AKA Omega sleeps in the Batch’s clean laundry. For @star-farer’s Protostar AU!
-
Omega frowned as her request for a playmate was denied yet again, leaving her out of people to ask.
“You’re going to have to play by yourself for a little,” Hunter told her. “We’re all busy.”
Omega’s frown turned into a scowl. She didn’t like it when they all couldn’t play with her; it felt like Nala Se’s lab.
“We’ll play with you when we’re done, I promise.” Hunter’s fingertips ghosted over her hair, and she grabbed at his hand.
“P’ay now!” she cried out, clinging to him.
“I can’t, Omega,” Hunter insisted firmly. “You have to be patient.”
Omega whined and stomped her foot, upset by the wait.
Hunter raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’d rather go take a nap early…”
“No!” Omega ran like he had suggested something utterly horrific, retreating to the corner of the barracks that housed her toys. She sulked for a minute before grabbing Lula and trundling away to make her own fun, wanting to go somewhere different.
The shelves near the refresher caught her attention. A box sat open on the floor under the lowest shelf, back in the shadows, and she approached it with curiosity. Inside, she found a pile of clothes, and her imagination ran wild with thoughts of caves and bushes and other places to hide. She hopped into the box with Lula, taking herself on a grand adventure across soft hills and plains, the previous injustice of having to play by herself forgotten.
After a while, she grew sleepy, but she did not care to leave her new hideout. The fabric surrounding her was soft, warm, and familiar. She sank into the pile and held Lula close, giving in to the pull of sleep.
“Where is Omega?”
Hunter surfaced from the painstaking process of mending a hairline fracture in Wrecker’s chestplate, the question automatically sending a surge of adrenaline through him. He turned to face Tech and Crosshair, who had just returned to the barracks, and there was a distinct lack of joyful greetings from Omega, who was nowhere in his line of sight.
“Where are you, bog leech?” Crosshair called. They waited for excited squeals and the patter of tiny feet, but no response came.
“Wrecker!” Hunter barked, panic starting to build inside him, “Have you seen Omega?”
Wrecker rolled over on his bunk, blinking drowsily at him. “Huh?”
“That’s a no.” Crosshair marched deeper into the room, his sharp gaze roving over every corner. “Don’t tell me you’ve kriffing lost her…”
Hunter’s rising panic halted when he realized why he hadn’t noticed Omega’s absence in the first place: her heartbeat still drummed within the scope of his senses, slow with sleep but steady. “She’s in here somewhere,” he murmured, feeling incredibly foolish for his lapse.
It took less than a minute to find Omega, asleep and oblivious to the world in their box of spare clothes like it was her own bed.
“Alright Tech, explain this one,” Crosshair said.
Tech shrugged helplessly even as he documented the sight. “I’m not entirely sure what brought this on. Perhaps the familiarity of the clothes was comforting to her.”
“Well, she’s taking a nap on her own for once, so let’s not interrupt it yet,” Hunter decided, carefully rearranging the clothes around Omega to make her more comfortable. “We’ll figure out her logic later.”
“Alright, time to get out of there.” Crosshair’s voice stirred Omega into reluctant wakefulness. “If you sleep any longer you’ll stay up half the night.”
Omega twitched as her soft surroundings moved sideways. She opened her eyes, staring groggily into Crosshair’s face.
“This isn’t your bed, bog leech,” Crosshair said, the toothpick in his mouth twitching from a fond smirk.
Omega huffed, too sleepy to care about that. She tried to roll over, but Crosshair stopped her, tugging her up from her nest.
“Oh no you don’t.” Crosshair pulled her out completely, seating her in his arms. “It’s almost time to eat, anyway.”
Omega whined with discontent, grasping for Lula. Crosshair obliged her, handing her the toy.
“What were you doing in there, hm?” Crosshair asked, holding her close.
It took Omega a moment to remember what she had been doing before she fell asleep. “P’ayin’.”
“Didn’t look like you were playing.”
“Was before!” Omega huffed, sounding similar to Tech in her indignation.
Crosshair raised an eyebrow with a teasing smirk. “Why in my clothes?”
“Hun’er an’ Wricker woul’n’t p’ay wif me,” Omega proclaimed as her logic. “Hidin’.”
“They deserved it. How dare they do such a thing.”
“Hey, I was busy and Wrecker was trying to catch up on sleep,” Hunter argued from across the room.
Crosshair ignored him. “How about this: you eat your vegetables without complaining, and we can all play afterward.”
Omega nodded happily. “‘Kay!”
“Good.” Crosshair pushed the box back under the shelf. “Just don’t make a habit of sleeping in our clothes.”
***
As Omega stared at the pile of clothes before her, she was quickly starting to regret offering to fold and organize them by herself. She had done so in an effort to take work off of her brothers’ hands; they worked hard to scrounge credits in an uncertain galaxy, and if she could not assist with missions, she could do something as simple as this. She was not a little kid anymore, and she wanted to help them.
But in truth, she was tired too. She was past her sleep cycle thanks to a chaotic stop on the moon Droxu. It supposed to be a quick break, but some pirates had other ideas, forcing an exit with lots of blaster fire. She had spent the next several hours of transit jittery with residual adrenaline, and she had every intention of going to sleep when they landed safely until the waiting pile of unorganized clothing presented itself, left waiting by whoever had originally planned to fold it.
“Are you sure you don’t want help?” Echo asked behind her.
“I’m sure.” Omega tried to hide every trace of weariness. Accepting Echo’s offer was tempting, as it would make it easier to complete the task before the rest of the Batch came back and sent her to bed. However, she wanted desperately to accomplish it by herself, and she would try.
She seated herself on the floor, using Gonky as a backrest, beginning to sort the clothing by its owner. They had little more than what they escaped Kamino with and a couple of extra things bought later, but the combination of six people increased the amount significantly. Some things, like Wrecker’s size or Echo’s alterations, made it easy to identify who each piece of clothing belonged to, but others she had to go by guesswork and memory.
Slowly, individual stacks of clothing began to take shape around her, forming a soft enclosure. The textures of the fabric were pleasant in their familiarity, even the ones from Kamino. She had grown to dislike the Kaminoan garments she had escaped with; they were coarse and constricting compared to clothes from other places, but the items belonging to her brothers were always comforting. She had a vague inclination of playing amidst their clothing when she was very small, her present sense of ease echoing a time when she had never felt safer.
Somewhere in the process of hunting down each sock’s match, her eyelids became heavy. It became harder and harder to dig through the pile of unorganized socks, drowsiness settling heavy and persistent over her. She finally gave up when her head drooped, the softness around her too tantalizing to ignore. She let herself tilt, falling into the heap of fabric and letting it swallow her up in comfort.
Hunter wanted Omega to be asleep by the time they returned to the ship, but he did not expect to find her slumbering in folded stacks of clothes that used to be a pile. Upon seeing her, he held up a closed fist, immediately silencing the conversation behind him.
“What is it—oh.” Crosshair materialized beside him, relaxing with a smirk when he saw the cause of the abrupt signal. “She looked close to dropping when we left.”
“I know.” Hunter aimed a pointed look at Echo when he appeared, keeping his voice to a whisper. “You should have told her to go to bed.”
Echo shrugged, smiling fondly at Omega. “She was bound and determined to fold those, so I let her. I figured she’d wear herself out.”
“I was supposed to take care of those…”
“Just like old times, huh?” Wrecker said with a grin. “She did love sleeping in our clothes.”
Echo arched an eyebrow. “Why?”
Tech stepped carefully around Omega, undoubtedly snapping a holo. “She was too young to provide us with a rational answer previously, but if I had to make a guess, it would be the comfort of familiarity.”
The conversation went on as Wrecker regaled Echo with stories of some of the many times they had discovered Omega slumbering amongst their clothing. Hunter stooped, gently lifting her into his arms. She clutched one of his shirts, and she didn’t seem eager to let go of it, so it went with her.
“Hun’er?” Omega’s eyes fluttered, briefly opening fully. “Wait, m’not done with the clothes yet…”
“The only thing you’re not done with is sleeping,” Hunter insisted, carrying her to her bed. “Don’t worry about the clothes.”
A small pout, reminiscent of her younger years, appeared on her face. “Wanted t’help.”
“You’ve done plenty.” Hunter laid her down, drawing the blanket up around her. “Just rest.”
Omega appeared to give up arguing as she curled on her side, hugging the shirt to her like it was Lula.
“You might never get that one back.” Crosshair murmured somewhere behind Hunter, a humorous lilt to his tone.
“I don’t think she’s quite as territorial as she used to be.” Hunter smiled to himself, drawing away from Omega’s bed. It seemed her old habits died hard even after all this time, and he did not mind one bit. “But if she wants to keep it, she can.”
Currently obsessed with the concept of the boys finding Omega when she was much younger and raising her. There would have been a learning curve, but I think they would have ultimately cherished that time. I've now written a fic series featuring a younger Omega, and I know @yatzstar and @star-farer have too, so check out their work if you're interested!
Even hours after escaping a frozen hell, Echo can't seem to get warm. An unexpected member of the Bad Batch is determined to change that.
AU based off of @star-farer 's Protostar AU, featuring a toddler Omega being raised by the Batch. Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/78928721
Hello!
This is pure, self indulgent fluff inspired by star-farer's Protostar AU and Yatzstar's adorable fics set in it!
I've tagged them so you can check it out, but the gist is the Bad Batch as teenagers/adults, raise a baby Omega. This is a little different, especially timeline-wise, but the important thing is there. Mainly Lil Omega calling her brothers ‘daddy.’
It's also randomly a tiny exploration of Echo's thoughts during his rescue.
I had been in a bit of a writing rut over the holidays, so it was nice to bust this out in just a few days.
Mando'a translations at the end!
Echo watched Rex board the Bad Batch's ship. It still felt so surreal. With every blink, he expected to be returned to the frozen hell of that stasis chamber. He'd dreamed, sometimes, of rescue.
This time it was different. He knew in his heart that this was real. Because in each and every one of those desperate delusions, Fives had been there.
Echo knew that nothing in their universe would have stopped Fives from being there. So his absence meant that something terrible had happened after Echo had been captured. Hell, for all he knew, Fives had died later on the very same mission at the Citadel. Echo hadn't had the energy to ask Rex. He didn't know if he could bear the answers.
He finally found the strength to climb the ramp. The ship was in chaos, but Echo had expected that, considering its owners. Two droids had been thrown into the mix: a GONK and a tutting med droid that Wrecker brushed off when it tried to scan him. Rex, who had been waiting for him, took him by the shoulder and guided him to a crash seat. Echo found himself shivering. He doubted he had really stopped, even in battle he'd been so cold, but now he noticed it again.
“I'll go get you a blanket, vod.” Rex said. “And see if they have anything for you to wear.”
Echo nodded and Rex went to go and try to cut into the chaos. Echo rested his head back and closed his eyes. He was so tired. He could have fallen asleep right then if he hadn't been so cold. And if the Batch could stop being so loud. Tech in particular was calling something over and over. The word fuzzed in Echo's mind, making no sense to him. He drifted, letting the noise wash over him.
Something small and warm touched his thigh. His eyes flew open and he straightened, trying to find the disturbance.
It turned out to be a hand. A tiny hand. A tiny hand that seemed to be attached to an equally tiny person who was peering up at him from beneath messy blonde bangs.
Why the hell was there a child on the ship?
Echo continued to stare and he was stared at right back. The ik'aad had clone brown eyes, Echo noted. In fact, this kid looked a lot like the littles on Kamino. The little placed their hand flat on Echo's leg, small brow scrunched.
“There you are!”
Before Echo could find his voice to ask this kid what exactly they were doing here, Tech emerged from the chaos. He picked up the child, who bore it without a squeak.
“You must be more careful, dear one.” Tech told the kid. His voice was low and gentle. “With so many people on the ship, it is easy for little girls to get lost.”
Echo blinked again. Girl?
“Daddy,” The little girl said. That threw Echo for another loop. “He's cold.”
“I would expect so.” Tech said. “He was in a cold place for a very long time. We should leave him be.”
He glanced to Echo.
“I will be with you momentarily.”
His voice had returned to its natural briskness. Then he left with no explanation for the child in his arms, leaving Echo to contemplate the implications of a little girl with Jango Fett's eyes that called a clone ‘daddy.’
Echo's perplexed musings were interrupted by Rex returning with a bundle of blankets and a set of blacks.
“Here you go, vod.” Rex said.
Echo absently pulled on the blacks, watching Tech hand the child to Crosshair. Tech returned to the cockpit and Crosshair carried the girl to the gunner's mount, where what looked like a child's bed had been set up.
“What were you up to while we were gone, lovely?” Crosshair asked.
Echo stared. Was this the same sniper he'd met mere hours ago?
“I sploded a drillion droids!” The girl said.
“Hear that Wrecker?” Crosshair called back. “She topped us again.”
“Ah well!” Wrecker said cheerfully as he cleaned his gear.
Echo finally noticed Rex's smile as he sat down again. Rex tucked the blankets around Echo's shoulders. It helped, but he was still cold.
“That's Omega.” Rex said.
“She called Tech-”
“It's not what you think.” Rex interrupted him. He sat down next to Echo. “She's another enhanced clone, their sister. But they've raised her since she was a tubie, so she calls them all dad.”
“And they bring her on missions.” Echo said.
“That's what the med droid's for.” Rex said. “Tech did some enhancing. He's her nanny droid now, with a bit of body guard thrown in.”
Echo eyed the droid with discomfort.
“Don't-” He said, and then swallowed. “Don't let that thing near me.”
Rex's expression grew pained.
“I won't.” He said. “We'll have Kix look you over when we get back.”
General Skywalker came over then, as the ship moved under them.
“Finally got into contact with the Council.” He said. “They’re glad you’re all right, Echo.”
“Thank you, sir.” Echo said. A knot formed in his chest. “They’ll want a debrief, I’m assuming.”
General Skywalker put his hand on his shoulder.
“Not yet.” He said. His tone was gentler than anything Echo remembered hearing from him. “You’ve been through hell, Echo. They understand that you’ll need some time.”
Echo nodded, though he still felt anxious. Time. How much time until he was ready to talk about what happened? When he’d woken up, he could only remember the Citadel. But now he could feel memories stirring, memories that he couldn’t face right now.
“I’ve got to get a hold of the 501st and prep them.” Rex said. “You’ll be all right, Echo? I won’t be long.”
Though he was terrified of the memories, and still so cold, Echo nodded. He was an ARC trooper. He could be strong.
“Get some rest, Echo.” General Skywalker said.
It was so nice to hear his name again. They left him then and the ship somehow fell quiet. He closed his eyes again. He wanted to sleep so badly. But even with the blanket, he was shivering too much.
The hum of the engines nearly masked the soft pitter patter of tiny feet. Echo blinked open his eyes to find that Omega had returned. Crosshair followed a few paces behind. Omega held up a small, fluffy blanket.
“Gotta get warm!” She told Echo as she draped the blanket on his knee.
Feeling Crosshair's gaze on him, Echo reached out with his flesh hand to pull the blanket onto his lap.
“Thank you.”
Omega’s eyes had gone wide and Echo quickly withdrew his arm with its wires and bolts. His heart sank. Was this how all strangers would react to him now?
“You hafta do tests too?” Omega asked.
Echo paused.
“Tests?” He asked.
Omega pushed up her sleeve and showed him the crook of her little elbow. Echo could see marks, layers upon layers of scars. Injection sites?
“Tests.” Omega said in a matter-of-fact tone. Crosshair had stepped closer. “I don’ like ‘em.”
Echo could suddenly understand why the Batch might prefer bringing their sister with them rather than leaving her with the Kaminoans.
“Yeah.” He said thickly. “I had to do tests too. I- didn’t like them either.”
“They hurt.” Omega said softly.
“Yeah, they do.”
Memories bubbled to the surface of Echo’s mind. Strapped to a table. Screaming until they gagged him. A thousand jabs and cuts as they experimented on him and tore his body apart. And cold, always so cold.
Omega’s warm little hand on his helped bring him back.
“You’re still cold.” She told him.
Then she clambered onto his legs and pressed herself into his chest. Echo froze, unsure what to do. He glanced at Crosshair for help, but the damn sniper just shrugged.
“Ooooh, super cold.” Omega mumbled.
But she didn’t move except to tug her own blanket over herself. And oh, she was warm. Echo couldn’t help but pull her closer and wrap his arms around her.
“What’s your name?” Omega’s question was a little muffled.
“I’m Echo.”
“Hi, Echo. I’m ‘Mega.”
Her body heat seemed to spark his own body, teaching it how to be warm again. Omega said something more, but Echo’s mind was drifting. For the first time since he’d come out of that hell, he was warm.
Tech sat back from the controls as the ship settled into hyperspace. There. They’d be at Anaxes within hours. He passed Rex and General Skywalker, who were talking quietly with the holo of one of their men, and went into the main bay. He glanced at his datapad as he walked.
“Echo-”
“Sh.”
Tech looked back up to see Crosshair pointing at a fast asleep Echo, who had a bundle tucked against his chest. Tech raised an eyebrow before sidling up to Crosshair.
“She decided to share her blanket with him.” Crosshair said quietly. “And I guess she thought he needed some extra help to warm up.”
“I was going to suggest something similar to Captain Rex.” Tech said. “Unfortunately, I need to run some scans, and it would be best if he was awake.”
He stepped forward and Omega’s head popped up.
“No, Daddy!” She said in her best, and not very quiet, whisper. Crosshair chuckled and she whipped her head around to glower at him. “Daddy, hush! He’s seeping!”
“Yes, my love.” Tech said. “But-”
Omega fixed him with a glare worthy of Crosshair and Tech raised his hands in defeat.
“Very well.” He said. “But we must wake him soon. He is not well, dear one, and will need help.”
Omega gave a gasp, as if she had not noticed Echo’s skeletal appearance and ghostly skin. She turned and placed her hand on Echo’s forehead.
“Not too warm.” She relayed. “Still jus’ cold.”
“Thank you.” Tech said with a smile. “But you are helping with that.”
“Uh huh!” Omega said, forgetting to whisper.
Echo didn’t stir regardless. Tech watched fondly as Omega burrowed back down. Hunter joined them a minute later. He blinked at the sight, then glanced at Tech.
“You think it’s safe?” He murmured. “I’m still not sure we can trust him.”
“What’s he going to do?” Crosshair asked with a scoff. “I’m surprised he could lift a blaster.”
“We will keep watch.” Tech said. “And I am sure Omega will be a good influence.”
Indeed, though Tech knew there was logically far from a guarantee that Echo had remained loyal, it was hard to think it of a man who so tenderly held Omega close.
“Daddy?”
“Hm?”
Things were quiet for once on the Marauder, with only Hunter and Omega and the others having gone with Echo to get him checked out. That jolt he had received on the space station had seemed nasty. Usually just Omega was enough for a ruckus, but she had spent the last half hour quiet. Her little brow was furrowed with the deepest thoughts a three year old could have.
“Can Echo come wif us?” She asked.
Hunter took a moment to finish buffing out a scorch mark on his pauldron. He had worried about this. Omega had insisted on being with Echo during his recovery, despite the Batch’s misgivings about his loyalty. She was thoroughly attached by the time they had been called on this latest mission. Hunter had been relieved to find out Echo had stayed true, if only to save Omega from heartbreak.
But what about the heartbreak of him leaving?
“That’s up to him.” Hunter finally chose to say. “He might not want to join us.”
“Why not?” Omega demanded. “I yuv him!”
“Yeah?” Hunter couldn’t suppress a grin. “Even though he’s a reg?”
“Some regs are nice!” Omega protested. “Cody an’ Rex an’ Kix!”
He was surprised she had only stopped at three. The 501st had been taken with her the last few weeks and Omega had made many reg friends.
Hunter sighed.
“I’m sorry, Omega.” He said. “But Echo still has brothers with the 501st. I’m going to invite him to join us, but he might want to stay with Rex.”
Omega fell silent again. Hunter could practically see the gears turning in her head.
“I wan’ ‘im to be happy.” She finally said. “But I wan’ him t’be happy wif us.”
Hunter reached out and pulled her closer. She squeaked.
“Me too, sunshine, but we have to let him choose.”
She wriggled free.
“I’m gonna go watch for ‘em!” She said. “And I’ma ask him!”
Hunter considered the idea. The proposition might seem more appealing coming from her.
It wasn’t long before Omega chirped, “Daddies!” Hunter watched carefully as she scrambled down the ramp and ran to the returning Batch, Rex, and Echo. Wrecker stepped forward and scooped her up.
“Hey, squirt!” He said.
“Notta squirt ‘nymore!” Omega complained, though she cuddled close to Wrecker. “I grewed.”
“It is just ‘grew,’ my love.” Tech said absently.
“Aw, you’ll always be my squirt.” Wrecker said.
Omega pouted at him, then turned to Echo.
“Echo, you ‘urt?”
Echo gave a tired smile.
“I’m all right, ad’ika.” He said. “Just a little worn out.”
“You can take’a nap.” Omega offered.
“Might just do that.”
Omega then reached for him and Echo took her with a blink. She snuggled against him.
“D’ you wanna come wif us?” She asked.
“With you where?”
“Wif us everywhere.”
Echo looked at Hunter. Hunter smiled and nodded.
“I-” Echo looked down, which was a mistake, because Omega was that direction. “I don’t know.”
“But I’ll miss you!” Omega cried.
“I’d miss you too, Omega, but it’s not that simple.” Echo said and Hunter did not miss his glance towards Rex.
“Your path is different.” Hunter put in. “Like ours.”
Echo’s brow furrowed further and he held Omega towards Wrecker. Hunter’s heart sank. Well, he’d meant it when he said it was Echo’s choice. Wrecker took Omega and she gave a wail that dissolved into broken hearted sobs.
Hunter gave Echo a nod and signalled his squad to retreat to the ship. He couldn’t quite hear what Rex said quietly to Echo over Omega’s cries, but the sound of approaching footsteps was unmistakable. Omega’s delighted gasp confirmed it, and Hunter turned to see Echo coming to them.
“Welcome aboard.” He said.
“Thank you.” Echo said quietly, wincing as Wrecker slammed a hand on his shoulder.
“You do realize that we are leaving before the accolades are given.” Tech said. “If that is something you wished to attend.”
Echo chuckled.
“I’ve had my fair share of commendations.” He said.
He glanced back one more time and Hunter followed his gaze. Rex stood alone, watching. Hunter wondered what he had lost, what he was giving up by letting Echo go. Hunter was grateful in any case. When Echo gave the Captain a salute, Hunter joined him.
Echo woke up shivering. He bit back a curse. By the way he felt, it had only been a few hours since he’d fallen asleep on one of the Marauder’s bunks. Being cold seemed to be his default now, with his metal parts and lost body weight.
He debated asking for another blanket, but he didn’t know how much it’d help. Travelling in space was always going to be chilly. He sat up and stared at his knees. He might as well get up. He wasn’t going to get any more sleep like this, even though his eyelids felt like they had training weights hanging off of them.
“What are you doing?”
Echo looked over, but Crosshair wasn’t looking at him. His eyes were narrowed at Omega, who slowly pulled her leg back up into the gunner’s mount.
“Nuffin.” She said.
“Uh huh.” Crosshair said. “So you’re definitely not sneaking down the ladder, which you’re not supposed to go down alone, while you’re supposed to be asleep?”
A pause.
“‘M not.”
“That’s right.” Crosshair said. “You’re going back to bed.”
Another pause.
“Wanna be with Echo.”
“Well, Echo doesn’t want to be bothered right-”
“I do.” Echo interjected.
The only time he had slept well since being rescued was when Omega had been in his arms. Crosshair and Omega both looked at him, the former with a raised eyebrow and the latter beaming.
“Fine.” Crosshair said. “But I wonder if you’ll change your mind when she wakes you up three times in an hour.”
He deftly scooped Omega and her blankets up and tossed her onto Echo in a giggling bundle.
“You’re still cold!” Omega scolded once Echo’d gotten her situated.
“That’s what you’re for, trac’ika.” He said.
Already he could feel the chill slowly ebb from his bones and he gave a sigh.
“You say funny words.” Omega said with a yawn. “Night, Echo.”
“Night, kid.”
Echo was warm again.
Mando'a:
Ik'aad: baby, child under 3
Vod: brother
Ad'ika: little one
Trac'ika: little fire, a nickname
Okay so I wanted Omega to be there immediately as Echo was boarding the ship, but I was desperately thinking of why and how the heck the Batch would keep her on the ship during dangerous missions. Like who would feed her, or take her away if the Batch were killed? Then I remembered AZ and decided that the Batch just stole him.
And as to not screw with the Fives’ timeline, let's just say they started taking Omega with them after that.
But yeah, if IG-11 could be converted into a nanny droid, I can see Tech being able to reprogram and upgrade AZ to be able to defend Omega. I like to think whenever it happens, AZ has no idea what's going on.
And yes, for a minute, Echo thought that Tech had gone and had a child.
Omega's kid talk is based off of my own niblings. Especially ‘yuv.’
I legitimately wonder if blankets are less effective on Echo, since he's producing less heat to warm the same amount of space. I don't know, I'm not a scientist
And then Order 66 didn’t happen for some reason and Tech met Phee and they all went to Pabu and lived happily ever after.
Again, check out the creator of the AU, star-farer! Here’s their tumblr (https://www.tumblr.com/star-farer/769563721092726784/the-ikaad-au?source=share) and their ao3, (https://archiveofourown.org/users/star_farer/pseuds/star_farer)
Last in the series of illustrations of the Batch with a baby Omega. It was always interesting to me that the character that was basically designed to be an 80's action hero (with long hair, headband, Dorito waist and everything) turned out having the strongest paternal instincts. He's the leader of the squad and always felt responsible for his brothers, and that naturally extended to Omega once they realized who she was. But she wasn't a trained soldier like his brothers. She was a kid who'd never left Kamino, never held a blaster, and had never even seen dirt. His protective instincts kicked into overdrive, and by season 2 I think he'd gone full Dad. So, I think that if they found Omega when she was younger (and if she wasn't technically older than them), he might not have had any clue what to do with a baby at first, but he would have risen to the occasion just like he did in canon. That kid very quickly would become his.
I feel like if the Batch found Omega when she was much younger (and she wasn't technically older than them), Crosshair and Wrecker would have been the fun brothers tossing her around while Hunter and Tech would have been the ones going WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU BE CAREFUL DON'T DROP THE BABY
More in this illustration series of the Dad Batch with baby Omega!
Tech
Wrecker
Tagging writers who have written AUs about baby/younger Omega! @yatzstar @star-farer
Another illustration of the Batch with a younger Omega just for fun. This one has no real background because of reasons. I might try to make one for everyone if I can manage it. If I do, I will come back and add links to the rest. For now, here's what I have:
Tech
Shout out to anyone who's written AU fanfics with baby/young Omega in her brother's care! Tagging two that I know of, but if you have written one as well and would like to be tagged in future fan art to this effect, let me know. @yatzstar @star-farer
A young Omega finds comfort, even if her fears are the product of her own imagination. Crosshair and Tech try to console their girl, despite the absurdity of her fear.
-
For @star-farer’s Protostar AU! This is the “Halloween” one I was thinking about (I know I’m late) where she gets scared over something ridiculous and the boys have to bend over backwards to make her feel better. Also Khezu is from Monster Hunter, I thought he was a good candidate to exploit for the purpose of this story lol
“Do you know what that is?”
Omega stared hard at the holo on Tech’s datapad, trying to remember the name of the large, furry creature displayed there. “…Ban-fa?”
“Yes, that’s a bantha. Well done, my love.”
Omega glowed beneath Tech’s praise, snuggling deeper into the crook of his arm.
“Can you tell me what letter that bantha would start with?” Tech prompted.
Omega played with a lose thread on the collar of his shirt, trying to envision the letter in her mind. When she couldn’t remember, she tried to get a better look at his datapad, but he caught on quickly.
“Ah, not like that,” he said, placing a hand over her eyes. “Use your mind, not your eyes.”
“I don’ ‘member!” Omega giggled, trying to free herself.
“You know this. What letter comes after Aurek?”
Omega stopped fighting as she thought about it, then shouted, “Besh!”
“There you go.” Tech removed his hand from her face, drawing it across her hair. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Wanna see ‘nother one,” Omega insisted, gesturing to the datapad.
“Very well, just have a little patience…”
Tech continued showing Omega a variety of creatures on his datapad, a routine they had fallen into some time ago. Eventually, one image caught her eye, and she pointed it out. “Wha’s that’un?”
“This one is less pleasant to look at, isn’t it?” Tech enlarged the image, allowing a better look at the subject: a two-legged, winged creature covered in a pale hide, an elongated neck ending in a “face” that had no features save for a large mouth full of teeth. “This is a Khezu, a creature from the far edges of the Outer Rim.”
“Keh-zoo…” Omega stared hard at the overlarge mouth that dominated the end of the creature’s elongated neck. “Where’s its eyes?”
“It doesn’t have any.”
Omega tried to rationalize Tech’s statement. “‘Ow does it see?”
“It doesn’t need to. It has an exceptional sense of smell, and it’s nocturnal, which means…?”
“…Likes dark?” Omega tried after thinking it over.
“Exactly,” Tech said, tapping her nose. “It prefers dark places, where it can hide and hunt prey with an advantage.”
Omega glanced at the hatch in the ceiling that led to the cargo hold. “Wha’bout th’ cargo hole?”
“Yes, that’s a place it would hide.”
Omega’s eyes roved from the picture on the datapad to the hatch, before turning her face against Tech. “Don’ like that’un, daddy. Scary.”
Tech squeezed her and kissed her hair gently. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, my love, but we can look at something different.”
Omega quickly forgot about her apprehensions as Tech moved on to other creatures, and she remained unbothered until several hours later.
“Alright, your five more minutes are up for good,” Crosshair announced across the cabin. “Time to sleep.”
Omega pouted, reluctantly departing from her toys to shuffle towards her bed, only to remember her earlier concerns when she noticed the hatch above. “Wha‘bout th’ Keh-zoo in’a cargo hole?”
Crosshair stared at her blankly. “What?”
“Keh-zoo in’a cargo hole!” Omega repeated, gesticulating wildly to the hatch.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but there’s no such thing.”
“It’s real! It has’a big mouf an’ lots of teef, an’ it might eat me!”
Crosshair scoffed. “You’re just making things up to get out of going to bed, aren’t you?”
“No, Tick told me ‘bout it!” Omega faltered, fear replacing her indignation as she glanced at the hatch in the ceiling. “It’s scary.”
Crosshair’s stern demeanor softened a little. “You’re scared?”
Omega nodded, scooting over to him and putting his legs in between her and the perceived threat.
Crosshair let out a grumbling sigh, running a consoling hand over her hair. “Alright, I’ll go get Tech so we can figure this out.”
Omega did not have to wait long for Crosshair to retrieve Tech, who entered the cabin looking confused. “What is troubling you, my dear?”
“The Keh-zoo in’a cargo hole!” Omega insisted, now clutching Lula for support. “C’oss doesn’t believe me.”
Tech’s expression loosened with something of a fond smile as he shook his head. “I’m afraid you have misinterpreted things.”
Omega frowned. “But you said…”
“I meant that the cargo hold would make an ideal environment for a Khezu, not that there literally was one inside it.” Tech knelt down to her level, taking her by the shoulders. “There are no creatures on this ship, and certainly not any that would bring you harm. The cargo hold was just an example.”
“Good job, genius,” Crosshair remarked.
“It was a simple misunderstanding,” Tech retorted, keeping his attention on Omega. “Think logically, sweet one. Why would there be such a creature on board? There’s no reason for it.”
“I ‘unno,” Omega mumbled into Lula’s ears.
Crosshair snorted. “I thought we already learned that logic doesn’t apply to her.”
“Yes. That’s true.” Tech pulled her into his arms. “Why don’t I check the hold? Would that make you feel better?”
Omega nodded, but pointed at Crosshair. “Wan’ C’oss to do it.”
Crosshair looked unamused. “Why me? Tech just offered, and this is his fault.”
“‘Cause y’have shiny eyes to see in’a dark.”
“Torches exist for a reason.”
“Crosshair, she’s scared,” Tech argued, “and you can remedy that.”
Omega gave Crosshair a doleful look, and he finally cracked beneath the pressure. “Fine, I’ll do what the princess commands.”
Though Omega was encouraged by his cooperation, she watched carefully as he pushed a crate over, stepping up on it and reaching for the hatch. He shifted the hatch aside, and without hesitation, he hoisted himself up into the dark space, seating himself on the edge and letting his legs dangle.
“There’s nothing up here,” he called to Omega below, “just like I said.”
Omega ventured out of Tech’s embrace, craning her neck to see him. “Y’sure?”
Crosshair sighed. “Can’t you take my word for it?”
“Sometimes, visual reinforcement is helpful,” Tech said. Before Omega could react, he plucked her from the floor, passing her up to Crosshair. She squawked in protest as she was lifted into the cargo hold and settled in Crosshair’s lap, wrapping her arms around him for safety.
“Now you can see for yourself,” Crosshair said. “There’s nothing but equipment and dust.”
Omega looked around at dimly lit hold, taking in the silhouettes of crates and spare ship parts. Everything was just as he had said.
“You feel better?”
Finding no threats, Omega nodded. “Mm-hm.”
“Good.” Crosshair passed her back to Tech before sliding out of the hold in one fluid motion.
“I am sorry for showing you something that frightened you,” Tech murmured, holding her close. “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“But I still wanna see th’ ami-nals!” Omega exclaimed.
“Even after being afraid?” Tech asked, and Omega nodded emphatically.
“‘M not scared now!”
“Well, I suppose I’ll just be a bit more careful…”
Crosshair finished closing the hatch, sauntering up to them. “Of course she’s not scared, because there’s only one animal on this ship.”
For all her claims of bravery, Omega regarded him with wide eyes. “Wha’ ami-nal?”
“You, bog leech,” Crosshair said with a smirk.
Omega scowled, sensing that she had been made fun of. “‘M not’a ami-nal, ‘m a girl!”
“Yes, and it’s bedtime for animals and girls.”
Tech released Omega from his hold as she set up a round of complaints, but Crosshair herded her away without much trouble. A few minutes later, she slid into bed with his help.
“Nothing will hurt you, especially not whatever Tech showed you on his datapad,” Crosshair said as he arranged the blankets to her liking. “You’re completely safe here, you know that, right?”
“Yeah,” Omega said without hesitation. “‘Cause daddy will shoot th’ bad fings.”
“Exactly.” Crosshair gave her the rare, soft smile that was only for her, and as he leaned in to kiss her goodnight, he murmured, “Next time, make one of the others climb into the cargo hold.”
“Nothing will hurt you, especially not whatever Tech showed you on his datapad,” Crosshair said as he arranged the blankets to her liking. “You’re completely safe here, you know that, right?”
“Yeah,” Omega said without hesitation. “‘Cause daddy will shoot th’ bad fings.”
I know it's not meant to be funny, but I lost it at 'daddy will shoot th’ bad fings' because it's exactly what they'd tell her.
I feel like it's a standard for her. If you aren't the sort to kill her problems, what even is the point?
Omega wants to be like her brothers in every regard, even when it comes to tattoos. Though she’s too young for the real thing, they reach a happy compromise.
-
Another for @star-farer’s Protostar AU! I know I’ve done this concept before, but baby Omega desperately wanting (and not understanding) tattoos in the slightest was too good to pass up.
“Hun’er, why’s your face like tha’?”
Crosshair snorted at Omega’s sudden, blunt question. “I ask myself that every day.”
Hunter ignored him, focusing on the small girl splayed across his lap, regarding him with heavy scrutiny. “Why’s my face like what, sunshine?”
Omega’s brow furrowed as she tried to explain herself. “All…all dark here.” She pointed to the tattooed side of his face.
“Oh.” Hunter smiled as he understood her question. “It’s just another tattoo.”
Omega considered this, still studying him. “Why’s it there?”
“Because I wanted it to be, just like Crosshair wanted his around his eyes. You’ve seen the ones we have on our arms, too.”
Omega rolled over in Hunter’s lap, eyeing Crosshair, who met her scrutiny with a raised eyebrow. Finally, she asked, “When do I get one?”
“You don’t,” Crosshair said bluntly.
Omega scowled. “Why not?”
“Because you’re not old enough.”
Omega drew herself up, full of indignation. “You can’t stop me from g’owing!”
Her proclamation was met with silence for a moment.
“You think tattoos grow on people?” Hunter asked.
Omega nodded. “Yeah.”
Hunter started chuckling, and Crosshair snorted in a poor attempt to stifle his own laughter before he joined in.
“Wha’s funny?” Omega asked, looking from one to the other with confusion.
“Tattoos don’t grow on people,” Crosshair said, fighting to look serious.
A look of devastation crossed Omega’s face before she declared, “You lie!”
“It’s not a lie. Hunter, tell her.”
Hunter tried to come to Crosshair’s defense without laughing. “He’s telling the truth, sunshine.”
Omega was unconvinced. “You lie, too!”
Crosshair scoffed, calling, “Tech, come here and tell Omega that tattoos don’t grow on people!”
Tech appeared after a brief delay, looking somewhat confused as he addressed Omega. “You believe tattoos grow naturally?”
“Yeah,” Omega said. “Like…like hair.”
Tech admirably kept a straight face. “It doesn’t work that way, my dear. Tattoos do not simply appear; they are acquired later, preferably in adulthood.”
Omega always took Tech’s word as truth, her face crumpling with utter disappointment at his gentle explanation. She flopped on Hunter’s lap with a pronounced pout.
Hunter rolled his eyes subtly at her dramatic display. “We’ve already been through this with beards, ‘Mega. You can’t be exactly the same as us, but that’s okay.”
“You wouldn’t even want a tattoo, not really,” Crosshair added.
Omega scowled at him, her lower lip wobbling. “I do wan’ one!”
“Even though they’re made with needles?”
That grabbed Omega’s attention, transforming her grumpiness into apprehension as she sat up slightly. “…Needles?”
Crosshair nodded. “That’s how the ink gets into the skin, and it hurts.”
Omega glanced at Tech, seeking confirmation, which he gave. “Crosshair is right. That is how tattoos are most commonly applied.”
“Still want one?” Crosshair asked, and Omega shook her head as she shrank back against Hunter.
“Don’t torment her,” Tech scolded. “She already fears needles more than enough.”
“It’s okay, kid.” Hunter wrapped his arms around Omega. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
Omega snuggled against his chest, going quiet for a moment before asking, “Why’d you get ‘em if they ‘urt?”
Hunter’s attempt at answering was overruled by Tech. “In Hunter’s case, he wanted to outdo the regs’ tattoos.”
“Tha’s stupid,” Omega declared.
All three men smiled at her frank declaration as Hunter admitted, “We’re not immune to being stupid, not even Tech.”
Tech looked offended. “I beg to differ.”
The resulting squabble was full of mock outrage that made Omega laugh, and she forgot about her woes and desires surrounding tattoos until a little later, after Wrecker returned from his errands.
“Hey, kiddo.” Wrecker approached Omega, grabbing her attention. “Cross told me how you wanted to get a tattoo.”
“Nuh uh, not wiff’a needle,” Omega replied, whispering the last word like it might harm her.
Wrecker was not dissuaded. “What if there was a way to have one without that?”
“‘Ow?”
Wrecker spoke one word with a knowing grin. “Paint.”
Omega’s eyes went wide as understanding struck her, and she jumped up, the mention of paint enough to excite her. “Paint?”
“You like that idea?” Wrecker asked.
Omega bounced up and down, hardly needing to speak her answer aloud. “Yeah!”
A few minutes later, they were outside in a pleasantly warm afternoon. Wrecker retrieved an old, worn tarp from the ship, spreading it out on the ground in anticipation of a mess. When he went to get the paint, he returned with Crosshair in tow, which only served to make Omega more excited; he was the best with paint out of all of them.
“C’oss, paint my tattoos!” she shouted.
“Don’t get pushy, you little monster,” Crosshair said, though he was smirking as he approached. “You know it’s not permanent, right?”
Omega wrinkled her nose. “Per-ma-net…?”
“It won’t stay forever. It’s just paint, so it’ll wash off.”
“Then you pain’it again!”
“You don’t know how Hunter and Tech are going to feel about this yet.” Crosshair’s smirk widened. “Though we know they love surprises, don’t they?”
Omega matched his deviousness with an impish grin. “Yeah!”
“That’s exactly why I agreed to this.” Crosshair crouched on the tarp, preparing the supplies. “Alright, sit down.”
Omega obeyed, plunking herself onto the tarp, fidgeting as she waited. Wrecker pulled her unruly wisps of hair back from her face, tying it with a piece of twine.
“What do you want me to paint?” Crosshair asked as he unscrewed the canister.
Omega gestured to the left side of her face. “Wanna look like Hun’er!”
“Oh, so is mine not good enough for you?”
“You can do boff! Paint yours on…” Omega indicated her left eye, then realized her mistake and switched to the right. “…this side!”
Crosshair snorted. “If I do both, that means you have to sit still longer.”
“I c’n do it!”
“Let’s hope so, because if you squirm around, I might mess it up.” Crosshair dipped a brush into the canister. “That also means no talking.”
“I won’t!”
“Good, then be quiet.”
“I yam!”
Crosshair pushed Omega’s chin up, shutting her mouth and ignoring Wrecker’s barely constrained laughter. “Shh. I’m starting.”
Omega did her best to stay quiet and still, only giggling a little at the initial feeling of the cool, bristly wetness on her skin. However, Wrecker kept up a commentary that made her laugh no matter how hard she tried not to.
“You know, maybe you should paint Crosshair’s face,” Wrecker suggested to her. “I’m sure he’d look a lot nicer that way.”
Omega laughed at the thought. “Can I?”
“Don’t even think about it,” Crosshair growled, pulling the paintbrush back as he waited for her to settle down again. “Quiet down, both of you.”
Omega concentrated on being still, though she grew more excited with every gentle touch of the brush on her face. After what seemed like forever to her, Crosshair finally set the brush aside, leaning back with a teasing smile. “What do you think, Wrecker?”
“She looks better than you and Hunter,” Wrecker said with a grin.
“I wanna see!” Omega cried, unable to resist touching the paint and staining her fingertips black.
“I thought you might.” Crosshair pulled one of his mirror pucks from his pocket, holding it out to her. She performed a dance of glee as she saw her face, painted skillfully with a replica of Hunter’s skull tattoo on the left side, and Crosshair’s insignia on the right.
“What do you think?” Wrecker prompted.
Omega grabbed the mirror puck, overjoyed. “I look so…so scary!”
Wrecker roared with laughter. “You look like you’re ready to take on some clankers!”
Omega dropped the mirror and swung some punches at imaginary enemies, nearly losing her balance with her enthusiasm. “I’ll punch ‘em all!”
“They don’t stand a chance against you,” Crosshair said between his own chuckles, stabilizing her when she stumbled in his direction. “Why don’t you show Hunter and Tech?”
Omega needed no second bidding, and dashed to the Marauder to find the two men. She discovered Tech first, nearly jumping on him as he crouched to put a container away. “Tick, lookit how scary I yam!”
To her delight, Tech looked startled when he saw her. “What has happened to you, my love?”
“I ‘ave tattoos!” Omega proclaimed, beaming.
“So I see.” Tech furrowed his brow as he leaned closer. “I hope that’s paint.”
“Y’gonna mess it up!” Omega squawked when he tried to touch the markings, swatting at his hands.
“It is paint,” Hunter announced, stepping into the cabin. “I can smell it from here.”
Tech eyed Wrecker and Crosshair loitering just beyond the Marauder’s ramp, their smiles betraying their involvement. “I can guess how this all came about.”
“Hun’er, lookit me!” Omega shouted, running up to him. “Look jus’ like you!”
“Yeah, you do. You really wanted those tattoos after all.” Hunter chuckled, swinging her up into his arms. “I think this is a good compromise.”
“So long as paint doesn't end up on the floor and walls,” Tech said with a pointed look toward Omega, “again.”
The dark paint did nothing to dim the brightness of Omega’s winning smile. “I’ll be good, p’omise!”
“I certainly hope so, my dear,” Tech said, pulling out his datapad. “Now stay still for just a moment…”
A holo of Omega in Hunter’s arms, grinning with a painted face that matched him and Crosshair, was added to Tech’s database.
***
Omega dipped a paintbrush into the waiting canister, keeping her other arm still so as not to smudge the marks on it. With slow, precise movements, she pressed the brush to her skin, drawing a line of black around her forearm. She mentally cheered at the line’s straightness, which was a vast improvement over the previous attempts farther up her arm. The whole mess of swirls and attempted patterns was not the design she had originally envisioned for a false tattoo, but she had continued to practice anyway.
“Omega, what are you doing?”
She froze at Hunter’s call from somewhere else in the ship, glancing at her stained hands and painted arm. No one had said she couldn’t use the paint, but she didn’t want to admit what she had been doing. “…Reading.”
No answer came, and she waited a few more moments before continuing her project.
“Reading, huh?”
Omega nearly dropped the paintbrush on herself, scowling at Hunter, who was now standing just behind her. “Don’t sneak up on me!”
Hunter raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t have to if you told me what you were really doing.”
Heat crept into Omega’s cheeks. “I was just wondering what it would be like to have a tattoo.”
To her surprise, Hunter smiled. “I guess I can’t blame you for that.”
Omega squinted at him. “Would you let me get a real one?”
“No.” Omega’s face fell at the rejection, and Hunter added, “Even if you were old enough, you don’t need one, kiddo.”
Omega made no attempt to hide her disappointment. She frowned at him, and he sighed, crouching next to her.
“None of us think you need a tattoo, I promise,” he said. “You’re perfect just the way you are. Besides, I doubt you would want to sit through the entire process. It’s not comfortable.”
“I guess not,” Omega mumbled, her frown wavering as the compliment made her flush.
“You can keep using the paint, though.” He gestured to her painted arm. “Can I see what you have?”
Omega held out her arm with some reluctance. “I kinda messed it up in some places.”
Hunter inspected the patterns. “I could help you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I noticed you’re missing something important.” Hunter took the brush, moving to her unpainted arm and drawing the stylized 99 insignia. “Can’t forget that.”
Omega grinned when she saw the symbol, her previous disappointment forgotten. “I wanted to do that one, but I wasn’t sure if I could do it right.”
“Then let’s see what else we can come up with.” Hunter’s smile took on a slight edge of mischief. “I think it’ll be an interesting surprise for the boys when they get back.”
A few hours later, the rest of the squad returned from their errands, and Omega ran out to meet them, yanking her sleeve up to reveal her entire arm covered in intricate designs. “Look what I got!”
A visible ripple of surprise passed through the group, then Wrecker started laughing. “Ha, I see the paint on your hands! I thought those were real for a second!”
“I didn’t,” Tech said. “I knew it was highly improbable that Hunter—”
Echo nudged him sharply. “Come on, I saw your face. You thought they were real.”
“Hunter did these!” Omega proclaimed. “Do you like them?”
“I think they fit you perfectly,” Echo said, admiring the swirling patterns surrounding the 99 insignia, Wrecker and Tech sharing his sentiment.
Crosshair cast a critical eye over the markings. “I could do better than him.”
Omega turned a hopeful gaze on him, oblivious to Hunter’s glare behind her. “You would?”
“I said I could do it, not that I would.”
“I believe that you would,” Tech interjected, “and I have no small amount of holos stored away to prove it. You spent a considerable amount of time painting at Omega’s request when she asked if of you.”
“I remember that,” Hunter said, backed up by Wrecker’s agreement.
Crosshair’s exasperation towards him was interrupted as Omega redoubled her efforts. “Will you do it at least once, please?”
Crosshair sighed, rolling his eyes. “I suppose if I had to…”
Omega did not believe his reluctance was sincere at all, and decided to try her luck. “Would you let me get a real tattoo? That way you wouldn’t have to paint it!”
“Not a chance.”
Soon after, several more holos of Omega with various “tattoos” found their way into Tech’s collections.
There’s no such thing as a bad day for the Batch with Omega around.
-
For @star-farer’s Protostar AU FINALLY! Idk why this took so long to write, because it’s literally just fluff and baby Omega being a sweetheart, but here you go!
“Ti, wan’ ‘Un’er!”
Tech looked down at the tiny girl leaning against his leg, the tapping of her little hands making her request impossible to ignore. “You can’t see Hunter right now, my love.”
Omega’s face pinched with displeasure. She was little more than the equivalent of two and a half cycles, and she was already so vibrantly expressive. “Why?”
He had never had to explain Hunter’s occasional headache episodes to Omega before, but as she gradually grew in awareness of her four caretakers, it was not unexpected that she would finally take notice of Hunter’s odd absence. “Because he’s not feeling well.”
Omega’s frown turned more worried as she tried to think through his reply. “Sick?”
“No, his head is hurting. Sometimes it just happens, like when you feel poorly.” Tech hoped his explanation would soothe her concern, but the troubled furrows on her face did not lessen. “It’s alright. He just needs to rest for a while, and then he’ll be back to normal.”
Omega was quiet for a moment, then declared, “Wanna see ‘Un’er!”
Tech hesitated. Omega was still learning how to modulate her volume, and a loud interruption was the last thing Hunter needed, but he could not deny the benefits of letting her see him resting. It could help her understand the situation, and potentially alleviate her worries. “If we go to see Hunter, we can’t stay long, and you must be very quiet. Can you promise me that?”
Omega nodded emphatically. “Pom-iss!”
Tech decided to take her word for it. She was not incapable of being quiet, especially around Nala Se. She seemed to innately understand that the scientist had little tolerance for her usual noise levels. “Alright, we’ll visit him just for a moment.”
Omega brightened, and he could see the amount of physical effort it took for her to not cheer aloud as he stood, bending slightly to take her hand. He led her over to the door of a small side room in their barracks—little more than a closet—that they had designated as a space for Hunter to isolate himself during the occasional sensory-induced migraine.
“Remember, we must be quiet,” he reminded her. “We don’t want to disturb Hunter.”
Omega nodded again, mimicking his serious expression.
With every hope that this venture would not end poorly, Tech opened the door, allowing Omega to see Hunter. He lay on the floor in a makeshift nest of pillows and blankets, taking up most of the back half of the room. His bandana covered his eyes, ensuring that no light leaked through even in the already completely darkened environment. If he was aware of their entry, he did not indicate it, his posture remaining relaxed.
Tech glanced at Omega. She was squinting to see Hunter, but her expression was one of innocent curiosity rather than worry. As promised, she stayed quiet, the peace of the isolation undisturbed.
Noticing that the cup of water he had set near Hunter’s bedding was almost empty, he let go of Omega’s hand for a moment to search for the canteen he had clipped to one of his utility belt straps. A few moments was all it took, because when he found the canteen, Omega was no longer next to him but waddling her way across the room to Hunter.
“Omega!” he hissed, trying to keep his volume low. “Don’t bother him! Come back here!”
It was too late. Hunter shifted, turning his head toward Omega, his lips twitching in a weary smile that would only encourage her. He spoke in a controlled whisper. “…That you, sunshine?”
Omega grinned at being recognized, and quickly closed the rest of the distance between them. “M’here,” she said, remarkably keeping her voice down to a loud whisper. “‘Ead’ ‘urts?”
“Yeah, a bit,” Hunter murmured, “but I’ll be better in a few hours. You’ll see.”
“I ‘elp.” Omega leaned forward, taking Hunter’s face between her hands and clumsily—but gently—pressed a kiss to his forehead. She managed to keep her balance and straightened with a satisfied smile. “Better.”
Hunter reached out, finding her despite his covered eyes, and corralled her in a gentle embrace. “Thank you, ‘Mega.”
Momentarily halted by the tender exchange, Tech remembered his task, hurrying forward with the water. “I didn’t mean to be quite this intrusive…”
“Don’t worry about it.” Hunter tilted his head, resting his cheek against Omega’s soft hair. “I do feel better than I did.”
“Well, I suppose there might be some sort of placebo effect at work, though that was not my intention.”
“I’m not complaining.” Hunter relinquished his grip on Omega, gently pushing her in Tech’s direction. “Go on with Tech, sunshine. You’ve been a big help, and I just need to rest a little more.”
“‘Kay.” Omega spoke at full volume but caught herself, pressing her hands over her mouth. “Oops.”
“It’s alright,” Hunter said, his smile widening at her innocent mishap as he leaned back against his pillows. “You did a good job at being quiet.”
Tech could not help a smile of his own as Omega beamed, her radiance such that Hunter could surely sense it regardless of sight. “We should go now, so he can rest.”
She took his hand when he offered it, toddling out of the room with him after whispering a farewell to Hunter. He did not know how much she had truly helped Hunter’s discomfort, but she had undoubtedly improved his mood, which was just as important sometimes.
“You made him feel better,” he told her. “You’ve done a good thing, sweet one.”
Omega’s replying smile was one of satisfaction and a job well done.
“Osk…Mern…Esk…G’ek…” The stylus paused in its slow path across the sheet of flimsi, hovering with uncertainty.
“You know this,” Hunter said, encouraging Omega in her hesitation. “It’s the first one.”
“Ah-rek!” Omega shouted as she remembered, scrawling the last letter of her name.
“That’s your best one yet,” Hunter continued, comparing the attempt to the previous ones farther up on the page. “Good job, ‘Mega.”
“I’m’a do it again!” she declared, looking extremely proud of herself.
“You could try one of our names,” Wrecker suggested from where he was organizing a new case of blaster cartridges.
Omega’s eyes went wide with excitement. “Yeah!”
“Do you know who has the shortest name?”
Omega thought hard about it. She had seen their names written out, though she had yet to learn all the letters associated with each one. “Umm…Tick!”
“That’s right! You should try writing his.”
“Maybe that’ll put him in a better mood than this morning,” Crosshair muttered from his position nearby, aiming a scowl at the Marauder.
“You have no one to blame but yourself,” Hunter said.
Crosshair turned the scowl on him. “Wrecker pushed me into that pile of circuitry he was working on.”
“‘Cause you were in the way!” Wrecker retorted.
“I need ‘nother f’imsi!” Omega shouted, yanking on Hunter’s sleeve. “P’ease!”
Hunter obliged, handing her a fresh piece. “You think you can write Tech’s name for him?”
“Yeah!” Omega paused, eyeing the empty sheet in front of her. “I fink.”
“Let’s try it, then. What letter do you think Tech starts with?”
“…T’ill?” Omega suggested after a moment of contemplation.
Hunter nodded encouragingly. “Trill, yes. I can show you how to write it…”
A few minutes and a couple of scribbled-out mistakes later, Omega successfully wrote the four letters, somewhat legible beyond the spidering, inarticulate marks of a child. She held up her work, showing it off proudly. “I did it!”
“Good job, sunshine,” Hunter said. “You should go show Tech.”
“‘Kay!” Omega scrambled to her feet with the flimsi and ran to the Marauder, eager to show her work to the intended audience. After a mishap involving one of Tech’s projects, they had spent most of the planet’s sunny morning outside while he stayed in the ship to fix what was broken. Everyone except Omega was “banned” from the ship until Tech was done, but she found being outside far more entertaining anyway.
She quickly spotted Tech once she entered the ship, seated at his workbench with Gonky at his side, and she ran to him excitedly. “Tick, lookit what I did!”
Tech straightened at her sudden entry, blinking a couple of times before giving her a tired smile. “What have you done, sweet one?”
Omega shoved the flimsi into his hands. “Made this for you.”
Tech stared at the writing, his smile slowly growing. “You wrote my name?”
Omega nodded, bouncing up on her tiptoes. “Yeah.”
“This is a wonderful surprise,” Tech said, no longer looking as tired. “Thank you, my love.”
Omega was almost too pleased to stand still. “Did I do’a good job?”
“You did marvelously. Was this all by yourself?”
“No. Hun’er helped a li’l bit.”
“Ah, I see.” Tech reached down, scooping Omega into his lap. “Hunter always was the best at deescalation.”
Omega leaned her head against his chest, frowning up at him. “What’s dee-esk-cala-shun?”
Tech swept some wayward strands of hair out of her face. “In this case, it is Hunter trying to make me feel better than I was this morning.”
“You were grumpy,” Omega surmised, recalling earlier explanations given to her by the others.
Tech let out an amused huff. “Yes, at Wrecker and Crosshair specifically.”
Omega tilted her head, scrutinizing him. “Still?”
“That’s precisely why you’re here instead of one of them,” Tech said, tapping her nose lightly. “It’s much harder to be mad when you’re here, especially with the gift you brought.”
Omega giggled, reaching for the flimsi. “I can do it again!”
“Yes, that’s a good idea. Why don’t you show me how you did it?”
With Tech’s guidance, Omega painstakingly wrote out the four letters out again, drinking in every bit of gentle encouragement he provided. However, she still had energy to spend, eventually growing restless.
“Wanna go ou’side,” she proclaimed, eyeing him expectantly. “Come wif me.”
Tech raised an eyebrow. “Did someone tell you to say that?”
“No,” Omega retorted, looking insulted. “I wan’ you to.”
Tech sighed, his gaze drifting to the project still in progress on the table. Sensing further encouragement was needed, Omega turned to face him, rising up on her knees so her face was inches from his.
“Y’ve been inside forever!” she complained.
“One morning is hardly forever, my love. That is greatly exaggerated.”
Omega frowned. “But f’esh air is good for you.”
“Well, you are correct…”
“An’ sun-wight!”
Tech smiled, shaking his head. “Who is teaching you to make such compelling arguments?”
Omega hesitated a moment longer than necessary, a mischievous grin appearing on her face. “C’oss.”
Tech snorted, though his smile remained. “That’s not the correct answer, and I believe you know that.”
Omega burst into a fit of giggles at the hilarity of teasing him. “It was you, not C’oss!”
“You are a little womp rat, giving me the wrong answer on purpose.” Tech tickled under her chin, making her giggles intensify. “But I suppose your arguments have swayed me. I’ll come outside.”
Omega didn’t wait for him, jumping out of his lap and running outside with a cheer. “Tick’s comin’ ou’side!”
“I knew you’d convince him!” Wrecker laughed as Tech stepped from the ship, meeting his brothers’ amused expressions with a glare.
“Does this mean we’re unbanned?” Crosshair asked snidely.
“You’re not helping your case,” Tech retorted.
“Tick, wanna look for bugs!” Omega shouted, already heading for a longer patch of grass.
“Alright, I’m coming.” Tech went after her, providing no answer to his brothers.
Hunter shrugged, heading in the direction of the ship. “Guess we’re unbanned.”
Wrecker scrubbed a hand over his face as another yawn took him, trying to overcome the fatigue that lingered in him. They had returned only hours before from a deployment that had kept them away from Kamino for almost two standard weeks. In that span of time, they had been so busy that he had only slept the equivalent of two full sleep cycles. Retrieving an overjoyed Omega from Nala Se had reinvigorated him somewhat, but as the hours crept by, the exhaustion became heavier. As much as he wanted to sleep, he couldn’t until one of his brothers returned to take over watching Omega.
Another yawn came, and Wrecker could not stop it. It had been a while since he had felt this tired.
“Daddy?”
Wrecker was drawn out of his thoughts by the tiny voice nearby, and he looked down into big brown eyes. “Yeah, kiddo?”
Omega stared back at him from the floor. “You tired?”
She was becoming very observant, an ability Wrecker could attribute to any of his three brothers, and he decided to go ahead and confirm what she saw. “Yeah, a little bit.”
“Why?” Omega asked, the inevitable follow-up question.
“Lemme tell you a secret.” Wrecker leaned closer to her. “Sometimes we need naps, too.”
He expected Omega to recoil in horror at the notion, for she regarded naps like they were the worst thing in her entire world. However, she merely scrunched delicate features with thought. “…Go take’a nap.”
“But I have to stay awake to play with you,” Wrecker said, though it was truly a matter of keeping an eye on her.
Omega paused, then said, “I’ll take’a nap wif you!”
“You’ll take a nap with me?” Wrecker was truly surprised, and when she nodded he exclaimed, “I don’t believe you!”
“It’s true!” Indignant at his disbelief, Omega stood and trundled over to his bunk, hoisting herself up. She flopped there, giving him a pointed look. “See?”
Wrecker stood, his resistance wavering. “Are you sure you’re not gonna give up after a minute or two?”
Omega nodded. “M’sure!”
Wrecker was not fully convinced, but the offer was too tantalizing for his weary body to pass up. “Then you better move before I squish you flat!”
Omega laughed and scrambled out of the way as he made a show of running to the bunk. She squealed with delight as he swept her up in the air, allowing him to fill the bed space as he settled her atop his chest. She curled there like a tooka kitten, letting him settle the blanket over both of them.
“G’night,” she mumbled.
Wrecker smiled to himself. It was barely past lunchtime, but he understood her sincerity. “Good night, little’un.”
He began stroking her hair gently in the hope that it would soothe her to sleep. Already he could feel the exhaustion crowding in, growing steadily harder to resist. Omega lay still and quiet atop him aside from the occasional fidget, her slight weight acting as another sedative. The only sounds were her slow breaths and the drone of rain against the barracks window, melting away the last vestiges of stress from their last mission into a sense of peace.
The next thing Wrecler knew, he was waking up to Omega moving, a fierce whisper reaching his ears.
“Shushush! You’ll wake Wricker up!”
Crosshair’s voice crawled into Wrecker’s awareness from farther away. “He’s sleeping on the job, because he’s supposed to be up with you.”
“We were napping’ toge-ver,” Omega said, her words punctuated by a yawn.
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah.” Omega squirmed over closer to the edge of the bunk, dangling down his side so she could whisper-shout more effectively. “He was tired so I said we could take’a nap.”
“You said that?” Crosshair responded, his disbelief evident. “Without complaining?”
“Yeah!”
Crosshair scoffed quietly. “Well, get out of there before you wake him up.”
Wrecker chose that moment to stir, grabbing Omega before she could move. “Hey, I didn’t say you could leave yet.” He shifted himself to face the wall, taking her with him.
“Leggo!” Omega laughed, fighting against the snuggles.
“But I want you to stay,” Wrecker lamented, keeping his hold light. He wasn’t sure how long he had slept, but he felt better, and he was glad Omega had stayed out of trouble.
“Use Lula!” Omega squirmed free, attempting to climb over him. “C’oss, ‘elp!”
“If you insist.” Crosshair’s arms appeared, lifting Omega out of the bunk. “Don’t suffocate the kid you big bantha.”
Wrecker rolled over to insult him back, but was stopped by Lula landing on his face.
“Suffocate that instead and go back to sleep,” Crosshair grunted, Omega dangling herself from one of his arms. “I can take care of her from here.”
“You sure?” Wrecker asked, surprised by the offer.
“I’m sure, considering you almost beat Tech in lack of sleep.”
Wrecker recognized the kindness beneath the usual Crosshair jabs, and smiled. “Don’t ever let Cross fool you into thinking he’s not nice, kid!”
Crosshair rolled his eyes, lifting his arm and earning a delighted laugh from Omega as her feet left the ground. “Shut up and go to sleep.”
Wrecker scoffed, situating himself more comfortably as Crosshair strategically drew Omega and her rising noise levels away from his bunk. Though he could do with more sleep, he already felt better. As he drifted off again, he held Lula close to his chest, but the toy could never compare to his daughter.
Omega looked up from her play as the barracks door finally opened, bringing the last of her family home. Crosshair walked in, a scowl on his face, but that did not deter Omega at all. She jumped up, eager to greet him and cling to his leg as he pretended like she wasn’t there, until he finally swept her up in his arms. She made it almost halfway to him, until her progress was stopped by Wrecker’s massive hands.
“Hold on there, kiddo,” Wrecker said, catching her mid-stride. “I think Cross needs some time to himself.”
Omega frowned, watching as Crosshair moved deeper into the barracks without her. He did look grumpy. “Why?”
“Looks like he’s had a bad day.” Wrecker set her down. “Maybe you should draw him something and give it to him later when he’s less grumpy.”
Omega latched onto that idea immediately, running off to act on Wrecker’s suggestion. Crosshair liked her drawings, though he only admitted it after teasing her every time. Grabbing a blank piece of flimsi and her small array of colored styluses, she got to work on a picture of Crosshair himself, hoping it would make his mood better.
When she finished, she was dismayed to see that Crosshair had not moved from the corner he had originally been in. She tried to be patient, waiting to see if he would get up and notice her, but she quickly grew tired of it when he kept working on his equipment.
A solution suddenly came to her mind, and after a look around to make sure no one was paying attention, she began sneaking her way across the room with her drawing. She would leave it without him knowing as a surprise. Using pieces of furniture as hiding spots, she huddled low to the floor and scurried from place to place, watching Crosshair carefully, through he seemed unaware of her presence. Eventually, she reached a crate near where he was sitting, crouching behind it as she found it an acceptable spot for her drawing. With slow, hesitant moves, she reached up to place the drawing on top.
“I know you’re there.”
Omega froze as Crosshair spoke, hoping he wasn’t talking to her and she could hide by being completely still.
“I can see you,” Crosshair growled after a pause.
Omega dared to raise her head above the crate, letting out a squeak when she met Crosshair’s unwavering stare. She couldn’t tell if he was still grumpy, or if it was just his face. “Hi, daddy.”
Crosshair raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing?”
“…Nuffin’.”
“Looks like something to me.”
Omega stood up, extremely disappointed that her plan had not worked out. “I was gonna su-pize you,” she said, waving her drawing in the air. “Made this for you.”
“Why?”
Omega shrugged. “Wricker said you were grumpy, so I wanted you to be happy.”
Crosshair’s face twitched, something she knew was close to a smile. “So you couldn’t just give it to me?”
“Supposed to leave you ‘lone.”
Crosshair sighed, setting aside his equipment and extending an arm to her. “Come here.”
Omega ran to him, scrambling into his lap, her previous disappointment forgotten as his arms wrapped around her.
“Let’s see this drawing, then,” Crosshair murmured.
Omega gladly showed him, explaining as she did. “It’s you, but happy!”
Crosshair’s lips twitched upwards as he looked over the scrawls that bore some resemblance to a smiling face, complete with a crooked attempt at his tattoo. “How flattering.”
Omega eyed him expectantly. “Do you like it?”
“I don’t know, I might have to think about it…”
“Y’don’t hafta fink!” Omega insisted, having anticipated such a response.
Crosshair huffed with amusement. “Alright, I like it.”
Pleased with his approval, Omega carried on. “Are you happy now?”
Crosshair gave her a smile, small but genuine. “I guess I am.”
“Why were y’grumpy?” Omega asked, leaning contentedly against his shoulder.
“Regs,” Crosshair growled, a word that was becoming steadily more familiar to her.
“Then tell’em to go ‘way,” she said, the answer clear in her mind.
A soft chuckle rumbled through her head. “Maybe I will next time.” They sat in a moment of peace together before he continued. “Do you want to do something for me?”
“Yeah,” Omega replied with no hesitation, ready to help.
“Go get me a ration bar…and I suppose you can get a piece of candy for yourself.” Crosshair grabbed Omega’s arm, stopping her from literally leaping into action. “But only one, understand?”
“Un’erstand!”
Crosshair released Omega, and she took off on her errand as he quietly stashed the drawing in his ever-growing collection.
***
Echo cursed under his breath as his scomp slipped out of place, causing the panel on his left leg to fall back and pinch his fingers. His prosthetic legs needed tuning, as evidenced by his knee locking up earlier and nearly making him fall. He had become largely proficient with self-maintenance, but pieces that needed work this time were especially tiny and hard to reach. It was a job for someone with three hands, not one and a half.
He lifted the panel again, trying to keep it wide open enough for him to clean the mechanisms within, but it inevitably slipped from his scomp once more, fraying his already thin patience. His day had already started out wrong with spilled food and arguments about credits, and this was just one more annoyance to add.
“What are you working on?”
The quiet question brought Echo out of his thoughts, spoken by a high, soft voice he had not yet grown accustomed to. Omega stood nearby, watching him curiously, somehow having managed to sneak up on him. “I’m working on these cybernetics, or trying to, at least.”
“Do you need help?”
Her question did not surprise Echo; in the short time he had known her, she had already offered her help several times to all of them. “I wouldn’t mind it, but there are several of these mechanisms that need cleaning. It’ll take some time.”
Omega shrugged. “That’s okay.”
“Well, if you don’t think you’ll get bored…”
“I won’t!” Omega hurried over, listening carefully as he described the issues and instructed her on how to clean the mechanisms. As she began working, he tried to envision her as younger and smaller, something he had taken to doing since finally getting to see some holos of her from those days. She was certainly small now, but it was hard to imagine she had ever been so tiny and fragile, somehow alternating between sweet and rambunctious.
It was a wonder to him that the four daredevils he called squadmates had made something of a good life for her. Almost every holo had her smiling, radiating the innocent joy of a child blissfully unaware of the war raging in the galaxy. She had been loved then just as much as she was now, and it was amusing to watch hardened soldiers crumble for one girl.
“Done!” Omega sat back, surprising Echo with her swiftness.
“That was quick,” he said, looking over her work. The mechanisms appeared clean, cleaner than he could usually manage. “It looks good. Let’s see how it works.”
Omega helped him put the panels back in place, watching closely as he flexed each leg at the knee.
“You did a great job, kid,” he said with all sincerity as the prosthetics moved smoothly and without any hitches.
Omega’s face lit up with a smile. “Really?”
Echo was momentarily taken aback by her happiness and the brightness of it. He was beginning to see what had gotten his brothers wrapped around her finger, all his previous annoyances forgotten. “Yeah, you did a better job than I ever could. Where’d you learn to clean like that? Tech?”
“It was more droid maintenance on Kamino.” Omega paused, her expression dropping. “Uh, not that you’re a droid or anything, but—”
Echo could not restrain a laugh. “Don’t worry, kid. I know what you mean.”
Omega sighed with relief, her smile returning. “Oh, good.”
“I might ask for your help again. I think you’ve done a better job than even Tech has.”
Omega’s cheeks colored as she shook her head. “That’s not true. Tech’s the best at everything.”
Echo scoffed. “You know that’s what he wants you to think, right?”
“…Maybe,” Omega admitted with a giggle.
Further conversation was interrupted by Hunter’s appearance in the cockpit doorway. “Omega, weren’t you and Wrecker supposed to go get us a restock on ration bars?”
Omega jumped up with a gasp. “Oh, I forgot!”
“I think Wrecker forgot too, so you should remind him.”
“OkaygottagoEchobye!” Omega ran out of the cockpit so fast that Echo didn’t have a chance to respond to her hasty departure. He shared a look with Hunter, who looked quite amused.
“Was she watching you work?” he asked.
“Helping me, actually.” Echo began cleaning up his tools. “She wanted to.”
“Well, congratulations.”
“For what?”
“She seems to like you.”
Echo paused. “You’re saying she disliked me before?”
“No, but we weren’t exactly giving her good impressions of regs when she was small. I wasn’t sure what she’d make of you now.”
Echo scoffed, rolling his eyes, but he couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed anymore. Omega had set a warmth in his chest that had not yet faded. “I don’t want to know what you filled her head with, but she seems to like me just fine. She was a great help.”
Hunter smiled knowingly. “I figured she would be.”
a one shot for @star-farer ‘s beautiful a protostar in plastoid au!
Well, this had been an absolutely ridiculous idea.
The rain poured harder and faster the further Hunter trekked down the street, pressing the small bundle against his chest beneath her sling to keep dry. Thunder clapped overhead, rattling an already gray-shrouded sky, and the boom of it reverberated through Hunter’s head, awakening every nerve from his scalp to his fingertips.
Omega wept her dainty weeps into the softest part of his armor he could find: the crook of his neck where his smooth blacks covered at least half his throat. A child of Kamino, born from thunderstorms and lightning strikes and ceaseless water all around, but today, she did not find the trademarks of their homeland agreeable to her tiny ears. Hunter just wished he wasn’t so kriffing far away from where they’d parked the Marauder, a couple miles out of this backwater town on a backwater planet. The skies had burst when he’d been in the middle of a supply run, and when he’d gone to seek shelter in a shop or inn nearby, he’d been turned down every time. The armor, most likely. Hunter couldn’t say he blamed the wary villagers, but he wasn’t too happy with their lack of hospitality either.
Especially with Omega. Tech had given him breakdown after breakdown about how a state of cold wetness could affect a baby as small as she was—two biological cycles old, yet not much bigger than a tubie straight out the tank. Even though she was almost completely dry in the wrap he had secured to his chest, the blanket they’d used was thin, not meant to shield much more than a breeze. He’d never let himself sleep peacefully if she got sick because he couldn't locate a place for them to wait out the storm.
Huffing, puffing, trying not to scare her further, Hunter dipped his head, pressing a kiss to his daughter’s temple. “Shh, sweetheart,” he hushed, close to her ear so she’d hear the volume of his voice over the thunder, “it’s okay. It’s okay, ‘Mega mine.” Calculating where he’d come from and where he had to go, he rounded a street corner and headed for where the establishments in the village faded into a forest; they’d parked deep in the trees, in a clearing he couldn’t see from where he was standing. Two miles on foot through the rain would surely allow sickness to catch the little girl. He had to think of something else.
He scanned the edge of the woods, pinpointing the thickest, lushest tree in the closest proximity. It was tall, much taller than most of the structures in the village, and its branches looked more like vines, hanging low in a shape similar to an umbrella. Tech had called these weeping willows, if Hunter was correct. Without hesitating, he darted toward it and ducked beneath its branches, backing up so he collided with the trunk, veiled almost entirely by the canopy of dangling green foliage. From where he stood at the tree’s base, only a drop of rain here or there managed to land on him and Omega, much less than how drenched they’d been out in the open.
He took a breath, let it go again. He pulled Omega back from her hiding place against his neck to rock her gently, murmur soothing words above her little head. Tech had suggested Hunter take Omega with him into the quiet town to project a sense of normalcy; a man in armor would appear much less suspicious if carrying an infant. That idea had fallen flat, but Hunter had enjoyed having just Omega with him, babbling only a few words he could understand, but with an affection that broke every language barrier. He’d bought her a doll, shared some fruit with her, and listened to her laugh as she watched some of the village kids kick a ball around the square. Up until a few minutes ago, it’d been a lovely day for just the two of them, and he’d savored every second.
He was savoring these seconds, too. He just would’ve preferred them to be a tad less noisy.
“Bee-bee,” she whined, teensy hands pawing at his face, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Wo-wowd!”
“I know, baby, I know,” he whispered, kissing her fingers where they fell against his lips. He held one palm over her ear, lowering her head back to his neck. “I know it’s loud, my love. But it’s okay, you’re safe. The thunder can’t have you while Buir’s around.”
She sniffled, rubbing her button nose against his blacks. “Wowd,” she whimpered again, taking Hunter’s heart and squeezing it in a vice her little hands shouldn’t have been strong enough for.
He placed another kiss to her soft, platinum curls, letting it linger as he breathed in the scent of the soap Tech used to bathe her. “Shh, ad’ika, shh. You’re okay. You’re not alone.”
What could he do to distract her? That’s what Wrecker always did when she was scared. He put on a good show and swung her about and gave the rest of them three heart attacks a piece, but he brightened their daughter’s spirits again and none of them could complain about that. But out here, miles away from home and with nowhere to go in the village, what could Hunter do? If he had to listen to her cry much longer, he’d dissolve into a mess right along with her.
He surveyed the area, seeking a flower or a peculiar rock, anything her bright eyes might find fascinating. He came up short; all that laid at their feet were thick, gnarled roots and sprays of grass. He grumbled unintelligibly. Very helpful, Galaxy, thank you.
A beep had Hunter flinching, lifting his forearm upward. “Hunter,” came Tech’s clipped tone on the other end, “are you well? Have you taken shelter?”
“I’m fine,” he replied, raising his voice to be heard over ‘Mega’s exaggerated sniffles. “Omega and I are waiting out the storm under a willow. We’ll be home soon.” Hopefully.
“Very well,” Tech’s voice crackled, a hint of worry lacing the words. Worry for Hunter, of course, but mainly for Omega. No doubt he was remembering his extensive list of all the ways babies could catch illnesses right about now. “Comm when you are close.”
“Will do,” said Hunter. With that, the comm powered down, and he went back to looking for something to comfort his crying daughter. He walked the whole tree in a circle more than once, even examining up into it to see if there was anything helpful above him, like a stick or a leaf, or—
An idea took shape in Hunter’s mind, drawing his eyes back to the protective shield of ivy. Creeping toward it, Hunter reached out a hand and grabbed a fistful, pulling it back as though a curtain. Rain showered the world beyond, but right where he stood, he was safe. The only thing that made a difference on whether he was wet or dry was a thin barrier, easy to be peeled away.
He extended his hand outside, curling it. In no time, a puddle had formed in the basin of his glove, dripping past his fingers, falling to the earth below. It didn’t matter how often he’d danced in the rain as a cadet, the heavens unleashing their glittering sorrow and joy upon the rest of the land would never cease to enchant Hunter. It may have had something to do with his senses, the constant rhythm of rain thrumming against the metal roofs of Tipoca City’s domes soothing the pulsing in Hunter’s brain, the vibrations behind his teeth, the bizarre awareness of every other living thing in each forceful beat of his heart. Rain-showers, thunderstorms, the electric strike of lightning from a black sky…it had always felt like a hug to his senses, stilling all that struggled to be still.
He glanced at Omega, mewling into the column of his throat. Following his first instinct, he carefully pinched his baby’s wrist in his fingers, stepping closer to the tree’s verdant mantle. He pried open her fingers from their fist, holding her palm skyward. Two or three droplets fell into the petite, available space, soaking into her delicate baby skin.
He couldn’t help but marvel as Omega bolted off of him, eyes wide and aimed at her outstretched hand, glistening with rainwater. Her cries stopped just like that, leaving behind hesitant—but brilliant—wonder. Hunter unfurled his own hand, holding it next to hers so she could see them both be doused in the mist, understand that neither it nor the rumble overheard would hurt them. “See, baby? Just the rain. It’s okay.”
Omega smacked her lips, wiggling her fingers, sniffing now to clear away the gunk of a good, long meltdown, rather than to create more. Hunter could see that same intelligent twinkle in her deep brown irises he saw every day in Tech’s, Crosshair’s and Wrecker’s eyes. It stirred a deep emotion inside, searing the rims of Hunter’s eyes with watery heat. Sometimes it scared him how much he could see his brothers in Omega, their chaos reflected in her every miniscule trait. Now, though, all it brought was an awe he seemed to share with his child.
Omega caught more drops in her hand and squealed, shaking out her hand to flick them away so she could catch more. “Wain!” she exclaimed, then gawked at him with childish amazement. “Bee-bee wike wain?”
Hunter chuckled, kissing her cheek and reveling in her string of flowing giggles. “Yes, ad’ika, Buir likes the rain, too.” He took her rain-covered hand in his, peppering it with a dozen more pecks, across her knuckles and palm and fingertips. “But Buir likes you more.”
A cackle erupted out of her small lungs, and when he felt her hand tug, Hunter released it, letting Omega extend it once more into the drizzle just beyond them. In less than a moment, it was dripping with evidence of the downpour, tiny silver sparkles studding her fingernails. Hunter would have given every bandana he had to take a picture of his little girl, laughing with tear-filled eyes as she let the deluge caress her as if just another of her buire. Tech would have loved to have a picture of this, more so than Hunter. Crosshair would have memorized every minute detail with his impeccable gaze and recounted it all from memory later. Wrecker would have scooped her up and taken her waltzing in the rainstorm ages ago, the two laughing like lunatics with every step.
He hoped the rain started up again by the time they got back to the Marauder. Just so they could have this a second time.
His baby daughter guffawed once more, retracting and sticking her hand out over and over again, stunned by science’s wondrous methods of quenching every living thing of its thirst. “Wain! Wain! Pwetty!”
Hunter nuzzled one of her rebellious yellow curls before cupping his much larger hand beneath her teeny one, so they could catch as many raindrops as she wanted together prior to heading back. “Yes, little one,” he said, to himself as much as to his precious girl. “Pretty indeed.”
Omega’s relationship with cleanliness has changed over the years.
-
For @star-farer’s Protostar AU! The mud puddle fic I promised after procrastination and business cuz I got a job, featuring much adorableness and feels as always.
“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Wrecker grabbed Omega before she could dart out of reach, his hand swallowing one tiny arm entirely.
“I wanna jump in’a puddles!” Omega protested.
Hunter sighed, glancing around at the puddles that surrounded them on their short walk to the nearby town. It was barely raining now, but the lush planet was clearly predisposed to periods of intense rainfall. Maybe it was a product of being native to Kamino, but Omega was drawn to puddles like they magnetized her, with little care for the mud and grime she got on herself.
“You can jump in them on the way back.” He glanced back at her, catching sight of her tiny form swamped in a poncho of water-resistant material, bumbling along between Wrecker and Crosshair. “And know that if you do, you’ll probably need a bath afterwards.”
Discontent radiated behind him as Omega cried, “Jus’ad one!”
“I know, but you’re going to get yourself dirty again.”
“A bath is almost the same thing,” Crosshair murmured, “just warmer.”
There was a pause as Omega considered this. “But I gotta sit still in’a baff!”
“Oh, yes. That’s such an impossible task for you.”
“You can jump in the puddles on the way back if you want, as long as you take a bath,” Hunter declared. He did not have to look to know she was thinking it over, the cadence of her footsteps slowing a little.
“Can I ‘ave bubbles wif’a baff?” she asked at last.
Hunter smiled to himself. Bubbles were irresistible to her. “If you behave, then yes.”
Omega cheered, jumping up and down, and Wrecker laughed as he said, “Easy, you little moss-hopper!”
The remainder of the outing was uneventful. They made it to town and got what they needed, and Omega was enraptured by the foreignness of everything. Hunter quietly hoped that she would be too tired to follow through with her desire to play in the mud, but he had no such luck. As soon as they left, he could sense the uptick in her heartbeat accompanying the eager pull of her hand in his, and when her eyes found the first puddle, it was over.
“Can I jump in’a puddle now?” she asked, looking up at him beseechingly.
“Remember the bath,” Hunter reminded her.
“I know!”
“Alright.” Hunter let go of her hand. “Have at it.”
Omega went flying with a yell, running toward the nearest puddle. With a tremendous leap, she splashed into the water, sending up a muddy wave around her.
Hunter sighed as she stomped around and laughed, her poncho and boots becoming more splattered with each step, and he activated his comm. “Tech, we’ll need a bath ready when we get back.”
Tech’s reply was swift, amused but resigned. “Roger that.”
“We need to keep walking, Omega,” Hunter called, gesturing for his brothers to carry on.
Unbothered, Omega ran ahead, jumping into the next puddle with just as much gusto as the first. She continued this pattern until she jumped a little too overzealously, her boots slipping in the mud and landing her flat in the water.
“You okay, kiddo?” Hunter called, tamping down his reflexive concern.
“‘M’okay!” Omega got to her feet carefully, unfazed with her smile still intact. She had suffered the same mishap several times before, and now took it with ease.
“Looks like she’ll need a hose down instead,” Crosshair observed.
Hunter ignored him, starting in Omega’s direction when she wobbled precariously as one of her boots got stuck in the mud. He crouched, helping her extricate her foot without losing the boot. “Maybe we should just start calling you a mudhorn.”
Omega laughed, content with her wet and muddied state. “‘M not’a mudhorn!”
“Omega,” Crosshair said somewhere behind Hunter, “do you want to see something funny?”
“Yeah!”
Hunter glanced over his shoulder. “What are you talking abou—” His question was interrupted when Crosshair shoved him from behind, sending him sprawling into the mud.
Omega laughed uproariously, the sound filling the dreary forest like warm sunlight. Hunter pushed himself up, more annoyed that he was going to need to clean himself off than anything else and silently kicking himself for not anticipating Crosshair’s treachery. He didn’t have a chance to enact revenge, however, because Wrecker did it for him. He turned just in time to see Crosshair’s smirking face, followed by Wrecker giving him a forceful shove that sent him tripping into the mud.
“Serves you right!” Wrecker cried, indignant but smiling nonetheless.
Crosshair snarled something under his breath as he got his feet underneath him. Coming up with a sizable handful of mud, he twisted and lobbed it with a sniper’s accuracy, smacking Wrecker squarely in the chest.
“‘Ey, you shouldn’t frow fings!” Omega shouted through her giggles.
“You’re right, c’mere!” Hunter took the opportunity to tackle Crosshair, and they both fell back into the mud. Wrecker took that as his cue to join the fray, dropping the supplies he was carrying and bounding forward. Omega squealed he caught her up in his arms, and they all descended into muddy chaos.
Tech raised an eyebrow as he opened the Marauder’s hatch to not one, but four clones caked with mud. “I must say, I’m not terribly surprised at this outcome.”
“Hi!” Omega called from her perch on Hunter’s shoulders. She was the most egregious case, covered from head to toe in grime, though she seemed quite happy with the situation.
“Hello, my dear.” Tech could not hide his amusement. “I see you enjoyed the mud.”
“Yeah,” she agreed as Hunter carefully set her on the ground.
“How did you get everyone else involved?”
“Wasn’ me!” Omega pointed a stubby finger at the culprit. “C’oss pushed Hun’er in’a mud, then Wricker pushed C’oss in’a mud, then C’oss frew a bunch of mud at Wricker!”
“Quiet, you.” Crosshair reached out in an attempt to stifle her explanation, but she dodged his grasp, running towards Tech for safety with a gleeful expression. He met her willingly, placing a hand on her dirtied hair as she attached herself to his leg, fixing his brothers with an unimpressed look.
“It seems your participation was merely the usual ineptitude,” he observed.
“Hey, Crosshair started it!” Wrecker retorted.
“Oh, shut up. As if you wouldn’t do the same thing.”
“I don’t care who started it. All of you need to clean up.” Tech gently detached Omega from his leg, taking her hand. “Come out of the rain, Omega.”
Omega let him help her navigate the slippery, wet durasteel. The other three moved to follow, but he was quick to stop them.
“Oh, no. You three aren’t coming aboard until you get most of that mud off of you.”
“We have to stay out here?” Wrecker complained, gesturing to the rainfall around them.
“Yes.” Tech slipped Omega’s poncho off in one easy motion, discarding it on the ramp. He grabbed the towel he had the foreknowledge to prepare, beginning to wipe the largest clumps of dirt from her body and clothes. “The ship may not be the cleanest, but I won’t have you three tracking dirt all over the place.”
“It’s no use complaining,” Hunter said despite looking annoyed himself. “He won’t change his mind.”
Omega glanced at them, tugging at Tech’s sleeve. “But wha’if they get cold ou’side?”
“You’re too kind for them, sweet one.” Tech paused his work briefly to grab more towels, tossing them out to the three men. “That should make it easier.”
“At least she cares,” Wrecker complained, albeit halfheartedly.
“I knew letting this be ‘his ship’ would burn us one day,” Crosshair grumbled, knocking his boots against the ground to dislodge the drying mud.
Omega was distracted from their argument, squirming and giggling as Tech gently tried to wipe away bits of loam that clung to her shirt. “Tha’ tickles!”
“Well, I’m glad not everyone is angry at me.” Tech helped her out of her boots. “The bath is already waiting for you.”
“Wif bubbles?” Omega asked.
“Yes, with bubbles,” Tech assured her. It was inevitable that some of said bubbles would end up on the floor, but the small mess was well worth it for Omega’s enjoyment and lessened complaints about baths.
Omega beamed, radiating excitement. She tried to dash into the ship, but Tech kept a hold on her so she could not run ahead.
“Remember, you need to take your clothes off before you get in the water.”
“I ‘member!” Omega pulled him along, heading in the direction of the small tub waiting near the refresher in the back, full of the soapy bubbles she so loved. She started clumsily shedding her clothes, and he barely saved her socks from going into the water with her as she scrambled in. He had prepared the water to be at an optimal temperature, warm enough to be pleasant and abate any chill from the outside weather.
“Let’s get you clean first, then you can play,” he said, knowing that once she started playing it would be almost impossible to get her to sit still. “You just have to be a little patient. Can you do that?”
“Yeah…” Omega agreed, somewhat begrudgingly. Patience was not her strong suit, much like Wrecker, but she was willing to bear it if she had to, most of the time.
“Of course you can, because you’re very good at helping me.” Tech groped around for the bottle of soap they used for her. “Now, can you tell me how many droids you saw while you were out?”
Omega began slowly ticking off the numbers on her fingers with his help, an exercise that effectively distracted her from the obstacle of sitting still, allowing him to work on removing the mud from her person. Fortunately, her clothes had taken the brunt of the mess, making the process far easier than other previous incidents. As he worked, his brothers began to shuffle into the ship, soaking wet but cleaner than they had been before.
“Happy now?” Crosshair grumbled, flicking water in his direction.
“Happy would be an overstatement, but I am satisfied,” Tech replied, protecting Omega’s face with one hand while he dumped water over her head with the other. “One of you will be cleaning her clothes.”
He could tell Crosshair was displeased as Omega looked beyond him and her eyes widened, followed by an eruption of giggles.
“You never let me get away with anything,” Crosshair complained.
“Which is yet another reason to love her,” Tech said, feeling gratified when Omega chirped a happy agreement.
He finished cleaning her off as quickly as he could, letting her do as she pleased when his job was done. She went off into her own little world, taking her floating convor toy into some adventure with the piles of soapy bubbles. He took the opportunity to lay out a new set of clothes for her as his brothers took turns in the refresher, each giving themselves the best rinse they could.
“I hope the fun was worth the outcome,” Tech said as he observed Hunter trying to pull bits of leftover dirt from his hair.
“It was,” Hunter replied with no trace of regret. “It’s a shame you weren’t there.”
“Well, someone has to set a good example for Omega.”
“Yeah, right!” Wrecker thwacked him in the shoulder with his usual strength. “If you’d been there, you would’ve been just as into the fight as the rest of us.”
“Omega doesn’t know that,” Tech snipped.
Hunter traded a knowing look with Wrecker. “Yet.”
Tech rolled his eyes, but was saved from further agitation by Omega’s call on the other side of the cabin.
“Daddy!” she yelled, addressing anyone and everyone within earshot, “‘m’getting cold, need’a tow’l!”
Hunter and Wrecker moved in her direction, but Tech shooed them away as he picked up a fresh towel. “I’m coming.” He helped her out of the water, swiftly engulfing her in the towel before she could get too cold. “There, now don’t you feel much better?”
Omega grinned at him, cheeks rosy from the heat, appearing like a far more endearing and clean version of a Jawa. “Yeah.”
“Good. Let’s get you dressed.”
Omega bounced excitedly. “I wanna go jump in’a puddles again tomorrow.”
Tech could only sigh, knowing his efforts to clean her would likely be erased in the next rotation.
***
Omega picked her way over thick vegetation, her eyes on a ripe, rust-colored muja fruit hanging from a nearby limb, taking painstaking care to avoid stepping in the sections of mud scattered in between clumps of grass. She didn’t like getting dirty; on Kamino, part of her job had been to keep things clean, which included herself. Even though her life was wildly different now, she avoided muck and grime as much as she could. The less things she had to clean, the better.
Despite the obstacles, the muja fruit was tantalizingly close, and she only needed one more to have enough for everyone. Arriving directly beneath the tree, she found it just out of reach no matter how much she stretched, so she made use of a root jutting from the dirt. Balancing with one hand against the trunk, she stepped up onto the root, which provided her just enough of a boost to get a hold of the fruit.
Her victory was short-lived when the stem proved stubborn, resisting her attempts to pull it free. She yanked at it several times before the stem broke, and her balance wavered, prompting her to hop off the root onto the grass. Her right foot hit a slick patch and slid forward, destabilizing her. The next thing she knew, she was in the mud she had tried so hard to stay out of, her hands almost completely submerged and fruit scattered everywhere.
Omega gasped as she pushed herself up, the spilled fruit and dull pain of the impact forgotten beneath the horror of the thick clumps of dirt that now covered her hands, knees, and part of her shirt. She tried to wipe her hands on the grass, but that only removed the topmost layer, leaving behind smears. Pawing frantically at her shirt and pants produced the same result, and her panic mounted. She had to clean herself up, but it could not be easily done.
“Hey, ‘Mega! You alright?”
Omega looked up in horror as Wrecker approached her from the Marauder, and she redoubled her efforts. She had to keep herself clean; that had always been her responsibility, and if she failed…
“Omega, I saw you fall.” Wrecker was getting closer, his long legs eating up the distance between them. “Did you get hurt?”
“No,” Omega whispered, her throat constricting as she realized her attempts were in vain.
“I knew I should’ve come to help sooner, but Hunter wanted me to move those crates around…”
Omega looked down at the mud as Wrecker’s shadow fell across her, her eyes stinging as tears threatened to fall. “I’m sorry.”
Wrecker paused mid-sentence. “Huh? Sorry for what?”
“I promise I can clean myself up. I just need a little more time.” The words came out in a rush, tight with fear. “I can do it by myself, please don’t be…”
“Hey, hey, slow down.” Wrecker crouched, his large hands engulfing her shoulders. “What are you talking about?”
Omega blinked, a tear sliding onto her cheek, meeting his gaze with great effort. “I’m supposed to stay clean and not make messes.”
Wrecker frowned. “Who told you that?”
“Nala Se.”
“Oh.” Wrecker’s acknowledgment was unusually quiet, and several different emotions passed over his face before he gave her a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to worry about that here.”
Omega sniffled. “Really?”
“Yeah, I don’t care, and no one else will, I promise.”
“I…I don’t like it, though,” Omega said, inspecting her dirtied state.
“Why? It’s just dirt.”
Omega hesitated. She wasn’t sure how to answer. It was just dirt, and there was no particular reason to hate it…especially if she didn’t face consequences for getting it on herself. “I don’t know.”
“We couldn’t keep you out of it when you were small.” Wrecker lifted her easily from the mud, setting her on firm ground. “There’s nothing wrong with it. Tech would’ve said somethin’ when we landed if there was.”
Omega nodded slowly, the urge to claw at her skin subsiding as her panic did.
“Here, I’ll prove it to you.”
Omega watched as Wrecker stepped into the mud, and she could not contain a yelp of surprise as he half sat, half fell directly into it.
“See?” Wrecker grinned at her, his torso coated with dirt. “Nothing to worry about.”
“Omega!” She turned at the call, spotting Hunter on the ramp of the Marauder. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m alright,” she replied, beginning to feel that way.
Hunter paused, staring past her at Wrecker. “Wrecker, what are you doing?”
“Matching Omega,” he said.
Crosshair appeared next to Hunter, his sneer visible even from a distance. “That’s not how you pick fruit.”
“As if you wouldn’t try to shoot them off the tree!”
Omega bit back a smile as Crosshair stepped from the Marauder, drawn by the teasing jab like he was magnetized.
“Don’t start an argument in front of the kid!” Hunter shouted.
Crosshair ignored him, and Omega soon realized this was what Wrecker wanted as he scooped up a handful of mud, throwing her a wink. When Crosshair stepped within range, he flung the mud with all his might. It only clipped Crosshair’s shoulder, but that was more than enough instigation.
“Oh, you want to play this game, do you?” Crosshair spat out his toothpick, nudging Omega out of the way gently before charging into the mire, scooping up his own handful and slinging it back before Wrecker could prepare himself.
Omega watched with surprise as they descended into a mud fight, heedless of the mess, and Wrecker’s assurances became more concrete. She tried to keep a straight face as Hunter appeared next to her, staring at the two combatants with exasperation before turning to her.
“Did you fall into the mud?” he asked, indicating her dirtied state.
For a moment, all of Omega’s fears came crowding in again. “Uh, yeah…”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll get you into some clean clothes once I deal with these two.” Hunter focused on the skirmish in front of him, shouting “Knock it off!” in the most commanding voice Omega had ever heard from him. However, it was apparently not good enough, as Wrecker and Crosshair continued their fight without pause, prompting Hunter to wade into the mud after them.
Omega stifled a laugh as Crosshair turned on Hunter with a vindictive smile, throwing a wad of mud straight at him. Hunter dodged, then charged at Crosshair, tackling him. Wrecker roared with laughter, throwing himself into the mix.
“Not again…”
Omega turned to see Echo and Tech approaching from the ship with differing levels of annoyance on their faces.
“I should have known,” Echo said, snorting as Wrecker slipped and fell while trying to grab Crosshair. “The worst part is that I can’t guess who started it this time.”
“I did,” Omega admitted, only a little nervous now. “I fell in the mud.”
Tech looked down at her, raising an eyebrow. “But was it you who started throwing it?”
“No. That was Wrecker.”
“I suspected as much. He and Crosshair are the primary instigators of conflicts like these, so you are not to blame.”
“Oh.” Omega relaxed, letting out a breath. “Okay.”
“This is precisely why we bought those extra clothes. You’ll need them while we clean these, though it shouldn’t be too difficult considering—” Tech’s explanation was interrupted by a glob of mud smacking him square in the chest.
Omega gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. For several moments, Tech stood as though he were frozen, and from the mire Wrecker declared, “Told you he wouldn’t do anything.”
Tech turned a glare on his three brothers that would have sent anyone else running. “I am not sure you have calculated those odds correctly.”
“Sounds like a declaration of war to me,” Echo said.
“I didn’t think he’d actually fight us!” Wrecker argued, already moving to put distance between him and his irate brother, who had already set aside his datapad and was shedding his tool belt.
Hunter shrugged, having given up on trying to stop the chaos. “I tried to warn you.”
Echo nudged Omega. “Think we should help Tech out?”
“I don’t know…” Omega faltered, snared by indecision. As fun as it seemed, the sense of wrongness clung to her like the mud on her clothes. She was meant to clean messes, and never make them.
“C’mon Omega!” Wrecker called, beckoning her. “I’ll give you ten credits if you land a hit on me!”
“I gladly welcome that incentive.” Tech dropped the last of his gear, making straight for Wrecker with a vengeance.
“Don’t worry,” Echo said in an exaggerated whisper, “I’ll make sure you land that hit.”
Omega could not stop herself from smiling, and her confidence grew as the play fight started again in front of her. Wrecker was right; she didn’t have to worry about rigid standards of cleanliness here, far from Kamino’s demands. Letting Echo lead the way, she jumped into the mud willingly, a weight gone from her shoulders. She felt like she was small again, where her biggest concern was the bath that would follow the fun. She dug her hands into the mud, ready to earn herself ten credits, and she nailed Wrecker in the face on her third try.
Some time later, the group returned to the Marauder, covered from head to toe in dirt, with arms full of muja fruit. The fight was resolved in a draw once they all tired, though not before sufficient vengeance had been doled out for various slights.
“Alright, kid, you get in the refresher first,” Hunter said as they removed their shoes.
Omega glanced over everyone’s filthy state. “Are you sure?”
“I figured you wouldn’t want to wait and risk getting cold water.”
The mere thought made Omega shiver. She had suffered that more than once on Kamino. “No.”
“She’s small enough that we could always throw her in with the clothes,” Crosshair suggested with a devious smirk.
Omega fled into the Marauder with no further hesitation, though she could not restrain a laugh at Crosshair’s usual idle threats. She didn’t even think about the dirt she might have trailed inside until she was already in the refresher, but she felt little anxiety over it. What would have been an egregious mistake on Kamino was almost meaningless here, a reality she had yet to fully adjust to. When she emerged from the refresher, she immediately noticed the traces of dirt on the floor, and automatically moved to clean them up.
“Hey, don’t worry about that.” Wrecker’s hand fell on her shoulder before she could begin cleaning in earnest, warm and reassuring. “I appreciate it, but you don’t need to do anything.”
“Really?” Omega looked up at him, surprised. “It…it’s my fault.”
“It’s not worth it.” Wrecker gestured to the dirt that covered himself; he was somewhat cleaner than before, but he was in need of a wash just as much as her, if not more. “We’re all gonna get cleaned up, and I’ve already tracked more in.”
Omega nodded as she followed his logic, suppressing the instinctive urge to clean. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Wrecker gently pushed her away from the dirt. “Go on and get some fruit. Hunter’s already started cutting it up.”
Omega gladly went, eager to try the fruit that had catalyzed the events of the last hour. A tub of water had been set up on the grass outside that several articles of clothing had already gone into, and she added hers to the mix. Nearby, Hunter and Echo were already in the process of cleaning and washing some of the fruit, a pile of freshly cut slices growing between them.
“We picked some good ones,” Hunter said as she approached, spearing a slice with his knife. “See what you think.”
The rust-colored fruit smelled pleasantly sweet and tasted even more so. Omega hummed with appreciation and nabbed another slice before she finished the first one.
“Seems like it was worth falling in the mud,” Echo observed with an amused smile.
Omega nodded her agreement, biting into the next piece. Even without the fruit, the mud fight had been worth the initial fear, for the knowledge that she didn’t have to worry about cleanliness like she had on Kamino.
“Speaking of which,” Echo continued, “since the boys can’t settle anything without a fistfight, why don’t you choose who takes the refresher next?”
Omega answered instantly around a mouthful of food. “Wrecker.”
Wrecker’s triumphant laughter was undercut by Crosshair’s indignant, “Why?”
“Because he came to help me,” Omega said, matching Crosshair’s frown with one of her own. He had also provided the reassurance she hadn’t known she needed.
“But he also threw mud at me first,” Crosshair retorted.
“You were arguing with him for no reason.”
Crosshair narrowed his eyes. “Things were easier before you could talk back.”
“You’re only saying that because she’s right,” Tech said as he tried to clean his goggles. “Most of your arguments with Wrecker are illogical at best.”
Hunter shook his head. “If they really want to settle this, they should just race for it like they used to. First one there wins.”
A brief look passed between Wrecker and Crosshair before both men were on their feet, flying towards the Marauder.
“Ow, let go!”
“You first, you big cheater—”
They fought their way inside amidst much shouting and cursing, and Omega was laughing too hard to care about the dirt they left in their wake.
blubbering I CAN'T HANDLE THIS I LOVE IT SO MUCH WHAT—
(this got long and I realized too late how spoiler-y it is, so under the cut it goes!)
okay okay, favourite bits, GO:
Wrecker grabbed Omega before she could dart out of reach, his hand swallowing one tiny arm entirely.
crying she's so tinyyyy
He glanced back at her, catching sight of her tiny form swamped in a poncho of water-resistant material, bumbling along between Wrecker and Crosshair.
the mental image of her in a little poncho is just. too. good.
“And know that if you do, you’ll probably need a bath afterwards.”
Discontent radiated behind him as Omega cried, “Jus’ad one!”
>:O the Audacity! the Indignance! how dare he!
There was a pause as Omega considered this. “But I gotta sit still in’a baff!”
“Oh, yes. That’s such an impossible task for you.”
the Horror of Sitting Still
“Can I ‘ave bubbles wif’a baff?” she asked at last.
Strategy. Call her Obi Wan Kenobi the way she's the Negotiator B)
Hunter sighed as she stomped around and laughed, her poncho and boots becoming more splattered with each step, and he activated his comm. “Tech, we’ll need a bath ready when we get back.”
Tech’s reply was swift, amused but resigned. “Roger that.”
not sure why, but this is taking me out, it's hilarious
“Omega,” Crosshair said somewhere behind Hunter, “do you want to see something funny?”
“Yeah!”
Hunter glanced over his shoulder. “What are you talking abou—” His question was interrupted when Crosshair shoved him from behind, sending him sprawling into the mud.
AND WE ALL CHEERED!!
The brotherisms of it all I'm dyinggg
“Hi!” Omega called from her perch on Hunter’s shoulders. She was the most egregious case, covered from head to toe in grime, though she seemed quite happy with the situation.
again, the mental image is incredible
“Wasn’ me!” Omega pointed a stubby finger at the culprit. “C’oss pushed Hun’er in’a mud, then Wricker pushed C’oss in’a mud, then C’oss frew a bunch of mud at Wricker!”
I'm crying. Yatz I'm crying. This is gold, did you know that?
“Yeah…” Omega agreed, somewhat begrudgingly. Patience was not her strong suit, much like Wrecker, but she was willing to bear it if she had to, most of the time.
“Of course you can, because you’re very good at helping me.” Tech groped around for the bottle of soap they used for her. “Now, can you tell me how many droids you saw while you were out?”
Omega began slowly ticking off the numbers on her fingers with his help, an exercise that effectively distracted her from the obstacle of sitting still, allowing him to work on removing the mud from her person.
this is adorably clever and so excellently in-character it's actually making me stare. h w a t
“Don’t start an argument in front of the kid!” Hunter shouted.
WHEEZING
“Don’t worry about it. We’ll get you into some clean clothes once I deal with these two.” Hunter focused on the skirmish in front of him, shouting “Knock it off!” in the most commanding voice Omega had ever heard from him. However, it was apparently not good enough, as Wrecker and Crosshair continued their fight without pause, prompting Hunter to wade into the mud after them.
Omega stifled a laugh as Crosshair turned on Hunter with a vindictive smile, throwing a wad of mud straight at him. Hunter dodged, then charged at Crosshair, tackling him. Wrecker roared with laughter, throwing himself into the mix.
Biblically Accurate Hunter. thank you.
“This is precisely why we bought those extra clothes. You’ll need them while we clean these, though it shouldn’t be too difficult considering—” Tech’s explanation was interrupted by a glob of mud smacking him square in the chest.
Omega gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. For several moments, Tech stood as though he were frozen, and from the mire Wrecker declared, “Told you he wouldn’t do anything.”
Tech turned a glare on his three brothers that would have sent anyone else running. “I am not sure you have calculated those odds correctly.”
“Sounds like a declaration of war to me,” Echo said.
“Now you’ve done it,” Crosshair hissed, cuffing Wrecker upside the head.
“I didn’t think he’d actually fight us!” Wrecker argued, already moving to put distance between him and his irate brother, who had already set aside his datapad and was shedding his tool belt.
Hunter shrugged, having given up on trying to stop the chaos. “I tried to warn you.”
they're so family, your honour ToT
“Hey, don’t worry about that.” Wrecker’s hand fell on her shoulder before she could begin cleaning in earnest, warm and reassuring. “I appreciate it, but you don’t need to do anything.”
*slams fist on table with tears in my eyes* A FATHER
Crosshair narrowed his eyes. “Things were easier before you could talk back.”
“You’re only saying that because she’s right,” Tech said as he tried to clean his goggles. “Most of your arguments with Wrecker are illogical at best.”
cackling
Hunter shook his head. “If they really want to settle this, they should just race for it like they used to. First one there wins.”
A brief look passed between Wrecker and Crosshair before both men were on their feet, flying towards the Marauder.
“Ow, let go!”
“You first, you big cheater—”
*laughing so hard I'm crying into my hands*
They fought their way inside amidst much shouting and cursing, and Omega was laughing too hard to care about the dirt they left in their wake.
It's silly! It's meant to be lighthearted, fun, carefree! But this last line is so, so profound in the midst of all this breezy joy, it takes the wind out of me.
I love how younger Omega is unabashedly loud and indignant and brave and demanding in that way only toddlers can be, and then the older version of her is observably hesitant, nervous, quieter, still fidgety but in a less noticeable way. Also, I maintain that your characterizations are one of my all-time favourites.
Seriously, Yatz, you are way too good at this. Never stop!
turnnoffyourmind
jbbartram-illu
prguitarman
discoholicmusic
2087
snowghoul
