Memento Mori (Reader x Tech)

Spilling Secrets

Y/N's POV

A hush falls over the group as you all turn to Hunter, his gaze flashing across all sitting around the table. "not once have I almost blown up the Marauder" Hunter chuckles in a low tone, glancing to his right. Everyone's eyes dart over to see Wrecker jumps to his feet, slamming his fists down on the table "heeeyyy, that was a long time ago". You chuckle along with the group as Wrecker takes a swig.

After retaking Cid's parlour you managed to convince her not only to let you guys have your first round on the house but also to bump up the batcher's cut for the next few missions. As you guys sat around the table with your free drinks you had the great idea of playing not once have I. It's pretty simple, everyone gets a turn to declare something they haven't done and anyone who has done that takes a sip. So far things are pretty even with everyone having taken at least a couple sips, but that was about to change.

"Not once have I read the Reg manuals so many times that I memorized it!" Wrecker booms as he sits back down with a hearty thud. You shift your gaze to see both Echo and Tech take a sip, the former looking kind of embarrassed and the latter looking rather pleased with himself. "thanks for the compliment" Tech chirps, tapping the glass as he puts it back down. He then pauses for a moment to think before continuing "not once have I acquired a tattoo before the war ended".  Before he finished the sentence Hunter takes a long sip followed by Echo and yourself, you turn to Tech and playfully nudge him with your elbow "that's an oddly specific question there, might you be implying something" you say with a chuckle.

"hmmm . . not once have I been really close with literally dozens of siblings" you continue in a playful tone. You look up expecting them all to have to take a sip, thinking you had thought up the perfect statement to get them all. The expression of confidence that plastered your face soon drops to one of quiet surprise to see only Echo take a sip. Hunter replies after a moment of awkward silence "let's just say us and the regs didn't get along great". Your gaze drops to the floor "oh, I'm sorry to hear that . . . but, it sounds like they missed out on getting to know some of the most interesting clones around" you state looking around the table. You see a couple faint smiles in response before you continue "anyways, Echo, you're up next!" you chirp, bumping his shoulder.

He thinks for a moment as his eyes scan around the table, attempting to read every thought and muscle twitch, gleaning the tiny fragments of information from the room and putting them together like a puzzle. As his eyes pass over you, you try to keep a stony expression but once you see that glint of ah-ha as he smirks your facade crumbles. You don't even know what you expect him to say as he leans back and takes a breath. "not once have I consistently dreamt about someone at this table" he declares, you feel he is awaiting a response. Thoughts spin in your mind in an instant.

Have I . . . . . ?

I guess Tech has kinda been on my mind like every now and then

No

Wait

It's more than that

The realization kicks in that despite your attempts he has taken a hold of your mind, and the worst thing, he wasn't even trying to. You take a sip as nonchalantly as possible and, in the process, accidentally finish the rest of your drink. Before anyone has the chance to question you Wrecker's voice suddenly booms "aww man! you got me" and takes a hefty swig. He continues "I always have great dreams with all you guys, all of us blowing things up, blasting clankers, joking around on the Marauder, even you're there y/n". Everyone smiles as Wrecker goes on and on about how much he cares about his squad and how he sees us as one big family and wishes he could hug all of us at the same time (including Gonky). Out of the corner of your eye you swear you see Tech take a quick sip, almost as if he didn't want it to be noticed by the group. I don't know, maybe this drink is starting to catch up with me you think to yourself. Hunter then decides it's time to go back after noticing that Omega had fallen asleep leaning on his arm.