Bad Batch Tech Daily Oneshots

Keep To The Shadows (Tech x Reader)

"I was inquiring if you could cover me as I go disable that device," Tech told you, gesturing over the bush to the building you both needed to get close to.

You nodded quickly, taking out your blasters, holding one in each hand. "Yeah, of course," you assured him.

Tech nodded back to you. "Excellent. In that case, follow me." When the coast was clear, Tech stood up and stepped carefully through the last of the brush before coming out onto a cleared pathway. You repeated his movements, armed and ready to use them if need be. Tech dashed across the open space to the wall where an exposed panel sat, immediately getting to work typing in whatever it was he used to disable it. You waited next to him, listening to his faint mutters and the clicking of sticky buttons as he pressed them. You kept your eyes trained around the two of you.

A minute passed, and you began feeling antsy. It has been a while since you had seen the last guard, and that didn't make you feel good about when the next may come. "Tech...?" you began uncertainly, but he cut you off.

"I need just a few more minutes," he told you calmly, his reassuring tone helping you settle down a bit.

"Alright, but hurry," you muttered to him, your voice a bit calmer as well now. However, you didn't dare to look at him as you kept a lookout. "I don't think it'll be long until the next guard rotation comes." Sure enough, nearly right after the words left your mouth, a figure rounded the corner a distance away from you. Your eyes widened within your helmet as you took in the sight of the new helmets the Empire was making their soldiers wear. 

"Hey, you! Stop right th-" You didn't let him finish, firing your blaster as he rushed towards you. The soldier crumpled to the ground, and you spun towards Tech.

"Are you done yet?" you asked, unable to stop the anxiety bubbling up in you.

"Almost," the nerdy clone insisted. To your relief, he finished quickly and you heard a faint humming sound grind to a halt from nearby. Tech turned to you, his dark eyes meeting yours once more. "One part of the system should be disabled now," he reported. "We only have four more to go."

"Alright, good. Let's get out of here," you said, now taking the lead as the two of you hurried into the bushes and trees once more. 

Reaching the second, as you stood out in the open acting as Tech's bodyguard, a cold breeze hurtled towards you. It sunk into your skin past the gaps in your armour. You shivered, trying to hold your blasters steady. Once Tech was finished disarming that security measure as well, the two of you ducked into the brush once more. However, you felt eyes on you as the both of you crept side by side to the third location. Your own gaze drifted towards the tingling sense that you were being watched, only to meet Tech's eyes. 

As your glances connected, he softly gestured to you. "Are you cold?" he asked. Puzzled, you tilted your head at him before you recalled your trembling from the cold earlier. Your eyes widened, realizing he had to have been watching you whilst he worked to have picked up on such a thing. You felt your heart beat a little faster at the thought, butterflies dancing in your stomach.

"O-Oh, I was," you admitted, rubbing the back of your neck. "The wind was... kind of chilly, wasn't it?"

Tech nodded in agreement. "It was." He eyed you studyingly for a moment before the two of you lowered yourselves down behind a thick tree, no words needed to be spoken as yet another side of the building was in your view now.

"I'm not cold anymore though," you responded in a low whisper as you sat on your haunches close next to him. His body heat was enough to help keep the chill from your bones. He turned his head to look at you, both of your helmets nearly bumping at your closeness. Both faces went a shade of red, followed by the two of you suddenly averting your eyes away in flustered embarrassment.

The last of the security panels were much quicker to disable than the first two had been, and soon enough, both of you were enroute back to the ship. You smiled beneath your helmet, chest puffed out slightly at another job well done. "Well, that went pretty smoothly," you commented to Tech as the two of you headed back through the trees.

"It would not have without your essential assistance," Tech complimented you, and seeing how his eyelids curved, you could tell he was smiling at you. 

You blushed, rubbing the back of your neck in a fluster. "Aww, ah, it wasn't much," you stammered, smiling goofily. "You did all the really important nerd stuff..."

Suddenly, you felt Tech's hand on your shoulder and you stopped, turning to him. Looking you dead in the eyes, he firmly spoke, "Your help was a key asset to my success. You should not downplay it." Your face went hot, eyes widening as his eyes gazed into yours. You felt a little pull within you, and you went with it, leaning in close to a surprised Tech... only for your helmets to bump together. 

Embarrassment shot through your body and you jolted back, letting out a flustered squeak and trying to bury your head in your arms. "I-I forgot we were wearing helmets still! I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that!" you cried, staring into the pitch darkness created by your arms. 

A moment of silence followed, only the noises of the forest in your ears. 

Then, you felt your arms being gently pulled away from your face. You let them be moved, your flustered state being met by Tech. The clone's cheeks were reddened, and as you eyed him nervously, he moved in close like you had. This time he purposely caused your helmets to touch, but at the forehead instead. You felt a leap from your heart, your eyes meeting his brown ones as they twinkled in the moonlight. Not a word was said, but for once, none needed to be said.

As the both of you boarded the ship again, red faced and flustered, you seperated from each other as Omega dove at you to embrace you in a hug. You hugged her back, patting her head before looking up to meet Tech's eyes once more from across the ship. He smiled, then pulled his gaze away as he reported how your part of the mission had gone to the rest of the Bad Batch crew. You sighed fondly as you watched Tech speak, knowing that moment out in the forest you had shared was special. And, seeing how he held himself, you could tell Tech felt the same way.