Whumpril Day 9 - Tumblr Posts
Whumpril Day 9: Held Down/Bruises/"Who Did This To You?"
Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch
Warning: Violence
Summary: A story of how the regs treated Tech when they were younger.
Tech stared at the reg that held him to the floor. The floor was cold and hard and the reg was harsh and judgmental. The fight that had broken out wasn't long but wasn't short. Tech's googles laid broken on the ground. Blood spilled from his split lip and nose. The regs hands were bloody from the landing blows he had given the other.
Grabbing Tech's head, he shoved it into the ground. Tech struggled to get out from underneath the clone. His body was in so much pain. Friends of the reg watched and laughed. The struggle continued as the clone beat his 'brother'.
Thinking of what to do next Tech moved to the side slightly which surprised his attacker. Despite his condition, Tech moved out from underneath the clone and stood. One of the other boys grabbed him and had him pinned to the wall almost immediately after he stood.
Tech breathed heavily and waited to figure out his next move. The regs were stronger than him. They would have to leave him alone eventually so for now he gave up and let them tear him apart. Fighting felt useless. He would just have to deal with the injuries given to him.
Once the regs had had their fun they let him go. Tech slid down the wall they never let him leave and stayed there until he felt safe to get up. He stood and grabbed his googles. Looking down at them there was a small crack in the glass. He sighed and started to walk back to his barracks.
Back in the barracks, Tech started to take care of his injuries. He stood up and walked over to the table that some bandages rested on. Then Crosshair walked in. "Tech?" He walked over to his brother. Going to grab a bandaid he brushed his brother's arm. Tech flinched and moved back slightly.
Crosshair stopped and took a look at the other. "Who did this to you?" he sneered.
"Some regs."
"Well no shit. Do you know which ones?"
"I do."
"Well then who did this to you?" Crosshair started to raise his voice.
"No. You will fight them."
"Tech, tell me who did this to you?"
"No, you will fight them. I do not want you to fight them."
"Fine, I won't fight them. Now who the fuck did this to you?" The frustration took control of his vocal cords and the boy yelled at Tech.
Tech flinched at the noise. He pulled his arms slightly upwards, "I'm sorry!" He yelped, panicked.
"Fuck" Crosshair whispered. He hadn't meant to scare him. "Fine. Don't tell me."
Tech relaxed and looked at his brother, "I'm sorry. I know you won't hurt me. That was a response to the attack from earlier."
"It's fine."
Later the two would meet with their other two batch mates for training. When asked what happened Tech simply explained that some of the other cadets had beaten him up. He said that he didn't want to talk about it and luckily neither Wrecker nor Hunter pressed.
The tight blacks and armor rubbed against his skin, hitting every bruise. It hurt to move, it hurt to breathe; but Tech had to ignore the pain for the sake of training in the same way he would ignore it for the sake of a mission. The bruises stung as reminders that he wasn't strong enough. How could he be a soldier if his supposed comrades hated him? And for what; because he was different?
The batch never failed a training exercise and this one would be no expectation. The pain from moving around so much caused Tech to almost collapse at the door on the way out. Wrecker tried to help him up but the pressure on the bruises hurt more than standing.
Back in the barracks, Tech laid down on his bunk and tried to get some rest. Laying on his back startled the boy so he laid on his side. He would heal but for now the fear of the regs was to stay. The batch watched him closer; not that he'd ever know. Tech was an easy target, he wasn't the strongest and he didn't always understand what was going on until too late. They loved their brother dearly and hated to see people using his differences to pick at him.