Here’s a fan poster I whipped up! It took 30 hours but I’m really happy with the end product. What did y’all think of those first 3 eps? My heart is hurting but I’m super pumped to see what’s to come. Reblogs are very much appreciated ❤️ INSTAGRAM
Omega rode on Wrecker’s shoulders, hands on his head, and peering forward excitedly at what he carried. With the lid of the box closed she couldn’t see or smell what they’d picked up from that strange place that smelled of sugar, and a million other sweet things she didn’t know of. The building had been out of the way, on the outskirts of the city, and looked much nicer than the majority of the buildings on Ord Mantell. She and Wrecker had been allowed a peak in the box to see if it suited their desires, and then it was all theirs.
“So what is that again?” Omega asked.
“Cake!” Wrecker answered, booming voice filled with enthusiasm. “Oh man, I can’t wait to eat it. I haven’t had cake in a whole year.”
“I haven’t had cake… ever.”
“Well that’s about to change.”
When they entered Cid’s place, Omega climbed off of Wrecker and onto the bar before kneeling on a stool.
Everyone in their squad gathered ‘round.
“You got it?” Hunter asked.
“It looks beautiful,” Wrecker told him.
Hunter opened the lid on the box to see for himself. From her vantage point Omega got another look at the white frosting, and the red 99 in icing on top. The large, round cake had red swirls all along the sides, and the red swirls circled the top of the cake.
“Wrecker, how much did this cost?”
Tech peered in, and adjusted his goggles. “Oh dear. We’ll be paying off Cid for life at this rate.”
Echo came over and put his arm around Tech. “Eh, it’ll be fine.”
“You don’t even like cake,” Tech argued.
“No, I hate whatever it was that you made last year.”
“Cake.”
“Not according to my taste buds.”
Wrecker laughed. “Who cares, we have a better one this year.”
“So what are we celebrating?” Omega asked as everyone set up, and Hunter was cleaning his vibroblade, perhaps to slice off pieces.
“Well, we don’t have birthdays,” Wrecker said.
Omega wrinkled her nose at the idea of birth. Gross.
“So we celebrate our decanting.”
“Hey, I was there for that!” Omega cried. “I… I really wanted to stay with you. All of you, till—till you’d know who I was.”
A tear slid down her face, surprising her, and she was shocked by the sudden, empty loneliness in her chest.
Wrecker put a giant hand on her shoulder, and wiped her tear away.
“It’s okay, kid. You’re with us now.”
Omega sat down. “And what about Crosshair?”
“Yes, it does feel odd doing this without him,” Tech said. “It’s… the first one he’ll miss.”
“Do you think that he’s okay?” Omega asked.
Hunter had a grim look on his face, and he responded honestly, “I don’t know. For now, there isn’t much we can do. We have to look at our losses, but celebrate what we do have. Yes, we lost one of our own.” His dark look turned into a smile, a loving warmth in his eyes as he beheld Omega. “But we gained something just as special.” He took her hand. “Do you want the first piece, Omega?”
She nodded, Hunter’s words drawing her from her melancholy. They were a soldier’s words, a leader’s words. And they were wise, and true.
Hunter gave a half-grin, and then said, “Actually, would you like to do the honors?”
He handed over his vibroblade.
Omega practically vibrated with excitement, and she was beaming at the blade, and Hunter, and the cake, and her family surrounding her.
“Would I ever?”
She took the proffered blade, and dug into the cake. She tried to make her slice proportionate, but she’d never done this before, so she ended up with an awkward triangle, the tapered point thin in comparison to the thick base. It wobbled onto the plate Echo held out, and flopped onto its side. Oops! Well, at least it was her piece she’d messed up.
Omega saw white frosting and some of the red icing on the knife, and started moving it towards her mouth.
“I’ll take that,” Hunter said quickly, grabbing it from her.
“What?” she asked, arms crossed in complaint until Echo handed her her plate and a fork.
“No licking knives.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. She was dying to try her slice, looking at the soft, dark color of the cake itself. It was probably moist, and sweet, and just perfect. The red icing complemented the red and near-black nicely. Yet she waited, making sure everyone had a slice.
They sat down at a table together, glancing at each other, seeing who would take the first bite.
Omega made sure it was her. She thought she was going to die from the perfection of her first bite. Contented sounds left all of them around the table.
“This… is so. Good,” Omega moaned.
Various nods, and mm-hmms met her.
“You got that right!” Wrecker said.
“I’m not saying this just because of the cake,” Omega started.
“Or are you?” Echo teased.
She flicked red icing at him, and they all laughed.
“What I’m trying to say,” Omega went on, “before I was rudely interrupted, is that… well, I’m glad you all exist. I… I’ve never had a family before, and that’s what you all are to me: a family. You helped me, gave me a home, and you’re super fun. I’m lucky to have you all.”
“And we’re lucky to have you,” Hunter said. “Now eat up. Come on, are we going to let this cake just sit here while we all talk?”
They laughed together, and dug into their cake once more, and Omega promised that someday, Crosshair would be celebrating with them.
