Work Text:
Night was fast upon the island, it's three suns dipping low, one-by-one like links on a chain. The first, now sitting just on the cusp of Pabu's waters, cast a soft, orange glow onto the land and its inhabitants. The blistering heat of the daytime was slowly simmering down into a cooling breeze. Though it was still much warmer than most planets during this time of year, the air like a soft, comforting blanket after a long, hard day.
They each felt the temperature change, a small chill on the backs of their sun-beaten necks as they sat around Shep Hazard's dinner table;
and yes, they being all of them.
Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, Omega, Phee, Tech...
And Crosshair.
Omega and Lyana were currently regaling the adults about their exciting day; how they'd rallied all the children of Pabu together to have one giant water-war. Nearly forty kids had met at the landing dock on the top of the hill, buckets and canteens brimming with water under their arms; ready for battle.
If there was anything positive that could be taken away from having to train Omega in the ways of combat, Hunter liked to think it was that she now reigned supreme as Pabu's best (and driest) 'water-fighter'. Granted the kid had still come running to the table with a damp shirt and several wet patches in her hair (water bombs- they'd called them, much to Wreckers amusement), but the triumphant smile on her face was well worth the threat of her catching a small cold. However, the same couldn't be said for Lyana, who was now swaddled up in a large, blue towel (curtesy of Shep)-thoroughly soaked to the bone.
Hunter had also tossed a small towel over Omegas slowly drying hair, rubbing it over her head and no doubt mussing her hair up, if the girls muffled complaints were anything to go by.
"It's fine!" She'd whined from under the towel, batting his hands away. "You're messing up my ponytail!"
He grinned to himself when she swiped at his hand again, clocking him this time, and emerging from under the towel with her blonde strands sticking up at all angles. She caught sight of his amused smirk, jabbed him on the arm again and grumbled a soft, "stow it", before taking her seat.
Shep had produced a bountiful meal; trays of exotic fruit and rolls of homemade 'Soo-shee' adorning the long table, so much that even Wrecker struggled to polish off his plate of seconds, taking a break between bites to lean back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. Batcher sat by his feet, whining for scraps of his food. Crosshair shook his head at the hound, knowing she’d chosen the worst brother to beg for food from, and tossed a yellow star-fruit at her to quiet her whimpering.
The children, not one to be kept still for too long, fidgeted restlessly as they ate, glancing between each other, before eventually asking the adults if they could be excused.
"Why? Where are you going?" Hunter asked, trying not to sound too paranoid, but failing miserably. From the corner of his eye he caught Crosshair looking up from his half-eaten plate, eyes suddenly transfixed on Omega.
Hm, he thought, perplexed by his brothers unreadable look.
"Out front" Omega replied, hastily chewing her food, unaware of the cautious tone in the (ex) sergeants voice. She did however take note of Tech's reprimanding look as she stuffed a too-large piece of 'Soo-shee' in her mouth, trying to finish her plate in order to leave the table quicker. She also heard him utter a small warning of "slow down, Omega. I am not adept in the process of the 'Heimlich manoeuvre'"
Omega didn't reply, but did slow her chewing to a more regular pace, and pointed over her shoulder, indicating to the other side of Sheps house, where the road to the cul-de-sac sat. "Mox's Foster-Dad invented these really cool shoes with wheels on them" she said after swallowing, voice teeming with excitement at the prospect of humans having wheels on their feet (it sounded much cooler than walking, after all), "the boys said we could try them out"
Lyana looked to her father too, also chomping away at her food like she’d been starved for days, and asked "Can we go?"
Shep smiled at his daughter- it was an easy, carefree smile, which was sure to mean 'yes'- but then he seemed to remember himself, and quickly glanced over to Hunter. He read the anxiety hiding behind the mans eyes, and was ready to decline their request, but the clone surprised him by sighing softly, and nodding his head, "Fine. But come back before it gets dark"
"Yes, Sir!" Omega exclaimed, giving a small, cheeky salute, before popping one last roll in her mouth and jumping up, beckoning Lyana to follow suit. Chairs squeaked across cobbled stone, and both girls were up and skirting around Crosshairs chair, which sat closest to the door leading into the house.
All adults watched them leave, even Crosshair, who's gaze lingered on the door long after everyone had continued eating, drinking and talking merrily amongst each other. Of course, it was only Hunter who noticed this action, as he too was still watching the spot where the children had left, brows drawn into a frown despite Shep's whispered, “they’ll be fine"
But Shep had the luxury of taking his eyes off Lyana for a few hours- he'd never lost his child before.
Hunter had.
The mayor quickly engaged him in conversation, talking about how they were going to rectify the islands daily fishing runs- since fish numbers were beginning to dwindle recently in the regulated areas of the island.
"We'll circle round and try the southern region, fish tend to navigate to cooler waters during hotter months" Hunter said.
Shep looked concerned, "The waters around the Southern region become dangerous during the afternoon"
"Then we'll reschedule the fishing boats to set off earlier in the morning" Hunter suggested, "that way they miss the afternoon rapids"
Shep smiled, pleased with his tactical input, and Hunter appreciated the (very obvious) attempt at a distraction. It seemed to work too, for he didn't even notice when Crosshair silently excused himself to use the restroom.
However, when conversations abated and many of the adults were happy to watch as the third and final sun began to sink lower in the orange sky, Hunters nerves began to get the better of him again. It was almost dark now.
He too excused himself, muttering something about "checking on the kids" and pushing his chair out with a sound squeak against the patio floor. Several pairs of knowing eyes followed him.
"Huh" Echo said as they all watched him leave through the back door and disappear into the house, eyes twinkling with amusement, "I guess the old rumours are true about some clones. The 'Jango Genes' don't fall too far from the pod- if you know what I mean"
"Uhhh" Wrecker blinked at him, and Tech seemed to look just as perplexed beside him, "what rumours?"
Echo sighed, and Phee grinned, for even she could understand what the trooper was getting at, "You boys make me feel really old sometimes"
Meanwhile, Hunter travelled through the kitchen area and down the hallway, heading for the front door to Sheps home, which was already wide open, the sounds of high-pitched laughter filtering in from the front- Omega's unmistakeable giggles standing out amongst the rest.
Before he reached the door, he stopped, startled to find someone already stood there, looking out at the children playing in the quiet road.
Crosshair had his back to him, leaning against one side of the doorway, a toothpick twirling pensively between his fingers. But his eyes were alert, watching every corner of the small cul-de-sac, searching the shadows the soft street-lanterns couldn’t reach.
Just incase.
Hunter blinked, and studied his brother for a long moment, before quietly approaching the doorway too, leaning up against the other side of the wide, oval entry.
Crosshair tipped his head to him upon his arrival, but other than that he doesn't really acknowledge him, choosing to remain silent and watch as Omega tries to walk on the four-wheeled shoes, grabbing onto Deke's hands when her knees wobble.
It’s an entertaining sight, for both Lyana and Omega are not nearly as adept in the act of ‘Rolly-shoe-ing’ (which was the name Mox had given the sport) as the three other children, who seemed to be balancing on their own ‘Roll-shoes’ which a lot more precision. Even Stak was showing off on the sides, looping round in circles, or cutting corners of the cul-de-sac with sharp speed.
Hunter watched as Deke and Stak each looped one of Omegas arms (Mox still helping with Lyana, who was blushing furiously under his gentle instruction) both supporting her from the sides, guiding her along the smooth road, before letting go when she claimed her legs felt stronger on the wheels. As soon as they do however, her steady legs begin to shake again, and the children begin to laugh.
A low chuckle beside him had Hunter starting in surprise. He stole a glance at his brother, and found him watching Omega again, something akin to amusement dancing behind his sharp eyes. For that split moment his entire demeanour seemed to soften, face appearing younger, and Hunter was reminded of their days as cadets. Something twinged in his chest- making him miss the boy this man used to be. Before the war, before Tantiss, and before those goddamn inhibitor chips.
Crosshair catches him looking, and suddenly the easiness in his eyes is gone, replaced once more with the steely gaze of a man who- despite now seeking refuge from the war- still couldn’t escape the demons that lingered afterward.
Yet, when his eyes fall back to Omega, that same golden glimmer appears between the flecks of brown- making them shine with something Hunter couldn’t quite place before, but was now slowly beginning to understand.
"Thank you" he says after a long silence, breathing so much sincerity into the words that it startles the younger brother out of his daze.
Crosshair looked back over to him, raising a curious brow as if to say 'what could you possibly be thanking me for?' so Hunter clears his throat and continues,
"For keeping her safe" ‘when I couldn’t’ are the words that went unsaid, but his brother seemed to hear them anyway.
The other man scoffs, averting his eyes back to the girl again, something distant in his gaze. He's silent for a long moment, and Hunter half-expects him to not reply at all, but he does. It's low, almost whispered, but sounding somewhat softer in his usually sneering, snake-like voice.
"At times, it felt more like she was the one keeping me safe" he shook his head, then scratched at it-the scarred area- making Hunter want to reach out and stop him incase he damaged himself. But he doesn't. "But, you're welcome, I guess"
There’s another silence, though this one less awkward than the last, and both men use it to observe how Omega wobbly turns around at the end of the street and makes her way back to Lyana (who’s considerably falling behind the rest), both girls grabbing onto each-other and giggling when they threaten to fall.
"She's a lot like you" Crosshair says, and sees the way Hunter practically preens at his words, before adding, "annoyingly"
It makes Hunter laugh anyway, short and breathy. "Asshole" he mutters, causing his brother to snicker too, amused breaths puffing out from his nose.
Hunter takes a beat, sees how Omega loops her arm around Lyana’s shoulder to steady the both of them. “Actually, She reminds me more of you- especially when we were cadets"
Crosshair remembers the small, scrawny cadet version of himself and grimaces, "how unfortunate"
They share somewhat of a laugh again, though it's quiet, and a touch awkward, as if the both of them were still uncertain of where they stood with each other. It's a harsh contrast to the children outside, whose laughs are loud and done without any apology of who might hear them. The long silence that follows the brothers says just as much.
It's broken again, surprisingly, by Crosshair.
"I…understand now” he says, voice low.
It was Hunters turn to look confused, blinking over at Crosshair with furrowed brows. But Crosshair refused to look at him, his gaze on the street again, on Omega. The girl turns too sharply on the roll-shoes, and falls onto her knees, no doubt scraping the palms of her hands on the floor. Crosshairs eyes widen a fraction, the toothpick twirling nervously between his fingers, face twitching into a sharp frown that only eases when the girl pulls herself up to her feet again and dusts her trousers off.
Something in Hunters chest aches, and he suddenly realises what Crosshair was talking about- he understands.
He wants to laugh at his baby brother (“I’m thirteen minutes younger than you Hunter, that doesn’t make me a baby!”), wants to point and grin and shout “I told you so!”, or throw Crosshairs own words of ‘Children aren’t really your forté’ back in his face:
Because apparently, they were Crosshairs forté.
Hunter felt significantly lighter at this revelation; like a large balloon sitting behind his ribcage had opened up, and deflated all the hot air out of him so he could breathe anew.
Because Crosshair finally understood- why he and his brothers felt they couldn’t leave Omega on Kamino, why they felt they had to put her own needs far above their own, why they scoured the entire galaxy for months to get her back from Tantiss.
And why some nights, Hunter felt the need to lay awake outside Omegas room, and listen to the soft sounds of her breathing just to calm his own, and remind himself that she was home.
Hunter often forgot about life before Omega. He used to think his reason for being was to be a sergeant, that his purpose was to lead others into battle. But this little girl, who was sunshine and soft blonde hair and kilo-watt smiles; she was what purpose felt like.
And Crosshair understood this; because he felt it too.
Hunter didn’t have to ask him to explain himself, he could tell. Could see it in his face, in his eyes: The shimmering gold hiding between the dull brown-
that was all Omega.
And even though they were clones, and therefore almost identical by nature, Hunter hadn’t noticed many similarities between himself and Crosshair before.
But now, watching the way he watched their little sister, eyes widening and body jolting on instinct to move when she tripped and fell again (Deke helping her to her feet with a laugh);
it was like looking in a mirror.
"I think I'm getting the hang of it!" Omegas gleeful shout cut through his thoughts, smile so bright Hunter thought it could light up Pabu another fifteen minutes after sunset.
"Oh, are you sure?" Mox asked in a teasing voice, wheeling around her on his own ‘Roll-shoes’ and purposely putting her off her concentration.
Hunter saw Crosshair scowl, caught the way the toothpick in his grasp began to bend dangerously, "if that little punk even thinks-“
"Cross" he warned, though his grin seeped into his words, removing the threat entirely.
Then, Mox grabbed Omega by the elbow, and quickly twirled her around, and the girl lost her balance again. She landed on her backside with a gasp, and then a laugh.
Hunter hears the toothpick snap.