Chapter Text
Wrecker might not be a genius, but he knows his brothers. He might be half-blind, but he sees what's happening to Hunter. He might not have super-hearing, but he didn't exactly need it to hear what Tech was shouting about. And Wrecker might not be able to save his family from everything, but he does at least understand bombs, so when he sees his brother come storming down the hill he does his job and defuses the situation. "Hey, is anyone else thinkin' kinda hard about ice cream?" The girls both yell agreements and shoot off in the direction Tech just came from. Omega glances back just after she passes Tech, looking between him and Hunter, but when she sees Wrecker running up behind she smiles again and takes off.
Phee's still at the top of the hill when they get there. Coincidentally, she's just got a message from Shep Hazard and coincidentally, Shep wants Lyana home for bed and so coincidentally, it's only Wrecker, Omega, and Phee who get ice cream. It's not horrible. The little shop on the western edge of the island is cute, and Phee is nice enough, and it makes the kid happy. Still, Wrecker has worries that can't be soothed by the impressive gymnastics Omega can do while balanced on the raised curb and definitely aren't helped by Phee's constant comments about Tech's attractiveness. He's glad when, as Omega finishes off the last of her dessert, his datapad vibrates with an incoming message.
TECH: Be advised — 000 on approach to HM.
ME: Acknowledged :)
When he looks up, Phee's watching him. He smiles vacantly at her before calling, "Omega! Got a message from Tech—come on over and listen up."
She bounces off the curb and runs over, throwing her empty ice cream dish in the recycler on the way. "What's the new intel?"
"We're supposed'ta go to Plan Triple Zero when we get back to the ship. You know what that means?"
She grins and adopts his conspiratorial tone when she responds, "Assume total stealth conditions."
Always a good sport, he thinks, ruffling her hair. "You got it. You know what else it means? Means that Sarge is pro'lly sleeping." Her smile relaxes a bit into something that might actually be genuine. Even when we don't deserve it. "So what do you say, kid? You ready to head back and get some shut-eye before the mission?"
She agrees. They say good night to Phee, who only gives Wrecker one long, significant look while Omega hugs her, and head back toward the Marauder.
"Wrecker?" Omega asks when they stop to watch a small troupe of moon-yos. "What do you think of Pabu?"
He sighs, taking a deep breath of warm sea air and looking around at the lights of the city. "'S definitely real nice. Maybe the nicest place we've been, and the people are great! What about you? What do you think?"
"I like it," she says. "Do you want to stay?"
"Sure." The street lights are fewer as they approach the quiet peak of the island where the Marauder is docked, and Wrecker has to watch his feet to avoid tripping. "They could use the help rebuilding, and it's not like we're in a rush to go nowhere."
"Uh-huh." Omega kicks a rock. Wrecker kicks it back. "But I mean… really stay. Like a home." She kicks it to him again.
He settles it on his left foot, tosses it back and forth for a few steps. "I dunno. Haven't thought much about it yet." He kicks it back to her, but she's stopped walking and he overshoots and it rolls off into the dark grass. He stops, looking back at her. "Kid?"
Omega's not looking at him. She's staring up at the sky, and Wrecker sees an explosion of constellations in her eyes. "Is Hunter okay?"
Is Hunter okay? It's not a question Wrecker's heard or asked much outside of injuries and emergencies, the heat of battle, life-or-death situations. He doesn't know how to answer it quietly, but he tries his best. "Yeah, 'course he is. He's just tired, I think."
She looks down and meets his eye. She trusts him, and that's the difficult part. "Then it's a good thing Tech got him to sleep, right?"
"Right," he says, and it is. It's something, at least. "What would we do without Tech, huh?" She smiles and Wrecker tries not to feel too bad about how relieved he is to call 000 for the rest of the walk back.
For all his trouble, when Wrecker opens the bunkroom door he's rewarded with exactly the sight he'd been hoping to see. Tech and Hunter are together on Hunter's bunk, the low one right across from the door. Tech's sitting up against the wall at one end with his 'pad resting on his thighs. From the knees down, his legs are tangled with Hunter's, and because Tech was decanted a miracle-worker Hunter is curled up on his side drooling on his pillow. Wrecker grins. Behind him, he hears Omega gasp softly before disappearing up into her room.
Status? he signs to Tech.
Tech makes a gesture that technically means a target ship has entered hyperspace but in this context usually means whoever's being talked about is either doped up on painkillers, fast asleep, or both. He follows it with the sign for mission success.
Wrecker gives him a thumbs up just as Omega comes back down the ladder and pushes past Wrecker into the bunkroom, shoes off and Lula in tow. She pads carefully toward the bunk. Tech frowns and makes like he's going to tell her off, but when Wrecker signs stand down he lets her approach. She's good about it, doesn't try to touch Hunter, just sets Lula down on the pillow next to him. Then, with a soft good night to Tech and Wrecker, she heads back up into her room.
Wrecker returns his attention to Hunter. In the low light, it's easy to miss the dark circles under his eyes in the shadow of his tattoo. Harder to ignore the tangles in his hair and the weight he's lost. Is Hunter okay? It's not a question Wrecker has ever liked because it only seems to come up when they all already know the answer.
Tech catches his eye. Mission success, he signs again, and then his own request to stand down. He looks exhausted. Wrecker puts on his best post-mission smile and gestures that he'll take over the watch. No argument, and Wrecker gives him one last thumbs up on his way back into the hold. Sure enough, Tech's snoring before Wrecker's even picked a holo. He chooses a familiar one, something he's seen a dozen times on a dozen watches during the war, and settles down on the floor. Gonky comes waddling over and honks his approval of Wrecker's selection. Tech says he isn't smart enough to care, but Wrecker knows better: he's partial to the romances. "None of this matters to you worth half a ration, does it?" he whispers with a pat to Gonky's top. "War ends and you just keep on gonkin'."
"Gonk."
"Yeah, that's about what I thought you'd say." He stretches, gets more comfortable as the opening credits play. "Don't worry about them, hey? They're just tired. Things'll look better in the morning."
"Gonk. Gonk."
"Exactly. We're all gonna be fine."