The Bad Batch: Tech and Vel

29. Reactivity

"I do not want to cross any lines," he murmured, face inches from hers.

Vel had no words to respond, but reached for him, one hand stretching up the back of his neck, pulling his lips toward hers. The other hand dropped to his waist, where she slid it up under his black shirt, and he shuddered at her touch on the side of his stomach. It was a shocking, novel sensation that ran through him like an electric current. She started to reach further upward, but he stopped her suddenly, pulling back once more.

She hesitated, unsure if she'd gone too far, searching his eyes for a clue. No reply came; instead he picked her up swiftly, setting her on a crate and stepping in close, her legs dangling on either side of him. He reached his arms around her, pulling her to the very edge, up against him so there was no space between. She felt lost in his presence, senses on fire from his scent, taste, and touch. 

He kissed her hard, the edges of his lenses digging into her brows. He was an inexplicable combination of gentleness and passion, tenderness and confidence. Breaking for a breath of air, Vel tentatively reached up to his goggles, but he placed his hands over hers.

"I... do not like to take them off," he said, slightly breathless.

"I'm sorry! Of course. I just thought it would be nice... for you..." Vel replied earnestly.

"I am sure it would be," Tech mused, lowering his head and dropping his hands to his sides for a moment, "But to be perfectly honest, and as impractical as it is to even consider, I already feel... insufficient in appearance, and even more so without them, due to my lack of the traditionally attractive physical traits of even my fellow brothers."

Her heart swelled, feeling such warmth at the complexity and vulnerability of this man. She traced her fingers down one cheek, cradling his face with her other hand, bringing her fingers to the tip of his chin and placing a single, tender kiss on his lips.

"I do not find you to be lacking in any way," she said, using his own words from the waterfall. The shadow of a smile flitted across his lips, and he bowed his head in acceptance, closing his eyes. She gently pulled the goggles away, lifting them over his head and setting them on the crate beside her. Now it was her turn to tip his chin.

"Tech," she whispered, yearning to cover him with affirmation that would allow him to see himself the way she saw him. But words weren't enough. She traced her thumbs across his eyebrows, down along the indents above his ears where the straps made their permanent residence known. "Look at me," she invited.

He opened his eyes, a rich honey brown, smaller in appearance without the illusion of the glass and yet brimming with emotion. He squinted at her, blinking a few times, before opening them a bit wider. "You are significantly fuzzier around the edges than I would prefer," he mused.

"Perhaps you're neglecting the full experience by focusing only on the visual," Vel said with a smile, again echoing his words from their forest exploration.

"Do you plan to turn all of my decadent wisdom against me?"

"Maybe," she replied, laughing softly.

His arms returned around her waist, pulling her closer yet again and kissing her deeply. Vel raked her fingernails gently up his back, feeling an involuntary shudder run up his spine. One hand remained on his shoulder while the other continued up into his hair, fingers clenching to give it a gentle pull.

A low, guttural sound rumbled from his throat, and Tech traced his mouth from hers down to her neck, brushing his lips along the curve while letting out a slow exhale. It was now Vel's turn to shiver, and she tilted her head as he explored her collarbone with feather-light kisses. He brought a hand to her cheek, raising his chin to meet her mouth, and gave her one last deep kiss before resting his forehead against hers.

They stayed there for a moment, eyes closed, hearts racing, and noses barely touching. Vel never wanted it to stop, tipping her chin forward to search for his lips again. They brushed against hers, his arms squeezing her tight, and then he took a step back, blowing out a breath and standing before her in a tousled mess of heat and bewilderment and confidence and vulnerability. She had groped his hair into a rumpled mess, giving him more of a faux hawk than his usual neatly-combed tragedy of a hairstyle, and she bit her lip at his incendiary appearance.

Without warning, the lift whooshed open and Hunter strode out into the clearing, mouth opening to speak before it promptly snapped shut. His eyes moved from Vel's flushed cheeks to Tech's head, noting the hair that had never once before been out of place. The hold reeked of all that had just transpired, assaulting his senses on every front.

He cleared his throat, minutely shaking his head as if to clear it all, "We, uhh, apparently missed a transmission when we were on Yalbec Prime. We're being sent right back out. Commander Cody wants to meet us on Anaxes."

Tech stared wordlessly, and Vel could practically see the gears turning in his head as he considered the situation. He looked like a wide-mouthed Gooba fish, and before he could concoct a response, she slid down off the crate. "Got it," she said simply, heading to her corner without another word.

Hunter nodded in response, eyes following her across the room before returning to Tech. They regarded each other for a moment, an entire conversation exchanged in the silence, then Hunter returned to the lift. The door remained open as he waited for Tech to join.

Delicately picking up his armor, Tech fetched his helmet from the corner where he'd tossed it, then quietly entered the lift, turning to face the open room along with Hunter as the door whooshed shut in front of them. Just before it closed, Vel caught a sidelong glance between the two of them, as well as the lightning-quick smirk on the corner of Hunter's lips.