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You hated these days. The days that Cid’s strong voice rang clear on their comlinks, urging them on to a new mission, one which you were never completely sure that they’d all return from. It didn’t matter if it was as simple as delivering a message or as difficult as rescuing a Separatist senator, you always worried.
It was inevitable that the Batch would attract trouble. Trouble was almost part of their DNA, to the point where you always had a medpac handy in anticipation of their return after one-too-many post-mission injuries.
You were especially worried for your boyfriend, Tech. You’d been together a while now, a friendship born from the necessity of someone more qualified in medicine than he thought he was. The relationship came soon after, with you not being able to hide your emotions towards the man: happiness when his feet were safely on the dirty ground of Ord Mantell, and sadness when it was his injuries you’d been patching up after a particularly harsh mission. You’d scolded him when he returned from Serenno with a broken leg, but ultimately the large tears that dripped down your face onto his leg whilst you stabilised the bone led to a long conversation about your feelings for each other, ending with him lifting your hands away from the cast and pressing delicate kisses to your knuckles.
There were no secrets between you two. He told you everything, regardless of mission severity or money issues. You’d been the same, promising to tell all members of the Batch about how bad certain injuries were, even if you’d wanted to protect Omega’s innocent ears from learning about what a compound fracture was. However, he’d always been hesitant to tell you of Plan 99, knowing that if he even thought about initiating it, you’d fly to their location and stop him yourself.
But you knew Tech. And you knew the Batch. They never followed orders, and never would.
Which is why you stood at the bottom of the Marauder's gangplank, trying not to show Tech the beginnings of fat tears in your eyes, reminiscent of the day you’d both confessed your love.
You’d both agreed that your relationship would never get in the way of their missions or Omega’s safety, reluctantly putting your relationship on the backburner.
You waved all the other members off, excluding Omega, who Hunter had been adamant about staying with you and Cid due to the supposed dangerous nature of this mission.
Tech placed his helmet down on the third step of the gangplank. Although he’d never said it, you knew he didn’t want to leave you behind. You could see it in the slight shaking of his hand as he took yours into his own, the almost unnoticeable tremble of his lip, and the excessive blinking, like he was trying to stop his own tears from falling.
You made him feel strong. Every time he left for a mission, it was like that part of him was stripped away.
He looked into your eyes, clammy hands not loosening their grip on yours.
“We won’t be gone long, cyar’ika. I’ll be back before you notice I’m gone. I promise.”
Feeling his hand squeeze your own, you sighed.
“...I know, Tech. I know. But I have a bad feeling about—”
He cut you off. “Darling, you always have a bad feeling. Perhaps we ought to test your midichlorians when I get back, hmm?” he joked. Well, the closest thing to a joke that you could handle right now.
Your voice went small. “I just want you to be safe.”
“I’m always safe, my love. You simply do not need to worry about me,” he spoke as a fond expression filled his face. He stepped impossibly closer to you, like he was trying to merge your bodies together, and placed his left hand on your cheek, and his right on the nape of your neck.
Tech leaned closer towards you, until his lips were merely inches from yours. He started with the corner of your mouth, then moved to your nose, forehead, and finally your lips, peppering kisses around your face. Tech was familiar with your body, he knew where you liked to be held and kissed, and so before every mission he paid special attention to your face, hoping the affection would keep you going throughout his absence.
“I’ll come back to you, darling. I always will.”
With that, he placed one last lingering kiss on your lips, turned around to pick up his helmet from the steps, and made his way into the ship. However, before he could fully disappear into the cockpit as he usually did, you called his name.
“Yes, darling?” he replied.
You wiped away a tear that had fallen down your cheek. “I love you.”
He smiled softly at you, one that was reserved for moments like these.
“I love you too.”
And with that, he was gone.
*****
The first rotation wasn’t hard. You took Omega to explore some of the less seedy parts of Ord Mantell, telling her about your own home planet and how it compared to the one you were currently residing on.
You’d gone back to Cid’s Parlor and asked Omega to assist you in restocking your medpac, trying to keep the young clone out of trouble. She, like her brothers, was prone to causing mischief, regardless of whether you were keeping an eye on her or not. But you didn’t want to risk the wrath of Hunter upon their return, so you tried to keep her occupied.
As she fiddled with a bacta patch, you caught her eye.
“Something wrong, Omega?” you questioned.
“Um…Well…No. Yes. How do you deal with Tech leaving you to go on missions? Do you feel sad because you have to stay here sometimes?”
Sighing, you knew she missed her brothers. Like you, she was made to stay behind on missions deemed particularly dangerous, with Hunter claiming that the risk of being caught with known fugitives was too high.
“Well,” you started. “I do miss him. But I know that he only wants me to stay here because he loves me. And I love him, so I trust him.”
Your hand moved to play with the necklace Tech had gifted you on your anniversary. He’d apologised because it wasn’t fancy or expensive, but you didn’t care. It came from love, and that’s what mattered.
“Do you ever wish we could just live a normal life?” she pondered.
“All the time. And we will, I promise you. We just need some money to… hide under the radar and get the Empire off our backs. But it won’t be long before we can leave. I can feel it.”
Omega paused, like something else was on her mind.
“Everything alright?”
“Do you…” she started. “Do you think if we find a home that you and Tech will get married?”
The thought took you by surprise.
Marriage.
You’d thought about it, yes. It was impossible not to think about when you had Tech by your side. But it was even harder to think about when you were missing him as much as you were.
God, what you’d do to have Tech as your husband. But now wasn’t the right time. For now, you’d be a place for the man to come home and melt in your arms. A place where he didn’t have to face any insulting jabs from his brothers. A place where he could just relax, and not have his mind running at a million miles a minute.
Just home. Just him.
“I don’t know, ‘mega. Maybe in the future. But right now, we're happy just as we are, and I don’t want to change that.”
“Hmm, okay!”
She didn’t see the deepened line between your eyes, the sadness that was resting on your soul, the feeling of your heart being torn apart.
You missed him already.
*****
By the seventh rotation, all you could think about was how much you missed Tech.
What if something bad had happened? What if they were stranded? What if—?
No.
You couldn’t think this way.
They’d be fine. Tech promised. He promised he’d come back to you. You just needed to be patient.
Omega had sensed your turmoil and had been trying to do things to improve your mood. She’d forced you to play Dejarik with her a million times, but you could never focus. She’d asked you to show her holo-photos of your youth, but you were never interested when you did. She’d even temporarily given you Lula to hold at night, but all the stuffed Tooka could do was absorb your tears, not wipe them away.
Not like Tech could.
Even Cid had offered you a drink, a way to blur the misery that you were feeling. But you refused.
You just wanted your boyfriend to shower you in affection like he did on a daily basis, and you wanted to do the same to him.
Deciding to go for a walk to clear your mind, you kept your eyes to the ground, not wanting to unwillingly observe some of the happy couples of Ord Mantell walking around the city.
Everything reminded you of Tech, and seeing other people indulge in the happiness which you deserved right now was devastating. It wasn’t fair.
You wondered what the man was doing right now, if not being here with you. How was the mission going? You’d taken to trying to think more positively, the negative thoughts from several days ago weighing heavily on your soul. Of course they’d be successful, you thought. Clone Force 99 was elite, specialist, professional, and the rise of the Empire wouldn’t change that.
You also questioned if Tech was feeling the same as you were right now. He was known for hiding his emotions, less so from you, but you wondered if he divulged how much he missed you to his brothers. Somehow, knowing this would have made you feel better. But alas, radio silence was insisted upon to protect Omega’s safety.
*****
It has been ten rotations.
Ten rotations since you’d waved goodbye to the Batch.
Ten rotations since you’d waved goodbye to your boyfriend.
You missed him. So much.
You felt sorry for Omega, who had taken to entertaining herself with Dejarik and trying to remember every single starship used by the Republic, as per Tech’s request that she learn them (she had to learn the difference between the Republic ships and the Empire’s ships, of course). You’d tried to help her, you really had. But it seemed like in the past few days, she’d spent more hours checking on you than you on her.
You’d tried to be strong. You’d tried to stop the negative thoughts. But only one question filled your mind.
What if he was dead?
It was only when you heard the familiar rumbling of the Marauder’s engines that your eyes flickered open, and Omega bounded into the bedroom you were currently holed up in.
“They’re back! They’re back!”
Part of you didn’t believe her. You stood up from the bed and ran as fast as your legs would take you to the hangar, Omega tailing behind you. You accidentally shoved Cid to the side, the Trandoshan exclaiming a loud and angry ‘Hey!” as she went flying. However, it wouldn’t take her long to forgive you, she always said that you and Tech were attached at the hip, and who was she to come between the two of you.
It didn’t take you long to reach the hangar, and you stood expectantly near the bottom of the ship, antsy for the gangplank to open.
When it did, you were greeted by Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo making their way down the steps, each greeting you with a smile, pat on the shoulder, or in Wrecker’s case, a big bear hug.
For a moment, your heart sank. Where was he?
Your eyes flickered to the ground until you heard a soft voice speaking your name.
Your head lifted to see the man above you, ever so slightly limping down the stairs.
“Oh Tech,” you spoke quietly.
As he reached the bottom of the stairs, you gazed into his eyes, lip trembling.
“Darling I—”
You wrapped your arms around him, trying not to knock him off balance.
Your voice was no louder than a whisper when you spoke. “I missed you. So much.”
He ran his hand up and down your back, the other tangling in your hair.
“I missed you too. I apologise with my entire soul. Our hyperdrive was stolen whilst the Marauder was docked and it was a momentous effort to retrieve a new one, we tried to get back to you and Omega as soon as we could.”
You didn’t reply, only hugged him tighter, inhaling his scent. He smelt of fuel and pine, a clear indication of what had taken place on the planet they’d been on.
“Oh sweet girl, I’m sorry, I am so sorry.”
He pressed a long kiss to your temple, grateful to have you in his arms once again.
You never wanted to let him leave.
Sniffling, you pulled back slightly. “What did you do to your leg?”
You felt him freeze in your arms. “Ah. That. Well, it seems I fell whilst we tried to escape some of the more vicious of the local wildlife.”
“Well…well…I need to look, you must be starving too, and I said I’d run you a bath. What about your brothers too? I need to make sure they’re okay too—”
“Darling, darling, slow down. There will be plenty of time for that in a few hours. For now, let me enjoy being back with my girlfriend. I am sure Omega will keep my brothers entertained for a while.”
“I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
A serious expression replaced his previously content one. His hand tightened in your hair, the other rubbing up and down your back to soothe your despair.
“Of course I am alright. I am back with you.”
So overwhelmed with having him back, you didn’t reply. You couldn’t. You just jumped back into his arms, knowing that with him home, everything would be alright.
*****
Later on, you decided it was only right that after a long and difficult mission, you’d try your best to get him to relax. Unfortunately, the word ‘relaxation’ didn’t exist in Tech’s vocabulary, but you were hoping he was tired enough to let you coddle him. Starting with his leg.
“Love, please, please, let me take a look. Isn’t it my job to look after you all?” you pleaded.
Tech, previously fiddling with his data pad, put the device down and intertwined his hand with yours.
“I told you, darling, that you do not need to do that. I am perfectly fine, and estimated that I will make a full recovery in approximately two days. It is not even a sprain,” he declared.
You huffed, turning away from the man to retrieve your nearby medpac.
“I don’t care, Tech. I want to have a look at it,” you argued back, rubbing your hands over your face.
“You know,” he started. “You spend so much time looking after everyone else and you never let anyone else look after you. Perhaps you should let me take care of you tonight. We are partners, are we not? And it seems you might have had a difficult time in my absence, so please—” he paused as he pulled your hands away from your face, kissing your palms. “Please let me take care of my darling girl.”
You opened your mouth to challenge him, but he promptly stopped you.
“Cyare, just for tonight. Just us. Just me making my extended absence up to you, like you deserve.”
To the average person, it may have looked like Tech was too involved in his own brilliance to care deeply for another person. Out of all his brothers, he and Crosshair were the most dismissive of civilians in the war, opting to stay within their own limits, focusing on their strengths and not playing into weaknesses. After meeting you, however, his perspective on the galaxy changed. Suddenly there was a reason to want to have a permanent home. There was a reason to open up to his brothers about his emotions, ones he’d never experienced before meeting you.
There was a reason to care.
You weren’t simply a mission to complete. He soon learned this. But you were a person. With thoughts, feelings, wants, and wishes. You missed him because you enjoyed his presence. You laughed with him because you wanted to see him happy. Once he learned this, it didn’t take much more time for him to fall in love with you.
Which is exactly why he was being so insistent on caring for you, even though you felt like it should be the opposite.
“Fine,” you reluctantly agreed, a small smile on your face at seeing how determined Tech was to worship you. “Just for tonight.”
It was evident that Tech was satisfied with this answer, as you saw the slight relaxation of his shoulders; he knew he’d won this one. He stood up slowly, not letting go of your hands, and then leaned down to press a tender kiss to your lips. You felt him slightly tug your hands, urging you to stand up.
“Come, mesh’la,” he spoke in a hushed tone, leading you in the direction of your small but private bedroom. “Let me show you just how much I have missed you.”
Tech caught the warm smile on your face after hearing him and leaned down once again, this time to kiss your cheek. Wrecker often teased the man for outwardly appearing to not provide you with much affection, but in private, he simply couldn’t get enough of you. He never would.
Pulling back ever so slightly, he nuzzled his nose into yours and hummed contently, like the only thing that mattered in the world was you.
“I love you, darling. So much.”
He was back in your arms, and you back in his. The pair of you didn’t know how long this reunion would last, the possibility of another mission the next day being high, but tonight you belonged to each other once again.