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Oftentimes when everyone else was asleep, Crosshair would hear Tech tapping away on his holopad or working on some piece of hardware from his bunk. He would take comfort in the sound of his younger brother working on nights when he couldn’t sleep and it would eventually lull him into unconsciousness.
Tonight wasn’t one of those nights. Crosshair awoke gasping for air with a sheen of sweat that’s soaked his blacks. Throwing the thin cover that he calls a blanket off of him, Cross frantically sits up and remembers where he is. He’s on the Havoc Marauder with his batch and no one is in danger. This should calm him down but it doesn’t and he still can’t get his breath under control. All he can do is stare at the dark wall in front of him as images of his nightmare flash in rapid succession through his mind.
Blood. Red and thick, dripping off of his soaked hands. “This is your fault.” His horrified whispers reach his ears and he almost wants to scream that this isn’t his fault but his mouth won’t move. Crosshair looks down on the bodies laid face down out in front of him, unmoving and still. He knew that if he were to feel for a pulse on the body closest to him, all he would feel is cold flesh. They all have a blaster shot right through their heart and Crosshair recognizes his own precise marksmanship. A flash of blonde. The red of a bandana on dark hair. A bald scarred head. Short brown hair. Pale emaciated skin. No… he refuses to believe it. He turns over the body closest to him and is met with the slack face of Hunter. Hot tears roll down his face in horror. This is all his fault…
The scene played as clearly as if it were happening again right in front of him and Cross starts shaking uncontrollably. He screws his damp eyes shut and takes several ragged breaths. That was a nightmare… this is reality. When he opens his eyes and looks up he’s going to see Hunters hand hanging down from the bunk above him. When he looks over he’ll see Wrecker sound asleep with his limbs spread out haphazardly. His attempts to calm himself fail miserably and his breath quickens. Crosshair could feel himself spiraling and feeding into his panic.
Unbeknownst to Crosshair, Tech had been watching him with concerned eyes from the bunk that was positioned above Wreckers. He had been working on a broken comm unit when he heard Crosshair shove off his sorry excuse for a blanket and take fast shallow breaths. Tired of just watching when his brother obviously needs help, Tech decides to intervene. He carefully steps down from his bunk, narrowly avoiding Wreckers jutted out leg.
Tech makes the short steps towards Crosshair and cautiously whispers, “Crosshair, are you alright?” In retrospect, it’s a foolish question. Cross is quite literally falling apart right in front of Tech.
He looks about wildly with wide eyes and Tech puts his hands up in an attempt to calm him down.
“Crosshair? It’s Tech. I believe you’ve had a nightmare.”
Studying his panicked brother, he recognizes Cross’s behavior as someone who is having a moderate to severe panic attack. Tech is glad that he did offhand research on mental illnesses soon after Echo joined their batch. At the time, he had been concerned that Echo wasn’t handling his trauma effectively and instead only distracting himself. So Tech did the reasonable thing and looked up ways to be able to help Echo if he was ever in a mental crisis. Tech feels a surge of pride that his gathered information is being put to good use.
Cross’s breathing is very fast and Tech is afraid that he might pass out if he continues. Tech moves closer and dares to sit on the edge of the bunk facing the slender man. He looks in Crosshairs wild eyes and proclaims, “Crosshair, I need you to breathe with me. Alright?”
Tech watched a holovid of a breathing technique that could help the situation and begins to breathe in the pattern. Inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four. Cross struggles to hold eye contact as he forces himself to take a few shallow breaths trying his best to follow Tech’s lead. He figures he should try to ground Crosshair and cautiously rests his hand on the taller man’s lower leg. Continuing the rhythmic breathing, he patiently waits for Cross’s vitals to return to normal.
Crosshair is attempting to follow Tech’s breathing but it’s as if there’s not enough oxygen in the ship and he’s suffocating. He looks into his younger brothers earnest and concerned eyes and feels a wave of gratitude. Crosshair is immensely glad that he’s not alone right now. Tech’s warm hand is resting on his shin and he feels soothed by the steady contact. Normally, he’s not much on physical affection but this instance is a welcome exception.
After several minutes of breathing along with Tech, Cross feels his chest release its heavy tension and his breaths become deeper. Finally. That had been the longest minutes of his life, and Crosshair is accustomed to waiting for targets during missions. Now the only thing he feels is extreme exhaustion. For all he knows, he could’ve just ran several clicks at max speed with the way his head feels heavy and his shoulders slump. Tech seems to acknowledge his fatigue and motions for Cross to lay down. He obliges and settles back into his pillow with a small exhale.
Tech regards him for an instant and softly says, “One moment.”
He stands up and walks in the direction of a sleeping Wrecker. Confused, Cross sees him reach up and carefully grab a soft blanket from his bunk. Turning around, he unfurls the blanket and lays it across Crosshairs limp form. He can’t help the small fond smile that settles on his lips as he’s reminded how caring his brother is.
When Tech feels he’s done all that he can to help his brother get back to sleep, he pats the side of Cross’s arm and nods mostly to himself. As he turns to go back to his bunk and work on the broken comm, he feels nimble fingers encircle his wrist. He stops in his tracks and looks back at Crosshair in surprise. He searches Cross’s features with an inquisitive expression. Understanding the silent request Tech nods gesturing for Crosshair to scoot over slightly so that he has more room. Cross obliges, moving towards the inner wall of bunk and Tech sits back down beside him. This time, he gets more comfortable and crosses his legs. Tech would stay until Crosshair fell asleep, the broken comm could wait.