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You woke in the night, feeling the bed cold and empty beside you. You sat up and attempted to wipe the sleep from your eyes.
“Hunter,” your voice called out softly as you tried to search the dark room. He was nowhere to be found.
Your brows furrowed for a moment before you realized what today was, and you sighed deeply.
Only a few days earlier, Omega had come to you, confessing her plans to leave and join up with the Rebellion. She had snuck you a note to give to Hunter after she had left.
It had only taken a day or so for Hunter to figure out what was going on. With your guilty expression and Wrecker and Crosshair secretly giving Omega tips on fighting, he knew what she was planning to do. Besides, she was turning out to be so much like him anyway. He knew damn well he would have done the same thing.
You stood from the bed and stretched, slipping into your slippers and throwing a shawl over your pajamas.
You walked out of the small cottage you shared with Hunter and the rest of the Bad Batch on Pabu to see Wrecker and Crosshair sitting on the porch, looking out over the ocean in silence.
They had grown old since they had first arrived on Pabu. You remember meeting them after the tsunami as they helped you rebuild your home. They had been so kind, and Hunter, well, Hunter was the man you’d waited your whole life for.
When you had first met Hunter, you knew it would take time for him to feel the same way, especially after Omega had been taken, not once but twice. But once he was ready to retire from the fight, he had jumped right into loving you.
“Hey,” Crosshair spoke, a toothpick in his mouth as he spotted you exiting the cottage. You smiled to yourself as he chewed on it nervously- habits certainly did die hard. Crosshair’s silver hair was more white now, wrinkles deeply formed across his face.
Wrecker looked up and gave you a wave, his grey beard taking somewhat scraggly shape across his chin.
“Did he make it in time?” You asked quietly as you slid into another chair around the patio table.
“He went down to the ship long before she did,” Crosshair replied.
“Batcher tagged along,” Wrecker added.
“Hm,” you hummed. “I’m glad they will get to say goodbye. I don’t think Hunter would have been too happy with me if he’d figured it out through her letter.”
“Are you still going to give it to him?” Wrecker asked.
“Oh, of course I am,” you nodded. “It’s what Omega wanted. “So I’ll follow through tomorrow.”
“Good,” Crosshair replied.
Suddenly you heard the faint roar of an engine. Her ship was prepping for takeoff.
You watched the boys sit up straighter in their chairs at the sound. You felt yourself holding your breath.
Even though you hadn’t been with Omega for much time, she had naturally accepted you into her family when Hunter had started dating you.
After you had gotten married, she had accidentally called you mom for the first time. You remember that day vividly. It had been one of the happiest days of your life. You knew that Hunter and you weren’t able to have children of your own, but it didn’t matter. Omega would always be yours in your heart.
The sound of engines getting louder brought you back. You watched as a ship- her ship- soared out into the air, heading straight up into the sky and beyond.
You watched in silence with the others until her ship disappeared off into the stars and nothing was left except the quiet lapping of the ocean water against the shoreline.
You didn’t realize you were crying until tears began to silently fall down your cheeks. Wrecker stood and flashed you a knowing look as you pulled your knees to your chest and wiped the tears from your eyes.
“I’m heading back to bed,” he said. “Tell Hunter we’re glad he got to say goodbye.”
“Will do,” you nodded.
“I’m going for a walk,” Crosshair said, also standing.
“I’ll send Batcher after you when you get back.”
“Hm, that hound,” Crosshair shook his head, seemingly annoyed. But you knew that deep down he loved the Lurca hound. “See you all in the morning.”
The two men disappeared, with Wrecker resigning to the cottage and Crosshair leaving the patio through the front gate, leaving you alone.
In the silence, you finally allowed yourself a moment to break down, the tears rolling more freely now, your hand over your mouth as you struggled to remain quiet.
You knew you would see her again. You had to have hope that you would see her again, but you didn’t realize that actually watching her leave would hurt so much. You had only managed to stay put together when she had said goodbye the night before because it hadn’t felt real. Not yet.
But it was real. And you already missed her.
You knew it wouldn’t be long before Hunter returned, so you took deep breaths, allowing yourself to feel the pain, but it soon faded, replaced with the knowledge that Omega was pursuing her dreams and was sticking to her guns. She was a strong woman, and you knew she would be okay.
Within a few minutes, the sound of Batcher’s quiet huffing caused you to look down from where you had been staring up at the stars.
As Batcher rounded the corner, you put your feet down, letting her race over to you, still as energetic as ever, despite her age.
“Hey girl, hey girl, easy now,” you laughed, patting her head as she head-butted you. “Crosshair’s gone on a walk. You should go to him,” you pointed in the direction Crosshair had taken off in.
Batcher was incredibly intelligent. She always had been. At your words, she took back off out the gate, brushing past Hunter as he turned the corner, his tired eyes landing on yours.
Seeing you sitting there, your eyes red and puffy, he paused in the gateway, realizing that he couldn’t take another step further towards your home or he would break.
Seeing this, you stood and approached him, silently wrapping your arms around his waist and burying your face in his chest. He was warm, smelling like the salty ocean breeze and musk.
You felt his arms wrap around your shoulders, his chin coming to rest on the top of your head. His breath was shaky as he kept his composure before he tilted his head down and smelled your hair, still damp from your late night shower.
“I’m going to miss her,” he finally spoke, his voice tinged with sadness. “I didn’t even say I love you.”
“She knows, Hunter,” you replied, looking up at him finally, your hand going up to touch his face. “Trust me, she knows.”
“Did you see her leave?” He asked.
“We all did. Wrecker, Crosshair, and I,” you said, your hand stroking through his beard. “I think they’re both off processing in their own way.”
“Did they get to say-“ Hunter stopped mid-sentence, feeling his eyes burning with unshed tears.
“Yes, last night,” you said. You paused for a second before you continued.
“You know, Hunter, it’s okay to cry,” you said that last part gently. You didn’t want to pressure him, but you knew how he was.
Despite years of dealing with difficult and dangerous circumstances or his years being a leader and soldier, he had never had to really deal with difficult emotions. And he hadn’t had to until Omega came along. Or until Tech had died.
You remember comforting him when they had returned to Pabu without Tech or Omega. He had cried then, buried in your arms just like tonight.
“I know,” he finally replied. “But I’m afraid that if I do, I’ll never be able to stop. Because I’m worried-“ he trailed off again, swallowing his words to prevent the tears. “What if something happens to her?”
“Oh Hunter,” you moved your hand from his face to pull him into your arms further, your hands around his neck.
He placed his head against the crook of your neck and that’s when you felt them, the hot, wet sting of tears against the skin on your neck.
His body shook lightly as he clung to you for dear life.
“Hunter, you and all of the boys trained her so well,” you spoke gently. “She’s a smart girl. She’ll take care of herself because of your training.”
“The Rebellion is small,” Hunter said against your neck, his warm breath sending a shiver down your spine.
“And so was your squad, my love,” you replied, your hands now tangled in his hair, gently rubbing his scalp and soothing him. “But think back to all that you overcame. She will be just the same.”
“I know,” he finally sighed. “I just-“
“Worry too much?” You offered as he pulled back, wiping the tears from his face and taking a deep breath.
“Probably,” he sighed. “But she’s making her own choices now.”
“And you should be very proud of her choices. She’s turned out to be quite the young woman, and a lot of that is because of you.”
“And because she had another wonderful woman to look up to,” Hunter replied, his eyes growing soft as he looking into your eyes.
His thumb came up to stroke your cheek, his fingers running over the light lines in your face, the beautiful crow’s feet that lined your eyes from years of laughter and smiles. He looked over you, his eyes just as tenderly in love as the day he had first confessed his feelings for you.
You had changed a lot over the years, growing and developing, just like Omega had. Your body no longer looked like it used to, but Hunter still found all the beauty in the world in you.
You felt your cheeks blushing again, allowing a smile to grace your face as he studied you for a moment.
“There she is,” he replied. “My girl.”
You smiled and shook your head at his words.
“Now don’t you go getting any notions of grandeur or joining any rebellions. I can only handle one of my girls doing that right now,” he said.
“Don’t you worry, my love, I’m not going anywhere,” you laughed.
“Except to bed,” he added, finally stepping back and taking your hand. “Shall we?”
“We shall,” you replied, sliding your hand into his.
The two of you made your way back to your bedroom, sliding back into bed, your chests pressed together as Hunter held you close, taking in every inch of you that he could as he rubbed your back gently.
You could tell he was still deep in thought as you started to drift off, so you reached out and stroked his arm.
“You can comm her in the morning, my love,” you whispered.
“She’ll be busy,” he muttered.
“She told me to tell you that you could comm her every day- even if only to make sure she was alive,” you said, a laugh threatening to spill out of your lips.
“Hm, I may hold her to that.”
“She said you could, not that you had to,” you added.
You felt his chest rumble with laughter as he drew you in closer.
“I love you, mesh’la,” he whispered into your hair.
“I love you too,” you whispered. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
At your words, you felt Hunter relax into your embrace. Your eyes slid closed, taking in the warmth of his body against yours as you felt yourself drifting.
Even though you were tired, you waited for Hunter’s grasp to relax around your body, signaling to you that he had fallen asleep once more. It wasn’t too long before you followed him, comforted by the warmth and security of his arms around you.
You knew that no matter what, you would be there. For him, for the boys, and for Omega, whenever they needed you. Even if they weren’t with you, you’d be waiting for them with open arms.
Always and forever.