It's going to be longer than planned but here's a good 1000 words to start
99×0
Part |
Tags: Cloneshipping, MayCrossTech
The wind immediately fought the motions Crosshair made to pull the poncho back down over his head. He was already soaked, the rain practically drowning him in his attempt to climb out of the seat he was in. He reached to grab the gun by his feet, pulling it over his head by the strap so it sat on his back. A tiny white emergency case was hastily shoved under his poncho to protect it from the weather. Crosshair scrambled back out, something sparked by his foot as he slid down the side of the tiny ship, boots meeting the ground in a wet slap of mud up both legs. He made a face and tried to ignore the feeling of it, looking out past the smoking wreckage. It was flat as far as he could see, the sleet of rain making it impossible to tell if there was anything else. Thunder rumbled nearby, heralding an even bigger storm, the flashing lightning in the distance made him pause. It wouldn't be smart to stay in the ship, it couldn't fly and would be tracked, and with the storm it was basically a giant neon sign saying 'hey come fuck me'. Crosshair curled his shaking hand into a fist and turned towards the others.
Doomed narrative or not, they had escaped Tantiss together, and he wasn't going to let the opportunity slip past his fingers.
“We're moving out.” Crosshair yelled into the wind.
The two figures also wore ponchos, though one was half slumped against the other. One man readjusted the arm over his shoulders and looked around, half dragging the other with them, their voice was gruff but questioning, “I'm not saying we shouldn't but to where?”
Crosshair moved closer, pulling the loose arm over his own shoulders to help, “For now: away from the fucking lightning.”
They started to move then, their third secured between them when Crosshair heard a barking laugh. He looked over, incredulous. Brown eyes caught his own, the skin around them crinkled in mirth, and maybe a bit of dirt,
“I’m just thinking of the last time we were walking through a storm.”
Crosshair gave him a deadpanned look as best as could over the head in between them, before rolling his eyes and turning away, “Don't remind me.”
“At least it's not snowing.”
“It still could.”
“Don't be so negative.”
“We almost died. YOU almost died.”
“But I got to be held in your arms. Not a bad way to go out”
Crosshair fumbled, almost dropping their third in the process and turned with a furious flushed look.
“Don’t ever say that again.” He hissed, hackled raised. Mayday looked shocked, Crosshair’s face shot away as the look turned contemplative. He glanced instead at Tech, who was slumped between them. If he was more aware, they'd be fine. But he wasn't. So.
“We need to find shelter.” Crosshair said, heaving Tech back into a more secure positioning. Mayday followed suit.
“I'm sorry Crosshair, I was just trying to lighten the mood.”
Lightning flash behind them, and Crosshair couldn't hate the irony more.
Until.
He saw something over the flat vastness ahead.
Mayday eyes followed his line of sight. He squinted, and apparently unable to see himself asked, “Care to share with the class?”
“I think I see…something.” Crosshair pointed towards a blurry bump in the distance. “Looks like it rises up from the ground. ”
Mayday sighed, “ Hopefully whatever it is, has a roof.”
And with that they started towards it. The rain had worsened and so had the wind but the storm felt like it was going east of their position, at least for now. Some small token of luck Crosshair thought ruefully. He could tell Mayday was exhausting fast. They had been left to rot on Tantiss, and Mayday had been brought there half dead to begin with. At least sitting in a cell had left him time to heal. But it hadn't done much for them after that. They both had lost muscle mass, and stamina. Plus with Tech dragging between them and the weather, the odds were not in their favorite.
It was a quiet walk there between the two. Crosshair was used to the silence anyway. He zoned out, half walking on willpower alone, the other half fed off spite and waning adrenaline. So he jumped a little when Mayday whistled suddenly.
“Wow you were right. Your eyesight is really something.” Mayday held up his spare hand to shield his eyes, “ I think it's a cave? Looks like maybe a system of them.”
“Let's pick a hole.” Mayday sent him a look, which he ignored. He was too tired to be annoyed, or interested.
++++
It took them another twenty minutes to reach it. They paused at the mouth of it and Mayday had been right. It looked like a cave. Crosshair could see the back of it, though it seemed to turn right. Mostly made of some type of dirt, there wasn't any vegetation nearby. The ground felt harder though, so the mud stopped at the start of it. Crosshair already wanted to get inside. He was shaking hard at the cold by now and the tips of his toes and his exposed fingers felt numb.
“Take Tech.” Crosshair let his brother go and he reached for the gun at his back. It took two tries to pull it around. He held it up and clicked the light attachment. What part of the cave he could see looked empty. Definitely no signs of anything humanoid.
And nothing that was animal either. No defecation, no prints, no clawing or fur to show territory marking. It felt long undisturbed. Which honestly could go either way. Sometimes empty caves were that way for a good reason. Crosshair took a step inside to get out of the rain and pulled out the emergency pack.
“I'm going inside.” He fumbled with the clasp and pulled out a small scanner.
“Alone?” Mayday questioned, moving closer with Tech. Crosshair glanced back.
“We only have one gun. If I can't kill anything with it then what are your bare hands going to do? Plus we can't leave Tech alone. Not like…how he is.” They both glanced at Tech's slumped form. He still hadn't responded to much.
Mayday's lips twisted, looking reluctant he nodded, “ Just…be careful.”
Tags: Cloneshipping, MayCrossTech, cuddling for warmt-
Wordcount: 990 :P
Crosshair practically crawled out of the water to where Tech was laying on the blanket-the heat from the pool and the exhaustion had him half-aware and quickly drifting towards sleep.
“I need to patch up your side so don't get under yet.” Mayday said from the pool, rubbing the cloth down the sides of his neck.
Crosshair laid down gingerly, “You're so hairy.”
He blinked.
Mayday blinked back-before biting his lip.
Crosshair scowled. “That was a thought.”
Mayday eyes crinkled as he pulled himself from the pool, sounding amused, “Was it now?” He pushed his wet hair back from his forehead, pulled a bandage out from the safety kit and moved to Crosshair's side, “You and your brother are pretty hairless. Is your whole batch that way? Some extra genetic thing?”
Crosshair eyes were slumping as Mayday fitted the plaster on his hip, but he still managed to roll them, “No. Hunter is….almost as furry as you. Wrecker is a little less. Tech never grew much of anything.”
Mayday chuckled, “Stop bullying him when he can't fight back.” He gently finished his work, his fingers paused on Crosshair's batch tattoo- palm-sized 99 low on his hip. “Do you all have these?”
Crosshair hummed, rolling towards Tech then, “Yeah. We got them after our first mission. Hunter and I did our faces first though.” He folded an arm over Tech, looking fond as Tech curled closer to him in response, “Tech was so mad we did it ourselves. We didn't take the right safety precautions. Hunter’s lining was shit. But it felt…right.” Wrecker hated needles and Tech wasn’t fond of ‘voluntary self-mutilation’ but they both agreed. Crosshair wasn't sure if they'd gotten anything since. Even if Clone Force 99 existed after him, he felt secure knowing they hadn't covered the tattoo up.
They hadn't erased him completely.
Mayday stood suddenly, folding the blanket over both of them, and pulled on just a poncho. Grabbing the gun he waved the scanner, saying, “It disrupted this outside, so they shouldn't be able to scan us while it's storming-but I'll keep checking anyway.”
“Don’t go far.” A yawn broke the words, “and wake me up in a few hours.” Crosshair watched as Mayday nodded before turning the corner and disappearing out of sight. He folded more into Tech. He shouldn't feel peaceful but he was. It was warm here, the storm felt oddly calming as it continued steadily outside. Crosshair could even hear the water bubbling quietly behind them as it flowed onward. He firmly ignored the warmth feeling that rose up in him knowing Mayday was nearby and buried his nose into Tech's hair. He didn't quite smell the same, no familiar plastoid armor, none of Tech's overused hairgel. The strange staleness of wiring and electrical work had been replaced by the sterile hallways and chemical smell of Tantiss. But Tech still felt the same. Crosshair thumbed over the spot where Tech's own 99 sat, directly on the inside of his wrist and smiled into Tech's loose curls. Tech claimed to feel things differently but he really did wear his heart on his sleeve.
+++++++
“Crosshair.” A voice called-light but insistent. Then more firmly. “Crosshair.”
Crosshair was still tired but the tone and training pulled him up swiftly to his knees. He realized quickly that:
Tech was gone.
But he had not gone very far.
Mayday held his hands behind his head. It would have been comical, with him only in his boxers and a poncho while Tech had on even less, if Tech's face wasn't tight in pain and confusion, gun pointed at Mayday's back.
“One move and it is over, clone.” Tech’s voice was off, stiff in the wrong way.
Mayday sighed, “Like I said. It's ‘Mayday’.”
Crosshair tried to stand and two things happened in rapid succession, Tech kicked the back of Mayday's knees so he fell onto them and swung the gun up to Crosshair's head.
“Do not. Move.” Tech hissed, “I will not repeat myself.”
Now that Mayday was out of the way Crosshair could see his brother clearly. Tech glared, face tight, his eyes flashed green in the shifting light of the waters.
“Tech-”
“That is not my name. My designation is CX-2.” The gun clicked as it was switched on. “And I have found my target.”
Crosshair could only stare as Tech moved to fire when Mayday suddenly flew upwards, twisting to pull the gun from Tech’s hands as he moved behind him and swung the butt of it to swiftly land it on Tech's skull.
Crosshair heard himself make a wounded sound as Tech crumbled. He was moving before he realized it.
“What are you doing?” He yelled, crouching down to Tech.
“Saving your life.”
“You didn't have to hit him so hard-” Crosshair spat, pulling Tech's hair away to look at the wound before glaring up at Mayday.
Mayday sent him an incredulous look, “He was going to kill you.” His fingers clicked on the gun, “It wasn't set to ‘stun’.”
Crosshair’s face went cold, he grit his teeth and looked back to Tech's lax face, but he wasn't even bleeding.
Mayday sighed roughly, “I’m sorry Crosshair, I regret having to do it but it had to be done.” He held up the scanner and pointed it at Tech, looking hurt when Crosshair curled over him. “I'm just checking to see if there's any internal damage. Nothing else.” Crosshair's stare softened and Mayday moved closer.
It was quiet until the scanner beeped. Mayday held it up to Crosshair, “He's okay-” Crosshair scoffed and Mayday sent him a look. “Well he's not injured. We'll just have to wait for him to wake up.”
Mayday sank down against the wall, gun pointed away but held tight in his grip. Crosshair moved Tech's head to his lap, brushing the hair off his face gently.
They're not cuddling yet....but things are happening
Not having any armor left him feeling uneasy, but Crosshair stepped further into the cave, pulling at the hood of his poncho. He peeling it back so his vision wasn't obscured at the edges, and swung the gun up and around to check the walls.
Nothing.
He checked the scanner then, but it couldn't pick up everything. Some animals had almost no heat signatures, and people had tools to block them, though Crosshair doubted anything very sentient would be in here. Running his own boot over the ground again he checked for footprints deeper. Convinced there were none he moved forward, eyes tracking after the light.
No creatures hung from the top, there wasn't anything scuttling across the ground. Like he'd seen from the opening, there seemed to be no outward signs of it being occupied. The storm outside carried rumbling inward, but nothing made any sound from inside the cave itself.
He scanned again.
Nothing.
So he cleared straight to the back.
Empty.
Crosshair motioned that to Mayday and pointed two fingers to where the cave turned, he could clearly make out the clone's hesitation but watched him nod regardless. He understood. Mayday wouldn't be able to see much. And with the raging storm he probably couldn't hear much either. It left them both at a disadvantage if Crosshair was attacked.
His fingers trembled slightly on the grip of the gun and he let out a slow breath.
He had to be fine. They were counting on him.
With one heavy inhale he swung around the corner. The light bounced quickly off all the walls as Crosshair assessed it, straining his ears to listen for anything.
It was quiet.
Crosshair sighed, dropping his shoulders that had raised like the hackles of a dog. He blinked, looking down, there was a pocket of water. Cautious, Crosshair pocketed the scanner and looked closer.
It glowed sparkling blue.
And bubbled gently.
Crosshair edges towards it, sniffing. It didn't smell like anything, which honestly didn't mean much but glancing carefully down into it, it was clear. His foot caught on a clump of dirt and he kicked it into the pool, waiting.
The tension of the water broke and the dim light flickered around the cave walls as the water trembled. But there were no creatures to be disturbed, the dirt didn't sizzle, just sunk to the bottom.
Crosshair reached his hand into another pocket, pulling out another small device. Usually it was used to test if liquids were safe for consumption but they had plenty of good rain water stored from their trek here. Crosshair wanted to see if it was releasing any chemicals into the air. He clicked it and held it up to the light of his gun. It would explain why no animals were in the cave, their senses could pick up on much more than his own.
(The trailing thought of Hunter echoed in his head. But he wasn't here and Tech wasn't awake to ask )
The device clicked one, the light flickered green.
Safe.
He placed his hand in the air above it and it was warm. No wonder the cave felt nice. Crosshair wanted to slip into it so badly, the mud was drying and cakey all over his body but they needed to test it better first. They might even need more water to drink. So Crosshair placed the device back into his pocket and stood. Looking closer, the area ended fairly quickly, the corner was half the size of his room back on Kamino. Crosshair pounded lightly at the wall by him, nothing shifted. He could reach if he jumped, so he did, and again it seemed in-tact. No shifting dirt that could spell a cave in. Though the pool was underground somewhere. He gently kicked the area by it but that too was solid.
It felt too good to be true but here it was regardless.
A place to rest.
With one last glance Crosshair turned back, he stared hard as he turned the corner. Mayday's face relaxed as he stepped back towards them. It was flattering. And strange. After everything, it was hard to accept that anyone really was happy to see him.
Cared.
About him.
When he reached the entrance again Mayday's free hand patted at his shoulder, before gripping it firmly.
“Alright?” He asked. Crosshair nodded.
“It's empty. I think it's a good spot to stop.” He helped grab Tech again, “For a while at least.”
Mayday let out a soft sigh as they moved out of the rain, “Let's get Tech settled. Then we can come up with a plan for the night. I think it's going to get cold.” Crosshair sent him a tired look so Mayday amended, “ Well colder anyway.”
Crosshair hummed, “It's warm around the corner.”
As they turned Mayday let out a whistle, much softer this time.
“No wonder it's so warm in here.”
“It's safe. At least for us to be near. Still not sure about going in.”
They moved in sync, until Tech was sat down gingerly against the side wall. Crosshair detached the light from his gun and placed it pointing upwards, illuminating the space the rest of the way. He put the gun back to stun before putting it to the side, turning as Mayday pulled off his poncho and dug around in the bag that had been on his back. The other clone pulled out a thermal blanket and shook it out.
“Here. I think we get out of these clothes and you two get under this-”
“So you're taking first watch?” Crosshair interrupted. Mayday crouched, laying the blanket down.
“ I think Tech is more aware, it would be better if he woke up to a familiar face.” They both ignored the shaking. It was obvious they were exhausted.
Crosshair wanted to say he wasn't sure if Tech wanted to see him but the words wouldn't come out so he hummed and started to undress. His clothes were. Disgusting. Pulling off his shirt he heard Mayday let out a punched out sound.
“Crosshair. You're bleeding- and the mud.” Mayday leaned over and dug into Crosshair's pocket, who jumped.
“Mayday- wha-”
Mayday held up the tester with a triumphant sound. “We need to get it cleaned. With the crash, Tech might even have something we missed. With the rain and the dirt-”
Crosshair moved to Tech. He hadn't even thought about it. Tech couldn't respond. They checked surface level but what if there was something they missed, his head ached. What if he'd missed something vital-
“The water is clear. Let's get him in. ” Mayday's hands appeared to help and together they got Tech down to his underwear. He was covered in mud but nothing seemed to be actively bleeding. Crosshair followed suit and together they pulled Tech to the edge, Crosshair slid into the water first.
It was heaven, perfectly warm. His feet hit the floor, the water stopping at his chest, he could feel a soft pull so the pool was moving somewhere, slowly. Hopefully that meant the water would stay relatively clean. He ignored the urge to dive under the surface but gave his hands a quick scrub before motioning for Tech.
Mayday deposited him into Crosshair's arms.
Tech groaned softly and Crosshair's heart leapt. He was there. Somewhere.
“It's okay Tech. It’s just to get you clean.” He murmured, watching as Mayday returned with a small towel from the pack, he too was down to almost nothing as he followed them into the water. Crosshair accepted Mayday's help and together they wiped Tech down.
He was thin. Not near as thin as Crosshair was but he definitely lost weight. He had bruises near his hip and along one shoulder but it was light and didn't seem to be all that serious. Crosshair ran the towel down his arms gently but again, nothing seemed injured.
“I knew you were gentle.” Mayday said, chuckling at Crosshair's pointed look before turning back to Tech. “He seems okay though.
Crosshair ran a thumb under Tech's left eye. There was unfamiliar scarring over that side of his face, up into his forehead, cutting into the bridge of his nose and his lip, though the last two were barely touched. It had healed but Crosshair wondered what had happened. Was it Hemlock? Was it because of him-
What he had missed.
“That new? You're looking at him like you did it yourself.”
Crosshair scoffed, pushing the whole palm of his hand and his fingers into Tech's hair, “He had the hairline but-”
Everything else is from someone I don't recognize.
He could feel Mayday's watching him but they finished in silence, quickly carrying Tech to place him on top of the blanket. He remained quiet as Crosshair covered him. He wished they had dry clothes, at least the cave allowed for them to hang. With the heat maybe they'd be less damp in the morning. Maybe.
“Your turn.” Mayday pulled Crosshair back into the water, pushing him into a position so he could move to his side and inspect the wounds up his leg to his ribs. Crosshair braced both palms flat on the rocks, arms straight and hung his head. He was too tired to argue. The crash had sent something alight in the small pilots chair, it had burned then but now everything ached so he couldn't tell. He grunted as roughen palms gently ran over his skin. Mayday hummed.
It felt nice, but Crosshair blamed the flush on the heat of the pool and closed his eyes. He could sleep.
A hand curled up over his shoulder from behind, fingers brushing his collar bone. Mayday's forehead was almost pressed to his temple, Crosshair wanted to lean into it.
“You okay?” His breath was cool over Crosshair's warm cheeks.
“Define ‘okay’.” Crosshair breathed, Mayday's thumb stroked up his neck, patient.
Crosshair watched the lights and the shadows play over Mayday's face from the shifting water. He looked soft.
Too soft.
Too vulnerable.
Crosshair turned away and the moment broke.
He didn't know if Mayday was kind or cruel to let it.
