Summary: Crosshair's paternal clone gene finally unlocks. Unfortunately, his husband doesn't possess the same gene.
In the aftermath of his argument with Crosshair, Tay seeks out solace in the arms of the ocean and consults with a friend about where he goes from here.
Word Count: 11.6k
A few years back, Tay had found out that Chagrians could be underwater for sometimes years at a time.
It mightâve sounded silly since Tay himself was a Chagrian and shouldâve known this fact about his own species years ago, but unfortunately his life hadnât given him the chance to know these kinds of things that most Chagrians wouldâve known. He was, as some might say, sheltered, and had been slowly learning new things about himself since his initial arrival on Pabu a few years ago.
With Pabu being an island surrounded by a vast ocean, he was quick to find out just how much he loved being in the waterâsurrounded by that comforting embrace of waves and salt that filled him with a sense of security that felt an awful lot like homeâand was overjoyed when he was told just how long Chagrians could last underneath all that blue.
Like a sirenâs call, Tay was always drawn to the water, but stronger than that, he was drawn to Crosshair and the home heâd made with him. Yes, Tayâs species could spend their years under the water, but Tay had wanted to spend his years with Crosshair on land. Because, as much as Tay loved the water, as much as it was a safe space that felt like home, Crosshair was all that and more.
On the other hand, Crosshair had never liked the ocean as much as Tay did, but that wasnât something that Tay ever faulted him for. Of course, biologically speaking, it simply wasnât possible for Crosshair to have the connection to the ocean like Tay did, but it was more than just that.
Like for Tay, the ocean reminded Crosshair of home, but the memories of Crosshairâs home planet of Kamino and the surrounding ocean werenât always pleasant. Sometimes the crashing of the waves reminded Crosshair of the storms, of the long nights spent wondering if heâd ever prove himself worthy of being on Clone Force 99 and being the sniper his brothers needed him to be, and sometimes the sights and smells reminded him of his time trapped on that Kamino platformâwasting away for weeks as he waited for someone to come and save him from himself.
Sure, Pabu and its ocean were different from that of Kamino. It was warmer. Calmer. Brighter. But the sounds and the smells were very much the same. All too hauntingly familiarâŠ.
Just like the face of a young girl.
It all happened so suddenly that Tay didnât really know what to make of it. At the very least, his instincts had kicked inâboth fight and flightâand he had sought out solace in the dark, cold waves of Pabu. Maybe the salt would clear his head. Maybe a large fish would come along so heâd have an excuse to fight and feel that rush that made all other feelings fade away. Maybe heâd drown and not have to face being a failure again.
He didnât know.
All he knew was the cool feel of the water against his skin. The salt on his tongue. The sting in his eyes. The still and the quiet pulling him deeper and deeper into an embrace, making him feel weightless and devoid of pain as he worked overtime to do what he did in moments like thisâforget.
He wanted to forget the fight he just had with Crosshair. Wanted to forget the fact that heâd up and left Crosshair, when his husband so clearly needed his support. Wanted to forget his fears and insecurities that made him doubt. Wanted to forget Crosshairâs wordsââYou donât think my hands are cleaner?â âand the truth that they spoke. Wanted to forget his promise to his mothers, the promise to himself, that he wanted a love like theirs. Wanted to forget those damn, big black eyes that stared right into his very soul.
However, no matter how hard he willed it, no matter how far down he swam, it seemed like he couldnât escape those eyes.
~~~~~~~~~
âWhat is this?â
Tay narrowed his eyes as he turned around and looked over at the ugly mug belonging to the Dowutin guard whose name Tay never bothered to learn in his twenty-something years of being stuck in The Cauldron. He had other things to care about anyways.
âNew recruits,â the bastard grunted in response as he prodded Tay further into the courtyard with a jab of a vibrostaff, hitting Tay right in his still healing shoulder. The jab sent a jolt of pain up Tay, causing him to hiss and bare his teeth at the Dowutin; only to get a snort of amusement in return.
He bit back a remark, swallowing the sting and the pulsating pain as he slowly shifted his focus back onto the collection of people of various species and ages staring back at himâthe cuffs around their wrists much cleaner than the ones that felt almost embedded in Tayâs skin. All of them stared back at him with a wide range of emotions from blank looks, hardened scowls, and teary eyesâall waiting on him.
Tay knew what he was here for. Knew what they were there for.
âRecruitsâ theyâd been called.
When really, they were nothing more than slaves and Tay realized that heâd been brought alongâThe Champion Chagrianâto teach them all how to be proper slaves. How to fight and entertain until their promised, gruesome demise in front of a cheering crowd. Now that the former champion was goneâhis mentor, his motherâit was up to Tay to fill in her shoes and take on the roles she used to have in this stars-forsaken pit.
He couldnât help but wonder how she felt whenever she stood in front of these faces. Did she think about how none of them would make it out alive? Did she think about how sheâd been the one to kill most of them? Did she even have the slightest bit of hope for anyone? Was he one she had hope for? Surely, upon seeing him something made her put faith in him, but looking across the faces staring back at him, Tay felt nothing.
Good evening, I was reading before going to bed and I had a question. Do any of the clones and their partners enjoy reading bedtime books aloud to their partners or children (or both at the same time)? Tech seems to me to be the most obvious option in this regard, and it is possible that he mostly reads some books of a scientific nature.
Hello there! Sorry it took so long for me to answer this
Reading before bed sounds nice! I really should do that more oftenâ
But to answer your question, yes! I would think that they do enjoy reading bedtime books before bed to their partners and/or children.
Tech for sure does, but I think each family would enjoy reading/telling stories one way or another as well.
Putting a more detailed answer below the cut đ
Guardians:
I think that Omega would like to hear stories about Jung's time as a Jedi and Hunter would enjoy listening as well
When Jung was enslaved in a labor camp, he would tell stories about the Jedi to pass the time to his cellmate, so he'd be used to telling these kinds of stories to Omega and later his kids
Hunter sticks to reading bedtime books to the kids though because I feel like he's really bad at telling stories off the top of his head (he'll have to back track a lot and stop to rephrase things, so it ends up just being really hard to follow)
Like I can see Hunter reading some children's bedtime book with that great voice of his surrounded by his kiddos with Jung next to themâreading until they all end up passing out
Scompscope:
Echo's kiddos definitely want to hear stories about Echo's time during the clone wars - but of course, Echo only tells them about the less traumatic aspects of that time and instead talks about heroics that either he, Fives, Rex, or other members of the 501st got up to
Either those stories or he'll tell a bunch of embarrassing stories about his brothers from the 501st and the Bad Batch so long as his boys promise not to tell anyone that Echo had told them those stories
Viram enjoys hearing these stories too, so she'll leave the story telling to Echo for the most part â it's nice to hear about the good memories from such a tragic, terrible time, so Viram appreciates it
If her boys do ask for a bedtime story though, sometimes she'll pull out medical textbooks and start reading from those and that easily gets the boys to knock out from boredom
Starburst:
Both Khea and Wrecker would enjoy telling bedtime stories to their kids, and I think their kids would love it to the point where they can't really sleep without some kind of bedtime story from either parent
Wrecker will read them bedtime books and essentially put on a whole production because he'll act out characters or do funny/different voices for each character
Sometimes this gets the kids too into the story and they get riled up so they end up not going to sleep and instead stay up and have fun acting out the story or listening to Wrecker
On the other hand, Khea will tell them stories that she heard from her Buirs growing up and relate a bunch of Mandalorian folktales and stories
TechPhee:
Storytime is a MUST at the Genoa household and they definitely love bedtime for the reason that they get to hear stories from their parents
Of course, Phee is always telling stories about her adventures and is always animated and passionate in her storytelling - sometimes it riles their kids up and they get excited instead of sleepy, but always it has Tech looking at Phee with heart eyes
On the other hand, when it's Tech's turn to tell a story, he'll read bedtime books to his kids, or go on a yap session about whatever topic his kids want to hear about and that usually gets them to fall asleep pretty quickly
Their son, Rangi, loves stories and wants to be an author so he really enjoys hearing all these different stories and books from his parents and will fight to stay awake to hear the end of them sometimes (he rarely wins these battles)
Sharpshooters:
Fun fact, Tay is actually illiterate so he'd rather tell bedtime stories than read them - though by the time Akona enters his and Crosshair's life, he's learned enough to easily read those children bedtime books to her (they're good practice for him)
Whenever Tay does read to Akona, Crosshair can't help but be proud and he finds it incredibly (and strangely) soothing - so sometimes Crosshair ends up falling asleep listening to Tay read before Akona does
Crosshair does like to read to Akona too if Tay's too tired to do so - and don't tell anyone but he enjoys doing little funny voices for some of the different characters in the books to make Akona giggle or laugh
If he's not reading her a bedtime story though, Crosshair will tell her embarrassing stories about his brothers that may or may not be entirely true, but she loves them and Tay loves seeing them both laugh
Hope these answered your question! Thinking about them being all domestic and soft always warms my heart and makes me so happy đ„č
But that's what happens when you give Akona a harpoon.
Ramblings + Reference under the cut:
Was feeling a bit down but then this image came to me and I felt a little better so I had to draw it. I just love these guys :(
Was also thinking about Akona because I love her so much (partly because she's inspired by my mom's cat - aka my kid-sister/godchild whom I adore despite how big of a menace she is) and how she's picked up little bits and pieces from both Crosshair and Tay over the years.
In terms of personality, I see her being a lot like how I would image Crosshair was as a kidâstubborn, bratty, curious, a little menace who is used to getting his way and is a tad bit emotional. Or like,, y'know âthe kid who eats glue in the back of the classroom and also bites the other kids? Yeah that was cadet Crosshair and that's how Akona is too. But she's got a heart of gold and loyalty literally means everything to her. Plus, since she's an only child she's spoiled very much like how Crosshair was since he was the baby of the Batch.
But then in terms of mannerisms and style, she takes after Tay. Like even if occasionally, Crosshair takes her out to a shooting range to practice her sharpshooting skills (and she's pretty good at it too), when it comes down to it, she prefers hand-to-hand combat like Tay and enjoys things like wrestling more than anything. She also like wearing sleeveless shirts like Tay and wears clasps on her tendrils that are similar to the ones Tay has on his lethorns. Then there's also the fact that she wears a gauntlet similar to Crosshair's old one because Tay still wears his old gauntlets that he painted like Crosshair's when they were together. That and the little blue cloth she wears as a belt was actually Tay's before he passed it down to her.
Either way she's a delightful handful. Her personality makes it hard for Tay and her Uncles to say no to her since she's so similar to Crosshair but then her tendencies to be inspired by Tay get her (and also Tay) into trouble every now and then.
Also, her name worked out perfectly. Initially, I picked it out because it meant "to enthuse" in Maori and then later I added on the 'Mae' part in honor of Commander 'May'day (because I could see Crosshair honoring him like that) and THEN it also worked out to honor Tay's mentor/mom, Ko, because 'ko' is in the name 'Akona' and would be something Tay calls her.
Idk, I just love them.
Also don't worry, Tay's fine. He's suffered worse, lmao. That's what he gets for letting Akona have a harpoon.
