Work Text:
The burning tides around them made the Kaminoan waters seem even more threatening and unyielding, like a sinister void that could not wait to swallow the last shred of life that was left of Tipoca city.
"He should have surfaced by now." The lump in Hunter's throat threatened to cut off his breath. Something had gone wrong. Really, really wrong.
He felt Omega's hand clutching at his arm, her eyes widened in panic and unspoken fear, as she tried to make out anything in the dark waters below them. A chill settled into his bones.
Had fear not gripped his heart so tightly, it would probably have burst from his ribcage by now.
The only sound was the whispering of the waves, carrying on the breeze, sailing into nothingness.
And suddenly the infinitely aching realisation that Crosshair would not resurface on his own hit him like a dagger in the chest.
Everything around him moved too slowly, as if the universe wanted to balance the rapid beating of his heart.
"I'm going in."
The blood in his veins turned to ice, all feeling draining instantly from his face. With numb fingers, he removed his armour, never taking his eyes off the surface of the water, because maybe...
"I'm coming with you," and if his trained reflexes hadn't been quick enough, Omega would have already climbed over the edge of the capsule. He was just able to pull her back by the arm.
"You stay here", he said, heart spiking.
"But-"
"Omega, that's not up for discussion."
Precious seconds ticked by.
"Only I'm going in."
As if reading his thoughts, Wrecker was suddenly beside him, having rowed his capsule close enough to pull Omega over to him.
"Don't let go of her under any circumstances"
Wrecker pulled the girl to him, holding her close. "I won't"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tech also hastily begin to loosen his armour. No chance.
"Tech, you stay here, too." He would not lose any of his siblings today.
"That's an order."
"Hunter, if you stay longer than-" Tech wanted to protest, but those were precious moments they didn't have.
"I know what I'm doing." After freeing himself from the last piece of his armour, he took one final look at his squad, who mirrored back his terrified eyes.
If fate dared to reach out its greedy claws to claim any of his own, it would have to pry them from Hunter's dying grip first. He would not leave anyone behind. Never again.
Even if this world went up in flames, he would fight for them until his final days in this universe were done.
Omega was trying to fight Wrecker's firm grip, desperate tears spilling down into her bared mouth. He was about to turn away from the aching sight, but in a split second he changed his mind, leaned over, cupped her face and briefly touched her forehead with his.
"It's going to be all right. I promise."
We've taken different paths
And travelled different roads
I know we'll always end up on the same one when we're old
And when you're in the trenches
And you're under fire I will cover you
Ice-cold water greeted him as he dove down, leaving the air behind him. Almost immediately he felt the diving reflex kick in and his heart, despite the panicked fear that clutched it, beat slower. Silence pressed upon his ears as he swam deeper, hoping, praying that his enhanced senses would lead him where he needed to go. Deeper and deeper. His lungs were already burning and screaming for oxygen. Deeper, deeper.
He had lost all sense of how far he had come; all his faith was in his trained muscles, still streaking purposefully through the haunting depths, the fear of what he would find down there his constant companion.
And beneath that fear, buried deep, was the lingering doubt of whether the Empire was really to blame for Crosshair's turning away. Or whether Tarkin and his machinations were merely a catalyst for something Hunter himself was responsible for.
And the burning question that tore him to pieces inside: if it had been anyone else who had been taken from the cell in Kamino that fateful day, if it had been Wrecker, Tech, Echo, Omega, would he have acted the same?
But what hurt even more was the fact that he had an achingly simple answer to it.
He had never felt more trapped inside his own head.
"And I did?"
And suddenly, there he was, his body trapped between two fragments of debris, barely visible in the dark water, Crosshair. And next to him, apparently having used up the last of his energy trying to free Crosshair, AZI.
Desperately, his muscles, burning like fire, he tried to pull the debris apart, to make an opening big enough to pull his brother out. It wouldn't budge. Pulling. Pulling. With all his weight he braced himself and suddenly he felt it slipping apart.
Crosshair might choose the Empire after this, but there was still a chance that someday he would find his way back where he belonged.
Hunter still wanted that chance.
He still needed that chance.
The mere thought of losing him now... the soldier who had always had their backs in training, the brother Omega so desperately wanted to get to know... it was an unbearable hollow inside him he did not want to feel.
We're living different lives
Heaven only knows
If we'll make it back with all our fingers and our toes
5 years, 20 years, come back
It will always be the same
He seized Crosshair around the waist, grabbed the neck of the droid and could instantly feel the weight dragging him back down.
Not happening.
Up, up, up.
Hunter's legs were seizing up with the effort to keep swimming, his shoulders aching terribly from pulling his precious cargo.
Up, up, up.
It could be Hunter's imagination, but the darkness seemed to be slowly receding.
Yes, it was definitely thinning now, he could catch a glimmer of life above him.
He kicked his legs so hard and fast, it felt as though his strained muscles were screaming in protest.
Would they live on in the stories they‘d tell, the war tales they‘d whisper, the legacy they‘d left behind?
His brain felt clouded, he couldn't breathe, he needed oxygen, his strenght was failing him, he had to keep going, he was nearly there, he couldn't stop, he had to...
And then he felt his head break the surface of the Kaminoan ocean, cold air making his wet face sting, and his tortured lungs greedily drew in the oxygen he had denied them for far too long.
Gasping, he heard the sounds of boundless relief around him, but he didn't really register it.
It was as if someone had put a veil over reality, as if that would somehow make the pain and destruction, around them and inside, fade away.
He was only aware of fragments, shreds flying past him.
Crosshair
And everything snapped back into focus, into time, and he could hear his heart battering in his ears.
Only now did he realise that he was clinging to the empty capsule that had brought him and Omega to the surface.
"Wrecker," his voice felt like it didn't belong to him, panic tightening his throat at the sight of the lifeless body in his grasp, "help me get Crosshair in here."
And he pulled him into the far too small capsule, which Hunter struggled to fit into as well.
"Hunter, please let me-" he heard Tech's (desperate?) voice.
No.
"I have to do this."
His eyes were closed. Hunter crashed down beside him. Maybe... He lowered his ear to his nose, listening for his breath that wasn‘t there.
No.
Hunter was shaking, desperate to block his ears and tell the fear that was screaming louder than thunder to go away.
But it wouldn‘t go.
For beneath the hard shell of the tattooed sergeant, threatening to shatter further with every breath he took, lay the oh so vulnerable heart of a broken soldier who could not bear this loss.
If I was dying on my knees
You would be the one to rescue me
And if you were drowned at sea
I'd give you my lungs so you could breathe
Hunter placed the heel of his hand in the middle of his chest, his other hand on top. Feeling the desperation growing in his stomach, burning his inside out, he leaned up, and pushed down. Hard.
One.
“It‘s going to be OK.“ He tried to keep his trembling arms straight, compressing his brothers chest, counting in his head.
Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.
“I‘ve got you.“ The tears stung, flowing hot and fast down to his chin, pooling at the crack between his lips.
Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven.
„I‘m here.“ Please, he was thinking, no idea who he was thinking it to. Just someone. Anyone.
Twelve. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen.
„Hold on.“ Hunter‘s heartbeat was so loud, so fast, it almost felt like that was all he was: a racing heart trapped in a cage made of skin and bones.
Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty. Twenty-one.
„I‘m sorry.“ Guilt, filling the whole of Hunter's chest like some monstrous animal, roaring dark thoughts, each one another stab to his already wounded core.
Twenty-two. Thwenty-three. Twenty-four. Twenty-five. Twenty-six.
„I won‘t leave you behind.“ Regret, it threatened to swallow him whole, threatened to drain the life out of him until there was nothing left. Nothing but the feeling that in the end it hadn't been enough.
Twenty-seven. Twenty-eight.
„I‘ve got you.“ Even if we break.
Twenty-nine.
„I‘ve got you.“ Even if we shatter into a million pieces.
Thirty.
He pinched his brothers nose and breathed into him.
Once.
Twice.
.
.
.
Nothing.
And suddenly, he was surrounded by a darkness deeper than any night he‘d ever experienced. Hunters heart- it was like a black hole, feeding on whatever tiny shred of hope he had left, and nothing he could think, nothing he could do, could make it whole again.
And if we hit on troubled water
I'll be the one to keep you warm and safe
And we'll be carrying each other
Until we say goodbye on our dying day
Because I‘ve got you brother
He had to keep going.
One. Two. Three...
He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, like a reminder that there was still life surrounding him, and without seeing her, he knew Omega was at his side.
And he didn't have to look around to know that all of them, Wrecker, Tech, Echo, would be there for him if he shattered.
The darkness became easier to carry because he was not alone.
Hunter tasted salt on his lips as tears dripped steadily onto his fighting hands.
Just keep going...
And then he felt a movement beneath him, and the numbing silence was broken by a cough.
Crosshair was breathing.
The weight of relief yanked Hunter forward, feeling his fingers go limp as he brought one hand to his mouth and bawled into it, a high inhuman sound that wracked his entire body.
He still had that chance.
And it was only then that he allowed himself to be pulled back. Suddenly Tech was at his side, taking his place, and Hunter clung to the outside of the capsule, feeling trembling arms around his shoulders, keeping him from going under. Omega.
And when a sob escaped his throat, it was a cry of relief.
There were many words that needed to be said. But for now, words could wait.
He clutched Omega's arms with all the strength his body had left when he saw Crosshair's eyelids flutter.
All that mattered now, at this very moment, was that they had all been given another chance, to mend old wounds, to heal deep scars and to, maybe, leave the pain of the past behind.
Because I've got you brother
Even if we break