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embeanwrites · 1 month

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To Be Held

Summary: Reader is injured.

Warnings: Angst, blood, and wounds

Notes: Thank you so much @arctrooper69 for the request and @promptsbytaurie for the prompts! :D

Prompts:

“You did so good. Don’t worry, you-you did so good.”

“Hey, hey, shhhh. Shhhh. You’re okay.”

“I know, I know it hurts.”

Gn!reader

Word count: 1,019

Tech often held you like this. Your head tucked against his neck and shoulder, his arms wrapped around you, holding your chest to his, you were safe. Sometimes the two of you were curled up on your bed, sometimes you were seated atop the Marauder, Tech quietly mumbling about the stars, but never before in a pool of your own blood. You tried to drift away in these good memories, let go of the pain.

A surge brought you back. Tech’s hand pushed against the wound on your upper back. The blood quickly seeped through his fingers.

“Aah.” You writhed at the pain.

“I know,” He said, “I know it hurts. Just stay awake. Please.”

“Did…” You started to ask. “Did we do it?”

“Yeah,” Tech said after a moment, amazed you could be thinking of the mission while bleeding out “You did it. You did such a good job.”

“Really?” You asked, a slight waver to your voice.

“Don’t worry, you–you did so good.”

“I-is anyone else… hurt?” You managed between shaking breaths.

“No,” Tech held you tighter. “The rest of the Batch is fine. They’re on their way. They’ll be here soon. You’ll be okay…. You’ll be okay.”

“Oh,” You said, taking another deep, shaky breath. “It’s that bad?”

You leaned back, pushing away from him so you could see his face. His front was soaked with blood. Your blood. You looked up at his eyes, but they were focused on the horizon.

“They’ll be here soon,” He repeated. He sounded like he was trying to reassure himself more than you.

“Hey.” You said, reaching a hand up to his face and tilting it down to face you. Your bloody fingers left four lines on his cheek. He lifted his similarly bloody hand from your back and grasped your fingers.

“We need to keep pressure on the wounds,” He said, “Or else… or else you’ll …”

You nodded, and allowed him to pull you closer. His chin was tucked on the crown of your head, your cheek pressed to his collar. Seeping into the ground was your blood. Too much of it.

“Tech,” you started, surprised at how weak your voice sounded, “I love you.”

“Shh, no, no. Don’t talk that way.” He shook slightly as he soothed you. “Shhh. Shhh. You’re okay.”

“Please,” You pleaded, “Just say it back.”

A few moments passed. Tech seemed to be mulling it over, coming to terms with something.

“I love you, too,” He eventually whispered, as if the words were so fragile that saying them too loudly would shatter them.

Reassured after hearing that, your breathing changed. The slow shaky breaths became shallow, and too fast.

“I love you,” Tech continued. “And all the little inside jokes we have. And how you can always find a way to make Omega laugh. And how… how you listen when I ramble. And when you talk about the future and your eyes fill with life. And when you smile.”

When he said that you smiled weakly against his shirt. Listening to him, you almost didn't mind the cold numbness spreading from your fingers and toes. Or the pain in your torso. One again, you could be lost in his voice.

Your body was slowly shutting down in a last ditch effort to save you. Your entire being went numb, every muscle and tendon relaxing. At least that meant your breathing finally slowed. Your eyes drifted closed. The coppery taste of blood faded, along with the burnt smell from the ash and rubble.

“Hey?” Tech squeezed you tighter. “Stay with me. Please.”

As your hearing – your last lifeline to the world of the living – faded, you faintly heard the sound of the Marauder flying low.

Then there was nothing but darkness and a dull ache that you couldn’t quite place. You felt it deep inside, like you had been gutted, and smoldering coals had replaced your insides. It was the deepest grief you’d ever felt. It started to fade away, but you heard a familiar voice.

“Stay with me. Please.”

Tech. You thought. I need to get back to Tech.

Although it felt like your limbs were made of lead, and weighed down in tar, you fought. This dark abyss wasn’t it for you. Not yet. You tore yourself from the inescapable stillness, despite the coals burning from inside.

You had to see Tech again. Hug him. Hold him. Tell him it would be alright. Save him from the pain you’d seen in his eyes.

After what felt like a lifetime, you heard something. It was muffled voices, ones you recognized, which slowly became crisper. You smelled sterile medical supplies, and felt your chest rising up and falling down with each breath.

Pain accompanied consciousness. You could stop fighting, slide back into the abyss, but that would mean never seeing Tech again, so you soldiered on.

With one last push you flung your eyes open, and you were back. Breathing, living, hurting. You’d escaped from the void, and you were back in your body.

You turned your head, and saw Tech in the seat next to your bed. He hadn’t changed his clothes, as evidenced by your dried blood. You didn’t know if it would ever come out. He had a faraway look in his eyes. The same one he had while waiting for the rest of the Batch to come save you two.

You shifted slightly, and he snapped to attention at the sound.

“Cyare,” He whispered, reaching out to take your hand. “Welcome back.”

His eyes scanned your face, as if he was trying to make sure you were real. You squeezed his hand to reassure him.

“I am,” You said, voice scratchy and weak. You cleared your throat, which triggered a sharp pain. You let out a small gasp.

“Are you okay?” Tech asked, his eyebrows furrowing together. You looked at the lines in his face, deepened by a lack of sleep and surplus of concern. Reaching one hand up, you cupped his face.

“I’m fine, love,” You smiled up at him, and he returned a weary smile.

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embeanwrites · 3 months

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Chapters: 38/38 Fandom: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Gavin Reed/Reader, Connor & Sister!Reader, Hank Anderson & Daughter!Reader Characters: Gavin Reed, Hank Anderson, Connor (Detroit: Become Human), RK800, RK900, Reader Additional Tags: Slow Burn, Upgraded Connor | RK900 and Gavin Reed are Police Partners, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Detroit Police Department (Detroit: Become Human), Good Friend Tina Chen, Lesbian Tina Chen, Hank Anderson's Daughter, Hank Anderson Adopts Connor, Reader has a PhD, Anxiety, dead mom, Gavin Reed has three cats, Gavin Reed is Bad at Feelings, Good Dog Sumo (Detroit: Become Human), Connor loves dogs, connor has major little brother energy, Nines is sneaky, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Connor and Reader sibling relationship, Elijah Kamski is a flirt, dealing with death, Anger, reader is written with she/her pronouns, Took a lot of inspiration from Detroit Evolution's Gavin Reed, nines RK900 - Freeform, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Smut, but we gotta build up to it, Fluff, Angst Summary:

After many years of being away from home, (Y/n) returns to Detroit. Trying to mend her broken relationship with her father, Hank, and meet the android that has become like his son, she returns to Detroit after Wayne State University offers her a staff position to teach a course on Android and Human Relationships. Nines is looking forward to talking with her and debating her theories, which drags Gavin Reed into her life.

After four years the whole fic is done! Check out the last couple chapters and epilogue over on AO3

#gavin reed x reader #gavin reed #detroit become human #x reader

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embeanwrites · 3 months

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All fights since losing Tech had been difficult, while Tech wasn’t the only one smart enough to come up with good plans, he was the best at coming up with solution after solution when the boys found themselves in an impossible fight with impossible odds. While this wasnt the first one the boys had found themselves in since losing Tech it was quickly becoming the hardest as the two were becoming surrounded in enemies and a building crumbling down around them.

Hunter and Wrecker had found themselves doing what should have been a simple recon mission for Rex, which ended up being swarmed by the Empire. They would have assumed it was an ambush if they hadn’t trusted Rex so much.

Wrecker frowned as he listened to Hunter pick up more enemies from a high spot. While Hunter was not trained to be their sniper at all, it was their best chance for someone to push forward while the other provided cover. And who better to push forward than Wrecker?

Flaming debris was around him as he continue to hit and push forward. Out of the corner of his eye he a masked individual, not helmeted, get on his knee and with a metal arm slowly roll what he thought to be a droid popper. Not having much time to think about it he push forward slightly to the right and ripped a metal sheet of the wall, doing his best to protect himself from the blast.

However, it wasn’t a droid popper, it was a live gerande made to look exactly like a droid popper. Wrecker managed to hold his ground before a shot from the masked individual hit his pauldron and running towards him. Wrecker managed to hold his ground not imagining much strength from them, but as their metal arm grabbed the sheet they quickly ripped it away from him and kicked him. Pushing him back.

Quickly the two ended up in hand to hand combat and every second Wrecker felt himself gaining the upperhand the individual would suddenly pull out a vibroblade or another blaster, keeping Wrecker going. Wrecker had no idea what enemies were even in his surrounding, if Hunter was watching, picking off other enemies, or worse. He had no moment to check and it wasn’t until he managed to throw the individual over his shoulder that his world seemed to come crashing down in slow motion.

The individual, rolled off the ground, knocking his mask off in the process. Revealing his scared, but familiar face. A face Wrecker would know anywhere.

“Tech?” His voice cracked as he looked at his brother.

“Who the hell is Tech?”

#tech #bad batch #winter soldier Au

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embeanwrites · 4 months

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apparently tara, withers, and gale's mom are bffs

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embeanwrites · 6 months

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✨CONTRIBUTOR PREVIEW✨

Take a look at this snippet of @embeanwrites piece for the zine! Preorders end November 20th! Shop here!

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embeanwrites · 9 months

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Codywan Reverse Bang 2023: Masterlist Part 1

Team 1

codywan reverse bang - pokemon au [Art] by @cmarani

a heart so true [10.8k] by @sarmaril

At the tender young age of eleven, Cody Fett believed he knew exactly what love at first sight felt like. Or; Cody has his sights set on the Pokémon League. It's not going to be easy training his way to the top. He can't just leave home at ten and charge Tauros-headed through the Galax region like some kids can. He has to spend his time helping his family's daycare in Kamino City, but Cody's not going to let that stop him... And maybe if along the way he gets to hold hands with Professor Jinn's cute assistant then he certainly wouldn't complain.

Team 2

codywan reverse bang - stained glass [Art] by @cmarani

Until We Meet Again [5.1k] by @geodax

After deserting the Empire that raised him and his brothers, Cody finds himself on a isolated planet. There, he finds a face he never wanted to see again.

Team 3

Team 3 [Art] by @madbunnyarts

Rewinding the Skein [8.5k] by @itsgoldleaf

He’s seen the creases of that palm before. Another thing he doesn’t remember. He walks towards the alley. The first sun drops lower. The footsteps behind him are as loud as the blood in his ears. Or: Ben goes to market and comes home with more than dried fruit.

a remedy painted blue [20.2k] by @ihathbenobiwankenobied

After ten years trying to keep his head down on Tatooine, Cody finds Obi-Wan lost in a life he never planned on living. It's not what they dreamt about during the war, but perhaps together they can make it work. Except Cody has a secret he didn't know he was keeping. And it might just tear them apart.

Behind the Scenes [10k] by @catfur-and-greenscales

“Spare any credits?” Obi-Wan stopped on the spot, feeling a cold sensation creeping down his spine. He knew that voice as he had heard it hundreds of thousands of times. With wide eyes Obi-Wan turned around and saw a man, not anyone he could say he knew, but those features were more than familiar to him. Perhaps the Force could have provided him more information, but he dared not to use it to reach for the man. It had been ages since the last time, so starting now was not an option. For a moment they both were just staring at one another, until the rough looking man lifted his bandaged arm, with a helmet. Obi-Wan could not help himself but … There was no facial scar. And there shouldn't have been, since even after everything, the man in front of him was still wearing the colors of the 501st. This man was not Cody. Of course not. He should have known better to not hope. But the seconds their eyes were locked felt too long to Obi-Wan. The tension was broken only when the clone just lifted his bucket a little higher and said:“Help a veteran to get a warm meal.”

Team 4

Team #4 - CodyWan Reverse Bang 2023 [Art] by @djk-creations

Twin Suns on the Horizon [22.9k] by @tyedyeboogers

Out on the hots sands of Tatooine anything can happen. For the people that live there, it is a fight of survival. For the Hutt who lords over them, it's resting on his ill gotten laurels. For the two gunslingers with a bone to pick - well, that's something entirely new. A Codywan Cowboys Story

cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other [5.5k][WIP] by @catsnkooks

A new sheriff has come to Freetown, the town Ben has established himself in after the rise of the Empire. Sheriff Cody Fett isn't someone he was expecting, with his determination to make Freetown a place for everyone, away from the shackles of the ever-encroaching Empire, and it's not long before Ben finds himself falling for the selfless sheriff. But when Ben's past comes knocking on the door, threatening the livelihood of everyone in Freetown, he knows he must act to save everyone he loves in his town, which has now come to include a certain sheriff in his life.

Team 5

Team 5 [Art] by @nhyhu

Tied [17k] by @insertmeaningfulusername @embeanwrites @wixiany

Qui-Gon is gone and Obi-Wan, freshly promoted to a Jedi Knight, needs to take care of a Padawan of his own, but doubts and insecurities plague him. Elsewhere in the galaxy, Cody and his brothers are struggling through rigorous training on the water planet of Kamino. They meet and start working together once the Clone Wars begin. They steal comfortable and quiet moments with each other, slowly working their way towards more than just a friendship between Commander and General. But the war is relentless. In a skirmish, Cody is fatally injured. Obi-Wan reaches deep into the Force and into himself to change Cody’s fate, and in doing so, a powerful Force bond is created. Now, they will have to navigate the war and their growing affection alongside an as of yet unprecedented bond. or: Obi-Wan and Cody's journeys before and throughout the war and their relationship (in 3 parts)

Team 6

Art for I Will Support You (Even When You Fall) [Art] by @commanderfoxtheshield

I'll support you (even when you fall) [8.6k] by @robyn-hoood

The offer is also tempting for another reason; from here, he can spot the two figures on the front page, limbs poised in a graceful arc as the smaller figure is lifted up by the other, spotlights bathing them in golden light. Dance therapy, he thinks, quietly mulling it. A class that paired up veterans with volunteers to teach them how to dance to cope with PTSD, a year-long program that ended with a small competition with a small monetary prize. A tiny part of him, a part that suspiciously sounds like his younger, college-attending self, perks up in interest. He quickly pockets the flyer, and stands up. She startles slightly, but settles down with his next words: “I’ll think about it.” . . . . . Or, veteran Cody Fett and dancer Obi-Wan Kenobi are paired up for a dance competition. It all goes downhill from there.

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embeanwrites · 10 months

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Team #5 - Tied

@codywanreversebang is here! @nhyhu created 3 beautiful art pieces for our fic, and me, @insertmeaningfulusername, and @embeanwrites wrote each one part - the before, the during and the aftermath. We can’t wait for you all to see and read it! ♥

Summary:

They meet and start working together once the Clone Wars begin. They steal comfortable and quiet moments with each other, slowly working their way towards more than just a friendship between Commander and General. But the war is relentless. In a skirmish, Cody is fatally injured. Obi-Wan reaches deep into the Force and into himself to change Cody’s fate, and in doing so, a powerful Force bond is created.

Now, they will have to navigate the war and their growing affection alongside an as of yet unprecedented bond.

or: Obi-Wan and Cody’s journeys before and throughout the war and their relationship (in 3 parts)

Find the fanfic here!

The first stunning art by @nhyhu:

#i wrote chapter one #codywan #cody x obi wan

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embeanwrites · 11 months

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me externally: I write fanfic because I enjoy it! I write for myself!

me internally: validate me. drown me in kudos. i will sell my soul for comments and fic recs

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embeanwrites · 1 year

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Hi!!!, I'm so glad for your 1000 followers, you deserve it, I hope you get more and more every day. 🥺

From the physical afections prompts, I loved the number 4; you know Tech is my man.

Thanks for the request, love! And oh man, sweet Tech...this will be fun!

"Night Lights"

4. Fingers softly touching before intertwining

Pairing: Tech x fem reader

***

You inhaled deeply through your nose and then exhaled slowly through your mouth. The bell to your apartment door had just gone off and you were bracing yourself for who was on the other side, calming down your nerves.

Why were you nervous?

It was because you were about to go on an actual date with your crush...Tech.

You lived on Pabu and you'd first ran into him in a tavern after he came back from flight training with the young girl in his squad. You thought he was cute and, after a couple small drinks, worked up the courage to go talk to him. You'd clicked pretty quickly and he told you he'd see you around. The two of you met up a couple more times in that same tavern before he finally decided to ask you on a proper date and you couldn't be more excited! You'd even gone out and bought yourself a new dress and everything to impress him.

Though, now that the date was upon you...you were anxious as hell.

You pressed the button to open your door and there he was, your favorite intelligent, goggled Clone in his nice blue and white leather outfit that you liked on him.

"Good evening, (Y/N)," he said politely.

"Hi Tech," you replied, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear.

"Are you ready for our date?" he inquired.

You nodded. "I've been ready all day."

"As have I." Then he offered you his arm and stated, "Come. I have something special planned for us tonight."

With an excited smile, you looped your arm through his and the two of were off.

He led you down to the pier where he revealed he was borrowing Mayor Shep's boat for the evening and the Mayor had also helped him prepare a special picnic meal for the two of you. The two of you got onto the boat and Tech drove the boat out further into the ocean until you could see all of Pabu in the distance. You enjoyed the lovely meal together while making pleasant conversation. You asked Tech how he was liking life on Pabu and he regaled you with stories of his life as a soldier. He was attentive to every word you said and you were enthralled with all of his stories. You just knew you could listen to him all day.

The sun had almost disappeared on the horizon and you had the feeling your date with Tech was just about over and you couldn't help but feel sad about it.

"I've had a wonderful time with you tonight, Tech," you told him.

"I have had an enjoyable time with you likewise," Tech replied. "However, our outing is not yet over."

"It isn't?" you questioned.

"Not quite," he said. "After analyzing weather conditions a few days ago for Shep in order to properly plan expeditions for the fisherman, I took notice of a particular phenomenon that is supposed to take place this very night. I thought it would be more special if we...could see it together."

Just as you were about to ask what he was talking about, you saw his eyes look up and there seemed to be a softer light illuminating his face, casting a slight glare on his goggles. You looked up in the direction he was gazing and a quiet gasp escaped your lips as you got up to your feet.

The night sky was alive with ribbons of sparkling lights of various colors: green, purple, blue and pink. It was the most beautiful thing you'd ever seen and you just couldn't take your eyes away. You felt Tech stand beside you and the slightest sensation that Tech's hand was right next to yours. This moment was so serene and romantic...you wanted so badly to just inch your hand over and hold Tech's hand.

Suddenly, his fingers lightly brushed against yours and you froze ever so slightly. To test the waters a little more, you lightly touched him back...until you felt his hand slip into yours, intertwining your fingers together, and he grasped your hand tightly. Finally, you made yourself look at him and your eyes tenderly met, causing a feeling of warmth to build inside you at the way he gazed at you.

"This...is perfect," he told you, a softer smile that you'd ever seen from him on his lips.

"Not quite yet, it isn't," you countered. You then tilted your head up and sweetly kissed him on the lips.

When you pulled back, he grinned even wider. "It appears I stand corrected," he said in reply.

Tech then pulled you into his arms and kissed you again in the glowing light of the night sky above you.

Photgirl894's Physical Affection Prompts

Photogirl894's 1000 Followers Fics

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embeanwrites · 1 year

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For a Fistful of Credits

Hey! I am starting to judge interest for a Wild West Star Wars AU Zine! Please fill out this Google form and reblog it! The more feedback we get the more likely it is to happen!

Art in the banner done by the talented @pinkiemme

https://forms.gle/T8NeQfS6nd7xCMzP9

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embeanwrites · 1 year

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I’m so glad you liked it!! That line was added by my amazing editor @kakyoweeniesdump who helped me with the whole flash back scene since I had finished the fic and then was like “…what if I add the second prompt too” and like a puzzle we had to figure out where to put everything but I’m so happy with how it turned out!!

And yes!! You’re one of my favorite writers here on tumblr your bad batch content melts my heart every time 🥹 I hope you like my other fics! I’m wrapping up a main series over on AO3 and then I hope to be back on this account posting one shots!

Thank you again so much! I’m so happy you liked the fic 🥹💚

Yours & Mine - Hunter x Reader

Clone Fic Gift Exchange

Prompt: “I’m yours and you are mine” with Hunter (with a mention of “don’t go far from me”)

A/N: Here’s my piece for the @cloneficgiftexchange! I’m so nervous to write/post this since @photogirl894 is one of my favorite authors here on Tumblr, so to write a piece for them, I was NERVOUS! I hope you enjoy this 🥺 Special thank you to @kakyoweeniesdump and @pinkiemme for editing and feedback! (I’ll post this to AO3 once I get home from Star Wars Celebration!)

Word count: 2047

Some days Hunter couldn’t believe his luck. To have his squad. To have Omega. To have her. He was created in a lab on a rainy planet, meant to die in a war he was created for, to serve a master he had no control over, and now his life has done almost a total 180. After retiring from working with Cid, the group had decided to settle down on a little planet in the Outer Rim that Rex had found and had been helping clones resettle who were tired of fighting away from the Empire. Between all of them, they had been able to make a fairly sustainable home. For the first time in their lives, they had the true freedom to choose.

Keep reading

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embeanwrites · 1 year

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OMG this is so good!!! I love it so much I’ve already read it twice I adore it 😭

Especially after the finale someone needs to yell at Tech for being so self sacrificial 😭 amazing work, thank you so much!!

I am one of the authors participating in the @cloneficgiftexchange and the person I had the wonderful pleasure of writing for is @embeanwrites 💜💜 Her Clone of choice was Tech...which admittedly, was hard to write for after the recent finale, but I got through it and hopefully, this will be heartwarming enough for Em as well as all of you to make you forget about all that at least for a little bit 😊

Hope you like it, my dear!! 💜

"Logical"

Prompt: "You could've died! Did you even think about what that'd do to me?"

Pairing: Tech x gen neutral reader

“Tech! We’re pinned down! We need air support!” you heard Hunter cry out on comms as he and you ducked behind cover to avoid getting shot.

You and Clone Force 99 were trapped due to an influx of Imperial fighters flying around and trying to shoot at all of you from above. You all sought cover behind some pillars of the base you had infiltrated, hoping to wait out the attacks, but the fighters kept coming and were not letting up. Tech was still back at the Marauder on standby as backup while you were waiting for Captain Rex for a pickup.

“Hang on, I’ll draw their fire away from the base,” you heard Tech respond in your helmet comm.

You activated your comm and replied, “No, Tech, don’t! There’s too many of them! They’re going to overpower you!”

“There’s no time. It’s the only logical solution,” he said back. “Captain Rex is on approach. Be ready for extraction.”

“Tech!” you cried into the comm with worry.

Though just then, the Marauder came zooming overhead, flying in front of the Imperial ships and nearly clipping the wings of one of them. As it soared away in the opposite direction, you saw a lot of the other ships starting to change course and turn the other way to follow after Tech, shooting at the ship. Your heart was pounding in your chest, fearing for Tech’s life. You didn’t doubt that he was a skilled pilot, but there were a lot of Imperial ships on his tail and even he had his limits.

Activating your comm again, you pleaded into it, “Tech, please, don’t do this! You can’t outrun them! Just get out of here!”

His voice came back through, “Negative. If their attention is not diverted, they will compromise the success of our mission. I will hold them off as long as I can. Don’t worry about me.”

Just as he said that, a shot from one of the ships made a direct hit on the Marauder and its flight pattern faltered slightly, causing your heart to jump up into your throat.

You were in love with Tech. You had been for some time, but could never find the courage to admit your feelings. The two of you had a close bond, at least, and he knew you cared about him, but he just didn’t know the full extent of them, as far as you knew. He was extremely intelligent, maybe he already knew. Though, he also processed thoughts and feelings differently than most people, so there was also the possibility that he maybe had no idea at all. However, if he were to get shot down now, he would never know the truth.

“Tech!” you screamed just as you felt someone take you by the arm.

“Rex is here! Come on!” Echo cried out, tugging you back with him.

“There’s nothing we can do for Tech, (Y/N). We need to go,” you heard Hunter say to you on your other side. “He knows the rendezvous point. He’ll meet us there.”

When you turned around, you saw that Rex’s ship had indeed arrived, but you had been so fraught and consumed with terror over losing Tech that you hadn’t even noticed it was hovering above you and there was a line hanging out of the entryway where Rex was looking down on all of you, motioning for you to climb. Wrecker gave you a boost up to the wire and you along with the rest of the Batch climbed to safety.

You could only hope that Tech was safe, too, wherever he had flown off to.

Quickly, you all retreated to your rendezvous point on the other side of the planet, waiting for Tech to arrive. Minutes passed by and with every second, your anxiety began to spike more and more. Where was he? Why was he not back yet?

“Why hasn’t he come back?” you asked aloud nervously as you paced the platform.

“He’ll be here. Don’t worry,” Hunter reassured you.

“But I am worried, Hunter!” you blurted out. “I…can’t lose him.”

He came up to you and laid his hands on your shoulders. “I know,” he simply said.

When you looked up at him, there was an expression of understanding in his face. Did he know how you felt about Tech? If anyone from among the squad were to figure it out apart from possibly Tech himself, it would’ve been Hunter. You weren’t sure of how to respond to him, so you just turned away and resumed pacing back and forth, hugging your arms tightly.

Time continued to pass; time that made you feel as though your insides were twisting and eating themselves out of worry. The sun was setting as evening was approaching. What had happened to Tech? It had been too long.

“He should��ve come back by now,” you commented, your voice choking.

Finally, Hunter took out his comm and spoke into it, “Tech, come in. Where are you? Tech, do you copy?”

There was silence.

“Do not fret, Hunter. I am approaching the platform.”

The sound of his voice almost made you fall to your knees with relief. Just after that, you heard distant engines and then the shape of the Marauder came into view on the horizon. Tech was okay!

Within a minute, the ship landed and you could tell it had definitely taken a few hits to the exterior hull and possibly one of the thrusters was damaged. Though, as soon as the ramp lowered and you saw your beloved goggled Clone exiting the ship, all your worries about the ship disappeared immediately.

“You made it,” Wrecker observed as Tech made his way over to all of you.

“Of course, I did,” Tech replied, adjusting his goggles. “The ship took substantial damage, but not enough to impede my piloting. I managed to shake them in a highly mountainous area close to the base and I escaped.”

“Nice work,” said Hunter. “The ship’s going to need repairs before we head out, but we’ll deal with that tomorrow. For now, let’s all get some rest.”

He turned back to Rex and thanked him for his help. Rex saluted them gladly and before long, he departed their company. After that, the rest of the squad got back onto the Marauder with Echo electing to keep the first watch. Once all the boys were in their bunks, you stormed into Tech’s bunk. Now that you knew he was okay, you needed to have a word with him…or several words.

He looked up at you, having stripped down to just his blacks, a bit startled as you walked into his room and the door closed behind you. “I do believe you have wandered into my bunk by mistake, (Y/N),” he stated.

“Oh no, this was no mistake, Tech,” you said back. “What were you thinking back at the base?”

“I was utilizing the best solution for completing the mission,” he answered.

“Putting your life at risk? There were a lot of Imperial fighters back there!” you cried out.

“I was not concerned about that. I managed to do exactly as I said and drew them away,” he simply said back.

Your teeth clenched and your hands curled up into fists of frustration. “For someone so smart, you’re still not getting it!” you exclaimed. You strode up to him until you were directly in front of him. “You could’ve died! Did you even think about what that’d do to me?”

For once, Tech was rendered speechless.

Then you blurted out, “I’m in love with you, you idiot, and I thought I was going to lose you today! I can’t go through that again!” After that, unable to stop yourself, you grasped the front of his blacks, pulled him forward and crashed your mouth into his with desperation and need. You kept your kiss brief so as to not startle Tech too much; or at least, more than you probably already had. When you pulled back, his eyes were wide with surprise.

He cleared his throat and adjusted his goggles. “I see,” he replied after a moment. You were about to yell at him for such a casual response to your confession and your kiss, but then he spoke up again, “I will admit: I had not taken your feelings into consideration earlier. I was focused on the mission to consider much else. However…I was also unaware of how you truly viewed me. You had not said anything on the subject before so I was under the impression that we…were only friends and there was no other underlying factor behind your fear on my behalf.”

That, you knew was on you because he was right: you hadn’t confessed your feelings and so he couldn’t have known how his decision would affect you. “Well…I’m saying something now,” you said back to him with a sigh, hoping he would catch on and give you some sort of answer in return.

He looked down at you and, with a slight newfound confidence, he stated, “Then the only logical reply on my part is this: I must now declare that your affections are requited for I too have strong feelings for you...feelings I had struggled for some time to understand until this very moment.” He reached up and ever so slightly traced your cheek. “What I feel for you is indeed love. I cherish every glance I receive from you, every word you speak to me, every moment you laugh and every second you smile. You have a genuine heart that is kind and generous. What I believed was simple fondness and adoration, I now realize was something more all along. I just needed you to open my eyes.”

Nothing in the world felt as wonderful to you than that very moment, hearing such heartfelt words of love from Tech, which was something you never expected. He was not always a man of such flowery language, but it appeared he could still surprise you.

His hand came to rest on your cheek as he then asked you, “My darling…may I return the gesture and bestow a kiss on you?”

With a huge smile forming on your lips, you answered him, “Tech, you never need to ask me that.”

That being said, he leaned down and brought his lips to yours, gentler than you had done previously. With how lovingly he kissed you, you felt as though you could sprout wings and fly as high as the Marauder that he was so good at piloting. It was far better than you could’ve ever dreamed of.

When the two of you came apart, you said to him, your lips just hovering above his, “If you scare me like that again…it’s not the Empire you’re going to have to worry about coming after you.”

He responded, “That notion does indeed strike fear into my being.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at his reply…a lovely sound that brought an endearing smile to Tech’s face.

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embeanwrites · 1 year

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Yours & Mine - Hunter x Reader

Clone Fic Gift Exchange

Prompt: “I’m yours and you are mine” with Hunter (with a mention of “don’t go far from me”)

Word count: 2047

Omega was able to go to school and make friends, something she thoroughly loved. She was frequently up before the boys in the morning, ready to go. Hunter thought the excitement would wear off, but as she entered her 60th rotation of school she still seemed to find wonder in school every day. Tech had gotten a job with a local mechanic shop after he had fixed some farming equipment for a farm nearby in record time. Wrecker had been loving helping some of the local farms with their animals and taking care of the livestock, he had been in the process of trying to convince Hunter that they needed some cattle for their farm, but Hunter wasn’t sure he was ready to deal with the smell every day. Hunter had found himself helping the townspeople with hunting and tracking and somehow, teaching some of the younger kids how to survive in the woods nearby. And unsurprising to Hunter their medic had quickly settled into helping with the local clinic.

Hunter had been very well aware of his feelings for her before the group had settled down, but with them always on the run from the Empire, he had no desire to tie her in with their group in any way that could get her hurt or worse. He tried pushing her away or at the very least get her to understand the danger she would be in by running with them. Cid had essentially forced them to have a real medic join the crew after too many missions had gone sideways due to injuries. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful to have a medic with knowledge that wasn’t learned from the holonet five minutes before putting it into practice like Tech used to do, but Hunter felt weird about any civilian traveling with them. The team warmed up to her quickly, especially Omega, and it was shortly after she had gone out of her way to get colorful band-aids for Omega did Hunter allow himself to start to give in to these feelings. The warm feeling her smile and gentle touches gave him kept him up at night, thoughts of her would circle his mind and on the rare occasion, he’d allow himself to think of a peaceful future with her.

He thought he hid his feelings well.

He did not.

It was clear to everyone, including her, almost immediately that his feelings for the medic were stronger than just another crew member. He frequently tried to push his feelings away, denying them or not even affording himself to indulge in them, but she had none of it. Every idea to dissuade her from a relationship with him seemed to do nothing but persuade her more. She reminded him almost daily of her own feelings, either intentionally or unintentionally, until he let his heart thaw out. She loved him unconditionally and he couldn’t help falling for her deeply and wholeheartedly.

Hunter still remembered the moment he decided that it was time to take that chance with her. When she had finally convinced him it was worth it. She had just patched up Wrecker and had been softly arguing with Tech that he needed more rest when she had sat next to him on his bunk, surprising him.

“Do you want to talk about what happened out there?” She asked him softly and he fought back a sigh.

“Nothing happened out there.” He replied, going back to sharpening his vibro blade, avoiding eye contact.

“Oh really?” She taunted. “Was it not you, pulling you behind me in the middle of the mission saying ‘don’t go far from me’?” He clenched and unclenched his jaw, he knew this had been coming and that she wouldn’t let this go.

“That wasn’t-” He tried.

“Hunter, how long are we going to dance around this?” She muttered, he could hear her heart pounding and the frustration in her words, he felt his hands grow clammy. This was a conversation that had long been coming. “It’s not fair to either of us. Why aren’t you letting yourself be happy? What are you so scared of?” He slowly sheathed his blade and turned to face her, not allowing himself to look her in the face just yet.

“What if I fail and lose you.” He finally muttered, feeling as if a tank was sitting on his chest. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost any of the squad, but you? Darling, I don’t think I could come back from that.” He groaned and dropped his head in his hands, hunched over in embarrassment and frustration.

“But Hunter-” Her voice raising, ever so slightly.

“How do you not understand that I’m doing this for you!” He dropped his hands and looked at her from the corner of his eye, unable to face her fully. “I don’t ever want you to hurt, don’t ever want to see you in pain, and the odds of me living through the Empire? Living through dealing with Cid’s missions? Not great. All I want is to see you happy, and I’d love for you to be happy with me, but that will no doubt be brief and I can’t leave you hurting without being there to help.” He looked away, not eager to see her face when she responded.

“Well that’s very morbid and a bit arrogant.” She snorted. Hunter turned to face her scowling, ready to retort. “But even more infantilizing. If anything happened to either one of us, not just you, I think we would both grieve, but never take for granted any of the time we shared, or the care we had for each other. I’m not so fragile that your loss would break me, sure it would hurt, and I’d be heartbroken, but I have more respect for you, your memory, and for myself than to let that misery take hold forever, and I think you are stronger than that too.” She grabbed his hands, pulling him to face her. “You are letting fear keep you from living, and there is a lot of that to do outside of the war. You can be afraid, but don’t be a coward. Bravery isn’t the opposite of fear, it’s being afraid, but going for it anyway. You’re so brave out there, be brave here, with me.” She smiled, small and hopeful, but her eyes never left his, steely and determined to sway him. “And you know your brothers won’t stop giving you shit if you-“ he cut her off, his hand holding her cheek, thumb pressed against the apple, roving over her cheekbone. He was a breath away from her, his nose brushing against hers, watching her closely, waiting for her to push him away. He knew she wouldn’t push him away, not after that speech, not after everything, but some part of him still wanted to run, wanted her to run. But running wasn’t her and he was tired of trying to fight off his feelings.

“Are you gonna kiss me or not, Sarge-“ and cutting her off once more his lips were on hers, and it was everything she’d wanted for months.

She was so soft against him, it was startling how right she felt in his arms, but when her lips demanded more from him, pressing back harder and forcing what a sweet, chaste gesture to a passionate embrace one he knew she was anything but. He broke their kiss, moving back a hair's breadth to look at her. He was mesmerized by the way her eyes fluttered open, her mouth slightly agape and flushed.

“You won’t take no for an answer, will you darlin’?” He chuckled, his hand ghosting down her face to grasp her jaw.

“Absolutely not.” She smirked, then her hand weaved into his hair and pulled him in for another kiss. And that was that, she made no room for any further argument between them.

And that kiss is what led the two of them to now, roughly one standard cycle (and many kisses) later in their very own home. The two of them were currently lying on a soft rug in front of their fireplace, fully clothed and just enjoying the ability to have some serenity near each other. The night was quiet and having her so close made Hunter feel more warmth than any heat the fire could provide. He willed himself to hear her soft heartbeat, to smell the gentle shampoo she used in her hair, the feel of his hands on her cheek. He wanted so desperately to freeze time and live in this moment forever.

“Are you okay, my love?” Her soft voice interrupted his thoughts. He let out a gentle sigh as he looked over at her face, ever caring and ever wondering about his well-being over her own.

“I was just thinking about everything we had to go through to get here.” He murmured, she gave him a small smile, knowing the pain the entire batch went through to get to this peaceful time in their life and it was clear to all of them, even if they didn’t discuss it, that there was still a fear in each of them that this life may come to an end abruptly the moment they get too comfortable. “Sometimes I worry I’m going to wake up back in our barracks on Kamino and after everything that’s happened…I just fear that I don’t deserve this.” He closed his eyes as she moved her hand to cup his tattooed cheek, forcing him to look into her eyes.

“Hunter, honey, of course, you deserve happiness.” She gave him a soft smile before continuing, “Plus I’m not complaining about having an absolute hunk of a man on my arm.” She joked, causing Hunter to let out a slight laugh.

“I’m glad you find me nice to look at.” He responded, still stuck in his thoughts.

“Among other things, you know.” She leaned forward and kissed the side of his mouth, his stubble rubbing against her. “I love how kind and protective you are. I always feel so safe when you’re around.” She murmured, moving ever so slightly to kiss his tattooed cheek. “I love when you’re watching Omega and you have this dad pose-”

“Dad pose?” He questioned.

“You know, the one you do with your hand on your hip and you lean against the wall, watching her with a small smile. You do it all the time, you did it today when she was playing with her friends after school!” She teased while she resumed her soft kisses along his face. “I love that even when we’re out of missions you’re doing everything you can to make sure everyone’s safe. I love when I’m cooking and you come up behind me to hold me. I love-”

“Alright, alright! I get it, you love me.” He chuckled, face burning bright from all the compliments, so unused to any form of love outside his brothers.

“But do you know what I love the most?” She asked, moving so she was now on top of him, playfully pinning him.

“Now, what would that be, sweetheart?”

“That I’m all yours and you’re all mine.” She responded before leaning down to kiss him. And for once, Hunter allowed himself to relax in this moment, because she was right. While his fear of losing her was still there, he knew that at this time in his life, they had each other and nothing was going to change that.

#hunter x reader bad batch #hunter bad batch #hunter x reader #bad batch x reader #sergeant hunter #sergeant hunter x reader #clone fic exchange #x reader #star wars #omega #tech bad batch #wrecker bad batch #fan fiction #writing exchange #photogirl894 #Bad Batch #star wars bad batch #CFGE23

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embeanwrites · 1 year

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To all the people who I met at Star Wars celebration that recognized me by my writing/wanted to read my writing you have made my entire weekend, thank you!😭

#star wars celebration #me talking #please feel free to come up to me Sunday!

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embeanwrites · 1 year

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A Promise Kept

A Tech x reader one shot where everything is fine! We're all fine!

WC: 5.2k

CW: Canon typical violence, descriptions of injuries, drug usage, blissful ignorance of physics and canon deviation. Angst, hurt comfort, fluff, all the good stuff

Summary: What am I if not a clone lover. A fix-it fic made for my irl bestie @scoobydoobydaisy, consider this your late birthday present. Thinking of all my fellow Tech girls who want to live in the world where he’s ok. Welcome! You’ve made it! This is my first time writing for tbb and for Tech, so I’m still working out the kinks, but I’m happy with it. Also if anyone tries to say anything about the survivability of that fall I’m ignoring it let me live in delusion.

(also i live in the reality where this fanart by papanowo is how Tech’s hair looks always because I swear to god I saw this and it changed my life.)

((also I prommy I'm working on the new chapter of BCS, I accidentally got inspired to write chapter 14 so I did that instead oopsie, but if it's any consolation, we've got like 9 more chapters at least of that to go!))

The quiet was what consumed you at first, the lack of chatter and softer clinking of glasses. Then it was the smells, in a broad sense the defining scent of Mantell Mix but, in a more intimate way it was the smell of the grease after he would repair the Marauder, or the fresh, clean scent of his skin in the rare moments you would lean past him when collecting the Batch’s glassware at the bar. No, when the Batch left Cid’s it was him being gone that consumed you, that Tech, your Tech in every way but reality, had left with his team in pursuit of something better and left you behind. You wondered often if they thought of you, if he thought of you, if he regretted leaving you here to clean up their mess. I would never leave him, you thought to yourself in those weeks, sweeping up glass or dealing with one of Cid’s moods. You couldn’t really blame them, you’d been at this bar long before the Batch showed up, and evidently you’d be here long after.

It’s why you’re surprised by a ping on your personal comm, tucked dutifully in the pocket of your apron, while you’re serving a drink to a tired looking Togruta. The bar isn’t packed, it never is, and you pat the pocket of your apron before looking at Cid, “I’m going to smoke, I’ll be back.”

The Trandoshan waved you off immediately, knowing full well about your recent cigarra habit, something you had attributed to the stress of the last few weeks. You slipped out the back entrance, standing in the dimly lit back alley behind the bar, leaning closer to your comm and also fumbling with the carton of cigarras, searching equally hard for your lighter. The familiar sound of the light coaxed your caller out of his silence, breaking the quiet with a long sigh.

“I thought I had adequately warned you about the dangers and symptoms of smoking.” Tech murmurs through the line, and if you squint in your mind you can practically see the disappointment on his face.

“I thought I told you not to go too far.”

“Ah. Yes. To be fair, I had assumed we were speaking in metaphor.”

You flick the ash off the end before bringing it back to your mouth to breathe. “I waited for you, you know.”

“You didn’t have to-”

“No, I know I didn’t. I wanted to. I wanted to believe you wouldn’t leave me without saying goodbye.”

“At the time I didn’t know it was goodbye, otherwise I would’ve left so few things unsaid.” There’s a clatter in the background of his message that makes your heart jump. The sound of things being loaded onto a ship, a ramp being raised. Hunter’s voice yelling, mild panic.

“You’re going somewhere?”

He takes a beat to answer, you can hear Wrecker get Omega settled and the sound of movement. He’s walking, you gather, from the way the sound rustles through the comm. Suddenly it’s clearer, and you only hear his voice and the distant sound of waves crashing. “I am.”

“So that's why you called? To not leave things unsaid?”

“I think, if I have deciphered you correctly, you would like it here. You’d fit in, I think”

“So you think you know me now?”

“I think you and I both know that I do. Just as well as you know me.” There’s that beat again, though this one rings of uncertainty. “Unless I misinterpreted something.”

“You haven’t” your words rush out in a whisper, cigarra nearly finished. “Misinterpreted I mean. You never have.”

“I- I have some things, I want you to know-” Then it's Wrecker, you can tell by the wait of the step over the comm, and he’s calling for Tech and the engines of the Marauder are firing. “We were going to come back for you. I was going to come back for you. That has always been my plan.”

“Tech, why does this sound like goodbye?”

“I was always going to come back for you.”

The line ends with a definitive click, and a moment later the last ash is on the sidewalk and your break is over. You tuck the com and the pack back into your apron, swipe at a few stray tears you hadn’t realized had slipped down your cheek, then head back into the bar, the only remnant of your confession the butt of a cigarra melting in a puddle out back.

* * *

“They’re coming back.” Cid practically spits as she walks by you while you clean glasses. “They walk out on me and now this? They just want to come back? I don’t think so.”

There’s a pit in your stomach now, a feeling of guilt and panic. Cid knows you were close with the team, but does she know how close? Are they actually coming back, and putting themselves in danger over you? “Did they say why?”

“No. It was bandana who called. Sounded down. Someone’s gotta be hurt, no reason they’d be coming back otherwise.”

The pit grows, and you instinctively feel for where your comm is. You hadn’t missed a call, you’re sure of it. Your mind spins with the possibilities. Why was Tech not the one to call? You set the glass down as carefully as you can manage and turn to face Cid. “What are you going to do?”

She looks at the ground before rubbing the back of her neck. “Look, kid, we’ve been in a tight spot these past few months with them being here. You know this, I know this.” She moves to grab your hand, “You don’t do all that well with the empire, I know. Maybe just, go home now. Before it gets worse here, ok?”

Your eyes widen with the implication of her words and you nod before turning to walk out the door, grabbing your bag from the shelf by the bar and careful to be out of the door frame before making a sprint towards the docking bay, hoping to get to them before they land. You’re calling Tech and you’re met with nothing but static, at least reassuring you that that is why he hasn’t called to alert you. “Tech, Tech if you can hear me, it’s a trap, don’t come to Cid’s, I’m going to go to the Marauder. I’m going to see you soon, ok?”

Wrecker is the first to disembark, and he nearly runs you over at the speed he walks off the ship. “Wreck, hey, it's me, you can’t go to Cid’s.” You sputter out as fast as possible before he looks down at you, eyes wide and crazed.

Hunter hears you and bolts out, walking towards you as Wrecker backs away slowly, shaking his head. “I can’t. Hunter I can’t you have to tell her.”

You look at the tattooed clone blinking wildly, “You, you’re not listening to me. You can’t go to Cid’s something is wrong.”

“I need to talk to you.”

“Clearly we need to talk Hunter because I still haven’t forgiven you all for abandoning me here, but you have to listen to me, you can’t go-”

“It’s Tech.”

The words have their desired effect of turning everything in your mind into stone as you register Echo quietly shifting to do repairs on the outside of the Marauder and Omega’s tear streaked fast as she all but flies past you to catch up with Wrecker. “What do you mean?”

“He- he’s gone, he,” he runs a hand through his hair before bringing it to the bridge of his nose and shaking his head, “Kriffing Tech said he had it figured out, and he sacrificed himself for us, for the squad.” He looks back at Echo, whose shoulders are tight as he works on Tech’s ship. “He wanted to make sure you were cared for, I know you’ve got a ship and I could’ve sent coordinates but Wrecker insisted we land. And I thought I should tell you in person.” He puts an arm on your shoulder and guides you towards the bay he knows your ship is in, away from Echo and through the winding corridors of the docks.

You’re moving, but you really aren’t. You’re numb to it all, the situation, the words. The reality of this hasn’t even begun to set in yet. Hunter knows, he always knows, and remains quiet until you get to your ship, a small but fast freighter from your days as a runner off of Corellia. “Why did you let him?”

“He made his choice, and we have to use it to secure our future.”

“Did you… did you find him? Can I say goodbye?”

Hunter runs a hand through his hair, “we didn’t exactly have time to go back for him.”

“So you left him?” You don’t hide the anger, the bitterness in your voice that rises like bile as you look to glare at your friend. “He could be alive.”

“He fell hundreds of feet and was followed by a railcar. I figured I would spare you the image because I don’t know how I’m supposed to sleep now having seen it.” He sighs as you tense and your eyes go wide. “I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”

You nod, tears now actively spilling over as you blink and shake your head. “You have to tell me what system you were on.”

“I am not letting you do something stupid, do not make me disrespect his wish like that.”

“Hunter, I have to try.”

“There is nothing you can do.”

“Do not look at me and tell me there is nothing I can do until I am lying dead at your feet,” you nearly spit at him, tears now burning down your cheeks as he groans, “he promised me he would always come back for me, I am not going to deny him the same thing.”

He looks back at Echo working on the ship and chews on his lip, debating in his mind how many deaths he wants on his hands. “If I give you these coordinates, you need to promise to not engage with any of the imperials.”

“Unless they shoot me first.”

“Unless they shoot you first. You need to fly low, and make sure your cloaking is on at all times.” He takes the datapad out of your bag and punches in three sets of numbers. “The first is the system coordinates, the second is the crash site. You cannot stay there long, most of the imperials have probably fled after the attack-”

“Attack?”

“I’ll explain later,” he huffs. “The third is the rendezvous point. Whatever the outcome, meet us there, if you want. He’s right, we shouldn’t have left you. You’re a part of this squad.” He grabs your shoulder and gives it a squeeze before walking towards the direction of Echo. “I get why he loves you, you’re both so stubborn.”

You leave in a hurry, running onto your ship with just your bag and punching in the coordinates. You leave in such a hurry, in fact, that you don’t think until it’s too late that you’ve neglected to remind Hunter of the reason you ran to them in the first place.

* * *

It’s this supposed love that has you speaking into your comm while you travel through hyperspace. You’re greeted by nothing other than static, but you talk. You tell him stories, you tell him about your day. You talk about the regulars at Cid’s, about the first time you smoked. You tell him about your parents, about your home planet, how you got to Corellia. “I want you to know everything about me the way that you know everything about everything. And I think I was afraid to tell you everything because not everything is good. But I think that’s ok. And I promise, when I find you, I’ll give you everything, all of me. The good and the bad,” you sniff, “even if I smell like fumes and my lungs give out because I have a bad habit” you laugh into the comm. “I have more to say, but I think I’d rather tell you when I get there.”

Eriadu is bitterly cold and dotted with peaks of mountains stretching up and above the cloud line. Getting past the security team isn’t difficult, you can tell they’re scrambling to recover from the attack and both expecting support and medic ships, so it doesn’t take much to convince them that you’re a dispatched supplies shuttle. You fly low enough to stay out of their radar, and scour the mountain tops and trees for signs of the wreckage as you get closer to the coordinates Hunter provided. There’s a spot between the trees for you to tuck your ship, and you grab the warmest jacket you have onboard, your blaster, and your vibroblade before setting out on foot.

The air feels still, but when you pause you can hear the sounds of troopers in the distance and shuttles overheard. Nothing entirely threatening, but a bitter reminder of why you’re here in the first place. You’ve taken to talking to Tech again, hoping to hear the buzz of your voice back as you walk through this forest in the vague destination of his demise. “I’ve stopped crying,” you murmur into your comm, twigs crunching between your boots, grateful to past you for opting out of the heeled shoes you normally wear on a busy night at the bar. “I just have decided to believe that you’re here, and I’m going to find you. And I figured you’d say something about the waste of water and the threat of dehydration.” You push past the brush and step over some rocks as you begin to hit a more rocky terrain. “It’s really cold here, you know. I don’t really like the cold. Or rocks. You’re lucky I enjoy your company-”

“Freeze!” The sound of a modulated voice stops you in your tracks, and you turn slowly with your hands in the air, facing a singular trooper with his blaster aimed at your torso. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” He uses his blaster to gesture to the comm in your hand, “Who are you talking to?”

“I’m sorry, I’m lost, our ship wrecked and I’ve been wandering these woods since yesterday, I’m trying to find my husband.” You shake your hand, trying to indicate the comm. The body language of the trooper shifts, you can tell he’s trying to decide if he’s going to believe you, so you bring the tears you’ve been fighting back up. “Please, please I need help, we have a daughter, she’s off-world with her uncle. We need to get home to her, please I can’t find my husband.”

He shifts again, and moves to lower his blaster and walks towards you, “Okay, ma’am, I don’t know how you crashed here, but this is imperial property, and it’s highly classified, I’ll need to take you in for questioning.” He steps close to you now, too close, and he underestimates you.

You sigh in mock appreciation while you pull the vibroblade off your hip, pushing it into the exposed portion between the chestplate and pauldron of his shoulder. He yelps and drops the blaster, and you pull your own out from the holster, holding it up to his head. “I’m very appreciative for your help. Now, let’s not make any sudden movements, shall we?” The trooper musters a pained nod as you back away, picking up the dropped blaster and tucking it on your belt. “I need info on a crash site, and I need you to tell me where it is.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you’re the one that crashed here.”

You’re being cruel now and you hate it, but your feelings for Tech outweigh any feeling of pity you have for this trooper as you push the blade further into his arm. This makes you feel gross, there’s a sick feeling in your stomach as you revert back to your old way of being, before the bar, before the squad. “I think you do know, and I can promise you, keeping me from my family is going to hurt you more than the empire can.”

“There’s a site, half a klick away, railcar crash.”

You push the blade in one final time and through gritted teeth ask him, “What. Direction.”

The trooper answers with the direction, and you smile before taking the back of your blaster and tapping him on the side of the head. After a pulse check to be sure you haven’t killed the now slumped man you soldier on, emboldened by the confirmation of the site, eager to get to Tech as soon as possible.

The crash site is genuinely nauseating. The remains of the railcar are smashed and split at the base of the mountain, laying against a tall cedar tree. There’s wires coming out in all directions sending blue sparks out into the orange sky, and the air has the taste of oil and metal, whether it's from the bent and ugly pieces on the ground or the blood that lingers you aren’t sure. The ground around the site is pushed up and bulging from the impact, and there’s small crates from rocks being dislodged and shot as the car hit the ground. It’s ugly, the crash has left no survivors from the car that went down, and you’re not sure you have the gut to wander in further. You lean against a tree nearby and notice the black tether cord jutting out of the bottom of the car. Your heart sinks and you think you’d pass out if you hadn’t been leaning against something sturdy. “Oh, oh Tech.” You whisper, slinking to the ground and letting yourself cry, really cry, for the first time today. You bring your knees up to your chest and drop your head down, tears stinging your cheeks as the cold burns them into your skin. You have to start moving, you aren’t really dressed for this, and as the sky turns magenta you know it isn’t long before it turns to night, not to mention that you know there are troopers nearby.

You lift your head up, deciding you’re going to go walk back in a moment, and you rest the base of your head back on the tree and your eyes drift shut. “Hey Tech, it’s me again.” You whisper into the comm, still crying as you go on, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry I failed you. I just had to try. I have so much I want to say to you, there’s so much-” your ears suddenly focus on something not too far from you. It’s the echo of your voice, reverberating off the nearby trees that has your heart pounding. “Hello? Hello!” you call, hearing the sound of your voice grow louder when suddenly, under the base of a tree, you hear it. It’s faint, but strong, and it’s your name being carried over the wind and down to you, spoken as soft as a prayer. When you look up you can see him, tangled in a mess of grapple line and tarp, armor dented and cracked, goggles missing. It’s your Tech, leaning against the trunk of this tree in a mess of his own creation, battered and bloody but breathing. “Tech!” You climb up to him as best you can, you aren’t an excellent climber by any means but the branches are sturdy and well placed, and suddenly you’ve reached him and he’s real. Your hands are everywhere, gentle and prodding, untangling him from the grapple line and running soothing strokes along the side of his face as he looks at you like you’ve got ten heads. He’s cold, he looks like he’s in pain, and you can tell by the grimace on his face when you brush his torso he’s got cracked ribs.

“Given my blood loss and my pain, this logically must be a hallucination.”

“No no no,” you’re soothing yourself now too, trying not to be hysterical as you untangle him and think of ways to get him down from the tree. “No, Tech I’m here, I’m here.”

“I, I don’t understand.”

“Tech,” you pause, placing a hand on his chest and looking into his eyes. He really is a mess, bloody and tired and his hair is flying in every which way. You’re laughing now, out of hysteria, out of irony, as you finally discard the tarp and shuffle the grapple line away from his body. “Do you remember how we met?”

“Of course,” he strains at the movement of you pulling him off of the trunk, “You were in the process of being mugged if I remember correctly?”

“I was negotiating the return of my wallet”

“And we found you on our walk through Ord Mantell. And then you took us to Cid’s.”

“Do you remember how I looked?”

He looks at you know confused, before slowly reaching up to feel his hair, the dried blood and the cuts still dripping, and despite it all, he cracks a smile. “Don’t tell me I look worse than that.”

You bite your cheek at the joke, happy he’s alive enough to even be making a joke, “Despite it all, I think you’ll live.”

Getting Tech down from the tree is awkward and clunky. He’s hurt, bad, and you’re worried with the movement he’s going to hurt himself beyond repair. You’ve got a solid medkit on your ship, and you just have to get him there. He’s fashioned himself a crutch out of a discarded branch and is using you to hold the majority of his weight, yet the walk still takes over double the time to get back to the ship. He regales you with the tale of his survival, though you admit that around the point he begins discussing “inertia” and the forces of gravity and the quick thinking of his pack, you’re more focused on him than what he’s saying. You get him back onto your ship quietly, careful to avoid the few troopers you see on the ground in order to avoid a firefight. Your ship is small, but it was designed to carry you and cargo, so you lead him to the small bed chamber off the cockpit. You press the button to open the door and lead him to your bed, tucked in the corner near a storage cubby, a mirror, and a small viewport. “Stay here.” You command as you lay him down in the bed, heading towards the cockpit to punch in the rendezvous coordinates.

“I don’t believe I have much of a choice.”

* * *

“Hold still.”

“I would much prefer just the patches, thank you.”

“And I would much prefer you alive, thanks.” You huff as you inject Tech with one of the loose bacta shots you have in your kit. He grimaces, and you continue working on removing the shattered pieces of his armor and tossing them haphazardly on the floor.

“Why do you even have that, are they not illegal?”

“Lots of good things are illegal,” you mumble out as you rip gauze to lay over the bacta patches you’ve started to apply to his wounds. “Besides, of the two of us, who’s the one wanted by the empire right now?” You go to life up his shirt and squeeze your eyes shut at the dried, bloody mess around his ribs.

He grimaces in response. “Fair point.”

You work in silence, his voice becoming more tired the more he’s spoken to you, and you don’t want to push him at risk of hurting him more. You’re applying the patches higher and higher before you sigh, breaking the silence. “Tech, I’m going to need to cut this undershirt off. I need to access your chest, and I don’t want you moving your arms more than you have to. He nods as you work on the rest of his body, whispering to both yourself and him, “Oh Tech.”

He won’t meet your eyes, but in the darkened room he looks at the ceiling, “When you first arrived, I thought I was dead.”

“You have that little faith in my rescuing abilities.”

“I assumed you were an angel.” There’s a silence that fills the room, and you can practically feel the tension as it rolls off of him.

“I knew you were alive, I did.”

“Oh? Explain your logic.”

“I just think I would know if something happened to you.” You say, the end of the sentence trailing off into quiet as you continue to work, stepping back to begin working on his chest.

“I assume my clothing options are limited then,” his eyes land on the pile of clothes in the supply cubby behind you, thrown haphazardly as you searched for any jacket.

“I’ve got something for you, actually,” you murmur as you cut the shirt off, peeling the scraps of fabric off his body and exposing his torso, tanned and marred, you suck in a breath as you see the reality of it.

He notices and grabs your hand. “If it soothes you, I did hit a very sturdy tree at a very swift impact, but clone armor is resilient. If I had done a proper examination, I would guess I’ve only cracked four ribs on my right side, where I made the most direct impact with the tree.”

“Oh good,” you snort, “only four.”

“I am… very fortunate I have a medic who is capable of helping me.” He looks at you earnestly, like he’s trying to decide what to say, and in reality, so are you. Hunter’s words are still ringing around in your skull, bouncing off your brain and worming themselves comfortably around your heart.

“Oh yeah, full service, you should see the trooper I took out.”

“I’m sorry?” He starts, and you bring a hand to his lips, shushing him quietly as you ease him back down to your bed. You stand up and walk towards the cubby, grabbing a similar black shirt to the one laying in scraps at your feet.

“Will this work?”

He squints at it, as if trying to place why it looks so familiar, when it clicks. “Is that… the undershirt I leant you when you stayed with Omega on our run to Tatooine?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you have it here?”

You don’t know what to say, and the way he’s looking at you, brown eyes boring into your soul with equal parts skepticism and hope, you decide the truth is best. “Because, sometimes, when you were gone, it was nice to sleep in. And sometimes I took myself flying because I didn’t like being in Ord Mantell alone, and so I would pack a change of clothes.”

“But you were never alone on Ord Mantell.”

You fold the shirt and place it on the edge of your bed, the confession you were so emboldened by suddenly feeling so small. As you make to walk towards the cockpit you shrug, “It felt like I was when you left.”

His grip is surprisingly strong (a perk of the illegal extra dose of bacta you assume) as he grabs your wrist, keeping you tethered to his side. He looks radiant like this somehow, patched up in your bed, hair mussed up on your pillow, shirt long discarded. He looks like your wildest dream. “Please. Stay. I have not been honest with you.”

You sit down at the edge of the bed, hand landing on his shin. There’s enough room here that you could recline and lay with him, albeit squished, but not much. Instead, you back up and scoot so your back is flush to the wall of the ship and you’re sitting to his side, your body angled towards him.

“I, I haven’t really had a situation like that. One where I could not think of a suitable solution that had a high probability of success and survival. When I decided to remove myself from the equation so that the rest of the squad could survive, I found myself thinking of one thing.”

“Oh?” you question, your hand pausing in its small rotation of absentminded circles along his leg.

“I could not stop thinking about how much regret I had in not confessing my emotions to you, not allowing you the ability to decipher what you felt about them.”

It’s like the air is knocked out of you then, as he pushes himself up on his forearms to be closer to you and you shift towards him, backing off the wall and sitting closer to his hips now. “Tech I-”

“Please,” he starts, “I am not very good at understanding emotion. I have tried and tried and I haven’t ever felt adequate in it. I had assumed for many months now that you were simply being kind to me, that you felt nothing, and perhaps that is still right, but after Safa Toma, I began to think that you did feel something, something aside from friendship.”

Tears threaten to spill over your eyes as you beam at him, laughing quietly to yourself as you nod, both a quiet reassurance and indicator for him to go on.

“I heard your messages, all of them. I wish to know you, all of you, as much as you chose to let me. If you would have me that is. It is very common for people to say things they don’t mean when under duress, and I would not hold it against you-”

You cut him off the only way your brain will let you as you lean closer to him, pulling his face up to yours and meeting him for a kiss. It’s everything you need from him, from this, soft and gentle and reassuring and comforting. He sighs against you for just a moment, as if reality is overwhelming him, and pulls you in deeper, shifting to the other side of your bed and allowing you to recline next to him on his left. He tastes metallic and medicinal but past all of the trauma and the medicine there’s still something (caf? chocolate?) that tastes like him, sweet and warm and him. He’s your Tech, he’s always been your Tech, and as you pull away you smile at him, running a finger along his cheek as he plants his hands firmly on the small of your back.

“You promised me you’d always come back for me, and I want to promise you the same.” He pulls you in closer at that, placing your head on his chest. “And for the record, I fell for you much earlier than Safa Toma, but seeing you win that race really helped.”

He chuckles a bit at that, keeping you tucked in under his arm and with your head on his heart, he starts to slowly drift to sleep. You focus on that, the drum of his heart, the steady rise and fall of his breathing, and start to dream too, knowing that no dream can match reality. You will wake up in a world where Tech is still alive and he is still yours, and you already can’t wait to get there.

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