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Crosshair stumbled forward, trying hard to stay upright as he sluggishly moved through the dense jungle he found himself in. He groaned, trying to ignore the pounding in his head. His whole body ached; his stomach swirled with nausea. He paused for a moment to rest against a tree, panting hard as sweat dripped down his forehead.
He was so hot. This jungle was sweltering, the heat boring down on him and making his clothes stick to his skin, but it was better here than back there. His eyes drooped closed as he tried to remember what there even was. It took him a moment to recall how the prison transport he was on had landed, and he had taken the opportunity to run as fast as he could, quickly losing any guards that followed him. Where had they come from anyway?
Tantiss. He finally remembered, a faint flaring pain in his neck reminding him of why he had run away in the first place. But he wasn’t much better here, not without gear or any knowledge of what this planet even was.
At least I’m not cuffed. He thought, looking down at his shaking hands. The heat continued to suffocate him as he pushed off the tree. He staggered, the nausea overwhelming him for a moment before he pressed on.
It probably wasn’t a good sign that his memory was starting to waver, along with his strength. His breathing became more labored, his vision growing blurry. He had to keep going. He couldn’t-wouldn’t be found. He stopped as he began to feel bile rise in his throat. He lifted a hand to the back of his forehead as he tried to push it back down. It felt hot, everything felt hot. Like he was burning from the inside out.
I don’t… feel good. He thought dimly as he fell to his knees and vomited.
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It was cool out, Hunter thought as he walked through the jungle. He stepped over twisted roots and tall grasses as he led the way back to the Marauder. Phee had heard of a treasure hidden deep in a temple somewhere within the wilds of this planet and had asked them to check it out, but it turned out to be a bust. They’d hidden when they saw an Imperial ship landing, but now they were headed back to their ship after hearing it leave.
Wasn’t all bad though. This place was nice, and it gave them an opportunity to get off planet. Behind him, the rest of the batch tramped on, with Tech rambling about the native species of the planet and Omega was half-listening as she looked around the jungle. Hunter took a deep breath, happy to smell something other than sea-salt, when he caught something else.
He stopped, sniffing the air. It smelled different from the jungle, and it was taking him some time to figure out what it was. The others had taken notice and stopped behind him, instantly becoming alert to their surroundings.
“Something wrong?” Echo asked.
“Someone’s nearby.” Hunter replied, hand resting on his holster. “But something’s off. They smell… weird. Awful really, but it’s not natural. I’m going to check it out.”
“Careful.” Echo warned as Hunter stepped quietly off the trail, following the scent. He snuck forward, listening closely. He drew his blaster as he heard a faint heartbeat ahead of him and caught the scent of something else that made his nose wrinkle. He got an answer for what the smell was as he heard someone retching as he got closer. He stood up, holstering his weapon as he realized whoever it was most likely wasn’t in a condition to fight and sounded like they needed help.
He reached the sounds of retching and coughing and stopped as he saw a figure bent over. They slowly staggered up, wiping their face as they turned around. Hunter gave a short gasp, recognizing the short gray hair and the lithe figure, the tattoo around one of the hazy eyes of his brother.
“Crosshair?” he said.
There was no reply, as Crosshair’s eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed.
“Kark!” Hunter cursed as he rushed forward, catching him before he hit the ground. His clothes were damp with sweat, the smell of sickness assaulting Hunter’s senses. He tried to ignore it as he checked over his brother’s unconscious form. Pressing a hand to the left side of his neck to time his vitals, he pulled it away to see the area red and irritated, a few needle marks dotted over his skin. His anxiety steadily growing, he pressed a hand to his brother’s forehead, cursing again at the high temperature.
Fever. That was a bad sign. Clones didn’t often get fevers, on account of their genetically high body temperature and improved immune system. But when they did, it was hard for them to withstand it, and it was often dangerous too as they could overheat. And Crosshair’s skin was on fire. Here he was, in the jungle, with a fever.
Thinking quickly, Hunter scooped his brother up into his arms and hurried back the short distance to the others. They were all shocked to see him as he ran back into view carrying Crosshair, Omega and Echo both asking him what happened.
“He was stumbling around. Found him just before he passed out.” Hunter panted. “He’s sick, high fever.”
Tech immediately ran over, his face creased with worry as he checked over his brother.
“We must get him to the Marauder and leave. Now.” He said as he called for Wrecker to take Crosshair.
“What is he doing out here?” Echo asked as they began to run back to the ship.
“Don’t know. Probably was on that transport we heard landing.” Hunter panted, picking up speed as the ship came into view.
“Why did he leave the ship? Considering the state he’s in, it’s a miracle he’s even made it this far.” Echo continued as the ramp lowered with a hiss.
“We’ll focus on the implications of Crosshair’s presence after we get him stabilized.” Tech cut in, helping Wrecker to place Crosshair on a bunk and pulling out their IV kit.
Echo rushed forward into the cockpit to take off, Omega and Wrecker gathering blankets and clothes for Crosshair.
Hunter looked over his brother, pressing a hand to his forehead again to check his temperature. It felt hotter somehow, his hand moving to gently brush through his brother’s sweaty curls as Crosshair let out a small whine. How long had he been like this? How did he get sick, why was he on the planet in the first place? Why did the Empire leave him behind?
Hunter tried to steady himself as Tech inserted the IV into Crosshair’s elbow, affixing the bag on the designated hook.
It’s fine. He’ll be fine. Hopefully, this was the highest his fever will get.
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Hunter was wrong. Very wrong.
As the days passed, Crosshair only got worse. He was still conscious, but not entirely lucid as he moaned and curled into the blankets. They tried to keep the room cool to lower his temperature, but Crosshair continued to wrap himself up, mumbling that he was cold. Tech had quarantined Crosshair at first, much to the dismay of everyone else until he concluded that whatever Crosshair had, it wasn’t contagious.
“This is still concerning.” Tech had said, his brows furrowed as he checked over his records. “I have no clear match to whatever he has based on his symptoms. Any sickness with this high a fever is usually extremely contagious, yet it is not. It will make it more difficult to create medicine to combat this if I cannot find out what this is.”
Hunter had put his hand on Tech’s shoulder. “You’ll find a way.” He reassured him. “He’ll be fine.”
Hunter now sat next to Crosshair’s bed, holding a bucket as his brother vomited into it. Every time they tried to get some food into him, solid or not, it always came back up. This only added to his brother’s weakness, now he was barely able to sit up. They had moved the bucket to the bed after Hunter had walked in on Crosshair attempting to walk back from the bathroom after throwing up. He’d only gotten three steps away before crumpling to the ground, Hunter catching and carrying him the rest of the way back to the bed with Crosshair mumbling deliriously.
Crosshair coughed as he finished retching, Hunter passing him some water to drink. Hunter guided him back down, wetting the towel they had for him and pressing it to his forehead again. Anxiety gnawed at him as his brother sighed at the cool touch. He’d been like this for four days, and there was no sign of improvement.
He leaned back, only to be startled upright as Tech ran in, the others following behind him. He was clutching a datapad, no doubt having finally found out whatever it was Crosshair had caught. The relief he felt was quickly squashed as he caught a look at his brother’s grim face.
“It’s engineered.” He spoke, voice thin.
“What?” Hunter asked.
“The virus. What he has is not naturally occurring. It is a biologically engineered pathogen designed to afflict the victim with a very high fever and intense nausea.” Tech continued, the rest of the batch’s fear spiking as he spoke.
“The transport.” Echo said, his face forming into a scowl. “He wasn’t a guard; he was a prisoner. He being tested on.”
Tech nodded. “Most likely. According to his current state, Crosshair has been afflicted with this for not more than a week at most.”
Wrecker’s eyes widened. “It’s not even that long! How the kriff is he in this state?”
“I believe our genetically higher body temperatures has sped up the effects of the virus, causing him to enter into later stages.”
Crosshair interrupted them with loud coughing, his body shuddering as he did. The attention of the group was momentarily focused on him until the fit subsided. Wrecker walked over to gently rub his brother’s head, pulling out Lula to rest her on his chest.
“But now you can make medicine for this, right?” Omega asked. “To help him get better?”
“Yes, I can, and it should take me about one or two days to prepare it. Except…”
Tech’s face fell, worry intensifying to the point of actual fear flashing across his face.
“I am not sure that will be enough time.”
“What do you mean?” Echo asked.
“The virus…was intended to kill whoever was infected with it. First by causing a high fever, and then inflicting them with severe nausea, preventing them from being able to gain the required nutrients to fight off the infection, making them too weak to purge the body of the virus.” The room fell silent as he finished, Omega letting out a small gasp.
Nobody spoke, all their eyes resting on Crosshair’s chest as it slowly rose and fell.
“How long?” Hunter asked, his voice quiet.
“The original intended timespan was four weeks. But with his higher natural body temperature…”
“I fear he may not make it within the next few days.”
Hunter tossed and turned in his bed, senses on high alert as he listened to his brother’s ragged breathing next door.
He’d gotten worse, much worse. Just as Tech said.
Just the day after Tech had told them about the real intentions of the virus, Crosshair had fallen asleep and hadn’t woken up, his body too weak to even stay conscious. They were forced to resort to keeping him hydrated with an IV line. This only fueled Tech’s attempts to find a cure, but he hadn’t had much luck yet. It was stressing him out, they were all stressed out. Their brother was dying for fuck’s sake, and they couldn’t do anything.
Hunter shot up from his bed as he heard his brother’s heartbeat quicken, small whimpers quiet to others but painfully loud in his ears. He climbed out, making the quick distance from his room to Crosshair’s, easing the door open. He saw his brother, weakly attempting to twist from side to side.
Nightmare. And he wasn’t even strong enough to wake up from it. Hunter sighed as he walked up to his brother’s bed, crouching down to gently scrape his nails across his scalp.
“It’s ok.” He murmured to him, hoping his brother could hear his attempts at comfort. “You’re ok you’re fi-” He stopped. That was a lie. “It’s just a dream.” He said instead.
Crosshair’s face slackened, his breaths evening out to the ragged pace they had earlier. Hunter checked over the IV bag hanging nearby and gave a final rub to his brother’s head before getting up to leave. He stopped short after a few steps, feeling a hand weakly grab at his.
His head snapped back to see his brother’s eyes half-open, glazed over with fever and filled with tears.
“Please…” he rasped, finally speaking after two days of silence.
“Stay…”
Hunter immediately leaned forward, grasping his brother’s hand.
“I’m not going anywhere.” He assured his brother. “I’ll stay right here.”
Crosshair gave a small sigh, pulling Hunter’s hand to his scorching cheek. A few tears slipped through. He frowned slightly, leaning into Hunter’s palm.
“What’s wrong?” Hunter asked.
“m’cold.” Crosshair murmured, eyes drifting back closed as his grip began to go slack.
“Want me to warm you up?” Hunter asked. Probably wasn’t the best idea, hell it was probably the worst. But he’d do anything right now to ease his brother’s pain.
A sleepy nod was all he needed to slowly climb into bed, tucking his brother against his chest and wrapping them both in the covers. Crosshair’s body was damp, his entire body slick with sweat. Hunter held back a whine, trying to stay strong.
“m’sorry…” Crosshair whispered, barely audible.
“What?” Hunter asked.
“I’m sorry…for this.” Crosshair said again.
“For what?” Hunter asked again.
“For…not…being…strong enough.” His brother wheezed; words slurred from his feverish state. Hunter heard guilt clear in his voice, pulling back to see tears gathering in his brother’s eyes.
“What are you talking about? You are strong.” Where the kriff did this come from?
“It’s not your fault this virus was made to cause so much pain. You’re doing so well despite it too”
“Not…about…the fever.”
“What else then?”
“The…chip…”
Hunter’s body stiffened.
“wasn’t…strong enough…to…fight…it.”
“m’sorry…m’so sorry.” His brother’s voice grew thick as he repeated himself, tears beginning to run down his face.
The chip. He’d lied about removing it. Hunter’s mind began to race.
He had it the whole time. Was it still in there? Hunter looked over him, hurriedly brushing through his brother’s damp hair and managing to catch a glimpse of a small white surgery scar on the back of his head.
When did he get it removed? After Ryloth? After Saw? Or they left Kamino-
Hunter was pulled from his thoughts by his brother’s quiet sobs, still repeatedly apologizing.
“Please…don’t hate me.” He gasped out.
At this, Hunter wrapped his arms around Crosshair’s back and pulled him close. He brought his hands up to cradle his brother’s face.
“No, I don’t hate you Crosshair. I never could.” He said, voice quiet as he fought against the rapidly growing lump in his throat. Stars, how long had he spent with that thing in his head? What did it make him do? He gently brushed the tears trickling down Crosshair’s cheeks.
“But…the chip…”
“I don’t care.” Hunter was a little surprised to find that he meant those words.
“I don’t care about the chip, or about what you did. I don’t care about any of that. I just care about you, vod.”
Crosshair’s breath hitched.
“I’m the one who should be apologizing. I didn’t listen, I didn’t try to stop you or think about how wired it was for you to leave us. I-I just left you and I acted so badly towards you and I-I-”
His voice trembled, dropping his hands to pull Crosshair even closer to his chest.
“Fuck I just love you so much. So, fucking much.”
He buried his face into Crosshair’s shoulder, unable to stop his voice from breaking.
“And-and I didn’t help you then. And I can’t help you now. You’re dying and I can’t do anything-” he broke off with a choked sob.
“You mean it?” Crosshair whispered; his voice muffled by Hunter’s shoulder. “You…love me?”
“Yes. Of course I do.”
“I…love you too.”
He felt Crosshair smile against his shoulder, cuddling against it. They sat there, Hunter trying hard to keep himself together, as he had for this past week. Ever since he found his brother stumbling around, unable to keep himself upright. Ever since they left him on that platform on Kamino.
--
Crosshair smiled as he nuzzled closer to Hunter, eyes drifting closed as tears continued to fall.
He still loved him! Even after the chip, he still loved him!
He curled up against his brother, happier than he’d ever been in a while.
As he felt himself slowly slip towards sleep, he welcomed it. He was safe after all, in the arms of his vod who cared about him and loved him.
He doesn’t feel cold anymore and besides,
His brother is still going to be there when he wakes up. He won’t leave him again.
--
Hunter felt his brother go slack in his arms.
“Cross?” he whispered.
No reply, just more ragged breathing. Hunter pulled back to see his brother had fallen unconscious.
“Wake up. Come on. Please.”
Hunter’s breath hitched, curling around his brother, and resting his forehead on his shoulder.
“Please. I can’t lose you. Not again.” He pleaded.
Still nothing. At least he was breathing.
“I’ll stay.” He whispered, tears beginning to fall as he felt himself break.
“It’s all I can do. I’m sorry, Cross’ika. I’m so sorry.”
With that, he began to sob. He cried softly with his brother’s body in his arms, the only thing keeping him from losing it all was the weak heartbeat in his ears.
At some point, it was that heartbeat that lulled him to sleep.
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Light. Bright light. Shining past his eyelids and waking him up.
Hunter groaned slightly, blinking his eyes opened as they adjusted. He felt horrible, drenched in sweat and his eyes were puffy. Where was he anyway? As he finished blinking, he realized. It was Crosshair’s room.
Memories of last night flooded his head, causing his heart to double in speed. Crosshair’s delirious confession, how he’d gone limp in his arms. Not waking up no matter how much Hunter begged him to. The silence around him was replaced by the blood rushing in his ears. He could feel himself shaking. No. Please. Please just let that be a dream. He can’t be gone. Don’t let him be gone. Pleasepleasepleasepleasepl-
Something shifted in his arms.
What?
Hunter calmed his breathing. Slowly, and fearfully, he tuned out the thunder of his own heart to listen.
A heartbeat. Breathing. Much stronger than they were last night.
Alive
His brother was alive.
Hunter let out a breathless chuckle, lifting a hand to check his brother’s temperature. It quickly turned into a sob. His fever was broken. The sob intensified, as he began to outright cry with relief.
His brother was going to be ok.
He stayed there for a while, crying his eyes out again. He didn’t care how fragile he was. His brother was alive and breathing and he was going to be ok everything was going to be ok-
He sniffed, hearing quick footsteps down the hall. Several. He looked up as the door opened, the rest of the batch piling in with eyes much more alert than they should be this early in the morning. Tech was at the front, eyebags prominent from sleepless nights. He’d probably been awake the whole night. He was holding a small vial; he must have finally found the cure.
His hand was slack around it though, Hunter looking at his face to see eyes wide with shock and grief.
For a moment Hunter was confused, then he realized.
He was lying in bed, cradling Crosshair’s unresponsive body, with tears streaming down his face.
This looked horrible, didn’t it?
All it took though was a watery smile from Hunter and a moment for Tech to realize before the grief was replaced with surprise and relief as he rushed forward, placing a hand on Crosshair’s forehead. After checking to see that he was alive and not sick anymore, heh pulled the two of them into a tight hug, quickly joined by everyone else as they came to the same realization.
Crosshair’s ok.
He’s going to be ok.
-
Tech practically flew down the hallway, joined by his brothers and sister as he made a beeline for Crosshair’s room.
After three straight sleepless nights, he’d finally found a way to cure the fever his brother had. He just had to hope, as he reached the door and wrenched it open-
To find Hunter cradling Crosshair, his body limp and unmoving. Hunter’s face was shining with tears.
He felt his heart wrench in a horrible way, feeling as though someone had ripped right through it, leaving a large hole. His hand went slack around the vial. It didn’t matter anymore.
He was too late.
But just as he finished that thought, Hunter gave him a shaky smile. Tech was confused for a moment then realized.
He could hear someone else breathing.
He ran forward, the vial dropping to the ground as he shot out a hand to feel his brother’s temperature. A little warm, but drastically cooler than it had been over the course of his sickness. His fever had broken.
Tech pulled the two of them close, tears prickling at the back of his eyes. He felt the others join in, Wrecker letting out a happy cry as he pulled them all together.
Crosshair was alive.
He was going to be ok.
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“C’mon Cross, time to take your meds.”
“Ugh that shit is disgusting. Do I have to?”
Hunter sighed, handing his brother the cup.
“Just get it over with.”
Crosshair rolled his eyes, downing the medicine with a grimace.
“I’m so proud of you.” Hunter teased, Crosshair responding with a glare and a huff of annoyance. Hunter grabbed a brush and motioned for him to turn around. Crosshair turned, allowing him to brush through the knots in his hair.
Crosshair was much healthier; he hadn’t taken long to wake up after the day his fever broke. When he did, he was met with his brothers all crowding around him. He’d still been a little weak at first, but quickly recovered. Tech kept a close eye on him, monitoring everything he could to make sure the virus was purged from his system. He had explained his theory that with Hunter and Crosshair’s shared body heat, it was enough to finally kill the virus, allowing Crosshair’s body to rest and regain strength.
Hunter began to hum softly as he brushed, smiling when Crosshair closed his eyes and leaned back. His brother looked so much better now, his breaths now deep and slow.
Hunter’s thoughts wandered as he set the brush down and aimlessly ran his fingers through his brother’s hair. They hadn’t asked him about how he’d ended up on that planet, nor about the marks on his neck. They understood that whatever he’d been through, it wasn’t anything good and they didn’t want to upset him. But they had done some research, and it was hard, but they’d managed to find a few things out.
A recent memory surfaced in Hunter’s head.
*
Standing outside of a cell, they were talking with Rex. They’d found another transport ship like the one that Crosshair had escaped from and managed to slip a tracker on it. They discovered a top-secret lab facility called Tantiss, no doubt where Crosshair had been taken to. Further investigation revealed that plenty of other clones were being held there as well, that being enough incentive for Rex to plan an invasion. With the help of a mole from the inside, the operation had gone smoothly.
Hunter turned as he heard someone approaching.
“Tantiss remains responsive to the Empire’s transmissions.” She said, coming to a stop alongside the rest of them.
“The Empire will not suspect for a little while, and when they do find out, there will be nothing of value for them to acquire.”
Echo nodded. “Good. Should give us an opportunity to take a closer look at how the Empire operates. See if we can learn a few more of their secrets.”
Hunter’s head turned as he heard a small moan from the cell. He looked in to see the man inside curled up on the floor, shaking. Sweat wafted out from the room.
“How long’s he got?” Hunter asked, his voice cold.
“About three more weeks.” Emerie replied, sparing a quick glance at him.
A sense of vicious pleasure rolled through Hunter’s gut as he watched Hemlock writhe on the floor of the cell.
He wouldn’t last that long, but he’d like to see him try.
*
Hunter was brought back to the present by Crosshair shifting. Hunter was sitting on the bed with Crosshair on the floor, head still in between his hands. Hunter resumed running his fingers through his hair, pushing that memory to the back of his head.
“Hey Cross.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you…remember anything?” Hunter asked hesitantly, looking down at his brother’s face. “When you were sick, I mean.”
Crosshair hummed thoughtfully, racking his brain. Faint memories of aching and exhaustion floated through his mind, with only one or two strong enough to picture clearly. The rest felt like a collection of bad dreams.
“Not much.” He said finally. “I remember seeing you in that jungle, and Tech urging me to stay awake so I could eat something. Other than that, everything else is a blur.”
Hunter nodded. “Makes sense. You were out of it. Never saw you that sick before.”
“Whenever you were awake, you would complain about being cold and aching all over. When you were asleep, you’d toss and turn from nightmares.”
“Eventually though, you fell asleep…and didn’t wake up for a while.” Hunter’s voice grew quiet, the memory of trying to wake his brother up to no avail still fresh in his mind.
“It got worse after that. You only woke up after I came in one night to help you through a nightmare.”
“Tech told me.” Crosshair said softly. “Said you climbed into bed with me and slept there the whole night and how it probably saved my life.”
Hunter gave a small chuckle. “Yeah. Scared me half to death though. You were barely able to understand, shivering and shaking like a leaf.”
Hunter leaned over, pressing his face into his brother’s hair. His breathing began to quicken.
“You were in so much pain, I couldn’t do anything.” His words were muffled by his brother’s hair.
Crosshair lifted a hand to grasp Hunter’s own, rubbing it gently with his thumb. Hunter steadied himself, taking a deep breath.
“You…mentioned something. Apologized for it actually.”
“What?”
“The chip.”
Crosshair’s body stiffened as he inhaled sharply. Hunter heard his heartbeat pick up. They stayed silent.
“How long?” Hunter asked gently.
“Had it removed after Bracca.” Crosshair replied.
Hunter set his cheek against Crosshair’s head. He rubbed his brother’s hand, saying nothing. The whole time ever since they separated, even before that, Crosshair had his chip activated.
“I know I lied.” Crosshair said, his voice shaking a bit. “I was just so angry at you, for leaving me behind. I know you couldn’t have known about the chip then, but you still left me there.”
“And I did so many horrible things, and you still came to save me, and I lied to you and I’m so sorry- “
“Crosshair.”
Crosshair’s mouth snapped shut, his hand slowly falling to his lap. He looked up guiltily at him.
Hunter sighed, pulling his brother up onto the bed and into a gentle hug.
“I don’t care anymore.” He said. Crosshair’s breath hitched quietly.
“Then why’d you ask?”
Hunter shrugged. “Just wanted to know I guess.”
Crosshair pulled back, his face in an angry scowl.
“Seriously?”
Hunter smirked. “Yeah.”
Crosshair frowned deeper.
“Since when did you stop caring about it then?”
“When I found you half out of your mind with fever in that jungle.”
Crosshair’s face softened, his eyes looking away.
“But honestly? I stopped caring about the chip way before that. Back on that platform on Kamino.”
Crosshair’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked back at him.
“I was hurt yes, but I really wanted to take you with us, despite it all.” Hunter continued, now being the one to break eye contact as he looked down. “And I wish I had. That’s my fault, for leaving you behind. Both times. And I’m sorry for that.”
“And you almost died because of it.” He said, voice wavering as he did.
He slowly brought his hand up behind his brother’s head, gently pushing their foreheads together.
“And I’m not going to make that mistake ever again.” he said, finally pulling his eyes up to meet Crosshair’s.
“I care about you, Crosshair. I always have. From the very beginning. And I promise that I will never stop.” He whispered.
“Okay?”
Crosshair nodded, a film of tears over his eyes. Hunter pulled the two of them in for another hug, just holding each other for a while as they rode through their emotions.
-
The batch were all curled up on the floor, blankets and pillows gathered to make one large bed. Tech and Echo had finished setting up an old projector they had from their cadet days.
It was playing one of Crosshair’s favorite movies, a musical about teen natborns navigating through high school. When Omega mentioned how fun it looked, Tech reflexively quipped about how it was very unlikely high school was like that, and it was mostly likely just listening to lectures and watching presentations. Crosshair scoffed but smiled fondly at his brother.
Crosshair had always enjoyed musicals; he loved the dramatic acting and the catchy songs. He was already humming along as the male lead sang about keeping his head in the game. He began to sing along as the leads broke into one of his favorite songs, a duet about breaking free from expectations.
As the movie eventually came to its final number, he sleepily mumbled along. When the credits began to roll, Hunter felt him slump against his shoulder, dozing softly. Hunter smiled, shifting as the batch all scooted together in one big pile with Crosshair at the center.
They all drifted off to sleep together, taking comfort in surrounding one another and basking in warmth and safety.