【ｍｉｓｓ ｔｈｅ ｍａｒｋ】| Crosshair x OC (BOOK 1 of the CHANGING WAVES series)

18 | The Gift

22 BBY, Month 6
Rylann

Rylann couldn't believe she was wearing her own armor. In fact, she left it on the whole night as the clones chatted with her in Shaak Ti's suite. She had finished eating her muffins and 99 had eventually left.

"I believe it would be wise for me to maintain my current sleep schedule habits," Tech stated, adjusting his goggles as he stood up from the bar stool he sat at. "Wrecker, if you want to be tucked in, I recommend you come with."

Wrecker flushed at the comment, grumbling under his breath as he followed his brother out of the kitchen. He only paused to hug Rylann and left with Tech shortly after.
Crosshair sprawled out on the couch, lips pursed shut. Rylann was curious as to why he hadn't headed off to bed yet since he was the one always complaining about going to bed on time. He seemed fairly alert, but he was also good at covering up how he felt at any given moment.

Kix crossed over to sit beside Crosshair, but once again, Crosshair swung his leg across the couch, claiming the spot. "Birthday girls only," he said with a sneer evident in his tone. Kix only chuckled, lounging on his side on the loveseat.

Rylann felt awkward. She wanted to sit by Crosshair, but she didn't like how he demanded instead of asked. And she didn't like how rude he was to Kix and the other regs. "Then you'll have to get up, Cross," Rylann said, stepping over Giggles' dozing body on the coffee table. Kix said Giggs was having one of his sugar crashes and that Ry shouldn't be worried. Well, she would've liked some warning because witnessing your friend just pass out on the table after acting like an animal with mad-nerf disease was quite worrying.

"Why?" Cross asked, eyes narrowing as she approached him.

Rylann popped her hip out, flashing a smile. "Birthday girls only."

Crosshair was silent, mouth open as he removed his leg from the other cushion so she could sit down. He was about to get up, but she laid a hand on his shoulder with a laugh.
"I'm kidding, Grandpa," she said, sitting beside him.  He relaxed beside her, leaning back into the cushion of the couch.

Hunter looked between them oddly for a second before looking at the clock on the wall. "Don't get too comfortable, Cross," Hunter said, pursing his lips as Brodes exited the kitchen with a plate of food. Rylann had no idea where he got all the food and hoped Shaak Ti would bot regret offering her suite. "General Ti will be back by the end of the hour."

The clock read fifteen till nine. Rylann groaned, standing up. "Thanks, Hunter," she griped sarcastically. "I just sat down."

Hunter smiled softly, before patting her on the back. "Happy birthday again, Ry," he said, picking up his trash to throw away. "See you next month?"

"Wait, why next month?" Rylann asked, heart dropping to her stomach.

"I have sergeant training in Hildago City," he replied, pausing at the door. "I'll update you on K-Net, though."

"I see," Rylann muttered as she felt a presence standing behind her. It was Cross. He stepped beside her, eyeing the three regs in the room. "Is the whole Batch going?"

Crosshair looked down at his feet, arms crossed. "Unfortunately, they want to see him leading all of us."

Hunter sent him a look before eyeing Rylann. "We'll be back though and then you'll want to get away from us." What was that supposed to mean? Ry could never get too much of the Batch. Hunter caught on to her confusion. "You will be training with us starting next month. You might get sick of us."

"Me? Sick of you guys?" She asked, a smirk growing on her face. "Never."

"Well, we have to go Cross," Hunter said, shooting Crosshair a look. "We fly out tomorrow morning at 0500."

Crosshair rolled his eyes before glancing at Rylann. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it quickly. "I'll see you later then?"

Rylann's heart sunk at the idea she wouldn't see Crosshair or his brothers for a while. "See you later."

And they left.

Kix jumped to his feet with a groan. "Looks like Giggs is out hard this time."

Brodes just chuckled. "It doesn't take drinking to take him out. No, all he needs is sugar."

Brodes nudged Giggles with his foot, not even getting a groan from him. Kix knelt beside him to feel his pulse only to shrug. "He should be awake now but I think he's actually asleep."

"Let me help," Rylann said, kneeling down as well. She placed her hands on his head, urging him to wake up.

With a jolt, Giggles jumped up screaming, "Bran!!!!"

Rylann busted out laughing as she helped him up. "No more bran muffins for you, Mister."

Giggles flushed as he looked around the room. "Oh, not again."

Brodes chuckled, slapping him on the back. "Let's go, Giggs," he said, leading the tired clone out of the room. "You need to sleep this off."

The door closed, leaving Rylann and Kix alone. "Thank you for everything, Kix," Rylann said, offering him a side hug. "This is all too good to be true."

"You're welcome, but it wasn't me," Kix said, a smirk growing on his face. "Thank your boyfriend for the most of it. He coordinated it all between Brodes, 99, and General Ti."

Rylann's eyes widened as a blush edged its way onto her face. "He's not my boyfriend," she muttered, a frown growing on her face. "You know the rules of the Jedi and the clones."

"Are the rules the only thing holding you back?" He asked, walking towards the exit. "I love the GAR and the Jedi and all that. High respect. But sometimes I wonder if they've written themselves into a hole with all these politics and rules."

At that, he was gone.

Rylann stood there, processing. If the rules were gone what would I do? She thought to herself, biting her lip. She'd probably be the same, but she wouldn't have pushed off any internal emotions regarding deeper friendship or, well, more than that.

Shaking the thought from her head, Rylann cleaned her master's room, before heading out, her jedi robes and helmet in arms. But she paused at her door. There was a small box out front.

Entering her room, she tossed her helmet and robes onto the bed, her armor clanking as she neared the box. She brought it into her room and onto her desk.

There was a note on top that read, Happy Birthday, Rylann Tetra. I'm glad we met and hope we can be friends. I ordered this in hopes that it would remind you of home. Love, Omega.

Rylann recalled the little girl. Didn't she have something to do with Project Conduit? Rylann pursed her lips. She'd almost forgotten about it entirely with the training, armor plans, and her party.

Rylann sat down at her desk, carefully peeling back the rough brown paper around the box. Once she did, she slid the box lid off, revealing a small intricate tree that Rylann recognized as a Genetian bonsai. Rylann was shocked. Did Omega pull up her file and find out about her birthday and homeworld? Rylann doubted that the girl knew that Ry was taken from her family too early to have much memory if her home planet, but the thought really counted.

With a small smile, Rylann stood up from the desk, picking up the tree to place on a small shelf above her bed. She needed to talk to Omega. The girl was sweet and Rylann wanted to get to know her but also, the mystery of Project Conduit seemed just as sweet to solve.