Work Text:
“Look!” Crosshair dropped something on the table. His eyes were sparkling and he looked a little too excited for Tech’s liking.
“What is it?” Hunter asked, strolling over. Instead of explaining, Crosshair flipped open the lid of the small box.
“Is that-” “That’s a tattoo gun,” Tech interrupted Hunter, matter of factly. “Where did you get that?” Crosshair grinned brightly. “Some of the older clones got a new one and were giving that away!” Tech frowned. He knew that his brothers were eager to get tattoos themselves. They had talked about this plenty of times, even had some of the first sketches. He was still a bit sceptical, though he of course couldn’t deny the appeal of it. “So, who is first?” Crosshair asked.
“No one. You need to practice first and you are not gonna do that on one of us.”
Crosshair scowled. “I can draw!”
“I know, but you don’t know the feel of the tattoo gun.” Tech gently picked it up and weighed it in his hand. It was heavier than expected.
“And where do I test it if not on Hunter?” “Hey!”
That was a good question. Tech hummed. “Maybe we can get some of the synth skin the medics use?” he suggested after a moment. That seemed to be the most reasonable solution.
“Fine,” Crosshair growled, snatching the tattoo gun out of his hand, turning it around to have a better look. “But only if we get it soon.”
Of course he would be impatient now. Tech sighed. “I’ll try my best. You can research how to use this in the meantime. And pick your first … victim.” Victim seemed to be the most appropriate word for it, really.
“Oh, it’s gonna be Hunter.” Crosshair was so casual about it, examining the rest of the parts in the case. There were different inks and some spare needles. Tech made a mental list of what else to get. Gauze, disinfectant, the right soap … He wasn’t sure if the others were aware of how much it took to safely tattoo someone - they hadn’t really learned from the failed attempt when Crosshair had used a normal needle, trying to tattoo his arm. But that was Tech’s job, making sure they all knew what to do and could do it safely, wasn’t it?
While it was not always easy to get into the med bay without reason he had found out that it was easy enough to steal things there. That’s how he stocked up their sizable first aid kit, meaning that his brothers and him would have to go to the med bay to get injuries treated less. They already had to endure enough experiments, if he could spare them more time here, he would. That’s also how he and Crosshair had ended up listening in to advanced medic training more than once from a spot in the vents Crosshair had found. His brother was almost as proficient in it as him in these cases, so he couldn’t believe what he found when he got back.
Hunter was lying on his bunk on his stomach, Crosshair, tattoo gun in hand, sitting on him. Both flinched when Tech snapped at them. “What did I just tell you?”
“It’ll only be a small one.”
Tech huffed and was over at Hunter’s bunk in three big strides, snatching the tattoo gun out of Crosshair's hand. “No.”
He carried it back to the table, a pouting Crosshair trailing behind him.
“First of all, you have to disinfect the equipment and the spot you want to tattoo and secondly, I told you to practice.” “But that’s gonna take forever,” Crosshair protested, watching Tech unload all the stuff he had stolen from the pouches he had taken to wearing. And they had teased him that they looked dumb.
“This can have serious consequences. Allergic reactions, skin inflammation, blood-borne diseases. You don’t want to have to explain that to the Kaminoans, do you?”
Crosshair was staring at him but bit back whatever he was about to say.
“Fine,” he drawled, picking up the patches of synth skin Tech had picked up. “But I think this is stupid.”
Tech shrugged and sorted through their new supplies, packing a little pouch with the necessary things to keep with their tattoo kit. Maybe he should write down the care instructions too, so they would remember. He knew his brothers a little too well.
That night, they ended up sitting next to each other, Tech working on the instructions and telling Crosshair everything about the process of tattooing and taking care of the tattoo after he had read, and Crosshair trying out the tattoo gun until late in the night, until Hunter threw a pillow at them and told them to go to sleep.
“Stop hovering.” “I’m not hovering.”
Crosshair glared at him, and with a huff Tech backed off a little.
“Stop making him nervous,” Hunter mumbled. He was lying on his stomach again. Crosshair had transferred a small stencil to his skin which he had prepared and disinfected under Tech’s watchful eye. It was a simple “H”. Hunter had accepted being the first victim and they had chosen something easy to draw and easy to cover up if necessary, although Crosshair had already shown off how skilled he was on the synth skin. It looked so easy when he had done it, even the more difficult illustrations came out great. But, as close as synth skin was to human skin, it was not the same, and Tech would rather play it safe than, well, fuck it up.
“C’mon,” Hunter nudged. “Before I fall asleep here.”
Crosshair took a breath and set on to tattoo the outline.
“Ow!” Hunter yelped and jerked away when the needle connected with his skin.
“Stay still!” Crosshair snarled, trying to keep Hunter still with his second hand, but it was too late already. The movement had jerked the tattoo gun around and there was a small line where it wasn’t supposed to be.
“We can cover that up,” Tech said.
“You need to keep still!” Crosshair complained, scowling at the line.
“Well, it hurts more than I expected!” Hunter complained, turning his head. “Is it bad?”
“Nothing we can’t fix,” Crosshair mumbled. Tech was pleased to notice him disinfecting the needle again, and gently dabbing the stencil away to set it in another angle that would cover up the accidental line perfectly fine.
“Now you better don’t move or I’ll have Wrecker sit on you,” Crosshair threatened before trying again. This time, it went way better, even though Hunter still tried to squirm a little, they were prepared. Tech ended up sitting at Hunter’s head, a heavy hand on his shoulder and the other petting through his hair.
Watching Crosshair tattoo was kinda adorable, Tech had to admit. He kept sticking his tongue out in concentration, like everyone else always claimed Tech did when he was concentrated. (Which he didn’t, of course).
It took a little longer than both would have wanted to admit, but in the end, it came out great. The lines were straight and crips, the space filled in neatly and it barely looked patchy.
“See, practicing paid off,” Tech said when he helped Crosshair wrap up the tattoo. “Now, Hunter, keep that on for 24 hours and then-”
Hunter groaned and buried his head in his arms. “You’ve told me three times already, I think I remember how to take care of it.”
Tech let out an offended hmph but still finished his lecture. You could never be too careful. He was only glad it was out of reach of Hunter’s tongue, or he would probably have tried to lick it.
It still got infected. Of course it did. Tech griped about it and hunted him down three times a day to remind him to put on the antibiotic cream he had stolen from the Kaminoas, then held another impromptu lecture of how important it was to take care of your tattoo.
He was aware that only Wrecker was listening attentively.
Tech had expected them to get more tattoos more quickly, but now with the prospect of it, none of them could decide what exactly they wanted to have on their body. What they all agreed on was their skull symbol Wrecker and Crosshair had designed ages ago and that they had painted on their armor. But everything else was up for debate and it kept changing again and again. Their table was riddled with nothing else but designs these days.
It got Tech thinking too, about what he wanted. He had never really had the urge to get tattoos, but seeing their designs sparked some interest. Perhaps one day.
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?” Crosshair scowled at him and lowered the tattoo gun. He had chosen a spot around his eye for a kriffing crosshair tattoo.
“It looks like you are trying to fuck up your eye.”
Crosshair huffed. “What, are you gonna tell me that it’s too dangerous?”
“Well, yes, that too, but I’m gonna tell you that you can’t do this yourself.”
“Well, there is no one else and I’m not gonna be the only one without tattoos!”
Tech stepped closer, being met with Crosshair standing steadfast and not backing up from the mirror. But he let Tech gently take the tattoo gun from his hand.
“Did you disinfect everything?” he asked, checking the settings on the gun, pleased to find them perfectly fine.
“Of course,” Crosshair growled. “What are you doing?”
Tech hummed and pushed Crosshair back. “I was aware that tattooing yourself would be hard. I practiced too, so you wouldn’t end up with wonky lines, or accidentally hurting yourself. Now sit down,” Tech said, pushing against his chest insistently. Crosshair blinked at him in surprise but complied. “You practised? For me?”
“Of course.” Was that hard to understand? Instead of saying more, Tech sat down in Crosshair’s lap, grabbing his chin with one hand. “Now, hold still. This is a delicate spot.” He watched Crosshair close his eyes, pushing slightly into his hand and going still.
Tattooing real skin was definitely different from the synth one and maybe Tech should have picked an easier spot for his first tattoo, but there was no backing off now. Crosshair released a soft hiss at the first contact and Tech tightened his grip to stop him from jerking away, focusing on his work. Where Crosshair’s lines were more delicate, his were a bit heavier. Tech was aware that Crosshair’s tattoos would look a little different from theirs and he just hoped his twin would be fine with that.
When he was finished, he leaned back, admiring his work. Crosshair’s eyes fluttered open and their gaze met. The movement drew another soft hiss from him.
“It’s gonna hurt for a few days,” Tech said, tilting Crosshair’s head to have a better look. It didn’t look bad. But for some reason, suddenly Tech felt a little self conscious.
“Is it okay?” he asked, moving out of the way so Crosshair could see himself in the mirror.
He started fidgeting with the tattoo gun when Crosshair didn’t say anything, only kept looking at his reflection. Had he fucked up? He probably could figure out how to do a laser removal, or cover it or-
“It’s perfect,” Crosshair said quietly and smiled at Tech. “Thank you.” He gently knocked their foreheads together and Tech released a breath that he didn’t know he was holding.
"Next time I want to tattoo an easier spot," Tech muttered, which got a snort out of Crosshair.
"I don't know." Wrecker fidgeted, staring at the tattoo gun unconvinced. He had never been good with needles.
"You don't have to," Crosshair said, gentler than Tech would have ever expected.
"No no, I want to just … uhm."
"It's gonna hurt a little," Hunter said. He was still trying to lift the gauze to inspect his own skull tattoo, but stopped once Tech scowled at him.
"The biceps is one of the areas where it will hurt the least," Tech explained. Wrecker nodded, still not 100 % convinced.
"You don't have to do this, and you can tell me to stop whenever you need to, okay?” Crosshair stressed again. Now both of them looked insecure. Hunter and Tech exchanged a look and Hunter sighed, moving to Wrecker's other side. "I will be right here the whole time," he promised. Tech got comfortable behind Wrecker and leaned against him, picking up his datapad.
"I can read something to you, as a distraction," he offered. Slowly, Wrecker relaxed between them.
"Yeah, okay."
"If it's too boring I will fall asleep," Crosshair warned.
"Of course not. It's about proton torpedoes."
"Boooring!" Crosshair complained, but that didn't stop Tech from starting to read.
"That wasn't so bad," Wrecker said, also picking at the gauze and getting slapped by Tech.
"You need to keep it covered. "
"I know, but I wanted to see it again."
"You can see it in 24 hours, now stop." He glared at Wrecker, and then Hunter for good measure, before Crosshair nudged him.
"So, are you ready for your first tattoo?" he asked with a grin. "Where do you want it?"
"Same as Wrecker", Tech decided, sitting down. It would hurt the least, probably, and it was his first tattoo too, and he wasn't as stupid as Crosshair to get the first one in his face, thank you very much.
Crosshair nodded and got to work.
Crosshair rolled his shoulders and yawned. It almost made Tech yawn too, but he managed to suppress it, for now.
"I don't think we should do your tattoo today," Tech sighed. Crosshair made a whining complaining noise, but it died down when Tech leaned against him, finally yawning too.
"Mhm, okay," Crosshair said, putting everything away so he could drag Tech up and over to where Wrecker and Hunter had already started a cuddle pile on the floor.
"But we'll do it tomorrow."
"Promise," Tech said and yawned again.
"So, where do you want your skull?" Tech asked the next day. Crosshair smirked and pulled out a design that made Tech almost back down.
"On my back," Crosshair explained, holding it up.
"That's … a lot." Tech studied the design. Wings, with the skull in the middle. They didn't look easy and it was a big tattoo, too.
Crosshair only shrugged and began taking off his upper blacks. “Not that much. It’s mostly outline, so,” he casually said. “And I know you can do it.”
Tech was not as sure as Crosshair. But who else could do it? There was no one they could really go to, not right now. And he had promised.
“But don’t complain if it doesn’t come out as you want it to.”
“Nah, it will be perfect, I know it.” He flashed Tech a grin, who rolled his eyes in response.
“Now, how do you want me?”
Tech almost slapped him but then pointed to a bunk.
“Get on your stomach, let’s get this over with.”
It was not the process of tattooing that Tech was unsure about, not even that the result would be good. He had practiced enough, he was confident in his abilities and this was a way better spot for a tattoo than Crosshair’s face. But there was always the nagging question if Crosshair would like it. Art was subjective and Tech hadn’t done the designs, so it wasn’t his style - it was bound to look different. And -
“Stop overthinking,” Crosshair said.
“I’m not overthinking.”
“I can hear it.”
“That’s impossible. No one can hear thoughts. Except maybe the jedi? There have been reports about them mind reading but it’s not clear if it’s a general vibe or thoughts, especially since we don’t even know if everyone thinks the same way. Some people might think in pictures while others think in sentences.” He lost himself in the explanation while doing the tattoo, and only later realized that it was exactly what Crosshair had wanted. Tech had heard a lot of times that he could multitask while talking, but it had never been used in a positive setting. Now it was providing a pleasant background noise for both him and Crosshair to focus on, and make that experience easier on them. Huh. That was a whole new angle on himself.
Tech finished the last line and sat back. It looked … good. He was satisfied. Now only Crosshair needed to be too.
“Want to have a look?” Tech asked, making space for him to get up. Crosshair hummed and carefully stood, walking over to the mirror. He craned his neck, looking at them.
“It turned out great,” he said, with a happy smile. Tech smiled back.
He had been gone for a two-day exercise. Alone. He was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. Instead, he found an even bigger headache and almost gave in to the urge to turn around on his heel.
“What. Is this," he asked exasperated. All three of them looked up at him with big eyes.
"Oh, you're back already,” was the only thing Crosshair managed to say.
"Already?! I'm late!"
"Hmm," Crosshair turned away and ignored him again, continuing what he had been doing.
Wrecker was looking anywhere but him and Hunter - well Hunter had better things to do than talk right now - like staying still while Crosshair tattooed his face. Which was not the reason Tech was almost freaking out. The rest of Hunter's body though - ... well. That was a different story. While Crosshair was tattooing a kriffing skull on half his face right now, he had done the matching skeleton on the rest of his body in the last two days Tech had been gone. How he had managed that, he had no idea. Probably caf and very little sleep, which was absolutely not advisable for both of them. On Hunter’s chest, Tech spotted an anatomically correct heart under the ribcage tattoo that had all of their names on it. Alone that must have taken hours. He was exasperated.
"What are you doing?" he tried again.
"Hunter wanted another tattoo," Wrecker said. Yeah, he could see that.
"And this was spontaneous?"
The way that Crosshair ducked his head a little told him that, no, this had been planned. Tech sighed.
"You know that you break up such a big tattoo in parts so that the body can recover?"
"Then we’d never get it done," Crosshair huffed.
You can't just do half of Hunter’s front-"
"And back!" Wrecker helpfully - unhelpfully - supplied, and Tech had to squeeze his eyes closed.
"You know what, I don't care but I'm not going to help when it gets infected." With that, he stalked over to his bunk and stripped his armor, then threw himself down and pulled his pillow over his head. "I can't believe I can't leave you alone for two days," he muttered. At least he was tired enough to almost conk out immediately.
He woke up a few hours later to some commotion. Grumbling and stifling a yawn, he pulled the pillow off his face and sat up. The room was dimly lit. Wrecker and Crosshair were piled on the floor in what couldn't possibly be a comfy position.
Hunter was over by the window, pressing his face against the glass and probably the reason Tech had woken. He sighed and rolled out of bed, heading over."What’s wrong?” he mumbled, looking down at his older brother. He noticed the small shivers going down his body.
“Hunter. Are you okay?” The question was unnecessary but Tech knew better than to jump in. Hunter sighed and slightly shook his head.
“Hot,” he muttered.
“You look more cold,” Tech said, gently reaching out to touch Hunter’s forehead. It was warm to the touch, too warm for Tech’s liking. Great, this was exactly what he didn’t want to happen. He made a displeased sound and went to retrieve the thermometer.
“You’re running a fever,” he told Hunter after a few seconds. “Come on, let’s get you to your bunk.”
He gently tugged at Hunter’s arm to make him get up and then suddenly found himself supporting almost all his weight. Hunter groaned. “Everything’s spinning.” “Great,” Tech muttered to himself and dragged Hunter to his bunk, carefully helping him down. “Try to stay sitting, I will get you some water and antibiotics. Do you need painkillers too?” He probably did. Hunter only nodded meekly.
Tech shortly returned with some supplies, waiting for Hunter to swallow the pills before giving him a cold pack and sitting down.
“Come on.” He patted the space beside him, letting Hunter get comfortable with his head pillowed in his lap. He made some distressed noises and Tech sighed again.
“That’s what happens when you overdo it,” he softly explained, while petting Hunter’s hair. He didn’t need a lecture now, but Tech still wanted him to know what was going on. “Your body is fighting all the ink, and probably got an infection too. It will pass, but it will take time.”
Hunter made another distressed sound but slowly calmed down a little and ultimately fell asleep. Tech let himself relax too then. It would take some days and he knew exactly who he would commandeer to make sure Hunter stayed put - a sick Hunter was not a pleasant Hunter to be around. He just hoped that it was a lesson learned.
They had finally gotten to ditch their training armor for normal armor and had all taken to painting it. Of course their skull had to be implemented in some form, but Tech had taken some … liberties. But he liked how the design came out. Liked it so much that he got Crosshair to tattoo it on his chest.
A few hours later, Crosshair approached him. His new helmet was matching his crosshair tattoo. He picked up Tech’s helmet and looked at the design. It was clear that he wanted something, but didn’t know what to say. Well, Tech could be patient.
“Y’know. I really like your skull here,” he finally said and set the helmet down again. “Thank you. I worked hard on that design.” He made a surprised sound when Crosshair climbed in his lap, but wrapped his arms around him.
“I wonder how it will be on the battlefield.” “More exciting than here, I hope. I want to see the planets.” Crosshair smiled at that. “I hope we get the opportunity to watch the stars.”
Tech nodded. Yeah, he would like that too.
“Y’know, I was thinking … maybe I could get that skull too? As a tattoo … y’know, like, twin stuff?”
Tech was taken aback a little. Crosshair usually wasn’t that sentimental, something else was going on. When he didn’t immediately answer, Crosshair started to squirm.
“If you don’t want to I won’t, of course, just.” “I think it’s a great idea,” Tech said. “And … Maybe I could get your crosshair too, hm?”
Crosshair looked at him with bright eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I- I would like that.”
Tech pulled him closer to hug him and felt Crosshair relay against him. “What’s going on?” Tech asked after a moment.
“Nothing,” Crosshair immediately said, but he relented after a bit. “Just … want to have something to remember you if we ever get separated.” Separated. He didn’t say it, but Tech knew that this was about the prospect of dying. It had always hung over their heads, getting decommissioned, and they had worked hard to earn their place. But war was something different. They couldn’t control it.
“I won’t go anywhere,” Tech promised. “We’ll always stay together.”
They had shipped out, been on some missions. The adrenaline hadn't completely worn off and Tech still loved their new ship. He had modified her himself and was proud of his work. In his opinion, the Marauder was the best ship in the whole GAR.
And he kinda wanted to remember this.
A few hours later, he approached Crosshair with a sketch.
“What’s this?” Crosshair asked, curiously.
“Do you think we can do this as a tattoo, maybe on my back?” Tech asked and saw Crosshair’s eyes light up.
“Definitely!”
They had finished the designs only an hour later. Tech was happy with it and Crosshair was almost more excited than him. Crosshair had really found he enjoyed tattooing, and they were happy to let him. But there hadn’t been much opportunity in the field anyway. And now they were practically jumping on it.
“I’m almost done, I just need to …” Crosshair mumbled, then Tech made an almost squeaking sound when Crosshair suddenly straddled his legs and lean over him to reach a spot he was not happy with. When he was done, he ruffled Tech’s hair and pressed a kiss to his neck.
“All done. And dare I say, it looks great.”
Tech snorted. “I will be the judge of that.” “You’ll have to agree with me.”
Crosshair almost got hit by a pillow and Tech winced when the movement pulled on the freshly irritated skin.
But in the end, Crosshair was right. It had turned out great.
“Are you still mad that you didn’t manage to pick that flower?” Crosshair asked. It had been two days but, yeah, he was still mad about the fact that it had been shot right when he wanted to pick it. Granted, it could have been his head, and that was what the droid had been aiming for probably, but it was still annoying.
He didn’t tell Crosshair that tho, only buried his nose in his datapad.
“You recorded it, didn’t you?”
“But I wanted to press it and add it to my collection. I can’t add a recording to that!” Maybe he could add a picture, but that would destroy the whole vibe of his herbarium.
Crosshair huffed. “That’s not what I was getting at.” He crowded in Tech’s space, pushing the datapad down. “I could give you a tattoo.” “You are just looking for excuses to give someone a new tattoo. Wasn’t it enough that you tattooed Lula on Wrecker?”
“He wanted it.” “I doubt that was the spot he wanted it on.” Crosshair only shrugged and then looked at him with big eyes.
“I could do it. Wherever you want, even just a tiny one.”
Tech shook his head. “No, it’s a nice offer, but … no, I don’t want to.”
Crosshair huffed, almost offended. “Fine.” But instead of leaving, he shuffled closer so he could rest his head on Tech’s shoulder. “Want to tell me more about that planet?”
It was an obvious distraction, but Tech kinda didn’t mind.
“Of course.”
“Crosshair. Hey. Hey, Crosshair.”
“Mmhm, what?” Crosshair didn’t sound happy to be woken from his nap, but Tech didn’t care. He had an idea, and in his opinion, it couldn’t wait.
“Remember when you offered to do that flower tattoo?”
“Yeah?”
“Uhm, I kept thinking, but one flower wouldn’t look good but then I thought this would be a good idea.”
He handed his datapad to Crosshair, watching him expectantly. The other yawned and blinked at the bright screen.
“That’s more than one flower,” he finally said.
“Yeah.”
“That’s … definitely more.”
Tech huffed. “I know. You wanna do it? I know it will take some time and we won’t get it all done today but-”
“Nah, of course I will,” Crosshair grinned at him. “Who would have thought you would want so many tattoos. I might need to get some more, just to stay on top.”
“Nu-uh, first you do mine. And after that rifle on your thigh you made me do you are banned from tattoos.” “That’s unfair. I will not do that sleeve if you don’t do more for me!” Crosshair complained. Tech did a dramatic huff. “You don’t even have space for more!”
“You will see!”
"So, when can we mark you?”, Crosshair asked offhandedly, making Echo sputter.
"What?"
"We all got the skull tattooed, you need it too," Wrecker explained. "If you want," he added after a second. Echo warily looked between them.
"What if I don't want to?"
"There are temporary tattoos we can do, or keep redrawing it with those tattoo pens Wrecker got," Tech said.
"I'm not getting out of this, am I?"
"Nope," Crosshair and Wrecker said at the same time.
"Unless you really don't want to, which we would understand," Tech chided them. They both made the biggest tooka eyes possible at him though.
"Alright, I'll think about it," Echo mumbled.
"Heh, that's not a no!"
"Alright, let's do this. Where do you go for your tattoos?" Echo asked after a few days. Crosshair almost fell out of his bunk because he got up so fast.
"Nowhere," Tech explained watching Crosshair positively sprint out of the room.
"What?" Echo asked, confused.
"Crosshair does them," Tech explained. "Or me, if you don't want him to do it."
"You do your own tattoos? Is that safe?"
Tech gave Echo a disappointed look.
"We have researched everything. It's not that hard and we have all the supplies on hand. Hunter survived his tattoo, so I think we're fine."
Echo huffed and startled when Crosshair was back and threw the case with the tattoo gun on one of the bunks.
"Where do you want it?" he asked, way too excited.
"Uuuh." Suddenly Echo didn't look so sure.
"Both Wrecker and I have it on our biceps, Hunter on his chest and Cross on his back," Tech told him.
"I can do it on your ass."
“Absolutely not." Echo looked positively horrified about that idea. "Arm is fine."
"As you want," Crosshair's smirk betrayed his disappointed voice and he nudged Echo to sit down, dropping a bottle of water and ration bar in his lap.
"So you don't pass out. Tech can read something to you to distract you."
Echo looked a bit wary still, but Tech shrugged. "We have experience."
"Okay." Echo took off his upper blacks when Crosshair kept tugging on them and picked out one of the smaller stencils Crosshair showed him. "Idk, can you read like a holonovel or something?"
"Sure." Tech flipped through his library and picked one at random that he thought Echo would like. "At least then Cross won't fall asleep."
“That was one time, and you picked that on purpose just to bore me."
"The wetlands of Bogano are a very interesting topic, alone all the distinct flowers you find in the northern hemisphere which don't grow anywhere else and-"
"Tech. Focus. Novel." Crosshair interrupted. Tech stuck his tongue out at him, making Echo chuckle at them. But he began to read.
Tech had dozed off at one point. Maybe the novel he had chosen was a bit too boring, even for him, but neither Echo nor Crosshair had complained. Now he was drifting in and out of a nap, Hearing the two of them talk quietly.
"You think you can do another one?" Echo asked. Crosshair hummed.
"What do you want?"
"Uhm … a 5. Here."
"Oh. Yeah, of course. " Crosshair's voice sounded so soft right now and Tech really wanted to open his eyes, but also not break the moment.
"Like this?"
"Yeah, that's good … Fives had the same tattoo." There was some shuffling, presumably to get Echo into a better position for Crosshair to do the tattoo. “I miss him.” Crosshair hummed softly and let Echo talk about his brother.
“You got two tattoos?” Wrecker asked, incredulous. “Tech never let us do two in one session.”
“And you all know exactly why,” Tech said snippily. They all remembered how bad it had been for Hunter. “But Echo’s are small, he will survive.”
“Yeah, but two are enough,” Echo chuckled. “I probably did outdo Tech already anyway.”
“Excuse me.” Tech set down his datapad, looking at Echo incredulous. “What was that?”
“Uhm. You just don’t seem the type to have tattoos?” He seemed aware that it had been the wrong thing to say, but also didn’t know how to go on.”
“Oh boy,” Wrecker mumbled.
“You are wrong,” Tech said calmly. “I have way more than two.”
“Pfft, yeah. Wait, you are not joking?” Echo still looked like he couldn’t believe it.
“No, I am not. Do I need to prove it to you?”
Echo was looking a bit suspicious now.
“I think yeah,” he then said, making Tech huff.
“Fine.”
He began taking off his armor and when he shucked off his upper blacks, Echo couldn't not gasp.
“Alright, you weren't lying.”
“Of course not,” Tech complained, turning around so Echo could see the one on his back too. “The flowers keep going on my leg too at this point.”
“We ran out of space on his arm”, Crosshair said, making Echo almost jump
“Where did you come from?!”
Crosshair only shrugged.
“I smelled an opportunity to tease someone.”
In the meantime, Tech got redressed again.
Echo shook his head. “You all keep surprising me,” he muttered.
“There you are.” Tech looked up to Crosshair coming up to him. He was currently lying on a rock, observing a carnivorous plant that was eating a beetle.
Crosshair sat down, scowling at the thing. “What are you doing?”
“These carnivorous plants have settled here even though they are not native to Pabu. I want to find out if they are disruptive to the ecosystem and where exactly they came from.” Crosshair snorted at that and Tech wrapped an arm around him so he couldn't escape his explanations. Not that Crosshair seemed to want that, but you never knew.
But he also didn't really relax like he usually did, so Tech paused his - as Wrecker called it - yapping, and asked: “Why are you here?”
It immediately made Crosshair fidget with a toothpick. Something was up.
Tech was used to waiting it out and he got a plant to keep himself busy, but when nothing came, he nudged Crosshair a bit. “Spit it out.”
That, at least, made him snort. “You sound like Hunter.“
Tech didn't even hide his satisfied smile. “I took a page out of his book.”
That earned him a light swat, and then Crosshair sighed and went back to fidgeting.
“Do we … still have the tattoo gun?” The answer was obviously no, it had been on the Marauder. Well.
“No. But they are not that expensive. We could get a new one.” Tech eyed him. It surprised him a bit. Since Tantiss, Crosshair was not good with needles. So it came a bit unexpected that he would ask about the tattoo gun, even if it was for someone else. Had Omega expressed interest? Tech wouldn't be surprised if she did at one point.
“Oh,” was all Crosshair said to it though.
“Why were you asking?” Tech asked after a minute. His arm was still firmly wrapped around Crosshair, which turned out to be a good thing because now Crosshair tried to extract himself.
“No reason.”
“I don't believe you.” Maybe it wouldn't be the best thing to keep pressing, but Tech was curious.
Crosshair huffed and finally squirmed out of Tech’s hold.
“Just forget I asked,” he muttered, before briskly walking away. Tech sighed. Well, he knew what he would be looking for tonight.
A few days later, he found Crosshair and dropped the box in his lap without a word, expectantly watching him flip open the lid. His expression was unreadable and Tech didn't get a good enough reaction. Huh.
“I can distract Hunter if Omega wants a tattoo,” he finally said to lighten the mood, and it worked.
“I hope she won't ask for a few more years. None of us got a good reason to say no.”
Tech shrugged and sat down beside him.
“She can decide on her own. But if that's not the reason you wanted it …“ Tech trailed off. Asking a question without asking the question sometimes worked better on his brothers, for some reasons.
Crosshair sighed and slowly leaned against Tech. “I thought we could cover up my scars,” he muttered eventually.
Oh.
“What did you want to get?”
There was a brief pause before a small smile appeared on Crosshair’s face. “Some different flowers … I haven’t decided yet.”
“But you decided on flowers?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Crosshair squirmed a bit more before sighing. “Some have … special meaning, don’t they? Like forget me nots?”
Oh.
“Yeah. Of course. I can help you pick something if you want?”
Crosshair managed a crooked smile. “I would like that, yeah.”
Tech smiled back for a moment, but then got serious again.
“But … I think a professional should do it.” Crosshair frowned. “No, I want you to do it. ‘M not gonna let anyone else get close with that thing.” Tech had suspected that, but it still didn’t sit well with him.
“Yeah but since Eriadu …” he trailed off. Sometimes it was hard to admit stuff, and fiddly things were hard to do now. His hands didn’t shake as bad as Crosshair’s, but he was worried about messing up the tattoo, especially in a place like that.
Crosshair just frowned harder. “I don’t care. I want you to do it, no one else. I don’t mind if it doesn’t come out perfect, but it will be you.”
Tech let out a small sigh. It was not an easy decision. On one side, he understood that Crosshair wouldn’t want a stranger close to him with a needle, on the other side this would be permanent and a very visible spot … if he messed up it would be hard to cover up.
Crosshair pressed a little closer. “Please, Tech. I don’t think I can trust anyone else with this. I know you will do your best.”
Tech dropped his head on Crosshair’s and sighed again.
“Okay, but I will practice beforehand.”
“Of course,” Crosshair tugged at him and pulled him to lay down and snuggle. “I’ll wait. I’m just … really happy you will do it.”
Tech easily let Crosshair pull him down and got comfortable. To be honest, he would do almost everything for him.
“I love you, Crosshair,” Tech mumbled.
“I love you too.”