How hard could it be?
🎁 For @huntressdarkness for the @badbatch-holiday-exchange 🎁
Rating: Mature
Relationships: Hunter/Crosshair and Hunter/Crosshair/Echo
Tags: Idiots in Love, kisses,Polyamory Negotiations, Awkward Flirting, Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Intelligent CT-9903 | Wrecker, Established Relationship for Hunter/Crosshair, mention of sex but not on screen, Swearing
Summary :
Hunter watched them for a moment before catching Crosshair's eye. The sniper's gaze was still fixed on Echo, taking in every detail of how the armor fit, how the kama swayed with each movement. They didn't need words, the look they exchanged said everything. They both wanted him. The question was how to approach it without scaring him off or making him feel like he had to choose between them. And Force, it was going to be hard keeping their hands to themselves in the meantime, especially now that Echo looked like that. How hard could it be to swope him?
Hunter groaned as he let himself fall on his side so he didn't crush Crosshair. They both moved around each other on the small bunk. Crosshair laid his head on Hunter's chest and wrapped himself around him like an overgrown tooka. Not that the sergeant minded at all. After sex, he always enjoyed how mellow Crosshair could be. How the room smelled like them and how their heartbeats seemed to synchronize.
After a few weeks of abstinence with only stolen kisses and a few handjobs in the too-small refresher of the Marauder, as they had tried to keep to themselves. It had been Hunter's idea to try to help Echo find his place on their team. They didn't really know how Regs saw relationships... But he didn't want Echo to think he was playing favorites or that he had to give him some favor while under his command.
Now that the ARC trooper had carved his place on the team and they realized that most Regs, or at least the 501st ones, were their own kind of freaky, Hunter thought they could let Echo know.
"Care to tell me what got you so hot and bothered that you looked about to fuck me on the training ground?" Crosshair finally asked, his voice still raw from their previous activity. "And I don't mean the forced celibacy for our poor Reg's sensibilities."
He knew Cross was only teasing since he'd agreed with him and never tried to convince him otherwise. One thing about his gorgeous lover was that the sniper was as protective of what they had as he was for their team. Cross would have wanted to be sure he could trust Echo with something so personal about them.
"You can't blame me for not wanting to traumatize him with your kinky quirks."
"First of all, you love that about me." The eye roll was so strong that the tracker swore he heard it. "Second, you heard him talk about barracks life. I really doubt walking in on us butt naked could have traumatized him more than he already is. So what is it?"
Hunter licked his lips, trying to explain himself as one particular scene during training today came back to his mind.
Crosshair put one hand on his chest and rested his head on top of it, his brown eyes fixed on his face.
"You know your face can't lie for shit, right?" He grinned at him. "You loved seeing me and Echo in hand-to-hand practice. Pretty sure it was that moment he pinned me down and I bucked a few times to get him off me that made you hard."
Hunter felt the blush creep across his face as his soft dick gave a little twitch of interest.
"I knew it," Crosshair said proudly. "You want that ARC's ass so much it makes you look stupid."
"Like you didn't have a hard-on watching him plow through the simulation like it was a walk in the park," Hunter replied and flicked his nose. "I can smell your arousal with the filter of my helmet on."
Their eyes locked for a moment, having a full discussion without words.
When it came to what they liked, they had different tastes and kinks, but one thing they agreed on was competence. That was one huge turn-on.
And Force knows, Echo was a bullseye on that target for both of them.
It had happened before that they invited people to share their bed, but those had been flings they hadn't seen after.
As much as they had an attraction to their cyborg, Echo was something else. He was part of their squad. The first person they'd accepted into the squad. The one outsider who had been a missing piece they didn't realize they needed.
"So..." Hunter cleared his throat. "We both like Echo. What now? Do you want to only have some harmless fun or..."
Crosshair looked away.
He was never good when deeper emotions were implied. Even with Hunter, he was still guarded most of the time.
"Don't think he would like to feel like a toy between us."
Hunter nodded. Echo was still working so hard on accepting the changes that had been forced on him by Tambor and his sick Techno Union plans. He might look untroubled to most, but not much could pass Crosshair's eye or Hunter's senses.
The way he would twitch when his fingers bumped against one of his implants when that wasn't planned. Or when they walked around other Regs, he would walk so his scomp was between him and another Batcher.
"I want him... for more than a quick fuck," the sniper finally confessed as he hid his face in Hunter's neck.
"Yeah... me too."
Hunter squeezed Crosshair a little more. He loved him with all his heart, but he knew sometimes they were like tibanna gas and fire—highly volatile. But since Echo had joined them, he'd managed to steady the blaze and keep it a more stable fire. He would verbally spar with Crosshair when the tension was high or just silently stay at his side until he calmed down. With Hunter, he was support on the field with his different type of experience and would listen when he needed to vent. Wrecker and Tech had years of experience dealing with them and seemed happy to have someone else to deal with their nonsense.
Not to mention that Echo's interest was quite evident to the tracker. The way his heartbeat changed when he or Crosshair was close. The way he seemed to glow when they complimented him.
Hunter's commlink suddenly came to life, cutting the discussion short. The sergeant sighed and reached to get it. "Yeah?"
"The adjustments to Echo's armor are done. We are on our way back. ETA 10 minutes. Be decent," Tech told them before cutting the call.
Crosshair stretched out like the feral tooka he was, stole one last kiss, and got up to find his blacks and put his kit on the support. Hunter got up to do the same. They still had a reputation for being the cleanest of the Batch, outside of Echo—but his level was... alarming—so leaving everything around would be suspicious.
Hunter couldn't deny that he was really interested to see Echo's new armor. Since he'd joined them, he'd been wearing the lighter version he'd had on Anaxes. Those were good to keep basic protection until the cyborg was cleared for field work and not just being on the ship and offering support from afar. Now he'd healed enough and built up some muscle mass, so he could have a full kit.
Tech had helped get it modified so it would fit on and around the cybernetics without causing trouble. Wrecker had insisted on helping with the paint. Echo had agreed to their help after he seemed sure they were trying to work with him instead of for him.
Hunter was in the middle of changing his bunk sheets when the door opened.
"Guys! Check this out!" Wrecker said as he stepped aside from the doorway, throwing his hand to the side. "TA-DA!"
"No need to make such a scene, Wrecker," Echo said as he stepped into the room in his full kit with his helmet under his right arm.
Hunter froze at the sight. One thing that always impressed him was how proudly Echo always stood after everything, like he was literally telling life to fuck itself as he kept going. Yet to see him finally wearing the colors of Clone Force 99 pulled something inside him.
Ours.
Echo had followed the team's style with the vertical red line in the middle of the breastplate and the red on the pauldrons. The white 99 on the front of the helmet might have been influenced by Wrecker, but it still looked nice. He could hear Crosshair's breath change as they both spotted the skull on the left side of the chestplate. On the same spot the sniper had snuck it onto the temporary armor. It had been Crosshair's way to put his claim on the Reg who had impressed him on Skako Minor, and it seemed Echo had agreed with that claim.
Then he saw the kama. Hunter's breath caught. The simple black leather with the red trim was falling perfectly from Echo's waist to his prosthetic knees. Never had the tracker thought a simple piece of fabric that covered so much could look so sexy.
"Well?" Echo asked, looking a bit nervous.
"At least you understand the color assignments, contrary to some genius," Crosshair commented, making Tech huff in annoyance. "Good job, Reg. Finally look like a true defect."
Hunter sent him a glare. Crosshair could be so abrasive, and he didn't want him to upset Echo in this moment.
"Hard not to when I have such good models," the amusement was clear in the cyborg's voice.
Crosshair did his best to hide his smile by putting a toothpick in his mouth.
Echo turned his attention toward Hunter, waiting for his opinion.
"You've been one of us since Anaxes, but watching you in our colors makes this more official," he declared and walked over to rest a hand on his shoulder. "You look sharp, Corporal."
"Thank you, Sarge," Echo said, standing a bit straighter. "Feeling more like myself."
Echo nods and moved toward Tech, already asking questions about the specific modifications and how the interface worked with his ports. The engineer lit up, launching into an enthusiastic explanation about the calibration process.
Hunter watched them for a moment before catching Crosshair's eye. The sniper's gaze was still fixed on Echo, taking in every detail of how the armor fit, how the kama swayed with each movement. They didn't need words, the look they exchanged said everything. They both wanted him. The question was how to approach it without scaring him off or making him feel like he had to choose between them. And Force, it was going to be hard keeping their hands to themselves in the meantime, especially now that Echo looked like that.
How hard could it be to swope him?
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It was in fact harder than they expected.
Hunter and Crosshair had tried to be subtle in their flirting to let Echo know they were really interested. But somehow it seemed to do the opposite. The ARC didn't seem to want to be left alone with them too much.
Could they have misread him?
"You are both idiots and need to stop scaring Echo," Wrecker complained as he stood at the entrance of the bunk room in the Marauder. Tech and Echo were busy in the cockpit, so there was little chance they could hear, but Wrecker did try to keep his voice low.
"We're not scaring him," Hunter said, but he didn't believe his own words much. He was clearly doing something wrong. "Just trying to get his attention."
"Oh, you're getting his attention alright. He asked me if he did something to piss you both off," Wrecker replied and put one hand on his hip. "Look, it's clear what you want. I mean, even Tech could see it. But you need to realize one thing: Echo doesn't know you as much as we do. He has no clue about your weird way of flirting."
"We flirt normally. Not our fault the Reg is oblivious," Crosshair growled.
"Cross, you glare at him like he's your next target or you're trying blow him up with your mind," Wrecker sighed. "You have more of a serial killer vibe than lover boy."
Hunter really tried not to laugh, but the sound that escaped him attracted the attention to him.
"Laugh all you want, you aren't better," Wrecker said as he poked a big finger against the sergeant's chest armor. "You follow him like he's prey and the poor man isn't sure if you're going to tear apart his throat with your teeth or pee on him to mark him."
"He can do both if you asks nicely" Crosshair drawled.
"Fuck you!" Hunter snapped, trying to ignore that he was blushing as red as his bandana.
"Would you two stop?" Wrecker sighed. "I'm trying to help you guys. I really like having Echo around and I don't want him to be scared away."
Hunter and Crosshair exchanged a look. They knew Wrecker was the best of them when it came to feelings and emotions. Tech theorized that Wrecker had learned to observe all of them since their different personalities made the squad as volatile as a live bomb.
"Okay, what are you proposing then?" Hunter finally conceded.
"Nothing impressive. Why not just spend time with him? I learned a lot about Echo when I helped him get his armor painted. And be bolder," Wrecker proposed.
"I don't know if you realize, but between missions and Kamino, we don't have much time for date nights," Cross pointed out.
"True, but I'm sure he won't mind having some more training in good company. Doing something familiar might keep Echo from feeling like he's being set up or like he's a target," Wrecker pointed out.
Hunter nodded. That wasn't a bad idea. Anything to get close and personal with the cyborg.
"Since when are you playing matchmaker?" Crosshair asked with a subtle smile that proved he agreed to that plan.
"I have to since my brothers are idiots," Wrecker laughed and left the bunk room. "Not like it's the first time doing so. And look at you guys, it work well the first time."
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Hunter and Crosshair decided that they should invite Echo for some training after a mission, but they weren't sure how to do it without making him think something was wrong. Then the Force had some pity and gave them the perfect solution.
During the mission, things had gone south and Crosshair had been temporarily blinded by a flashbang. Echo had reacted before Hunter could give any orders and made his way to the sniper. After assuring everyone that Crosshair wasn't hurt, the ARC trooper hadn't hesitated to pick up the Firepuncher rifle and take the needed shot. It had been much messier than what Cross would have done, but it gave them the edge the others needed to finish the mission.
When they finally got back to them after, Crosshair's eyesight was slowly getting better, but he was chewing Echo out for not handling his weapon like he should. It was confusing because, sure, the sniper had a deep affection for his weapon, but his team's safety was always a priority. The shot had worked, so he shouldn't be that upset. That's when Hunter realized how unnaturally Echo was holding his right arm.
"What happened?" Hunter asked as he knelt beside them to check on both of them.
"The Reg messed up his shoulder taking the shot," Crosshair snapped.
"Not like I did it on purpose. I simply miscalculated the recoil with only one hand," Echo hissed when Hunter touched his shoulder. "You're welcome, by the way!"
Hunter groaned and motioned to Wrecker to help their angry sniper back to the ship as he let Tech assess Echo's shoulder.
"I will need to make a more complete scan when we are on the Marauder to make sure you didn't damage the artificial nerves that link your scomp to your nervous system," he explained.
"Go get the ship ready and make sure Crosshair doesn't bite Wrecker again," Hunter said and helped Echo up.
Tech looked at them for a moment before getting after the others. The moment he was out of view and earshot, Echo tensed, clearly expecting Hunter to rebuke him or something.
"That was quick thinking and saved our asses back there. Good job, Corporal," Hunter commented, hoping to ease him.
"Only doing my job, Sarge," Echo answered, not exactly looking at him.
"Look, I know it's unsettling, but it's a really good thing that Crosshair got mad like that. It means he really cares about you. He has for a while now," Hunter explained. "He doesn't care if you scratched or even broke his rifle. He's only pissed because in his mind, you got hurt because of his mistake."
The ARC finally turned toward him. "But it's not."
"I know, and he knows. Doesn't stop him from feeling like that."
Those two were too much alike when it came to loyalty to the squad. Two saps, and he wasn't any better since he'd fallen for both of them. Seemed he might have a type...
"Let's go before the boys decide to leave without us," he commented.
"Yes, sir," Echo automatically answered, but he sounded far away, lost in his thoughts.
They stayed quiet until the ship came into view. The engines were already running and ready to bring them to their next assignment. Crosshair was waiting for them at the top of the ramp. By how tense his whole body was, Hunter could tell the light was giving him a killer headache, even with his helmet on. Yet he wouldn't let his guard down until they were all on board.
Echo went up the ramp, ready to make a beeline to a seat in the cockpit before Tech's piloting sent him bumping around. Hunter was expecting Crosshair to let him pass and ignore the situation since emotions were running high. But to his surprise, the sniper reached out and rested his hand on Echo's good shoulder. They looked at each other through the visors of their buckets. Finally, Echo nodded. And just like that, the brewing tension between them evaporated and Echo continued on his way.
What kind of witchcraft was that?
Hunter closed the ramp and gripped Crosshair to make him sit down at the console so he could check him over like his own brain was demanding.
"Stop being a mama tooka," Crosshair growled but let him take his helmet off with a hiss.
Hunter ignored the warning as he tilted his head back to check his eyes. He moved to grab the med kit to get him some painkillers and a bacta-soaked gauze to put on his eyes. When this was done, he made sure to bring the medkit to the cockpit so Tech could treat Echo too.
Hunter went back to sit down in the seat beside Crosshair's. The sniper put his feet on his lap as his head lay back. The sergeant laid a hand on his knee. They stayed in silence as they just let it sink in that they were all back and safe.
"I think I got a good idea how to get some time alone with our ARC," Crosshair finally muttered.
Hunter squeezed his knee. Seemed they had some planning to do.
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A few days passed before they could put their plan in motion. They had to wait for Tech to clear Echo for using his shoulder normally and for some downtime.
The first part was easy and lucky; the second part was well-timed. They cleared the last mission faster than high command could send them to the next one. That gave them a full day off on some forest planet with a name that none of them except Tech cared to remember.
Together, Hunter and Crosshair had spent most of their morning improvising a shooting range. It could probably have been faster if it wasn't for the sniper's perfectionist streak. He wanted it to be challenging but accessible. They prepared another spot with a tent, bedrolls and all, in case this went the way they wanted with Echo or to lick their wounds together if it didn't.
When everything was finally up to Crosshair's standards, Hunter commed Echo to invite him to join them. The ARC had agreed, but it had taken him longer than they expected to join them. Was he is doubting them? Had he decided not to come? Hunter was about to call him again when Echo appeared from the woods in full kit with his helmet clipped to his belt.
He looked at all the setup and frowned. "Is this some kind of intervention?"
Hunter was about to explain, but Crosshair simply threw his rifle to the older clone. Echo caught it but was clearly confused.
"I made a few modifications. You should be able to stabilize it better. Give it a try."
Echo took a moment to check the rifle over to find the modifications. There wasn't much except two small bumps, one on the butt pad and another on the barrel. He took position and pressed the weapon to his shoulder and supported the barrel with his scomp. There were two soft clicks that could be heard.
"Magnets?" Echo asked in disbelief that something so basic could help.
"Already asked Tech to be sure it won't interfere with your respiratory cybernetics," Crosshair replied.
Echo nodded and took aim.
"Wait." Crosshair moved and pressed himself against Echo's back. "Okay, go ahead."
The ARC trooper raised an eyebrow but focused on the closest target and shot. Without surprise, it hit, but in the inner circle.
"Again," Crosshair ordered, his eyes watching every small detail.
Second shot. Same result. Third. Fourth.
Clearly, Echo was getting frustrated with Crosshair. "Not sure what you're expecting..."
The sniper's long fingers wrapped around the scomp and made Echo turns a few degrees.
"Again," Crosshair breathed out. Hunter wouldn't have heard him if it wasn't for his heightened senses.
Echo shivered at the warm breath against his neck, centered himself, and took the shot.
This time he hit the V-bull.
"You forget that your scomp arm is shorter than your right arm used to be. You need to compensate," Crosshair smirked. "Let's try another degree."
Hunter rolled his eyes at how Crosshair let his fingers stroke the scomp in a crude fashion. Not subtle at all this time.
This time Echo hit the bullseye.
"Just like that," the sniper purred.
"Great shot," Hunter added, not wanting to be left out.
And the praise clearly had some effect on Echo.
"Mind if I shoot a few more?" Echo asked in a rough voice.
"Have fun." Crosshair approved and moved his hand back to let it stay on the other clone's waist.
Echo was a stronger man than Hunter to be able to focus on his shots when he had Crosshair draped on him like that. But Force, he loved to see them like this. Only he wished there were a lot fewer clothes involved.
"No pain?" he asked finally when Echo lowered the rifle after a few more targets were taken down.
"None. The magnets keep it in place," he answered before he sent a look at the man pressed against his back. "Not that I'm not grateful, but isn't that a bit of overkill to modify your weapon since the chance of me using your rifle in the field is slim?"
"Slim but never zero," Crosshair replied in a pretty good imitation of Tech's voice.
"He's right, Echo. We never know if it's going to happen again. And as you've seen in our battle plans, some of them count on the fact we can use each other's weapons," Hunter pointed out. "It's just normal we adapt for you. You've already done so much to adapt to us."
Echo seemed to muse on his words and finally smiled. "Not like it's so hard to follow your kind of chaos. Just choose the worst decision possible."
"We did take the decision to offer you a place on our squad," Hunter chuckled.
"That was the first clue to your insanity," Echo smiled sweetly at him.
Crosshair snorted at this and poked his ribs through a small weak point in his armor. "Stop being cute."
"Sorry, no can do," Echo squeaked. "This cuteness is all natural."
"Glad you finally see it," Crosshair approved
Hunter and he exchanged a surprised look. Normally Echo did everything to not talk about his body or appearance in general. And now... Was Echo flirting?
"So, Sarge, want me to play with your equipment too?"
Fuck... Definitely flirting.
Hunter moved in front of Echo and took the weapon out of his grasp, letting his fingers brush longer than needed against the ARC's. He put the weapon on the ground and laid his hand on the other side of his waist, trapping Echo between them.
"You already have your own clanker opener, so not sure you need mine," he said.
Echo made a soft chuckle and let his scomp spin a few times. The first time he'd punched through a B1 with it out of pure reflex, it had made the whole squad stop for a second. Hunter was used to Wrecker's decision to get into physical altercations with droids, but he hadn't expected Echo to be made of the same kind of crazy. The ARC had blamed Marshal Commander Cody for it for some reason.
Right now, he could tell the spin was not only for show but out of nervousness at their sudden closeness.
"We're open for some private wrestling for the three of us. If you feel like it," Hunter added. No need to lie at this point.
"With me? Really?" Echo looked more self-conscious right now.
"Yes. Why not?"
"Because your sinfully hot Reg is loathing his body and thinks we are as blind as him," Crosshair replied and brought Echo closer to his chest.
"I'm not blind. I'm more scar tissue and metal than anything. There's nothing alluring about that," the older clone muttered.
"For my part, scars are sexy as hell. That proves how much of a badass you are," Cross commented. To put some strength behind his words, he mouthed the scarred skin on the back of Echo's neck.
The shiver that went through the body between them and the soft surprised moan that escaped his lips—the ARC was clearly not indifferent to Crosshair's actions.
Hunter reached out to cup his cheek. "There's more to you than your body. You're brave, efficient, never judge us for being different, and keep up with us. Well, I must confess that the electric field of your prosthetics might brush against my senses just the right way to drive me crazy."
"But you... are together, that's kinda clear," Echo breathed out. "I don't want to be some kind of weird sex toy."
Crosshair and Hunter shared a look, remembering the talk that started all this.
"And that's not what we want from you. If you want this, it will be as our equal, as a full part of this," Hunter promised him. "And if you don't want it, that's perfectly fine. It will never impact your place in the squad. We want you in our lives and you are one of us no matter what."
Echo nodded and pressed his forehead to Hunter's, protected from the world in their embrace as he made up his mind.
"Maybe today... you can slowly show me what you see in me."
"We can surely do that," Hunter agreed, and Crosshair hummed in agreement.
Echo's body lost its tension and he shifted so he could kiss Hunter. His kiss was gentle and exploring, but the passion was burning down there. How long did they kiss? Hunter had no idea, but long enough for Crosshair to feel left out. He grabbed Echo's shoulder and tilted him back to get his own kiss. The Reg made a small, surprised noise and wrapped his arms around Crosshair's neck for support. He needed it because Hunter knew that Crosshair's kisses were breathtaking.
The sniper let go of Echo's lips long enough to ask Hunter one question. "Tent?"
"Sounds like a really good plan."
He helped Echo get his footing back and took his hand. "Let us take care of you. We'll show you how much you are exactly what we want."
Echo squeezed his hand softly and wrapped his other arm around Crosshair's slim waist.
None of them went back to the ship that night.