitors closely.”

Crosshair nodded and helped you lug the bodies into the shuttle. 

“You’re not going to destroy the shuttle with yourself in it, right?” He prodded. 

“Unfortunately for you, no,” you gawked. 

“How can you joke at a time like this?” Crosshair fretted while heaving the last body into the shuttle. 

“I’ll remotely control my ship to come get me. Don’t worry. I’m going to be fine. This plan is our best shot to protect Pabu, then I’ll get rid of this artifact before anyone else comes looking for it,” you explained as you walked up the ramp of the shuttle.

“And who is looking for it?” Crosshair called to you. 

“I have more secrets to whisper to you later,” you sighed as you closed the shuttle entrance. 

—-

Racing to the pilot seat, you dispatched the landing gear and steered the shuttle to the sky, leaving Crosshair alone on the spaceport’s platform. Retracing the flight path with the computer, you found a nearby star system along the way to ditch the shuttle. 

Programming in the path to light speed, you pulled your tablet computer system from your bag and remotely controlled your private ship. Sending the flight coordinates, you programmed the ship to pick you up hours after ditching the shuttle. 

Now into space, you prepared the ship for lightspeed and punched it. It would only be a short journey, so you had to act fast if you were to erase the coordinate history of the ship and have enough time to clear your head. You worked your way into the computer, realizing it had been sending transponding coordinates of its position back to the Empire.

 The only way the plan would work is if nobody cross-referenced the computer’s data with the coordinates it sent the Empire. If anything, this maneuver would only buy you some time. You reprogrammed the ship’s harddrive, dropped out of hyperspace, ripped the motherboard containing the coordinate harddrive from the ship, and awaited your own ship’s arrival. It was a complex mission, but you were always quick enough on your feet to stay at least one step ahead of your enemy.

The hours moved slowly. You sat in the pilot's seat, feeling your thoughts catch up to your racing anxieties. The Empire found you. You thought to yourself. Crosshair will never trust you again. You sank into the chair. Crosshair. You owed him. He had saved you from Imperial capture; that of which you’d then be tried for treason and likely killed. It didn’t matter that you were a Tarkin or not, once a deserter, you were always an enemy to the Empire and your family. 

Your ship exited hyperspace on-schedule. You sigh in relief, then make your way to the escape pod. Launching yourself into space, you pilot the escape pod to your ship and dock it. You seal the cabins together and open your ship remotely. You drop inside your ship and double-check your bag for the artifact and motherboard. You close the seal and release the escape pod back into space.

“What’s the plan from here?” You hear Crosshair call from the cockpit. You had jumped a little as his presence startled you.

You walk up to the front of the ship and take the seat next to Crosshair. You reach out and touch his arm, as if to see if he was real or an apparition of your mind. Realizing your gaze was lost in the disbelief of his arrival, you turn your attention again to the shuttle that floated in space before you.

“Blow it up,” you commanded.

“Roger that,” Crosshair responded as he fired the ship’s cannons on the shuttle. 

“Get that escape pod too,” you pointed across the valley of space.

“Is that it?” Crosshair questioned.

“Not quite. One more thing,” you informed as you pulled the motherboard from your backpack. “Think you can do some sniping work from a ship’s cannon?”

Crosshair looked intrigued and raised a single eyebrow looking for further instruction. 

“It’s a dumb idea, but I’ll release this into space. If you can graze it with cannon fire, it’ll look like it went down in the blast. I reprogrammed it to look like it never made it to Pabu. I know they’ll likely cross-reference it with the shuttle's transponding coordinates, but this will buy me– or, us, some time. If we’re lucky, they’ll never cross-reference it because the motherboard will still be functional.”

“They’re going to be on us soon. This is a terrible idea.” Crosshair replied worriedly.

“Well, it gets worse.” You stood up from your seat and made your way to the back of the ship. “I sent out a distress call before exiting that ship. They’ll be here sooner than I’d like.”

“You are reckless.” Crosshair mouthed off.

“You’re the one that decided to read my file and thought it was a good idea to follow me out here.” 

Throwing the motherboard into the trash chute, you emptied the trash into space. Crosshair aimed next to the motherboard and burned it with cannon fire. Jogging back up to the cockpit, you slid into your seat, and punched the ship back into hyperspace. 

—-

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Part 3: Truth & Intimacy

Part 1: Making Friends on Pabu Part 2: The Warning Warnings: Actual smut this time (below the 2nd cut mid-way through); hand job; minors G

Part 3: Truth & Intimacy

Part 1: Making Friends on Pabu

Part 2: The Warning

Warnings: Actual smut this time (below the 2nd cut mid-way through); hand job; minors GTFO; romance; fluffy AF; slow slow burn, comfort; soft-hearted and gentle Crosshair; did I say fluff? Crosshair x fem!reader | Word Count: 1996

Third time writing fan fiction and first time writing some smut. It's not like crazy smutty, but like enough that I'll definitely throw a warning on there. I'm just diving into this whole Tumblr world full-speed ahead. This chapter is pretty short, in case someone wanted to skip the smut at the end and continue with the plot when the next chapter drops. I hope you enjoy.

The silence screamed aboard your ship. Whisking away into hyperspace, you and Crosshair sat side-by-side without words. You closed your eyes tight and tried to focus long enough to clear your head, but the thoughts wouldn’t stop. They’ll double-check the coordinates. The Empire will return to Pabu regardless. How can you get rid of the holocron safely? Who is Lord Vader? Crosshair broke the silence.

“I can hear your thoughts from here,” he calmly confessed. Opening your eyes, you looked at him with an expression of defeat. 

“I’ve made a bit of a mess,” you sighed. “I have this incredible ability to create life threatening situations unintentionally.” 

“You owe me —-” Crosshair started.

“I owe you my life,” you interjected. 

“Let’s start with an explanation,” Crosshair imposed. 

Not knowing where to begin, you stand up from the cockpit and walk to the back of your ship to retrieve your bag. Crosshair spun his captain’s chair around and put a toothpick between his lips. 

You unzip the backpack and pull out the holocron —- which was no longer glowing.

“I took this from my old boss’ warehouse. It was filled with trash we collected off targets…Sometimes they’d have items worth selling for extra credits. Nobody wanted this and it intrigued me.” “What is it?” Crosshair leaned forward in his chair to look closer. You tossed him the pyramid to study it. “It’s Jedi,” you began. “Now that they’re mostly all gone, I figured it was worthless. I didn’t think the Inquisitors were Jedi, but that thing lit up bright red when that Inquisitor on Pabu touched it.”

Crosshair narrowed his eyes, “What are you implying?” “I have a new theory that the Empire is run by Jedi or —- force wielders as that Inquisitor said to you. I used to think Inquisitors were only using Jedi technology, like the lightsaber. In a sense, they’re the scariest bounty hunters in the galaxy with that weaponry.” You pointed to the pyramid and began, “But that artifact responded to their touch —- to the force. It lit up. If they wield the force, aren’t they Jedi?” 

You paused for a moment, thinking through the layers of events. Crosshair continued to study the pyramid’s sides in silence.

“We should warn Hunter and Wrecker that the Empire might return to Pabu to look for it,” you said to Crosshair, taking the pyramid back into your hands.

“Already did,” Crosshair confirmed. He inhaled deeply, “What’s our next move?”

“Our next move?” You lashed out slightly. Feeling overwhelmed, you took a breath and put your hand over your eyes. “I’m sorry — ”

“You don’t want me here?” Crosshair asked.

The ship hummed with the frequencies of hyperspace. 

“Why’d you come find me?” You softly countered.

The ship continued to be the only audible voice for a lengthened moment. It appeared that you and Crosshair had finally reached a sort of impasse, fueled by the feelings both of you wouldn't admit. You both waited for the other to confess first. You bit the bullet and began,

“I — want to protect you,” you admitted. You looked to Crosshair for his confession.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” he said just above a whisper. 

He stepped over to you and tested the waters of physical affection by running his hand down your arm and grasping your hand. You turned into him and reached your arms around his neck, pulling him close. He matched your embrace, his hands running across your waist and back. He held you until you felt yourself calm down.

Releasing your grip just enough to look up into his eyes, your gaze traced down from his cheekbones to his lips and toothpick. You reached up to grasp the toothpick and lightly tried to pull it out. Crosshair bit down on it and raised his eyebrows to silently question your actions. He moved one hand from your back to your head, lightly gripping your hair and skull, then his mechanical hand taking his toothpick. His nose traced yours to your lips, where he froze. 

“This doesn’t change that I’m still upset with you,” he admitted. 

Crosshair moved in to kiss you. The passion burned as the previously untapped gates of unexpressed affections burst open. You traced your tongue across his bottom lip as the kiss deepened, he welcomed you with a matched intensity. Crosshair pulled back from the kiss, much sooner than you were ready for. Your lips trailed after him before you opened your eyes to see him lost in a soft smile. 

—-

To save fuel, you landed your ship in a cave on a cold moon. You hadn’t told Crosshair that credits and chaincodes weren’t a problem for you, but you were still conservative with resources as finding safe places to fuel up would be a challenge. 

You poured yourself and Crosshair a drink, then sat back at the table ready to hash out ideas on escaping your predicament. 

“So, it’s not like we can just sell this thing,” you noted while tossing the pyramid-shaped artifact into the air. “And, I’m unfortunately marked for having possession of it.”

“Why was the Empire interested in arresting you for having it? Why couldn’t they just take it?” Crosshair questioned as he took out a toothpick to ponder with.

“Perhaps it’s because I know too much…” you started, then hesitated forward, “Or it’s because I’m a deserter.”

“You? A deserter? Not only did you do bounty jobs for the Empire, but you were… Imperial?” Crosshair’s narrowed, focused glare zeroed in on you.

You shamefully nodded. “Crosshair, I’m a Tarkin,” you testified.

His gaze grew more intense; you forgot how intimidating this man could be, especially when caught off-guard. He reached carefully for his words.

“As in, you’re related to Admiral Tarkin?” Crosshair entreated.

“Have you had the pleasure of knowing my Uncle?” you gawked out of contempt.

Crosshair leaned back into the bench and sighed. 

“I once worked in a unit as a specialty sniper and commander, which was overseen by Admiral Tarkin,” Crosshair admitted. “And I had a few run-ins with him prior as well.”

“You were imperial?” you gasped. “I’m sorry I never asked more about your past,” you apologized.

“It’s not something I like to think about,” Crosshair shrugged.

“So, technically, you’re a deserter too,” you soothed.

“I am now.” Crosshair concluded. “So, the Empire is not only after you for this Jedi-artifact, but is after you for treason.”

“Treason, family betrayal, or creating a mockery of the Tarkin name,” you bantered and paused in thought: “Crosshair, they’ll crucify me.” 

The conversation froze under the magnitude of realizations. Crosshair shifted his toothpick back and forth between the sides of his mouth, lost in thought.

“Thanks again for saving me earlier from the Inquisitor,” you broke the silence, “I want you to know, if I am captured later, don’t risk anything more for me. I dug my own grave by turning my back on them.”

Crosshair filled with empathy and experience, reached across the table and took your hand. “We’re doing this together.” Hunter’s voice played in his mind from when he once had said something similar outside of Tantis. Crosshair repeated Hunter’s words out loud, “Don’t you dare think about Plan 99.”

“Plan 99?” you questioned.

“During our time with the republic, we organized nearly a hundred different plans to infiltrate bases, destroy droids, and more. Plan 99 is to sacrifice yourself for the greater good; but only when there is no other alternative…” He hesitated to say more, “It’s only been used once.” “Tech,” you muttered.

“Tech,” Crosshair nodded in return. 

You stood up from your side of the table and squeezed in close to Crosshair on the bench, wrapping him into the comfort you could offer. He leaned into you and closed his eyes.

“So partner,” you smirked to lift the room’s atmosphere, “I suppose we could hit the underworld of Coruscant and tap into the black markets to dispose of this.”

“Maker, you are so reckless.” Crosshair muttered without bothering to open his eyes or shift in position.

—--------

Descending into the haze of Coruscant, you relayed a chaincode into the transponder and was directed to a platform to land.

“Why was that so easy?” Crosshair glanced over to you.

“I’m prepared at least half the time,” you assured him. You glanced down at your dirty shirt and pants, then ruffled your hand through your hair. “I’m due to freshen up too. A disguise wouldn’t be a bad thing —,” you eyed Crosshair’s Pabu-living beach outfit up and down, “for the both of us,” you continued.

“You have clothes for me?” He side-eyed you.

“I’m full of surprises,” you relayed as you landed your cruiser and killed the engines. “Come on,” you stood up and headed to the back of your ship.

“I still can’t believe you gunned down an Inquisitor in sandals,” you laughed while opening your closet in the back of the ship. “Sorry, this isn’t much.”

You threw him a basic black top and dress trousers. 

“They’ll do,” he grunted. 

—-smut below the cut—---

Disappearing into the lavatory, you turned the water on in the shower, allowing it to heat and steam the room. As the water recycled and filtered, you threw your freshly stripped shirt at Crosshair and paused looking around the door frame.

“Want to join me?” You called to him. Crosshair’s heart seemed to skip a beat, but he retained his composure.

“Are you trying to seduce me?” He scoffed a little. 

“Obviously,” you said from the shower. “Is it working?”

Crosshair, tired and frustrated with the overarching situation, exhaled, knowing he would regret it if he didn’t join you. He wandered into the bathroom, stripped himself of his shirt and trousers, opened the shower curtain, to find you wet and naked. 

“Yeah, it’s working,” he smirked. “Do we really have time… for this? For us?” He stepped inside, closing the curtain behind him, with his eyes focused on you.

“No one knows we are here,” you mused as you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into the water stream. The water droplets tracing down his jaw line and dripping onto his chiseled chest. His hands wandered from your head, to your waist, then thighs as his nose traced yours until your lips met, beginning a gentle kiss. 

Tracing your lips across his cheek, you drag your lower lip down his neck, and suck slightly on his collar bone. He faintly moans and grips your upper thigh tighter. Your hair and hands still soapy from the shampoo you applied earlier, you smoothly maneuver your hand across his chest and down his abs, pausing at his hip bone. 

“What are you waiting for?” He breathed. 

“Is this okay?” You peppered. Taking your hand in his, he pushed you further down his waistline, guiding you towards his sex. With his length in your hand, you return to kiss him deeply. Crosshair’s breathing grew heavier as you fell into a rhythm of movement; his lips and tongue dancing with yours. Enjoying his intimate noises and expressions, you expand your hand and mouth’s wanderings. Nearly losing balance from pleasure, Crosshair caught himself on the shower wall with one arm and continued to hold you close with the other. 

“Did you—,” you began.

“Yeah,” he inhaled deeply. “I’m sorry if I didn’t last—”

“I’m flattered,” you smiled.

You softly ran your nails over his hip bones and up his chest into another warm embrace. His limbs shuddered as he collapsed more into you, still holding himself up with the shower wall. You reached behind him and poured some shampoo into your palm, returning back to him and massaging his neck and skull. Crosshair rests his forehead against yours and looks deeply into your eyes; his expression, almost sad. You pause your massage efforts.

“Are you okay?” you whisper.

“I never knew I could be so loved,” he confided. 

“Get used to it,” you returned to caress him further.

—-- Part 4: Not Alone

----- Tag list: @tentakelspektakel

Part 4: Not Alone

Part 1: Making Friends on Pabu

Part 2: The Warning

Part 3: Truth & Intimacy

Warnings: Fluffy AF, Light Romance, Violence

Word Count: 2324

Hi friends, thanks for reading. This little fan fiction has been my escape for a few minutes every day. It's not amazing and there's probably some plot holes I won't dig myself out of, but I'm having fun. Crosshair is such a brutally sweet character and I've loved trying to write him decently. There's some cameos and serious plot going on in this next chapter. Sorry if you were here for a one-shot. Maybe I'll try to write some of those after I conclude this story. Anyway, enjoy!

You awoke the next morning next to Crosshair in your ship’s narrow bunk. Rolling into him, you noticed he was already awake. 

“Have you been awake long?” you turned more fully towards him, concerned.

“I slept well enough,” he sighed. “Maybe better than I have in years.” He tightened his embrace around you. You relaxed into him once more and admired his breath on your skin.

“You know,” he started to open up, “I’ve spent too many nights alone in barracks, prison cells, and ship bunks. I woke up early, assuming I was alone again.” He hesitated, “But you were here… with me.”

He pressed a kiss into your shoulder. “This is the longest I’ve ever wanted to stay in bed,” he admitted.

You smiled and interrupted his embrace to turn to face him. You leaned your forehead against his and gazed into his intense brown eyes.

“Even if we could stay here forever—” you started, but Crosshair interjected, “It wouldn’t be long enough,” he sighed.

—

Feeling well-rested, you and Crosshair eventually made it out of bed and wandered into your ship’s kitchen. Feasting on what cereals and rations you had, you filled pockets and your bag with extras for the road. 

“I have a bunch of armor laying around in the back,” you said with a mouthful of cereal. “I figure we just see what fits and blend in with the crowds.”

“What is your plan to sell the piece off?” Crosshair interrogated a little. “I have some contacts that collect Jedi artifacts. I’m hoping they’ll be interested,” you sighed. “You’re hoping?” Crosshair grumbled. “I don’t have a plan. But this is all I can do right now,” you worried. 

“You are — ,” Crosshair started.

“Reckless. I know,” you admitted.

“ — Trying your best,” Crosshair tried to lighten up.

“Do you have any ideas?” you asked softly. “You can definitely call some shots if you want.”

Crosshair exhaled, “No. There’s no way to shake the Empire’s attention off of you, but getting rid of this should help.” He hesitated to open up with you again, “I’m here to protect you, for as long as I can.”

—--

Coruscant's underworld buzzed with foreign and familiar chatter between living species and droids. Each street had its own crowd to get lost in. Wearing the dark, unique helmets and armor you had on the ship, you and Crosshair moved through the crowds attempting to attract as little attention as possible. It was much easier said than done. “We already have eyes on us. You didn’t have any helmets that would make you look—” Crosshair complained. “What?” you stammered back.

“Well, less like a bounty hunter?” He opined.

“I already told you; I can’t show my face here,” you looked him up and down, “And you shouldn’t either.” “Nobody is going to care about another long-lost clone,” Crosshair muttered. “You were never an ordinary clone, and you know it,” you rebutted. “True.” Crosshair concluded.

You and Crosshair continued to wander up a street in Coruscant. The gutters were littered with trash and reflected blurred neon lights. Changing music boomed from each venue you passed; hearing passerby’s slice of life conversations in the midst. 

Walking as casual as you could, it was true that you were gathering eyes. Crosshair’s height and stature along with your full-faced black helmets caused the on-coming foot traffic to spread, giving you space in every direction. It was as if you and Crosshair were walking through the crowd in a bubble.

“We’re almost there,” you sigh close to Crosshair’s helmet. You duck into a faintly lit bar with Crosshair following closely behind you. Making your way past the bartender, small dancing crowd, and booths, you disappear down the back stairs into a hallway with closed doors.

You slink to a door in the middle of the hallway and knock, but nobody answered. “You didn’t check to see if they were here first?” Crosshair pressed. “I couldn’t risk using my personal comm number. She won’t pick up anonymous calls either,” you explained while trying to manually open the door. The door wouldn’t budge.

“How the hell did you end up back here?” A voice down the hallway materialized. 

Pulling your pistol out startled, you shined a light on the figure approaching. 

“I see you’re still kinda jumpy, baby,” the man ran his hand through his longer locks and stopped advancing just a few feet from you and Crosshair.

“Oh Maker, why are you here?” you lowered your blaster and light. 

“Who’s he?” Crosshair and the man said simultaneously. You looked at Crosshair and hesitated, “Crosshair, this is… my friend, Ric.”

“Just friend?” Ric, boisterous as always, exploded, “You faked your death and didn’t tell anybody you’re actually alive?” “That would defeat the point of faking my death,” you bickered. Ric pressed harder, “Or rather, you faked your death instead of breaking up with me?”

“Yeah, well,” you shrugged, “It’s a lot more believable for all parties if someone mourns my death.” 

“Do you even know what you put me through?” Ric nearly yelled. You shrugged again acknowledging the question.

Ric took a step forward in anger. “You’re psychotic!”

Crosshair took a step forward and put his arm in front of you in hopes to de-escalate the conflict and protect you. 

Ric flinched forward at Crosshair, you raised your blaster at him.

“Don’t touch him,” you ordered to Ric.

Ric took a step back, motioning his hands to drop the conversation.

“Does he even know who you are?” he eyed Crosshair up and down and paused. You and Crosshair didn’t move from your near-combat stance. 

Ric sighed, “Why are you back?” “I’m looking for Zena,” you said tartly.

“Off-planet. So I guess you’re stuck with me,” Ric huffed.

“Lovely,” you grumbled.

Gritting your teeth you mentally ran through your situation. Ric knows you're alive, so regardless if you worked with him or not to get rid of the holocron, he’s a real liability. He knows your identity and situation with the Empire. “So, what can I do you for?” Ric tried to restart the conversation.

Crosshair felt your hesitation to rengage. “We’re looking to offload something of high value,” Crosshair snaked into the transaction.

“Does Zena still collect Jedi artifacts and weapons?” you found your voice again. Ric’s face shifted to a more serious expression, “What did you find?” “How do I know you’re not going to sell me out the second I tell you?” you fretted.

“If Zena is interested, then it’s in my interest to acquire it,” Ric crossed his arms. The deal was going nowhere fast. Your gut growing anxious from distrust, you exhaled and looked around the hallway to ensure privacy.

“You rarely squirm, baby” Ric imposed, “You must have something real good.”

“You’re gross,” you shot at him while you unzipped your bag. You took out the holocron and showed Ric. His eyes grew large and he came closer. 

“Is that real?” Ric reached out to grab it, but Crosshair pushed his hand away. “It’s real. Is Zena interested?” you bantered back. “No. Not in that. But I know someone who is,” Ric responded. You and Crosshair look at each other, both sensing something was off. “I’d rather know who I’m selling it to personally,” you said as you put it back into your bag. “Thanks for your time, Ric.”

“You don’t trust me?” Ric stepped in front of you to prevent you leaving the hallway. “How is it that you don’t trust me, but I trust you?”

“I’m not here to rehash the past, Ric. I’m dead to you, remember?” you affirmed.

Embarrassed that Crosshair had to witness a conversation with a ghost from your past, you took his hand and squeezed it a little in gratitude that you had him there for support. Ric was manipulative and years ago; you’d use him and he’d use you. 

“Just let me know if Zena is interested, okay?” you pushed your way past Ric in the hallway, Crosshair following you closely. Crosshair looked down at Ric intimidatingly as he passed. 

The club music rattled within your chest as you tried to make your way up the stairs and out of the bar; it was so loud you couldn’t make out what Crosshair was trying to indicate to you. 

With his helmet masking his lips, it was difficult to make out his sudden urgency as he waved his hands and was shouting. He jumped on you, forcing you to the ground, just as blue blaster fire went over your head. The music stopped.

You peered up from the table Crosshair dove you behind. Imperial guards moved into the bar, their blasters fixed on you. Looking back to the rear staircase, you see Ric lean against the wall, as if he were waiting for a show to start.

“Bastard,” you muttered to Crosshair.  “He must have called them before we even got inside.” 

“You sure know how to pick them,” Crosshair mocked you a little.

Crosshair readied his rifle and patiently waited for more soldiers to file inside. He focused on one of them, hesitated, then pulled the trigger sending a ricocheting fire that blasted nearly all of the stormtroopers down. The few remaining soldiers were easy to pick off between you and Crosshair. Within seconds, the room was stabilized and returned to silence.

You stared up at Crosshair, “My boyfriend is a… God.”

“Boyfriend?” Crosshair gushed. “Uh-huh,” you could hear him smile through his helmet.

More soldiers burst into the room, sending more shots into your direction. You and Crosshair blasted a few, but were ultimately overrun. You and he ducked behind the table once more in a slight panic.

“Where were these Imperial reinforcements when I needed them?” Crosshair fumed. 

“They know I’m here. I’m not a big ticket item for the Empire, but I am for—-” you lost your thought as you peered to the door. “Oh, son of a sarlacc.” 

The guard at the door divided and a familiar face appeared, Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin. 

The room fell to silence.

“It’s a coincidence I happened to be on-planet for your arrival,” his words danced in the air. “I had a feeling you would re-surface eventually,” 

You sighed, the jig was up. You stood and bravely took off your helmet, locking eyes with the Admiral. 

“Hi Uncle,” you snarked.

“And you’re not traveling alone, I see,” the Admiral tilted his head to see Crosshair kneeling behind the table at your side. 

Crosshair stood and took his helmet off too.

“And with a clone, no less,” Tarkin sneered. 

You grabbed Crosshair’s hand and laced your fingers with his.

“Or, with a clone, no less.” Tarkin emphasized, raising an eyebrow. He squinted his eyes at Crosshair, “It has been a while since we documented you escaping imprisonment, CT-9904.”

Crosshair narrowed his eyes at the Admiral and tightened his jaw. “You remembered. How touching,” he growled.

“I never did understand your fascination with old toys,” Tarkin said, focusing back on you, “Or how you could lower your standards to court Imperial property.”

Crosshair lurched forward in anger, but he hesitated as the blasters remained fixed on you both. 

Tarkin walked close, inspecting you and Crosshair. “Search them,” he instructed his guards. 

The guards took your helmets, blasters, patted down your armor, took your knife, and then your pack. One guard opened the bag and slowly lifted the holocron from it.

“Sir, we found this,” the TK buckethead reported handing the holocron to Tarkin. 

“This changes a few things,” Tarkin said as he took it into his hands. “The Emperor and Lord Vader have searched the galaxy for such artifacts with little success.” His eyes traveled from the holocron back to you and Crosshair. “I have little interest in their ancient religion, but not disclosing this information would be unwise.”

“Guards,” Tarkin began to walk from the room, “Load them up on my cruiser and take them to our ship. I’m sure Lord Vader will have no mercy for these traitors.”

“Lord–who?” you questioned. You remembered the Inquisitor saying the same name back on Pabu, but you dare not reveal your run-in with the Inquisitor in front of the Admiral.

“It appears you’ve been smuggling valuable information, Jedi information.” Tarkin explained poorly.

“Jedi information? It’s an art piece,” you argued.

“Take them away,” Tarkin jeered.

“But you’re family!” you grunted as a guard cuffed your wrists and hit your shoulder to walk forward. Tarkin turned before exiting and without emotion relayed, “You are no family of mine.”

You and Crosshair were led to a cruiser parked in the middle of the street. Coruscant's social rumblings gave the scene no pause, as if Imperial arrests were as common as a local stray loth-cat. 

“I’m sorry,” you shifted to Crosshair as much as you could. “We’re in this together,” Crosshair assured you.

“I’m not sure what this just turned into. But I have a bad feeling about this,” you whispered.

“Mm-hmm,” Crosshair agreed.

The cruiser’s doors locked and sealed dampening the club scene of Coruscant behind you. You and Crosshair were shuffled to the side of the ship and were motioned to sit. Hearing the engines ignite, the ship took flight. 

The cruiser left Coruscant's atmosphere and docked inside an Imperial starship. You and Crosshair stared out the small corner of the window you could see.

You were then led off the ship and checked into the starship’s detention level. 

You were pushed into your cell, which was across the hallway from Crosshair’s. The transport guard left you without a word, leaving you and Crosshair imprisoned. You stood at the cell door and listened to the Stormtrooper’s chatter down the hall. 

“Vader will arrive sometime in the next few rotations to deal with these prisoners personally,” the transport guard said to the prison guard.

You gazed at Crosshair, his eyes complex in emotion.

“I’m sorry you’re alone in a prison cell again,” you apologized.

“I’m not alone,” he remained soft.

Part 5: Family Matters

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Tag list: @tentakelspektakel

Part 5: Family Matters

Warnings: Fluffy AF, Flirting, Slowest Burn, Blaster Fire, Explosions, Head Injuries, Light Romance (SFW), Crosshair opening up, Comfort, and some heavy Star Wars cameos. (Entire series NSFW.)

Crosshair x fem!reader | Word Count: 2885

Hi, fellow Crosshair lovers. I'm continuing to poke away at this narrative until it resolves. There will probably be about 7 parts. I took some liberties with this one and it's okay if nobody likes it. ;) Crosshair is soft in this, but also still harsh with quips and attitude. The reader is still a bounty hunting badass with dark humor.

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

Separated by two laser-shields and a hallway, you and Crosshair anxiously awaited the arrival of this “Lord Vader” character. The patrol guards really didn’t mind, or perhaps notice, the soft conversations between you and Crosshair. 

“You good?” you asked, your chin resting on your arms as you sat, curled in a ball against the wall. 

“Mmhmm,” he mumbled. You could hear him exhale, “Are you good?”

“Eh, I’m home,” you smirked a little in disbelief that you were back on an Imperial ship. 

Crosshair scoffed a little. He enjoyed your dark humor. You felt the pause in conversation as his emotions shifted.

“I understand the feeling,” he sighed. 

“You know, I still feel so hollow over it all,” you described.

“Hollow?” Crosshair prodded you to continue.

“I spent nearly every part of myself trying to keep my family together. But in the end, my differences with the Empire were enough to be forgotten. I’d take them all back in a second, but I’m never going to be enough for them,” you wearily confided. “It leaves me rather hollow.” 

“We can hope that one day they’ll wake up missing you,” Crosshair tried to comfort. “Being here, in these Imperial walls again, reminds me of how…” he trailed off. “Cross?” you looked across the hall to see him studying his mechanical hand.

“The Empire broke me too,” he confessed. 

“What happened?” you finally asked. You had been wanting to know the story of his hand for months now, but similar to yourself, Crosshair rarely divulged information that brought up painful emotions. You knew your compatibility had a trusting foundation because neither of you expected the other to leak all the secrets that made you, you. 

He continued to sit in silence. 

“You don’t have to tell me,” you assured him.

“I made a friend with a reg,” he started. “A reg?” you didn’t know the term. “A regular clone. Clone Force 99, we were never accepted as true clones by the regs, so we considered ourselves superior. Which genetically speaking, we are,” he continued, lightening up a little when mentioning his squad.

You nodded in following his explanation and watched his shoulders drop again as he continued his story.

“His name was Mayday,” he sighed. “There was an avalanche, and I risked everything to get him back to base. He saved me and I couldn’t save him in return.” He paused. “Then the Empire betrayed him; betrayed us.” He shrugged and breathed through the memory, “I killed an Imperial officer in response. If Mayday wasn’t important to the Empire, then I could never be,” he ended. 

You realized he wasn’t going to explain what happened to his hand, but that his heart had scars more painful to attend to.

“I haven’t told anyone about Mayday,” he said above a whisper.

“I’ll keep your secret,” you assured him.

—-

The Imperial prisoner meals were atrocious. The ground meat and organ stew they’d serve reminded you to never complain about a rations bar again. After about three rotations, your visitor arrived. 

The warbling of the interrogation droid and heavy footsteps of a dark entourage approached your cell. The only comfort you felt was when they passed Crosshair’s cell to enter yours first. 

The Imperial party was led by a tall individual, masked, caped, and audible breathing. Attached to his belt, you spied a hanging Jedi weapon. Your uncle stepped out from behind him and entered your cell first. 

“She was in possession of the holocron?” Vader pressed Tarkin. 

“Yes,” Tarkin respectfully replied. “We caught her and that clone trying to smuggle it off Coruscant.” 

“What clone?” Vader turned to Tarkin. Tarkin motioned behind them to Crosshair’s cell with a nod. Vader glanced at Crosshair standing at attention near the door of his cell, then turned his attention back to you. He stepped deeper into the cell and you were filled with a sense of doom. Vader lifted his hand to reveal the glowing holocron.

“Did the holocron reveal anything to you?” Vader interrogated. 

Confused by the question, you hesitated, “No.”

Vader raised his hand towards your face and you were flooded with a cold presence. You felt him in your mind, reading thoughts; asking questions; pulling memories. You shuddered, but couldn’t turn away. You realized this was the true power of what legends called the force. 

“Is she lying?” Tarkin prodded Vader. 

Releasing his gravitational-like hold, Vader turned to leave the cell. 

“Do not bother me with your family matters again,” Vader directed Tarkin. 

Vader exited your cell and paused at Crosshair’s for a short moment. Crosshair showed no fear as he stood tall, but was towered by Vader. Vader’s breathing echoed in the hallway and presence smothered any spark of a thought. This man was a walking contagion of fear.

Vader continued down the hallway and you were left again with Tarkin. He resealed your cell and began walking down the hallway with his personal guard. 

“Schedule these two traitors for execution,” Tarkin ordered. “Yes, sir,” the stormtrooper replied. 

Angry, you hit the wall of your cell with your fist. You knew there was only one more chance to escape, and that would be in transit from the cell to the execution room. 

Afraid to meet Crosshair’s line of sight, you forced yourself to look outside your cell into his. His eyes reflected his heartbreak and fear, until he caught your eye. His expression shifted to a brave and serious look, nodding in your direction. You swore to yourself you were going to save him, no matter the cost.

Your conviction kept you awake that night. Admiring Crosshair’s ability to drift into a careless slumber even on death row, you managed to relax a little. But, you knew the guard would return in the morning to escort you out of the detention cell, for what you planned or they planned would be the last time. That small moment would be your chance, but you knew they’d be well-guarded and prepared. 

In the morning, the guard arrived. One stormtrooper appeared at your door and another at Crosshair’s, disabling the laser array nearly simultaneously. You and Crosshair recognized this as their first mistake. Why would they free you at the same time? Rookie mistake.

Overwhelming them within a split second, you swept your stormtrooper’s leg with yours, taking him to the floor, then unleashed a powerful ax-kick across the soldier’s face, knocking him unconscious.

From across the hall, you heard Crosshair yell and literally throw the stormtrooper into the wall across from him, also knocking the trooper unconscious. You armed yourself with the blaster in your cell and lept free, sending blaster fire down the hallway to assist Crosshair as he stormed the remaining prison guard with his newly acquired blaster.

With a ricocheting shot, Crosshair took out the guards running the comms, but they had already sent an alert that you and he had escaped. 

“We made that look easy,” you yawned and stretched out. “And to think I stayed up all night worrying.”

“It’s about to get much busier down here,” Crosshair sighed as he reached for your shoulders and inspected your condition. He softly put his hand around your jaw and rested his lips on yours. He pulled away and looked into your eyes. 

“We’re not out of this yet,” he continued.

“What’s the plan?” you breathed. “They’ll be monitoring comms, cameras, elevators, escape pods, and ground all other ships,” he scanned the ceiling above the elevator door. You followed his gaze and understood what he was thinking. “So, we go up through the elevator shaft to not trigger the elevator?” you ask.

“Yes, but only go up a single floor. They’ll know we’re in there within seconds,” Crosshair sprinted to the lift and shot the corner of the panel above it. Tearing it from the wall, he created an entrance to the shaft. Crosshair boosted you up first, then you pulled him up. You shuffled through the few feet of paneling and dropped to the elevator shaft with Crosshair closely behind.

Hanging from metal paneling, you felt your fingers burn as your weight pinched them. You took your blaster, and shot the panel above. Climbing best you could, you reached the panel. Managing to get some footing between gaps and ledges, you and Crosshair pulled the panel from the wall.

Suddenly, the lift shuddered and began lowering.

“They’re coming!” Crosshair exclaimed. 

You swung your legs into the newly made gap and turned to pull Crosshair through. The lift passed your hiding space, missing Crosshair’s feet by a hair.

“Maker, that was too close,” you collapsed onto your back under your lack of breath with Crosshair mostly lying on top of you, also out of breath. The intimacy of the moment makes Crosshair blush a little. 

Pulling yourself through the gap, you and he remove the paneling on the opposite side, creating an escape. You dropped down to the floor above the detention level and immediately blasted the cameras spying from the corner.

You heard a pair of patrol guards around the corner. You and Crosshair hugged the wall with your backs like steadied predators. Once the patrol was in sight, you and Crosshair stunned them both.

“Want to play ‘dress up’ again?” you joked. “No,” Crosshair sighed. “But I will,” he mumbled as he took the helmet from the stormtrooper. “You’re far too small to fit in as a stormtrooper,” he said to you. “New plan. I wear this and you’re my prisoner.” “Kinky,” you replied, eyeing around the corner for stormtroopers.

“What?” he huffed back at you.

“We’ll do what we have to,” you nodded looking back at him.

Crosshair pulled on the white stormtrooper armor while you kept watch. You felt him at your back, taking your blaster. 

“I’ll need this if we’re going to pull this off,” he insisted. 

“Let’s go,” you began to walk with your hands behind your back. “We need to find a map. I’ve never been on a ship like this.”

“Agreed,” Crosshair nodded, digging the back of his blaster into your back and holding your hands close. 

The hallways were more desolate than anticipated. Hearing your footsteps echo down the Imperial chambers, you and Crosshair made your way through the ship, blindly. Heading up and down flights of stairs, in and out of hallways, you were beginning to tire. 

“Something isn’t right,” you acquiesced to address the building anxiety in your gut. “Where is everyone?”

Arriving at a closed door, Crosshair clicked the door’s button. It opened to reveal an in-ship spacewalk, the galaxy being the only source of illumination. You and he took a step inside and the door sealed behind you and Crosshair automatically.

The door parallel to your entrance opened. Your heart dropped as you saw Tarkin and his Lord Vader standing at the opposite end of the hallway. Crosshair pressed your blaster’s hilt into your hand in preparation for the standoff. 

“I didn’t think you’d have another escape in you,” Tarkin gloated.

“I was never what you expected,” you were losing your patience and felt your immature, reckless tendencies take over. Or perhaps it was out of the insomniatic stupor you developed over the last hour. Either way, you leaned into your hotheaded, daredevil attitude; embracing the power it gave you. Raising your blaster at your uncle, you pulled the trigger.

Vader ignited his lightsaber, blocking the blaster fire and sending it into the window, causing it to crack. The expected anticipation of getting sucked into space silenced all movement in the hallway between the four of you. 

“Leave them to me,” Vader shattered the silence and motioned Tarkin out of the room. Tarkin shot you a glare filled with hatred and exited the room, leaving you and Crosshair with a killer Jedi.

Vader raised his hand and you braced yourself for the cold feeling. Instead, you and Crosshair flew through the air, hitting the door with incredible impact. Crosshair, who was higher in the air due to his height, had hit the door jam with the back of his head. You slid down the door into a heap on the floor as Crosshair landed face down. 

“Crosshair!” you shook his shoulder, but he was out cold. 

Vader closed in, his red blade reflecting off every surface in the room. You pulled Crosshair’s head and shoulders onto your lap and tried to look as small as possible against the door out of fear. Vader unexpectedly opened the door behind you, causing you to fall through its threshold. 

“Save the clone, traitor” Vader raised his hand once more, forcing you and Crosshair through the doorway, then he sealed the door behind him. 

In shock of being spared, you were motionless for a moment that felt like eternity. You couldn’t breathe. The shattering of the glass in the hallway spurred your attention back to life. You looked through the small window just outside the sky bridge to see the glass scattered through local space. Vader was nowhere to be seen.

You stood up, shoved your blaster into your pants, and began to drag Crosshair down the hallway. Finding a comm station, you ignited the holomap and located the hangar. You heard troops headed your way again, so you dove under the desk and pulled Crosshair in close with you. You could hear him stirring in his helmet.

“Crosshair!” you whispered. “Are you okay?”

You helped him out of his helmet, where he tried to clear his throat with a covert cough. 

“How did we escape?” he looked at you in bewilderment. 

“I–I don’t know,” you stuttered.

“You don’t know?” Crosshair rubbed his forehead and ran his hand over where he had hit his head, he winced as he touched what would be an intense bruise.

“I can’t make any sense of it, but I — we should be dead,” you whispered as you peered out from under the desk and back to Crosshair. You looked into his eyes and checked for any odd pupil activity. “Follow my finger—,” you started as you raised your index finger in front of his face. Crosshair softly swatted your hand down. “I’m fine,” he mouthed.

“We need to move,” you motioned. 

Crosshair nodded and the both of you shuffled out from under the desk.  

“I located a hangar bay while dragging you to safety,” you tried to lighten the moment again with your darker humor. “It’s just through here and down a flight of stairs,” you pointed to an upcoming hallway. 

You and Crosshair begin to jog down the hallway to the flight of stairs. Clearing the corners, he and you make your way down the stairs and into the hangar. You rested behind some crates of Imperial junk, peering out to inspect the ships.

“I guess any ship will do,” Crosshair motioned with his head towards a shuttle. You nodded in agreement. Slipping around the hangar unseen, you made it to the shuttle undetected. The few stormtroopers on deck were distracted with comms and computers.

“I don’t like this,” you worried again. “This feels too easy, again.”

Deploying the ramp, you and Crosshair make your way into the shuttle. Crosshair slid into the pilot’s seat and fired up the engines. 

An alarm goes off in the hangar bay and troops begin to flood in opening fire on your shuttle.

“I knew this was too easy,” you sighed as you slid into the tail-gunner’s seat. You take aim at the fuel reserves in the back of the hangar and anticipated lift-off. Crosshair takes off and begins flying towards the space barrier exit. You pull the trigger, igniting the fuel in a fiery explosion. Stormtroopers fly and flail in every direction. 

Crosshair punches the throttle and the ship erupts from the hangar bay, just escaping the chain reaction of explosions you began.

—

Watching from above the bay, Tarkin nearly loses his balance as the floor rattles and shifts. He watches an Imperial shuttle escape the bay and blast into hyperspeed.

“Who was that?” Tarkin drawled to an officer standing nearby.

The officer, with his hand to his ear, relayed the incoming communication from the hangar. 

“Sir, it appears we had a visual on the two prisoners from Prison Block E escape on a stolen shuttle.”

“Escaped?” Tarkin echoed.

In a fury, he exited the command deck and entered the elevator alone.

—

Inviting himself into Darth Vader’s chambers, Tarkin openly interrogated the Sith.

“It appears my niece and the clone have escaped,” he emphasized. “I assumed that was impossible because I entrusted you to deal with them.” 

Vader remained silent in speech; his deep breathing echoing. 

Tarkin sighed and turned to leave, but not without a final remark. “Your affinity for the clones is an embarrassment to this establishment.” He paused, then continued, “Their loyalty is to a republic of the past.”

Vader reminisced silently in memories of the Clone Wars. He remembered Crosshair as the specialized clone who had defended his back from droid fire on Skako Minor years ago. Vader was not a merciful man, nor known to be fair, but he did reserve respect for those who earned it. In his mind, Crosshair and he were even. 

“The clones were loyal to me,” Vader mused. 

“And they are no longer,” Tarkin chided in disapproval as he turned and exited Vader’s chambers.

Part 6: Above Pabu (NSFW)

Part 7: if You Wanted To Be

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Part 7: If You Wanted To Be

Warnings: It's so FLUFFY imma die, Romance, Crosshair Comforts, Tears, etc. Whole series NSFW. Crosshair x fem!reader | Word Count: 2921 O

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Tag list: @tentakelspektakel @cloneflo99

Part 6: Above Pabu

Warnings: SMUT (18+ ONLY) & It's so fluffy imma die

Crosshair x fem!reader | Word Count: 1894

Hello friends. Smut happening in this chapter; I mark where it begins so you can skip ahead if needed. It's not super plot driven smut, but you know, smutty Crosshair is kinda nice to have around. I'll publish 2 chapters today so you can skip ahead if smut ain't your thing. Let me know if anyone else wants to be in my tag list. This series is wrapping up, but I'll keep writing and maybe take some requests.

Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V

The safe sound of hyperspace encompassed you as you leaned back into your captain’s chair and relaxed for the first time in days. Releasing the tension in your body, you felt a few tears escape from your eyes as the emotions of fear and desperation cleared. You closed your eyes, wiped the tears quickly to not be seen, and tried to fall asleep.

“Are you all right?” Crosshair floated the simple, yet complex question your way. He clearly had been watching you closely.

You inhaled deeply and exhaled, taking your time to respond, “I will be.”

You turned your attention towards him. He sat forward in his chair, focused on you, looking unnerved with his toothpick in his lips.

“Are you okay?” you asked in return.

He nodded and echoed your words, “I will be.”

He stood from his seat and took the step towards yours, sweeping his arms under your legs and around your shoulders, Crosshair lifts you from the chair and carries you back to his chair. Sitting back down, he pulls you close to his chest and wraps you in his arms. You enjoyed the quiet peace with him for a few moments, then noticed he had fallen asleep as his soft snore startled you. You take the toothpick from his mouth and kiss his cheek, chuckling to yourself. 

You studied his stolen stormtrooper armor and the bruise forming on the back of his head, “What did I get you into?” But then the guilt came flooding in. “What did I get you into?” You knew Crosshair would fight you on it; he wanted to be there next to you. He risked his paradise and security to be at your side, but you realized he deserved so much more. Running your fingers up his chest and neck, you cradle his face; running your thumb over the tattooed circle just under his eye. 

“Let’s get you home, Cross,” you whispered. Not leaving his lap, you plugged the coordinates in for Pabu. Then realized you should give Hunter a call to check in, but also to see if it was safe to return. You look back at Crosshair, who was lost in his deep slumber, and smile a little. You gently stand, so as not to wake him, and walk to the middle of the ship to comm Hunter.

The transmission went through and two holo-figures appeared on the table.

“Hi!” Omega beamed.

“It’s been a while since we’ve heard from either of you. How was your vacation?” Hunter asked.

“Vacation?” you were perplexed.

“Crosshair said you were going on a vacation… together?” Hunter’s voice grew worried, “Where is Crosshair?” “He’s up front asleep,” you assured.

Hunter relaxed a little. 

“So, if you weren’t on vacation, where were you?” Omega questioned.

“Imperial prison,” you dryly joked.

Omega and Hunter looked at you, trying to understand why you would joke about something so dark and relevant to their pasts. Hunter’s raised eyebrow fell as his eyes narrowed.

“That wasn’t a joke, was it?” Hunter sighed.

“No,” you muttered, embarrassed and too tired to say much more.

“But you made it out?” Hunter tried to verify.

“Surprisingly. I’m still trying to sort out how and why,” you thought through the escape carefully, “I think in the end, chasing us down wasn’t worth the Empire’s effort.”

You heard Crosshair stir behind you. In a dry, monotone, half-asleep voice, he managed to say, “Is that Hunter?” before falling asleep once more. You look back to Hunter.

“I’m going to get him home to you,” you promised. “He saved my life countless times in the last few days.”

“He does that,” Hunter nodded in agreement. 

“Are you coming back to Pabu too?” Omega pleaded. 

“We’ll see. I’m hoping most of the Imperial heat is off my trail, if you understand,” you explained. “Over the past few days, were there any Imperial patrols on Pabu?”

Hunter shook his head, “Not anything we’ve seen.”

“That’s the best news I’ve had all week,” you chatted. “Well, we’re on our way back. I’ll comm you when we get in.” Hunter nodded in confirmation and you ended the transmission. Standing, letting the table take most of your weight, you breathed a sigh of relief. 

You felt Crosshair’s hands snake around your waist and his mouth press against your neck. 

“You should know better than to sneak up on a bounty hunter,” you laughed.

“I’ll take my chances,” he smirked. 

←—smut begins (skip to next chapter) —-->

Beginning to sway a little from side-to-side, you reached up to feel the back of his neck with one hand and met his hand on your waist with the other. 

“So, this was a vacation?” you softly asked.

You felt him sigh in the nape of your neck, “I’ve had worse.”

You spun into him, lacing your hands around his neck and pulling him closer. Crosshair lifted you up by your thighs and pushed you onto the table. Now nearly eye-level with him, he moved in to kiss you. 

Deepening the kiss, you pull him closer and lean back on to the table fully. He follows your lead and slides you up further onto its surface. You’ve wanted him on top of you like this for so long. 

Peeling the stormtrooper chest plate from his body, you run your hands up his chest and up the back of his head. He moans a little, and begins to strip his armor off his arms. You free the buckle to his belt and begin working off his lower armor pieces. They fall off the table to the floor, creating a romantically exciting orchestral clamor. 

Feeling his skin underneath his shirt, Crosshair interrupts the kiss for a moment to remove it over his head, exposing his broad chest and capped shoulders. He returns to your lips, moving passionately with purpose. 

Crosshair begins to feel up beneath your shirt “Get this off,” he begs.

You respond quickly, sitting up, you remove your top. Then you begin to remove your trousers. He helps you out of them, then drops his own. Lacing your legs around his waist, you pull him closer with your arms once more; feeling the warmth of his chest on yours; your chin on his collar.

“Are you sure you want this?” you whispered.

“I’d follow you across the galaxy again if it meant I could be here in your arms like this,” he confessed. 

Crosshair returned to your lips, but only for a short moment as the proximity alarm sounded. 

“We’re already there?” Crosshair exclaimed. 

The ship exited hyperspace on auto-pilot and began its approach to Pabu.

“No, we’re not landing yet,” you panicked a little as things were just getting good. Crosshair lifted you off the table and carried you to the pilot’s seat. He gently put you down and he turned off the engines, leaving the ship softly floating in space. You and he gazed out the front of the ship at the beauty of the universe. He turned his attention back to you and sat back in his seat. Magnetized to his body, you felt yourself stand and drift to him to straddle his waist and cradle his neck with your arms. You greeted him once more with a mellow kiss.

“Where were we?” he softly felt your curves and thighs with his rough hands. The silence of space enveloping you as you became fully immersed in Crosshair’s presence and touch. The ship seemed to float outside of time and outside of place.

“I think you were about to make me yours,” you flirted, letting your hands trace down his neck to his shoulders. 

“How could I forget?” he smiled calmly and slid you closer to his chest.

His hand traced over your thigh and through your folds. You were already so slick; how could you not be? His gaze alone was paralyzing, but his touch was electrifying. In response, you lightly sucked on his collar bone and began to grind against his hand. 

He pressed against your entrance with two fingers and circled your clit with his thumb. You let your knees squeeze his waist as the excitement and pleasure filled you. He let out a small moan, which you muffled as you returned your kiss to his open mouth. He pressed one finger into you. You reach down and stroke his sex.

“It’s my turn to give,” he mumbles. “You give too much.”

You return your hand to his cheek; he can feel you smile through your kiss. You couldn’t remember the last time a guy had cared so much for you. He continued to finger you, his strokes long and varying in pressure. The pleasure made you quake. He added another finger while his lips left your mouth to settle at your breasts as he began to suck and kiss them. 

You squeezed his shoulder, the back of his neck, and his waist with your thighs as his quickening strokes and movements pushed you over your edge; the pleasure flooding your brain; your heavy breathing ceasing for a moment under the pressure of your release. 

“That’s it,” Crosshair crooned as he continued to finger you through your orgasm. Slowly returning to your senses, you lightly sucked on his neck and worked your way to his lips. He slides his fingers out of you, but you felt so desperate for more. You moved your hips up and slid his hard cock into you fully without much warning – he moans and leans his head back. Filled with him, you feel so close; so intimate.

“You good?” you ask. “Never better,” he panted, completely lost in you.

Finding a rhythm, you moved passionately as he guided your hips up and down. Beginning slowly, you could feel his length pass in and through unhurriedly. Neither of you wanted to rush the intimacy of this moment, especially since you didn’t know when you could be so close like this again. You both made the effort to savor and create a lasting memory.

His thrusts and grip on your back and hips intensified as he started to chase his own release. His body felt warm to your touch as you let your hands wander, then settled around his neck to find balance as his movements escalated. You felt pleasure rise in yourself once more; tightening around him. 

“Maker,” he manages to whisper under the tension. He quietly gasps and squeezes you as he seizes up. You feel his release warm inside you, sending you over that edge once more. He relaxes slowly, letting each limb succumb to the relief. He leans his head back against the seat before opening his eyes to meet yours.

Tracing his jaw with your nose, you planted small kisses up his 5’o-clock shadow. Crosshair continued to gently rub your head, back, and shoulders. You and he stayed still for a moment before cleaning up.

–

“You mentioned a while ago that we’re giving this ship to your brother Echo, in exchange for him flying mine back to Pabu?” you asked Crosshair. “Mm-hmm,” he mumbled as he pulled his pants back on. 

“I will never tell, if you don’t,” you verified with a wink.

“We wouldn’t want to make Echo jealous,” he chuckled. “Let’s get home.” Once dressed, Crosshair switched the ship’s engines back on and continued the descent towards Pabu.

“Home sweet home,” he hummed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 7: If You Wanted To Be

Tag list: @tentakelspektakel @cloneflo99

Part 7: If You Wanted To Be

Warnings: It's so FLUFFY imma die, Romance, Crosshair Comforts, Tears, etc. Whole series NSFW.

Crosshair x fem!reader | Word Count: 2921 Omega is peak little sister in this chapter again. The whole batch is back! I hope you enjoy. This fanfic has been a really good outlet for me and awesome writing practice. I haven't written like this since I was in high school and well, I think I'll be writing more now than ever. Thank you everyone for your support. There is one more chapter after this to wrap up this storyline. <3

Part I | Part II | Part III 😈 | Part IV | Part V | Part VI 😈

“I know we’ve only been away for a few rotations, but it feels like forever,” you mentioned as you pulled the landing gear lever above the Pabu space port. 

Omega, Hunter, and Wrecker were at the platform to meet you and Crosshair. You waved from the cockpit, spun around in the captain's chair, and shook your hands out. “Since when do you get nervous?” Crosshair was puzzled by your movements. “Admitting to your family I got you wrapped up in an Imperial prison again wasn’t on my bucket list,” you sighed. 

“I can promise you —,” Crosshair laughed and crossed his arms, “We’ve been through much worse.” 

He stood from his chair and extended his hand to lift you from your slumped posture in your seat. You took his hand with both of yours and prepared to meet his family at the port. 

Hitting the button to open the door to your ship, you looked at Crosshair. You were surprised he was still holding your hand. Was he really ready to be an item in front of his brothers and Omega? He enjoyed spending one on one time with you on Pabu before, but you knew he never revealed his true feelings to his family about you. If he had, you knew Omega would be even more of a relentless tease. You gave his hand a little squeeze.

“Does this mean you’re my boyfriend?” you asked.

“Mmm, something like that,” he mumbled through a child-like smirk.

You and Crosshair descended the ramp together and were immediately met with Omega charging Crosshair like a bull bantha. You let go of his hand so he could catch her with both arms as she leapt through the air and hung from his neck, pulling him down to her level into a tight embrace. 

“We missed you, Crosshair!” she exclaimed. Crosshair smiled warmly and hugged her back. 

“I missed you too, Omega,” he spoke softly. 

Walking towards us at the rate of a nearly-dead bantha, Hunter and Wrecker arrived. Wrecker picked up the pace a little when he was within tossing distance and scooped both Omega and Crosshair up into an embrace and swung them around. You moved back a little so Crosshair’s feet didn’t hit you.

“Hungry?” he boomed with his gigantic smile. 

“I –I could eat,” Crosshair managed to grunt as Wrecker squeezed him close. Wrecker swung around to meet your eyes for your response. 

“I’m always down for a meal of yours, Wrecker,” you smiled.

Hunter approached the party as Wrecker dropped Crosshair and Omega to the ground. Hunter’s eyes were soft and his presence welcoming, but you continued to read heavily into his body language in case there was more to be aware of. You sighed as you realized you still didn’t feel completely safe here on Pabu.

Hunter didn’t know the extent of trouble you could still be in, nor what you had just put Crosshair through. He didn’t even know. Your gaze drifted back to Wrecker, Omega, and Crosshair with the same thought. They don’t know either. You and Crosshair either had quite the story to tell and their reactions would come later or a secret to share. Either way, your heart sank as a feeling of doom washed over your nerves. You felt yourself take another step back from Crosshair, Wrecker, and Omega.

“Something on your mind?” you heard Hunter ask. You realized you were starring off into space. You hadn’t even reacted when Omega pulled a small lizard-like creature out of her pocket to show Crosshair. Still without words, you met Hunter’s gaze and furrowed your eyebrows a bit. 

“I can’t believe I almost cost him his family,” you lamented quietly to Hunter. You watched Crosshair try to be proud and supportive of Omega and yet another one of her creature friends.

“It was his choice to go with you,” Hunter assured. “And I respect his decision. But I had a feeling he was getting into something more than even he expected.”

You sighed, realizing Hunter too deserved the truth.

“Crosshair and I have something in common,” you started, then paused. “We’re both Imperial deserters. We both really tried to make it work with the Empire. But the difference is, I don’t think they’ll let me be.”

“Do you think they’ll let any of us be?” Hunter consoled you.

You watched the lizard creature leap from Omega’s hands and onto Crosshair. You could hear his audible disdain as it crawled up his arm and onto his back.

“You all may have a chance, if I—” you stopped speaking as Hunter placed his hand on your shoulder.

“Don’t go anywhere, yet,” he pleaded. “It’s rare to see him in a good mood,” he motioned to Crosshair, who was now bent in half pleading to Omega to get the lizard off of him. Omega argued back that it was good that the creature liked him so much. 

Hunter continued, “I’m sure we can keep you safe. Just think about it.”

You looked at him with a face of disbelief and desperation. It’s not that you didn’t trust that they couldn’t keep you safe, but you felt sick to your stomach thinking they’d ever need to fight for you. Hunter was taken back by your expression a little.

“You and Crosshair have something else in common,” he sighed.

“And what’s that?” you muttered.

Wrecker howled with laughter as the lizard began to crawl from Crosshair’s back to his neck. Crosshair could reach the lizard, but not wanting to hurt it in front of Omega, he begged her to remove it. 

“You’re not afraid to speak your mind, but you keep most things to yourself,” Hunter continued. “Just promise me, you won’t just disappear on him.”

You nodded in agreement. Oh, how Hunter’s heightened senses could read you like a book. It wasn’t that you wanted to leave Crosshair either. If anything, you knew that once again, you’d be running from yourself. That constant fight or flight response has been fueling your body for well over a week now. 

His hand left your shoulder and he walked a few feet towards Crosshair. He peeled Omega’s lizard off of Crosshair’s neck and placed it on her head. She giggled as Hunter’s paternal glare glanced from her to Wrecker to Crosshair.

“Now you can’t say I never did anything for you,” Hunter jokes to Crosshair.

“Hmm,” Crosshair shot Hunter a harmless glare as he wiped the goo the lizard exfoliated onto his skin. 

“She put that thing in my bed last night,” Hunter muttered to Crosshair while looking at the lizard with a look of distaste. 

“Of course she did,” Crosshair chuckled and sent a nod of approval in Omega’s direction.

Still feeling, well, dissociated, you tried to pull it together and engage back into conversation. But no words came to mind. Mesmerized by their sibling banter and love, you were so happy Crosshair had such an engaging and caring family. Soon, Wrecker, Hunter, Omega, and Crosshair started to walk back to the Bad Batch home. Crosshair turned and noticed you were frozen on the platform. 

“Problem?” Crosshair narrowed his eyes on you.

“No problem,” you lied. 

“I don’t believe you,” Crosshair reached out his hand. 

“Honestly,” you took Crosshair’s hand and tried to assemble a sentence that made sense. “I’m feeling a lot right now.” He pulled you closer to him.

“You look tired,” he said above a whisper while running his thumb under your eye. 

You nodded, “I’m exhausted. And afraid.”

“Afraid?” He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head back a little.

Your stupor in words ceased and they fell out in a waterfall, “Crosshair, I know the inquisitor found us here on Pabu because I had the holocron. But they could still come back here to find me. I’m of no value to the Empire, but my uncle has a personal vendetta with me. What if —-”

Crosshair listened to you try not to spiral and maintain composure. You got to the point.

“I’ve already lost my family,” you glanced at Hunter, Wrecker, and Omega continuing to walk home. “I could never ask you to risk yours again.”

“But you are part of our family now. If you wanted to be,” Crosshair comforted.

You looked at him in astoundment at the invitation. Just moments ago, you had joked if you were really a romantic item, but he already had his heart set on keeping you as family? Frozen, you waited for him to say something else – or maybe redact his offer… But no, instead you were filled with peace.

“Do you trust me?” Crosshair asked.

You winced a smile out of your peaceful frozen pain, “Oddly enough, I do.” 

“Then we’ll be okay,” he promised.

The feeling of safety enveloped and overwhelmed you. During your time with the Empire and all throughout your upbringing, and the messes you got into post-Empire, you never felt safer than you felt in this moment with him. There was never a soul you could trust and lean into like you could with Crosshair. You felt tears well up in your eyes, waiting to spring out, but you did your best to hold them back. You were still afraid to show emotion; still reveling in your Imperial conditioning. The scars of abandonment still gripped you tightly, but you had fallen hard for Crosshair; you trusted him.

“It’s okay,” Crosshair embraces you tightly and you release your tears in a single exhale. You take a few deep breaths, doing your best to feel through the moment, but not cause a scene as the sun sets on the horizon. After a few moments, you do settle, still amazed that someone was there for you. He takes a step back and wipes your remaining tears away with his thumbs. 

“We can’t have you crying at dinner, you know. They’ll think I said something horrible,” he sarcastically smiled.

“What? You say something horrible?” you smiled back through your tears. “I’ve never heard you say something horrible towards anyone ever,” you continued the sarcastic banter. Crosshair softly smiled back at you.

“Now come on, let’s get you some food so I feel better about throwing you in my bed after,” he flirted.

“Fine,” you wiped the last of your tears with your shirt while lacing your fingers tighter with Crosshair’s. “We could just skip dinner, you know,” you winked.

Crosshair’s heart fluttered and he lifted your hand to kiss it. His lips were soft; his gaze softer.  You and he began to walk up the hill back to the Bad Batch home.

—

“Then, a giant sea creature appeared! Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker tried to shoot it down in the Marauder, but it only made it more angry! Then, Ventress calmed the beast with her Jedi powers.” Omega exclaimed over her meal. Hunter gave her a glance, “Your food’s going to go cold.” 

Omega, realizing she was dominating conversation at the table, again, wrapped up her story, “Anyways, that was the time I saw Ventress use the force.”

You nodded at her as you followed her story, smiling a bit. She was definitely the most talkative out of the family. She returned back to her food and looked up a little.

“So, was that at all like the Jedi you met?” She questioned. 

“No,” Crosshair shook his head. He too struggled to know how much information to share. 

“We ran into two Jedi,” you began. Crosshair put down his fork full of food to help you explain.

“Both worked for the Empire,” Crosshair wiped his mouth.

“For the Empire?” Hunter exclaimed. 

You nodded, “The first we ran into was an Inquisitor. I only know them from my previous run-ins with the Empire. They’re basically Imperial force-wielding elite bounty hunters,” you shrugged, “A new addition to their military force.”

“Where did you run into it?” Wrecker asked.

You grit your teeth into an awkward smile, “Here, on Pabu. They came to arrest me for an artifact I had on my ship. Crosshair gunned them down.”

Wrecker almost looked offended that you hadn’t invited him to the showdown. Hunter was bewildered that an Imperial ship had landed on Pabu without him knowing.

“What happened after?” Omega’s eyes were completely fixed on you.

“We hid the bodies,” Crosshair began. “It was all her idea,” motioning towards you, “She flew the ship a star system away and made it look like an accident. And I stowed away on her ship that she remotely flew to pick her up.”

“And that’s when you commed me,” Hunter said, putting the timeline together.

Crosshair nodded. Omega put her hands over her eyes and sighed.

“And that’s when you told us you were going on vacation,” Omega realized.

“It was a decent vacation,” Crosshair admitted.

“You ended up in prison!” Omega exclaimed.

“So, it’s on par with other vacations,” Crosshair teased.

“How did you end up in prison?” Hunter brought the attention back to the story.

“The Empire caught up with us. We were arrested for treason, desertion, and because I had this Jedi artifact on me,” you explained. 

Hunter’s eyebrows furrowed, “And what about this last Jedi? What was he like?”

You paused and bit your lip. “I’ve never experienced fear like it when he walked into my cell. He was powerful.” 

Hunter and Wrecker’s eyes stayed focused on you and Crosshair. You were afraid to tell them anything, so you reminded yourself it was going rather well.

You sighed and shrugged, “He also aided our escape.” Crosshair’s eyebrow lifted and he shifted his shoulders towards you. You still hadn’t explained what occurred that day to him either. 

“He helped us?” Crosshair looked stunned.

“He had knocked Crosshair unconscious, cornered us, and then he called me a traitor. I thought we would die there. But then, he told me to ‘save the clone,’ or Crosshair,” you trailed off in thought. “None of it makes sense, but we escaped in a stolen shuttle.”

“A clone sympathizer?” Hunter was as puzzled as you were.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” you concurred. 

“Then why is the Empire still after you?” Omega wondered.

“Right,” you inhaled deeply and sighed. “Crosshair knows this quite well now, but I’m a Tarkin. You know, related to Grand Moff, Governor, Admiral, Tarkin… Tarkin… That guy,” you trailed off again not knowing how much to divulge.

Hunter and Wrecker’s eyes got a little bigger and the silence after the verbal bomb you dropped was nearly deafening. 

“Who’s that?” Omega questioned again.

“My family is rather important to the Empire. We’re as Imperial as they come. So, defecting from the Empire also meant my family would cut me off or hunt me down,” you explained to Omega.

“You lost your family?” Her expression turned to sadness in empathy.

“In a way,” you confessed.

“That is a heavy burden,” Hunter tried to sympathize. 

“But they have no reason to know you’re here,” Crosshair put his hand on your shoulder. 

“What will you do now?” Wrecker chimed in.

“Crosshair suggested I stay a while,” you returned to poking at your food with your fork.

“Well, that only makes sense,” Omega returned her gaze to her plate and pushed a piece of food around with her fork. “You are his girlfriend.” 

Crosshair bashfully snapped his gaze downward to his lap and rolled his head in your direction as if he was trying to hide his smile from everyone in the room, but you. Crosshair could not hide his emotions well today. Wrecker laughed.

“If we’re family enough for you, you’re welcome to stay,” Wrecker affirmed.

“I agree,” Hunter nodded at you. 

“Thank you,” you returned to your food as you heard the front door behind you open.

“Echo!” Omega suddenly leapt up from the table and ran around it. You turned a bit in your seat. Crosshair stood up, as did his brothers.

“It’s good to be back,” Echo smiled as he embraced Omega.  

Echo’s eyes immediately met yours, “And you must be the new favorite.”

“Echo, this is my girlfriend —,” Crosshair started.

“Omega has told me all about you,” Echo laughed and he outstretched his hand for you to greet him. “You’ve got a nice ship. I hear you have one for me?”

You nodded, “Yeah, Crosshair and I ripped a class-T 4a from the Empire. It’s wiped and ready to go. Thank you for returning mine.”

Echo shot a smile at Crosshair, “I like her.”

“Are you sure you like him?” Echo turned back to you.

“What’s not to like?” You narrowed your eyes on him and managed a small smile. 

“I can think of some things,” Echo jokes as he brushes past Crosshair to find a seat. Crosshair rolls his eyes.

“It’s great to see you too, Echo,” he smirks.

—-

After the meal had ended, Hunter, Crosshair, Omega, Wrecker, and Echo were catching up around the table. You had excused yourself to the refresher, then slipped out the back to watch the moonlight reflect off the ocean. 

Leaning over the railing of the back deck, you breathed in the gentle oceanic breeze. The island is quiet and your thoughts are still racing. You knew you needed some serious sleep. The crashing waves began to lull you as you felt your eyes grow heavy. The thoughts began to slow. The feelings slowly washed out.

You turn to find a chair behind you. Nearly collapsing into it, you lean your head back and stretch out a little. You told yourself you wouldn’t sleep long, then closed your eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 8: The Defective Clone

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tag list: @tentakelspektakel @cloneflo99

Part 8: The Defective Clone

Warnings: Severe and Unyielding amounts of FLUFF, Romance, Kissing, Crosshair Comforts, Crosshair Opens Up, Tears, PTSD, Sexual Innuendos, etc. Whole series NSFW.

Crosshair x fem!reader | Word Count: 4642

The long conclusion. <3 I believe this story is over now, but wow, I had so much fun with this. But who knows, maybe I'll write a sequel someday if the story continues. Anyway, Crosshair is such a meaningful character to me, so I wanted to analyze what went on in the TV series from a narrative view. This is a deep dive into who he is as a character and to add more paradise to his Pabu life. I hope you enjoy. Thank you for reading. It's insane to me that there's a few of you on here that look forward to me posting. Thank you -- it really does mean a lot.

Part I | Part II | Part III 😈 | Part IV | Part V | Part VI 😈 | Part VII

He must have picked you up and taken you to his room sometime that night without you noticing. The morning sun broke through the curtains in small wavy bursts as the curtain moved with the breeze, illuminating the room with a soft glow. 

Crosshair’s chest rose and fell in a deep sleep with one arm stretched out placing his bicep softly under your neck, your head on the pillow; his other arm fell over his brow. His beard shadow highlighted the short hair on his head that was growing back everywhere but this scarred area. It was so short, but you desperately wanted to run your hand through it. You let your desires take control.

With soft fingertips, you ran your hand over his head, and down his neck to his bare chest. You lightly pulled yourself closer and continued to caress your lover, planting small kisses up his neck and jawline. He began to wake, and while you did feel bad for waking him early, you couldn’t help yourself.

His arm left his brow as he shifted onto his side and he pulled you into his chest. His lips softly pressed against your forehead, then he snuggled into the pillow at your eye level once more.

“Mornin’,” he groggily mutters. The low grit in his half-asleep voice made you feel so alive. You rested your hand on his jaw bone, once again tracing the tattoo around his eye with your thumb. The pattern comforted you. 

You whispered to him, “Is it okay if I get up?”

“No,” he happily grumbled and gave you a soft squeeze. 

You smiled. Oh, how you won this stoic creature’s heart.

“Can we get up?” you softly laughed.

Crosshair opened one of his eyes slightly, the sight of you made him smile. He shifted a little in bed and stretched one arm out above his head, but he let his arm drop into a relaxed state again over you.

“No,” he chuckled, then sighed. 

You continued your onslaught of soft kisses up his neck, face, behind his ear, his temples, you slowly swept across his face, pushing your body up with an arm on each side of his head, you slipped your leg over his hip to climb on top of him. Continuing to kiss him up his jaw, you barely brushed your bottom lip to his top lip, then paused. 

He opened his eyes to see what brought you hesitation. Three words surfaced while looking into his eyes.

“I think— I think I love you,” you whispered, afraid of how he’d react.

Crosshair sat up quickly. His eyes grew wider, shocked that you would ever reveal such sensitive information. His gaze softened as he ran his hand through your hair; studying every detail and line on your face. His fingers swept around your cheekbone and settled at your chin, where he drew your lips near to his. Softly kissing you and lightly sucking on your top lip, he pulled away.

“You think?” He flirted.

You smiled, bashfully. Of course, he’d make you say it again. You breathed in. “Crosshair, I love you,” you professed. He searched your eyes, still in some disbelief he could ever be loved.

“I love you,” he breathed out. “I’ve loved you for so long.” 

You kissed leisurely once more, savoring the moment. Breaking the kiss, he softly smiles and sits back into the bed. You sit next to him in the bed and pull yourself close. 

He rests one arm around you, then reaches across you with the other to pull his toothpicks down from the headboard. He takes one, places it in his mouth, then takes another and offers it to you. You smile and accept it. He leans back against the headboard and rests his head on yours.

Outside of his room, you heard the rest of the house begin their morning routines. Doors opened and closed; water moved through pipes; footsteps shuffled. Crosshair sighs. You look up to him.

“Omega will pound on my door any second now to go fishing,” he chuckles.

*Bang, Bang, Bang*

Like clockwork, you could hear Omega outside of Crosshair’s room.

“Crosshair, are you ready?” She called through the door. Taking the toothpick from your lips, you piped up, “Yeah, give us a minute–,” but Crosshair threw his pillow onto your face in an effort to muffle your voice. You laughed, realizing Crosshair was hiding you. You could hear Omega audibly gasp outside the door. 

“You stayed the night?” She exclaimed in disbelief. 

“Uh, no. It’s just me,” Crosshair was so bad at lying sometimes. You held the pillow to your face to muffle your laughter.

“Well, I’ll tell Wrecker to set out one more plate for breakfast. Then you and my new sister can come fishing with us,” Omega prompted.

Omega’s shadow skipped away from underneath the door gap and Crosshair fell back into the bed, taking you down with him. He smoothly slides into a gentle, but heated kiss, then pulls back quickly.

“Will you come back tonight?” He stressed.

Taking his head into your hands and pressing his forehead lightly into yours, all you could think was, Duh. But you couldn’t even be sarcastically cruel to him as you melted into his hold, but could you still tease him?

“I’ll think about it,” you smiled. “Good Maker,” he rolled out of bed and pulled on his bottoms and a fresh top while flashing his pearly teeth at you.  

Still wearing the attire you had landed in, you rummaged through his closet to replace your top with one of his. You’d officially clean up after the morning’s fishing trip concluded. Crosshair leaned against the door frame waiting for you.

“What?” You said, catching him staring at you through the neckhole while pulling on his shirt.

“You’re cute,” he winked and opened the door to disappear into the hallway. 

—

You sat down next to Hunter and an empty chair saved for Crosshair. Hunter looks up from his breakfast and side-eyes you, then quickly returns his gaze to his plate. He clears his throat.

“Did you stay — did you sleep comfortably?” He states. 

“Ye—,” you began. 

“She DID,” Omega talked over you with one hand on the table, leaning into Hunter’s space. “Or, I don’t know how she slept, but she did sleep here... Or did you sleep…?” She backtracked, shook her head a bit, and returned to her seat. Eyes widened, she looked back to you, “How did you sleep?” she interrogated.

You felt your nostrils flare in embarrassment, but did your best to keep it cool. You held back your laughter too as Omega was so funny about her ownership of her brothers.

You weren’t ready to be the intense focus of breakfast. You kept it honest and quick.

“I slept better than I have in a long time,” you replied. “I don’t think I caught more than a few hours on our trip.”

Omega turned her head a little and squinted one eye at you. What was she wanting you to say? You laughed it off and reached for a pancake from the center plate on the table. Crosshair walked into the kitchen; he must have been in the refresher as the shadow that wrapped his chin was shaven. 

Wrecker turned from the stove and slapped his back, winking and laughing in a frat boy-like nod of approval. Crosshair looked to the ground and groaned a little. You rolled your eyes too as the situation felt a little too objectifying for your taste. You played into it. 

Mirroring Wrecker, you playfully slapped Crosshair’s back as he sat down at the table and asked, “So how was last night?” 

Crosshair was rarely caught off-guard. The visual shock that blanketed his ghostly face nearly made Hunter spit his drink out. 

Crosshair couldn’t believe that you’d play into Wrecker’s joke. Hunter cleared his throat again and took a moment to swallow safely while staring off into space. 

Omega was living for the cumbersome breakfast scene. She breathed in.

“Did —- ,“ she began at Crosshair, nearly standing in her chair.

“Don’t,” Hunter grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back into her seat. She let a small laugh escape her lips, then the awkward silence ensued. 

All you could hear at the table was chewing noises and forks scraping against the plates. An analog clock ticked in the background. Batcher occasionally whined to Omega for a piece of pancake. Wrecker finished flipping the last pancake and sat down with his own enormous plate. Within the silence, Echo materialized in the kitchen. “Well, this is rare,” Echo teased, “Usually someone’s getting their head torn off mid-way through a meal.” 

“Oh well, that’s because we forgot to tell you what Crosshair and I did on your ship,” you deadpanned, slicing your fork through a pancake. 

Hunter and Crosshair spat their drink and food out simultaneously. Omega and Wrecker lost themselves in laughter. Echo, well, looked like he normally does when he’s slightly confused.

“You did what?” Echo’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Oh you know,  —,” you began. Crosshair squeezed your knee under the table. 

“Please shut up,” Crosshair mumbled to you.

“Oh, bloody hell,” Echo huffed as his shoulders dropped the tension. You could tell that as a soldier that had seen it all, he didn’t care.

You winked at Crosshair and silently laughed. You truly had a knack for that reckless banter. He just looked at you in disbelief, shook his head, and released your knee. 

“You’re worse than Wrecker,” he sighed and returned to his food. “But I still love you.”

“YOU LOVE HER?” Omega exclaimed, this time standing in her chair and leaning over the table with both hands under her. She couldn’t believe such words would ever escape Crosshair’s lips.

“Zip it,” Crosshair pointed his fork at her.

Hunter, once again, guided Omega back into her seat.

Echo looked down at Hunter, who was looking spent. You got the feeling Hunter wanted to run a very clean household for Omega’s sake. You shot him a look of silent apology and returned your attention to getting another pancake.

“It looks like you have things under control,” Echo joshed and put his hand on Hunter’s shoulder as he tried to return the conversation to a normal temperature. “I’m going to head out.” He nodded towards you, “Thanks again for the ship.” And he started towards the door, “I’ll comm you all soon,” he said with his back to the family as he opened the door. He paused and shot you and Crosshair a glance, and sighed.

“Keep an eye on him, okay?” He said to you.

“You know I will,” you assured Echo.

Then Echo looked at Omega, “And you keep an eye on them.” 

“Yes, Sir!” Omega enthused.

Echo left, and the room remained quiet. In your careless efforts to make things better, you indeed made them worse and more awkward. While Crosshair was severe and unyielding, but also so soft and sweet (to you), you were still hopelessly reckless and intense. You knew Crosshair brought out a softer side in you too. You tapped into it.

“Omega,” you began, “I’m sorry I never asked you for permission.” 

“My permission?” She was taken back by the question.

“Can I date your brother?” You inquired.

“Why — would you ask me?” Omega raised an eyebrow. You could feel Hunter’s soft smile return from across the table.

“I know I’m asking a lot to share his attention,” you shrugged. Omega smiled back at you.

“He’s a great brother,” she chirped. “I can see why you like him.”

Crosshair looked up at her from his plate and beamed back at her.

Omega tilted her head a little and narrowed her eyes at you. 

“Is there anything in this for me?” Omega tested you.

“I’ll try to be a good sister. If you’ll let me,” you affirmed. 

Omega nodded towards you. 

“I’ll try to be a good sister too,” she then returned her attention to her plate. “But if you break his heart, I’m going to break something of yours.”

Hunter’s hand flew up to his brow, causing a slapping sound, and he exhaled hard. Wrecker let out a small laugh.

“Sorry,” Wrecker apologized to you.

Hunter eyed Omega, “We’re working on not dishing out open threats, right?”

Omega shrugged and raised an eyebrow at Hunter. You just laughed and put your arm around Crosshair.

“I wonder where she gets that from,” you laugh, meeting Crosshair’s gaze.

Crosshair also sighed and put a hand to his forehead.

“Don’t lose that protective side, Omega,” you nodded in her direction and picked up your drink to toast her efforts.

Omega radiated a little at you in gratitude. With a brave little smile, she nodded in your direction.

—--

You and Wrecker loaded the boat with fish bait, rods, and more while Omega and Crosshair sat at the end of the dock with the sun to their backs. Omega would laugh, kick her feet, and Crosshair never took his eyes off of her.

“Wrecker, I’m not screwing anything up by being here, right?” you threw a question his way while staring at Crosshair listening so intently to his sister.

“You? Nah,” he grunted while moving another crate of bait inside the boat. “But I am sorry we gave you and Crosshair a hard time at breakfast this morning.” “I expected nothing less,” you laughed.

Wrecker smiled at you, “I was surprised you actually took it up a few levels. I’ve never seen either Crosshair or Hunter so flustered,” he roared with laughter. You raised your eyebrows at him comedically, and returned to watching Crosshair and Omega.

“You’re all amazing father figures to her,” you remarked, looking back to Omega.

“Eh, we do our best,” Wrecker paused his work to watch Crosshair and Omega with you. 

“I never had that,” you confessed quietly.

“But don’t be afraid that by being here that you’re taking that away from her,” Wrecker declared. “That’s not how that works.”

You nodded, as it did make sense. But he had hit what you were feeling on the head. They were all so emotionally astute. 

“Have you met Phee yet?” Wrecker sat down on the bench with his work concluded.

“Who?” you asked.

“Phee,” Wrecker smiled. “She’s Tech’s gal. Omega looks up to her like a mother.”

You sat down next to him and sighed, “Tech’s story keeps getting… worse.”

“Yeah, well,” Wrecker tried to shake off his emotions to keep the conversation light. “It isn’t going to be long before Omega looks up to you the same way she looks to Phee.”

You nodded, “I won’t let her down.” You and Wrecker watched Omega and Crosshair continue to chat, oblivious that the boat was ready.

“Hey Wrecker, thank you for being so kind,” you mentioned.

“Of course. Any friend of Crosshair’s is a friend of mine,” he nodded, then turned to Omega and Crosshair. “Hey, we could use some help here!”

Omega shot up and ran to the boat like it was a battlefield order. Crosshair took his time to stand and brush off his pants before walking over. You stood to meet him as he stepped into the boat.

Crosshair walked over to you and wrapped you in an embrace; his chin placed on top of your head. He sighed a breath of relaxation.

“So, you’re not upset with how breakfast went?” You clarified.

“No,” he softly chuckled. “That went better than I thought it would. Despite it being excruciating at the moment. I think they thought I’d…” He trailed off a little.

You raised an eyebrow, “What?” 

“That I’d keep you a secret,” Crosshair shrugged. 

“Ah,” you nodded into his chest, “We tend to keep a lot of those.”

“They’re used to me hiding things; or not talking. But it’s impossible to hide you,” he kissed the top of your head.

“Are you two love purrgils ready?” Omega yelled from stern. Wrecker laughed at her comment. She pulled hard down on the throttle and the whole boat lurched forward violently, causing you and Crosshair to nearly lose your balance.

—---

Crosshair had his arm around you as you sat next to each other at the back of the boat, jetting towards the horizon. Omega killed the engine once the island was out of sight. She ran to the rods, throwing one to Wrecker, Crosshair, and you. You were a little surprised that she had packed one for you.

Casting lines into different directions, Omega kicked back and took out a doll. She weaved the fabric together to create parts of the doll that were missing.

“Did you make that?” You asked. 

“Yeah, this one is you,” she showed you the doll closer. 

The helmet and armor were black; the belt and shoes cool and sleek; Omega’s doll was rather accurate to your bounty hunting look. 

“How’d you know I wear armor like that?” You questioned.

“Crosshair told me,” Omega informed. “Last night, he told me all about your adventure while you slept on the porch.”

Omega’s line bobbed up and down, then jerked to the side.

“Wrecker! I think it’s a big one!” She exclaimed as she dropped your doll to her seat and raced to catch the rod. 

Omega wound the rod’s line back and pulled, but she was correct, it was a huge fish. She slid forward, catching her feet on the side of the boat as the fish tried to pull her in. Wrecker jumps to catch her from falling out. Together, Wrecker and Omega work to get the fish close. Crosshair prepares the net. Once it was close enough, he swished the net through the water, capturing it. Wrecker then pulls the fish aboard. It was massive.

Omega sat down hard on the ship’s deck and caught her breath. 

“Well, that’ll keep us fed for at least two weeks,” she looked at Wrecker with a huge smile.

Wrecker shrugged, “Eh, maybe three days.”

“Three days?!” Omega exclaimed.

—----

You headed back to your ship in the evening; slightly sunburned and exhausted. Despite finishing fishing early, you had spent the day on the beach and water with the Bad Batch. That family partied hard. 

In the evening, Omega had finished her doll and added it to her “collection.” Wrecker started to make food, and you slipped out the back while Hunter and Crosshair debated whether or not Separatist tanks were better than the Republic tanks if they were piloted by the same droid.

Echo had left your ship on the beach away from the city. You enjoyed the silence and sea mist on your walk over. Opening the door, you were hit with a familiar feeling of loneliness you knew you had outgrown. It wasn’t long ago that this ship was all you had. Inspecting the cockpit and living quarters, nothing had changed in the cabin. Echo hadn’t even poured himself a drink or helped himself to food. 

You took a hot shower, found some clean clothes, and felt a little nostalgic. Illuminating the holo-archive, you reviewed old holograms of the Tarkin family; before the Empire. Eriadu was a beautiful planet; but not one you grew to be familiar with. Your only connection to it was through these holograms of your grandparents and parents. 

By the time you were born, the wealth of the family had taken your familial unit off-planet and away from the legendary Tarkin compound. Your heart sank a little when you cycled through to a photo of you as a child. The hollow feeling returned; part of you missed the Empire; or perhaps just having a family. Knowing that being yourself would never be enough still ate you up inside. 

You cycled to another photo taken about a decade ago as a young adult. Your hair, expression, and Imperial clothing haunted you.

“Is that you?” A voice appeared in the doorway to your ship. You had forgotten to seal it up. Crosshair stepped inside.

“Yeah,” you nodded. “Pretty… Different, isn’t she?”

“I wouldn’t have recognized you on the street,” Crosshair admitted. He sat down next to you looking closer at the hologram. 

You cycled to the next one. Your parents and siblings as you remembered them when you were young illuminated. The family portrait was filled with serious Imperial expressions as it was customary to not smile or show emotion as elitists. 

“So, this one is my family,” you introduced Crosshair to the hologram. “I'd like to introduce you more properly, but I can’t. So, here’s Mom, Dad, Gavin, Crix, and Lieda.”

“When was the last time you saw them?” Crosshair wondered.

“It’s been over ten years now,” you lamented. “I think they’re all still alive. I’ve been tempted to look or spy, but I don’t know what’s worse…”

“What’s worse?” Crosshair tucked your hair behind your ear with his fingers.

“If they’re dead or alive. If they’re dead, I guess I’d be more forgiving that they’d never look for me, but then they’re dead. That’s it. If they’re alive… Then I’m still dead to them,” you tried to explain. Crosshair seemed to understand. He put his arm around you and looked back to the hologram. You sighed and melted into his embrace. 

“I’ve had some contact with Crix, but he can’t lay off the spice,” you confessed. “He’s not technically a deserter, but he doesn’t follow all of the rules so strictly. But I am banned from seeing him. Banned from helping him.”

Crosshair’s eyebrows furrowed, not knowing that you still felt so much pain over your family. He tightened his grip around you and put his lips to your crown. You decided to change the subject.

“So, when will I hear the story of your hand?” You asked, sitting up a little. Crosshair looked to the side away from you to his prosthetic laying beside him. He breathed in deeply and picked up his mechanical hand to place it in yours.

“It was cut off,” Crosshair deadpanned.

You didn’t push him to say anything more. Stroking his fingertips to his palm, you just nodded. Crosshair exhaled deeply once more.

“It’s strange that I feel safe telling you things,” he admitted.

“It’s not a bad thing,” you lifted his mechanical hand and kissed it.

He smiled softly, hesitated, and began to open up.

“My time in the Empire ended with imprisonment after I attempted to avenge Mayday,” he begins slowly. 

“But they wouldn’t let me die. Even after all I had done,” he sighed. “No, they kept me for experimentation. They tried to erase my identity; condition me into a super soldier for the Empire. But it was there that I discovered who I really am.”

“And who’s that?” You asked as he trailed off.

“A defective clone.” Crosshair’s voice broke a little. He breathed in sharply. “Tech once said I was severe and unyielding in nature and that I could never change that. But the Empire stripped me of everything I thought I was. Tech was right, but… I was wrong about myself.”

His eyes grew glassy, but no tears fell. He cleared his throat and continued.

“I expected their conditioning to work on me. I waited for the day that I’d wake up and not be “me” anymore; but it never happened. Every morning, I’d wake to my regrets, the emptiness I held from missing my brothers and other clones that had disappeared, and I’d wake to my hatred for the Empire… And my severe hatred for myself.”

A tear did escape, but he wipes it quickly in hopes that you wouldn’t notice.

“Omega saved us. She was imprisoned too. After we escaped, the Empire sent the conditioned clones to collect her. They succeeded in taking her back to Tantis, so I returned with Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo to bring her home. But I couldn’t shoot the same after we escaped the first time, making the mission nearly impossible.”

He hesitated again and removed his mechanical prosthetic. 

“My hand would shake after we left Tantis. Omega had convinced me to get it checked out, but the clinical droid said it was in my head. There wasn’t anything wrong with my hand, but instead there was something wrong with me.” He shook his head and put the prosthetic back on and looked to you for permission to keep going. You listened intently. He took another breath and dove back in.

“In the effort to retrieve Omega, a conditioned clone made a point to relieve me of my trigger hand. I once thought that this hand, or the skill I had as a sniper, was part of what made me, me. But even after it was gone, I continued to exist. I still wake up without it; I still wake with my regrets and self-loathing; I’m still everything the Empire couldn’t erase: severe and unyielding to myself; the defective clone.”

Crosshair turns to face you in the booth and takes your hand in his. His gaze is soft, but focused on your intertwined hands.

“I thought you could understand me after we talked that first day,” he concluded. “My brothers, they could understand on the surface. Omega just takes me for who I am regardless of what I’ve experienced. But you, you could understand my past in a way no one else can.”

He looks up for your reaction. He meets your eyes; your heartbroken gaze. You had so many questions, but you couldn’t find your words. You just stared into the eyes of the bravest, strongest man you had ever met. 

“Crosshair,” you began. 

“Mmm?” He too had run out of words.

You wrapped him up into a tight embrace; your hand on the back of his neck and around his waist. A tear escaped your eye, as you felt so much pain for him. You wanted to hold him as if you could alleviate some of that burden, but you knew if you could it would only be temporary. Crosshair didn’t expect your embrace, but he reciprocated gently. You held him there for some time before speaking.

“You’ve traveled to a deeper level of hell than I,” you continued to hold him. You pulled back from your embrace and rested your forehead against his to search his eyes. They were filled with painful recollections. “I’m so incredibly grateful for who you are.” You pressed a kiss against his cheek. “Our circumstances or experiences with the Empire are so vastly different; but you understand me too. The loneliness; the abandonment; the mistakes; the — ‘never fitting’ the desired mold... I’ve needed you for so long.”

Crosshair’s expression shifted from a painful grimace to beaming with light. 

“You need me?” Crosshair whispered.

You teared up at his question and could only nod. You gathered him into an embrace once more as if you’d never let go. 

“I don’t deserve you,” he gathers you in his arms and presses his face into the nape of your neck. 

“Too bad,” you pull away and rest your lips on his. “You have me.”

——-

The sun began to set on Pabu; the rays of light stretching out across the ocean as the sun prepared for its slumber. Hand-in-hand, you and Crosshair returned to the Bad Batch home for what would hopefully be a late meal. 

Entering the home, the kitchen was already emptied. A dim light illuminated the walls of the backroom. The family was cuddled and laughing together around moving holograms.

“We’re watching a holofilm!” Omega announced without standing from her place. Hunter motioned to the empty end of the couch. Crosshair looks to you and motions for you to take a seat. Sitting down, you guide him close to you. He sits down and wraps his arms around you. Settling into his chest, you close your eyes and lose yourself in his breathing. You feel yourself fade into a deep sleep as Omega and the brothers laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ fin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @heidnspeak @cloneflo99 @megmegalodondon @tentakelspektakel

Mad Dog's Masterlist

Longfics:

Deserters

NSFW | Total word count: ~23,000 | Crosshair x fem!reader | 8 Parts Total

Warnings: Severe and Unyielding amounts of FLUFF, Romance, Kissing, Crosshair Comforts, Crosshair Opens Up, Tears, PTSD, NSFW Sexual Content, etc. Part I | Part II | Part III 😈 | Part IV | Part V | Part VI 😈 | Part VII | Part VIII Closure

SFW | Crosshair x fem!reader

I. Nightmares of Eriadu

II. Going Home

III. Familiar Face

One Shots:

Summer of Bad Batch:

Week 1: Water Fight | Omega x Hunter x Wrecker x Crosshair

Week 2: Injured | Crosshair x Hunter

Week 2: (Alt) Comfort Zone | Crosshair x Phee x Hunter x Omega

Week 6: Battle Scars | Crosshair x Omega x Hunter

Week 10: Just when were you going to tell us that? | Crosshair x Hunter x Omega x Wrecker

Star Wars Themed Workout Programs:

The Bad Batch Split

The Bad Batch Split - The Frat Boy Days Edition

I’m about 25,000 words into my new fanfic and am having fun creating art to go along with it. :) not sure if this is a final drawing for it, but I had fun.

Closure: I. Nightmares of Eriadu

Warnings: SFW Romance, SO MUCH FLUFF, nightmares, family drama/trauma mentions

Characters involved: Crosshair x fem!reader x Omega x Hunter x Phee

Word count: 3743

Authors Note: This is a sequel (read the first installment here) using the same fem!reader character and pre-existing relationship with Crosshair. But you don't need to read the first fanfic. This one might be better anyway. This story satisfies my personal needs for closure after The Bad Batch animated series ended. I don't want to give anything away, but this resolves my need for closure around Tech, Hunter's need of an arc, and more character building for Crosshair.

I've been writing it for the past several weeks and am multiple chapters ahead. I just wanted to begin posting it. :) I have some moody watercolors painted for some chapters too. I'll maybe retrofit some art too. I'll probably post it separate so nobody misses it. :) Please let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list. I mainly wrote this for my own entertainment, but who doesn't love it when others are around.<3 I hope you enjoy.

---------------------------------------------------------

Omega threw the ship’s thruster forward and jumped into hyperspace, narrowly escaping the blaster fire of a few short-range fighters.

“Well, that was fun,” she gasped in slight laughter.

Phee smiled and kicked back into her chair, “Fun indeed.”

Omega spun around in her chair to find you still lying on your back in the middle of the ship. You were exhausted and hadn’t even made it to the bunks before collapsing onto the floor. 

“Are you okay?” She called over to you. 

You lifted your head enough to make eye contact, smiled a little, and lifted your arm enough to signal a “thumbs-up” sign. 

She flashes her white teeth at you and returns a thumbs-up enthusiastically. Her hair had grown long over the years and swept across her face. She kept it tied up with a bright red tie, which was suspected to match Hunter’s bandana on purpose. Physically, Omega looked more and more like Hunter over the years, but had Wrecker’s enthusiasm for abrupt adventure, Echo’s drive for serving others, Crosshair’s tactical abilities, and Tech’s piloting skills and calculating mind.

Omega turned back to the ship’s pilot console and felt Phee’s eyes study her. 

“What is it?” Omega pleasantly inquires.

“You fly like Tech,” Phee shrugs.

“Well, he did teach me,” Omega banters back. 

“I know, but… There are a lot of little moments where I see him in you,” Phee continues. 

“Well, we do share the same genetic material—,” Omega starts.

“See, that’s something Tech would have said.”

Omega smiles back, “I wish he could see me fly now.”

“You have become an exceptional pilot,” Phee nods. “He would have been so proud of you.”

Listening in on their conversation, you smile as you remember young Omega’s piloting skills compared to her current set of skills. She was fast, smooth, calculated, and innovative. Deciding you had enough rest, you stood up in Phee’s ship and made your way to the front. 

“Well, look who decided to be with the living!” Phee prods at you.

You sit down and lean back into the chair behind Omega’s seat.

“Next time you two invite me for a ‘girl’s night out,’ you better tell me it’s actually a four day treasure hunt, nine star systems over, with limited rations and pre-existing enemies,” you relay.

“Where’s the fun in that?” Phee chuckles. Omega laughs with her. 

“You two are ridiculous,” you grunt as you pull your hat over your eyes. You hear Phee chuckle to herself, then turn from facing you to the lights of hyperspace.

“You and Crosshair were made for each other,” Phee comments after a small pause in conversation.

“You take that back,” you monotone sarcastically without moving from under your hat, but you felt your lips creep into a small smile at the thought of Crosshair.

“It must be nice,” she suggests happily and threads her fingers around the back of her neck and leans back placing her feet on the dashboard.

You stay silent as you knew Phee still had lingering feelings for the long-lost brother of Clone Force 99: Tech. From what you had heard between Omega, Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair, Phee was a great partner. You both equally wished you had known Tech and that you could tell him that he was not easily forgotten. 

“We’re coming up on Pabu,” Omega broke the silence as the ship was gently thrown out of hyperspace. 

Entering the atmosphere and pushing through the clouds, you lift the brim of your hat to spy the small island in the distance. You sigh a breath of relief as the island grows larger in view.

The spaceport had its usual morning-Pabu hustle with imported goods flying in and individuals leaving Pabu for jobs, vacation, and more. Phee’s ship touches down and the door unseals. Omega picks up her bag and dashes down the stairs in excitement to tell Hunter and Liana about the adventure away and the treasures found.

Phee continues to sit back in the chair lost in thought and unmoved. You rise from your chair and slink into Omega’s piloting seat.

“You okay?” You asked.

“I’ll be okay,” Phee sighed. “There are some treasures in life that you lose, but never forget.”

You knew her mind was still stuck on Tech. She gazed into the oceans of Pabu from the spaceport and let her eyes pool with tears.

“Listen, I’m going to step out of my bounds for a moment, but,” you breathe in deeply and close your eyes for a moment, “I know my way around Eriadu. I don’t think Hunter ever returned to search for Tech.”

“His remains won’t do anyone any good,” Phee looks over to you.

“I know,” you backpedaled. “But if he were– alive,”

“He never contacted us. He couldn’t be alive,” Phee interrupts. You could feel her frustration, so you held your silence.

“I’m sorry,” you apologize for bringing up the topic. 

Phee exhales and wipes her eyes. “I don’t know what’s worse, if he’s alive and didn’t want to contact us, or if he’s gone for good.”

You stood and placed your hand on her shoulder to offer support and to also stage your conversational exit. “Phee,” you began, “You need answers for closure. And you’re good at finding answers. It’s one thing to be afraid of what you’ll find… But if there’s one person to discover what happened, it’s you.”

“I know,” she taps your hand with hers and began to stand. 

“Why didn’t Hunter go back to look for him?” Phee asks.

You shrug, “He’s a soldier; they move on differently than you and I. And you and Hunter are probably right: Tech would have found a way to make contact.”

Phee nods with sadness in her eyes.

You and Phee exit the ship together and walk down the stairs to meet Clone Force 99.

Your pace quickened as Crosshair comes into view. His unshaven face, silver bedhead, and black attire led you to chuckle a little under your breath.

“Well, that was longer than a single rotation,” Crosshair jabs as you greet him with an embrace.

“I should have known better with the present company,” you roll your eyes a little remembering how Omega and Phee talked you into the trip.

“Mmhmm,” Crosshair grunts and as he holds you tighter before softly releasing you. 

“What did you do while I was gone?” You ask.

“I stayed in bed and shot holes in the ceiling,” he deadpans.

You could hear Hunter sigh at Crosshair’s comment. Looking over, you see him bury his head in his hands a little and rub his eyes. You turn back to Crosshair, smile, then stand on your toes to kiss his narrow lips. His hand slides up your back to cradle your head as he kisses you back.

“I missed you,” you smile. 

“And someone’s going to fix those holes in the roof,” Hunter invites himself into your conversation and takes a step towards you and Crosshair. He was so serious. 

Crosshair just stares at him; hardly blinking. He, too, was overly serious. He slides his hand to your back again and you lay your ear against his chest to look at Hunter.

“I’ll fix the roof,” you offer.

“No.” Crosshair rejects your offer and just stares at Hunter.

“I am not going to fix the roof, Crosshair,” Hunter continues to glare. “Not again.”

“Your relationship is so confusing,” you sigh and step back from Crosshair. You wink at him, “I’ll see you at the house, okay?”

Crosshair and Hunter continue to stare each other down.

“… Okay?” You repeat.

“Fine,” Crosshair growls without taking his eyes off Hunter.

“What’s their problem?” Omega asks you.

“I’m not sure,” you scan the crowd, “Where’s Wrecker? Maybe he didn’t feed them while we were gone.”

Omega laughs at your joke, “That’s probably it.”

—----

Dropping your bag into Crosshair’s room, you look up at the ceiling. He shot more than just holes. At some point, the blaster holes turned into bigger holes and the entire roof was practically missing. You felt Crosshair approach behind you. 

“So that’s what four rotations of shooting the ceiling will get you?” You chuckle.

‘Uh-huh,” he looks up at his handy work. 

You narrow your eyebrows a little bit as you inspect the ceiling further.

“Problem?” Crosshair asks.

“I don’t want to be that girlfriend, but—,” you stop yourself as you never asked much of Crosshair. You wanted him to find a more productive hobby, but after all he’s been through, he did deserve to blow off some steam. It was just a ceiling anyway.

“What?” He prods.

“Why’d you stop at the ceiling?” you grin.

“I learned my lesson the last time I tried to shoot a live round into Wrecker’s bunk,” he says as he tosses himself into the bed.

“Where is Wrecker?” You ask.

“Off-world with Shep. Some kind of supply run,” Crosshair shrugs.

“What have you and Hunter been eating then?” You chuckle.

“Oh, you know… Soldier food,” he points to the end of his bed to the pile of ration bar wrappers. You pick up one of the wrappers and inspect it.

“Cross, these expired over three years ago,” you mutter.

“That would explain things,” Crosshair exhales.

“Are you okay?” You sit down at the end of the bed.

“Clearly,” he enthuses. The ceiling gave an audible crack and pieces fell onto Crosshair’s head and shoulders; his expression unchanging. You didn’t buy his answer, but knowing him, he wouldn’t talk much more, especially under pressure. You stood enough just to shuffle to his end of the bed and relax against the headboard, sitting on pieces from the ceiling. You took his hand and brought it to your lips.

“How was your trip with Phee and Omega?” Crosshair asks to change the subject.

“Confusing. It was nice of them to include me, but I don’t want to get into trouble like I used to,” you shrug. “They didn’t exactly tell me what was going on and when we arrived, we were already in a few gun fights with other pirates.”

“Did they get what they were after?” Crosshair narrows his eyes.

“I think so. They picked up a package, we fought over it, lost Phee’s ship, got it back, then flew home,” you close your eyes and rest your head on his shoulder. “I’m exhausted.”

“Hmm,” he faintly grunts in response. “I didn’t think you’d get tired of pirating missions.”

“And I didn’t think I’d come home to you shooting holes in the ceiling,” you reply, staring up into the gaping holes. You earned a soft smile from him as he peers up to inspect his work once more.

“True,” he chuckles. 

You and Crosshair stayed in bed watching the stars appear as the sun began to set, painting the sky pink and orange. Letting your hand trace up his hand, arm, chest, and to his face, you felt his scratchy, unshaven face. 

“Sorry, I haven’t shaved,” he apologizes and slips a toothpick between his lips.

“It’s not a bad look,” you comment. 

His silver hair, straight and unkempt, had grown a bit past a typical soldier’s cut everywhere but the scar on the right side of his skull. The sides and back were tapered and faded into the length, framing his jaw. Around his neck he wore a thin chain with engraved plates hanging just above his chest. 

He suddenly sighs sharply. 

“I —,” he starts. You don’t prod at him to continue, but instead start to run your fingers through his hair. “Stop,” he takes his hand to stop yours and he sits up taller, but still doesn’t look at you. 

“Sorry,” you apologize. He takes your hand and holds it in his lap. The silence washes over the moment.

“What’s wrong?” You re-engage with him.

“It’s nothing,” he shakes his head a little and looks back up into the stars. You knew something was up with him due to his lack of un-soldier-like appearance and the state of his ceiling, but now you felt concern trickle into your heart.

“Is it nothing?” You ask.

“I can’t sleep when you’re not here,” he admits through a wince.

“You’re not weak for that,” you assure him.

He sighs again and turns towards you. You pull on his shoulder, motioning him to lay down. He rests his head on your arm and the pillow beneath then closes his eyes. 

“The nightmares are back?” You whisper.

“They never left,” he sighs quietly. 

________

Crosshair had fallen asleep quickly. You took the toothpick from his lips and flicked it to the floor. Your eyes grew heavy too as the night sky had settled in. 

________

Eriadu’s summers were warm, temperate, and pleasant. The famous Tarkin compound was familiar as you had spent holidays there with your immediate and distant family. Your mother, Governor Tarkin’s sister, had married outside of the family to a lowly Imperial loyalist. While she was left out intentionally from her parent’s fortune, she was still included in familial gatherings. 

“Are you coming?” You looked up to see your older brother, Crix. His hand extended to you as you realized you may have fallen to the ground. Your clothes, hands, and knees were dirty. Looking into his eyes, you see they’re full of worry. You nod your head and reach for his hand. His hand feels cold. Inspecting it, you turn his hand over in your palm. Looking back up to his face, he vanishes.

“Crix?” You look around, but he’s gone. The silence of the forest overwhelms you as you sense something is wrong. The feeling of doom pools into your stomach, weighing you down. Each step further into the forest weighs heavier and heavier. The sky grows dark and the ground is black. The subtle asphyxiation quells your movement; you fall to your knees.

An old, brittle hand reaches out and grabs your shoulder. It’s nails, cut into your skin. You let out a scream, but no sound left your lips.

You wake, sitting up quickly as your heart races. You breathe in deeply like you hadn’t in some time. When was the last time I dreamt of Eriadu? You ask yourself. Crosshair snores and shuffles slightly in the bed. Your nightmare didn’t bother him in the slightest. You sigh a breath of relief. He was usually such a light sleeper.

The floor felt cold beneath your toes as you slipped out of the bed. The fresh air was a nice touch; maybe you wouldn’t fix the roof after all. Or at least not right away. You tip-toed to the back patio to watch the ocean waves curl into the shoreline. Opening the patio door, you were surprised to find Phee leaned against the railing looking out into the sky.

“Couldn’t sleep?” She asks you without turning.

“Not really,” you responded. You sit down into the chair and put your feet up on the railing. 

“Nightmares?” She asks kindly.

“Of home, I guess,” you shrug. 

“Where’s home?” Phee sits down into the chair next to you.

“Here,” you realize out loud, “But no, I dreamt of a place my family would visit for holidays when I was a child,” you admit.

“And where’s that?” She continued to pull your teeth.

You bit your lip and shifted your jaw to the side, remembering your last conversation with her about Eriadu. You supposed that was why Eriadu was fresh on your mind.

“Eriadu,” you sigh. 

Phee’s eyebrow raises in response, “Oh.”

“I dreamt my brother Crix was in the forest there. I reached out to him, but he disappeared. I haven’t seen him in a few years. But he was the closest brother I had,” you explain. 

“Does he still live on Eriadu?” Phee asks.

“No,” you lament. “He hated it there; more than I did.” You chuckle a little remembering old conversations and shared expressions at the dinner table with your brother. 

“Where is he now?” Phee continues to lay on the questions.

“I don’t know,” you look to exchange your sorrowful expression. “He started chasing spice dreams to escape reality and then I defected from the Empire and my family; I lost track of him a bit after that.”

“Well, I like to believe that all dreams have meaning,” Phee marveled upwards to the sky again.

“You would,” you nod.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said, sis,” Phee hesitated. “Since it’s fresh on your mind, would you want to come to Eriadu with me?”

Your heart jumped a little in your chest at the thought of seriously returning. It had been a few years since your last run in with your uncle, Governor Tarkin, but the Empire didn’t seem to care about your existence anymore. Surely someone would recognize you there. But, perhaps your soul had some unfinished business to attend to as you reflected on your dream once more.

“I’ll think about it,” you assure.

A small ship took off from the cave and accelerated into the atmosphere with a soft boom. 

“Was that Omega?” You asked Phee.

Phee nodded, “I figured she’d sneak off here soon.”

“She’s more of a soldier than Hunter wants to admit, isn’t she?” You sigh.

Phee stands and leans against the railing once again. She pulls her binoculars to study the entrance of the cave. “Batcher and Hunter saw her off.” “This house will turn into a mess without her here,” you chuckle. “Mmhmm,” Phee agreed, continuing to watch Hunter and Batcher walk home.

“Well, I’m going to turn in,” you announce as you stand from your chair.

“Think about what I said,” Phee turns to you. 

You give her a silent nod of acknowledgement and head back inside. Walking down the hallway, you pause just outside of Omega’s room. Of course she’d slip out while Wrecker was off-world, you think to yourself. 

Arriving at Crosshair’s door, you slowly enter the room. Feeling relief that he’s still asleep, you slide into the bed with him quietly. 

__________________________

The morning sun warmed Crosshair’s room quickly without the roof to shield. Moving your hands to block out the sun, you squinted around the room to find yourself alone. You shift and swing your legs off the bed to sit upright. You hear the door open.

“I decided I’ll fix the roof,” Crosshair mutters as he walks into the room slowly with his and your morning cups in hand. He was clean shaven again, but continued to leave his hair longer. 

“Did you sleep well?” You smile.

“Yes,” he sits down on the bed next to you and hands you your cup. “Did you?” He asks in return.

“Honestly, no. I got up a few hours into the night and–” You pause.

“I know Omega left,” Crosshair mutters.

“I’m sorry she didn’t say goodbye,” you mention.

“She did, in her own way,” Crosshair reaches into his pocket and pulls out his small money sac that usually had a few credits in it. “It’s empty,” he sighs. “She left a note saying she owes me.”

“You wouldn’t have let her go, would you have?” You ask.

Crosshair sighs, “She’s a better shot than I am these days. She’ll be fine. I’m surprised she didn’t wait until I was also off-world to sneak off.” Crosshair softly smiles as he puts his credit bag away. “But I suppose confrontation isn’t a strong suit of mine either.”

You nod and think back on Phee’s conversation last night. Your vanishing smile catches Crosshair’s attention.

“What else happened last night?” Crosshair furrows his eyebrows together.

“Phee asked me to go to Eriadu with her,” you say into your mug.

“Eriadu?” Crosshair lifts an eyebrow and leans forward into your space. “Why Eriadu?” 

“Well, my family. Some unanswered questions. And—” you pause, not sure how to explain your intentions.

“What?” Crosshair presses.

“Tech,” you lightly shrug and take a long drink from the mug. “She wants to…”

Crosshair moved your mug down from your lips. “What?” He insists.

“Phee is curious if Tech’s remains are there… Or if Tech is… There,” you manage to say hesitantly. 

Crosshair stays silent and drinks his caf alongside you. He turns to face the door and crosses his arms. 

“If he were alive, Tech would have sent us a message,” Crosshair informs you.

“I know,” you nod. “It doesn’t make sense that he’d be alive. I don’t know what we’ll find, but Phee needs closure.” 

Crosshair sighs and stares into his black, undoctored caf, “We probably all do.” 

You and Crosshair continue to sip in silence for a few minutes. You could feel him mull his thoughts over. Even with you, he wasn’t the best talker, but you knew his internal dialog plagued him.

“Will you go with her?” Crosshair breaks the silence and studies your eyes.

“I don’t know,” you slowly elaborate, “It’s been years since I’ve been there, but I’d still be recognized. The only advantage I bring is that I know the planet well.”

“Hmm,” Crosshair takes another sip.

“Would you come with me?” You ask.

Crosshair sharply exhales and rolls his eyes, “You know how I just love unplanned adventures with pirates.”

“So you will?” You squint your eyes at him.

“I can hardly wait,” he sarcastically agrees and finishes his morning drink.

Chapter II: Going Home

++++++++++++++++++++++ taglist ++++++++ @heidnspeak @cloneflo99 @megmegalodondon @tentakelspektakel

II. Going Home

Closure Series

Warnings: SFW Romance between Crosshair x fem!reader, brotherly banter, adventure brewing, life on Pabu

Characters involved: Crosshair x fem!reader x Hunter x Phee x Wrecker

Word count: 3508

Read Chapter I. Nightmares of Eriadu Read the Prequel Series

A few days later, you woke to the home smelling like baked goods again and the sound of Hunter and Crosshair fighting on the roof, again.

“Your work is sloppy!” Crosshair yells across the roof. “You’re the reason we’re up here fixing it again!” Hunter barks back. A loud thud hit the roof. You assume Hunter had thrown a hammer at Crosshair.

“If you hadn’t done such a terrible job fixing it the first time, I wouldn’t have disassembled it a second time!” Crosshair hisses back. 

Rolling your eyes, you stand up and walk out of the room to avoid hearing any more brotherly banter. You knew Wrecker was home based on how the home smelled, so you headed to the kitchen to check on him. 

You peer around the corner as Wrecker takes another sheet of baked goods from the oven. The entire room was stacked with baked goods, pastries, cakes, breakfast items, dinner items, and more.

“What’s all of this for?” You marvel at the towers of food.

“What’s, what?” Wrecker stands up quickly from behind a counter. You motion around to the stacks of cakes and baked goods, “What’s this?”

“Oh. Well, I miss the kid, so I guess I got a little carried away,” Wrecker says as he looks at the stacks of carbs around him. “But I guess the island might like a few things.”

“I don’t think anyone would pass up your food, Wrecker,” you assure. “Could I have some?” “Well, none of it will eat itself!” Wrecker smiles and hands you a plate of pancakes.

“How was your supply run with Shep?” You ask as you tear into a few pancakes.

“Uneventful, but I suppose that’s good,” he shrugs.

“You were probably hoping for some action, weren’t you?” You chattered.

“Yeah. I don’t seem to blow things up as often as I used to,” he sighs and starts to stir a new bucket of batter. “Life is a little slower these days, even if I’m still dragged along to be the muscle.”

“I think Crosshair and I are going to set out on an adventure with Phee here soon, would you want to come?” You ask, but hadn’t heard Crosshair enter the room.

“Well, now everyone will want to come,” Crosshair rolls his eyes.

“It might not be a bad thing,” you shrug.

“What wouldn’t be a bad thing?” Hunter asks as he enters the room.

“Just a small adventure, you know, to get our minds off things. Reset a bit,” you explain.

“You’re not selling it right,” Crosshair motions. 

“Oh no,” you said under your breath as you knew Crosshair would reveal your true intentions.

“She and Phee want to look for Tech on Eriadu,” he announces.

“You what?” Hunter says in shock and takes the half-bitten roll out of his mouth. 

You bit your lip and felt your shoulders come up to your ears. “In my defense, it was Phee’s idea.”

“And you were going to go without us?” Hunter presses.

“Not intentionally —” you start.

“But intentionally,” Crosshair butts in and eyes Hunter.

“What’s your problem with me?” Hunter squints at Crosshair and takes a step towards him. You take Crosshair’s hand as a preventative measure.

“Cross, I swear if you bring the roof up, I’m going to ask Wrecker to blow it up a third time,” you complain as you rub your forehead in frustration.

“I get to blow what up?” Wrecker exclaims as he looks up again from his baking activities. 

“Fine,” Crosshair sighs and relaxes his posture.

You turn back to Hunter, “Look, Phee will be back soon. We can ask her if she has any details together, but I think she's looking for closure. I agree with everyone, Tech would have established contact with you if he survived. We may be searching for nothing, but at least we’ll know after.”

Hunter studies your eyes and nods, “It might be good for all of us to return.”

Wrecker sits down at the table to join the conversation. He sighs from exhaustion and seems to shake the baking aura off to focus on matters at hand.

“I’d like to go,” he softly declares. “It never felt right leaving him. And we never got the chance to return properly.” 

Hunter nods in Wrecker's direction, “When does Phee get back?”

“Tonight,” you respond.

____

You and Clone Force 99 waited at the spaceport for Phee to arrive. Nightfall swept over the island as you followed the lit trail up to the port. After watching the skyline for a while, her ship descended from the stars. 

Phee’s gray and blue ship rests and steam releases from the air seal as the door opens.

“I didn’t expect a welcoming committee,” Phee jokes, her hands on her hips as she stands at the top of the stairs. 

“Phee,” Hunter cut to the chase, “Can we come with you to Eriadu?”

Phee eyes you, raises an eyebrow, and walks down the stairs, “You’re that bad at keeping secrets?”

“It wasn’t my secret to keep,” you say back. 

“Well, the more the merrier,” Phee nods. “We’ll prepare the ship in the morning,” 

Hunter nods back and turns to walk back to town, “Crosshair, you finish the roof.”

“Ugh,” Crosshair’s cute disdainful groan in response made you smile. 

The next morning, Crosshair applied the finishing touches to the roof, Wrecker packed Phee’s ship, Phee prepped the ship, while you and Hunter gathered remaining supplies from in-town. 

“Hunter, do we have a plan?” You ask him. 

“Not really. I was thinking we could covertly hike there from the city,” Hunter says as he picks out a few fruit for the ship. “Did you have any ideas? This was your mission first.”

“No,” you shook your head. “Honestly, the chills I felt the first time you told me Tech died outside of Tarkin’s compound haven’t left me.”

“Tell me something,” Hunter pauses his grocery efforts. “Do you really think Tech is dead?”

You bit your lip to focus on what you had heard from Tech’s sacrifice.

“Hunter,” you hesitate, “There are two things about the story that make me curious if he is still out there.”

“And what’s that?” He took a step closer to you and grew serious.

“Wrecker told me Hemlock only brought back the Tech’s goggles,” you mutter. 

“Mhmm,” Hunter affirms.

“And you told me that Hemlock would have brought you back to Tarkin’s compound because Tarkin wanted to question you personally about raiding his compound.”

“What are you getting at?” Hunter questions.

“I have a horrible feeling that Hemlock brought Tech to Tarkin for questioning before he had returned his goggles to you,” you nearly whisper.

“You’re saying you think Tarkin kept Tech imprisoned on Eriadu?!” Hunter exclaims. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” Hunter’s voice grew louder.

You stood there in silence, feeling the guilt wash over.

“Tell me,” Hunter demands.

“Eriadu,” you hesitate. “I don’t exactly want to go back.”

“You and Crosshair are too much alike,” Hunter scowls and turns from you.

“Listen, it’s just a theory,” you look at the ground. “There’s opposing facts too. How would Tech have survived that fall?” Hunter’s shoulders relax, “That’s true.”

“And knowing what I know about Tech, he would have escaped that compound. Or he would have sent us a message. But he never made contact,” you shrug lightly.

Hunter sighs and places his hand on your shoulder. “I’m sorry I got upset,” Hunter apologizes. “I guess there’s a lot we don’t know.”

“And that’s why we’re going,” you assure.

“I made some poor decisions that day as a leader,” Hunter confesses. “If Tech’s death is anyone’s fault, it is mine.”

“Omega told me Tech would have gone to look for Crosshair whether you approved of the mission or not,” you reply. “That’s oddly been a strength for Crosshair through the years.”

“Hmm,” Hunter nods and returns to his groceries. “I meant to ask you,” he pauses and picks up a few more pieces of fruit, “Why in Maker’s name is Crosshair shooting holes in the ceiling?”

“I’m just letting him do his thing,” you roll your eyes. “You know him, picking fights and picking his teeth are the only way he keeps his brain active when there’s no mission. Which… has been his life lately.”

“So that’s what his problem is?” Hunter chuckles. 

“I mean, it makes sense. For a soldier genetically designed to be a sniper, of course his cranial activity would keep him on edge constantly,” you laugh. “Honestly, you two have that in common. It makes sense that you and him butt heads so often.”

“Hmm, I suppose he isn’t guilty of being the only stubborn one,” Hunter notes. He inspects a few more pieces of fruit, places them in his bag, pays the merchant, and turns to you, “Thanks for keeping a close eye on him.”

“I’m surprised he isn’t sick of me yet,” you simper.

“Don’t think he could get sick of you,” Hunter alluded. “None of us had even considered he was a romantic until you turned up.”

_________

Piling into Phee’s ship, Hunter and Phee take the pilot and co-pilot seats. Wrecker sits behind Phee, and you and Crosshair lean against the computer near the door. He reaches for your hand and almost secretly holds it away from his brother’s eyes. You interlace your fingers with his. 

Phee gently takes off from the spaceport and pilots her ship to the sky. With a few smooth actions, she prepares to jump to hyperspace. 

“Are you okay?” Crosshair asks. You hadn’t noticed that your grip around his hand tightened. 

“I’m sorry,” you apologize as you lighten your grip. “I still have a hard time leaving Pabu.”

“I’m what keeps you safe, not that island,” Crosshair reminds you. 

“Right,” you surmise sarcastically.

“Let me at least pretend you need me,” he sighs. 

“I do need you,” you reassure. “You know I’m a good shot, but you know you’re better.”

“How touching,” Crosshair smiles a little, but you notice he’s a little off.

“Are you okay?” You let your voice drop just above a whisper. Suddenly, his prosthetic hand shakes a little in your grip. You feel your eyes widen and meet his equally surprised gaze. He stuffs the mechanical hand into his pocket, shuffles around you, and puts his opposite arm around you to pull you closer.

“I’m fine,” he whispers, but you knew he knew he wasn’t. He holds his breath for what feels like too long before sharply exhaling, “I’m afraid of what we’ll find… I – I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

You nod into his chest and tighten your embrace around him. You whisper, “Thanks for letting me in.”

“Only you,” Crosshair quietly notes.

“Are you two loving nerf herders going to help with the plan?” Hunter called from his seat.

You slide out of Crosshair’s embrace and wink at him before walking to the front of the ship.

“Depends on what you need me to do, Hunter,” you deflect.

“We’re going to land just outside of Eriadu City,” Hunter points to a holomap.

“How will we get to the compound without being seen?” Wrecker asks.

“We walk,” Crosshair sighs.

Wrecker groans.

“If we get into a jam, we’re going to need a pick up,” you point out. 

“I’ll stay in the city close to the ship,” Phee insists.

“Phee — ” You start.

“No,” Phee points at you, “You know the terrain, and you three should be the first on-site, if we find anything,” Phee continues.

“It will be a long hike. The compound is very remote,” you add.

“We know,” Hunter was lost in a gaze at the map. “If we can follow this rail line,” he traces the holomap with his finger, “Then we can find our answers.”

“I’ll keep my comm close,” Phee vacillates. 

You look across the holomap into Phee’s eyes. Her mixed demeanor of determination and melancholy had you worried she wanted to say more. If Crosshair was lost in action, you wouldn’t want to stay with the ship. You’d want to be the one in the forest to find him.

“Will you be okay, Phee?” You ask. 

She turns to you and nods confidently. “I’ve heard great things about Eriadu’s past with pirates. I have some exploring to do,” she turns her expression into a smile.

“Stay safe,” you nod confidently back.

________________________ The ship’s airlock released and you descended the stairs into Eriadu City. The skyscrapers were abundant; the trees significantly larger than memory; the air smelled familiar.

“What’s wrong?” Crosshair asks you, seeing the bewilderment on your face.

“Nothing,” you look back at him and then to the sky once more. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve been here. Even the Republic didn’t have clones last time I was here.”

“Hmm,” he looks up with you and places a toothpick between his lips. 

“Well, where do we go from here?” Hunter looks at you. Displaying the holomap from your device, you trace a path to the city leading to the outskirts.

“We’ll start heading through the city and exit to the south,” you switch off the holomap and place it in your pocket. You inhale the air deeply once more to revel in its familiarity, then place your air-locking helmet on. “We’ll need to stay unnoticed.” Hunter opts to wrap his head in his scarf while keeping his helmet in a bag at his side. Wrecker and Crosshair dawn their helmets and conceal their weapons inconspicuously under their gray ponchos. You kept your blaster at your side, but would attempt to walk between the clones to be less seen. You turn back to the ship to wave Phee off, but she is nowhere to be seen. 

“Is Phee okay?” You ask Wrecker.

“I don’t know. She stayed on the ship,” he relays.

“Ready?” Hunter asks the team. You, Wrecker, and Crosshair give him a nod of approval. Setting off into the city, you stayed closest to Crosshair. You suspect nobody would recognize you in the helmet, but you remain cautious and vigilant. It was an old helmet after all with a bit of a galactic reputation. 

The city was still clean, but with Governor Tarkin’s influence in the Empire, the city was much more Imperial than you remembered. School children wore imperial uniforms, the city's walkway and buildings were monochrome, the speeders were limited in styles, and there was no artistic culture other than the large propaganda posters draping from the skyscrapers. The population however had boomed. 

“See anything familiar?” Crosshair asks.

“No, not really,” you respond while gazing. “Everything’s changed.”

Within two hours or so, the squad reached the edge of the city and started into the jungle. It would be at least a day's walk before you had reached the rail line to the Tarkin compound. 

“Tired yet?” Crosshair nudges Wrecker.

“Not even close,” he banters back with a strong sense of determination.

“What are we up against here in the forest?” Hunter asks you.

Now that you are outside of the public eye, you take your helmet off and run your hand through your hair. “The wildlife is mostly harmless. Nothing we can’t escape or kill.”

“Are there patrols in these forests?” Crosshair asks as he studies the hills through his scope.

“I don’t know. But I wouldn’t be surprised. Tarkin has always been an important political figure on this planet, but now he is nearly indispensable to the Empire. I imagine they’d protect him at all costs and would have heightened security after that Saw Gerrera incident,” you explain. “Sorry for the limited intel,” you add.

“It’s okay. We surprisingly have more intel than last time,” Hunter sighs. “Let’s head in.”

________________________ Back at the ship, Phee leans back into the pilot's seat and ganders across the spaceport's hustle. The large city attracts merchants from all over the galaxy creating hundreds of daily imports and transactions. Phee sighs, stretches, and stands after a few hours of watching the inhabitants. 

She opens the doorway to her ship, slips on her leather satchel, and walks down the stairs into the crowds. Sealing and locking her ship, she doesn’t look back as she begins to walk. Passing various shops and businesses, Phee finds a bar and heads in. 

Approaching the bartending droid, she sits down on a bar stool and leans into the counter. 

“I’ll have whatever he’s having,” she instructs the droid as she points to a random alien across the room.

“Coming right up,” the droid chirps and pours her drink. She catches it as the droid slid it down the bar. She buries her head into her arm and breathes a bit. Reaching for her comm, she picks up her head a little.

“Hunter, what’s your status?” She says confidently.

“Nothing so far. We just made it out of the city,” Hunter reports back. “We’ll check in again soon.”

________________

“All right, now my feet are aching,” Wrecker complains a little. It had been hours of hiking and night would fall soon. “I could rest for a minute too,” you agree and find a rock to sit on.

“How much longer?” Wrecker asks.

You illuminate your holomap and find the rail line to still be a good distance from your current location.

“We’ve made good progress,” Hunter notes. “Should we set up camp now while there’s still daylight or trek through the night?” “Seeing that we haven’t confirmed patrols, setting up camp has its disadvantages,” Crosshair notes. “I feel like we’re being watched.” “I’ve been feeling it too,” Hunter nods. “Have you noticed anything?” He asks you.

You shake your head, “I’ve been nervous since arriving. I’m not sure if my instincts are reliable for this mission.” “Our risk for exposure only increases the closer we get to the compound,” Crosshair mentions.

“True,” Hunter agrees. “We should rest here while we can, but stay alert.”

You and Wrecker nod in agreement. Opening your sac, you pull out your small makeshift tent and begin to pitch it. Crosshair takes one end of the tent and begins setting it up.

“Did you forget your tent on purpose?” You tease him.

“Uh-huh,” he grunts while focusing on setting his side up. You smile at him and pause your work to catch his eye. He notices your gaze and gives you a soft smile back.

Wrecker takes out rations from his pack and begins heating them over a small fire Hunter made. Having finished your camp set up, you and Crosshair join Wrecker and Hunter around the fire. The sky begins to darken and the stars of Eriadu appear, catching your gaze.

“I used to make up stories about these constellations with my brothers,” you say.

“Any good stories?” Wrecker exults. 

“It’s all nonsense really. Crix made up a story about a force-sensitive rancor that terrorized villages of Eriadu,” you laugh. You point up to the sky with your finger, “That group of stars there, that’s the rancor. I think Crix called him Mirax the Destroyer.”

“What other stories do you know?” Hunter asks as he sets down his drink.

“Nothing else that I remember, actually. We never spent time learning what legends actually existed here,” you realize.

“Sounds like an Imperial thing to do,” Crosshair sighs.

“Yeah, I never thought about it like that,” you mutter.

“We’ll take the first watch,” Crosshair changes the subject quickly.

You nod in agreement, “Yeah, Hunter, get some good rest. I’ll be relying on your instincts while mine are a little whacked here.” “Fine,” he narrowly eyes you and Crosshair. “Just stay focused, you two.” Wrecker lets out a loud laugh and slaps Crosshair’s back while Crosshair rolls his eyes in response.

“Obviously, we’ll keep watch,” you groan.

Hunter stands and makes his way to the tent. Wrecker stretches and does the same. 

“Night, you two,” Wrecker laughs.

“Grow up, Wrecker,” Crosshair huffs. “Heh, never,” Wrecker booms back. He lifts the entrance to his tent and lays down inside, his feet sticking out the end. 

Letting the silence sit for a few moments after Hunter and Wrecker’s departure, you wait for Wrecker to begin snoring. After hearing Wrecker’s sounds of sleep echo throughout the camp, you turn your attention towards Crosshair. 

You run your hand up his chest and cradle his jaw in your fingertips, moving his lips closer to yours. He pulls you closer and kisses you slowly. With both hands, you tighten your grip around his poncho and let yourself fall back, pulling him onto you. Crosshair deepens the kiss, dancing his tongue with yours, and buries his hands in your hair. Your eyes close and you breathe him in.

He pulls back suddenly as you begin to say, “It’s been so long since we’ve had a moment to oursel–.”  You notice Crosshair’s attention is no longer on you. Tracing his gaze, you lean your head backwards to see what caught his attention. You didn’t need to look far.

Standing above you was a masked man, pointing his blaster right at you and Crosshair.

_____

Part III. Familiar Face

++++++++++++++++++++ taglist+ lemme know if you want to be added +++++++++++

@heidnspeak @cloneflo99 @megmegalodondon @tentakelspektakel @maniacalbooper

III. Familiar Face

Closure Series

SFW | Crosshair x fem!reader

I. Nightmares of Eriadu & II. Going Home

Warnings: SFW Romance between Crosshair x fem!reader, alcohol, blaster violence, grief, processing grief

Characters involved: Crosshair x fem!reader x Hunter x Phee x Wrecker

Word Count: 4360

___________

Phee exits the bar a little buzzed, but more tired than under the influence. She makes her way back to the ship, listening to passerby conversations as she whisks by. The cold air, surprisingly soft on her cheeks, keeps her alert as her drink wears off with each step. Eriadu’s night life was bustling, but controlled. It seemed the inhabitants of the city enjoyed their leisure time, despite being on a planet with high Imperial standards. 

Phee turns a corner and heads through a crowded alley to return to the spaceport. Lightning shoots through her veins as she picks out a familiar laugh in the crowd. She spins trying to locate the sound, but cannot place where the laugh came from. 

“Now my mind is playing tricks on me,” she says as she returns her focus to the pathway ahead.

The familiar laughter sounds again, she stops in her tracks once more. She spies a crowd of mixed individuals and hears the laughter again. Each step closer, she found her heart racing faster and faster. Her body breaks a sweat and she feels her stomach press against her throat as her anxieties quell her breathing. She touches her forehead in hopes to regain her senses; wondering how her sensibility was so easily lost. She pushes through a few individuals and scans their faces.

Recognizing no one, she releases her held breath. Phee scans the crowd once more then turns to leave, but instead collides into a man trying to brush past her. The contents of her bag spill and she ducts to the ground to gather her things. The man crouches down with her and helps, handing her credits and random collection of treasures back. Phee looks up to see a man with a chiseled jawline and eyepatch. 

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there,” he reports as he catches Phee’s gaze. “I don’t see very well without my helmet.”

Phee studied his cheekbones, hairline, and dark brown eye. Her eyes followed his neckline and down his arm, which was covered by a thick orange armor. The armor had seen some action, as it featured black scuffs and scratches. The armor plating enhanced his shoulder-width, making the man intimidating to stand near.

“Tech?” She vacillates. 

The man didn’t respond, but instead stood up impatiently. Phee rises from the ground to meet his eye once more. 

“You’re Tech, right?” She presses.

He squints like he can’t see well, and hands her a dropped ration bar, “I apologize: I do not know of anyone named ‘Tech,’” he informs. “I will be returning to my party now.” He brushes past Phee and enters back into the crowd. A tall, hairy individual slaps him on the back, “What a rush earlier, Captain Solomon!” 

“If you want to call nearly losing the freighter a ‘rush,’ then I suppose little phases you,” he engages back. Phee reaches for her comm and quietly speaks into it, “Come in, Hunter.” She waits for a response but hears nothing. “Hunter, Wrecker? Anyone.”

She can’t take her eyes off of him. Finding herself to have lost her words, Phee continues to stand in the midst of the bustling crowd dumbfounded, but studying his every move and word. She moves to lean against the alley wall and studies him from afar. 

He was commanding the conversation, leading, and yet, still couldn’t quite look anyone in the eye. Surprisingly, many couldn’t look him in the eyes either – probably due to the eyepatch and scaring – and it leveled the conversational playing field. 

______________________________________________ The blaster slightly quivers as the masked intruder appears nervous. You lay frozen underneath Crosshair, while he looks past the blaster and tries to meet the stranger’s gaze. You reach for your blaster with stealth.

“Easy now,” Crosshair speaks to the armed man. 

“Get off my sister, clone,” a voice from the helmet escapes. 

“Sister?” Crosshair rises to his knees, his hands up to surrender. Your hand freezes at your blaster’s hilt. With your other hand you rub your eyes then stand to meet the masked man’s eyes.

“Crix?” You say as you lower his blaster to the ground. Crosshair relaxes behind you.

The man takes off his helmet, revealing himself to be your brother Crix. It has been years since you’ve seen him. His hair, once shaggy and grown out, was cropped to a soldier's length. His eyes had a new intensity about them.

“What are you doing out here?” You ask him.

“I should be asking you the same thing,” Crix grunts.

“I’m here on business,” you report. 

Crix’s expression shifted from intense to a confused look. “With clones?”

“Do you have a problem with that?” You fire off.

“I followed you from the city,” he sits down around the fire and places his blaster on the ground. “I thought you were their prisoner or something.” “I guess that could have been easy to believe,” you shrug.

“You’re really with them now?” Crix looks up at Crosshair. 

“Yes, for several years now,” you admit as you sit down around the fire once more and take Crosshair’s hand.

“So, why are you here? I thought you were dead,” Crix returns his marveled gaze back to you. 

“They lost a brother here near Uncle’s compound. We’re here to find anything there is to find,” you reveal. 

“Can we trust him?” Crosshair nudges you and whispers. 

You turn and nod, “We can.”

Turning your attention back to Crix, you ask “Why are you here?” “Work,” he shrugs. 

“You look different than when I saw you last. You’re healthier,” you falter.

“I’ve had some help. After some trouble with the Pikes and issues with the spice itself, I found my way back,” he shrugs again. “Uncle offered me a place to stay and a position in his guard.”

Crosshair’s hand trembles against yours: He couldn’t hide his fear of the situation. You questioned if you could trust Crix, but you shook off the thought.

You heard Hunter exit his tent and walk over to the fire.

“Who’s this?” He says.

“Crix, my brother,” you introduce.

“Brother?” Hunter asks. You could hear the worry in his voice.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” you swore.

Hunter sits down nervously. The fire continues to stir and crackle. 

“Well, I’m glad you had a change of heart,” Crix starts. “Are you also working for Uncle? I hadn’t heard anything, but then again, they never tell me anything.”

“What do you mean working for Unc — ” Hunter begins, but you punch his arm to shut him up.

“That was for burning my meal earlier,” you bark at Hunter. Hunter recognizes your act and falls silent. You sit up tall again and brush off your top. “Yes, Uncle knows I’m here with my Imperial unit to investigate the fallen,” you improvise.

Hunter returns his gaze to the fire realizing you had saved the squad from his close mistake. You feel his worry return; and then recognize the situation to be far more unsafe and your improvisation would likely make things worse.

Crix thinks you’re Imperial and working with clones. Doesn’t he know they’re decommissioned at this point? You think to yourself.

Crix looks at the clones and pauses, taking in their lack of soldier appearance and demeanor. He studies their face tattoos, messy hair, Hunter’s lack of armor, and returns to look at Crosshair and raises his eyebrow, “And you were… With this clone earlier.”

“I’ll do what I want,” you shrug. 

“And these clones are rather,” Crix hesitates.

“Say it,” you snake. You realize he was catching on.

“Old,” he admits and places a hand back on his blaster as your story suddenly felt fishy.

Hunter and Crosshair pull their weapons on him.

“Don’t even think about it,” Crosshair snaps.

“Old, but fast,” Hunter takes aim.

“Don’t,” you stand and motion them to lower their weapons. Instead, you hear Crosshair set his blaster to stun.

“I can’t do that,” Crosshair stands next to you. 

“You aren’t Imperial then, are you?” Crix looks crushed. “I — I don’t want to do what I have to.” He starts to move his hand towards his comm and raises his blaster.

Like lightning, you draw your blaster and stun him. “Then you won’t have to,” you sigh. Crix hits the ground and you feel your heart shatter.

His comm sounds, “Crix? Crix, what’s your status?” “Damn,” you kick dirt on Crix. “I should have stayed on the ship.” 

“They’ll come for him soon,” Crosshair put a hand on your shoulder. “We need to leave.”

“Wrecker!” Hunter calls to his tent as he darts towards his own. “Wrecker! We need to go!”

Wrecker’s tent shifts from side to side as he crawls out. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks.

You run to his tent to help him tear down.

“We’ve been compromised,” you admit.

“We were followed” Crosshair adds as he tears down the tent you never shared.

Camp was torn down quickly and you found yourself spending too much time slowly kicking the fire out. Your tears sizzled into the black charcoal. Crosshair calmly puts his arms around you.

“I’m sorry,” you say into his chest to hide your eyes. “You knew something was off and I didn’t listen.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Crosshair affirms. “But we have to go.”

“Do we call Phee for a pickup or continue into the forest?” Wrecker asks Hunter.

Hunter illuminates the holomap. 

“If we move fast, Phee can extract us from the midway point of the rail line,” Hunter says.

“It’s risky,” Crosshair mentions. “It’s likely he told someone we’re here before he made his approach,” he motions towards Crix.

“But we’re not coming back to Eriadu anytime soon,” Hunter sighs. “And – I’m done leaving our own behind.” Crosshair, caught off-guard by the comment, looks into Hunter’s eyes and exchanges a sorrowful expression. “Then we gotta move fast,” Wrecker stretches his quads out.

“Let’s go,” Hunter orders.

The squad begins running through the forest. Moving as quickly as you could, it would still take over an hour on foot to reach the intersection with the gondola line. You dig in and move quickly.

“Phee?” Hunter comms in. “Come in, Phee.”

“Hunter?” Phee exclaims. “Sorry I haven’t stayed in touch. I found something… Interesting.” 

Hunter slows his pace, “What do you mean interesting?” “I found a man that looks like Tech. But I haven’t confirmed if it’s him,” Phee informs.

“What do you mean, looks like Tech?” Hunter gasps for air as he continues to run.

“I mean, I called him Tech and he didn’t respond. But he looks like him, acts like him — sounds like him — ,“ Phee was interrupted.

“It could have been any clone,” Hunter blurts.

“No, I recognized him. It’s him. I can feel it,” Phee explains.

“Well, whether it’s him or not, this will need to wait,” Hunter mentions. “We’re going to need a pickup sooner than we thought.” “No, you’ll need to wait,” Phee indicates. “I’m going to put a tracker on his ship.”

“Phee, we’ve been compromised,” Hunter picks up his pace again. “Will you be at the extraction point or not?”

“I’ll be on my way, but I’m not letting him out of my sight until that tracker is placed,” Phee argues back. Hunter sighs heavily out of frustration, “Fine. Do what you want, then come pick us up at the midway point in the railway.”

“Well, this is going well,” Crosshair interjects.

“Move faster,” Hunter banters back.

________________________

Phee silently follows the pirate brigade back to their ship. It was a large cargo ship, built to sustain the large crew that followed the man they referred to as “Captain Solomon.” They file into their ship as Phee switches on her tracking device and magnetically seals it to the hull. 

“Now, don’t you go anywhere that I can’t follow,” she says as she looks up at the ship. She sneaks away to find her own ship.

________________________

“What is it?” Crosshair notices Hunter’s expression change and his pace slow.

“There are two speeders up ahead,” he gasps for air. “Plan 44.”

“Plan 44?” Wrecker says confused.

Hunter inhales deeply and tries to stand up straight again, “I’m getting too old for this.”

“What’s Plan 44?” Wrecker tries the room again.

“Just be ready if I miss my shot,” Crosshair sighs and fixes his scope on the incoming traffic. 

He side-eyes you quickly, “On my mark, throw a detonator into the air near that treeline.”

You grab a thermal detonator from your pack and switch it on. You hear the speeders approach. They hadn’t come into view, but Crosshair engaged.

“Throw it,” Crosshair instructs. You throw it high into the air and towards the speeders. Crosshair makes the shot and it explodes in the air, creating a loud, smoky diversion. 

“Get ready,” Hunter crouches and pulls out his gun. 

The first speeder exits the smoke cloud and Crosshair shoots its engine, causing it to explode instantaneously. The second speeder rams into the first, igniting its own engines. Crosshair shoots the engine anyway, causing a second explosion.

“Well, they’ll know we’re here now,” Crosshair looks at Hunter.

“Just keep moving,” Hunter begins to jog again and takes out his comm. “Phee, what’s your status?” 

“I’m leaving the spaceport now,” Phee reports back.

“This’ll be close,” Hunter sighs.

The railway in the sky comes into view as you summit a hill. 

“There it is,” Wrecker lifts his helmet to take in the view.

“We need to keep moving,” Crosshair reminds him.

The squad runs down the hill and continues towards the rail line. Hunter begins to look for the peak the rail connects to.

“That’s where we crashed,” he points and traces the line. “So, about there is where he would have landed.”

It was still a good distance out. The team continued to job through the forest on high-alert. Surprisingly, there weren’t any speeders to follow up.

“Did we destroy the patrol? And was that a standard patrol? Perhaps they didn’t know we were here,” you say.

“I don’t think we’re that lucky,” Crosshair pants.

“I guess we’ll see,” you try to keep some hope. 

After another twenty minutes of jogging, the rail line was just overhead.You knew Phee would arrive soon, leaving the team only a few minutes to find what they could. The ground beneath the rail was overgrown, rough with rocks, and damp from rainfall. Crosshair sighs as you knew his perfect eyesight offered no advantage in finding clues here. 

“Hunter!” Wrecker calls, “You’re gonna want to see this.” Hunter jogs over to Wrecker. You and Crosshair exchange glances and follow. Wrecker stands looking over a ditch in silence. With a sinking feeling, you and Crosshair climb the hill to look into the ravine with Wrecker. You felt yourself gasp at the view.

“It’s the rail car,” Crosshair nearly whispers.

“Come on,” Hunter jumps into the ditch to investigate. The squad follows.

“Wrecker, get this open,” Hunter points at the door as the open ends of the rail had been consumed by nature.

“On it,” Wrecker stretches and grabs the inside of the door jam and forces it open. The cart was empty and intact.

“He may be under it,” Hunter realizes.

“On it,” Wrecker returns to the exterior and begins lifting the cart. It hardly budges due to the tree limbs and roots that had grown through it. You crouch down and look through the crevice that Wrecker created from lifting it.

“Can you see anything?” Hunter asks.

You click your flashlight on and investigate. It’s dark underneath, but even with the flashlight, nothing of importance stuck out.

“We’ll have to lift this entire car up if we’re to tell if anything is here,” you report back.

“We can anchor the car to Phee’s ship,” Crosshair suggests.

You hear a ship in the distance and get up from the ground. “I think I hear her coming,” you say.

“That’s not Phee,” Crosshair cautions as he sees the incoming vessel. 

“Uh oh,” Wrecker looks upward.

“Shit,” you could see the Imperial vessel headed your way. 

“Hide. They knew they’d find us here,” Crosshair says.

“I agree,” Hunter nods. 

Crosshair, Hunter, and Wrecker brush past you heading further into the trees. You stayed staring upwards, begging your legs to move. 

“Come on!” You hear Crosshair yell. You take a step back, then another. 

But you were too slow; there was no escape.

The Imperial ship lands just ahead of you beside the rail car. You addressed the nervous, sinking feeling you had felt since you arrived on Eriadu: your uncle Governor Tarkin was home.

Tarkin slinks down the ship’s ramp, standing tall; his hands positioned behind his back as he likely rehearsed in front of mirrors. His silver hair slicked back, eyes focused, and clothes freshly pressed. Crix follows behind him, his head down as he was afraid to meet your eyes. You draw your blaster as you eye the rest of Tarkin’s guard exits the ship.

“Welcome home,” Tarkin calls to you.

“Where’s your Jedi pet?” You snark back, referring to his dear Lord Vader.

“Attending other duties,” he scoffs and looks at his nails. “No, I’m afraid you won’t escape today.”

“Just watch me,” you threaten effortlessly.

“Crix, take her into custody,” Tarkin motions Crix forward. “Guard, look for the old clones.” Crix walks towards you and takes your hand to place into a cuff. “Guess you should have killed me when you had the chance,” he whispers close to your ear.

“You don’t have to do this,” you sigh. “You have a choice.”

Crix takes your other hand and places it into the cuff, but doesn’t lock either side. 

“You were always braver than me,” he squeezes your hands softly. 

The blaster fire erupts from the treeline as Clone Force 99 engages with Tarkin’s guard. You turn to see one of his guard members blast into the air from one of Wrecker’s explosions, followed up by an onslaught of blaster fire from Hunter and Crosshair.

“Uncle should have brought back up,” you smile.

You hear Phee’s ship in the distance; time was running out to search for Tech; but you felt relief. You look at Governor Tarkin, who was taking out his comm device. You pulled your blaster and fired a shot at him, knocking his comm unit from his hand. You switch to stun and approach him, shooting multiple stun blasts his way. One finally hits and sinks him to the ground. You walk over to him with Crix and begin to drag Tarkin into his shuttle. 

“Do you ever just want to kill him?” Crix bluntly asks as you and him heave Tarkin’s body up the ramp.

“Yeah, I’ve had that thought cross my mind,” you admit. “But family is family, even if they hate you.”

“I wish he saw it that way,” Crix sighs. “He really hates you. It doesn’t make sense to him that you’re happy without the Empire… Without the family.”

“Will you come with us?” You propose.

Crix shook his head, “Maybe it’s not a bad thing for the both of us if I stay.”

You nod without the energy to fight him on it, “I still have your back, Crix, should you ever need me.”

“Go,” Crix smiles softly at you. “I have your back too.”

“I’ll see you around then,” you give your brother a hug, then exit the shuttle. The ramp closes with a cloud of air as the door seals.

Crix pilots the shuttle and lifts off towards the compound.

“Will he send reinforcements?” Hunter asks you as the team walks to your side.

“I don’t think so,” you watched Crix fly off. “Crix i’s playing both sides now.”

Phee’s ship comes into view and hovers above the trees. The squad meets at the railcar and prepares to lift it.

“Phee, send down a line. We’re going to move the railcar from the ground,” Hunter asks.

“Are we going to run into trouble? I just saw a shuttle leave,” Phee answers back unnerved.

“I think I just added a new crime to my Imperial record,” you respond, “But I think we’ll be okay for a little bit.”

Phee’s cables from the ship begin to descend to the ground. “A new crime?” Crosshair lightly grins.

“I stunned Tarkin,” you shrug.

“That must have felt marvelous,” he chuckles as he grabs one of the cables and attaches it to the frame of the car. Hunter grabs the second and attaches it to the opposite end. Everyone stands back from the car.

“Lift off slightly, Phee,” Hunter instructs.

With a terrible noise of scraping metal, the railcar begins to lift from the ground as Phee propels upward carefully. Branches snap, the Earth slightly rumbles, and the railcar floats above ground as Phee moves it off to the side. 

“Phee, set it down there.,” Hunter comms again.

Phee sets the railcar down a few hundred feet away from the squad. Wrecker and Crosshair run to remove the cables, then Phee lands her ship near the treeline. She runs from the cockpit and descends the stairs to join you.

The squad runs to where the car lifted from and investigates. The ground was soft, but there was nothing remarkable about it. You maintain a respectful demeanor as you search for bones or ripped clothing. There was nothing. Not even Tech’s legendary data pad could be found.

“Well, if he was here, he isn’t now,” Wrecker observes audibly. “The car would have crushed him unless he had moved from its path somehow.”

“Could he have?” Hunter asks him, knowing Wrecker and Omega watched him fall.

“I don’t know,” Wrecker shrugs, “If it was me, I don’t think I could have avoided it. He severed the car’s connection to the rail, but not his connection to the car.”

“So where’s his line?” Phee surmised.

The group turns towards the railcar once more. Wrecker jumps on top to inspect. He kneels down and in a victorious pose, holds Tech’s anchor point above his head. 

“Found it!” Wrecker exclaims. He begins to wind it around his elbow and wrist, but finds the end of the line to be severed.

“He or something severed it,” Crosshair resounds.

“He could be anywhere then,” Hunter looks around.

You sharply exhaled upon realizing you’d never find him.

“What?” Crosshair turns to you.

“Nobody could have survived that fall,” you mutter as you gaze upwards to the rail line. “If he wasn’t underneath the car, then…” You wince as you resumed, “He was eaten by the scavenging creatures in the woods. Or worse, collected by the Empire.”

“No, he wasn’t,” Phee confidently joins in. “I just saw him.”

Your eyebrows immediately furrow and you, Wrecker, and Crosshair look to Phee in confusion.

“What do you mean?” Wrecker asks.

“Phee, you could have seen anyone,” Hunter sighs, “I think I see Tech all the time.”

“No,” Phee stood her ground. “I placed a tracker on his ship, next stop —- “ She looked at her datapad and turned the screen to face you and the team, “Agomar.”

“That’s not far from here,” Wrecker looks at Hunter. 

“Hunter, you need to see him for yourself,” Phee places her hands on her hips.

“Phee,” Hunter begins, but finds himself speechless as he couldn’t extinguish her loving flame. 

Her eyes grew intense; you couldn’t say “no.” You knew Phee wouldn’t make this up, so you made the first move.

“I, for one, am sick of this planet, so let's go,” you breathe as you walk towards her ship. Crosshair follows close. “I’m buying everyone a drink on Agomar.”

“Fine,” Hunter sighs and turns to Phee, “We’ll go to Agomar with you, but don’t get your hopes up.” He pauses and takes in the surroundings of Eriadu once more, “He’s gone, Phee.”

______________

You climb the ship’s stairs and head straight to a bunk to lay down. You pull off your helmet and let it fall to the floor as you collapse into the bunk. Your head was spinning and you couldn’t tell if it was the lack of sleep or food causing it. Or perhaps your sudden nausea was from seeing your brother for the first time in years. Maybe it was surviving yet another interaction with your Uncle. You turn into the ship’s wall in hopes of finding some peace as the others piled into the ship. 

You felt a hand on your shoulder slide down your arm and slender body climb into the bunk with you. Crosshair presses a short kiss into the nape of your neck and holds you close. He speaks low and quietly to you.

“You okay?” He asks.

“I’m just… Processing,” you say as you take his hand into yours and hold it close to your chest. “Are you okay?” You return the question.

“Hmmm,” you hear him grimace. You turn in his embrace to hold him tighter. “I’m – also processing.”

Letting your arms sweep over and under his neck, you pull him close as he rolls you on top of him. You pull one arm out from under his head to lay on his chest and rest your chin on. He looks at you so softly, then leans back into the pillow to close his eyes.

“The last time I saw Tech, he left me on Kamino,” he hesitates. “I’ve felt his absence for a long time, but…” He breathes in deeply and exhales with control. “Seeing that car – I felt his death.”

“I’m so sorry you lost him, Crosshair,” you try to console or at least let him know you’re listening.

“Tech always understood me, even when he didn’t agree with me,” Crosshair opens his eyes and chuckles for a moment before the somber expression overtakes him again. He shuts his eyes again and furrows his eyebrows, “I miss him.”

“Do you need to be alone?” You ask, trying to gauge Crosshair’s mood.

“No, don’t go,” he holds you tighter. You lay your head down on his chest and let your arms sweep and drape to his sides. You lay there in silence, knowing neither of you would sleep well as waking nightmares of family, alive and dead, plagued your minds.

-------------------

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