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girls dont even read posts anymore they just see my chemical romance and hit reblog

Fun fact:

In my quest to write Star Wars accurately enough to make things mildly believable but in doing so makes it annoying when trying to yada yada my way through things, I’ve discovered that in the Star Wars universe, human pregnancies are measured differently because SW works on a different calendar year.

Putting the rest of this under the cut because more talk of pregnancy, so don’t read if you don’t like that kinda stuff

“But Prior!” You cry out, “How long are SW pregnancies then?”

Operating under the assumption that it’s the same gestation period for human pregnancies in both universes, people in the Star Wars universe would not refer to it as 9 months, but instead they would say 8 months.

So for us, a gestation period lasts about 280 days, which divide that by 7 days a week gives you 40 weeks. And 40 weeks divided by some 4.3 weeks in a month gives you about 9 months, give or take.

Now, we can start with the same gestation period in Star Wars because again, we’re still talking about humans.

280 days divided by 5 days a week for them is 56 weeks, and they have 7 weeks in a month so that gives you 8 months.

-ish, because they also have 3 festival weeks and 3 holidays outside of their 10 month calendar that all adds up to 368 days in a year and idk how that would affect things. Also none of this is considering premature births or being overdue. I’m only taking the average numbers.

Or I could just be talking out of my ass. Nobody check my math. I also haven’t read a lot of the books, canon, legends, EU, or otherwise, so idk if it’s ever mentioned outside of the repcomm series, but I’m not counting those because Etain force manipulated her gestation period to make it like 6 months or something, I don’t remember exactly off the top of my head.

But.

Look at me.

Look at me.

This is my canon now.

Not out ranking all of us anymore Sergeant

Did u brush ur hair 2day?

yeah and I left all the hair from the brush on your bunk

I really really REALLY loved this story omg I wish their was more!!!!!

The Truth (The Mandalorian x Reader part 18)

Word Count: 4937

Posted on: July 6th, 2020 

Taglist is OPENED 

MASTERLIST

Gif is not mine 

Keep reading

If I have learned anything about Temuera Morrison in the last 20 years it’s that if he’s left alone with anything for long enough he will play with it.

the person i reblogged this from deserves to be happy

Oh my god bestie. How do you manage to out do yourself with every thing you write I swear?! You were 100% right when you said I’d love this chapter. I am in love it’s so beautiful and feral ugh. It may have took me like a million hours to read because migraines suck but I pushed through and I regret nothing.

Chapter 6 - Luminescence

Noctilucent: a Hunter Love Story

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Chapter List

Read it on AO3! Or here below the cut

Summary: Lav and Hunter are finally free from the Empire after the horrifying events on Geonosis. Perhaps the aftermath of trying to deal with it will finally allow them to better foster their relationship, as well as plan for possibilities of what could happen next.

Tags/Warnings: some light angst, mentions of death, minor hints to PTSD. Smut at the end, 18+ NSFW, minors DNI. Outdoor sex, vaginal unprotected sex (but please wrap it in real life please), oral sex (female receiving) and vaginal fingering, some praise, lots of romance and Hunter being a sexy hunk.

Word count: 8.7k

Playlist: Before you fall asleep by jhove, Like dust in space by Plastic Patina

(taglist at the bottom)

The whirring of the shuttle’s engines in hyperspace seemed to bring her peace. Lavender sat cross-legged on the large bed in the bedroom of the luxurious shuttle, a detail she and Hunter had only bothered to notice when the adrenaline and fright of their near-death sentence had faded. Fancy glassware, stocks of packed gourmet food and even fresh ingredients, recreational devices, music, alcohol… upon sight, this was clearly the shuttle of a rich Imperial, not that of a couple of fugitives running for their life. At least that would hide them for a while.

Hunter’s silhouette appeared under the door frame. He’d removed the Imperial armor he never liked from the waist up; his blacks, while still discreetly displaying the Imperial crest, made him appear more natural. The ingot necklace that dangled from his neck provided Lav with a safe spot to keep her eyes fixed on as memories and worries of what happened on Geonosis were replaced by good ones she’d spent with Hunter. His beauty provided some solace as well, and when she saw him smile, she knew it was a gesture directed solely at her, all for the purpose of making her smile too.

“That’s not a bad idea, actually,” Lav said, beginning to remove her armor. Unlike Hunter, she removed all of it, reaching for a large scarf she’d already noticed hiding in one of the closets, long and made of pale blue silk. She tied it around her waist in a makeshift skirt so as to not leave her hips exposed, a feeling often caused by only being in her blacks.

Hunter watched from the door frame, taking in every intricacy of her movements until she made her way to sit back down on the bed. With calm steps, he got in the bed as well and sat next to her, not thinking much as his instincts led him to wrap his arms around her once more and pull her close to him. His lips remained pressed onto her temple, kissing the soft skin from time to time, as the two remained in silence until Lav looked up at him.

She knew his eyes never failed to show any emotion, and at that time, despite everything going on, the only thing Hunter showed was concern for her. He tried, and mostly failed, to remain calm and strong, and instead his vulnerability showed. Despite that, Lav could see the love in it as well, and that made her smile for the first time since… well, she’d rather not think much of that again.

But some remnants of it did linger in her, and soon, her smile turned sad; she went from gently holding Hunter to clinging to him, throwing her arms around him. He gently cupped her face, stroking her cheek as she leaned into the warmth of his palm. Her eyes grew teary, but no drops fell from them—Hunter knew he’d crumble if he saw another tear come out of her. Instead, he just held her impossibly closer to him, pressing his forehead onto hers.

Lav then leaned in and kissed his lips softly, her hand now caressing the left side of his face where his intimidating tattoo contrasted with the sweetness of his heart. With a shaky breath, she looked him in the eyes with too many emotions for Hunter to decipher, although he did recognize the dominant one to be gratitude.

“Hunter…” Lav said between kisses. “Hunter, the way you leapt in…”

Hunter softly scoffed. “I know.”

“That was so brave,” she whimpered, kissing him again. “You’re so brave, Hunter… You’re insane, but you’re so brave.”

Hunter laughed softly and met her kisses halfway, looking softly into her eyes with that kind smile of his. He kissed her again and a flash of Geonosis went past his eyes, compelling him to envelope her with his figure. His broad shoulders covered her easily and his arms caged her, surrounding her with his warmth; only then would he be able to convince himself she was safe. His hand stroked the back of her head, her hair let loose down her back and wavy by the braid that was there before, and his fingers gently untangled some strands of her hair.

“I would have done that and more for you,” Hunter whispered. “I would do anything for you, Lav.”

Lav wondered if Hunter could feel the way her lips trembled as she nuzzled into his chest. Next to her rested the ingot necklace she’d come to love so much, the cool metal fogging up as her breath brushed over it. She then looked up at him as much as she could, refusing to part her body from his, resting her head on his shoulder as he continued to stroke the back of her head.

“How are you?” He asked her.

Lav took a deep breath to stabilize herself before speaking. “My head’s clearer now, which means I can finally think now.”

Hunter felt a bitter wave wash over him. “That’s not always good.”

“My point exactly,” she said softly, looking up at him. “Hunter, what are we going to do now?”

He sighed. “I’ve put in coordinates for the most remote planet I know of. Last I checked, it was inhabited by a few villagers, but there’s no Imperial presence there. We should be fine.”

“When did you last check that?”

“Shortly before leaving Daro.”

“Why?”

Hunter’s gaze drifted to the ground. “Remember that night at the forest?”

Lav’s gaze softened. “You know I do.”

And how could she ever forget how beautiful Hunter looked under the night sky, or the way the herd of bunnies surprised them? Much less the way Hunter primally held her, was less than inches away from kissing her, how he proposed her to run away with him.

“Well, I already had the routine of looking up remote planets not occupied by the Empire,” he explained. “Mostly to give myself an idea of where my brothers could be…”

Lav sighed. That was a whole other bantha in the room, but before bringing that up, she wanted to let Hunter finish.

“Even if I don’t know for sure where they are, or if I can’t act on any leads I get, I like to know,” Hunter said. “After that night, I did the usual checkup, just in case.”

Lav backed up a bit to better look at Hunter. “Remember why we stayed?”

“Because the Empire put us in a difficult position by giving us an important part in Geonosis.”

“No, I meant—”

“Lavender, no. I know what you’re thinking, it’s not true.”

She sighed again. “Hunter, I ruined everything we were staying for. Hasn’t it occurred to you that your brothers might be in danger? My family? I should have just kept my mouth shut about the slavery thing, I never should have sent that message. Who know if Grandma even read it?”

“Lav,” Hunter said softly as his hand traveled down to her neck, cupping sweetly as he pulled her close again. “Lav, it’s okay. It wasn’t worth it if they were willing to kill you, and they were.”

Lav felt her thoughts quieting down the longer she looked him in the eyes. It went from a turmoil of uncertainty and injustice to simply three faces living in her thoughts.

“I need to go to Pantora,” she said.

“Not now, it’ll be the first place the Empire will look for you.”

“How do we know they’ll even look for me?”

“They like to make examples,” Hunter said darkly. “They’ll want to find you if only to show everyone else what happens to deserters.”

“I have no choice.”

“I really don’t think they’ll go after your grandma and sisters,” Hunter comforted her. “Education and funding might be cut off, but they won’t hurt them any more than that. What you need to do now is lay low, got it?”

Lav knew Hunter was right about having to hide for some time, but the thought of not seeing her Grandma and sisters for a while devastated. She at least had to know that they were okay, give some sort of all clear signal so that they knew they had nothing to worry about even if they weren’t apart. She didn’t know if Hunter’s predictions would be right, but she’d cling to that hope for the time being. She thought about sending a message of some kind, but if her previous one had been intercepted, whatever she sent then would be begging for trouble.

Lav got up from the bed and made her way out into the shuttle’s main hall that led to the cockpit. The windshield and few windows on the shuttle all were full of the sight of hyperspace, and for a moment everything seemed still. She noticed Hunter had dimmed the lights; it didn’t surprise her he’d be more comfortable that way. Tiny flecks and highlights from the shuttle’s décor gleamed in the darkness like a small reminder of the good things that could come even of that, and the fact was, she and Hunter weren’t in the Empire’s hands anymore.

Hunter walked up behind her, his hands set carefully on her shoulders. She turned around and rested her hands on his forearms, looking up at him almost shyly.

“What about your brothers?”

Hunter shrugged. “If I don’t know where they are, neither will the Empire. They’ll be fine.”

“We can’t underestimate the Empire.”

“Lav, my brothers can do what an army can’t. Believe me when I tell you, they’ll be fine.”

“Have you thought of… you know.”

“Tracking them?”

Lav’s lips slightly tilted into a smile in approval, and in response, Hunter’s gaze drifted to the side, almost hopeful. With his hands, he gently held Lav’s waist before looking back at her, still clearly deep in thought.

“It’s a possibility,” he said.

Lav tilted her head, clearly dissatisfied by his response.

“I mean I really don’t know where they could be,” Hunter replied, partly amused by the way she reacted. “There are few things I’d love more than to see them again.”

“That’s more like it,” Lav told him. “We’ll figure it out, alright?”

“But first you need to lay low,” Hunter said. “Understood?”

“Is that what you were like as a soldier in the Clone Wars?”

“If you saw me back in the Clone Wars, you’d be amazed,” he chuckled.

“In a good way?”

“I hope so,” he said. “I was reckless. We all were. But we got things done better than anyone else.”

“Oh?” she purred at him, pressing herself more onto Hunter. “You’re right, I’ve never seen you in action, captain.”

Hunter chuckled, but his silence caught Lav’s attention. For a moment, she thought back to how he’d fought on Geonosis, but she didn’t want to bring it up now that both of their moods were starting to improve.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to remind you,” she said. “I don’t want to think of Geonosis anymore either.”

“No, it wasn’t that,” he said, his voice soft and deep like a warm caramel glazing over her. His arms around her tightened, and while Lav expected him to be upset, he directed her a smile instead. In that smile, she knew he was full of nostalgia.

“Well, what is it?”

“Don’t call me captain,” he said, the smile still prominent on his lips. “It’s sergeant.”

“Oh,” Lav’s hinting smile returned. Her fingers treaded lightly up Hunter’s chest, stopping just below the ingot necklace as she perked her nose up and brought her lips close to his. “Sergeant.”

The giggle she let out after saying the world riled him up; shaking his head softly, Hunter laughed softly, not only at her acceptance of the term but also because she was finally smiling again. Plus, her voice speaking his old rank continued hovering through his mind like a gift to his enhanced hearing, sweet and soothing to his troubled soldier mind.

“I should have known hearing you say it would do things to me,” he said.

“What sort of things?” Lav prompted him as her hands traveled up to his shoulders. With a low chuckle that sent sparks through all of Lav’s body, Hunter firmly secured her back and spun her around, tilting her body so he’d be supporting all her weight. She yelped in surprise, and Lav’s laugh after that was soft and playful as her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

“You’ll see,” Hunter said before pressing his lips onto hers, his kissing now passionate as opposed to the careful treading from earlier. Lav continued to giggle into the kiss as Hunter straightened them both back up. Their passionate kissing came to a stop and they looked each other in the eyes, their fire momentarily replaced by care, a very subtle hesitation they mutually took so as to make sure the other one was okay.

Lav smiled ever so softly at Hunter and made his heart melt; his grip on her tightened again, this time involuntarily as he smiled greater than ever at her.

“How long before we arrive to this planet?” Lav whispered.

“Oh, we’ve got time,” Hunter answered. “When I said this planet was remote, I meant it. We’ll even be able to sleep, how’s that sound?”

The words we and sleep lingered over them until they both realized what was happening, and just when Hunter was about to take back what he’d said, he felt Lav pulling on him, bringing his lips back down to hers. The kiss was no longer raw passion, nor was it fearful, it was rather a message that Lav wanted Hunter there with her. Carefully, Lav stepped back into the bedroom, never breaking contact with Hunter for fear of wasting another precious moment in which she could be with him.

She led him to the bed where they sat at the edge of the mattress, the only thought on her mind being that of finally spending a night in his arms, next to his warmth, guaranteeing no harm could come to her. Since she laid eyes on him, all she ever wanted was to hear his heartbeat and feel him close to her. At that moment, sitting on the bed, Lav finally felt like she could drown out everything else.

She lied down on the bed, her big eyes looking at Hunter with a gleam of innocence that made him hesitate. He knew himself really well and was all too familiar with his instincts taking over, and although Lav was doing much better, showing him she wanted him, and they both clearly wanted to get more intimate, Hunter didn’t want to make her think even for a second she was under pressure.

“Lav, nothing has to happen right now,” Hunter said softly.

“I know, sweetheart. I know,” she smiled.

“How much are you comfortable with?”

Lav took a moment to think, and while she was aching in more ways than one for Hunter, a part of her told her to hold back from the whole thing. A gut feeling, yeah, that’s what it was, and it told her to wait, like there was something better ahead. After realizing that, Lav directed her charming smile at Hunter and caressed his cheek, gently twirling a few strands of his hair in her fingers.

“At least kiss me,” she said.

Hunter chuckled and lied his body on top of hers, barely hovering over her lips. “I’ll never say no to that.”

His body molded itself to hers as gravity helped them become one for that moment; their lips continued their dance, and every touch and trace Lav brushed over Hunter’s clothed skin set him on a fire that craved more—not just in the physical sense. Hunter wanted everything with her, he couldn’t wait for the days ahead in which he could be a free man in her. See her at sunrise, kiss her at sunset, cradle her in his arms under the stars and the moonlight. Lav was that which he never pictured having, but now he couldn’t live without. He would never be able to live fully without Lav, and he was fine with that. He was determined to keep her.

All those thoughts swarming in Hunter’s mind drove his lips in stronger, determined movements. His tongue brushed past Lav’s lips and he enjoyed every drop of her, moaning into her lips, his low voice sending soft vibrations down her body. And Lav knew just how to handle Hunter; her fingers lightly tugged his beautiful locks, sending Hunter into bliss and only tipping his kisses from passionate to feral. No space was left between their bodies, they were all that existed to one another, and Lav’s tugging on Hunter’s hair drew low growls from him, only dipping her completely in him.

With time, the fires of their kissing faded to smoke, and a soft love and care replaced them. Lav barely noticed; she was already dosing off to sleep the moment Hunter’s movements became gentler. He could notice every change in her body and resorted to kissing her face after it, in a chain of sweet, tender kisses that drew the sweetest grin from his beloved Lav. He kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her chin, her nose, and a couple more times on her lips before lying beside her and wrapping his arms around her.

Lav’s eyes were closed, and her body fit perfectly in his as he enveloped her with his body. Whiffs of her scent filled his senses with every breath he took. It brought him peace, and he was happy to see she was at peace as well the more she dozed off to sleep.

Hunter could hear her breathing and how it had deepened now that she was deep in her slumber. Carefully, he let her go and set her down on the mattress; he got up to dim the lights of the room for both of them to sleep more comfortable. One more time, he went to the cockpit to make sure everything was okay. The coordinates were still set, and nothing suggested any tracking from the Empire. For the first time in a long while, at least for a short while, he had nothing to fear.

Leaving the cockpit the way it was, he made his way back into the bedroom where Lav continued sleeping soundly on the bed. He lifted the blanket to cover her with it and shifted around to lie next to her, briefly waking her up as she greeted him with a soft, inquiring moan.

“Shh,” Hunter soothed, running a hand through her hair. “It’s me. Go back to sleep, my love.”

The sweetest smile escaped her, so genuine and pure and it took every fiber of Hunter’s willpower not to kiss her again. She needed sleep and rest and all the peace she could get. She deserved it.

In no time, Lav fell back asleep in Hunter’s arms. Knowing she was there, safe and warm, in his arms, sharing a bed with him for the first time, Hunter fell asleep more peacefully than he ever had before.

*

Waking up in Hunter’s arms was divine, what with his whole body enclosing Lav, his scent engulfing her, his mere presence shielding her from the horrors the galaxy now knew due to its regime. Lav genuinely never felt safer, and returning to consciousness in the same bed as him had to be one of the best things she’d ever experienced.

But the news that they were now closer to their destination gave Lav a new sense of hope, even in view of their circumstances. A remote planet unoccupied by the Empire seemed like everything she needed, so she allowed herself to let whatever was coming towards her do so without thinking much of anything else. For the first time since Geonosis, she actually felt like she needed, and deserved, a break.

The planet that greeted them when they jumped out of hyperspace wasn’t very big, and a big chunk of its atmosphere was covered by puffy white clouds. From the pilot’s seat, Lav began protocols to descend into the planet, and Hunter put in coordinates within the planet in which they’d hide out for a while. Entering its atmosphere was gentle despite all the clouds, and underneath the thick layer of puffiness was revealed a forest world with mountains, lakes, and rivers. Nothing like Pantora and certainly nothing like Geonosis, it took Lav’s breath away at first sight.

Hunter took notice of the look in her eyes, trailed on the scenery so much he knew they wouldn’t fall on him at that moment, and he smiled at her softly, glad something else could bring her some comfort. Landing didn’t take long after that, and they took the shuttle down to rest at the shore of a large lake surrounded by forest and a few hills and, according to Hunter’s coordinates, not very far away from a village.

“Welcome to Répit,” Hunter told Lav as he powered down the ship’s engines.

“It’s so lovely,” she said, still in awe at the wonderful scenery before her. “It somehow reminds me of Daro, but tat the same time, there’s no comparison.”

“I like it better here, even if there are a few things I’ll remember fondly from Daro.”

Lav looked up at Hunter smiling, already knowing what those things were, but wanting to hear them nonetheless. “Such as?”

Hunter smiled at her. “You. Meeting you.”

Lav smiled softly at him. “I loved that too, Hunter.”

With a smile, Hunter held his hand out for Lav to take it. He got the shuttle’s door open and led her down to the firm soil, both of them taking deep breaths of much-needed fresh air. There was no noise of engines or commands being yelled out or of nearby facilities, only the chirping of birds and the occasional dripping of water as well as the sway of tree branches in gusts of wind that came and went. The air was cool and fresh, without a trace of fuel or chemicals or exhaust of any kind.

It was exactly what they both needed.

Hunter momentarily let go of Lav’s hand and he kneeled down on the ground, digging his fingers into the moist and fertile soil of the planet Répit. Using his heightened senses, he felt the vibrations of the earth, heard signs of life nearby, he could even tell exactly what time of day it was.

“That way is all forest and we’ll find several rivers there as well, but pretty much all around us is fresh water,” he said and pointed to a different direction. “Somewhere there is a lot of wildlife suitable for hunting, but I’d rather take my chances with whatever we can find with the villagers.”

“Won’t that be dangerous?” Lav asked him. “Aren’t we risking getting caught?”

Hunter smiled softly and got back up, wrapping his arms around Lav to comfort her as much as he needed. “If a planet isn’t under the Empire’s command at this point, it’s because they have no interest in it willingly. I don’t think we have anything to fear. And whatever happens, I won’t ever let any harm come to you again. Alright?”

Lav smiled sadly at him. “Hunter, you don’t have to take that burden on alone.”

“It isn’t a burden,” he answered as he gently caressed her cheek. “And I want to do it, Lav. Protecting you is my purpose now.”

“Hunter…” she was moved almost to tears and she resorted to kissing him instead, if only it would keep her from crying. Hunter lovingly returned the kiss and washed upon her that familiar sense of protection that she clearly needed at the moment.

“It’s going to be fine, Lav,” he whispered between kisses. “I promise.”

After a final hug, Hunter turned his head in the direction the village would be as though giving a heads up. Shortly after, a group of people showed up from behind the bushes. It wasn’t a large group, but it was diverse. Different races and sizes were there, eyeing the shuttle suspiciously as well as the imperial crests on Hunter and Lav’s blacks. No weapons had been pulled, but these villagers wouldn’t take their chances yet.

Hunter held his hands up softly, and Lav followed in the gesture.

“We come in peace,” Hunter said.

“You are Imperial,” the woman in the middle pointed out, elderly with thick gray hair and bronze skin, and kind eyes that contrasted with the tone of her voice.

“We were Imperial,” Lav said softly. “We’re deserters, both of us.”

“That’s quite a luxurious shuttle for a couple of deserters,” the woman said.

“We had to make a hasty escape,” Hunter added.

“What is that story?” The woman requested to know.

Lav sighed, but she stepped forward and untied the makeshift skirt she had, showing he had no weapons. “We were on Geonosis. The Empire began to take slaves there and we stood against it. I…” she hesitated before saying the words, fearing the effect it would have on her, even though she knew she didn’t have a choice if she wanted the villagers to trust her and Hunter. “I was sentenced to death because of my resistance. He saved my life,” she gestured to Hunter. “We got on the first ship we could find and came here.”

The woman leading the group seemed to hesitate, and Lav really couldn’t blame her. She of all people knew an Imperial crest was no sign of good news. But when it seemed her testimony would be dismissed, a young man walked up behind the woman. He shared some of her features, but was much taller than her, and he had a few gadgets on him that signaled he worked closely with technology.

“She’s telling the truth,” he said as he handed a screen over to the woman. “They’re the ones from the report.”

Lav tilted her head. “Report?”

“It was all over the news last rotation,” he took the holopad and took it to Lav for her to see, and indeed there she was with Hunter in the arena of Geonosis. She turned away, not wanting to see any more of it.

“We also made sure we wouldn’t be tracked,” Hunter said. “I knew about this place beforehand and know there is no Imperial occupation here.”

“You are correct,” the woman said. “Are you certain there is no way the two of you or the ship can be located?”

“We are,” Hunter answered.

Solemnly, she nodded. “The Empire is not welcome in this planet. Will your stay be permanent?”

“We’re not sure at the moment,” Hunter replied. “We both have family we’d like to track down before going into hiding for good. That won’t be immediately, though.”

“Hiding for a while would be the wiser choice,” the woman told him.

“We figured.”

The boy from earlier cleared his throat, once again rising above the conversation. “It’s likely you won’t have to worry much about being followed, just not being spotted. The reports stated you both had been killed.”

Lav and Hunter exchanged looks before facing the boy again.

“Really?” Lav said.

The boy nodded in response.

Lav turned to Hunter. “They won’t come after us like that. They lie all the time, but they won’t expose a lie blatantly created for show.”

“It does make things a bit easier for us, knowing we won’t be tracked, but if we’re ever spotted—”

“On sight. I know,” Lav finished for him.

“Why would they tell everybody we died?” Hunter questioned.

Lav looked down at the ground, deep in thought. Analyzing the Empire’s behavior, the answer became pretty clear in no time.

“Because if they let the galaxy know that a small engineer like me and a clone trooper like you could escape them, they’re going to look weak,” Lav said. “The Empire can’t afford that, not if they don’t want others to do the same. You said they wanted to make an example of me, and they did.”

Hunter looked at her somberly. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Lav turned to the boy. “Thank you for letting us know about that.”

The boy nodded at her and then at the leader, only to look back at Lav with a dash of embarrassment. “I’m afraid I’ll have to search the ship now and make sure there are no weapons or trackers, or anything that could be of harm.”

“Please, go ahead,” Lav told him.

The boy walked past them along with a couple more villagers to search the ship. Meanwhile, the lady addressed Hunter and Lav.

“There are opportunities in the village if you’re looking for work. Feel free to stay in the hostel,” she said.

“Thank you,” Hunter and Lav answered together.

The woman then acknowledged them and regrouped with the rest of the villagers, leading them back home. Shortly after, the boy and the other villagers in the ship came out, also making their way with the others once they’d made sure there were no risks. Hunter and Lav were now left alone, but they were both relieved that they at least had the welcome of the locals.

Lav sighed. “So they told everyone we died.”

“Apparently so,” Hunter said. “At least we know they won’t come after us.”

“But we’ll have to be more careful whenever we do go out to find—” it all dawned on her at that moment, and her heart broke.

Her grandma and her sisters. What if they’d heard the news of the report? What sort of unimaginable pain were they going through?

As if Hunter could read her mind, he firmly took her shoulders and got her attention back on him. “Lav. Lav, listen to me. Believe it or not, this is a good thing. You said it yourself, the Empire won’t expose a lie they made up, which means your grandma and sisters won’t get hurt.”

Lav looked up. “On the contrary, they’ll be compensated.”

“It’ll be less, but the pension will be there for your grandma and your sisters won’t leave school,” he continued.

“But how do we know that’s what’s going to happen? I was regarded as a traitor, the Empire wouldn’t have a reason to continue looking after them.”

“It’s Pantora,” Hunter explained. “That system is really important to their senate. Maybe they don’t want to make any noise and cause uprisings. Think of it as them still setting an example.”

“An example of how good and merciful they can be even with the family of a traitor,” Lav added. “They wouldn’t kick out a helpless old lady and two young sisters.”

“It would be bad for their image,” Hunter agreed.

“Those lying bastards,” she said. “But if it means there’s a chance my family will be safe, I’ll be sane for now. But about your brothers?”

“If the news got here, it probably reached them wherever they are,” Hunter said solemnly. “They’ve most likely heard.”

“Aren’t you worried they’ll do something?”

“I told them to hide better if anything happened to me,” Hunter said. “It’ll make it harder to find them, which means I should probably hurry up and locate them.”

Lav sighed. “Okay, well, I have a plan. You told me to stay away from Pantora, and it makes even more sense now since showing my face anywhere will mean… well.”

“You don’t have to say it.”

“Thanks,” she said. “Anyways, we can track your brothers down now. By the time we’ve found them, it might be safer to approach Pantora then.”

“Sounds good,” Hunter said. “I’ll look around in the village for some way we could amplify a signal. In the meantime, we should find something to do, at least to get some fuel for that thing.”

Lav nodded. Hunter then took both of her hands and kissed her softly.

“It’s all going to be fine, I promise you that,” he said.

“Thanks,” Lav said, throwing her arms around him. “For everything.”

Hunter kissed the top of her head. “You’ll always count on me. Now come on, let’s find something more decent to wear.”

Taking her hand, Hunter led her down to the village to see what they could make of the time they’d spend there.

*

The days on Répit went by quicker than Lav ever remembered the pass of rotations could be. Things were peaceful and quiet, as if she could be certain the Empire truly had no more interest in finding her, as if being dead in the eyes of the Empire were a better option from the beginning. Lav tried to shake the thought, even though her current need to hide almost made things too easy.

It seemed that way, at least, until Lav realized the Empire knew she’d try to track her family down somehow. They’d expect that, and that was the hard part.

However that went down, Lav would have to wait. In the meantime, the young ex-engineer had to try and make a living of some sort in the village. The locals had been really accepting of her and Hunter; the two had been able to earn some currency and buy a bit of fuel for the shuttle. For a few days, Lav even repainted the shuttle from its opulent chrome silver to a neutral scale of greens, all after scrambling its signature and making necessary adjustments just in case.

The sun rose and fell on the planet day after day, and she was grateful that with every night she could return to Hunter’s embrace. He spent most of his time outdoors helping with hunting, gathering food, earning the acceptance of the villagers with his skill. Every night, both of them wound up incredibly tired, but it was an exhaustion not at all like what they’d experience with the Empire. For once, they were both at peace with what they were doing, so much they didn’t even have to keep each other constant company for it to be remotely enjoyable.

But in spite of almost always being tired when the night fell, a certain wish grew inside of Lav. They’d gone from staying in the shuttle to a small hotel at the outskirts of the village, right near the edge of the forest. He liked going out there for a while during downtime to relax; Hunter simply loved going outdoors. Normally Lav would wait for him without a problem, but on one night, when the stars gleamed in the night sky and the moon shone bright, she found herself staring out the window of the little hotel room, examining the forest in the night. She longed for Hunter even though he’d be there soon, and deep inside her, Lav felt something calling her out into the forest.

There was no need for any coats as the night was warm. Lav quietly walked out the hotel and made her way into the forest, taking in any and all detail nature offered, like the few plants and flowers that shone in the night, iridescent plants that seemed to light her way deeper into the forest. Hunter had shown her where he liked to cool off at night, and she remembered the way very well. Shortly, Lav arrived at a small bulb within the forest where the amount of iridescent flowers grew and surrounded a small pond, where Hunter already bathed, clothless, his lower body submerged in the water that seemed to steam around him.

He was so beautiful that Lav couldn’t help but stare at him; not only was Hunter a perfect man, with a great build, but the iridescent flowers and the faint glow of the moon through the trees illuminated his body such that he almost seemed ethereal, like a sprite whose beauty a mere mortal like Lav could never fully grasp. In the middle of her gawking, the only thing that made Lav snap out of her trance was the rich, deep sound of Hunter’s laughter, low and, dared she thought, seductive.

“The steam has made me so relaxed, my senses aren’t as sharp as they usually are,” Hunter said, his back still turned on Lav. He then turned around, facing her, with the dim light highlighting every one of his muscles. “But I do still know you’re there, you know that?”

“I-I-” Lav stuttered. She had to gulp to get a grasp of herself, but even then it was hard to speak. Hunter was just too stunning. “I’m sorry, Hunter. I didn’t mean to stare.”

“No harm done,” Hunter held his hand out, inviting her near the pond.

Bashfully, Lav approached him, trying her best not to drool at the way his muscles were highlighted by the flowers and the moonlight. Although Hunter was incredibly kind, he was still a guy, and Lav could almost touch his pride. She would have rolled her eyes had it not been for his immense beauty, and only then did she notice the way his hair fell gracefully over his sides. If there was ever a definition of a perfect man, it was Hunter.

“H-Hunter?” Lav stuttered.

“Yes, my love?”

“I… I’ve been wanting to tell you that I…”

“Yes?” He chuckled. “Would it help if I put a shirt on?”

Lav’s face flushed and she couldn’t help looking at his chest, only for Hunter to chuckle and direct her gaze upwards again.

“My eyes are up here, Lav. Now, what is it you wanted to tell me?”

Lav took a deep breath, determined not to seem like such a hopeless girl in front of Hunter, even if she was just that for him. “I’m just happy I can be with you.”

Hunter smiled kindly at her. “I’m very happy for that too, Lav. When the time is right, we’ll take care of everything else, I promise. For now, I’m just happy to be here with you.”

Lav’s soft smile said more to Hunter than her words ever could and, slowly, he started to wrap his strong arms around her. Feeling small and protected, Lav shyly rested her hands on his chest. His skin was hot and lightly damp from the pond’s water, and Lav felt her knees giving out beneath her. Lav tumbled and would have fallen into the pond had it not been for Hunter’s strong grip around her, and the smile he had on his face was enough to finish her.

“What do you want, Lav?” Hunter asked her softly.

“I want…” she said. “Stars, how are you so beautiful?”

Hunter chuckled in response.

“I’m serious, you’re stunning,” Lav praised him. “You’re so perfect, I don’t even know what I did to get with you, to deserve you.”

“Are you kidding?” Hunter said gently. “You are the single kindest person in the galaxy, and it’s just one of the many reasons I’m in love with you.”

Lav’s eyes widened at his expression, and then Hunter realized what he said. His eyes widened too, but then they softened to look at Lav with the same love they always had.

“I am, Lav,” he finished. “I’m in love with you.”

“Hunter,” Lav sighed as she got closer to him, kissing him like it was the first time. Longing, passion, love, all those things were present as their lips moved in perfect harmony and his arms wrapped perfectly around her figure as though her body had been made just for him. He parted the kiss for a moment to look into her eyes.

“I ask again, my love, what do you want?” He asked her.

As her eyes were trailed on the ingot necklace, Hunter’s fingers wrapped around the collar of her blouse.

“I want you to take me, Hunter,” Lav answered. “I want you to make me yours, here and now. It might be as perfect a place as any, but everything that matters to me is that I can be alone with you.”

Hunter smiled widely at her, as if he couldn’t believe how wonderful she was.

“I love you too, Hunter,” Lav finished before kissing him again.

While he kissed her, Hunter’s hands explored her body with glee. He could never get enough of her, and every time would be just as good as the first time when it came to her. He’d kissed her many times, held her many times, but there was one other thing that would be a first. He would see her skin glowing in the moonlight for the first time, become molded in her for the first time, and what better way to do it than in the eyes of nature herself? He helped remove her blouse, her trousers, any underwear she might have been wearing, never parting from her plump, warm lips.

In no time, Lav was bare as well. The cool night breeze made her quiver in his arms as he undid the hairband that secured her braid. With tender fingers, Hunter unweaved her hair until it fell gracefully down her body in smooth waves, reflecting the glow of the luminescent flowers around them. Her body pressed onto his for warmth, softening every corner of Hunter’s soul as he gazed at the young woman in his arms. Lav could go on and on about how perfect he was, but the one thing Hunter realized at that moment was how much she overlooked the beauty and perfection within herself.

“Lavender,” Hunter whispered so softly into the night, the sound almost blended with the sway of the trees.

“Hunter,” Lav reciprocated before kissing him again.

Slowly, Hunter pulled her towards him so she could be in the water as well. She inhaled sharply at the cool water, but Hunter huddled with her for warmth and let his kisses distract her, eventually letting her get used to the temperature. Lav wasn’t sure how deep the pond was; her arms around Hunter were what secured her. His hands ran all over her body, highlighting every curve, and his kissing went down to her jaw and her neck.

Up against her neck, Hunter could feel her veins pulsing faster with his kissing. He knew exactly where to nibble, where to suck, where to mark her as his own. He had a very primal instinct to mark her as territory, a statement that he’d be the only one to ever lay with her, that he’d protect her from everyone and everything that dared come her way. His markings made her moan into the night, and she was getting so aroused that her hips began grinding against his.

Their lips met once more; mutually, they tugged on each other’s hair, moaning their names and whispering their love for one another in between kisses. Hunter stopped it just for a moment, smiling brightly into Lav’s eyes.

“Hold your breath,” he said.

“Huh? Oh!” Lav yelped when she felt Hunter pulling her down with her.

Under the water, he kissed her again, and she could feel the way his lips curved into a smile as the two rose back to the surface. Completely drenched and with water dripping from their hair, Lav and Hunter giggled when they were back above the water only to press themselves onto one another to continue their passionate kiss. Gradually, Hunter took Lav up to sit on the bed of soft grass that surrounded the pond. He could see the way she shivered, and in a protective instinct, he lunged his body on top of her and caged her with his arms, looking with dark eyes at her figure, exposed and vulnerable to him.

And finally, Lav saw him for how he looked like as well. Earlier, he’d been covered by the water, but now there he was, naked above her. Her eyes inevitably lingered on his cock, long and proud with a slight curve to the left. Her mouth watered, hoping soon she could taste it, but she knew Hunter would want to make this first time all about her.

“I’m yours, Hunter,” she whispered. “Make me yours.”

“Oh, Lav…” Hunter answered as his eyes scanned her body. “You’re so perfect…”

Lav caressed his cheek softly. She didn’t speak, but her eyes showcased a soft, pure love that Hunter never saw himself having. She’d asked him to make her his, but deep down, Hunter knew it was he who was pledging herself entirely to Lav.

“May I?” He asked once more.

Lav smiled and nodded at him. “Yes, my king. You can do anything you want.”

Hunter chuckled. “King?”

“Do you like it?”

“I love it,” Hunter leaned down to kiss her lips once more. “My queen.”

He kissed from her lips down her neck and chest, where he rested his head for a moment to listen to her heart beating. It beated fast, yet another point of pride in him, and he planted a kiss to the center of her chest with a soft smirk before continuing his trail downwards. Despite the air feeling cold on her skin, Lav felt heat building up inside and around her, and Hunter could notice perfectly well. The scent of her arousal reached him, slick and sweet, his gaze darkening with lust as his most raw instincts threatened to take over.

Finally, he reached between Lav’s legs, staring with his lustful gaze at the soft skin that awaited his touch. He approached her folds and took in a whiff of her scent--perfect. Just before brushing his tongue over her cunt, he felt Lav’s fingers clawing his scalp and twirling a few of his locks. For just a moment, he looked up and met her gaze, taking in her soft beauty as she smiled down at him before he returned to his own task.

His lips kissed the sensitive bud of her clit before his tongue began to brush all over her folds. The sensation, the taste, the smell, it all made him growl; it was all intoxicating to Hunter as he sank further into her and let the sound of her moaning ring in his mind. His growling pushed Lav closer into bliss as he blew her mind, and it was only just the start. She felt her eyes rolling back when Hunter slipped his tongue past her entrance and drank up every last drop of her he could while his thumb rubbed slow circles on her clit.

Lav saw stars when he switched, returning his tongue to her clit and sliding a finger into her entrance. He curled it up perfectly to stroke spots so sensitive that Lav didn’t even know they existed; her hips bucked up and rubbed against Hunter’s face, once more drawing a growl from him. His tongue movements became faster, with more pressure, and Lav’s chest heaved up and down quickly as she began to lose herself in Hunter. She was already so close to being shattered by him, and then, Hunter slipped in a second finger that applied more pressure to her walls inside.

“Hunter…” Lav moaned as she felt dangerously close. She continued grinding her hips against Hunter’s face, which he loved immensely if only it made him taste her better. He could feel her pussy was already swollen, so close to release; he could hear her pulse, the desperation in her whimpers. He was drunk on her arousal. Knowing she was close, Hunter focused his fingers and his tongue on the spots he knew were most sensitive, and soon enough, Lav was squirming underneath him.

Her thighs twitched, her back arched and her moans nearly became screams; she tugged on his hair and sent shivers all over his skin. The cold from earlier had been replaced by pure heat and bliss as the words my king swarmed through her mind over and over again, so loudly that she didn’t even recognize when she spoke them aloud, only riling up Hunter’s ego. His name being moaned ecstatically by the woman he loved only made him crave more, kiss harder, even after her orgasm died down. She didn’t stop him, however. She wanted more as well, and Hunter kept up the licking and sucking until he gave her a second climax not long after that.

He had to force himself not to keep going so as to not overstimulate her. Still somewhat dazed by the sensations she caused in him, Hunter met Lav at eye level and hungrily kissed her lips, letting her taste herself in his tongue. Her arms wrapped tightly around him as though she were clinging to him, and in her eyes was a look of plea followed by the words, “Please fuck me, Hunter.”

Hunter helped spread her legs wide and positioned his already hard, proud cock at her tip. He slid the tip in carefully, giving her just an initial stretch. Before pushing in any more, Hunter took in the sight of Lav lying on the grass, her naked skin glowing in the moonlight, embellished by the glow of the flowers as if she were a goddess. The sight was heavenly, and he couldn’t picture any way it could have gone better. Hunter lied down closer to her, his lips barely hovering above hers, and he kissed her tenderly as he continued to push all of his length into her.

Lav bit her lower lip at the fullness she now felt inside her as the pain slowly faded into pleasure. Like many things she’d recently been through with Hunter, it was a necessary pain, one that would pay off eventually. She kept her gaze firmly locked on his as his cock reached the deepest corner of her walls and shivered with ecstasy at the very thought of her pussy wrapped around his girth, taking it in deliciously and waiting eagerly for him to start moving.

Hunter’s lips kissed Lav’s the moment he pulled out. Slowly, he pushed back in, his pace strong, passionate. Lav knew to expect something mind-blowing from having sex with Hunter, but he was deliberately exceeding every image she’d created for herself. He was strong, beautiful, romantic, and he could fuck. Firmly, he continued thrusting into her as his eyes remained trailed on hers, watching as the pleasure flooded her gaze again.

His enhanced senses only heightened the pleasure he felt, taking him dangerously close to a feral release. When Hunter felt her nails clawing at his back and fingers tugging on his hair, a guttural groan resonated from deep within his throat. As he kissed her, he continued moaning into her mouth, and his hands fisted around some of the grass for more leverage to pound deeper into Lav. His pace went from slow and passionate to inhumanly fast, craving, fearing he’d waste another moment. Every tiny moan and whimper that escaped Lav’s lips riled him up more, unleashing that animalistic instinct of his. He’d release soon, he’d fill her up, make her his.

His fast pace mixed with the lingering sensitivity from Lav’s previous orgasms made her walls clench around Hunter’s cock sooner than he’d expected, but the increase in tightness made him growl into the night. In that husky voice, he moaned out her name, pounding impossibly faster into her when his vision blurred and a string of curses mixed with declarations of love escaped him. At last, he felt Lav wrap her legs around his waist, only making herself tighter around him and finishing him off. His cock twitched inside her and shot out strings of hot cum that filled her to the brink.

Moaning softly, Hunter rested his body on hers and panted to attempt to recover his breath. He felt her fingers tracing soft patterns on his back, slowly stirring him back to consciousness. He tilted his head up and got a look at the wonderful woman lying next to him, who smiled at him with great love, and for just a moment, Hunter felt like he was in a dream.

“My king…” Lav whispered.

But that was about the last thing Hunter could hear before his senses took over and, without thinking, he wrapped his arms around Lav as he sat them both up. With his body, he cradled her, nuzzling her head to get a warm whiff of her scent.

“Let’s stay here a while,” Hunter said.

“Of course,” she answered quietly and looked up to kiss his chin. Hunter smiled at the soft contact of her lips on his skin and gently kissed her lips before hugging her tightly and remaining there, immobile and timeless, under the light of the moon and the glow of iridescent flowers.

------

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Gonna read after my X-ray brb

Inspired by @paperback-rascal ‘s prompt and glorious artwork where Crosshair, after being left on the landing platform on Kamino, suffers from sunstroke, I wrote this fic!

Sun-Kissed

Hot, sunny days were rare on Kamino. However, as the sun beat down and Crosshair began to feel faint, he stared up at the cloudless sky and realized that he had made a mistake. Perhaps the Empire wouldn’t come for him after all.

Characters: Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, Hunter, Echo

Wordcount: 3,303

Chapters: 1 of 3

Warnings: Blood, vomit, talk of death, descriptions of heat stroke, descriptions anxiety and feelings of betrayal.

Hours ago, (Days? Weeks? Years? The time seemed to slip through his fingers like sand) Crosshair had watched the Havoc Marauder become smaller and smaller until it was nothing more than a single point of reflected light, far, far away, and he’d been certain that the Empire would come to retrieve him. He was important, after all. He was a commander. They needed him. Didn’t they need him? Wasn’t he important? Did he matter at all? Or was he nothing more than a dark stain on a pinprick of light, so small and insignificant that nothing in the great vacuum of space could hear his tiny cries for help?

After hours and hours and hours, the skies remained silent.

Yet Crosshair, ever the good soldiers, persisted. He had used his com to alert the Empire of his escape from the ruined Tipoca City; he’d given them his coordinates and tipped his head towards the sky, certain that, at any moment, Rampart’s star destroyer would emerge from hyperspace and appear at the zenith to take him home.

The skies, however, remained silent, and Crosshair’s requests for rescue remained unanswered. Crosshair, however, was steadfast and waited patiently. He had been loyal to the Empire. Surely, they would come for him. He had earned that right—the right to be rescued, the right to be needed. He had proven himself worthy.

Did they know that he had disobeyed orders? That he had turned his gun on the TKs in order to protect his old squad? Did they understand the depth of his failure, as his brothers did?

Crosshair’s armor was thermo-regulated, designed to withstand any weather. He could spend hours in the sweltering heat, crouching on burning sand; he could endure sub-zero temperatures, buried in the snow and ice for as long and the mission required; he could brave hail the size of his fist and comfortably wait out torrential downpours, all without consequence—

But this black shell was not his armor.

As with every faulty simulacrum the Empire attempted to recreate in a more “perfect” form—like his squadron of conscripted soldiers; like the medical treatment he’d received after Bracca; perhaps even like Crosshair himself—Crosshair’s fancy new imperial armor was nothing more than a cheaper, poorly-designed, less functional recreation of something the Republic had done right.

As the hours ticked by, heat began creeping into his dark armor until his sweat-soaked blacks were plastered to his back. At some point, to wipe the sweat out of his eyes, he removed his helmet with trembling fingers, and it slipped from his weakening grasp, tumbling off of the platform and disappearing into the dark waters below. He cursed and dug the heels of his palms into his eyes to keep himself from screaming in frustration.

Where was the Empire? Weren’t they coming for him? Hadn’t he proved he was worth-while? He felt stupid and childish and jealous and afraid. What if the Empire never came for him? Would the Batch come to his rescue, if he cried out for help?

Tech and Echo and Wrecker had pointed their blasters at him. In the pods, when he had lifted his rifle to rescue the girl, they had pointed their blasters at him, as if they thought he had intended to slaughter Hunter or the child. Why would they think that? Hadn’t he proved, over and over and over again, that he was unwilling to kill them? Even under direct orders and the heavy influence of the chip, every shot he fired missed. In the end, he had picked his brothers over his sloppy TK squadron; he had murdered them to rescue his brothers. He had sided with them. His loyalty, as fierce as it was for the Empire, had always been to his brothers first. Hadn’t they seen that? Hadn’t he proven himself worthy of their trust?

They had turned their blasters on him.

Crosshair’s fingers dug into the side of his head, pain sparking across the length of scarred flesh. Their lack of trust was understandable, he supposed. Perhaps they hadn’t known about the inhibitor chip. Perhaps, when he shot Wrecker, they assumed he had done so of his own volition, and their trust in him had shattered in an instant. He hadn’t wanted to shoot Wrecker. He hadn’t wanted any of this. Did they know that? If he told them, would they believe him? Would they rescue him if the rains came and the violent waves threaten to swallow him whole? Had he earned that right?

The heat was becoming unbearable. The platform was small and there was not place to take shelter from the rare, sweltering sun. His legs hurt. His head began to swim. He began to pace to keep himself concentrated on his objective.

...what was his object, again?

Right. To be rescued.

So Crosshair waited. The Empire was coming for him. Somebody would come for him. Right?

Why would they? His traitors thoughts asked.

Crosshair’s chapped lips curled into a snarl. Because I am a commander. He answered. Because I am important.

You are expendable. His thoughts replied. You have always been expendable.

When he was a child, he had struggled in social situations. He lacked Wrecker’s sense of humor, compassion, and good nature; he lacked Tech’s inability to be effected by the cruelty of others; he lacked Hunter’s rationality and empathy. He didn’t consider himself an enjoyable person to be around and, for the most part, kept to himself for fear of further ostracization. Unfortunately, his lowered self-esteem began to effect his team-mates during training courses. It was easy to become so consumed by his fears that he was somehow a burden on his teammates, that he lost focus on his objective and his accuracy suffered. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, his worst fears began to manifest: his team began to fail because he couldn’t keep up.

So he trained. He trained and he trained and he trained. He spent hours on the shooting range, forgoing sleep and food to refine his craft. He wasn’t created to be somebody’s brother or friend, he was created to be a sniper. It was in his DNA. It was, in his head, the only reason that people kept him around. During those long, sleepless night, as he set into the routine and his mind began to wander, anxiety festering like an abscess, it was easy to imagine his three older brother barring the door of their barracks and refusing to let him enter unless he proved his worth.

Hunter was an incredible leader, wise and dedicated, and his senses were incredibly sharp; Wrecker was strong and kind and gave good hugs; Tech was intelligent and witty and he could fix anything;

And Crosshair was angry and rude and he could shoot good.

A drone could do his job.

So he practiced. He practiced and practiced and practiced until he was better than everybody, and he was certain that he had proven his worth and secured a place in Clone Force 99-

And they abandoned him.

The taught the girl to shoot. They gave her his com. They replaced him.

They turned their blasters on him.

Crosshair’s face began to hurt. The skin that stretched across his cheeks and forehead began to burn, as if they had been pulled too tight. He knelt at the edge of the platform, hoping the spray of salty water would cool his sunburnt face, and his legs gave out from under him, nearly sending him plummeting into the water, where he would be swallowed up and forgotten.

“Expendable. Adjective. First definition: describing an object of little significance when compared to an overall purpose, and therefore able to be abandoned. Second definition: describing an object designed to be used only once, and then abandoned or destroyed,” Tech recited. His voice came rolling in on the waves, and Crosshair propelled himself to his feet, twisting around frantically in search of his brother, but nobody was there.

“That’s why we never came back for you!” Wrecker’s disembodied voice boomed over the nothingness. “Because you don’t matter at all!”

“Actually, we were pretty happy to get rid of your sorry ass. Things are better now that you’re gone,” Echo’s voice made Crosshair stamp his foot and clamp his hand over his ears.

His head was pounding. His heart was racing. Suddenly, he pitched forward and vomited into the ocean. With such desperation that his fingers dug into the sharp edges of plastoid and bled, he pried off his armor and stripped off the top half of his blacks, practically throwing it into water with the hope that the wet material would cool down his sweltering skin. But the water-logged cloth was too heavy for his heat-weakened grasp and was eventually tugged away by the current.

Crosshair laid there, on his stomach, for a long time. The sun kissed his back until it blistered. The skies remained silent. Nobody was coming for him. His lips cracked and oozed blood. His mouth hung open and his dry tongue felt too heavy and made swallowing painful. At some point, he stopped sweating, and his skin dried in the sun like leather.

He wanted to go home. He wanted his brothers. He didn’t care if they never trusted him again. And... of course they wouldn’t- they held him at blaster-point. They came back for Hunter, but not for him. Never for him.

They abandoned him.

He was expendable.

Crosshair laughed, almost hysterically. He wanted to cry, but there wasn’t enough liquid in his body to produce tears. Would they forgive him if he apologized? Would they rescue him if he begged them to come back?

Forcing himself up onto his hands and knees, he vomited again. There was nothing left in his stomach, so the convulsions brought up only bile until his stomach was empty of that substance as well. It was liquid he couldn’t afford to lose. Unfortunately, the spasm didn’t stop. He heaved and heaved until his sides ached and his throat burned. When, at last, the cramping stopped, he collapsed onto his side and gasped for air.

He was frightened. He was dying.

Moving as if on auto pilot, he retrieved his com and inputted the Marauder’s frequency—he knew it by heart.

He said something into the com, but he wasn’t sure what. He couldn’t hear himself speaking anymore. He felt like he was standing above himself, watching his body bake in the sun.

Slowly, slowly, he once again tried to push himself onto his hands and knees, but the effort proved to great, and he lost consciousness.

- - -

When Crosshair woke, he was laying on his bunk in the Marauder. He didn’t even need to open his eyes to know where he was—the smell was pungent and familiar. Slowly, he cracked his eyes open. The room was dim. Pain coursed through his head—he could feel his pulse pounding behind his eyes—but the bed beneath him was soft and cool, and he felt so relieved he wanted to cry.

“Hey there, Cross. How’re you feeling?” That was Hunter’s voice. Crosshair squeezed his eyes shut, afraid that, if he turned his head, nobody would be there.

“Cross?” Hunter asked again, voice gentle, and the sniper felt a firm hand rest on his chest.

Crosshair cracked his eyes open. There he was, right beside him. There they all were, playing a round of sabaac on the floor beside his bed. He wanted to cry, but no tears came. He couldn’t help but think of all those hours he’d spent alone, on the shooting range, and he was happy. They’d come back for him, hadn’t they? Had he proven his worth?

“There he is! We thought you were never gonna wake up!” Wrecker boomed with a grin. There was no greater sight in the galaxy.

“You look like shit,” Echo said with an equally warm smile, and Crosshair allowed the corners of his mouth to twitch upwards.

“I feel like shit,” he agreed, his voice hoarse.

Wanting to be with his brothers, Crosshair rose from the bed slowly. His body was numb and his head felt hazy, like he was hungover, or waking up from sedation. It was hard to think straight. His skin hurt. Once upright, he paused for a moment as a wave of nausea rolled over him. His mouth suddenly tasted tangy and Echo, scowling, passed him a rag.

“Here. You’re getting blood everywhere and I just cleaned the floor,” he grumbled.

Blood?

Crosshair knit his brows together as confusion welled up into his throat and his stomach twisted with worry. He pressed the cloth against his nose and his eyes widened in surprise when it came back coated in blood. His nose was bleeding. Why was his nose bleeding? Should he be worried? Should the others be worried?

There was a heavy, uncomfortable pressure that suddenly swelled in his abdomen, and he groaned, doubling over and pressed a hand to his hip. A sharp, hot pain spiked across his lower back and, for a moment, he thought, with some panic, that he was dying. However, after a moment of labored breathing, the pain subsided (or grew distant and numb) and his fear eased.

“Acute renal failure,” Tech surmised, pushing up his goggles with one finger. “Your body is too hot, and it’s lost too much fluid. Your brain is swelling and your kidneys are shutting down,”

Too hot? No, no, no, that wasn’t right at all. He was on the Marauder, wasn’t? They’d rescued him, they’d cooled him off. He was home, he was forgiven, he was safe. Right?

Crosshair grit his teeth as panic flashed through him. As usual, he attempted to stuff the more vulnerable emotion away, hiding it behind a thick layer of anger. His brothers were watching him, but nobody moved towards him. They didn’t seem to care. Why weren’t they doing anything?

“Help me!” he snarled, stepping towards his brothers, and Tech merely quirked a brow.

“Crosshair, we can’t help you,” he said, as if the fact was obvious. “This isn’t real. You betrayed us. Surely we wouldn’t give you this much autonomy if you were actually on board the ship with us. Don’t you remember? You commed us for help, and nobody answered,”

“You’re lying,” Crosshair’s voice was tight and practically dripping with vitriol.

“Why would I lie? How would that benefit me? Or you, rather, as I’m not really here. Thiis,” Tech said, gesturing to the room around them. “Is just your brain, processing what it feels like it needs to,”

“What?” Crosshair cried, sharp and indignant. Blood continued to stream down his face. He tried, with great irritation, to wipe it away, but it always came back and the flow only grew heavier.

“You probably just wanted to pretend like you weren’t going to be alone when you died!” Wrecker exclaimed with a hearty laugh.

The panic, in that instant, was blinding. Something tugged on his leg and, when he looked down, he immediately wished he hadn’t: the room was filling, ever so slowly, with tar. Crosshair grasped, nearly choking on the breath as it caught in his throat, and tried, desperately, to pry his legs out of the muck.

“There’s no use fighting it, you know,” Echo said gently, moving forward and resting a comforting hand on the sniper’s shoulder, just as the sniper had done for him when they’d rescued him on Skako Minor. “It’s going to be okay,”

Echo’s words of comfort sparked a wildfire of furious, blind anger in Crosshair, who violently shoved the ARC trooper backwards.

Crosshair twisted around, as if he could find somewhere else to escape. Behind him was a white, sterile hallway—like the ones in Tipoca City—so impossibly long that he couldn’t see the end of it. One by one, the lights began to switch off, and darkness began creeping up the hallway.

“A clever analogy,” Tech said, intrigued. “Your organs are shutting down,”

“Fuck off,” Crosshair spat and Tech merely shrugged.

“Hey! Leave ‘im alone! He’s only here ‘cause you want him here!” Wrecker bellowed. He was still sitting on the floor, unbothered as the tar swallowed up his legs and continued to climb.

Crosshair squeezed his eyes shut. “What’s going to happen to me?” he croaked, his voice hoarse from the dryness of his throat.

Hunter knit his brows together and put a heavy, comforting hand on Crosshair’s shoulder. “You’re going to die,”

“And when high-tide comes, you’re body will be swept away and eaten by the aquatic life. Eventually your armor and bones will sink to the bottom and falling sediment will collect on them until you’re buried. If you’re lucky, over millions of years, you might be fossilized,” Tech explained. “So, at least your life won’t be a total waste,”

The pressure in Crosshair’s abdomen was mounting. Behind him, the lights continued to flip off, one by one. “How pleasant,” he sneered. Then, suddenly, his shoulders slumped. “Will you remember me?” he asked his brothers.

Hunter smiled. “Of course we will,” he said.

Crosshair’s eyes narrowed and flickered over to Tech. “Will you really?”

Tech smiled. “Not likely,”

“What d’you want, Cross?” Wrecker asked.

The sniper’s eyes drifted shut and he swayed; one hand gripped his abdomen, and the other hand gripped his head. “I want... I want to go back home,” It was a horrible, frightening thing to admit, but he was so tired. He didn’t want to be angry anymore. He didn’t want to fight. He wanted to go home.

When he opened his eyes again, he was no longer on the Marauder. Instead, he was in their barracks on Tipoca City. His brothers were small and dressed in red and blue outfits they had worn as cadets.

Everything was so much easier back then.

Tech looked up from his workbench, his goggled a little too big for his head. Hunter, who sprawled out on his bunk reading a holo-novel on his datapad, sat up and grinned.

“Cross! You’re back! Where were you?” he asked.

Crosshair stepped closer on wobbly legs. “I... was at the shooting range,” he explained, and Tech frowned, sticking out his bottom lip.

“You spend too much time there. You’re not getting enough sleep,” he tutted.

“Yeah! And we miss you!” Wrecked exclaimed. His face was not marred by any blast scars. He had a full head of curly, dark hair and two big, brown eyes.

“You missed me?” Crosshair echoed, almost in disbelief.

“Of course we missed you. You’re our brother,” Echo protested. Echo... Echo wasn’t supposed to be there. He was small and healthy and whole, and Crosshair was glad he was there.

“What if I can’t shoot good enough?” Crosshair asked, and his bottom lip quivered.

“So what?” Hunter asked. “We don’t care how good you can shoot. We’re just happy you’re here,”

Crosshair took another wobbly step forward and rubbed his eyes. His vision was starting to blur around the edges. He looked to Tech, expecting the clever young clone to tell him not to fall asleep, but he merely smiled.

“It’s okay, Cross. We’ve got you,”

“Are you sleepy?” Wrecker asked. He wiped his sticky, jam-covered fingers on the bedspread and rose from his bunk. The gesture was disgusting and so, terribly familiar. Crosshair wanted to cry.

“Yes, Wrecker. I am extremely exhausted,” he croaked.

“Aww...! Come here!” His older brother exclaimed and outstretched his arms.

The sniper stumbled forward, desperate for the comfort and safety of his big brother’s embrace. He felt awful. Wrecker would make him feel better. Wrecker always knew how to make him feel better.

Crosshair collapsed, alone, on the landing platform in the middle of the Kaminoan oceans. Far above him, the skies came to life as the Havoc Marauder emerged from hyperspace and appeared at the zenith.

🎃 ★ ° 🕸️ O c t o b e r : Movies You Can Watch This Halloween 🕸️ ° ★ 🎃

I know I was picking you’re an amazing writer and so excited to see where this story is going!! UwU you’re the sweetest human I swear.

Chapter 5 - Push the Limits

Nocticulent: a Hunter love story

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Read it on AO3! Or here below the cut

Summary: Just when things seem tolerable, Hunter and Lav find themselves in a difficult position as things seem to only get worse after they've gotten better in regards to the Empire.

Tags/Warnings: Lots of angst in this one. I know that’s not typical in my writing but this story kinda requires it (oopsie!). Mentions of slavery and undignified treatment. Mentions of execution, canon typical violence. So sorry for all the angst in this chapter, I promise the next chapters will be a lot lighter!!!

Word count: 9.5k

Notes: this chapter (and the story in general) was inspired by this post right here.

(taglist at the bottom)

That was the first time Lav actually noticed the way the stars shone on Geonosis. It wasn’t the breathtaking, pure glow from Daro, partly due to the emissions from the factories as well as the dust that lingered in the air, but they had something. That combined with the debris rings surrounding the rusty-colored planet gave the stars and any celestial bodies a similar orange hue while the sky had a purple undertone to its midnight blue. In all the nights prior to that one, Lav hadn’t bothered to focus on the sky’s beauty. Only one person had occupied her mind, though it had been with worry. Now, Hunter occupied her thoughts similarly, but in a note of relief and satisfaction as well as the longing to feel his lips on hers again.

Her room was still silent, but its solitude was more comforting than it had been the previous nights. Hunter was okay, he was healthy and recovering quickly, and most important, he not only returned her feelings, but he’d agreed, like her, to finally foster them. It seemed as if things were somehow falling to place; much as Lav still wasn’t infatuated with the Empire, Hunter did help out a lot with that. Working with him made things bearable, made them have a purpose, and she refused to think about things that could change that.

Hunter. She cared about Hunter at the moment. The memory of the sweetness in his eyes when he parted from that first kiss they’d shared had her smiling at nothing as her gaze rested gently on the wall, perched on her bed and not quite bringing herself to sleep yet. She had half a mind to run back outside, go to the med bay, and spend the whole night with Hunter. That would put them both at risk, of course, she’d barely managed to reboot the medical droid attending to him before medical personnel wanted access to the room just before she left. She’d take what she had, and she’d cherish it with her heart.

Her heart… Lav’s hand instinctively went up to her chest, where the folded picture of her family still rested safely inside her blouse. At least now being where she was wasn’t as heavy of a burden. She was confident that the purpose she had with her family and Hunter’s feelings for her would keep her afloat, and she felt faithful she could keep that up. For the first time in a while, Lav began to feel like something better than she imagined was in store for her.

She reached out to turn off the already dimmed lights, leaving her room mostly in darkness except for the faint light that peeked in through the outside. With those memories in mind, she drifted off to slumber, noticing how quiet the barracks were, and her sleep didn’t take long to deepen.

Several buildings away, in the med bay, Hunter also lay in his bed as the lights of the room had also been turned off for the night and it was empty except for him. Though his eyes were closed, his mind continued to wander. Her lips had left a print on his in the form of a faint tingling sensation, and Lav’s scent had also remained on his skin, of which he could catch whiffs of from time to time, further comforting him and lulling him to peaceful sleep. He couldn’t help his smile at the thought of her and how she’d gone to see him, to kiss him. He couldn’t wait to be out of the med bay to see her; just looking at her would suffice. Lavender had engrained herself in his heart, and he was ready to merely stand next to her if that was all he’d be allowed to do from that moment on. He’d take it gladly.

With those thoughts, Hunter didn’t even notice the moment he fell asleep, and the next time his eyes opened, the lights of the med bay were on again and there was movement of personnel up and about as well as the typical morning greetings. He’d had a full night’s sleep, there were no nightmares, no interruptions, not even insomnia. Hunter had slept through the whole night for the first time in ages.

Thanks to a fast recovery and state of the art medical procedures, Hunter was told he’d be able to return to his duties that day, so long as he stayed clear of intense activity. He was confident he wouldn’t need to do any of that, and he found he actually looked forward to getting back to his regular schedule. Of course, the only reason for that could be summed up in that faint, flowery scent that still lingered on him, one that fit all too well with her name, just as delicate as she was.

He gathered his things and left the med bay, not without thanking every doctor, nurse, and even medical droid who had cared for him. He scoffed. Hunter had never visioned himself thanking a droid, but he had the premonition some things could change for the better. He had no trouble finding his way around the compound despite having been wounded the first day he was there and not having had much chance to go around it like others had, and he knew where to go since he was told from the beginning where he would be required. No new orders had been given to him, anyway. He was free to make his way where he’d been told to in the first place.

And there she was. Lav was up and about, her hair braided down her right shoulder like it always was, a datapad in her hand and her clear voice guiding her peers around what had to be done in the factory. She was shorter than the other engineers, and yet, she was clearly the one in charge. Hunter could not have been prouder of her, and she was so dazzling that he didn’t even notice the reinforced security within the factory. He walked over to her and the smile returned to his lips, and he silently cleared his throat when he was behind her, catching her attention and making her turn around.

A smile instantly appeared on her face too and her eyes seemed to gleam when she looked at him, and Hunter barely held enough composure to not fall to his knees or take her in his arms and spin her around. Instead, he stood upright, making Lav’s smile widen a bit more as she addressed him with a light bow.

“Captain,” she said softly. “It’s good to see you around here.”

“It’s good to finally be back.”

“Are you sure you’re up for it?” The concern was evident in Lav’s eyes. “I know you’ve had a good recovery, but maybe you should take some more time. We’ve been making good time and everything’s going well, you can really take more time if you need it.”

Hunter smiled at her. “I appreciate it, but if I can manage moving around, I’d prefer to be here than stuck another whole day in the med bay.”

“Yeah, I get it,” she said, her grin tilting a bit more. “I’d rather you were here too. But only if you can manage it.”

“I would never lie to my star engineer, would I?” His smile remained. “Now go on, tell me how you’ve progressed. Don’t let out any details.”

“Right,” she led Hunter back to the squad, who was running daily maintenance checks on the machines before starting them up fully. “The first couple of days were all about adapting the factory to our current needs and implementing the processes I came up with for our multiple products. The next couple of days were for optimization; reducing startup and idle times, increasing quality ratio, and even monitoring where we could implement some automatization.”

“Hm,” Hunter eyed the machines. “Impressive.”

“It’s standard industrial engineering,” she replied as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“No, you make it sound standard,” Hunter said. “I’m sure it’s far more complicated than it seems.”

“Well, there are a lot of operations to get to the end result, but you get the point.”

“And can I assume you’re making good progress?”

“We’re ahead of schedule,” Lav replied proudly. “So you see, you really could have stayed in the med bay another day to rest.”

“Let me worry about my health,” he told her with a subtle smile.

“You know I can’t do that,” she answered. “I’m sorry, Captain, but you’ll need to give me a different order.”

Lav turned around and continued to type away in her holopad while Hunter continued admiring her. Back on Daro, Lav hadn’t had much of the spotlight put on her. Her former teammates were the ones with all the attention with their explicit military training while she worked in the labs, hidden from most eyes. It wasn’t until that moment that Hunter noticed what a leader she could be, a swift one who led with charisma, whose kindness motivated people to work with her. While observing her, he also noticed some of the looks she received from the engineers under her jurisdiction. Many of them were legitimately shocked one of their higher-ups, essentially Imperial, could have such a kind and delicate demeanor while getting so many things done.

For a while, even Hunter seemed to be taking orders from her. He didn’t mind; in his own squad, he was never the one who knew about machinery. All he did was direct and rush droids head on. He probably could have done more heavy lifting, but Lav denied any request he made, still concerned for his well-being. In short, Hunter spent most of his time next to her, and Lav mostly just directed the operation.

Still, there were a few small, almost unnoticeable moments in which the two were able to make eye contact, and Lav would direct a tiny smile at Hunter, a detail so small it almost made him love it even more. Every time, despite the obvious risk, Hunter couldn’t help but smile back at her.

In the middle of one of those gestures, the two were surprised by their admiral coming into view. Whether he had seen it or not was irrelevant to them at the moment, the two simply stood up straighter and greeted their Admiral the way they should have, purposely giving off the image that everything was going smoothly.

“Admiral,” Hunter said.

“Captain, good to see you out of the medical bay. I trust you are in condition to be out here again.”

“I am, sir,” Hunter answered. “Though I’m pleased to see Lavender has made good progress in my absence.”

“Indeed,” Rampart acknowledged Lav with a nod. “This is the fastest we’ve seen a factory become adapted to our current necessities, and it’s remarkable given how particular these processes will be. Your engineer has truly done a great job.”

Though never having been the biggest fan of the Empire or many of the things that happened within its walls, Lav allowed herself to feel some pride with what Rampart was saying.

“Thank you, admiral Rampart,” she answered.

“In fact, that is why I am here,” Rampart continued. “I wasn’t counting on you being out of the medical bay, captain, but your presence here only makes things more efficient.” Rampart turned around and began walking towards the exit of the factory that would lead them to the area outside that had been adapted into a hangar for drops and deliveries, and Lav and Hunter followed. The sunlight soon hit them, bright and almost scorching under the Geonosian sky.

“Had it not been for your efforts, the Geonosians probably wouldn’t have been so keen on accepting any deal on our part,” Rampart said. “The only reason they agreed to take a risk was because every design, every process was so thoroughly laid out,” he stopped walking and faced Hunter and Lav again. “That was you, Lavender.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” Lav said again. “Though I wouldn’t want to take all the credit. A lot of hours, days even, went into the work. At times, I was exhausted,” she looked over at Hunter, “but it was my captain who helped keep me on track.”

“I’m aware,” Rampart said, eyeing them both. “Well, the virtue of a good leader is to keep their followers on task. You both are to congratulate. Both of you are held in high regard by the Geonosians and the Empire. I believe it is safe to say you will be part of the Empire for a long time to come.”

Lav mustered a smile of approval in a way that she almost seemed please. Almost, as Hunter could see differently. His enhanced eyesight could allow him to pick up on details others couldn’t, and he could almost hear the way Lav’s muscles went cold when Rampart mentioned staying there.

“I’m honored to hear that, Sir,” Lav said with a subtle stammer.

“As am I,” Hunter agreed, both to follow up and to remind Lav he was still beside her.

The roaring of jet engines filled their ears as a large freighter ship began descending upon the bay. It was just another ship to the uneducated eye, but it had Lav looking in doubt at her holopad, instantly knowing it was a bit off.

“What’s in that ship?” She asked, her eyes still on the holopad. “I don’t have any more arrivals scheduled for today?”

“Ah, this is for a matter of workforce scheduled to arrive today,” Rampart answered.

“Oh,” Lav lit up. “Well, if it’s for the factory, I’d be thrilled to show them around—”

“That will not be necessary,” Rampart cut her off. “I will see to this matter, for now, you two see to the factory itself.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Lav said, stuttering a bit again. She guessed she’d simply grown used to being notified of everything, but she remembered she wasn’t in charge of everything. Somehow, that brought her comfort.

It did except for what Rampart had said about being there for a long time. Yes, it guaranteed good results, it guaranteed everything her family would ever need, but what was it she wanted? For starters, she’d love to not have to sneak around with Hunter. She was positive Rampart had seen the way the two had been smiling at each other, and if he didn’t tell them anything, a thorn nagged at her letting her know it wasn’t a good thing. Rampart wasn’t the type to keep things to himself for purely benevolent purpose, or in this case, letting two people be in love. No, it just didn’t fit him.

“Well, that is all I wanted to tell you,” Rampart said. “That and to congratulate you once more on this achievement. However, I’m afraid I am needed elsewhere at the moment. I suggest you get back into the factory to keep up current momentum.”

“We’ll see to it, sir,” Hunter said.

They saluted and Rampart was off, and in that time, the freighter had just finished up its landing procedures. As they walked back into the factory, they could both hear the steam coming out of the ship’s exhaust ports, and they were inside the factory before its rear door fully opened.

Still, a few steps into the factory, Hunter’s pace began slowing. Lav looked at him, worried he might be feeling bad from his wound, but her concern grew when she noticed the look in Hunter’s eyes. He looked like he was wary of imminent danger, like something was terribly wrong.

“What is it?” The fear in her voice was evident.

Hunter didn’t answer immediately. He focused every one of his senses on that ship. He knew the sudden dark feeling he’d gotten had been from that ship, but why would it be if it was simply workforce? Concentrating, he was determined to find any signs that would point him to an answer: a stale scent, the wave of heat that moved around the already scorching Geonosian air, the very few hushed voices, almost weak, contrasted by loud shouts of command.

“I have a bad feeling about that ship,” Hunter said.

“What about it?”

Hunter continued looking in that direction, after which he looked around their area to see if they weren’t being watched. When the coast seemed clear, he took Lav’s hand and tugged her alongside with him as he made his way back outside, discreetly staying behind the doorway and only looking enough to get a sight of what the ship was.

A small sight was enough to get a glimpse of how awful it was. The freighter was large and could hold many people, but exiting it were too many people. Humans, Twi’leks, Rhodians, males and females of countless species, most of them young with the exception of a few who were older, and all of them frail. Dark spots of dust and dirt covered their skins in patches, and those who had hair wore it messy and tangled. They all walked slowly, only keeping a certain pace due to the Imperial officers shouting at them to keep moving.

Lav felt a mix of horror and dismay at the sight. They were all slaves, there was no questioning it, and the fact that Rampart had described them as workforce now seemed morbid to her. Those people were meant to work at the factory—a factory she had conditioned, enable to produce in the first place, brought it up to working standards enough to require said workforce. She tried convincing herself it wasn’t her fault. She hadn’t ordered the capture of people who had the right to remain free, but that didn’t help her much. Someone else in the Empire had, along with several others who agreed with them, and now those people were condemned to a life of arduous work in less than dignified conditions.

“We have to do something,” Lav said quietly as her tension grew, and Hunter could hear the way she was trembling. She stepped forward and went onto the hangar, suddenly realizing there was nothing she could do at the moment. Instead, she looked disoriented standing there, gawking at the sight, her holopad hanging loosely beside her.

“Is there a problem?”

Probably the last voice she wanted to hear at that moment, Lav turned around to see Rampart, his gaze on her harder than it had been before.

“I only came to verify the shipment, sir,” she said, refusing to appear intimidated by him. “Just procedure. I wasn’t expecting this.”

She realized that last statement slipped out on accident, but there was hardly anything she could do about it now. All she could do was keep her back as straight as possible and her body as still as she could manage, but the horrendous sight paired with Rampart made it far harder for her to achieve that.

“Well, perhaps having stuck to your actual duties would have helped,” Rampart said, his voice deceptively calm as he went to stand next to Lav and also looking at the crowd of slaves before them, not looking at her for a moment. “I meant what I said. Do not make me regret it.”

Lav couldn’t bring herself to look at him, not even in the light of that obvious threat. “I wouldn’t dream of it, captain—”

“It’s Admiral.”

She went cold. At last, she had no choice but to look at Rampart, aware this time she’d failed her initial intention. She was afraid, and she was showing it.

“But perhaps you’re right,” Rampart said, his voice now smooth like it always was. “You should return to your captain,” he emphasized the last two words and there could only be one explanation for it.

“Right away, sir,” she answered. Doing her best to keep protocol, she stood up straight, saluted, and went back into the factory, not once daring to look over her shoulder. Hunter greeted her and walked discreetly beside her; he would have taken her hand, made any gesture to comfort her, but he’d seen and heard everything. All he could do at the moment was look at her from time to time and try to keep stable around her as she continued, or rather tried, to keep her fellow engineers working and making good time. But she was off, and everyone noticed. The one thing Hunter knew about her was that she wasn’t one to hide emotions.

The day could not have felt longer for both of them, with the occasional friendly smiles and cute comments completely gone. The whole time, Lav felt a hole in her chest that was already pounding with her heartbeat, a swarm of thoughts devastating her mind, and her trembling barely easing up with time. Like a good captain, Hunter oversaw any operations she led and stuck by her even after downtime, when he found himself walking her back to her room.

The hall was dark, quiet, and empty. Given the events of that day, it was no longer comforting to have a place be so alone. As Lav stood in front of her room door, she looked up at Hunter with wide, sad eyes.

Being aware that no one else was in the hall at the time, Hunter took her hand and squeezed it as he tried to comfort her with a soft gaze.

“Try to get some sleep,” he said.

She averted her eyes. “Hunter…”

He took both of her hands as though he’d be able to make everything right with that gesture. Lav took a deep breath and cleared her throat enough for her voice not to break whenever she spoke.

“I can’t,” she said with a gentle shake of her head.

“What?”

“I can’t let it happen.”

Hunter sighed, his eyes growing sad as well. “There’s nothing we can do.”

When he noticed her lips trembling, it all but broke his heart, and he took a hand to cup her cheek and wipe away any tears that fell.

“That’s what this is,” he told her. “The reason I’m here.”

“And so am I,” she said.

A bitter silence hung among them as Hunter tried to find more words, but he didn’t settle on anything that could improve her mood much.

“Rampart knows,” Lav broke the silence.

Hunter began to take his hand away from her, but she reached for it and set it back on her cheek, leaning into his palm to feel any sort of comforting warmth rather than the suffocating heat Geonosis offered.

“Don’t,” she said. “That’s not what I meant. I don’t want to stop, it’s just…” She trailed off, sighing and feeling pathetic. “I don’t know, Hunter… it’s all so messed up, it’s too much! It’s awful…”

“Hey,” he pulled her into an embrace where she could weep.

“It’s my fault,” she said.

“No,” Hunter managed firmly and looked her in the eyes. “Listen to me, this isn’t your fault, you hear me? You didn’t bring those people here, and you’re not capable of hurting a fly. It’s not your fault.”

“They’re here because of my work.”

“If it hadn’t been your work, it would have been someone else’s. It was not something you could control.”

She leaned her head on his chest again and let a few more tears drop out of her eyes while Hunter gently stroked her hair.

“What now?” She asked him.

Lav felt his chest slowly move up and then down with Hunter’s deep breath.

“I hate to say it,” he answered.

“But?”

“But we go on,” he told her, hating the fact as much as she did. “There’s nothing we can do or say to anyone.”

She parted slightly so that she could look him in the eyes. “It just feels wrong… and if Rampart knows I’m not on board with the idea, he’s going to be on me like a hawk. What if I don’t do enough and I’m thrown out? What if he takes it out on me, or you, or us?”

“Lav,” Hunter spoke with a soft, low voice, its deep hum somehow calming her down. “You’re going to be fine, alright?” He paused to kiss her forehead and resumed stroking her hair. “I promise you’ll be fine. You won’t be thrown out. Do your best with the factory, keep it in good conditions for whoever will work there. And regarding us, if Rampart does know and he hasn’t done anything about it by now, I don’t think he will. He cares about results, and that’s what we’ll give him. You’re in charge of that factory, Lav. It’s in your power to give those people better conditions.”

“He’ll see right through my efforts,” she told him.

Hunter gently stroked her cheek and had her look up at him. “Just do your best.”

Lav sniffled and wiped her eyes dry, all so that she could look at Hunter’s gorgeous, honey-brown irises in the darkness.

“Kiss me,” she whimpered quietly.

With a sad smile, Hunter acknowledged her request. Holding her firmly, yet sweetly, he pressed his lips to her, hoping desperately he could make her feel any better. With his hand, he secured the back of her head, almost molding her body into his, and Lav kissed him in return with strength as a couple of moans escaped her lips. They both needed this, they needed each other. They knew they’d be the only thing to pull them through that entire mess.

When Hunter began to pull away, Lav chased his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in for another kiss, this time more craving than before. Hunter knew she was vulnerable, and while her passion grew every second, he firmly took her shoulders and held her in place, opting to press a soft kiss to her forehead instead.

Lav sighed, knowing it was right. Her eyes looked at his again as she set her feet back on the ground and settled on one conclusion.

“I don’t want to stay here a long time,” she whispered, afraid unwanted ears would hear her.

Her eyes were wide, hopeful even, and Hunter knew what she meant. The memory of Daro returned to him, of that night in the forest when nature and night wildlife had treated them so well. He’d wrapped his arms around her, pinned her to a tree, been so close to kissing her for the first time. He’d proposed to run away together, to forget the Empire and everything that held them back.

And for every logical reason, neither one of them had acceded to such an illusion. Yet there was Lav, all but pleading Hunter to put that possibility back on the table, and he knew she had every reason to want to leave. Still, she also had reasons to stay, and so did he. He feared what it would take to get them both to agree to leave.

No, he wouldn’t allow himself to think of it at the moment.

“It’s what we’ve got for now, Lav,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Try to rest, okay? You need to clear your mind, but if you need anything, contact me.”

Her heart sank, but she knew he was right. Her thoughts were on a similar line as his, and the realization that they’d both be stuck there for a while slowly spread through her like an illness. He was right, the best they could do was their best. To remain in good terms with the Empire so that they and their own could be safe.

Lav then nodded and squeezed Hunter’s hands. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

He tried his best to smile comfortingly at her, and after one more kiss on her forehead, Hunter was off down the hall while Lav entered her room and closed the door behind her.

Mindlessly, she took off her armor. The room was so hot that she turned on the air conditioning and took her blacks off, only left in a silk top and her panties, not even bothering to put any socks on. All the lights turned off, she crawled into the bed to try to sleep, but she couldn’t. It seemed she’d been lying awake for hours with visions and flashes of images she’d seen of the people leaving the freighter. There would be no way for her to sleep if she didn’t take it out somehow, and if she was sleep deprived, her mood would worsen, so would her attitude, and who knew what would happen if she was so irritable that she was at risk of disrespecting a higher up, further putting her in a bad image…

She stopped. She sat up and realized there was a storm in her mind, one that wouldn’t get her anywhere. She looked out the small window of her room and was no longer in love with the rusty look the stars had in contrast to the purple night sky. Pacing around the room, Lav tried her best to think of a way to do something. About what, she didn’t know. She just wanted to do something that would make her feel a little less condemned.

After a loud sigh, her eyes drifted to her armor and blacks on the floor, through which the corner of the picture was barely peeking out. She bent over and grabbed it, looking at the picture, barely making out the silhouettes of her Grandma and little sisters in the dark. It then hit her how much she missed them, how long it had been since she’d heard from them and they’d heard from her. With a new spark of determination, Lav went to sit on her bed and pulled the holopad from her nightstand, powering it up and setting it to write a message.

No words came to her at first. Most of the messages she’d written to her Grandma had been in high hopes, talking with optimism about her work if only to try and convince herself even further. But things were hard for Lav, so much harder, and she felt guilty for wanting to leave. She felt guilty for not doing things gladly for her family’s sake, when she knew the right thing would have been otherwise. She thought of all her grandma’s sacrifices when she’d been growing up, all the hard work she had to do that she probably didn’t enjoy, but that meant bringing Lav and her sisters up. But then again, that work didn’t have to do with slavery.

Before she drowned in her guilt, Lav’s fingers began moving instinctively on the holopad, finding words unconsciously as she began writing the message.

Hey, Granny.

I’m sorry I haven’t written sooner. To be honest, things have been really busy since we arrived on Geonosis. Things have been going well, or so it seems. I don’t even know anymore. I know you might get mad at what I’m about to say, but sometimes I don’t see the point of being here. Not because of you guys, though. Believe me, you and my sisters are on my mind constantly. I know I’m doing this for you.

But (and don’t tell anyone about this, please) we had a shipment of slaves come in today. Slaves, Grandma. You know it’s not right. None of it is right, and yet I’m managing the very operation they’re going to work in. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’m lost. Just when I was starting to feel like something good was going on, like I could keep up the good work here, this happens. And I can’t do anything about it without there being bad consequences either. I just feel trapped.

I’m sorry this message is so downcast, the last thing I want is to upset you with any of this. I just really needed to talk to you, to hear from you, and know that you’re okay. I feel like that’ll sure keep me going longer. Because honestly… I don’t like being here. I never did. The Empire’s awful, they do everything with such a tough hand that I fear, sooner or later, everyone will get a taste of how terrible they can be. I’ve lost sight of a lot of things.

But well, I know a big part of that is just me complaining and I don’t want to bring down the mood with you, you’re free to just not pay attention to my rambling. There has been some good too, honestly. Because you’re still my Grandma, I won’t go into much detail, but I’ve fallen in love with my captain and I really think he returns my feelings. He’s really handsome and strong and protective, I think you’d like him. And don’t worry, we’re being careful and everything—about not being caught, not about… what you’re thinking. (Please don’t get a heart attack).

Anyways, I hope you’re doing well. Say hi to my sisters for me, and tell them to behave in school. If they’re anything like me, they’re around the age when they’ll like talking back to their teachers, and while I’d be proud of them, I don’t want them getting into trouble. And I hope you’re doing fine as well, Granny. I miss you.

With love,

Your little Lavender

Lav debated whether or not to send the message. It was dark near the beginning, but that was the way things were. Was it right to let her Grandma know of everything going on, or should she just scratch the message entirely and rewrite it with a simple everything’s fine! Nothing bad’s happening here! and be safer? She sighed. She figured the worst that could come of it would be Granny worrying for her, and that being the case, Lav could really use someone else listening to her.

Without much more thought, Lav hit the send button and turned the holopad off, putting it on the nightstand again and lying back down on the bed, twisting and turning for another long while before finally sleeping.

The morning following that was neither easy nor difficult. Lav simply put on her blacks and armor after showering quickly with cold water to get her mind in the world, and she strutted down to the factory to get working.

She’d expected there would already be slaves working there, and nothing could prepare her mentally for that. To her surprise, though, there were no slaves in the factory when she arrived. It was just the squad of engineers she’d been working with, and soon, even Hunter arrived. His presence at least soothed her a bit, and she figured maybe there was some hope. Of what, she wasn’t certain. Hunter simply made her feel not everything was lost yet.

She did notice one thing though, which was the absence of the increased number of Geonosians in charge of looking after security. None of them were there, and it was then that she realized the factory was too quiet. Hunter had noticed it too, as he could often hear the clicking and fluttering of the Geonosians. He and Lav exchanged a look, both of them concerned, both still way on edge from the events of the day before. Despite that, Lav continued working, even if the hole in her chest made an appearance again.

A couple of hours went by and it seemed things were going relatively well. Lav made sure to increase ventilation in the factory as well as light intake from the outside, hoping those efforts would keep the factory in humane conditions. It may not have been a lot compared to the bigger picture, but she was satisfied with her little something for the time being. Barely allowing herself to feel positive for the first time that day, she and the others heard the heavy doors of the factory opening, and in came a group of Geonosians led by an Imperial officer.

Nobody knew what was up with them, but somehow, they all agreed their presence couldn’t be a good thing. The officer scanned the group with unfriendly eyes and then spoke, his voice booming and echoing around the factory.

“Lavender Earthapple,” he said.

She became worried instantly upon hearing her name, and she looked back at Hunter hoping maybe he had answers. Still, when Hunter seemed as worried as she did, she began to lose some hope. Summoning all her courage, Lav stepped to the front of the group.

“That’s me,” she said. “What can I help you with?”

“Arrest her,” said the officer, turning around and barely looking at Lav from the corner of his eye as though she were merely dust.

“Wait, what?!” Hunter stood between her and the Geonosians. “She’s not going anywhere.”

“That’s not up to you, captain,” the officer spit the word out. “Miss Earthapple has been found guilty of treason and is to be taken to the Geonosian Arena. An example has to be made of her.” He then pulled out his blaster to threaten Hunter. “Now step aside and don’t make more trouble, your presence is requested alongside Admiral Rampart to witness the execution.”

“Execution?!” Hunter questioned, trying to appear menacing above the crushing fear he felt.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” the officer loaded the blaster.

Hunter realized how powerless he was. Two Geonosians circled around him and went towards Lav, whose eyes were already filled with tears and wide as they looked at Hunter in terror.

“There’s a mistake,” she said as the Geonosians began cuffing her, and she resisted on instinct but only earned a sting from a shocking device they were carrying on them.

“Don’t hurt her!”

“Hunter!” Lav wept as she began to be carried away by them. “Hunter!”

“Lav, it’s going to be alright!” He called as the Geonosians took her away from the factory, still haunted by the sound of her cries that faded painfully slowly as they got farther.

Everyone in the factory remained silent; Hunter was outraged, afraid, helpless. He wanted nothing more than to go after her, but he already had a blaster pointed at him. Who was to say the officer wouldn’t find a way to take it out on him too, or on the other engineers who were just as terrorized by the scene they’d just witnessed?

Hunter only knew he was disgusted at his inability to do anything.

“You all must be there too,” the officer commanded. “That is an order. Captain, I will not ask again.”

Hunter raised his hands slightly in surrender, and he followed the officer out of the factory, not even being able to look back at the other engineers.

He had to find Lav. He had to figure out where she was and why they’d suddenly charged her with treason. She hadn’t done anything wrong, looking at the slaves and appearing horrified was only a human reaction, there was no treason in that. Or perhaps it was because of her relationship with him—but in that case, he would have been taken too. Or perhaps there was something planned for him he didn’t know about. The possibilities were horribly endless.

Rampart. Hunter knew that, for better or for worse, Rampart could be an answer to their problem. He had to talk to him, appeal to his better nature and get him to spare Lav. Whatever it took, he had to save Lav…

Away from the Imperial compound, Hunter was taken to a large structure embedded within one of the large Geonosian mountains. Its halls inside were dark, and even from there, he could hear the roaring of a crowd, and the sound of clicking and fluttering returned. In little time, Hunter arrived at a balcony that overlooked an arena where large pillars were set, surrounded by cages and with one Imperial guard in each of its cardinal directions, four total.

“Captain, you have arrived,” Rampart began speaking.

“With respect, what is going on?” Hunter asked, the worry unmistakable in his voice.

“Your engineer has committed treason.”

“Admiral, whatever relationship goes on between us, it has not hindered her work. That’s hardly a reason for—”

“That is not why she’s being prosecuted,” Rampart interrupted with a dismissing wave of his hand. “I in fact don’t much care for whatever it is goes on between you and her. You’ll find out the reason for her betrayal soon enough.”

“Sir,” Hunter insisted. “I know Lavender. She wouldn’t hurt anyone or anything. Whatever reason, it must be a mistake. I’m begging you to reconsider, don’t let her be executed. Look at her work, she’s done so much.”

“She can be replaced,” Rampart said without an ounce of care. “We already have everything we needed her to do, the rest can be picked up by other workers.”

Hunter was speechless, indignant at how disposable Rampart regarded her to be. Of course, that was how the Empire saw those loyal to them, and even more so those who weren’t. Even as a clone, Hunter had never heard something of the sort, and he’d been bred to go to the battlefield and possibly die, all for the Republic. It disgusted him.

“Captain,” Admiral Rampart faced Hunter. “You have done a good enough job not caring about those close to you enough for it to step between you and your duties so far. Don’t let that change now.”

Rampart then walked forward to the edge of the balcony and caught the crowd’s attention. “Bring in the prisoner.”

*

She’d barely processed anything. Lavender felt her body shaking, her legs about to give out beneath her. The Geonosians stripped her of her weapons and uncuffed her only to throw her in a cell that smelled like it had been rotting for years. She couldn’t see much, but she heard the roaring of a crowd as well as occasional banging and growling from behind the adjacent walls. Nothing would make her calm down or even see a glint of hope.

She didn’t even keep track of how long she was in there until she noticed the door opposite to the one she came in through began opening, revealing a second door made of bars that began lifting. A guard came in with a spear and began urging her out; the sunlight blinded her the moment she stepped into the sandy ground and she took a while to process her surroundings. The seats of the arena were filled with thrilled Geonosians while the balconies hosted Imperials, and at one section of the seats, the slaves and even generic Imperial workers were hosted.

Lav was forced to walk to the center of the arena facing south, and her heart sank. Next to Rampart stood Hunter, and even from that distance, Lav recognized the agony he was going through. Then, Rampart raised his hands and the crowd quieted down, leaving enough silence for his voice to be amplified and hear by everyone.

“The former Imperial engineer Lavender Earthapple has been found guilty of treason through words that came out from herself,” Rampart began. “Last night, a message sent from her to her family in which she states herself how much she is against the Empire.”

“What?” Lav said quietly, but all for show, her voice was amplified as well.

Rampart then read from a holopad: “None of it is right, and yet I’m managing the very operation they’re going to work in. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’m lost. Just when I was starting to feel like something good was going on, like I could keep up the good work here, this happens. And I can’t do anything about it without there being bad consequences either. I just feel trapped.

“I’m sorry this message is so downcast, the last thing I want is to upset you with any of this. I just really needed to talk to you, to hear from you, and know that you’re okay. I feel like that’ll sure keep me going longer. Because honestly… I don’t like being here. I never did. The Empire’s awful, they do everything with such a tough hand that I fear, sooner or later, everyone will get a taste of how terrible they can be.”

Lav was disgusted by the dramatization Rampart had given, the laughter and fake shock coming from Imperials and Geonosians alike, and the fact that her message had been intercepted. Rampart had clearly distrusted in her since the ship disembarked, it was the only explanation—and only proof of what lengths he and the Empire itself would go to in order to silence anyone with a mind of their own.

“You had no right to go through that message,” the way Lav’s voice broke betrayed her strong intention to fight back.

“You no longer have any rights,” Rampart said. “We take you in, grant your family everything it needs to thrive and give you high regards within the Empire given your work, and this is the loyalty we get from you?” He looked up at the rest of the crowd. “Let this be an example. The Republic is dead. Its weakness killed it. The Empire is what thrives now, and if you are naïve enough,” he pointed at Lav, “to try and digress from us, you will burn.”

His eyes fell on Lav again, almost in mockery. “Do you have anything more to say?”

She tried her best to steady herself, and while she was still on the verge of tears, Lav knew she had to speak up. “I no longer put anything beneath the Empire. Do what you want now, you’re the one who’s going to burn.”

Rampart seemed almost amused by Lav. “How wrong you are.”

From the center of the arena, Lav continued locking eyes with him. She couldn’t possibly bear looking over at Hunter. Her eyes were still full of tears and her lips trembled as she tried to grasp what was coming, and all she had left now was hanging on to the hope that one day, the Empire would go up in flames.

“Such a waste,” Rampart said dismissively, giving the guards the go ahead to open the rest of the cages.

That final statement tipped Hunter into despair, and he also knew that if he didn’t do anything now, it would be too late after that. As he looked at Lav in the center of the arena, his mind raced. The woman he loved was put in grave danger, and he wasn’t willing to let anything happen to her. He remembered every time she’d smiled at him, how soft she still was, how warm and gentle her touch was, the sweetness of her kisses. He remembered the promise he’d made to himself, to keep her the way she was. Soft. Warm. Hopeful.

He wasn’t arrested, being prosecuted, or anything of the sort. He still had his own weapons. The blaster would do him well and so would the blade, if he played things right, he wouldn’t need anymore. Though, he did realize he was running out of time. Two of the cages opened, one of them revealing a nexu while the other one held a small rancor, most likely one in its early years, but still quite the threat.

Hunter watched as Lav’s eyes widened in horror as she looked back and forth both animals, each one eager to strike at her, baring their teeth and growling. Hunter needed to act now.

He grabbed his blaster and, positioned behind Rampart, he had an opening since everyone’s eyes were on Lav as she was threatened by both creatures. It was then that Hunter aimed the blaster at Rampart and fired it, stunning him and making him land unconscious on the ground. After that, Hunter jumped off the balcony, positioned low enough so that he could survive the fall and land relatively safely.

The crowd roared when they noticed what had happened, but in the middle of the arena, Lav hadn’t noticed any of it. Petrified by the creatures, she barely found it in herself to move before either of them reached her, managing to dodge them and making them crash together, only prompting them to fight each other while she finally found the opening to run away and hide behind one of the pillars. Her chest heaved up and down, shocked that she was still alive, but she was still running out of options. Then, the roaring of the rancor caught her ear and she heard its heavy struts charging toward her, and it then crashed onto the large stone pillar and sent it crashing down.

Once more, she managed to dodge it and get out of the pillar’s trajectory. Its impact on the ground lifted a cloud of light brown sand, making her cough and compromising her vision as well as the rancor’s. When it cleared enough, she noticed the tiny rocks that had split from the pillar after its fall, and she stocked up on several of them to at least have some sort of weapon. While the rancor was busy rampaging and knocking down the other pillars, Lav noticed from the corner of her eye that the nexu was now charging at her. Intimidating with its agile figure, sharp teeth and razor claws, Lav felt she was cornered, and barely saw her life flashing before her when she noticed a figure tackling the nexu away after which she heard the slash of a knife.

“Hunter?!”

“Run!” He yelled in a gruff voice, baring his teeth as he wrestled the nexu relying only on his strength and his knife to keep it away from her. In a split second, he dropped the blaster and Lav took it and tried to find a good angle to shoot the nexu without risking harming Hunter.

Meanwhile, the rancor continued to rampage, and it hit Lav with an idea. The rancor wasn’t targeting her. It was angry, yes because it was in its nature, but because the reason these creatures were extra aggressive was because they were starved and tortured to be conditioned that way. While the rancor continued destroying whatever obstacle it saw, the guards approached it to sting it with their spears, and the rancor had no choice but to defend itself.

Lav knew how to find a way out of there. Running, she caught the attention of the nexu as she made a beeline for the guards and began throwing rocks at them to catch their attention, but also to have the rancor see she was against them as well. The rancor noticed, and the two began fighting against the guards.

It all made the crowd go insane. The rancor had mighty fun fighting the guards, and while Lav ran out of rocks, she pulled out the blaster and stunned the remaining guards, finally clear to go back and help Hunter. Shocked as she was to see the scene, Hunter was still holding his own against the nexu, having successfully kept it away from her and the rancor while they took out the guards. His armor was scratched, but it was nothing too serious, and now, Hunter and the nexu were staring at each other, facing each other like it was a showdown.

Hunter, growling and frowning menacingly at the nexu, held out both of his fists, ready to fight. One of them held the blade, his only means of defense, and while the nexu was getting ready to leap at Hunter, Lav repositioned herself and knelt on the floor to stabilize herself, shooting the blaster and hitting the nexu. The stun mode of the blaster wasn’t enough to take it down, but it did interrupt its leap and it fell limply on the ground, dazed for a moment before it realized Lav had been responsible for its failure. Baring its teeth, it prepared to leap again only to be tackled by Hunter, who finally had an opening to hold the nexu down on the ground.

Lav approached them a bit more and continued firing stun bolts at the nexu. It took at least five more consecutive bolts to finally make the nexu unconscious as its body went limp and it relaxed onto the ground. Hunter sheathed his knife again and ran over to Lav, taking her hand as the crowd began to roar again.

“We have to go!” He yelled.

Just then, Lav noticed more Geonosians were making their way into the arena, unwilling to let them escape. The rancor, still angry and rampaging, helped give them an opening as it threw off any Geonosian who approached. With that opportunity, Hunter and Lav ran into the cells; Hunter slammed into one of the doors and brought it down while Lav stunned any remaining guards. Holding her hand again, Hunter ran at top speed and led her down the halls and outside to the hangar, luckily deserted for the most part as most Geonosians were still in the arena.

That wouldn’t be for long, though, as they heard the sound of wings swarming toward them. Without looking back, the two continued running until they reached the shuttles in the hangar. They entered the first one they saw, a small yet luxurious ship that clearly belonged to someone in the higher ranks. With the door closed, they were at least secluded from the outside.

Lav sat in the pilot’s seat and ignored the way her hands were shaking as she powered up the ship, making sure the engines were at full thrust. By then, Geonosians were already crawling on top of the ship in a fit to prevent their escape, but Lav applied full thrust and got the ship in the air, eventually having it go fast enough to blow off any Geonosians who’d tried to cling to the ship. Soon, they were in space, and Hunter was punching in coordinates and making calculations to jump to hyperspace.

“Make the jump now,” he said, his voice still shaky.

Lav tapped the final controls in order to authorize the jump to hyperspace and finally pushed the lever to the bottom, and in front of them, the stars seemed to displace themselves before they finally made the jump and were surrounded by the white and blue gleam of hyperspace.

Silence then reigned, as if nothing had happened. Lav’s eyes were still wide, and she wasn’t even blinking; from beside her, Hunter watched her, afraid to reach out to touch her in her state of shock. He thought back to everything that had happened and processed what was going on now.

In the most twisted way possible, their idea of running away had come true. They were both alive, that much was important, and what happened after that would be determined on its own. Hunter wasn’t willing to push things anymore, not until he knew Lav was alright.

After a while, Lav finally began blinking, and her breath began to shake. She looked around at the ship, its dashboard, its controls, the flickering lights of hyperspace.

“The tracker,” she said quietly, almost to herself.

“Lav,” Hunter tried reaching her, but she was making her way below the console and dismantling its hull, revealing a bunch of wires and controls. Lav scrambled through them and, while she tried to be careful with most of the controls, she set her blaster to kill and fired at one of the devices inside, ultimately disabling it.

“Lav, what are you doing?” Hunter’s voice was soft.

Lav set the weapon back to stun and locked it, handing it back to Hunter before she hugged her knees on the floor.

“I had to destroy the tracker,” she said quietly. “Now we won’t be followed.”

In silence, Hunter went to sit down next to her. Lav’s eyes were trailed on the ground and she didn’t speak a word, but not long after that, she began to tremble and her eyes filled with tears. On the spot, Lav began to weep, and she instantly leaned her body towards Hunter, who received her in a tight embrace, hoping he could make her feel safe somehow.

“It’s alright,” he calmed her down. “You’re safe, Lav. You’re safe. It’s over.”

Lav continued crying and she wrapped her arms tightly around Hunter and he held her even closer to him, shifting around to cradle her figure in his arms. He pressed kisses to her forehead and temple and stroked her hair while rocking her back and forth, repeating those words over and over until finally Lav’s sobs quieted down.

And they sat together, on the ground of the shuttle’s cockpit, while Lav’s tears flowed quietly down her cheeks and onto his armor. Closing her eyes brought back images of the events on Geonosis, but she found that looking at Hunter’s ingot necklace calmed her down.

It took long, but she finally stopped crying. Hunter’s low, smooth voice whispered soft and comforting things in her ear, until at last he convinced Lav she wasn’t in danger anymore. She was safe, in the arms of her Hunter, the man who’d protect her with his every breath. Pressing her body tighter onto him and with her hands balled up into fists, she finally dared to close her eyes until she became so tired she dozed off.

Feeling her body relaxing, Hunter leaned back on the wall and closed his eyes too, falling asleep with Lav in his arms.

-----

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This was so painful holy cow- but the ending was so beautiful. Bestie please please take it easy on me. OMG SHE CM GET HER FAMILY AND THEY CAN MEET UP With THE REST OF THE BATCH! Omg that would be so cool but I know miss moon ?(@moonstrider9904 ) likes to make me feel hurt but that’s ok because I love her 😤

Chapter 5 - Push the Limits

Nocticulent: a Hunter love story

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Read it on AO3! Or here below the cut

Summary: Just when things seem tolerable, Hunter and Lav find themselves in a difficult position as things seem to only get worse after they've gotten better in regards to the Empire.

Tags/Warnings: Lots of angst in this one. I know that’s not typical in my writing but this story kinda requires it (oopsie!). Mentions of slavery and undignified treatment. Mentions of execution, canon typical violence. So sorry for all the angst in this chapter, I promise the next chapters will be a lot lighter!!!

Word count: 9.5k

Notes: this chapter (and the story in general) was inspired by this post right here.

(taglist at the bottom)

That was the first time Lav actually noticed the way the stars shone on Geonosis. It wasn’t the breathtaking, pure glow from Daro, partly due to the emissions from the factories as well as the dust that lingered in the air, but they had something. That combined with the debris rings surrounding the rusty-colored planet gave the stars and any celestial bodies a similar orange hue while the sky had a purple undertone to its midnight blue. In all the nights prior to that one, Lav hadn’t bothered to focus on the sky’s beauty. Only one person had occupied her mind, though it had been with worry. Now, Hunter occupied her thoughts similarly, but in a note of relief and satisfaction as well as the longing to feel his lips on hers again.

Her room was still silent, but its solitude was more comforting than it had been the previous nights. Hunter was okay, he was healthy and recovering quickly, and most important, he not only returned her feelings, but he’d agreed, like her, to finally foster them. It seemed as if things were somehow falling to place; much as Lav still wasn’t infatuated with the Empire, Hunter did help out a lot with that. Working with him made things bearable, made them have a purpose, and she refused to think about things that could change that.

Hunter. She cared about Hunter at the moment. The memory of the sweetness in his eyes when he parted from that first kiss they’d shared had her smiling at nothing as her gaze rested gently on the wall, perched on her bed and not quite bringing herself to sleep yet. She had half a mind to run back outside, go to the med bay, and spend the whole night with Hunter. That would put them both at risk, of course, she’d barely managed to reboot the medical droid attending to him before medical personnel wanted access to the room just before she left. She’d take what she had, and she’d cherish it with her heart.

Her heart… Lav’s hand instinctively went up to her chest, where the folded picture of her family still rested safely inside her blouse. At least now being where she was wasn’t as heavy of a burden. She was confident that the purpose she had with her family and Hunter’s feelings for her would keep her afloat, and she felt faithful she could keep that up. For the first time in a while, Lav began to feel like something better than she imagined was in store for her.

She reached out to turn off the already dimmed lights, leaving her room mostly in darkness except for the faint light that peeked in through the outside. With those memories in mind, she drifted off to slumber, noticing how quiet the barracks were, and her sleep didn’t take long to deepen.

Several buildings away, in the med bay, Hunter also lay in his bed as the lights of the room had also been turned off for the night and it was empty except for him. Though his eyes were closed, his mind continued to wander. Her lips had left a print on his in the form of a faint tingling sensation, and Lav’s scent had also remained on his skin, of which he could catch whiffs of from time to time, further comforting him and lulling him to peaceful sleep. He couldn’t help his smile at the thought of her and how she’d gone to see him, to kiss him. He couldn’t wait to be out of the med bay to see her; just looking at her would suffice. Lavender had engrained herself in his heart, and he was ready to merely stand next to her if that was all he’d be allowed to do from that moment on. He’d take it gladly.

With those thoughts, Hunter didn’t even notice the moment he fell asleep, and the next time his eyes opened, the lights of the med bay were on again and there was movement of personnel up and about as well as the typical morning greetings. He’d had a full night’s sleep, there were no nightmares, no interruptions, not even insomnia. Hunter had slept through the whole night for the first time in ages.

Thanks to a fast recovery and state of the art medical procedures, Hunter was told he’d be able to return to his duties that day, so long as he stayed clear of intense activity. He was confident he wouldn’t need to do any of that, and he found he actually looked forward to getting back to his regular schedule. Of course, the only reason for that could be summed up in that faint, flowery scent that still lingered on him, one that fit all too well with her name, just as delicate as she was.

He gathered his things and left the med bay, not without thanking every doctor, nurse, and even medical droid who had cared for him. He scoffed. Hunter had never visioned himself thanking a droid, but he had the premonition some things could change for the better. He had no trouble finding his way around the compound despite having been wounded the first day he was there and not having had much chance to go around it like others had, and he knew where to go since he was told from the beginning where he would be required. No new orders had been given to him, anyway. He was free to make his way where he’d been told to in the first place.

And there she was. Lav was up and about, her hair braided down her right shoulder like it always was, a datapad in her hand and her clear voice guiding her peers around what had to be done in the factory. She was shorter than the other engineers, and yet, she was clearly the one in charge. Hunter could not have been prouder of her, and she was so dazzling that he didn’t even notice the reinforced security within the factory. He walked over to her and the smile returned to his lips, and he silently cleared his throat when he was behind her, catching her attention and making her turn around.

A smile instantly appeared on her face too and her eyes seemed to gleam when she looked at him, and Hunter barely held enough composure to not fall to his knees or take her in his arms and spin her around. Instead, he stood upright, making Lav’s smile widen a bit more as she addressed him with a light bow.

“Captain,” she said softly. “It’s good to see you around here.”

“It’s good to finally be back.”

“Are you sure you’re up for it?” The concern was evident in Lav’s eyes. “I know you’ve had a good recovery, but maybe you should take some more time. We’ve been making good time and everything’s going well, you can really take more time if you need it.”

Hunter smiled at her. “I appreciate it, but if I can manage moving around, I’d prefer to be here than stuck another whole day in the med bay.”

“Yeah, I get it,” she said, her grin tilting a bit more. “I’d rather you were here too. But only if you can manage it.”

“I would never lie to my star engineer, would I?” His smile remained. “Now go on, tell me how you’ve progressed. Don’t let out any details.”

“Right,” she led Hunter back to the squad, who was running daily maintenance checks on the machines before starting them up fully. “The first couple of days were all about adapting the factory to our current needs and implementing the processes I came up with for our multiple products. The next couple of days were for optimization; reducing startup and idle times, increasing quality ratio, and even monitoring where we could implement some automatization.”

“Hm,” Hunter eyed the machines. “Impressive.”

“It’s standard industrial engineering,” she replied as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“No, you make it sound standard,” Hunter said. “I’m sure it’s far more complicated than it seems.”

“Well, there are a lot of operations to get to the end result, but you get the point.”

“And can I assume you’re making good progress?”

“We’re ahead of schedule,” Lav replied proudly. “So you see, you really could have stayed in the med bay another day to rest.”

“Let me worry about my health,” he told her with a subtle smile.

“You know I can’t do that,” she answered. “I’m sorry, Captain, but you’ll need to give me a different order.”

Lav turned around and continued to type away in her holopad while Hunter continued admiring her. Back on Daro, Lav hadn’t had much of the spotlight put on her. Her former teammates were the ones with all the attention with their explicit military training while she worked in the labs, hidden from most eyes. It wasn’t until that moment that Hunter noticed what a leader she could be, a swift one who led with charisma, whose kindness motivated people to work with her. While observing her, he also noticed some of the looks she received from the engineers under her jurisdiction. Many of them were legitimately shocked one of their higher-ups, essentially Imperial, could have such a kind and delicate demeanor while getting so many things done.

For a while, even Hunter seemed to be taking orders from her. He didn’t mind; in his own squad, he was never the one who knew about machinery. All he did was direct and rush droids head on. He probably could have done more heavy lifting, but Lav denied any request he made, still concerned for his well-being. In short, Hunter spent most of his time next to her, and Lav mostly just directed the operation.

Still, there were a few small, almost unnoticeable moments in which the two were able to make eye contact, and Lav would direct a tiny smile at Hunter, a detail so small it almost made him love it even more. Every time, despite the obvious risk, Hunter couldn’t help but smile back at her.

In the middle of one of those gestures, the two were surprised by their admiral coming into view. Whether he had seen it or not was irrelevant to them at the moment, the two simply stood up straighter and greeted their Admiral the way they should have, purposely giving off the image that everything was going smoothly.

“Admiral,” Hunter said.

“Captain, good to see you out of the medical bay. I trust you are in condition to be out here again.”

“I am, sir,” Hunter answered. “Though I’m pleased to see Lavender has made good progress in my absence.”

“Indeed,” Rampart acknowledged Lav with a nod. “This is the fastest we’ve seen a factory become adapted to our current necessities, and it’s remarkable given how particular these processes will be. Your engineer has truly done a great job.”

Though never having been the biggest fan of the Empire or many of the things that happened within its walls, Lav allowed herself to feel some pride with what Rampart was saying.

“Thank you, admiral Rampart,” she answered.

“In fact, that is why I am here,” Rampart continued. “I wasn’t counting on you being out of the medical bay, captain, but your presence here only makes things more efficient.” Rampart turned around and began walking towards the exit of the factory that would lead them to the area outside that had been adapted into a hangar for drops and deliveries, and Lav and Hunter followed. The sunlight soon hit them, bright and almost scorching under the Geonosian sky.

“Had it not been for your efforts, the Geonosians probably wouldn’t have been so keen on accepting any deal on our part,” Rampart said. “The only reason they agreed to take a risk was because every design, every process was so thoroughly laid out,” he stopped walking and faced Hunter and Lav again. “That was you, Lavender.”

“Thank you, Admiral,” Lav said again. “Though I wouldn’t want to take all the credit. A lot of hours, days even, went into the work. At times, I was exhausted,” she looked over at Hunter, “but it was my captain who helped keep me on track.”

“I’m aware,” Rampart said, eyeing them both. “Well, the virtue of a good leader is to keep their followers on task. You both are to congratulate. Both of you are held in high regard by the Geonosians and the Empire. I believe it is safe to say you will be part of the Empire for a long time to come.”

Lav mustered a smile of approval in a way that she almost seemed please. Almost, as Hunter could see differently. His enhanced eyesight could allow him to pick up on details others couldn’t, and he could almost hear the way Lav’s muscles went cold when Rampart mentioned staying there.

“I’m honored to hear that, Sir,” Lav said with a subtle stammer.

“As am I,” Hunter agreed, both to follow up and to remind Lav he was still beside her.

The roaring of jet engines filled their ears as a large freighter ship began descending upon the bay. It was just another ship to the uneducated eye, but it had Lav looking in doubt at her holopad, instantly knowing it was a bit off.

“What’s in that ship?” She asked, her eyes still on the holopad. “I don’t have any more arrivals scheduled for today?”

“Ah, this is for a matter of workforce scheduled to arrive today,” Rampart answered.

“Oh,” Lav lit up. “Well, if it’s for the factory, I’d be thrilled to show them around—”

“That will not be necessary,” Rampart cut her off. “I will see to this matter, for now, you two see to the factory itself.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Lav said, stuttering a bit again. She guessed she’d simply grown used to being notified of everything, but she remembered she wasn’t in charge of everything. Somehow, that brought her comfort.

It did except for what Rampart had said about being there for a long time. Yes, it guaranteed good results, it guaranteed everything her family would ever need, but what was it she wanted? For starters, she’d love to not have to sneak around with Hunter. She was positive Rampart had seen the way the two had been smiling at each other, and if he didn’t tell them anything, a thorn nagged at her letting her know it wasn’t a good thing. Rampart wasn’t the type to keep things to himself for purely benevolent purpose, or in this case, letting two people be in love. No, it just didn’t fit him.

“Well, that is all I wanted to tell you,” Rampart said. “That and to congratulate you once more on this achievement. However, I’m afraid I am needed elsewhere at the moment. I suggest you get back into the factory to keep up current momentum.”

“We’ll see to it, sir,” Hunter said.

They saluted and Rampart was off, and in that time, the freighter had just finished up its landing procedures. As they walked back into the factory, they could both hear the steam coming out of the ship’s exhaust ports, and they were inside the factory before its rear door fully opened.

Still, a few steps into the factory, Hunter’s pace began slowing. Lav looked at him, worried he might be feeling bad from his wound, but her concern grew when she noticed the look in Hunter’s eyes. He looked like he was wary of imminent danger, like something was terribly wrong.

“What is it?” The fear in her voice was evident.

Hunter didn’t answer immediately. He focused every one of his senses on that ship. He knew the sudden dark feeling he’d gotten had been from that ship, but why would it be if it was simply workforce? Concentrating, he was determined to find any signs that would point him to an answer: a stale scent, the wave of heat that moved around the already scorching Geonosian air, the very few hushed voices, almost weak, contrasted by loud shouts of command.

“I have a bad feeling about that ship,” Hunter said.

“What about it?”

Hunter continued looking in that direction, after which he looked around their area to see if they weren’t being watched. When the coast seemed clear, he took Lav’s hand and tugged her alongside with him as he made his way back outside, discreetly staying behind the doorway and only looking enough to get a sight of what the ship was.

A small sight was enough to get a glimpse of how awful it was. The freighter was large and could hold many people, but exiting it were too many people. Humans, Twi’leks, Rhodians, males and females of countless species, most of them young with the exception of a few who were older, and all of them frail. Dark spots of dust and dirt covered their skins in patches, and those who had hair wore it messy and tangled. They all walked slowly, only keeping a certain pace due to the Imperial officers shouting at them to keep moving.

Lav felt a mix of horror and dismay at the sight. They were all slaves, there was no questioning it, and the fact that Rampart had described them as workforce now seemed morbid to her. Those people were meant to work at the factory—a factory she had conditioned, enable to produce in the first place, brought it up to working standards enough to require said workforce. She tried convincing herself it wasn’t her fault. She hadn’t ordered the capture of people who had the right to remain free, but that didn’t help her much. Someone else in the Empire had, along with several others who agreed with them, and now those people were condemned to a life of arduous work in less than dignified conditions.

“We have to do something,” Lav said quietly as her tension grew, and Hunter could hear the way she was trembling. She stepped forward and went onto the hangar, suddenly realizing there was nothing she could do at the moment. Instead, she looked disoriented standing there, gawking at the sight, her holopad hanging loosely beside her.

“Is there a problem?”

Probably the last voice she wanted to hear at that moment, Lav turned around to see Rampart, his gaze on her harder than it had been before.

“I only came to verify the shipment, sir,” she said, refusing to appear intimidated by him. “Just procedure. I wasn’t expecting this.”

She realized that last statement slipped out on accident, but there was hardly anything she could do about it now. All she could do was keep her back as straight as possible and her body as still as she could manage, but the horrendous sight paired with Rampart made it far harder for her to achieve that.

“Well, perhaps having stuck to your actual duties would have helped,” Rampart said, his voice deceptively calm as he went to stand next to Lav and also looking at the crowd of slaves before them, not looking at her for a moment. “I meant what I said. Do not make me regret it.”

Lav couldn’t bring herself to look at him, not even in the light of that obvious threat. “I wouldn’t dream of it, captain—”

“It’s Admiral.”

She went cold. At last, she had no choice but to look at Rampart, aware this time she’d failed her initial intention. She was afraid, and she was showing it.

“But perhaps you’re right,” Rampart said, his voice now smooth like it always was. “You should return to your captain,” he emphasized the last two words and there could only be one explanation for it.

“Right away, sir,” she answered. Doing her best to keep protocol, she stood up straight, saluted, and went back into the factory, not once daring to look over her shoulder. Hunter greeted her and walked discreetly beside her; he would have taken her hand, made any gesture to comfort her, but he’d seen and heard everything. All he could do at the moment was look at her from time to time and try to keep stable around her as she continued, or rather tried, to keep her fellow engineers working and making good time. But she was off, and everyone noticed. The one thing Hunter knew about her was that she wasn’t one to hide emotions.

The day could not have felt longer for both of them, with the occasional friendly smiles and cute comments completely gone. The whole time, Lav felt a hole in her chest that was already pounding with her heartbeat, a swarm of thoughts devastating her mind, and her trembling barely easing up with time. Like a good captain, Hunter oversaw any operations she led and stuck by her even after downtime, when he found himself walking her back to her room.

The hall was dark, quiet, and empty. Given the events of that day, it was no longer comforting to have a place be so alone. As Lav stood in front of her room door, she looked up at Hunter with wide, sad eyes.

Being aware that no one else was in the hall at the time, Hunter took her hand and squeezed it as he tried to comfort her with a soft gaze.

“Try to get some sleep,” he said.

She averted her eyes. “Hunter…”

He took both of her hands as though he’d be able to make everything right with that gesture. Lav took a deep breath and cleared her throat enough for her voice not to break whenever she spoke.

“I can’t,” she said with a gentle shake of her head.

“What?”

“I can’t let it happen.”

Hunter sighed, his eyes growing sad as well. “There’s nothing we can do.”

When he noticed her lips trembling, it all but broke his heart, and he took a hand to cup her cheek and wipe away any tears that fell.

“That’s what this is,” he told her. “The reason I’m here.”

“And so am I,” she said.

A bitter silence hung among them as Hunter tried to find more words, but he didn’t settle on anything that could improve her mood much.

“Rampart knows,” Lav broke the silence.

Hunter began to take his hand away from her, but she reached for it and set it back on her cheek, leaning into his palm to feel any sort of comforting warmth rather than the suffocating heat Geonosis offered.

“Don’t,” she said. “That’s not what I meant. I don’t want to stop, it’s just…” She trailed off, sighing and feeling pathetic. “I don’t know, Hunter… it’s all so messed up, it’s too much! It’s awful…”

“Hey,” he pulled her into an embrace where she could weep.

“It’s my fault,” she said.

“No,” Hunter managed firmly and looked her in the eyes. “Listen to me, this isn’t your fault, you hear me? You didn’t bring those people here, and you’re not capable of hurting a fly. It’s not your fault.”

“They’re here because of my work.”

“If it hadn’t been your work, it would have been someone else’s. It was not something you could control.”

She leaned her head on his chest again and let a few more tears drop out of her eyes while Hunter gently stroked her hair.

“What now?” She asked him.

Lav felt his chest slowly move up and then down with Hunter’s deep breath.

“I hate to say it,” he answered.

“But?”

“But we go on,” he told her, hating the fact as much as she did. “There’s nothing we can do or say to anyone.”

She parted slightly so that she could look him in the eyes. “It just feels wrong… and if Rampart knows I’m not on board with the idea, he’s going to be on me like a hawk. What if I don’t do enough and I’m thrown out? What if he takes it out on me, or you, or us?”

“Lav,” Hunter spoke with a soft, low voice, its deep hum somehow calming her down. “You’re going to be fine, alright?” He paused to kiss her forehead and resumed stroking her hair. “I promise you’ll be fine. You won’t be thrown out. Do your best with the factory, keep it in good conditions for whoever will work there. And regarding us, if Rampart does know and he hasn’t done anything about it by now, I don’t think he will. He cares about results, and that’s what we’ll give him. You’re in charge of that factory, Lav. It’s in your power to give those people better conditions.”

“He’ll see right through my efforts,” she told him.

Hunter gently stroked her cheek and had her look up at him. “Just do your best.”

Lav sniffled and wiped her eyes dry, all so that she could look at Hunter’s gorgeous, honey-brown irises in the darkness.

“Kiss me,” she whimpered quietly.

With a sad smile, Hunter acknowledged her request. Holding her firmly, yet sweetly, he pressed his lips to her, hoping desperately he could make her feel any better. With his hand, he secured the back of her head, almost molding her body into his, and Lav kissed him in return with strength as a couple of moans escaped her lips. They both needed this, they needed each other. They knew they’d be the only thing to pull them through that entire mess.

When Hunter began to pull away, Lav chased his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in for another kiss, this time more craving than before. Hunter knew she was vulnerable, and while her passion grew every second, he firmly took her shoulders and held her in place, opting to press a soft kiss to her forehead instead.

Lav sighed, knowing it was right. Her eyes looked at his again as she set her feet back on the ground and settled on one conclusion.

“I don’t want to stay here a long time,” she whispered, afraid unwanted ears would hear her.

Her eyes were wide, hopeful even, and Hunter knew what she meant. The memory of Daro returned to him, of that night in the forest when nature and night wildlife had treated them so well. He’d wrapped his arms around her, pinned her to a tree, been so close to kissing her for the first time. He’d proposed to run away together, to forget the Empire and everything that held them back.

And for every logical reason, neither one of them had acceded to such an illusion. Yet there was Lav, all but pleading Hunter to put that possibility back on the table, and he knew she had every reason to want to leave. Still, she also had reasons to stay, and so did he. He feared what it would take to get them both to agree to leave.

No, he wouldn’t allow himself to think of it at the moment.

“It’s what we’ve got for now, Lav,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “Try to rest, okay? You need to clear your mind, but if you need anything, contact me.”

Her heart sank, but she knew he was right. Her thoughts were on a similar line as his, and the realization that they’d both be stuck there for a while slowly spread through her like an illness. He was right, the best they could do was their best. To remain in good terms with the Empire so that they and their own could be safe.

Lav then nodded and squeezed Hunter’s hands. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

He tried his best to smile comfortingly at her, and after one more kiss on her forehead, Hunter was off down the hall while Lav entered her room and closed the door behind her.

Mindlessly, she took off her armor. The room was so hot that she turned on the air conditioning and took her blacks off, only left in a silk top and her panties, not even bothering to put any socks on. All the lights turned off, she crawled into the bed to try to sleep, but she couldn’t. It seemed she’d been lying awake for hours with visions and flashes of images she’d seen of the people leaving the freighter. There would be no way for her to sleep if she didn’t take it out somehow, and if she was sleep deprived, her mood would worsen, so would her attitude, and who knew what would happen if she was so irritable that she was at risk of disrespecting a higher up, further putting her in a bad image…

She stopped. She sat up and realized there was a storm in her mind, one that wouldn’t get her anywhere. She looked out the small window of her room and was no longer in love with the rusty look the stars had in contrast to the purple night sky. Pacing around the room, Lav tried her best to think of a way to do something. About what, she didn’t know. She just wanted to do something that would make her feel a little less condemned.

After a loud sigh, her eyes drifted to her armor and blacks on the floor, through which the corner of the picture was barely peeking out. She bent over and grabbed it, looking at the picture, barely making out the silhouettes of her Grandma and little sisters in the dark. It then hit her how much she missed them, how long it had been since she’d heard from them and they’d heard from her. With a new spark of determination, Lav went to sit on her bed and pulled the holopad from her nightstand, powering it up and setting it to write a message.

No words came to her at first. Most of the messages she’d written to her Grandma had been in high hopes, talking with optimism about her work if only to try and convince herself even further. But things were hard for Lav, so much harder, and she felt guilty for wanting to leave. She felt guilty for not doing things gladly for her family’s sake, when she knew the right thing would have been otherwise. She thought of all her grandma’s sacrifices when she’d been growing up, all the hard work she had to do that she probably didn’t enjoy, but that meant bringing Lav and her sisters up. But then again, that work didn’t have to do with slavery.

Before she drowned in her guilt, Lav’s fingers began moving instinctively on the holopad, finding words unconsciously as she began writing the message.

Hey, Granny.

I’m sorry I haven’t written sooner. To be honest, things have been really busy since we arrived on Geonosis. Things have been going well, or so it seems. I don’t even know anymore. I know you might get mad at what I’m about to say, but sometimes I don’t see the point of being here. Not because of you guys, though. Believe me, you and my sisters are on my mind constantly. I know I’m doing this for you.

But (and don’t tell anyone about this, please) we had a shipment of slaves come in today. Slaves, Grandma. You know it’s not right. None of it is right, and yet I’m managing the very operation they’re going to work in. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’m lost. Just when I was starting to feel like something good was going on, like I could keep up the good work here, this happens. And I can’t do anything about it without there being bad consequences either. I just feel trapped.

I’m sorry this message is so downcast, the last thing I want is to upset you with any of this. I just really needed to talk to you, to hear from you, and know that you’re okay. I feel like that’ll sure keep me going longer. Because honestly… I don’t like being here. I never did. The Empire’s awful, they do everything with such a tough hand that I fear, sooner or later, everyone will get a taste of how terrible they can be. I’ve lost sight of a lot of things.

But well, I know a big part of that is just me complaining and I don’t want to bring down the mood with you, you’re free to just not pay attention to my rambling. There has been some good too, honestly. Because you’re still my Grandma, I won’t go into much detail, but I’ve fallen in love with my captain and I really think he returns my feelings. He’s really handsome and strong and protective, I think you’d like him. And don’t worry, we’re being careful and everything—about not being caught, not about… what you’re thinking. (Please don’t get a heart attack).

Anyways, I hope you’re doing well. Say hi to my sisters for me, and tell them to behave in school. If they’re anything like me, they’re around the age when they’ll like talking back to their teachers, and while I’d be proud of them, I don’t want them getting into trouble. And I hope you’re doing fine as well, Granny. I miss you.

With love,

Your little Lavender

Lav debated whether or not to send the message. It was dark near the beginning, but that was the way things were. Was it right to let her Grandma know of everything going on, or should she just scratch the message entirely and rewrite it with a simple everything’s fine! Nothing bad’s happening here! and be safer? She sighed. She figured the worst that could come of it would be Granny worrying for her, and that being the case, Lav could really use someone else listening to her.

Without much more thought, Lav hit the send button and turned the holopad off, putting it on the nightstand again and lying back down on the bed, twisting and turning for another long while before finally sleeping.

The morning following that was neither easy nor difficult. Lav simply put on her blacks and armor after showering quickly with cold water to get her mind in the world, and she strutted down to the factory to get working.

She’d expected there would already be slaves working there, and nothing could prepare her mentally for that. To her surprise, though, there were no slaves in the factory when she arrived. It was just the squad of engineers she’d been working with, and soon, even Hunter arrived. His presence at least soothed her a bit, and she figured maybe there was some hope. Of what, she wasn’t certain. Hunter simply made her feel not everything was lost yet.

She did notice one thing though, which was the absence of the increased number of Geonosians in charge of looking after security. None of them were there, and it was then that she realized the factory was too quiet. Hunter had noticed it too, as he could often hear the clicking and fluttering of the Geonosians. He and Lav exchanged a look, both of them concerned, both still way on edge from the events of the day before. Despite that, Lav continued working, even if the hole in her chest made an appearance again.

A couple of hours went by and it seemed things were going relatively well. Lav made sure to increase ventilation in the factory as well as light intake from the outside, hoping those efforts would keep the factory in humane conditions. It may not have been a lot compared to the bigger picture, but she was satisfied with her little something for the time being. Barely allowing herself to feel positive for the first time that day, she and the others heard the heavy doors of the factory opening, and in came a group of Geonosians led by an Imperial officer.

Nobody knew what was up with them, but somehow, they all agreed their presence couldn’t be a good thing. The officer scanned the group with unfriendly eyes and then spoke, his voice booming and echoing around the factory.

“Lavender Earthapple,” he said.

She became worried instantly upon hearing her name, and she looked back at Hunter hoping maybe he had answers. Still, when Hunter seemed as worried as she did, she began to lose some hope. Summoning all her courage, Lav stepped to the front of the group.

“That’s me,” she said. “What can I help you with?”

“Arrest her,” said the officer, turning around and barely looking at Lav from the corner of his eye as though she were merely dust.

“Wait, what?!” Hunter stood between her and the Geonosians. “She’s not going anywhere.”

“That’s not up to you, captain,” the officer spit the word out. “Miss Earthapple has been found guilty of treason and is to be taken to the Geonosian Arena. An example has to be made of her.” He then pulled out his blaster to threaten Hunter. “Now step aside and don’t make more trouble, your presence is requested alongside Admiral Rampart to witness the execution.”

“Execution?!” Hunter questioned, trying to appear menacing above the crushing fear he felt.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” the officer loaded the blaster.

Hunter realized how powerless he was. Two Geonosians circled around him and went towards Lav, whose eyes were already filled with tears and wide as they looked at Hunter in terror.

“There’s a mistake,” she said as the Geonosians began cuffing her, and she resisted on instinct but only earned a sting from a shocking device they were carrying on them.

“Don’t hurt her!”

“Hunter!” Lav wept as she began to be carried away by them. “Hunter!”

“Lav, it’s going to be alright!” He called as the Geonosians took her away from the factory, still haunted by the sound of her cries that faded painfully slowly as they got farther.

Everyone in the factory remained silent; Hunter was outraged, afraid, helpless. He wanted nothing more than to go after her, but he already had a blaster pointed at him. Who was to say the officer wouldn’t find a way to take it out on him too, or on the other engineers who were just as terrorized by the scene they’d just witnessed?

Hunter only knew he was disgusted at his inability to do anything.

“You all must be there too,” the officer commanded. “That is an order. Captain, I will not ask again.”

Hunter raised his hands slightly in surrender, and he followed the officer out of the factory, not even being able to look back at the other engineers.

He had to find Lav. He had to figure out where she was and why they’d suddenly charged her with treason. She hadn’t done anything wrong, looking at the slaves and appearing horrified was only a human reaction, there was no treason in that. Or perhaps it was because of her relationship with him—but in that case, he would have been taken too. Or perhaps there was something planned for him he didn’t know about. The possibilities were horribly endless.

Rampart. Hunter knew that, for better or for worse, Rampart could be an answer to their problem. He had to talk to him, appeal to his better nature and get him to spare Lav. Whatever it took, he had to save Lav…

Away from the Imperial compound, Hunter was taken to a large structure embedded within one of the large Geonosian mountains. Its halls inside were dark, and even from there, he could hear the roaring of a crowd, and the sound of clicking and fluttering returned. In little time, Hunter arrived at a balcony that overlooked an arena where large pillars were set, surrounded by cages and with one Imperial guard in each of its cardinal directions, four total.

“Captain, you have arrived,” Rampart began speaking.

“With respect, what is going on?” Hunter asked, the worry unmistakable in his voice.

“Your engineer has committed treason.”

“Admiral, whatever relationship goes on between us, it has not hindered her work. That’s hardly a reason for—”

“That is not why she’s being prosecuted,” Rampart interrupted with a dismissing wave of his hand. “I in fact don’t much care for whatever it is goes on between you and her. You’ll find out the reason for her betrayal soon enough.”

“Sir,” Hunter insisted. “I know Lavender. She wouldn’t hurt anyone or anything. Whatever reason, it must be a mistake. I’m begging you to reconsider, don’t let her be executed. Look at her work, she’s done so much.”

“She can be replaced,” Rampart said without an ounce of care. “We already have everything we needed her to do, the rest can be picked up by other workers.”

Hunter was speechless, indignant at how disposable Rampart regarded her to be. Of course, that was how the Empire saw those loyal to them, and even more so those who weren’t. Even as a clone, Hunter had never heard something of the sort, and he’d been bred to go to the battlefield and possibly die, all for the Republic. It disgusted him.

“Captain,” Admiral Rampart faced Hunter. “You have done a good enough job not caring about those close to you enough for it to step between you and your duties so far. Don’t let that change now.”

Rampart then walked forward to the edge of the balcony and caught the crowd’s attention. “Bring in the prisoner.”

*

She’d barely processed anything. Lavender felt her body shaking, her legs about to give out beneath her. The Geonosians stripped her of her weapons and uncuffed her only to throw her in a cell that smelled like it had been rotting for years. She couldn’t see much, but she heard the roaring of a crowd as well as occasional banging and growling from behind the adjacent walls. Nothing would make her calm down or even see a glint of hope.

She didn’t even keep track of how long she was in there until she noticed the door opposite to the one she came in through began opening, revealing a second door made of bars that began lifting. A guard came in with a spear and began urging her out; the sunlight blinded her the moment she stepped into the sandy ground and she took a while to process her surroundings. The seats of the arena were filled with thrilled Geonosians while the balconies hosted Imperials, and at one section of the seats, the slaves and even generic Imperial workers were hosted.

Lav was forced to walk to the center of the arena facing south, and her heart sank. Next to Rampart stood Hunter, and even from that distance, Lav recognized the agony he was going through. Then, Rampart raised his hands and the crowd quieted down, leaving enough silence for his voice to be amplified and hear by everyone.

“The former Imperial engineer Lavender Earthapple has been found guilty of treason through words that came out from herself,” Rampart began. “Last night, a message sent from her to her family in which she states herself how much she is against the Empire.”

“What?” Lav said quietly, but all for show, her voice was amplified as well.

Rampart then read from a holopad: “None of it is right, and yet I’m managing the very operation they’re going to work in. I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’m lost. Just when I was starting to feel like something good was going on, like I could keep up the good work here, this happens. And I can’t do anything about it without there being bad consequences either. I just feel trapped.

“I’m sorry this message is so downcast, the last thing I want is to upset you with any of this. I just really needed to talk to you, to hear from you, and know that you’re okay. I feel like that’ll sure keep me going longer. Because honestly… I don’t like being here. I never did. The Empire’s awful, they do everything with such a tough hand that I fear, sooner or later, everyone will get a taste of how terrible they can be.”

Lav was disgusted by the dramatization Rampart had given, the laughter and fake shock coming from Imperials and Geonosians alike, and the fact that her message had been intercepted. Rampart had clearly distrusted in her since the ship disembarked, it was the only explanation—and only proof of what lengths he and the Empire itself would go to in order to silence anyone with a mind of their own.

“You had no right to go through that message,” the way Lav’s voice broke betrayed her strong intention to fight back.

“You no longer have any rights,” Rampart said. “We take you in, grant your family everything it needs to thrive and give you high regards within the Empire given your work, and this is the loyalty we get from you?” He looked up at the rest of the crowd. “Let this be an example. The Republic is dead. Its weakness killed it. The Empire is what thrives now, and if you are naïve enough,” he pointed at Lav, “to try and digress from us, you will burn.”

His eyes fell on Lav again, almost in mockery. “Do you have anything more to say?”

She tried her best to steady herself, and while she was still on the verge of tears, Lav knew she had to speak up. “I no longer put anything beneath the Empire. Do what you want now, you’re the one who’s going to burn.”

Rampart seemed almost amused by Lav. “How wrong you are.”

From the center of the arena, Lav continued locking eyes with him. She couldn’t possibly bear looking over at Hunter. Her eyes were still full of tears and her lips trembled as she tried to grasp what was coming, and all she had left now was hanging on to the hope that one day, the Empire would go up in flames.

“Such a waste,” Rampart said dismissively, giving the guards the go ahead to open the rest of the cages.

That final statement tipped Hunter into despair, and he also knew that if he didn’t do anything now, it would be too late after that. As he looked at Lav in the center of the arena, his mind raced. The woman he loved was put in grave danger, and he wasn’t willing to let anything happen to her. He remembered every time she’d smiled at him, how soft she still was, how warm and gentle her touch was, the sweetness of her kisses. He remembered the promise he’d made to himself, to keep her the way she was. Soft. Warm. Hopeful.

He wasn’t arrested, being prosecuted, or anything of the sort. He still had his own weapons. The blaster would do him well and so would the blade, if he played things right, he wouldn’t need anymore. Though, he did realize he was running out of time. Two of the cages opened, one of them revealing a nexu while the other one held a small rancor, most likely one in its early years, but still quite the threat.

Hunter watched as Lav’s eyes widened in horror as she looked back and forth both animals, each one eager to strike at her, baring their teeth and growling. Hunter needed to act now.

He grabbed his blaster and, positioned behind Rampart, he had an opening since everyone’s eyes were on Lav as she was threatened by both creatures. It was then that Hunter aimed the blaster at Rampart and fired it, stunning him and making him land unconscious on the ground. After that, Hunter jumped off the balcony, positioned low enough so that he could survive the fall and land relatively safely.

The crowd roared when they noticed what had happened, but in the middle of the arena, Lav hadn’t noticed any of it. Petrified by the creatures, she barely found it in herself to move before either of them reached her, managing to dodge them and making them crash together, only prompting them to fight each other while she finally found the opening to run away and hide behind one of the pillars. Her chest heaved up and down, shocked that she was still alive, but she was still running out of options. Then, the roaring of the rancor caught her ear and she heard its heavy struts charging toward her, and it then crashed onto the large stone pillar and sent it crashing down.

Once more, she managed to dodge it and get out of the pillar’s trajectory. Its impact on the ground lifted a cloud of light brown sand, making her cough and compromising her vision as well as the rancor’s. When it cleared enough, she noticed the tiny rocks that had split from the pillar after its fall, and she stocked up on several of them to at least have some sort of weapon. While the rancor was busy rampaging and knocking down the other pillars, Lav noticed from the corner of her eye that the nexu was now charging at her. Intimidating with its agile figure, sharp teeth and razor claws, Lav felt she was cornered, and barely saw her life flashing before her when she noticed a figure tackling the nexu away after which she heard the slash of a knife.

“Hunter?!”

“Run!” He yelled in a gruff voice, baring his teeth as he wrestled the nexu relying only on his strength and his knife to keep it away from her. In a split second, he dropped the blaster and Lav took it and tried to find a good angle to shoot the nexu without risking harming Hunter.

Meanwhile, the rancor continued to rampage, and it hit Lav with an idea. The rancor wasn’t targeting her. It was angry, yes because it was in its nature, but because the reason these creatures were extra aggressive was because they were starved and tortured to be conditioned that way. While the rancor continued destroying whatever obstacle it saw, the guards approached it to sting it with their spears, and the rancor had no choice but to defend itself.

Lav knew how to find a way out of there. Running, she caught the attention of the nexu as she made a beeline for the guards and began throwing rocks at them to catch their attention, but also to have the rancor see she was against them as well. The rancor noticed, and the two began fighting against the guards.

It all made the crowd go insane. The rancor had mighty fun fighting the guards, and while Lav ran out of rocks, she pulled out the blaster and stunned the remaining guards, finally clear to go back and help Hunter. Shocked as she was to see the scene, Hunter was still holding his own against the nexu, having successfully kept it away from her and the rancor while they took out the guards. His armor was scratched, but it was nothing too serious, and now, Hunter and the nexu were staring at each other, facing each other like it was a showdown.

Hunter, growling and frowning menacingly at the nexu, held out both of his fists, ready to fight. One of them held the blade, his only means of defense, and while the nexu was getting ready to leap at Hunter, Lav repositioned herself and knelt on the floor to stabilize herself, shooting the blaster and hitting the nexu. The stun mode of the blaster wasn’t enough to take it down, but it did interrupt its leap and it fell limply on the ground, dazed for a moment before it realized Lav had been responsible for its failure. Baring its teeth, it prepared to leap again only to be tackled by Hunter, who finally had an opening to hold the nexu down on the ground.

Lav approached them a bit more and continued firing stun bolts at the nexu. It took at least five more consecutive bolts to finally make the nexu unconscious as its body went limp and it relaxed onto the ground. Hunter sheathed his knife again and ran over to Lav, taking her hand as the crowd began to roar again.

“We have to go!” He yelled.

Just then, Lav noticed more Geonosians were making their way into the arena, unwilling to let them escape. The rancor, still angry and rampaging, helped give them an opening as it threw off any Geonosian who approached. With that opportunity, Hunter and Lav ran into the cells; Hunter slammed into one of the doors and brought it down while Lav stunned any remaining guards. Holding her hand again, Hunter ran at top speed and led her down the halls and outside to the hangar, luckily deserted for the most part as most Geonosians were still in the arena.

That wouldn’t be for long, though, as they heard the sound of wings swarming toward them. Without looking back, the two continued running until they reached the shuttles in the hangar. They entered the first one they saw, a small yet luxurious ship that clearly belonged to someone in the higher ranks. With the door closed, they were at least secluded from the outside.

Lav sat in the pilot’s seat and ignored the way her hands were shaking as she powered up the ship, making sure the engines were at full thrust. By then, Geonosians were already crawling on top of the ship in a fit to prevent their escape, but Lav applied full thrust and got the ship in the air, eventually having it go fast enough to blow off any Geonosians who’d tried to cling to the ship. Soon, they were in space, and Hunter was punching in coordinates and making calculations to jump to hyperspace.

“Make the jump now,” he said, his voice still shaky.

Lav tapped the final controls in order to authorize the jump to hyperspace and finally pushed the lever to the bottom, and in front of them, the stars seemed to displace themselves before they finally made the jump and were surrounded by the white and blue gleam of hyperspace.

Silence then reigned, as if nothing had happened. Lav’s eyes were still wide, and she wasn’t even blinking; from beside her, Hunter watched her, afraid to reach out to touch her in her state of shock. He thought back to everything that had happened and processed what was going on now.

In the most twisted way possible, their idea of running away had come true. They were both alive, that much was important, and what happened after that would be determined on its own. Hunter wasn’t willing to push things anymore, not until he knew Lav was alright.

After a while, Lav finally began blinking, and her breath began to shake. She looked around at the ship, its dashboard, its controls, the flickering lights of hyperspace.

“The tracker,” she said quietly, almost to herself.

“Lav,” Hunter tried reaching her, but she was making her way below the console and dismantling its hull, revealing a bunch of wires and controls. Lav scrambled through them and, while she tried to be careful with most of the controls, she set her blaster to kill and fired at one of the devices inside, ultimately disabling it.

“Lav, what are you doing?” Hunter’s voice was soft.

Lav set the weapon back to stun and locked it, handing it back to Hunter before she hugged her knees on the floor.

“I had to destroy the tracker,” she said quietly. “Now we won’t be followed.”

In silence, Hunter went to sit down next to her. Lav’s eyes were trailed on the ground and she didn’t speak a word, but not long after that, she began to tremble and her eyes filled with tears. On the spot, Lav began to weep, and she instantly leaned her body towards Hunter, who received her in a tight embrace, hoping he could make her feel safe somehow.

“It’s alright,” he calmed her down. “You’re safe, Lav. You’re safe. It’s over.”

Lav continued crying and she wrapped her arms tightly around Hunter and he held her even closer to him, shifting around to cradle her figure in his arms. He pressed kisses to her forehead and temple and stroked her hair while rocking her back and forth, repeating those words over and over until finally Lav’s sobs quieted down.

And they sat together, on the ground of the shuttle’s cockpit, while Lav’s tears flowed quietly down her cheeks and onto his armor. Closing her eyes brought back images of the events on Geonosis, but she found that looking at Hunter’s ingot necklace calmed her down.

It took long, but she finally stopped crying. Hunter’s low, smooth voice whispered soft and comforting things in her ear, until at last he convinced Lav she wasn’t in danger anymore. She was safe, in the arms of her Hunter, the man who’d protect her with his every breath. Pressing her body tighter onto him and with her hands balled up into fists, she finally dared to close her eyes until she became so tired she dozed off.

Feeling her body relaxing, Hunter leaned back on the wall and closed his eyes too, falling asleep with Lav in his arms.

-----

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Crosshair

how do i get the moon to notice me back

I need explanation DAVE

Why Crosshair's voice sexy?

Why, Filoni? Why?

BYE 😭✋🏼

Ao3 writers are the strongest Avengers

I’m now crying

Before vs After Adoption

[source]

sergeant-hunter’s 1k celebration

> for @kriffclone​ ‘s request

make me choose:  Crosshair in tbb armor or Crosshair in imperial armor

my plan was to go to sleep at midnight but then I found this and read all 4 chapters. Now about to go to sleep at 2:20am I love this so much I regret nothing and would do it again gladly.

Chapter 4 - Divergence

Nocticulent: a Hunter love story

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Read it on AO3! Or here below the cut

Summary: The expansion to Geonosis throws a cloud over Lav and Hunter's evolving relationship as their own reasons for being with the Empire keep them for expressing how they truly feel for each other.

Tags/Warnings: light angst, mutual pining, some mentions of injury, but fluff at the end!

Word count: 9.5k

Playlist: Breeze by tysu and Spencer Hunt

(taglist at the bottom)

Just like that, Lav was about to be shipped off to another planet. Barely any time to let her Granny and younger twin sisters know of the change; she hadn’t caught them on live holo transmission and she wasn’t even sure they’d read the message yet. For all Lav knew, they’d hear the news when she’d already be on her way to Geonosis.

Lav had gone to pack her personal belongings while the team was completing their last sessions of training before their first assignment outside of Daro, an ironic indication of how they’d be split after being presented as an ideal team. That was just the way Lav figured it would be from then on: the Empire quickly making its plans and using the people they had available, oblivious to any promises they’d made, any needs those people had. If there was anything the Empire taught you, it was never to take anything for granted.

Her glasses were safe in the compartment in her belt, and the picture of her family was even safer in one of the inside pockets of her blouse, pressed right up against her heart as Lav was desperately reminding herself of her reasons for being with the Empire. Having said the briefest of goodbyes to her team, those three other soldiers who she’d known so little yet she knew were good at heart, Lav was now heading to the shuttle where troopers, CTs and TKs, were boarding to be taken to the Venator that would ultimately transport them to Geonosis. With every pace, Lav replayed Kaisa’s kind eyes in her mind, Kayn’s nonchalance, Warwick’s chattiness, things she had a hunch she wouldn’t find in Geonosis. It occurred to her that she hadn’t thought to ask them what their plans would be now, but it was now to late to ask, anyway. She’d heard they’d been running several intense training courses, most of them led by Hunter, but he was going to Geonosis too and Lav was lost as to what her former team would do now…

Hunter. Just a mere five paces from the shuttle, Lav finally looked up from the ground her eyes had been trailed on, feeling as the tension left her momentarily when her eyes landed on those of Hunter. She knew by that moment his eyes were transparently expressive, never seeming to hide any emotions, from the disgust he’d had at the terrible officer the other day to the desire he’d felt to kiss her out in the forest. Still, when Lav looked at Hunter standing outside that shuttle, his eyes had a look she hadn’t seen before. It looked like dread, but as he looked at her, Lav knew he was concerned for her. She felt her lips tilting up just a bit, flattered that the captain would insist in putting her well-being first.

“How are you?” Hunter asked her, his voice quiet and husky, and with his eyes a faint gleam asked Lavender if she wanted to seize the chance to make a final run for it. The truth was, it was starting to no longer sound like a terrible idea, but Lav had to shake her head subtly to push that thought away.

“I think I’m ready,” she admitted. “I’m just still processing everything. It doesn’t feel quite real yet.”

“You’re nervous,” Hunter affirmed.

“We’re relocating to Geonosis, Hunter.”

The captain snickered, her ironic humor distracting her from the fact that he could hear her accelerated heartbeat as well as see the faint tints of red painting her fingertips, her cheeks, even the tip of her nose, indecisive as to it was because of him or Geonosis.

“Yeah, you have a point,” was all Hunter could say before pausing and examining Lav carefully. “Look…” he stuttered. “I’m going to be there with you, a-and I don’t intend on splitting from your side or being relocated elsewhere. If we stick together, we’ll be fine.”

If she hadn’t already been nervous, Lav would have just begun to blush the moment he said those words.

“Hunter…” She spoke softly just as a final array of twelve TK troopers entered the shuttle for their uniformed commander to look over at Lav and Hunter’s direction, practically dissecting them both with her gaze.

“Captain, Trooper, you must board now,” the commander said.

Both Lav and Hunter could pick up on the droplet of venom in her voice as she spoke their ranks, suddenly unable to ignore the way her eyes narrowed, particularly at Lav. In turn, Lav straightened up and tightened her arm’s grip around her helmet as she stepped inside the shuttle with Hunter following after her. Being the last two on board, they were at the edge of the shuttle looking towards the door with the commander behind them in the middle, as though she didn’t want to retrieve her watch from them.

The door finally closed and they felt the ship taking off; Lav suddenly felt upset she had no windows nearby, no way to take so much as a last look at the endless forest on Daro. In spite of the hardships, Lav was fond of the planet. The forest, the light rain, the clear sky at night, the bunnies, all those were things she cherished dearly, some of them for the mere memory of having shared them with Hunter. She wished she could direct a gaze at Hunter or a touch, anything to let each other know they were alright, but she couldn’t as long as she still felt the commander’s prying eyes on her. She didn’t deem it fair, though. That commander wasn’t even who she answered to, Hunter was the one for that.

But the commander outranked Hunter and, more importantly, she could relay any suspicion to others, something neither Lav nor Hunter wanted.

“Are you the head engineer?” The commander then asked Lav.

Lav turned slightly, enough to face the commander, her eyes casual as always. “Yes, ma’am, I am.”

“You will remain upright when you address me,” snarled the commander.

Quickly, Lav shifted and faced the door once more, straightening up and pointing her chin slightly upwards. “Sorry, ma’am.”

Despite her apology, Lav felt a rolling boil inside her. She could never understand the fuss behind ranks rather than mere organization, and she hated that people would let a simple word get to their heads, and further, make them treat others like insects. Though Hunter couldn’t read her thoughts, he did know whenever Lav was getting upset, and still standing as upright and professionally as possible, he managed to side-eye Lav, wary of whatever words would follow from the commander.

“It would appear your captain has not enforced that sort of protocol,” said the commander.

Lav was indecisive as to what to do or say. She knew that a simple “with respect” as a preamble wouldn’t be enough for her to speak her mind and shove the commander away. Luckily, the Venator was orbiting just outside of Daro, and that shuttle ride wouldn’t take very long. Plus, that commander was clearly in charge of the troopers she’d escorted rather than a more important operation in the expansion like Lav and Hunter were. This commander, as they were both aware, wouldn’t be involved closely with them. She was just looking for someone to pick on for any flaw, as too many people in the Empire had grown fond of.

“My head engineer spends most of her time in front of computers and machinery,” Hunter intervened. “She has designed key operations and obtained essential data for the Geonosian expansion to be possible. The least I can do to thank her is allow her to stand at ease in front of her difficult work rather than force her to salute me.”

The commander found herself at a loss for words, knowing that Hunter was right even though she disliked being outsmarted by someone she outranked. Lav, personally, found herself struggling with the need to smile, not just at the way Hunter had put the commander in her place, but at everything he’d just said about her. And, though Hunter couldn’t turn around and see Lav due to the commander’s need for protocol, he once again felt her heartbeat accelerate, imagining the way her cheeks would redden any moment now.

“Thank you, captain,” Lav took her right hand up to her temple in a salute. “I feel fortunate to be a part of this expansion in such an important way as you say.”

Hunter felt, for the first time since being with his own brothers, that he was also holding in laughter in front of higher-ups. Once again, Lav had made him feel alive, nostalgic. All he could do at that moment, however, was stick to the imperial protocol that was demanded from him.

“At ease, soldier,” he spoke in his sergeant voice.

No more words were spoken during the shuttle ride. The commander, at least, learned not to pick on those two, but she did know better than to keep her guard down around them. Something about those two was too dynamic, too familiar. Of course, neither Lav nor Hunter were oblivious to that fact, and for the remainder of the shuttle ride, they didn’t so much as gaze at one another, ultimately shutting down the commander’s expectation for any spicy drama she could gossip about with the admirals.

The shuttle landed in the Venator’s hangar and its door opened upon touchdown. Lav and Hunter were the first ones down, both of them exhibiting military discipline as they were greeted by Admiral Rampart, saluting him while Hunter began to address him. As the rest of the soldiers left the shuttle, Lav noticed the commander from the corner of her eye directing a final look at her and Hunter, convinced (much to her distaste) that there was nothing to say on the matter. At long last, she disappeared into the crowd of TK troopers while leading her squad.

“Right on schedule, captain,” Rampart said and addressed Lav. “I must admit, Lavender, I am as pleasantly surprised with your work as the rest of the committee in charge of the expansion.”

“I am honored, sir.”

“Geonosis is far away from Daro; it will be quite a long voyage from here,” Rampart continued. “You will reside on the medium level of the barracks. Head there and unload, I will need you in half an hour on the bridge for the general briefing. Captain,” Rampart addressed Hunter now, “your orders are the same.”

“Yes, sir,” Hunter said.

Rampart nodded and left them both at ease to then make his way across the hangar. Exchanging a quick look, Lav and Hunter made their way to one of the nearby elevators, somehow being lucky enough to be the only two in there once the door was closed.

Giggles coming from Lav engulfed the elevator as they descended to the medium level of the Venator, followed by the sound of Hunter’s own laughter.

“I seriously wish I could have seen the commander’s face when you stepped up,” Lav said.

“I shut her up, didn’t I?” Hunter smirked. He then sighed as the laughter died down. “I only told the truth, though.”

Lavender looked at him, finally able to freely turn and face him. “Really?”

Hunter only nodded, focusing closely on Lav as she bashfully blushed and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“That’s very kind of you,” she said quietly, the shade of pink on her cheeks threatening to drive Hunter to his knees.

There in the elevator, both of them alone, their minds began to wander to the same place, the tension that was inevitably building between them as they shyly looked each other in the eyes. Behind closed doors, with no cameras in the elevator through which indiscreet eyes could see, it would be very easy for them to lean in, press their lips up against each other, finally feel what they’d been longing to for so long. Hunter scanned every detail of the young engineer, nearly finding himself pushing her against the wall, caging her with his arms and finally claiming her as his. Before he could pay mind to such an impulse, they both felt as the elevator slowed down, both of them knowing their time alone would be over in seconds.

Though Lav’s cheeks were still fairly tainted, she kept an upright composure with serious eyes and her arms firmly at her sides, as did Hunter, when the door of the elevator opened to reveal a group of commanding officers waiting to get on. They parted to let Lav and Hunter go through to that they could later get on the elevator, a scheme that was executed wordlessly in a silence that was chafing for the captain and the engineer. They both looked back at the closed elevator door as they stepped away from it, only for their eyes to meet with a blend of relief and disappointment, after which they were left not quite knowing what to say.

“Which room is yours?” Hunter broke the silence after a series of heavy walking down the corridor.

“M-231,” Lav answered as she verified the detail on her holopad. “It shouldn’t be far from here. Which one’s yours?”

“M-212,” he’d been told before leaving Daro. “Not very far from yours if you were to need anything.”

Lav’s mind wandered again. What would she need in a Venator when everyone was sleeping? She knew she’d have all necessary things in the room. The only circumstance in which she’d leave her room to go find Hunter was if she needed him.

As he eyed her from the side, Lavender’s blush was intensifying again.

“Is something wrong?” Hunter asked her.

“N-no,” Lav stuttered back. “No, nothing’s wrong. Just thinking.”

When it finally hit Hunter, his eyes widened. “Oh, I didn’t mean anything like that—”

“Of course not!” Lav yelped. “Like that, like what? I didn’t mean anything like that either…” She trailed off, merely relieved nobody was around to hear her ridiculous response. Fantastic, she thought. She’d probably just made a fool out of herself in front of Hunter, after which all she could do was make sure nobody had heard. Sadly, it seemed that was routine whenever she was around Hunter, and having to hide or reprimand everything would begin weighing on her very soon.

“I’m sorry,” Lav said, her eyes becoming sad.

“Don’t be,” Hunter reassured her even though his eyes reflected the same emotion, after which he finally sighed. “It’s going to be complicated, isn’t it?”

Hearing him say that made Lav aware of the situation between them as well as the way Hunter saw it. The fact was they hadn’t kissed yet, but they both knew of each other’s feelings. Hunter had made it obvious that night in the forest of Daro, having almost kissed her out there, in front of her barracks, only to then settle for a kiss to her hand. With each of those gestures, Lav had all but melted in his arms. After all of that, Lav and Hunter knew they were an item, though sadly for both of them, not enough had transpired between them in that aspect, and the only reason for that was the Empire’s strict regulations on comrade relationships.

“Considering the fact that we’re both considered somewhat important for this operation and that we’ll be surrounded by troopers most of the time for who knows how long…” Lav began.

“Right,” Hunter said quietly as they both walked a bit more.

“Hypothetically,” Lav began, “what would… happen…?”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “If we… were to show it?”

She nodded, suddenly thinking it was a dumb question.

“Well, anyone working for the Empire by pure free will would simply be laid off and replaced,” Hunter said. “But in my case, I have no choice but to be here. Either I’m threatened or my brothers are.”

“And I kind of have to oversee the implementation of my work,” Lav continued, “but we’ve seen that’s as much importance as I’ll be given before I’m easily replaced or relocated. Once that’s done, I’ll be laid off, my sisters will lose their education, my Granny will lose the money.”

“You might just be warned and transferred elsewhere.”

“Yeah, away from you.”

Hunter thought his response carefully, dying to hold her in her arms for preferring to be with him rather than anywhere else, but knowing it would be the most inappropriate action given the conversation they were having.

“Wouldn’t it be worth it?” He said. “If your Granny and sisters were alright?”

“Or your brothers,” Lav said, her voice now tinged with a sad creak as they both stopped in the middle of the brightly lit hallway, only able to look at each other as the weight slowly crushed them a bit more.

Lav sighed. “Is it a bad idea?”

Hunter’s immediate answer would have been no. No, it was not a bad idea. He hadn’t felt for anyone what he felt for the young woman standing in front of her, with her big eyes, her braided hair, her full lips, her intelligence and kindness. But the events of the past months had made him a hesitant man, always cautious and, though he hated it, afraid. He was always the protective one, always the one making sure those around him would be okay despite their occasional recklessness. Lav was similar to him; she had too much at stake, and he couldn’t, wouldn’t allow himself to be the reason for everything to go wrong for her. Still, he wanted to speak some sort of comfort to her, but he couldn’t seem to find any words.

But Hunter’s silence answered Lav’s question, and her eyes trailed away from his figure. The blend of melting for Hunter upon laying eyes on him and feeling her heart breaking wasn’t something she wanted to feel much of. Lav’s eyes landed on a familiar number on the wall next to a gray door, her sadness growing just a bit more despite knowing it was probably best to end the conversation there.

She looked straight at him first, her eyes on his armored chest as the moved up, scanning the ingot necklace he wore before finally looking him in the eyes.

“Here’s my room,” she said quietly.

Hunter looked at the door over his shoulder before gazing back at Lav. “Right. Go in and unload, try to relax a bit before the briefing.”

She nodded in response. “I guess I’ll see you there.”

Hunter didn’t need enhanced senses to pick up on the dismay that flooded her voice. Being the hardened soldier that he was, he kept it to himself despite wanting to do something to help her, but that was the catch. The one thing he could do to ease Lavender’s sorrow was forbidden.

“I’ll see you at the briefing,” he said in an effort to bring their relationship to a military level.

Lav smiled softly at him hoping it would convey the message that she had no hard feelings against him. She never could have them. With a brief nod, Lav walked past Hunter and made her way into her room, barely looking back at him before the door closed between them. She leaned back on the wall trying to get a hold of herself; she knew that if their kissing or holding hands didn’t give them away, her silent yearning and sad eyes would. With a long sigh, Lav did as Hunter asked of her and unloaded, trying to relax and prepare for the briefing, hoping a while surrounded by admirals and officers would help her get back into the role of engineer as opposed to that of a love interest.

*

Lav wasn’t the last one to arrive to the briefing, but there were already plenty of officers and crew filling up the bridge, including Admiral Rampart. Despite the turmoil that had cast a shadow over her and Hunter earlier, she couldn’t help but scan the room to see if he’d arrived yet, which, much to her dismay, he hadn’t. Pushing all the thoughts away and suddenly becoming aware of the folded picture that was still pressed up against her chest under her armor, Lav realized there were chairs set out on the eastern side of the holoprojector in the middle of the room designated for the engineering crew, and she assumed her place was there. Not wanting to call attention to her, she sat down on the seat furthest to the right, remaining in silence as her eyes scanned the room and heard soft voices speaking about many different subjects, but all of them having something to do with Geonosis. The factory, the few Geonosians left, those of which most were on board with the expansion, as well as their savage ways, all of them things she assumed would be treated in the briefing if they were actually important.

The door to the bridge hissed every time it opened and closed whenever someone new entered. Lav’s eyes drifted to the door just when Hunter walked through it, his helmet secure under one of his arms. His mere presence was imposing, and she noticed several pairs of eyes turning to look at him as he made his way inside. As she looked at him, Lav felt like a schoolgirl waiting anxiously in the cafeteria for her crush to arrive, and suddenly she reminded herself to look away from her captain so as to not make trouble.

Hunter walked across the bridge to where he was supposed to be, directing a short look of reassurance to Lav. She smiled back as confidently as he could, no one would suspect of that, right? Regardless, they’d agreed not to do anything now. It wasn’t like there was anything else to hide. After Hunter, only a few more people arrived before Rampart made his way to the holoprojector, sending a signal to everyone present that the briefing was about to begin as all the people took their places and quieted down.

“Officers, troopers, engineers,” Rampart began, a total speaker whose presence flooded the room, “all of you minds comprising this team. The time has finally come for one of our most important expansions: Geonosis. The system is key to fortifying the Empire’s military and make it worthy of its name as well as what it represents.”

That which the imperial army represented was exactly what Lav feared.

“To provide weaponry and munitions to our troops is one of the first steps necessary to take, and the factories on Geonosis that once served the Separatists during the barbaric Clone War fueled by the extinct Republic, will not only help support our troops and provide them directly, but it will also serve as a refinery to put some of our Emperor’s own plans in progress.”

Wondering what those plans of the Emperor could be wasn’t as important to Lav as looking over at Hunter at the way the Republic had been disregarded as well as the Clone War, the very reason Hunter existed. It seemed insulting to Lav and she wondered it might have had the same effect on Hunter, but when she looked at her captain, he didn’t seem bothered. If he felt anything toward it, Hunter was good at hiding it, but something told her his mind had gone places with that statement.

“The initial terms of our negotiations with the Geonosians still stand,” Rampart continued. “We will not only provide with a percentage of raw material which will be extracted from planets already occupied by us as well as those we will occupy in the future, but we will also provide technology to acquire and process these minerals prior to the manufacture of weaponry.” Rampart then turned to Lav. “For that, one of our engineers has developed and successfully used this technology, and with her efforts, has made this expansion possible. Miss Earthapple, if you could please give us a general explanation of their formality,” he gestured to the holoprojector as he powered it on to display images of Lav’s devices.

She went cold. She was aware her work had importance to the whole Geonosian operation, but the way Rampart put it exceeded her expectations. She didn’t expect to be held in such a high regard, much less speak in front of so many big shot officers during a briefing of the expansion itself. Still, Lav was good at speaking in front of crowds, and she was able to hide her nerves as she stood up from her chair and approached the holoprojector. The devices were all hers, she’d developed them, she knew them front and back.

“Thank you, Admiral Rampart,” Lav spoke, her voice loud and clear, unwavering even with the countless pairs of eyes currently on her. “Iron and copper are the two main minerals that will be used as well as trace amounts of other metals in order to manufacture the alloy of durasteel required for our weaponry. Back on Daro, we first monitored how much of each element we had using this drill,” she amplified the image of the drill in the center. “What it does is go below ground; I’ve designed it in a way that it can adapt to different types of soil, making it functional on different planets. It will dig down and send out electric signals, after which it will measure how fast they travel through different elements in the ground. Once it matches these speeds to those already programmed in its database, it will let us know which elements are nearby as well as how much of them.”

While speaking, she addressed most of the room, turning and facing each direction for brief periods of time so as to not exclude anyone. She was surprised, rather pleasantly, that everyone was paying close attention to her, not just the engineers who had to know this, but troopers and officers as well. It was one of the times in which she wasn’t undermined or mansplained, or simply treated like a girl. These people believed every word she said, and she didn’t know what to make of it.

“This process can also work with gaseous elements; however, it does take longer,” Lav successfully kept from stuttering at the memory of that night on Daro in which Hunter was the one to track the helium gas with his enhanced senses, something Lav chose not to bring up. “Helium gas will be one of our main sources of fuel; there are still reserves on Geonosis and there are also amounts of it being transported from Daro, as well as iron and copper. In terms of extraction,” Lav minimized the image of the small drill and amplified those of a laser beam and a gas pump with its own tube system and canisters, “raw mineral and metal ore is extracted quickest with a laser beam. Elements like helium gas can be extracted using a pump which will deliver it to canisters through pipes. This process could help with liquid elements as well should we ever need them, all that would be necessary would be to make a few alterations to the pump for it to process liquid. This is the general idea of the machinery used to obtain the raw material the Geonosians require and hold up our part of the negotiation. There are more specific details which the engineering teams as well as our commanding officers will be aware of in order to guarantee this operation’s success.” She then minimized the images of the holoprojector making them all small, signaling her explanation was over, after which Rampart made his way beside her.

“Thank you, Engineer Earthapple,” Rampart said, gesturing at her to take her seat again. The briefing room remained silent, but she heard a few mutters of approval here and there.

Hunter, sitting across from her and the holoprojector, felt like he could have clapped for her. The way she’d dominated that explanation despite being told at the last minute she’d have to give it, the way she had everyone’s attention, simply her. He wasn’t just proud of his engineer, he was mesmerized by her, utterly starstruck. While Hunter was good at hiding most of his thoughts, his eyes did soften at Lav as his gaze caught hers and he gave her a smile, a discreet one just to let her know she’d done well.

After that, Rampart went on to explain the main phases of the operation as well as the program for the first day there. On arrival, he and a selected few officers and engineers, those of which included Hunter and Lav, would attend the factory with the Geonosian leaders for a sort of tour. Since they were scheduled to arrive upon sundown, it would be the only activity of that day, and the day after the engineering team would prepare the factory for the arrival of the first shipment of raw materials, the same way other departments would have their own programmed tasks. It seemed like a good plan overall, Lav simply hoped it would go smoothly. The fact that it would be a huge load of work was obvious already.

The briefing ended on that note and everyone was dismissed to head to their downtime. Lav acknowledged Rampart before leaving and exited without waiting for Hunter, something she figured she might as well get used to. To her surprise, Lav was greeted by nods and even some smiles and salutes by others who had been at the briefing, but she felt more awkward than proud of herself. Sure, she was confident in herself and glad to be seen positively for her knowledge, but the whole rank and saluting thing just didn’t get to her the way it did for other imperials. Even so, she kindly thanked anyone who wanted to greet her, intent on making her way directly to the dormitory and getting some sleep before everything Geonosis would bring.

“You did very well,” Hunter’s voice came from behind her.

She could never not turn around and recognize his presence. As Hunter caught up to her, he had a soft smile as his gaze met hers.

“Thanks,” she said. “But I didn’t know Rampart was going to ask me to do any talking. It caught me off guard.”

“You handled it perfectly, Lav,” he said. “I’m proud of you.”

And that was the difference for Lav. No amount of imperials saluting or even bowing down would make her pride budge, but when it was Hunter complimenting her, she felt her skin crawling with goosebumps and her cheeks flooding red.

“Thanks,” she said. “Captain.”

“Anytime,” he said, and the two kept walking down the corridor. “Will you head to your dorm now? The mess hall is the other way.”

“I’m not very hungry right now,” Lav answered. “Plus, I’d like to get as much sleep as possible before we land on Geonosis. When we do, we’re all going to be very busy, I feel like I need to stock up on hours first.”

“Sounds wise,” he said. “But will you be okay on an empty stomach?”

“I’ll be fine,” she smiled softly. “You can go if you want to, not that you’d ever take orders from me.”

Hunter snickered. “I know better than to disregard your concern.”

“Right. Well…” Lav trailed off, not knowing how to go about the next part of the conversation. Should she leave? Should she stay with him? What was it that Hunter preferred to do? They’d agreed it’d be better not to do anything regarding their feelings for one another, but they still had to be together, right? They were part of the same team, and maybe being apart too long would raise even more suspicion than if they had gone through with a relationship.

“If you want, I’ll leave you to it,” Hunter said in a sad tone, tell-tale of his thoughts being similar to Lav’s.

“Yeah,” she answered. “Let me know if anything comes up. I’ll be in my dorm all night anyway, so…”

“Of course,” Hunter said. “Sleep well, okay?”

“You too,” she answered with a soft smile before turning around and leaving, and Hunter was left in the middle of the corridor watching her go, but careful not to linger his gaze too much on her. He had to admit he disliked that arrangement far more than what they had before.

Meanwhile in her dormitory, Lav removed her armor until she was down to her blacks and climbed onto the bed, her single braided hair now done into two braids comfortable enough to sleep in. She had been there for about an hour now and was simply in her cot, half covered by the blanket while reading up on her holopad with her glasses on. The first thing she read was a message from her grandmother that had arrived not long back in which she and Lav’s younger sisters wished her luck and safety on her new journey. As Lav pictured them smiling, safe and not lacking anything, she found a sensation of peace that motivated her to go through with the Geonosian expansion despite how much it intimidated her deep down. She wondered if one day it could ease the thorn wound left by the situation with Hunter, but it seemed pretty far-fetched.

A light beeping came from the door, drawing Lav’s attention to that direction. She turned off the holopad and put it on the small bedside table and she headed to the door, wondering what could be happening. Hunter hadn’t contacted her at all, neither had any other commanding officers, so she assumed nothing had gone wrong. All her work-driven thoughts vanished when she opened the door to a rabbit droid not much smaller than she was that was carrying a tray with a plate of food and a drink from the mess hall.

“Miss Lavender Earthapple?” The droid said. “Delivery for you.”

“I didn’t order this,” she said.

“You did not,” the droid confirmed. “It was sent by an officer.”

The droid was simply there to perform its task and it handed Lav the tray of food, after which the door closed and it was on its way. Meanwhile, Lav examined the tray and found a note underneath the glass of water, a simple folded gray paper that had neat handwriting in it.

One of my brothers wouldn’t stop rambling one time about how the thought process burns calories. He’d insist you have something to eat, and so do I. Enjoy.

H

Lav couldn’t help the smile that took over her lips. She folded the note once more and put it right next to the picture of her family, after which she finally decided to indulge in the food Hunter had sent for her, mixed with gratitude and an odd sensation of butterflies she wouldn’t get rid of even with her strongest will.

*

The sky on Geonosis was a deep orange color as the sun was going down on that side of the planet when the Venator arrived right on schedule. Groups of troopers and officers were transported to the ground level by shuttles, and all the while, Lav had her chest fluttering with nerves. Hunter noticed the amount of times she inhaled deeply in an attempt to relax, though what exactly made her nervous, he wasn’t aware of. He imagined it would be lots of things.

Oh, to be able to take her hand and help her relax… he wondered how much exactly he’d give to be able to do that.

The doorway of the shuttle opened upon touchdown. Admiral Rampart was the first one out followed by Lav and Hunter, backed by a squadron comprised half of TK troopers and the other half of engineers and technical workers. They were greeted by five Geonosians, all of them much taller than Lav had pictured and with an insect aesthetic, the one in the middle clearly being the chief of the operation, and Lav assumed the other four were the equivalent of politicians.

Welcome, spoke the chief in his native tongue. Your arrival has been most expected.

“All of us in the Empire have been greatly looking forward to this day, General,” Rampart answered. “Preparations have been seen to in the most exhaustive of ways to ensure that this alliance turns out in success.”

The Geonosian council looks forward to our factories operating again under the eye of the Empire. We expect you have held up your end of the negotiation.

“The first supply of raw materials is scheduled to arrive tomorrow early,” Rampart said. “As for the technology, we have one shipment available with us to get started on its implementation first thing tomorrow. We also have the means to continue providing with commodities and more of these devices.”

Good, good, the General said and rubbed his chin while his wings flapped behind him. That being the case, we shall proceed with the tour of the factory. We believe it is important for you and your troops to be familiarized with it, but also, let this be a welcome to this new alliance.

“I could not agree more, General,” Rampart bowed slightly. “Let it be a welcome and a celebration. We will follow you.”

The General nodded and turned around, followed by the other four accompanying him, and they led the group into the mountain that had been adapted into a factory from the inside as many Geonosian constructions were. Upon advancing, Lav and Hunter donned their dark helmets, as did the rest of the troopers behind them, mainly for security inside the factory. In any case, it helped hide the small looks Lav and Hunter would shoot at each other at times, unbeknownst even to them.

The Geonosians eloquently led them through the factory, thoroughly explaining every area, every important piece of machinery, every process, even the factory’s history. It used to be for assembling droids, the kind the Separatists used during the Clone War. Its operational capacity was remarkable back then, but in the years the war had lasted, the factory had evolved and adapted to new necessities, thus being able to manufacture what the Empire needed now.

“A remarkable metaphor, isn’t it?” Rampart said as the group stopped at a high catwalk that had a view of most of the conveyor belts in the assembly line. “Geonosis was home to a key event in the start of the Clone War. Now, it is aiding in the Empire’s beginnings. Wouldn’t you agree, Captain?”

Beneath her helmet, Lav’s eyes widened as she looked at Hunter. “You were in the battle of Geonosis?”

“I was,” Hunter replied, his voice deep and almost tainted with sorrow. “It is quite the metaphor.”

Lav figured it’d be hard for him to witness. To be there on Geonosis, probably remembering the early days of being a soldier, surrounded by clones, probably even by his brothers. Well, in a way, they were all brothers, not just his squad. She wanted to do something, anything that would help him feel better, or at least to not think of memories that would upset him. Regardless, the tour was set to go on.

The catwalk they were on seemed to be fragile; it was barely made of steel floor and railings and it shook with all the people stepping on it. Lav made up her mind to fortify it if she ever got the chance to do so. From the corners of her eyes, she could see some Geonosian workers whose curious eyes fell on the tour group from various spots of the factory, some close, some farther away. For a while, the tour was silent, making Lav grow weary of the surroundings. There was something she didn’t trust, something lurking around, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Every few meters, there was a platform attached to the catwalk with ladders leading downwards to the main floor of the factory, and in those spots, the steel laminated floor had a division that had been welded thinly. Upon crossing one of the platforms, Lav noticed to her right that there was a worker who had two controls, one in each hand, the one on his right bigger than the other. With wary eyes, he held up the switch on his left hand and pressed the yellow button in the middle.

Just as the worker was pressing the button down, Hunter reacted quickly. He pushed Lav forward so that she’d be on the other side of the division while holding his other arm out behind him, preventing any of the other troopers to advance. That way, when the worker pressed the button and the small bomb that was planted underneath that spot of the catwalk was detonated, Hunter was the only one to fall through the breached division to crash onto the machines below, only to then land painfully on the ground while the rest of the troopers were able to hang onto the railings and keep from falling.

“Hunter!” Lav’s alarmed voice filled that side of the factory. Her eyes rushed to the worker guilty of the incident, and she noticed he was about to press the button on the second, bigger detonator. Thinking quickly, Lav took out her blaster, which she always had set to stun, and fired at the worker without thinking twice. The stun bolt went through his body and he fell limply on the ground; Lav threw herself onto the platform and caught the detonator before it fell to the ground, keeping it from detonating whatever bomb was still hidden around the factory.

“What is the meaning of this?” Rampart questioned the Geonosians.

The General groaned. We have been dealing with rebellious workers, several of which do not wish to comply with the Empire’s philosophy and way of work. We’ve known of their inconformity, but never caved to their threats.

“There were threats?” Lav questioned from the platform, too altered by Hunter’s state to take any excuses, angered by the fact that not enough care had been given to preventing such a problem. Their negligence now meant Hunter’s pain. Still, she tried to calm down, to not seem too angry in front of Rampart or the Geonosians. “That might mean our problem isn’t over yet.” After correcting, she looked around, well-aware that any industrial factory with that much prestige had to have some sort of security system. Near the roof, she found a cable in a pulley that had a hook in the end, clearly designed to hold up the catwalk in emergencies. She climbed up the pillar that secured the ladder and grabbed the hook, quickly coming back down to attach it to the catwalk’s railing.

“That should hold it,” Lav said, her voice shaking as she looked down at Hunter. Panting, she then scanned the group of troopers. “Is there a medic in here?”

“Yes!” A tiny voice came from the back. A medic began squirming her way through the frightened crowd of troopers holding onto the rail. Lav nodded when she saw her and, without asking permission, slid down the ladder and ran to Hunter, kneeling down next to him and holding his hand.

She took her helmet off, setting it beside her to take Hunter’s off too. As the medic arrived, she examined Hunter for injuries, all while the captain weakly opened his eyes and looked at Lav.

“Are you okay?” He asked her.

She snickered, flattered and angry at the same time. “How dare you ask that about me?”

Hunter groaned as the medic examined a wounded part of him. “It’s all I care about, Lav.”

She sighed, her eyes filled with sadness as her only concern was also his well-being. Hunter’s lips faintly curved up into a smile and their hands tightened around each other.

“His back is injured from the fall,” the medic stated.

“His back?” Lav was alarmed. “Will he recover?”

“He will,” the medic said confidently. “I’ll patch him up a bit here but I’ll need to take him to the med bay. Here,” the medic removed Hunter’s ingot necklace and handed it to Lav so she could begin to bandage Hunter’s back. “Hang onto this. He’s your captain, right?”

“Yeah,” Lav said, shocked at feeling the ingot necklace in her hands.

“Don’t worry,” she told Lav. “He’ll be taken care of. Besides, everyone up there owes a lot to him. He really saved us all.”

Lav smiled sadly at Hunter. “That’s just who he is…”

Hunter felt the pain immensely erupting over his torso, but the sound of Lav’s voice calmed him down, even if he didn’t understand everything she was saying due to the pain. He always felt it stronger than others due to his heightened senses, but in spite of that, Hunter looked at her with a dreamy smile.

A few more medics arrived as the medic finished wrapping Hunter’s torso in a thick bandage. He was set on a portable bed and taken away from the factory; Lav was about to follow when she felt a hand on her shoulder, holding her back.

“He’s in good hands, Lavender,” Rampart said. “I need you here at the factory to evaluate the damage and restore as much as you can. We have an investigation team looking into the case.”

Lav struggled to hide her anxiety. Orders from Rampart were orders, after all, but she felt she should be with Hunter. He’d saved her from falling too, as well as all the others. She needed to be with him.

“Y-yes, Admiral,” she said. “Right away.”

They saluted each other and Lavender regrouped with the engineers and technicians to begin evaluating the factory’s situation. She quickly took charge of them, giving them instructions and guiding them through what needed to be done. Lav was fast and efficient in her work, she knew that the sooner she got it over with, the sooner she could go check on Hunter. That was her sole motivation at the moment.

Once Rampart was done handling matters with the Geonosians, he inspected Lavender from afar. Her reaction had been quick, precise, and quite obviously aimed at ensuring the captain’s well-being. He’d been the only one wounded, and truly any course of action would have led to him, but something about the way Lavender did it stood out. There had been no questions from her, no protocol. She simply made her way to the captain, and the way she’d held his hand afterwards couldn’t be interpreted any other way. The two had certainly grown close to one another.

Still, Lavender was currently getting things done, and Rampart assumed that would suffice for the moment.

*

It had been hours since Lav had finished up at the factory. It was the middle of the night on Geonosis and most of the imperials were asleep except for those who had night shifts. Though Lav had every right to be in bed getting her rest, she couldn’t close her eyes without thinking of Hunter. She should be with him, making sure he was progressing well after such an injury.

At times like those, Lav couldn’t help but overthink. Her brain automatically went into overdrive, wondering if he’d be fine, what could have happened if things had turned out worse, if she hadn’t stunned the worker, if the worst possible scenario had come true. No, none of it was real; the factory was now secured thanks to her quick action, and Hunter was being taken care of by medics.

But she couldn’t help but think that, had things gone worse, she would have regretted every decision she’d made against showing her true feelings for Hunter. She’d never forgive herself if something happened to him, or her, and they never truly expressed how they felt. She put regulations aside, that could be taken care of. Everyone kept secrets; she found it impossible to believe there wasn’t a single couple within the Empire. All that Lav knew, all she gave importance to, was the fact that she needed to see Hunter.

Two rotations she spent away from the med bay, not being able to get in even if she tried. Most of the time she was at the factory, always keeping an eye out for rogue workers who didn’t want the Empire on Geonosis, but the workers at the factory already knew who she was. She was the one capable of shooting them down if they stepped out of line.

Despite the fact that she hadn’t killed that worker, merely stunned him, they feared her, and Lav got the terrible premonition that their fear of her didn’t stem directly from her. No, it came from whatever was done to shut down any more threats. That thought, mixed with the suffocating need to see Hunter, threatened to make Lav explode on the job.

By the end of the second day, Lav had decided to try to sneak past the med bay’s security. One way or another, she had to see him, they had to let her in. In previous times, they’d told her he was still too delicate to receive visitors, but Lav wasn’t willing to hear that anymore.

Much to her fortune, her comm began to beep that night, well past midnight as she was pacing back and forth in her room. Quickly and without question, she picked it up.

“Come in,” Lav said.

“Miss Earthapple!” Lav recognized the voice belonging to the medic who had helped her after the incident. “I’m very sorry to bother you so late at night but I figured you’d want to know. The captain is progressing well, we’ve performed all necessary operations and now he just needs to rest and recover.”

Lav sighed. “Thank you so much, that’s such a relief. Um… do you know if I may be able to see him now?”

“Yes,” replied the medic. “He’s strong enough to receive visitors now. But it’s late, would you rather come by in the morning?”

“No thank you, I’ll go now.”

Lav put the comm away and rushed out of her room, practically running toward the med bay. It didn’t take her long to get there, and she was pleased to see that no one tried to stop her this time. Still, as she ran, all her thoughts were of Hunter. She was nervous about seeing him, nervous about being with him, but she wanted that. She just wanted to be around Hunter.

The number of the room Hunter was in had been told to her in the med bay’s lobby and she remembered it well. Still somewhat shaking, she made her way to it and nervously stood in front of the door, not knowing why she was hesitating. Hunter was fine, there was no reason to fear the state she’d find him in. If he was sleeping, she’d stay with him a bit. If he was awake…

If he was awake… Lav didn’t know what she’d do.

She opened the door and found Hunter sitting up on the bed, his bandaged upper body resting on a pillow against the bed’s headboard. He didn’t have any clothes on his upper body, but the thick bandages covered most of his torso, only leaving his arms bare. Inside the room was a protocol droid who was simply arranging some of the supplies it would no longer use.

“Lav,” Hunter said, his eyes widening at the sight of her. “Why are you here? It’s so late, you should be getting some rest.”

“What do you mean why am I here? I’m here to see you,” she began walking up to the bed, still shaking, and the sight of the droid only distracted her.

“Is there anything you require, ma’am?” The droid asked her.

By that point, Lav knew what had to go down. She felt it. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I…” she said, eyeing the room quickly. “I could use a glass of water.”

“Right away, ma’am,” the droid answered, turning around and heading to the sink on the other side of the room. Lav walked up to it and quickly opened its rear controls, switching the droid off as it whined while it powered down.

“Lav, what are you doing?” Hunter asked, all but confused at her actions. She was usually so calm, but now she seemed determined. Nervous, but still willing to fulfill an intent she had.

Not speaking, Lav went to made sure the door was closed before she faced Hunter once more, her cheeks beginning to flare as her eyes looked at him with concern. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes,” he answered. “I’m fine, I promise. I’ve been under good care and I’m recovering.”

“So… you’re not that delicate anymore?”

“No, I just need some rest. I’ll be fine, Lavender. I promise.”

“Good,” she nodded, letting out a long, shaky breath. She couldn’t believe she was making her way closer to Hunter, but her feet carried her over to him and she sat on the edge of the mattress. Before going through with her plan, she hesitated. It just seemed too strong, and all of a sudden she decided not to go through with it, opting to just sit with him, be with him, thankful he’d be alright.

But then Hunter’s hand landed on one of Lav’s fists, softening it up to the point where she opened it, revealing to have been hanging onto his necklace. Hunter chuckled when he saw it, his faint movements causing the strands of his hair to move around as well. “You came to bring that back to me?”

She blushed. “Yes and no…”

It felt foolish now. It continued to feel foolish until Hunter gently took her fingers and once again closed them around his necklace, not quite wanting to take it from her yet. His other hand traveled up to her neck, his fingertips slightly brushing on her thin skin sending shivers down her spine. Lav nervously looked him in the eyes, those beautiful honey-glazed eyes that always showed his emotions. She could always read his eyes, and they were telling her how happy he was to see her.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Hunter whispered.

“D-do you?”

He smiled. “I thought the same.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” she looked away, embarrassed to have come onto him so strong after the conversation they had on the Venator, but Hunter went to cup her cheek and have her look at him again.

“You do,” he said. “I wouldn’t have forgiven myself either if something worse happened and we… well, we stayed the way we said we would.”

Lav sighed as her eyes began getting watery. “Hunter… I was so worried about you…”

He smiled softly at her. “I was just relieved you were safe.”

They looked deeply in each other’s eyes for a moment before Lav shyly looked down only for Hunter to catch her attention again as he gently ran his thumb over her cheek. The hand that was holding hers went up to cup the other side of her face and, holding her like a precious artifact that would break, he leaned in carefully to let his lips brush against hers, feeling every bit of the overwhelming sensation as he gradually pressed his lips into a kiss.

Hunter heard Lav’s heart get faster and felt her skin getting warmer as she began to kiss him back, at first still shaking from her nerves and from the excitement, mixed with disbelief, of being held softly in Hunter’s grip while their lips moved together. Her giddiness softened gradually as Hunter’s presence made her feel safe, and soon the rhythm of their kissing was perfect. Smooth, longing. Nothing short of perfect.

One of Hunter’s hands went to secure the back of Lav’s head, his fingers kneading softly into her scalp. She moved her hands up his arms carefully, afraid she’d hurt him, but the more confident she grew, she wrapped an arm around his waist and used her other hand to run her fingers through his thick dark hair. Immersed in one another, their kiss deepened, finally releasing all the tension they’d had after all that time they’d spent slowly dying for one another.

Hunter remembered that night on Daro when his lips barely brushed hers and he’d envisioned what actually kissing her would be like. It exceeded his expectations; Lav’s lips and her scent drove him to a point of bliss and passion, but there was also peace, safety, warmth. He could feel now more than ever the softness that was at Lav’s core, her kindness and the strength with which she could love, and Hunter wanted no less than to love her with that same strength regardless of any circumstances. He bowed to himself he would.

Parting the kiss, Lav and Hunter rested their foreheads on each other, looking into their eyes with smiles and quiet laughter. He continued to cup her face and occasionally kissed her again. Though it would be difficult at times, both of them could agree on one thing: their feelings weren’t worth hiding from each other, and whatever they could do and share together was worth it.

In each other’s arms, Hunter and Lav remained for another good while there smiling at each other while no words needed to be spoken.

------

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A Night to Remember | part (1/2)

➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵➶➴➵

Crosshair X F!Reader

word count: 1.7k

You and Crosshair are partnered up for a swanky night at a senate ball to retrieve some information. Not getting along very well in the first place, your day gets worse as you discover that it will be Crosshair himself with the help of Omega to retrieve your dress for the night.

warnings: SFW, reader and Crosshair don’t get along very well. Omega and Crosshair bonding. Reader being annoyed. Next chapter will be better. This chapter is definitely a filler, just a lead up to the second part. Also events are set where Crosshair doesn’t join the Empire.

———————————

“So Tech, are you ready for tonight?”

Walking into the cockpit, a spring in your step and a smile on your face you look down at the clone who turns to you.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had to have a change of plans. It is not I who will be helping you gather the intel tonight as I have to be stationed here and check the security cameras.” He tells you.

“Oh.” You reply, not particularly upset or bothered about it but if you wanted a safe and unquestionable mission you would have chosen to go with Tech. Every time. “Who’s my partner then?”

That’s when Hunter came in, your attention drew to him. “Is it you?”

“Is it me, what?”

“Am I partnered with you tonight since Tech is here?” It would be surprising if that was the case as Hunter isn’t one for loud places and lots of people. Also, the tattoo that covered half his face would be unusual for the senators to see. In fact it was only Tech who could get away with appearing to be the most normal.

“Yeah… we gotta speak to you about that.” There was an amused gleam in Hunter's eyes and you didn’t even have to ask him who you were going with. You already knew.

“If the next name that comes out of your lips isn't Wrecker, Echo or even Omega I will never speak to you again.” You warn him with a finger point.

Hunter and Tech cast a gaze to one another. Tech spoke first. “It will be very difficult for us to work together if one of us decides to go mute.” Tech then raises a finger, a sudden wave of knowledge circulating his incredible mind. “Although there are successful tales of those who are blind or deaf who have been a great service to when the GAR-”

“Tech, please.” You pinch the bridge of your nose, trying to steady your growing annoyance. You would’ve loved to listen more but your gut feeling about being paired up with Crosshair was doing nothing for your nerves.

The problem with you and Crosshair is that you both never really spoke. When you did, it’d be some snarky remark and him critiquing every little thing you did as if to say ‘you’re an idiot, this is how I’d do it’.

When your eyes would meet, which was often, he would give you an annoyed glare like it was your fault for just being there. Anything you did seemed to irritate him so it must have been some great persuasion to accompany you tonight. You didn’t particularly hate him, you just would rather have better company.

“Right. Great. Nice to know that my evening will be ruined.” You throw your hands up in frustration, leaning across the door in the cockpit.

“The evening isn’t meant to be fun.” Hunter says with a roll with his eyes but you didn’t miss the smile on his lips.

“Oh yeah because drinking champagne, splashing credits and dressing all pretty for a night when you’re usually in armour and covered in sweat sounds soooo boring.” You retort sarcastically and let out a dramatic sigh, knowing you should go out and buy something to wear. It was a very last minute plan given to you and the Batch.

You start to walk towards the bunks, grabbing your things. “Better go buy a dress then shouldn’t I?” You call out, gesturing to your soon to be departure.

“Oh I wouldn’t worry abou’ that.” You heard Wrecker call from above you. You glance up to see him looking down at you from your bunk with a naughty smirk.

“Why?” You asked slowly. His grin widened and you looked around noticing that Crosshair and Omega were nowhere to be seen.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

——————————-

“When are you going to tell her you like her?”

These types of questions had been fired more at Crosshair than any droid ever had. Omega was persistent and a large part of Crosshair regrets allowing her to tag along with him into the market that day.

Echo told him it’d be good to bond with the kid but if her asking him questions about his feelings on you was discussed previously, he would’ve declined the bonding session.

“I don’t like her.” Crosshair growled under his breath, trying to not lash out and shout at her.

Omega scoffed and shook her head. “Yeah, and I have four arms.”

Crosshair glared at the young girl down at his side at her sarcastic comment, knowing for a fact she probably learnt that from Echo or Tech. “Attitude girl.” He warned her but Omega didn’t take it personally. In fact she was rather enjoying this rare time with him. After all, it was her idea to get you a dress to much of his displeasure and allowed her to drag him into the market.

Omega soon spotted a suitable shop, tugging on Crosshair's arm to which he had tried to free himself from but her grip was tight as she led him in.

Crosshair had been to many planets in his time and had seen many different vibrant colours but his mouth slacked open as a rainbow of colour suddenly engulfed him. A definite contrast from the outside world.

He was definitely out of his depth.

Omega squealed in excitement, never having seen so many pretty dresses in loads of different shapes, styles and sizes.

Crosshair stood stupidly in the centre of the shop, not even knowing what to do. He had half the mind to turn around and leave but Omega had already started pulling out dresses. “What about this one?!”

Crosshair stares at it and grimaces at the amount of frills, the specific colour and how heavy it looked. Maker, it practically drowned Omega as she lifted the hanger above her head.

“No.”

Omega pouted but put it back before pulling out the one next to it. “This one?”

He glances up as he takes a seat on a poof, head threatening to fall into his hands. “No.”

“This one?” Omega asked, pointing at a dress on a mannequin. Although it was nice, he shook his head.

“She things sequins are harsh on the eye.” He gnaws on the toothpick, hating how he somehow knew these details.

Another pout followed by another dress reveal. “And this one?”

“Too floral. She’s not into that.” He comments, shaking his head at the fact he knew that small detail about you. You liked rather simplistic designs.

“Well that narrows it down.” Crosshair wasn’t sure if that was sarcasm this time but again, she pulled out another dress but this one was too short.

“She won’t like it.” He shakes his head, plopping a toothpick into his mouth. He glances around the store, glad that it was just him, the kid and surely a shop assistant nearby.

Omega smirks, skimming through the rows of dresses. “Thought you didn’t care about what she likes and dislikes?”

Crosshair gave her a sour look and Omega raised her hands in mock defence. “Alright, alright… this one.”

She lifts out another dress but this one was a little skimpier than the others. With a long slit at the side, the waist having cut outs to show flesh along with a plunging neckline, Crosshair curses to himself internally as he realised he may actually like to see you in something like that... maybe one day.

No Crosshair... pull yourself together. He shouts in his mind.

But, for his own sanity and your own, he shook his head. “Nah, she finds velvet irritating on her skin.”

Omega simply nods but she couldn’t help but giggle as she realised that he knew a lot of your likes and dislikes which only elevated her theory on him having a secret crush on you.

The dress hunt took longer than Crosshair would have liked. Even Omega was beginning to get fed up, her little arms straining from hauling dresses from the back of the shop all the way over to him for him to say that it’s too fluffy or too big or too short or too impractical. “Why don’t you have a look since you know her so well.” Omega finally says, slumping back on the stool next to the window. “I’m tired.”

“Your daughter is right.” The shop clerk spoke up, leaning over the counter with their head resting in your hand. “You need to hurry up and pick a dress, the shop's closing in ten.”

“She ain’t my daughter.” Crosshair grumbles though Omega giggles at the thought. Reluctantly, he stands and takes some awkward steps around the shop and tries to pick one that caught his.

“Try to pick something that will look good with your suit.” Omega called out, a helpful suggestion that Crosshair tried to ignore but bad took on board.

As he scans, something catches his eyes. If he remembered, he heard you saying that this was particularly your favourite colour. He pulled it partly out from the rack, looking up and down and nodding in approval. “Omega. Here.” He commanded and she jumped to her feet and scooted her way over to him to see what he had picked.

“Wow!” Omega practically beamed, grabbing the bottom of the dress and running it through her hands. “This is beautiful!”

Not wanting to appear smug in his clear good taste, he did need some confirmation. “You think?” He asked and she nodded.

“It’s not too heavy, it’s not too over the top. It’s her favourite colour too!” Omega cheered, looking up to her brother who didn’t even realise he was smiling until she looked at him, the smile fading as quick as it did appear. Omega saw it however.

Omega sighed happily, admiring the bodice and nodding. “It will bring out her eyes too. Don’t you think?”

Crosshair wishes she had not asked that as a sudden image of your eyes burned in his mind. He wasn’t blind, in fact his vision was clearly better than most so he definitely knew that you had rather lovely eyes.

They were soft, kind and full of life most of the time but he had noticed them change once their eyes would meet. They weren’t particularly cold, but he would’ve liked to see the warmth of them whilst you looked his way.

His heart fluttered to his dismay.

“Yeah... it does.”

———————————

🍓 back to masterlist 🍓

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16 and still do this

If you're fifteen or older an still sleep with a stuffed animal please reblog this.

Listen up!

You see a post like this? Where OP might hurt/kill themselves? You hit that button that I circled

Hit that.

Click Suicide or Self-harm Concern

Yes.

Fill in the rest of it, and hit submit. The "content you reported" will fill itself in

Tumblr will follow up and help them.

Warning: this is only for mobile. If anyone knows how to do this for desktop, please add it!

This could SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE.

YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE NOT TO REBLOG THIS.

I DON'T GIVE A FUCK IF IT DOESN'T GO WITH YOUR BLOG'S THEME.

And yes, REBLOG. Liking does no shit at all. This isn't ig.

You reblog, people see it. You don't, people don't see it. This shit's that simple.

This could save someone's life. It's not a joke.

Oh my goodness that is the cutest f-ing thing

*skids into the room fifteen minutes late with starbucks* So I hear Crosshair has a cat?? Good for him

.

Baby clones in animal onesies are available as stickers, buttons, and other fun things on Redbubble!

More baby clones in animal onesies here

He’s finally done! The second addition to my Bad Batch pinup series is everyone’s favourite asshole Crosshair <3

I took creative liberties on his tattoos - I’m giving them all one matching tattoo anyway (their teams emblem, just altered to suit their individual personalities) I went with a bandolier around one arm and a snake for him too, because I think that’s extremely fitting.

I’m sorry this took so long, life got very busy, but I’m hoping to do the rest quicker! Who do you want me to do next?

This is beautiful

Reblog with your favorite clone wars / Star Wars reaction memes, I’ll start-

THE WAIT ID OVER AND I AM SO HAPPY 😩

Red

Chapter 13 of Golden Dawn

A/N: This chapter is spicy and has a lot of action!

Summary: a new mission which requires you and Crosshair to attend a ball and he gets jealous of the way everyone else is looking at you. But before that, he shows you another way his rifle can be used... 👀

Rating: Explicit

Word count: 13.8k

Warnings: S M U T, light choking, weapon kink, description of blood and injuries

Taglist: @fangirl-goes-nova @murdertoothpick @tacticalsparkles @coffeeandtodd @moonstrider9904 @14mcmd1122 @luosymekawa @littlemisscare-all (if you want to be added just message me or comment)

You can read it here or click on the chapter title and it will lead you to my ao3

“I know why hearing you speak mando’a felt familiar,” you told Crosshair as you were making your way through the city and back to the hotel.

“Why?” he asked you and stroked your hand with his thumb while you were holding hands.

“That time I stayed over in your room and slept there after we…,” you said and blushed a little when you thought about him binding you and fucking you. His face was amused as he recalled the memory. “So before I fell asleep you were humming something quietly. I don’t remember it clearly because I was already half-asleep but now I think it was something in mando’a,” you looked up at him, waiting for his reaction.

“Maybe,” he said and the corner of his mouth twitched.

“Well?” you were still staring at him expectantly.

“Well what?”

“Don’t you want to elaborate on that? What song was it? Do you sing? How well do you speak mando’a?” You showered him with questions as you usually did, eager to get all the answers.

He seemed to think about it before answering. “For my defence, I thought you were asleep.”

“You have a nice voice,” you smiled up at him fondly. What couldn’t this man do?

He slightly shook his head. “I don’t sing.”

“But you did, I heard it.”

“You dreamed it,” he smirked and tried to get out of answering.

“I didn’t,” you laughed and persisted. “So what song was it?”

He sighed. “It was a lullaby 99 used to sing to us when we were young cadets. We were just put together in a new room and he stayed over for the first few nights to help us accommodate.”

“That is so sweet of him,” you said with a soft smile on your lips. So far every story he told you about 99 warmed your heart. “I can’t wait to meet him.”

“I said I would introduce you next time we visit Kamino.”

“Yes, thank you. Why is he on Kamino anyway? Shouldn’t he be out on the battlefield like you guys? Knowing you four I can only imagine how good of a soldier he must be.”

A shadow passed through Crosshair’s face. “He is not that kind of soldier,” he said. “We are listed as defective clones,” he scowled when he said the word clone, like it physically hurt him to think of himself as a clone, “with desirable mutations. But his mutation is not desirable, he is just defective.”

“I’m sorry,” you looked up at him. “So what’s his job?”

“Janitorial duties.”

“I see. The more you tell me about him the more I want to meet him. I hope we visit Kamino soon.”

“I don’t,” Crosshair frowned.

“Why’s that?” You asked with a confused voice. Wasn’t Kamino the closest place they considered a home?

He snorted without any glee. “To run more experiments on us? To do battle situations while we could be on the battlefield or on a mission? To be around regs?”

You ignored his last comment. “At least 99 will be there,” you tried cheering him up. “Besides, we probably won’t have to go there soon.”

He nodded and tilted his head slightly when he saw something in the distance. You followed his gaze but the only thing you could see was that you were at the part of the city where the Havoc Marauder was parked. You thought you saw the ship but it was too far away to know for sure that it really was the Marauder.

“What’s going on?” you asked Crosshair and saw that a smile was playing on his lips.

“Hunter came to collect your debt.”

“What?!” you yelled and accelerated your steps, dragging Crosshair with you. “He didn’t even show me the final sketch, I’m going to kill him,” you pursed your lips.

“I think it’s quite good,” Crosshair said and you stuck your tongue out at him.

“Your freakishly good eyesight is still a little creepy,” you said. “Also, I lost the bet because of you, you know.”

“Maybe I can convince you to still do what we planned?” he asked and you remembered your dirty little negotiation and blushed.

“I’ll have to think about it,” you pretended to not care about it and he abruptly stopped you and looked deeply into your eyes with a smug expression on his face.

“I don’t think you’ll take much convincing,” he kissed you passionately. You forgot where you were hurrying the moment his lips touched yours and got lost in the kiss and the sweet taste of his lips. You pulled his head closer and buried your fingers in his hair. You could never get enough of this man.

He chuckled lightly after letting you go and seeing your messed up expression. You wanted to run to the ship to see Hunter’s stupid painting and you also wanted to tease Crosshair about losing the bet for you but all you could think about was his lips on yours.

“You can do better than that to persuade me,” you decided to tease him and smirked. You licked your lower lips and glanced at him to see his reaction. He lifted a brow then ran his hand down your back until it was resting on your waist. His other hand disappeared in your hair and pulled on it lightly to make you look up at him before he kissed you again.

This time he didn’t hold anything back, he bit your lower lip before sliding his tongue into your mouth and kissing you passionately. His hand on your waist held you tight and he dug his fingers deep into your flesh to pull you even closer. All you could do was to get lost in him and let him overwhelm you. Your legs went weak as he kept kissing you and he had to hold you up to keep you on your feet. You placed your hand on his chest and pulled him closer by grabbing the neckline of his shirt. He growled into the kiss and went on to kiss your neck and leave a mark on it. You tilted your head to give him better access and completely forgot that you were in the middle of the city and surrounded by people.

When Crosshair looked up even he was panting and you couldn’t help feeling a little smug about it. You weren’t the only one to be so affected.

“If we weren’t in the middle of a busy parking lot I would fuck you right here,” he said while maintaining eye contact. You could feel his chest quickly rising and sinking under your palms and had to suppress a moan.

“I thought that just turned you on,” you flirted back and his eyes widened.

“Maybe it does.”

“And maybe I would let you do it,” you teased.

“Don’t tease me, you know I would do it,” he said seriously. “I would fuck you in front of a hundred strangers and murder anyone who dared to touch you. They could watch but never feel what I feel, never have you the way I do and never be able to make you scream like I do,” he continued and he brushed a lock of hair away from your stunned face.

He really meant it. His words were hypnotizing and you found yourself wanting everything he said, you wanted everyone to see that you belonged to him. You were standing there, eyes wide, mouth slightly open as you were trying to catch your breath. You quickly shook your head to snap out of it and reminded yourself that you were still in fact in a busy parking lot.

“Another time,” you said playfully and remembered where you were hurrying before Crosshair distracted you. The ship and Hunter’s painting.

You thought that if it was too bad you would sneak out one day and paint it over. Your bet was about him painting it and not it staying there, right?

You started walking toward the ship again and now could make Hunter and the other two out. Hunter climbed up on the ship to paint and looked up with a grin on his face when he saw you.

“What do you say?” he asked and lifted his eyebrows.

You narrowed your eyes. It was luckily not a huge painting, that was a good start. Hunter painted you leaning toward a wall and lifting a blaster. You were wearing your usual black mission outfit but he gave it a few more tears to make it more revealing. It was not as bad as you built it up in your head.

“It is…,” you tilted your head, “acceptable.” You did lose the bet so he had every right to paint it. He wasn’t as evil as you thought he would be and you were grateful for that. You were not sure if it was sheer kindness toward you or the wariness of Crosshair’s reaction if he had done something worse.

Hunter grinned and jumped off the ship just to land effortlessly next to you. Tech started talking to him about how the painting should be taken care of to preserve its quality.

“I still kinda wish he went with this, I think it fits our aesthetic better,” Wrecker lifted Hunter’s datapad and you took a look at it and gasped. It was an almost totally naked drawing of you where your nipples were covered by a ridiculous bra and you were barely wearing anything to cover your bottom.

“For fuck’s sake,” Crosshair ripped the datapad out of Wrecker’s hand with lightning speed. “I warned you not to do this,” he lifted his gaze up at Hunter.

“You were not supposed to see that,” Hunter looked at Wrecker grumpily.

“You won’t see it again,” Crosshair said and deleted the pic. But you saw that he had sent it over to himself before he did that. “And now,” he cracked his knuckles and stepped forward to push Hunter. “I did warn you,” he said as Hunter stood his ground.

“Guys,” you quickly stepped between them. They were a little more than teasing each other but you didn’t feel like stitching them up after a fight so you intervened.

“You deleted the pic so we’re fair now,” you patted Crosshair’s chest. “And you’re a dick,” you grimaced at Hunter who just grinned.

“I was just innocently practising my drawing.”

“Just not with me,” you said and had to push Crosshair a little back as he wanted to start it again after Hunter spoke. “Where did you learn to draw like this anyway?”

“They were monitoring our datapads on Kamino, I had to get creative,” he smirked and you rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, so disgusting,” Wrecker said and Hunter snorted.

“It’s not like you didn’t ask for special custom pieces.”

You laughed at that and even Crosshair relaxed a little.

“I suggest that you all come inside now, there’s a call we need to take,” you heard Tech’s voice coming from the ship and his tone told you that it was something serious.

You all got on the ship and walked in the cockpit to see a hologram waiting for you.

“Captain Tarkin!” Hunter nodded at the stern looking man. All playfulness was gone from his face and he was ready to hear what the captain had to say.

You stepped closer to Crosshair and he held your hand a little tighter. You have only heard about this man so far and even through the holovid he had a strong aura of authority around him. He looked like he would only let you fail one time.

“Clone force 99,” Tarkin started talking. “I have a rather delicate mission for you and I require you to start working on it immediately.”

You shivered at the coldness of his voice but Hunter only gave a small nod.

“Tomorrow evening there will be a reception on the planet Corellia. A politician called Clarence Hart will be attending it and you are going to report everything he’s doing and everyone he’s talking to. We suspect that he’s secretly allying with the separatists and will be attending a meeting regarding that on the night of the reception. If he does or he gives any sign that he even considered betraying the Republic, bring him in,” his tone was so cold that for Hart’s sake you hoped he was not the traitor Tarkin thought he was.

“Understood, Captain,” Hunter nodded with a serious face.

Tarkin eyed him for a second then without even glancing at anyone else he cut off the call.

“Isn’t he a sweetheart?” you asked dryly and Wrecker burst out laughing.

“He do be having that stick up his ass,” he said and threw himself in one of the seats.

“He’s an efficient captain,” Hunter noted but his voice suggested that he wasn’t exactly fond of the man.

“Yeah, he’s a dick,” Crosshair said and pulled you into his arms.

“You’re one to talk,” Wrecker sent him a grin and Crosshair rolled his eyes.

“I already found the details of the reception,” Tech looked up from his datapad and joined in the conversation.

“Fancy,” you looked over his shoulder and saw the grandiose building it was set to be in.

“Tell me more about what we know,” Hunter sat down next to him.

“There will be a few hundred guests, all high ranking politicians or other public figures. The security level is going to be...,” Tech tapped his datapad a few times and tilted his head. “Rather high. Two guards stationed at every entrance, several patrolling on the roof.”

“What are they expecting, the chancellor?” Wrecker snorted.

“I’ll have to study the layout of the building and gather knowledge of Clarence Hart before we can form a plan,” Tech said.

“Alright, tell me when that big plan of yours is ready,” Wrecker got up and looked for Gonky.

While they were talking Crosshair’s hands had started to wander on you and it got more and more diffcult to pretend that you weren’t losing your fucking mind under his touch.

Hunter sent you a knowing look and stood up. “I’ll go get our stuff from the hotel,” he said and you let out a sigh that he didn’t embarrass you this time.

“I don’t wanna hear what these two are about to do,” he added and you took back your previous thought.

“Respectfully, go fuck yourself!!” you shouted after him as he got off the ship.

“No, I don’t think I’ll be the one fucked,” he winked and left you speechless. You were still trying to find the best comeback when he was long gone and Crosshair nudged you.

“Don’t take him seriously, sunshine.”

You pursed your lips but let him lead you out of the cockpit, leaving the blushing Tech alone. He also heard Hunter’s comment.

You followed Crosshair back into his spotless room. Everything was neatly folded and in its place.

“I see why Tech likes you, I think your room is the cleanest,” you said with a smile on your face.

A slightly sinister look appeared on Crosshair’s face as he looked at his admirable rifle collection in the corner. You followed his gaze and walked over to the corner to examine the rifles. You picked one particularly long one up and inspected it.

“I clean those frequently too,” Crosshair said in a low voice and took a step forward. Your throat tightened and you gulped. He couldn’t mean what you were thinking. You suddenly felt very hot and you didn’t dare lifting your face so you kept looking at the rifle and its barrel. It was the perfect size.

“I can see that,” you said in a weak voice as he took another step toward you. He was coming closer to you like a hunter approaching his prey but you didn’t feel like a prey. You wanted to get caught.

You collected yourself and looked up into his face. He was inspecting you, your every little gesture and he was waiting. Your palms started to sweat as the rifle felt hotter in your hands.

“You don’t mean...?” You stroked the barrel in your hand and his pupils visibly dilated and his lips parted as he drew in a sharp breath.

He took it out of your hand and pushed you up against the wall. You were pressed against him, his body surrounding you and you looked up at him and licked your mouth. He lifted the rifle and gently stroked your face, neck and cleavage with the tip of it.

You shivered where the cold metal touched your skin and you threw your head back. It was exhilarating, dangerous and it was wrong. The rifle belonged to the battlefield to fight droids but universe, was the thought of it against your naked body pleasurable.

“I do mean,” Crosshair whispered into your ear and you got goosebumps all over your body. He drove the rifle down your body and pressed it against your thighs. You gasped and reached for his shoulder to lean on.

“Oh,” you said as he slowly slid the barrel between your thighs. You could feel his hot breath against the sensitive skin behind your ear. His body brushed against yours harder and you could feel that the mere thought of pleasuring you with his custom rifle got him hard.

You rubbed yourself against his hard length, feeling the friction your clothes provided and he nearly choked and dug his fingers deeper in your flesh.

“What do you say?” He asked you in a raspy voice and you closed your eyes.

“I want to try it out,” you said and you could feel his body tense like he didn’t anticipate you saying yes.

“You sure?” he asked but he pressed the barrel harder between your thighs making you moan.

“I am,” you breathed and he lifted the rifle up and stroked your face with the end of it.

“What a good girl,” he said. “You want me to fuck you with my rifle?” His grip on the weapon tightened.

You knew that you were already wet and you couldn’t take your eyes off the rifle. How would it feel? Cold?

You nodded and he smirked maliciously. “No, sunshine, I want to hear you say it,” he said and pressed you harder up against the wall. “Say it,” he ordered you.

You bit your lower lip hard before answering obediently. “I want you to fuck me with your rifle, Crosshair.”

He closed his eyes when you answered and when he opened them you could see the familiar dark glow in them. He was ready to tease you and make you beg for it. Your lower parts clenched in anticipation.

“I’m not planning on being gentle this time,” he said and you thought back at how sweetly he made love to you earlier in the lake. This was completely different and you could see it in his eyes that he really meant it.

“Then don’t be,” you answered and a smirk appeared on your lips. “Fuck me with your rifle however rough you want to,” you glanced at him seductively and tried making him speed things up. Your pussy was already throbbing and you just wanted to feel something between your legs.

“Oh, I will,” he purred and stroked your lips with the barrel. “Suck,” he told you and your eyes widened for a moment but you opened your mouth obediently and your lips closed around the cold metal. You circled around it with your tongue before taking it deeper in your mouth. You tried getting used to its straight line, metal taste and its hardness.

Crosshair watched you without blinking and he was breathing heavily, his erection still pressed against your thigh.

You were achingly aware that both of you were still fully clothed and you longed to feel his naked body against yours.

You released the metal with an audible pop and looked at him beggingly. “Please, just do it,” you begged and reached down to stroke his erection through the fabric of his trousers. He inhaled sharply but otherwise didn’t show impatience.

“You can take your clothes off when I say that you can,” he told you and you pursed your lips. He smirked at your expression. “I can tease you longer if you don’t do as I say,” he said and you knew that he would love to edge you for hours and you just didn’t have the self-control for that.

“Yes, commander,” you answered and looked up at him from under your lashes. “I was just thinking how easily it would slip into my soaking wet cunt,” you said and watched him suffer. He wanted to tease you but he wanted to fuck you more.

He put the rifle down, deliberately in a way that it would still touch you. He drew a small vibroblade from somewhere and brushed his lips against yours. “I hope you aren’t particularly fond of these clothes,” he whispered against your lips and cut through every piece of clothing you were wearing with one clean cut.

You gasped as he pushed the ripped fabric pieces off you and he lifted the blade to stroke your hard nipples. You moaned and an evil grin appeared on his soft lips as he watched the hilt circle around your nipple.

“Another time,” he whispered and put the blade away and reached for the rifle again.

“Come,” he supported your back and helped you walk to the bed. You could barely feel your legs and he kissed you once more before pushing you down the bed. You sat on the edge of it, your legs still on the ground. He was standing and looking down at you and you looked up at him with an innocent smile and opened your legs to show him your throbbing pussy.

He inhaled deeply and quickly disconnected the barrel from the rifle. He kneeled in front of you and leaned closer to your cunt but he didn’t yet bury his face in it. He inhaled the scent deeply and closed his eyes. You moved your hips a little, desperately wanting to feel him but he just smirked at you, enjoying your struggle.

“Open them a little more for me,” he asked you and spread your knees further away from each other. He placed his hand on your shoulder and gently pushed you back so you were leaning on your elbows while waiting to see what he wanted you to do.

Then he smirked at you and placed the barrel between your knees. You raised an eyebrow and tried holding the barrel between your legs. It was a little hard with its length and of course you being naked and turned on.

Crosshair lowered himself so he could crawl with his head between your legs without you dropping the barrel.

You felt completely exposed and holding the metal between your legs required focus you didn’t exactly have at the moment. You could feel his breath on your cunt and let out a moan.

“Don’t drop it, sunshine,” he whispered and blew some air at your pussy and you winced at the sudden sensation. You were practically soaking wet and he has still not touched you.

He finally had mercy on you and buried his tongue in you deeply, savouring you and making you moan loudly with every lick.

He was eating you out with more ferocity than usual. You threw your head back and let out a loud moan when he started sucking on your clit. He even slid one then two fingers into your soaking wet cunt and started fingering you.

You couldn’t concentrate anymore as your orgasm was building and accidentally let your attention slip for a second and the barrel fell down. He immediately stopped, just when you were on the edge of coming and you moaned loudly.

“Noo, please, Crosshair, please,” you begged him and he just shook his head.

“Told you not to drop it,” he said and licked his wet lips. You lifted your hips again and did everything you could to make him fuck you, with his rifle or just his hard cock, it didn’t matter anymore, you just wanted to get railed.

“Please, I’ll do everything, just fuck me,” you begged him and he smiled, enjoying every word.

“I know you will, sunshine,” he smirked and reached for the barrel. He put it back together with the rifle and stroked it. He gently placed the weapon in your lap, careful not to touch you with his bare skin and you could only feel the cold metal against your burning skin.

Then he proceeded to strip down every single piece of clothing he had on so slowly that you wanted to scream.

“Don’t move,” he told you when you moved your hips a little.

He was standing naked in the middle of the room while you were sitting on his bed, leaning back with his fucking rifle in your lap.

He stared at you and drove his fingers down on his muscular body to touch himself. “So beautiful,” he didn’t take his eyes off you but he started to stroke his hard cock and you gulped audibly.

“Now,” he took a step closer to you and lifted the rifle, “I will fuck you with this,” he looked down at the weapon in his hands. “If you don’t like it or want me to stop just tell me,” he said with a serious face and you nodded.

“Say it.”

“I will tell you if I want you to stop,” you repeated and it seemed to relax him.

“Alright,” the smirk returned to his face. “Where were we? Yes,” he brushed the tip of the rifle against your lips. “Suck on it.”

And you did, you sucked the metal just as if it was his cock and glanced up at him to see his reaction. He was holding the rifle steadily in one hand and stroking himself with the other.

He took it out of your mouth and told you to lean back. You did and all you could see was the ceiling of his room. You grasped his sheets as you felt the tip of the rifle touch your cunt. It was nice and wet after you warmed it up.

You lifted yourself a little to see him and he looked into your eyes as he slid the weapon in your pussy. You moaned at the sensation and he let you get used to the feeling before starting to move it in and out. You shut your eyes and enjoyed the strange fullness it provided.

“Talk to me,” he asked you in a husky voice.

“I uhh,” you moaned, not being able to form coherent words. He seemed to be satisfied with you moaning his name so you stuck with that one, it was the only thing you could remember as he was fucking you with his rifle.

He increased the pace and it was almost painful but the good kind. He started to circle your clitoris with his other hand and soon he leaned closer to suck hard on it while he thrusted the metal in you.

As his hot lips touched you and sucked on your clit you let out a whimper that was a little louder than you wanted it to be but it felt so fucking good. This time he let you have the orgasm that had built up in you so hard that it almost shattered you. You were a babbling mess by the time it ended and you saw your favourite mischievous Crosshair smile on his wet lips when you opened your eyes.

He didn’t stop fucking you with the rifle but his hand went back to pumping his cock and you could tell that he was close, he was panting heavily and couldn’t focus anymore. He let the barrel go while it was still buried deep inside you and positioned himself above your stomach.

You told him how good he looked and how much you loved getting fucked by his rifle as he pumped his cock and then came all over your stomach in hot pulses. You were practically dripping with his cum, he has never come this hard and this much before.

After he came he fell down on the bed next to you and was trying to catch his breath.

“Are you okay?” he turned over to you immediately and drove his hand down your body and gently pulled the barrel out of you. You moaned when he did it and nodded.

You didn’t dare to move because you have already made a mess, both your bodies were covered in sweat and you additionally covered in his cum. Your heart was still racing and you were yet to regain your ability to speak.

“You took it so well, sunshine,” Crosshair stroked your face and you enjoyed his tender touch. “You look fucking good covered in my cum.”

You let out a faint whimper and he chuckled softly. “So fucking good,” he was eating you up with his eyes and he just couldn’t get enough of you. His rifle was laying next to you and you saw his eyes flicker to it then back to you.

You were still exhausted and dazed but you smiled up at him and stroked his face. He drew in a breath when you touched his cheek and you drove your fingers down his body.

He bent down to kiss you and you could feel that he was getting hard again. You smiled into the kiss.

“Is that okay...?” He asked you while stroking your breasts with one hand and holding onto the part of the rifle he fucked you with with the other hand.

You were still laying on your back and opened your legs to welcome him again and he climbed over you and entered you. He didn’t care that your stomach was already covered in his cum, he pulled you closer and buried his cock deep inside your swollen pussy. You were still so incredibly wet that he just slid in and the position let him reach that sweet sweet spot. You interlaced your hands around his neck as he thrusted into you, going deeper with each thrust.

Your thoughts were an incoherent mess and you were overwhelmed in the best way possible. He kept his pace up and buried his face in your shoulder.

“So fucking good for me,” he emphasized each word with a thrust. He hugged you tight to him and buried his cock deep inside you. He stayed there and started leaving wet kisses on your neck. He pinned your hands together above your head with one hand and leaned on the other as he was thrusting into you at a steady pace. You soon started to feel another orgasm build in you and he saw it, he saw the familiar signs and smirked as he kept up his pace.

“Perfect girl,” he whispered and smiled against the skin on your neck and you came. You felt tears flowing from your face but he kissed them away as you shattered into a thousand pieces around him. He couldn’t take it long this time either and soon followed you, coming inside you and filling you up with his warm cum.

“Fucking hell,” he whispered after he rolled down off you and reached to his nightstand to pop a new tootpick into his mouth. If you had the energy you would have laughed but you only managed to let out a breath.

“I fucking love how spent you are,” he said while breathing hard himself too. “Taking my cock so well,” he purred into your ears and you just closed your eyes and listened to the sweet praises he whispered into your ears in his beautiful voice.

“I have never been fucked like this,” you said after you collected yourself a little. His answer was a smug smile.

He got out of the bed and helped you out too. You were still incredibly messy and he quickly got out a fresh shirt and handed it to you. He put on a pair of shorts and you left the room to walk over to the fresher.

You caught a glimpse of a very red faced Tech disappearing behind his door and you blushed at the thought of how much he could have heard. He did tell you that the rooms were fairly soundproof. Fairly.

In the shower you relied on Crosshair and he couldn’t wipe the smug expression off his face. He was smirking every single time he looked at you, which was pretty much always.

He massaged soap on your body and let the hot water clean the both of you. He quickly and efficiently rinsed himself but spent a long time covering every inch of your body in soap until you were covered in bubbles which he rinsed off gently.

You were so drained that you would have let him do absolutely anything to you but you were glad he chose to take care of you after nearly destroying you. After he dried you with a fluffy towel he handed you another one of his shirts, a simple white one and you put it on. It was a little see-through and you were sure he knew it would be. He only put on boxers before you went back to his room.

He started to take off the sheets without a word and you just stood next to his bed, too embarrassed to talk. He looked up at you and tilted his head. You lowered your eyes and he stopped what he was doing and stepped closer to you. He reached out for your face and gently lifted it to make you look into his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked you with a seemingly unreadable face but you saw genuine concern in his eyes. You got lost in them and he had to softly nudge you to get your attention back to what he had asked. He furrowed his brows. “Was I too..?” He asked you and now you could hear the worry in his voice.

You smiled and put your hand on his as he was still caressing your face. “No, I’m just feeling embarrassed about the mess,” you lowered your voice and you could visibly see his relief. He exhaled loudly and smiled.

“Don’t be,” he told you lightly and placed a quick kiss on the top of your head, “besides I made most of it,” he smirked and you blushed again.

“Would you bring another?” He lifted the sheets and walked toward the door to put it in the laundry you would definitely do before anyone had the idea. You weren’t afraid that anyone would get to it faster than you.

You walked out to the dark common room, there was only light coming in from the corridor and you didn’t bother switching the lamp on. You opened the cabinet you thought the sheets were in but you only found the towels.

“Looking for something?” came the voice from behind you and you nearly had a heart attack. Hunter was sitting in one of the seats where you didn’t see him earlier.

You put your hand on your racing heart. “You scared the living shit out of me.”

“Sorry,” he said and shrugged. “I don’t really need the lamps, you know. You will get used to it, the others did. Although they took their time,” he grinned and you just knew that he pulled many pranks on them.

“Not Crosshair though, I assume,” you thought of how good his eyesight was.

Hunter sighed as if it was the biggest misfortune that has ever happened to him. “Yeah, his eyesight is freakishly good for that.”

“I know right, it’s creepy sometimes how good it is,” you agreed with him. “I didn’t realise you came back,” you added and opened another cabinet but still couldn’t find the sheets.

“I was gone for a long time,” he said and raised a brow.

You blushed and quickly turned your face away from him to hide it. You must have lost track of time.

“Tech reorganized everything,” Hunter told you, “they are in the cupboard above your head.”

“Thanks.” If you wanted to reach it, you would have had to stand on your tiptoes and you became painfully aware that you were only wearing Crosshair’s shirt and nothing else. You looked up at the cupboard helplessly and Hunter decided to take pity on you and got up to give you the damn sheets.

Your face was red when he handed them to you and you couldn’t look him in the eye. He enjoyed making you suffer and sent you a crooked smile.

“That lucky bastard is going to live his best fucking life from now on, isn’t he?” he asked and you blushed even more.

“He is,” Crosshair appeared in the corridor, you must have taken too long. He held his hand out to you and you quickly took it and smiled at him.

“Ugh, this,” Hunter motioned at the two of you, “is going to be dreadful for me, isn’t it? Just keep it down,” he sighed and walked into Tech’s room.

“Tech, about those earplugs..” you heard him say before the door closed.

You and Crosshair started to walk back to his room but you stopped before yours and told him to go ahead because you wanted to grab something and use the fresher.

By the time you entered his room again he had already put on the fresh sheets and was lying on his bed in a boxer. You had to stop for a moment to admire his beauty. The light coming from his nightstand reflected from his perfect skin and toned body and left one side of his face in the shadows. His hair was unruly and you wanted to run your fingers through it.

You climbed into the bed next to him.

“Whatcha got there?” he asked and looked down at your hands where you were holding the tooka doll Wrecker gave you.

“I got it from Wrecker,” you hugged the doll to your chest. “I think it was after our first bigger fight. He came over later to cheer me up.”

Crosshair listened to you carefully but you couldn’t read his face. “He made one for us too,” he said eventually and your eyes widened in surprise.

“Really? You all have one? Where’s yours?”

“It’s in the cupboard,” he pointed at one of them.

“Why don’t you sleep with it?” You asked him but he just shrugged. “Can I see it?” He nodded and you got up and opened the cupboard to find a Lula similar to yours but visibly older and used.

“You did sleep with it!” You smiled and Crosshair rolled his eyes but didn’t deny it. The doll was black and red and had his tattoo around its eye. It was so sweet and you could see younger Crosshair hugging it tight to him to sleep.

You brought it back to the bed with you and handed it to him. He accepted and loosely threw his arm over it. You snuggled back next to him and hugged your Lula.

“Do Tech and Hunter have one too?”

“Yes.”

“Do they resemble them too?”

“Yes.”

You grinned. “That’s so cute.” He made a face but didn’t say anything. “How could Wrecker make them? It’s not like they have arts and crafts shops on Kamino, I presume.”

“99 gave him the material,” he answered eventually.

“He was so good to you,” you smiled. What a sweet man.

“He was,” a small smile finally appeared on his lips as he remembered back.

His arms held you close to his body and he threw the blanket over the two of you. Your eyes felt heavy as he kept stroking your back.

“Tell me something,” you whispered to him because you wanted to hear his voice as you fell asleep. He remained silent for a few seconds but then started telling you about 99 and their days as cadets in a low voice and you fell asleep with a faint smile on your face.

You weren’t even surprised to wake up to being squeezed to death by Crosshair. He was all over you, resting his head on your chest and clinging to you like he was afraid you would run away otherwise.

You opened your eyes and despite the numbness in your limbs you didn’t move and enjoyed being up before him. His mouth was slightly open and he was breathing deeply and steadily. You wanted to kiss the tattoo around his eye and run your fingers through his hair but you settled to just watching him.

You had been up for only a few minutes when he woke up and lifted his face from your chest and blinked a few times, trying to take the position in which he found himself in. He quickly sat up and rubbed his eyes.

You stretched and yawned. “Morning,” you smiled at him.

“Did you wake up before me?” he asked in a raspy voice.

“I did,” you had to restrain a smirk seeing him purse his lips.

“I don’t know how,” he asked mostly himself and shook his head.

“I corrupted you with my sleepiness,” you laughed and he smirked then got up to put on some clothes.

“Why can’t we stay in bed a little longer?” you complained and pulled the blanket back over you.

“Because we have a mission today and need a plan” he said as he pulled up his pants.

“I don’t want to,” you hid under the blanket.

“What do you want to do?”

“You,” you answered from under your blanket.

He climbed back on the bed and under the blanket. He opened your legs and bit your inner thigh, making you moan out loud. You opened your legs even more to give him better access but he stopped.

“We have to prepare for the mission,” he said in a playful voice and climbed out of the bed. “If you’ll be a good girl, you might get rewarded.”

This has awakened your curiosity and you peaked out of the blanket.

“What do you mean?”

He smirked and tilted his head. “Be a good girl and you’ll know.”

You pursed your lips but the offer was too charming and you got out of bed and walked to the door to go back to your room for clothes. You were halfway out when you turned back to him.

“You better fuck be numb later,” you said and watched his eyebrows rise and lips twitch then you turned around to walk out of the door. At least you tried but you basically ran into Tech and after he caught you and put you back on your legs you saw just how red his face got. He must have heard.

You covered your mouth with your fingers but it was too late to take back what had just escaped your mouth.

Tech mumbled an apology and didn’t dare to look you in the eyes before disappearing in his room. You held your head and turned back to Crosshair in disbelief.

“You saw him, right?”

His smirk was telling and you made a face at him before going back to your room.

Later you all gathered in the cockpit to talk the plan through.

“So what do we know about this lovey-dovey dude?” Wrecker asked while lifting Gonky who was trying to walk in the air with his cute little legs.

“Lovey-dovey?” you looked at him, not without concern.

“Heart,” he said, not understanding what you didn’t get.

“It’s Hart not heart, the organ you idiot,” Tech rolled his eyes while Wrecker was frowning.

“It sounds the same,” Wrecker shrugged.

“No, it doesn’t,” Tech protested but luckily Hunter had enough of them and interrupted.

“Enough of…,” he motioned at the two of them with a tired face, “this.”

“He started it, I was just…,” Tech started defending himself but Hunter waved.

“I don’t care,” he said dismissively, the topic already closed for him.

You and Crosshair were just watching them silently with a mug of caf in your hands that Crosshair made. You took a sip and shared a look with him.

“So Tech, tell me what you found out about Hart,” Hunter looked back at Tech who pulled out his datapad and showed a few pictures of the man.

He was middle-aged with graying dark hair and without any sort of significance to his look. He looked like any other middle-aged human man would look like, which made him the perfect candidate to pull off a double life as a spy. His face easily blended into any crowd and looked generic enough that most people would forget about him quickly.

“He was born on Coruscant into a wealthy family, worked his way up through the family connections and is now one of the wealthiest people on the planet. He only recently got into politics but gained a lot of support quickly after donating a lot of money to various charities. He is unmarried and seems to spend all his time working. He has not been photographed a lot lately which is unusual for him as he was a frequent visitor of various social and political events his whole life.”

“He might be hiding something,” Hunter said what everyone was thinking out loud.

“Maybe he just got a new girl,” Wrecker shrugged and the answer was a silent glare from everyone. “What? Alright, or a man, sorry,” he waved and leaned back in his seat.

“That’s not what we meant…” you shook your head and suppressed a laugh. If Hart was suspicious enough to awaken even Tarkin’s curiosity then it had to be more than a new girl. Or man.

“And about the reception?” Hunter turned back to Tech.

“It’s going to be fancy enough that we can’t all blend in,” Tech’s eyes lingered on Hunter’s face tattoo and Wrecker’s huge arms. “They are expecting politicians and their plus ones, not soldiers.”

“Then we are going to split up,” Hunter started to form the plan. “Two of us are going in to keep an eye on Hart and place an eavesdropping device on him so the others can analyze everything he’s saying as soon as the words left his mouth. We also need to monitor the buildings around the reception and everyone else who is attending to rule out them being separatists in disguise. Tech, how hard would it be to create an alias and sneak into the reception?” Hunter looked back at Tech.

“Very hard, indeed,” he answered. “Not for me, though. I can do it.”

Hunter just nodded. “That means if Hart has any business to do he will have to leave the building.”

“I’m starting to get bored here, someone just tell me where to go and what to shoot at,” Wrecker yawned.

“Not everything can be solved with blasting, Wreck,” you sent him a half-smile.

“You clearly haven’t been doing it right then,” Crosshair placed a kiss on the top of your head.

“Yeah, I mean she’s right, shooting is not the best option, not when you can stab. Way more elegant,” Hunter pulled out his vibroblade and you shook your head.

“Too close,” Crosshair muttered under his breath and Hunter lifted his gaze up at him.

“It’s not when you aren’t afraid of the risk,” he mocked Crosshair who let your waist go and took a step toward Hunter.

“Say that again,” he took the toothpick in his mouth between his fingers and pointed at Hunter.

“Guys,” you stepped between them and lowered Crosshair’s hand and placed it back on your waist. He quickly forgot about Hunter’s comment and pulled you closer.

“I’m dying here,” Wrecker complained again.

“Pull yourself together,” Tech stood up and raised his voice a little. “This is a delicate mission and we need a plan.”

“Alright,” Hunter nodded and glanced at you. “We send the two lovebirds in there, they are so disgustingly sweet together that no one will bat an eye. Us three will stay outside, Tech will monitor Hart’s conversations while me and Wrecker will keep an eye on everyone who enters the building and also the building next door. If anything suspicious happens or we have gathered undeniable proof of Hart’s betrayal we grab him and get out of there without making a scene, understood?”

“Ahh, I can’t make a scene?” Wrecker pouted. “What am I blasting then?”

“Hopefully no one,” you smiled then looked up at Crosshair. “Looks like we’re going to a party. Finally I have a place to wear my red dress to.”

“Can’t wait to see you in it, sunshine,” he whispered into your ear with a hint of promise in his voice that made your lower parts clench in anticipation.

Hunter raised an eyebrow but for once ignored you. “Alright, everyone knows what they are doing?”

“I have one question,” you raised a hand, “how the hell are we supposed to bring any weapons inside the ball? I suppose we want to stun Hart if there’s proof he’s the traitor our lovely Captain Tarkin thinks him to be.”

Wrecker snorted at your pet name for Tarkin.

“I was thinking…,” Tech started speaking but blushed a little and continued, “that you can smuggle one or two blasters in under your dress.”

“Under my what, Tech?!”

Hunter and Wrecker laughed out loudly. “Don’t be such a prude, I know what you two been doing all this time, we all know you aren’t,” Hunter winked at you and you showed him your middle finger.

“Alright, I’ll take one for the team,” you sighed.

“That’s my girl,” Crosshair kissed your shoulder.

“This is honestly not much of an elaborate plan,” you looked at your sergeant who just shrugged.

“We don’t need one, we’ll just adapt to the situation.” Fair enough.

“Besides, a lot of it depends on Hart,” Tech added. He was right too.

“Crosshair, do you still have that suit we used for that mission on Lothal?” Hunter looked at Crosshair.

He nodded and you raised your eyebrows. The fact that you would see him all dressed up hasn’t reached you yet.

“You’re gonna be so handsome,” you smiled playfully at him and he made a face.

“I’d prefer my armor.”

You winked at him and then left to get ready. You have never been in a ball like this but you assumed that the other women would look spectacular. They probably spent the whole day getting ready. You only had a few hours but you made it count.

You knocked before you walked into Crosshair’s room. He was standing in front of the mirror in a simple but elegant black suit and was tying his tie with his long, delicate fingers. He looked at you from the mirror and froze mid-movement.

He slowly turned around and looked you up and down. Then again. A smile was playing on your lips as you waited for him to move or say something but he didn’t. He was just staring at you, at your red dress that fit your body perfectly and complimented your skin. Your hair was styled and your makeup was subtle. Your dress was vibrant enough.

He let go of his half tied tie and took a step closer to you. He cupped your face and looked deeply into your eyes.

“You look…,” he started to say in a raspy voice but his voice died off. He couldn’t find the words. You smiled again and lifted your hand to run your fingers through his hair. He didn’t need to say it, it was written all over his face. You pulled his head down and kissed him instead.

You already knew how he felt, that afternoon with him at the lake meant everything for you. You knew how hard it was for him to put his emotions into words and you appreciated it dearly. There you needed to hear them, you had to know that he felt the same way.

This time you didn’t need words, you only needed him, his soft lips on yours. He kissed back strongly, trying to show you how he felt and you were gasping for air by the time he let you go. He quickly finished tying his tie while you collected yourself and then you walked out to the common room.

“Fancy,” Wrecker greeted the two of you. He was wearing his armor and you saw Crosshair’s jealous look at him as he shifted uncomfortably in his suit. “Prettier than a picture,” Wrecker placed a kiss on your hand and you giggled and tried to ignore Crosshair’s death glare. Wrecker let your hand go and turned to him. “And you look like you’re going to a funeral.”

“I like to be prepared,” he murmured and put a toothpick in his mouth.

“Wow,” Hunter walked into the common room with Tech, whose mouth fell open.

“Will this dress do it for your plan, Tech?” You asked him and twirled around. He followed your movement with his eyes and Hunter closed his mouth.

“It will do,” he coughed and looked away.

“If I saw this dress earlier I would have painted you in it on the ship,” Hunter complimented you.

“As long as I’m wearing a dress,” you laughed and turned to Crosshair. “Should we cover up your tattoo?”

“Do you want to strip me of everything I am?” he asked sourly but you only stroked his face and went back to grab your makeup.

“Stay still and close your eye,” you told him as you were applying concealer on his face.

“I don’t like this,” he complained.

“But you’ll look so pretty,” Hunter teased him and Crosshair sent him a death glare with his left eye.

“It’s just to cover up your tattoo,” you told him and leaned closer. You could hear his breath accelerating and Hunter lightly chuckling in the background.

Tech came closer and concentrated on looking just in your eyes while he was talking to you. He tried so hard he barely blinked and you had to restrain your smile and actually focus on what he was saying about your and Crosshair’s aliases for the evening.

“You are going to be Roskir and Brareg Linway, they live across the galaxy and are insanely wealthy and powerful but never attend meetings or receptions personally. It won’t be a problem for you to pretend to be them. Just don’t talk about business.”

“Brareg?” Crosshair asked disgustedly. “It has the word reg in it.”

You sighed to show how irritated you were with his complaining.

“It suits you,” Hunter snickered and Wrecker laughed too.

“It’s just for the night, we’ll survive,” you told him and finished covering up his tattoo. “We’re done.”

He opened his right eye and looked at the mirror you held up in front of him. He scowled. It was weird for you too to see him without his tattoo but his face was still just as handsome as ever.

“You’ll have to leave soon if you don’t want to be late,” Tech told you.

“I don’t know, Roskir strikes me as a person who likes grand entries,” you grinned. You almost forgot about the fact that this was all for a mission and not just a fun night where you got to dress up and go to a ball with Crosshair. You were fairly certain he would never attend one in any other situation.

“Well, Brareg definitely sounds like he carries a pocket watch and arrives an hour early,” Wrecker grinned and you laughed with him.

“I don’t know how the old Brareg pulled a young and beautiful girl like Roskir,” Hunter continued.

“He is incredibly wealthy,” Tech added with a smirk playing on his lips.

“That’s enough,” Crosshair got up but you saw the faint smile on his lips and he reached for two small blasters that he handed you.

You lifted your dress and started to attach the weapons to the suspender belts around your thighs. None of them could hide watching you doing so but Crosshair quickly stepped in front of you to block the others’ view.

“If you were gawking any harder your eyeballs would fall out,” he told them in a mocking tone.

“Hey, I was just collecting inspiration for my next drawing,” Hunter grinned. “Would you deny an aspiring artist from that?”

“Without a second thought.”

Hunter pouted and Crosshair looked at him in a way that you thought it was time to go.

“Alright, I’m done,” you stood up and smoothed out your dress. “We can go now, Brareg,” you grinned at Crosshair’s grimace. He didn’t have that smooth catlike walking in this suit that he did in his armor but his confidence was enough to make up for that.

Tech landed the ship close to a taxi service where you and Crosshair rented an expensive ship to make your arrival more convincing. You entered without running into any problems, the guards checking your invitation and identities were too busy staring at you. They wanted to search you for weapons but you flirted with them to get out of it.

“That surely won’t be necessary, boys. I’m not a bad girl who would just lift her skirt to anyone,” you winked at them and they blushed enough to let it slide just this time.

You had to pull on Crosshair’s arm to make him follow you, he was close to punching both of them out for the rest of the evening.

You walked up the marble stairs and you had to control your amazed expression as you walked into the ballroom. It was everything you dreamed about as a little girl, huge crystal chandeliers sparkling like diamonds and the floor was so polished you were worried you’d slip on it. You tried to take everything in but it was just so spacious. There were long tables in the further side of the room with fine tableware waiting for guests to arrive and start eating. The other side of the hall was for dancing and there were already couples twirling on the dancefloor to the music the live orchestra was playing.

There were guests from all over the galaxy and you could see togrutas, twi’leks and even a few muuns talking quietly in the corner. Crosshair lifted your face and pretended to talk to you while he reported back to the guys.

“We are in, Hart is here, I have a visual.”

You snapped out of daydreaming and realised that you let yourself be that little girl who dreamed of attending a ball with her prince. You weren’t that girl anymore and you had a mission here. But your prince was still with you, you smiled at Crosshair as he stayed leaning close to you even after his report.

You bit your lower lip and he placed his arms on your waist. He stole a quick kiss before offering his hand for you and walking into the crowd.

You felt dizzy from the kiss and ached for more. You couldn’t concentrate on the mission, not when Crosshair’s hand never left your side and he was looking at you with those hungry gray eyes.

He leaned closer to you and whispered into your ears. “I don’t care how many people are here, I will fuck you at the first chance I get.”

Your lower parts clenched in anticipation and you rubbed your thighs together, knowing that you were already wet for him.

“I believe we haven’t been introduced yet,” a middle aged man appeared next to you with a glass of champagne in his hands. “I’m Baid Lavi,” he stole your hand to place a kiss on it.

“Brareg Linway,” Crosshair swatted his hand away rudely, “and this is my wife, Roskir,” he emphasized the word wife and you had to restrain a smile.

“Mr. Linway?” poor Baid’s eyes widened and he immediately took a step back. “I’m sorry for bothering you, please enjoy your night,” he bowed and quickly melted into the crowd.

You turned to Crosshair. “I don’t know if it was for Linway’s reputation or your charming demeanor but he was positively frightened.”

“Good,” he said and held your hand a little tighter.

“He might have been a high ranking official, Brareg shouldn’t burn down his good relations.”

“I don’t give a fuck about him, I won’t let anyone lay a finger on my girl,” he said with a serious face. Your heart stuttered hearing his words. He called you his girl. This little endearment meant so much to you.

You have reached the edge of the dance floor and you saw Hart sipping a glass of champagne while staring at the dancing couples. You touched the little eavesdropping device you were supposed to sneak in his suit and let Crosshair’s hand go to walk over to him. Hart looked deeply lost in his thoughts and didn’t even notice you approaching him until you playfully stroked his chest to get his attention (and also placed the device into his pocket.)

“Mr. Hart, what an honour to meet you, I’m a huge supporter of your work,” you started chatting with him.

He shook his head. “Oh, thank you, thank you,” he nodded, looking quite discomposed.

“I didn’t want to disturb you, I’m sure you’re very busy, I’m already on my way,” you smiled at him and blended back into the crowd.

You saw Crosshair walking toward you and your eyes were fixed on him and you didn’t notice the man approaching you. He was wearing a deep green velvet suit and had too much gel in his hair.

He put his left hand out as an offering. “Would you honor me with a dance?”

“Piss off,” Crosshair spat the words to him as he walked up next to you and placed his hand on your lower back. The man made a startled face and jerked his hand back before disappearing.

“You could be a little more polite,” you scolded Crosshair but he held your hand tightly and led you away from the dance floor, toward the other side of the hall. “It wouldn’t kill you to do so,” you continued, “or just leave the talking to me all together,” you had a little trouble keeping up with him because of the weapons attached to your legs and you were too busy telling him to back off a little to see where he was taking you.

Then you realised that you couldn’t hear the music and loud chattering anymore and Crosshair opened a simple door and pushed you inside. He shut the door and pressed you up against the door.

“You are fucking mine,” he growled and you were startled by the ferocity in his voice.Your breathing accelerated and you couldn’t stop looking at his lips as he was talking.

“They are all staring at you,” he continued, completely out of his mind. “They want to touch you, feel the smoothness of your skin,” he stroked your face and you closed your eyes at the tender touch.

“They want to fuck you,” the fingers that stroked your face so gently a moment ago now grabbed your chin and forced you to look up at him. “You belong to me and no one else,” he said and kissed you roughly. You moaned into the kiss and he lifted your body and threw you on a table.

He quickly wrenched your dress up until it left your lower half exposed. His fingers quickly undid the knots you used to attach the blasters to your legs and he freed you from them and drove his fingers up and down your bare skin.

You moaned and leaned back and he quickly undid his pants and took his already hard cock out. “I told you that you are mine,” he hissed and grabbed your thighs to pull you closer. You let out a whimper and grabbed the edge of the desk.

“No one else can look at you like that,” he teased his cock at your entrance. “No one else can touch you like that,” he dipped the tip in your soaking wet pussy. “No one else can fuck you like me,” he growled and entered you at once and started fucking you at an incredible pace. He growled when he felt just how wet you were for him.

You moaned his name and let him destroy you. You were aching for him from the moment you saw him in the suit and now he was fucking you just the way you wanted. He bent over and clenched his fingers around your throat just enough to make it pleasurable. You were a blubbering mess under him.

“You like getting fucked like this, princess?” he asked you and you nodded frantically, not being able to say a word, not with him thrusting into you hard and holding your neck with his slender fingers.

He buried himself deep inside you and you gasped at the sensation. He filled you up so painfully perfectly and you loved the little edge of pain to your pleasure.

“We should be out there, keeping an eye on Hart and instead I’m here fucking you. You had to wear this dress,” he shoved himself inside you again, reaching that sweet sweet spot deep inside you, “you had to attract everyone’s attention and you had to be sweet to them,” he clenched his fingers tighter around your neck and you almost saw stars from pleasure.

“But you are mine,” he snarled and you came around him, your orgasm exploding into a thousand white fireworks as you came and he fucked you through it. “Who can make you come like this?” he asked you and let your neck go to lift your hand. “Tell me, sunshine, who?”

You tried to focus on his face but your vision was still blurry from your orgasm. “You, only you,” you moaned and he choked and you felt his cock twitch inside you.

“That’s right,” he gasped and buried his cock inside you and came, filling you up with his cum until you were leaking from it.

He pulled out and put his cock back to his trouser, careful not to make a mess. You placed your panties back to their place but your swollen pussy swallowed the little piece of fabric too easily.

“Now you surely won’t think of anyone else during the night,” Crosshair smirked down at you as you were trying to catch your breath. You wanted to tell him that you would never even think of another man, not when you have been fucked by him like this. He has ruined every single man in the galaxy for you, you knew you would never ever find anyone like him.

He picked up the blasters and attached them back to your legs and then helped you stand up. You leaned on him as you felt your pussy leak a little of his cum and you ran your finger through your hair to make it look a little less like you had just been fucked. It didn’t help much.

He was so calm and collected. Not even his hair got unruly. And then there were you with your wrinkled dress, smeared makeup and tangled hair. Not to talk about the mess that the inside of your head was.

You sneaked away to a restroom as soon as you could and cleaned yourself up with your limited resources. At least your face was still flushed, giving you a healthy glow and your eyes were shining.

Crosshair was waiting for you in front of the door and immediately placed a hand around your waist to lead you back to the reception. Hart was dancing with a senator so you decided to grab a bite while keeping an eye on him.

The smell of dinner made your stomach growl. There were all kinds of meat and fish, dipped in sauces you’ve never tasted before and delicious garnish. Even Crosshair seemed to like it but it was hard to tell with him.

“Your hair looks a little disheveled compared to how it was before you left,” you heard Hunter’s smoky, slightly mocking voice in your ear and you nearly dropped your cutlery. His voice was coming from the little device placed in your ear but it sure scared the hell out of you. Not Crosshair, of course.

“Anyway,” Hunter continued, “we saw some movement in the building next door, we think Hart might take off soon. We can’t get any closer, not with all these guards and staying unnoticed.”

“We got this,” Crosshair said and looked deep into your eyes.

You both got up and approached the dance floor. You were surprised to see Crosshair put his hand out and ask you to dance. You smiled at him and accepted. Maybe it was only because he wanted to stay closer to Hart but the way he was leading you and dancing made your head spin.

Not long ago he was fucking you roughly and now he twirled you around and held you as if you were a delicate flower. You saw from your peripheral vision that Hart stopped dancing and was sneaking away.

Crosshair led you closer to the edge of the dance floor and you managed to see Hart slip out through one of the doors. Crosshair looked around and deemed the situation safe and you followed Hart. When Crosshair reported back to the guys you felt the thrill of the mission flood you.

Hart didn’t use the main entrance to leave, he approached the corridors. You and Crosshair could follow him unobtrusively as there were still guests all around. When you reached the dark corridors all you could hear was the echoes of your footsteps and your own heavy breathing. Crosshair was walking as silently in front of you as a cat and he stopped before a door and motioned you.

Before he could enter you heard guards approaching. “Hey!” they shouted after you and you both froze. “Stop! This is a restricted area,” the taller guard told you. He couldn’t be much older than you but his face was serious.

You quickly collected yourself and stepped from one feet to the other while hiding your mouth with your fingers in pretended embarrassment.

“We’re so sorry sir,” you looked at him with a smile and stroked Crosshair’s chest. “We were just trying to find some privacy,” you winked at the guard who came to a halt before you. “You certainly understand, I’m sure the girls are all over you,” you flirted and he straightened his back and coughed.

“Well, ma’am,” his gaze ran down your figure and lingered on your cleavage a little longer than appropriate. “I don’t think we have seen anything, right man?” He turned to the other guard on whose face a sly smirk appeared.

“No, I don’t think we did,” he said and winked at Crosshair before they turned around and walked back to the main hall.

You quickly entered the room but before you could have gone after Hart, Crosshair pushed you up against the wall.

“The fuck you were thinking?” He leaned closer to you. “Flirting with these pathetic boys?”

His body was too strong and you couldn’t even break free if you wanted to. His face was not pleased.

“I just got us out of a rough situation, Cross,” you told him and gasped as he pushed his hips against yours.

“I would choose to kill them before having to watch you flirt with them,” he said and your breathing became heavy. Why did this turn you on so much? This was possessive but fuck, it felt so good that he wanted all of you to himself.

You squeezed his shoulder. “We can talk about this later but for now, Hart is slipping away to do universe knows what business,” you told him and his mind focused back on the mission. He let you go and turned to the open window where Hart sneaked out.

“Do you have eyes on Hart?” he asked through his comm.

“Positive, he entered the room below you and in the opposite building,” came Hunter’s voice.

“We are now a hundred percent positive that he’s secretly allying with the separatists and has been leaking useful information to them,” Tech said and you pursed your lips. Traitor.

“Then let’s get his traitor ass,” Crosshair held his hand out and you quickly got the two blasters out from under your dress and handed him one. Then you turned on the stun setting, he might have been a traitor but he still deserved a trial. And punishment. A lot of it. How many troopers paid with their lives for Hart's betrayal? Your fingers closed a little tighter around your weapon at that thought.

Crosshair motioned you to stay behind while he walked to the window and assessed the range and position Hart was in.

“He’s in the room with two others, Hart is the closest to the window,” Hunter reported.

“I have a visual,” came Crosshair's calm answer.

“Everything’s clear,” Wrecker said and Crosshair lifted his blaster.

“Wait!” Tech’s voice cut through the comm channel and you jerked your head up and lifted your blaster. “There’s a…,” Tech started saying but it was too late.

Just before the second Crosshair could have pulled the trigger a red blast cut through the air and hit his right shoulder. He grunted in pain and fell to his side. Your heart sank and you wanted to scream but no sound came out of your mouth.

“There’s an unidentified ship approaching to get Hart out of there,” Tech finished.

“On it,” came Wrecker’s answer and you could hear his breath accelerating as he started running.

“Yeah, thanks for the heads up,” Crosshair moaned and kneeled up. Quicker than you could have acted he threw the blaster from his injured right hand to the left, lifted it and shot, then collapsed on the floor.

You ran to him and saw that he was in a lot of pain and was losing a lot of blood. He grasped his right shoulder and blood was slowly soaking his fingers.

“Hart’s out, the others fled but we are not after them, nice job Cross,” Hunter praised Crosshair, unaware of the fact that his brother had just got shot in the shoulder.

“Hunter, Crosshair got shot,” you reported back and crouched down to start treating his wound. “You need to hurry, there isn’t much I can do without my equipment,” you tried to stay calm and collected but felt the unfamiliar signs of panic rise in your chest. You never panicked in dangerous situations.

There was no answer for a couple seconds but then Hunter’s grim voice answered. “How bad?”

“Tell Wrecker my rifle will be buried with me and he can’t get it,” Crosshair grunted.

“Hear it for yourself,” you rolled your eyes but knew that his injury was more serious than he let it show. “Hurry,” you told Hunter and you knew he heard the concern in your voice. You turned your attention back to Crosshair again.

He was still laying on his left side and clutching his right shoulder where the blaster bolt hit him. He was pale and his blood soaked his suit and started to gather on the floor next to him.

Usually when you were working as a medic you found a mental state where you were present but distant at the same time. You saw the injury and you just knew what you had to do. Stitch that up, disinfect this, put bacta cream on this wound and so on… You didn’t see the trooper, you saw the human body, the way it opened up and bled and you knew how to put it back together. It was only flesh and bone and blood. Simple biology.

But this time it was different. You saw the blood and all you could think about was that it belonged to the man you loved. The man who you would have moved mountains for, the man you would have followed anywhere. He was in pain and you froze.

Crosshair grunted in pain again and you snapped back and took a few deep breaths, trying to ignore the smell of his blood.

“Don’t panic, don’t panic,” you muttered to yourself as you ripped off some fabric from his suit and made a quick bandage out of it to stop the bleeding as much as you could.

“I’m not panicking,” his mouth curled up a little but he still kept his eyes shut.

“I was talking to myself,” you answered and almost burst out laughing at the absurdity of your situation. You were surely going mad.

“It’s just a blaster bolt, I had it worse,” he answered and controlled his breathing. He was taking it so well but soon he was panting, his eyes closed and his blood got all over your dress. You grew more and more anxious and were looking constantly at the door and window to see when the others would arrive.

“I told you red suited you,” Crosshair said in a weak voice and you let out a hysterical laugh then quickly stopped yourself.

“Where are you?” you muttered to yourself and glanced at the door then heard shooting through the comm, the unmistakable sound of a stun blast.

“This one won’t get up for a while,” you heard Wrecker’s voice before he reported that the pilot of the ship was out. You heard a loud thud, Wrecker must have kicked the guy who shot his brother, in the gut. Good, you smiled tightly.

“Tech, get Hart, Wrecker go get Cross and Medy, I’ll get the ship and pick you all up,” Hunter gave orders to everyone and you heard him run through a corridor and jump through a window.

You wondered how no one else noticed what was going on there but just realised how quickly and silently the whole process went down. You’d be out before anyone could bat an eye.

“What should we do with this one?” Wrecker asked Hunter about the knocked out pilot.

“Leave him for the guards,” Hunter said darkly.

Wrecker did as he said and soon burst into the room where you were kneeling next to the injured Crosshair. He had a worried expression on his face and he immediately ran to Crosshair to assess his condition.

“How could this happen?” he asked and helped his brother up. Crosshair grunted from pain and leaned on Wrecker who picked him up instead. He was already too weak to protest and rested his chin on Wrecker’s shoulder. “Should have kicked harder,” Wrecker shook his head, making a shadow of a smirk appear on Crosshair's pale lips.

Tech arrived soon with Hart carelessly thrown over his shoulder. He even bumped his head to the doorframe when he entered the room and ran to take a look at Crosshair.

“How serious is the injury, how much blood has he lost, how…,” he started showering you with questions but you placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

“It missed the brachial plexus, he’s gonna be okay soon but is losing a lot of blood now,” you summarized his condition.

“Missed his what?” Wrecker asked nervously, fidgeting with his hand and shooting nervous glances at Crosshair who was still resting his chin on his shoulder.

“The large nerve bundle that controls arm function,” you explained quickly.

“Hunter?” Tech asked through the comm.

“Here,” came the answer and you finally heard the stolen ship approach and Hunter threw down a cable, as the ship was too big to fit between the two buildings.

You watched Wrecker climb the cable with one hand and you followed them, not forgetting to take Crosshair’s blaster with you.

Tech climbed up after you, easily doing it, even with the additional weight of the traitor Hart on his shoulders. Hunter piloted the ship back to the Havoc Marauder and you quickly got on it. You had Wrecker lay Crosshair in your bed, closest to your equipment.

You finally felt like yourself again, the equipment was familiar in your hands and you knew just what to do. You acted mechanically, silencing the part of your brain that wanted to scream and cry. You couldn’t let that part of yourself out because the only person able to calm you from that state was lying in front of you, badly injured.

Tech was piloting but both Wrecker and Hunter were standing in the door, silently watching you stitch up Crosshair and inject him with painkillers. You placed a bacta bandage on his wound and leaned back in your chair.

He was out, he lost too much blood and you gave him a pill that would guarantee sound and sleepless sleep. He needed it. All three of you watched him lay in your bed, still but breathing. You all knew that you were close to losing him today and none of you left for a long time. Later Tech switched with Hunter and sat down on the floor next to Crosshair.

You only left his side for a minute when you went into his room to grab his lula. You knew it was silly but you wanted him to have it next to him. Wrecker smiled at you when he saw it and you held your hand out for him and he gently squeezed your fingers to comfort you.

You couldn’t take your eyes off Crosshair. You knew it wasn’t a fatal wound, you all knew it. But it could have been and your heart was aching. You were still worried about Crosshair but could relax a little now that he was stable and resting. He would be okay.

You climbed in the bed next to him and just stared at his face, tattoo and silver locks. Wrecker, who was sitting on the floor next to your bed slowly fell asleep just like Tech who was snuggled up in your armchair. They were exhausted but couldn’t leave their brother’s side when he was in pain. You smiled at them and looked back at Crosshair who opened his eyes for a second but they didn’t seem to focus.

You immediately sat up and cupped his face. “It’s okay, Cross, you’re gonna be okay, I’m here,” you reassured him and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He was taking shallow breaths and you just wanted to take all his pain away. “Do you want me to get you anything?” you asked him.

“Just stay,” he whispered and fell back to his very needed sleep.

Omg I’m crying

Hush Little Baby, Don’t You Cry

Summary: A slight hiccup in hyperspace leads to a little problem aboard the Havoc Marauder. A very little problem. In other words: The Bad Batch is now the Baby Batch. 

I have written… VERY LITTLE for the Bad Batch so pls treat me gently. 

Rating: General Audiences (Prepare for wee babbies)

Ships: The Bad Batch x Reader (sort of?)

Word Count: 2.6k

Tag List: I’m tagging everyone who’s filled out my tag list form but also some mutuals who like The Bad Batch and might? Enjoy this? 

TAG LIST FORM HERE

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