𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 - 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 ✔︎

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

CROSSHAIR'S ADJUSTMENT TO NOT HAVING THE CHIP was slow. crosshair knew he wasn't under the control of it anymore, but he remembered everything. the guilt that laid heavy on his shoulders and poisoned his blood; every waking moment was spent replaying the deaths he caused over and over again in his head. he was exhausted, but he found light in his brothers; they had come back for him.

he couldn't even meet eyes with vana. he supported the killing of the jedi when he was with the empire, seeing her just made his guilt worsen. before he was ensnared by the empire, he got along with vana. he had only met her a couple of times, but she seemed respectable. he'd never admit that to her, but he didn't mind her as a jedi. but now, he couldn't look her in the face.

crosshair sat alone in the back of the ship, his brothers out grabbing some supplies, making repairs, etc. hunter had stepped out after his conversation with vana, and the others dispersed after that, at least that's what wrecker said. crosshair figured out the ship was the closest thing to comfort he could find, and ironically the quietest place.

he heard someone come onto the ship, and he thought it was tech. when he looked up, he was met with the presence of hunter. the sergeant sighed at the sight of his brother, knowing the guilt that crosshair carried. hunter knew there wasn't a way to alleviate the pain, but he wanted to fix it.

"crosshair?" the gruff voice of hunter brought crosshair out of his thoughts. his eyes blinked and his shoulders tensed, but there was no other reaction from him. hunter sat down in front of him, analyzing his brother.

"stop analyzing me, hunter. you have other things to worry about," the sniper drawled, keeping his eyes away from the sergeant.

"what other things?" hunter inquired, but just as soon as he said he realized how stupid of a question that was.

"according to wrecker, you and vana aren't in a good spot right now,"

"we both just...need some time. besides that, crosshair, you're my brother, you come first." hunter reiterated, his eyes never leaving crosshair's figure. crosshair looked up to meet eyes with hunter, pain pooling up in his eyes. hearing that he came first hit hard for him, and it softened the heart of stone the sniper had developed.

hunter moved to sit next to crosshair, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder.

"you're free from the empire, cross; no one's going to hurt you anymore," he whispered. this was what crosshair needed, his brothers, his batch. crosshair exhaled, working his jaw. hunter could feel his muscles relax under his touch and the stress radiating off of him.

"thank you, hunter." he whispered, "now go talk to vana before we all go crazy," there was that snark hunter was familiar with, the carefree attitude crosshair had. hunter smiled, patted his brother on the shoulder, and left the ship. crosshair smiled to himself, knowing that he wasn't going to be alone again, and he wasn't going to be hurt again.

———

hunter was thankful he talked with crosshair and he was also relieved to have his brother back. he was well aware of what consequences would come from being set free from the empire, but hunter and his brothers would be there for crosshair all the way.

hunter stepped outside the ship, heading towards the bar when he felt a hand clasp around his. he was startled, to say the least, but when he turned around and saw vana, he immediately melted.

"can we, can we talk?" it was hard for her to say, for her to admit she needed help, but hunter's heart swelled when he heard those words. he gave her a nod and led her over to a spot in the grass not far from the ship.

"where are the others? are they all in with cid?" vana asked softly.

"yeah, echo is trying to teach omega how to perfect her skills with that bow of hers." hunter chuckled. he had to admit; she had gotten quite good.

"she's gotten really good, i'm surprised she's still target practicing,"

"everyone needs target practice," hunter smiled. his smile faded when he saw her face fall. he watched as a single tear dripped onto the dirt below them, and as vana quickly wiped her eyes.

"i want to start off by saying i'm sorry, for earlier. there's just...a lot and you were just trying to help, i'm sorry." she started, drawing shapes in the dirt. hunter noticed she did a lot with her hands when she was nervous, whether that he twirling her hair or playing in the dirt; it helped her to focus. she continued.

"being captured brought back a lot of memories, good ones mainly. being on kamino wasn't all bad. sure, the kaminoans got annoying but being a part of training? that was fun. seeing the clones you trained growing up to be arc troopers and commanders, was rewarding. but," she stopped herself, feeling herself start to get choked up. hunter sat and listened, his brow creasing with concern.

"but every good thing comes to an end. with order 66 came death and destruction. many of my men, men who i was close to, they fired their weapons without hesitation. i barely escaped, but that didn't hurt the most. what hurt the most was feeling my best friend turn to the dark side," she let out a sob, but quickly covered her mouth, not wanting to disturb anyone. vana was shaking, her hands uncontrollably vibrating as if she just got over an adrenaline rush. she pulled herself back together before speaking again.

"my mother, before the clone war ended, was killed by maul on mandalore. my father was never the same after that, but he was all i had. when he went into exile, i had nothing left. i don't feel him in the force anymore; i've told myself he's dead. it's better that way, easier to explain to someone." as she continued, hunter could feel the weight lift off of her just by listening to her sniffles and seeing her shoulders relax. he reached out, gingerly grabbed her hand, but said nothing.

"i just...i miss them. i miss my father, i miss my mother, i miss anakin..." she whimpered, shaking her head. her face twisted as silent sobs shook her body. hunter didn't think before he reacted, so he embraced her into his arms, ignoring the overwhelming sense of remorse that was spilling from her every pore. he held her there, and she clung to him like he was the only thing she had left, because he was. the bad batch was the only thing of her past left, and she was going to hang onto that.

hunter slowly rocked her side to side, feeling tears of his own pool in his eyes. in the time he knew vana, she was never one to break. she was always the one to help other people when they broke. he could feel her heartbeat slow, and her body relax as she calmed down, regaining her breath. it was overwhelming, but not in the way he expected. he didn't feel overstimulated from the emotions that poured out of vana, or the presence of physical touch, he felt comforted.

"we're never going to leave you, vana. this is your home, with us," he hummed, picking up her chin to look at him. she felt so weak and fragile in his arms, but seeing the look in his eyes helped her feel better.

"thank you," she whispered. he smiled at her, his eyes further scanning her face. her cheeks were raw from tears, but the relief swimming in her eyes was what he wanted to see. she lost her family, and while trying to cope she found a new one.

"hey! you two! go get crosshair and come sit with us! omega convinced cid to put on a holovid, whatever that means." wrecker yelled out, making vana giggle. the two stood, and before hunter went in to grab crosshair, he gave vana another hug, cupping the back of her head with his hand.

"your father is out there, vana. killing a kenobi isn't as easy as the empire thinks," he whispered. vana chuckled, pulling away from him.

"obviously not, considering they failed twice now to kill me," she smiled. he smiled at her, disappearing into the ship to grab his brother. maybe her father was still out there, maybe he wasn't, but vana was given a new hope; her father was still alive.

______

AHAHAHAHAHA LOL THIS WAS GREAT RIGHT? so this may or may not be the last chapter but i'm brewing up some ideas for a sequel 👀, so keep an eye out for that. this was so fun to write honestly because i love writing angst but ya know, i had to add some fluffy (ish?) stuff in there. enjoy!