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You paced back and forth in your small hut on Pabu, silently cursing the batch for not allowing you to come with them. You needed to know that they were okay. That he was okay.
“All that that pacing is going to do is burn a hole in the ground, not make them return any faster.” Phee said, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. Not having realized she was there, you jumped and spun to face her.
“I should have gone with them. I should have had you sneak me on the ship or something.”
“And put yourself in danger as well? Mr. Broody Bandana would have had a fit, bigger than he did about you wanting to go in the first place. It’s only been a few days, I’m sure they’re fine.” She responded, shaking her head.
Your thoughts drifted back to the argument that the two of you had had, just before he left.
“Let me go with you guys, I could help.” You repeated for the hundredth time, reaching out and grabbing Hunter’s wrist before he had the chance to walk away from you.
He tensed slightly at the touch before turning and looking back, meeting your wide eyes. “No.” He said, his voice firm and full of an emotion that you didn’t recognize.
“But why not?” You questioned, dropping his arm and crossing your arms over your chest. “You won’t tell me why I can’t go.” You argued.
Hunter ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head and muttering something under his breath that you couldn’t hear. “It’s not safe for you to go.” He told you after a moment.
Your frown deepened. “It’s not safe for the rest of you either.”
Hunter shook his head, a deep frown taking over his features. “That’s different. We’re soldiers. We were made to be soldiers.”
“That doesn’t mean you're expendable.” You said, taking a step towards him and looking up at him with defiant eyes.
Hunter just looked at you for a long moment, an unreadable expression on his face. You could have sworn his eyes momentarily flicked down to your lips before they moved past you, finding Phee. “Keep them safe for us.”
You turned towards Phee just in time to see her nod in acknowledgement. You rolled your eyes, closing the distance between you and Hunter and grabbing his wrist again. His eyes flicked back to yours. “Promise me you’ll come home.” You said softly.
Hunter swallowed slowly, frowning slightly. “You know I can’t make that promise.”
Tears welled in your eyes and you forced them not to fall. “I said promise.”
Hunter’s resolve seemed to crack. He raised his hand, gently caressing your cheek. Your heart started to pound in your ears, but you heard his next words. “Okay. I promise.”
“Hunter! Are you coming?” Wrecker’s voice broke the moment and you both stumbled away from each other. He nodded at you once before turning and leaving.
“Did you hear a single word I just said?” Phee’s voice interrupted your train of thought, and your eyes snapped over to where she was. She shook her head, a small smile on her face. “If he makes it back-”
“When.” You interrupted, crossing your arms over your chest.
“ When he makes it back, you need to tell him how you feel.” She said, her smile growing when your face flushed red.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You rambled. “We’re just friends and I’m just worried because we’re friends. I don’t have other feelings. I’m serious.” Phee laughed.
“Sure you don’t.” She said, “And I mean it. You have to tell him. I’m tired of watching the two of you pine after each other. It's sickening the way he looks at you.” She said, though the grin on her face didn’t match her words.
You rolled your eyes. “We’re just friends, Phee.” You said again, not even believing the lie yourself.
Hours later, you had finally sat down as exhaustion took over. You were closing your eyes when your comm beeped on the table beside you. Your eyes shot open, grabbing it and pressing the button to accept the call.
"Is everyone okay?" You asked immediately, your heart rate picking up as you waited for a response. You heard the breathy laugh that Hunter let out before he responded.
"It's good to hear your voice." He said softly, your face flushing slightly at his words. "We're on our way back right now." You straightened in your seat. "All of us."
You let out a sigh of relief, a sob making its way up and out of you. "Thank the Maker." You said quietly after a long moment. "Hunter. I-" There was a loud noise on the other side of the comm and you went quiet, scared something had happened.
"Everything is alright." Hunter assured you. "I'll talk to you when we land."
When their ship entered Pabu's atmosphere, you quickly made your way to the landing pad. The ramp lowered and Omega ran out, straight towards you.
You picked her up, hugging her fiercely. You squeezed your eyes shut, breathing in and out slowly as tears coated your cheeks. "I'm so glad you're okay." You said softly, pulling away just far enough to see her face.
She grinned at you as you set her back down. You looked up, your eyes landing on Crosshair. And more importantly, the hand he now appeared to be missing.
"Oh, Crosshair." You said softly, approaching him. He tensed, but didn't push you away when you wrapped your arms around him. First time for everything, I guess . You thought to yourself.
After a few more seconds you pulled away, smiling at him one more time. You turned and your eyes found him, already looking at you with a small smile on his face.
You walked towards him, grinning. "Hey." You said as you stopped in front of him.
"Hey," He replied, looking down at you with the same look that he regularly wore when meeting your eyes.
"You came home." You added, tears beginning to well up in your eyes once again.
Hunter's smile widened. "Well, I had to. You made me promise, remember?"
Your eyes flicked down to his smile and in that moment you remember Phee’s words. Meeting his eyes again, you silently gathered the courage to tell him.
"I love you." He beat you to it, and your heart rate increased as you stared at him with wide eyes. His eyes were wide as well, as if he hadn’t meant to blurt the sentiment out in such an abrupt way.
Before you could stop yourself, you grabbed his shoulders and pulled him towards you. Your mouth found his and his hands immediately found your face. The soldier’s hands gently held you as if you were the most precious thing he had ever touched.
When you finally pulled away from each other, you looked up at him with the brightest smile that had ever graced your lips.
“I love you too.”