Hi, I love your work! :) I was wondering if I could request TBB x fem reader (romantically and separately if that's okay)where reader and tech switch roles on Plan 99 where reader falls instead of tech. However reader survives but is injured and reunites with them. How would the guys react to them falling and also reuniting with reader who they thought was dead?
Reader Switches Place In Plan 99
Bad Batch x gn!reader
Masterlist
A/n: I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD. Thank you for your request and sorry it took so long! This is only half of the request, there will be a second part with them reuniting. Also, this doesn't include Crosshair, I couldn't figure out how to write him in this scene as he wasn't there during plan 99.
Warnings: Supposed death, reader sacrificing themselves, they're all extremely stressed and sad in this, big heights and fear of heights, mention of burnout. Let me know if I missed anything.
Characters: Hunter, Echo, Wrecker, and Tech x gn!reader.
Word Count: ~1.2k.
Hunter
He couldn’t show it at the moment, he needed to get everyone to safety, he shoves everything aside and put on his best commanding tone. He’s their leader, in a time like this there’s no room for mourning; he’s their protector, and he was your protector too, but now that you’ve done that, he can only think of himself as a defeated leader.
As soon as there’s no threat anymore, he looks for somewhere quiet—anywhere he could be alone—and stops pretending, lets it all take over him, not even bothering if anyone heard his desperate gasps for air as he choked on his own tears.
He wouldn’t let something like this happen again, he would fry his own brain until the burnout completely hollowed him inside but he wouldn’t allow anyone under his care to make something stupid like that.
And he would never love again. There was no point, you were the only one who cared about his brothers as much as him, who understood his needs and personal space. Even if he did find someone, it wouldn’t be you.
Echo
He couldn’t believe it, he did everything right, they were seconds away from escaping, but then in one glance you slipped and were hanging for your life. He didn’t care there was no time for that, he ignored your reasonings, he would have gone back to that falling wagon and pulled you back into his arms himself.
You were right. There was no time for that.
He did what he could, he left that damn place and took his family to safety, he couldn’t let the emotions overtake at the moment.
That doesn’t mean he wasn’t spiraling the whole time, when they reached a safe point it only worsened. First, he had to watch his brothers die, one by one, now he lost you too, the same thing who his brothers died for had killed you now.
It makes him question everything he’s been doing—was it really possible to win this fight? Would the day that they could live in peace ever come? How many more of his family would he have to watch dying?
Echo, of course, is resilient, unstoppable, his mourning would quickly evolve into more motivation to overthrow the kriffing Empire, he would follow Rex to hell and back if it meant avenging the deaths of his loved ones and giving peace to those who were still running from the Empire.
He would keep a token of you in his armor at all times, it would give him strength to keep pushing forward even when his fight seemed unsurmountable.
Wrecker
If there’s something Wrecker loves, it’s lifting heavy things, preferably in front of you so he gets to impress you while doing it, it’s something he could never get tired of.
Now, however, he can feel his muscles straining, his breathing shallowing and his mind already panicked, while he tried to maintain his eyes on you and not on the unending abysm beneath you.
He hates it, he just needs you to climb back up so he can scoop you up in his arms and you two can get the kriff out of there to hopefully never have step foot somewhere so high ever again.
The frail structure keeping the wagon on the trail struggled more and more to maintain itself, but Wrecker didn’t falter, he could and he would hold that whole thing by himself until you back right by his side.
You were more realistic than him at the moment, you knew your chances of getting back with your square were next to zero, there was nothing to be done, no point in making him strain himself for a hopeless goal.
You wish you didn’t have to leave him like this, but if was either you or all of them. The words left your lips in less than a second, yet he would remember them forever in an insufferable loop.
“There is no time, Wrecker. Plan 99.”
You had to be joking, maybe you were trying to lighten up the mood while he faced his biggest fear to save you.
Your blaster shot proved you weren’t, he held onto the wagon even after it detached, but it was too much, he couldn’t hold it alone, and he felt the metal slipping away from his fingers while you fell into the blanket of clouds that would lead to your death.
Before he could have one last glance of you, the system was back and he was carried away from you for the last time.
Tech
It’s nothing new that Tech was can perfectly work under stressful conditions, his exceptional mind could find solutions even in seemingly insurmountable circumstances.
What is actually unusual is the way Tech feels his skin shiver with cold sweat as his beloved hangs right before an unending sea of clouds, how his mind trips over its own thoughts desperate to find a way to bring you back to him faster.
He tries not to think about your recklessness, he has told you multiple times to follow the plan, but you always do your own thing and practically makes him fry his brain to fix everything. You were supposed to stay with the others, but of course you went after him, it should have been him, not you hanging.
Wrecker is doing his best to hold the wagon while he’s checking every device he has at the moment that could possibly aid you, but the blaster shots collide exactly at the thin connection between the wagon and the wires.
“C’mon! Do something, Tech!” Wrecker pleads, feeling his energy slip away as it gets harder and harder to keep holding it, as if he wasn’t already considering sacrificing himself for you and a thousand more ideas.
“I am! I just need more time, I will recalibrate-”
“There’s no time, Tech.” You cut him off, squeezing your eyes while you ponder what you’re about to do.
“Quiet! I have a solution already, keep climbing!” He doesn’t mean to yell at you, yet, for the first time, he can’t seem to concentrate among all the shit that’s happening at that moment.
“Tech...”
“Stay quiet, cyare!”
“Tech.”
“Just for a moment!”
“Plan 99.”
His movements halt immediately, his heart skipped a beat and ached in a way he’d never felt before.
“Do not! Cyare, listen to me just this time, please!”
“Take care of our family, ok?”
You took one last glance at him, you could see the desolation behind his lenses, how he hadn’t stopped beating his brain for a second to figure out how to save you.
You couldn’t do it while his eyes pleaded at you, you averted your vision away from him, and before you could stop yourself you pulled the trigger, feeling your body get lighter as the weight of gravity pulled you down, straight to your death.
“No, no, no, no, no!” Tech didn’t have the will or the strength to move, the abrupt movement of the wagon going back at full speed knocked him out of his feet, but he stayed unmoving, eyes fixated on the abysm he allowed to consume you.
Reblogs, comments and feedback are appreciated. Let me know if there are any mistakes, English is not my first language. Thank you for reading! <3
Summary: After some bad dreams interrupt your sleep, you find some unexpected comfort in your beloved partner, Tech.
Pairing: Tech x gn!reader
Warnings: hurt/comfort, waking from bad dreams (no details), fluffy practical Tech in a newish relationship.
Word Count: ~800
A/N: AHHHHHH okay okay okay so the plot goblins absolutely infested my brain after I saw THIS ✨incredible✨ artwork of our darling Tech by @ghostymarni 🫶🏻
This is completely self indulgent because, well, I love him, your honor. I was also a little inspired by the scene in the episode of Schitt’s Creek where Alexis tells David about her breakup with Mutt and realizes she needs a hug 😂
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, Tech?" you murmured into the room he was occupying.
Tech hummed softly in acknowledgment. "It is late and I am in the middle of repairs—what do you need?" he asked quietly, not looking up from his project.
You didn't take offense to his demeanor when interrupted; it was just how his brain worked. His mind never ceasing its search for information and solutions. Sometimes that meant extracting himself from your sleepy cocoon to pursue whatever pathway his incredible mind had opened up to him in the middle of the night. But when you didn't respond for a moment, it shifted his unwavering attention to you, immediately noticing your slightly disheveled state.
"I just…" You paused again. "Maker, this is so stupid," you muttered under your breath, unsure if Tech heard you or not.
There was no room for anxiety in your gut now that the mortified butterflies had taken over. Things were still fairly new with you and Tech. You appreciated that he wasn't one who typically relied on physical affection to convey his feelings—and neither were you, really, but right now you were still a human with a rattled nervous system.
You heard the sound of tools being set down gently and the quiet thump of his approaching footsteps.
Your face was burning with embarrassment. You weren't a child, clearly, you should be able to console yourself and go back to sleep, but you were here now and had his undivided attention. Something that made your chest flutter wildly whenever you had it.
The toes of his boots came into your view as he stopped in front of you. "Sarad?" Tech inquired, his voice softening. "Is something the matter? You seem… unsettled." He offered. The warmth he always radiated displaced some of the chill that had set into your bones, and you instinctively leaned forward into him a little more. "Did I wak—"
"I had a nightmare—" you blurted out, inwardly groaning. Your eyes flicked up to his briefly before focusing on the middle of his chest. “I woke up and you…”
"I see," he said softly after a moment, adjusting his goggles as he regarded you. "You were seeking comfort after your bad dreams had woken you?"
"It's nothing—I was just a bit anxious when I woke up, but it's… it's nothing," you said again, standing on your tiptoes and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I'm fine, I really should go back to sleep…and don’t to stay up too la—" you rambled, still talking yourself out of whatever reason you had to disturb him. You took a few steps back the way you came, but Tech’s hands on your shoulders stopped you.
"Your heart rate is elevated," he said plainly, peering at you. "You are flushed and speaking more quickly than usual." Tech lifted the back of his hand to gently run along your heated cheekbone. "…and you are avoiding eye contact with me, so I can deduce that you are, in fact, not 'fine’, my dear," he said softly, his fingers trailing down your chin before he pulled them away.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" he asked genuinely. “I know that helps you sometimes,”
You shook your head, furrowing your brow. "It's just the same one I told you about," you confessed, biting the inside of your cheek, trying to determine yourself what it is you were seeking. His hand was back at his side, but you wished it was still caressing your face.
"I think I might need a…hug…" you said warily, as if you were unsure of the words that came out of your own mouth. "…or something?" You added, crossing your arms over your chest.
"Ah," he said, his eyes darting back and forth processing this information. He did that sometimes. You couldn't help but smile at seeing the brain you adored at work for you. "I understand," he added before walking back to his workbench—making it seem as though he didn't actually understand at all. You took a few steps in his direction as he pulled over a nearby chair and sat down.
Confusion was visible on your face. You told him you needed a hug, or something, and he immediately went and sat down? Possibly to continue the task you had just interrupted? But he didn't start working; he just looked at you expectantly.
"Come here, sarad," he said gently, shifting in the seat and patting his legs.
You smiled slowly, now understanding, and tiptoed over to him, gingerly taking a seat in his lap. He pulled you to him tightly, encouraging you to relax and lounge fully on him. He kissed the top of your head and ran his hand up and down your spine as you curled into the crook of his neck, inhaling his familiar scent of clean soap and mechanical ozone.
"This is nice," you sighed contentedly, feeling the tension in your chest releasing.
"Good," he quipped, brushing your face with his fingers again. "Rest. Fall asleep if you wish… I shall be here."
"Thank you," you murmured, curling your arms around his waist and closing your eyes. Tech's hands eventually left you to resume his task, but he pressed his lips into the top of your head every so often, reminding you he was still right there with you. His warmth and the steady thrum of his heart soothed you, while the sounds of his gentle tinkering and even breathing lulled you back into a peaceful sleep.
When you awoke, you found yourself back in Tech's bunk, but this time he was wrapped around you, snoring softly into your shoulder.
Synopsis: tech often gets ignored because of his constant chatter but you sit down and listen.
Genre: FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF. One itty bitty pinch of angst
Word Count: 791
Warnings: none
A/N: just thought it'd be cute and wholesome. Can be read as platonic or romantic. :))
“Good morning Tech.” You announced, your voice running like honey. There was a grogginess to your words. Tech and you always woke up first, it had just become routine after the few weeks you'd been with the Batch. “Good morning y/n.” Tech replied, his eyes glued to the new project he was working on. His back hunched over in the chair. Curious, you make your way over to his side with a drink in your hands. “What are you workin’ on?" Tech moves his face a little closer to his project, “I’m working on a portable communication device; also known as a ‘com link.’”
“Can I look at it?” You spoke softly and genuinely interested. Your words hit Tech’s ears and he stopped. "Uhm sure, just don't touch it.” He swivels out of the way letting you come closer to investigate the item. He pushes his goggles up intensely watching you interact with his project.
“This is super cool!” You moved your face closer to look at all the intricate mechanisms of the device. Tech's eyebrows relaxed feeling a sense of pride in his work. "Thank you y/n.” No one ever really payed attention or listened to whatever it was he was making. He was slightly confused on why you were so interested. He analysed you and your actions, deciding to speak his hypothesis.
“Are you perhaps looking to create something similar?” You looked over at him, “oh kriff no, I don't have the talent you do Tech.” Your response baffled him even more so, “well thank you but then why the indulgment in my project?” Your eyes softened, “I just think it’s really cool.” Tech’s face was stagnant so you elaborated, “I appreciate the small details and knowledge it takes in order to basically build something mechanical from scratch. I admire it.”
He finally understood, “ah I see now, your lack of knowledge on basic mechanical systems fascinates you that’s why you're admiring mine.” Ouch you thought, but he wasn't wrong. You sigh, “I tried to word it a bit more poetically, but yeah.” You looked back at the device, Tech stayed silent he was debating something in his mind.
“Apologies if that was a bit harsh, I was just confused as to why you would be interested other than for your own benefits. I’m not used to…people being interested in what I’m doing or saying…” It was a heartfelt apology, you knew his brothers got bored of what he was saying, not out of malicious intentions they just weren't invested. Your face saddened at the device, “I forgive you Tech, I know you weren't trying to be mean.”
He released a heavy sigh of relief and spoke, “If you want to learn more about my technology and mechanics I could teach you.” Your eyes shifted, “sure.” You smiled knowing it would make both of you happy. Tech fixed his goggles and came closer to you and the device. “Well when’s my first lesson?” Tech grabs a tool, “right now.” You smiled softly, “so first it is undeniably important that—” His words drifted through the air as you absorbed them, taking in all the information and asking questions.
Time seemed to fly by that morning and you two were completely indulged in his creations. While listening you couldn't help but think how good it must feel to talk to someone who wants to listen to you. It only made you more eager to ask questions, and made you feel good. With your attention completely captured you didn't see the other men huddled together gossiping about it.
“Looks like they're getting along.” Hunter’s lips threatened a smile, seeing his brother happy. “I’m hungry!” Wrecker groaned in a whisper. “Let Tech have this a little longer, even I can only take so much ‘Tech talk.’” Echo rubbed his temple recalling all the moments where he had been close to drifting off to sleep while Tech lectured him about mechanics. Crosshair said nothing, only his typical scowl and toothpick in his mouth. He watched you two interact and he was totally going to tease you for it later.
A loud rumble was heard and it had disrupted Tech and your attention. It was Wreckers stomach growling, he sheepishly smiled. “Sorry.” You chuckled. “We’ll continue this lesson later y/n,” Tech spoke and got up placing his device in a safe space. “We're you guys just waiting?” You raised a brow. “You looked like you were having fun.” Hunter smiled.
“And Tech most of all.” Crosshair finally spoke pointing his toothpick at you. Tech heard this and a the edge of his lips lifted ever so slightly. Your ears heated up, you grinned. “Stow it Crosshair,” Echo hissed. You just chuckled enjoying the mens antics.
I miss Tech. I know you might not be able to write for awhile and I get that. If you feel up to it though could you please write a fic where Tech is able to come to Pabu after tantis and finds out the Marauder is gone. Maybe reader (platonic/aromantic) comforts him with hugs and memories tks
Hello! I have some pretty strong feelings about Tech and how we still didn't see him in the entire last third of The Bad Batch. Here is hoping he will come home soon. And in manifestation of this....
Tech x GN!Reader
Warnings: Mention of injuries, but nothing explicit. No indication of whether Tech was CX-2 or not. Tech lives, obviously!
You sat on the landing pad near the ocean. It was empty now, but the last few remnants of the Marauder were only recently removed. In the rush to get to Tantiss, the people of Pabu did their best to help clean up the mess from the explosion while Wrecker, Hunter, and Crosshair left with Phee. You were among them, trying to grab whatever you could and sort through anything that you felt the brothers would want to keep. There wasn't much. Thankfully Gonky, Lula, Tech's goggles and various pieces of armor were already removed when the ship exploded. You did, however, manage to find and keep one thing.
You smiled to yourself as you looked down at the yoke and the lever used to jump to hyperspace.
"You recovered it?" Tech asked as he approached.
"I did," you replied with a smile. "I thought you might want to keep it."
Tech sat next to you with a flinch and sighed.
"You okay?" you asked.
"I'm better today." He was still healing, but mostly there. His family had waited until he was better to tell him about the Marauder. He didn't take it well, although he tried to insist it was merely a ship that could be replaced. You all knew better, but it was Tech's way to try to process the information.
Tech reached for the yoke and you gladly gave it to him. He held it in his hands as he had done hundreds of times while piloting the ship. It fit his grip perfectly.
"I requested this particular part," he said. "I requested the modifications to the Marauder. I was nine, but argued that since they felt we were nearly ready for battle, we should be able to get the best equipment. They made some of the modifications, but I made most of them. Even the ones they deemed unnecessary."
He reached for the lever and you handed it to him. He felt so natural holding these pieces, yet they were less familiar since they were no longer attached to anything.
"What was it like when you first flew the Marauder?" you asked.
Tech fondly smiled and answered, "The training simulations were not adequate, but I adapted quickly."
He grimaced, now faced with the thought that he would never fly his ship again. He would never have that home again. He took in a breath. Things changed, but he wasn't alone. He made it to Pabu, their new home. He put the yoke and lever aside and tried to smile at you. You opened your arms to invite him in for a hug if he wanted it. He didn't hesitate. He'd been separated from his family and friends for so long. He rested his head against yours and you held each other. While he wasn't usually one to cry, a few tears trickled down his face.
"I cannot explain why I feel this way. I'm home. We lived. I should only feel gratitude."
"It's okay, Tech," you reassured. "Sometimes I can't put my finger on my feelings, but I simply feel them. We're all built a little different. Besides, you survived a terrible fall. It takes a toll on your body, including your exceptional mind."
He nodded and took in a deep breath. You held him a little closer and waited for him to feel ready to let go. You stayed up with him and watched the ocean while he spent the night telling you all kinds of stories about flying and the modifications he wanted to make on a new ship.
Hi hi! I was wondering if you could do a headcanon list for Tech x y/n who has chronic pain please 👉🏼👈🏼
Yes absolutely! I did some research and I decided Chronic migraines would be interesting to write about and I'm pretty sure I just figured out I might have it.
Anyway enjoy!
Worse and Worser
Pairings: Tech x gn! Reader
Summary: you have chronic headaches. Tech finds a way to make it better
Warnings: a bit of angst
•You’ve had Chronic pain since you were a child at the beginning of the clone wars
•Explosions and the light it let off had nearly blinded you and almost made you deaf you so you wore hearing aids, and had to have eye surgery just to see clearly
•The chronic headaches didn’t really start until you were a teenager
•They would last sixteen days, constant headaches and neck pain, dizziness and nausea.
•your parents were part of the republic GAR so they got free healthcare and that included you.
•The doctors told you that you had chronic migraines
•you started taking medication and were able to push through the pain and enrolled in the GAR as a medic
•you specialized in mental medicine mostly, therapy for the clones who suffered PTSD. You also knew combat aid.
•despite your chronic pain the republic sent you out onto the feild anyway
•but you were placed with an elite task force.
•The Bad Batch
•they didn’t like you at first
•but you were smart, and witty and always snapped back with clever replies or jabs
•crosshair approved first when you broke his nose after he said something stupid.
•After that the other men warmed up to you quickly
•then there was Tech.
•You were both oblivious to the feelings you harbored for each other
•even though the rest of the batch could clearly see it
•One day however, your migraines were so bad that you could barely move, and that pain had moved down towards your back
•Tech was very concerned
•he wouldn’t leave your side until you finally told him about your chronic migraines
•you told him about how your home was bombed
•and how you were 80 percent deaf if it wasn't for your aids allowing you to hear
•Tech did some research, and did his best to help you feel better
•hed sit in the darkness with you, and he'd just hold you in silence
•He thought you were very strong though
•being able to deal with that much pain on the loud battlefields
•When you got to Pabu a lot of things changed
•you were able to get some help with your headaches
•and you made the decision to stay behind while they went out into the world
•when Tech ‘died’ you were devastated, and couldn’t get out of bed for weeks because of your crying, dehydration and migraines
•Then they found Tech in Tantiss
•he came home to you
•he saw you in so much pain
•he laid beside you again, in total darkness and told you everything would be alright
Hey! I saw your requests are open. I absolutely love your work, and i how you're doing alright! I will take any opportunity I can to request Tech x Reader smut with Dom!Tech vibes 💜
Sorry I know you requested this a while ago but I’m just now getting around to it! Hope you enjoy this quick little drabble <3
Did someone say dom!tech 👀?? I am blushing
Tech x GN!Reader drabble
Warnings: rough/dom/possessive/jealous(?) tech, smut, 18+ minors DNI
How did you get here? How did you end up with your body shoved against the building behind 79’s, Tech’s cock buried inside of you, with his hand pressed against your mouth, suffocating your moans?
Quite frankly, you didn’t give a shit how you ended up here, you just knew you never wanted it to end.
Something lit a fire into Tech earlier in the night. Maybe it was the way that Rex couldn’t keep his wandering eyes off of you. Maybe it was even the revealing nature of the outfit you chose to wear. Maybe it had just been too long since he’d felt you, and he couldn’t take it anymore.
“That’s right, darling, take my cock” He growled against your ear, his thrusts turning brutal as he fucked you from behind.
This was not the Tech you knew in bed. This was a version of Tech with such a burning hunger for you that he couldn’t stand it not one minute longer. He was possessive of your body, his grip around you being relentless. You didn’t mind it one bit, in fact, you loved this. It was unexpected, and turned you on more than you were willing to admit.
“Maker, you are so good” He gritted through this teeth. Your cries of pleasure seeped through his fingers over your mouth.
He yanked his hand tighter against your face, causing your skin to burn, but it hurt so good.
“You want this whole bar to know who you belong to, hm?” He whispered against your ear. You nodded.
“Go ahead, then, darling. Tell them who fucks you this good” He smirked.
“Stars, Tech. You fuck me so good” You whimpered. In response to your filthy remarks, he fucked you faster and harder now. He loved watching your ass bounce against him with every thrust.
Your legs began to tremble as you became overwhelmed with your approaching orgasm. You felt the tingling form in your lower belly, and his cock filled you so perfectly, brushing your most sensitive places with every stroke. It was all too much.
“Come for me” Tech demanded.
You obeyed, feeling the rush of your euphoria wash over you. The feeling in your legs faded, as all sense of feeling centered in between your legs. Loud cries of pleasure escaped you, but Tech did nothing to suppress your expressions now.
“That’s it. Oh, Y/N, I’m going to fill you up” He faltered, his hips losing their rhythm as he spilled his release inside of you, marking you even more…as his.
Pairing: Tech x GN!reader (can be read as ND!Tech x ND!GN!reader if you squint)
Summary: never thought I'd see the day, but here is the final part of Dork Love! Things happen, questions are answered. I won’t say any more for fear of spoiling things. Make sure you’ve read the previous three parts before proceeding.
Rating/WC/POV: Teen+ readers, but no real warnings. 7847 words (I hate myself too, don’t worry). 2nd POV but from Tech’s perspective.
A/N: thank you to the always lovely @staycalmandhugaclone for proofreading, and for reminding me that unstiflable, as much as I’d like it to be a word, is not LOL like “so fetch” it just ain’t gonna happen!
That autonomic demand to narrow his eyes was irrepressible, and the onslaught of light pouring in through the open door dazzled him to near paralysis as he stood in the shadows, pistol raised and poised to fire blindly if or when the situation required. But even through long lashes near-opacifying his vision, Tech’s astute mind instantly noted the familiar, swaying cadence of the figure stepping through the threshold, its movements much less hurried and frenetic than his sergeant’s broad-shouldered, deliberate strides would have been as he hastened to provide backup. In that subsequent second, as Tech’s eyes screamed in protest and the alleged assailant stepped delicately atop that worn wood floor, a cresting wave of unadulterated relief and realization crashed into his heaving chest and forced the bated breath from his lungs.
“Thank the Maker,” he exclaimed as he attempted to swallow the panic that had taken up residence in the back of his throat.
His feet took him urgently toward you, stowing his pistol in it’s holster with a deftness that his trembling hands should not have possessed, and the now-redundant flashlight fell with a thud to the floor, spinning away to uselessly brighten a forgotten corner as he closed the space between you and flung his arms around your shoulders.
The startled gasp that escaped your lips at the unexpected movement went ignored. He spared no consideration for the way your arms balked against the restriction of his unexpected embrace; your choked and stuttered demands for distance and clarification registered even less in his mind than your obvious sense of alarm. He would explain after… He’d offer a million apologies in just a minute… What mattered most to him in this second was that you were safe— you were there in front of him unailed, injury free and not bludgeoned to death by the bloodied hammer still imprinted in his mind's eye.
“T— Tech?!” you stammered, the futile attempts at tugging your arms free creating barely enough leverage to tip your head back and peer upward at your captor. “Is that you? What— what are you doing here?”
“You are alive,” he spoke, seizing the brief opportunity that your acknowledgement presented and retightening his grip around your shoulders.
“Of— of course I am?” you answered, the snort of incredulity almost completely muffled by the power of his embrace as you slowly reciprocated his affection by encircling his narrow waist. “How did you get in here?”
But your behest for an explanation once again failed to pull even a fragment of reasoning from his lips, that brilliant mind utterly failing in its feat to process the emotional undulation of your perceived murder, and he hung his head silently into the gap above your shoulder, greedily breathing in the same scent he’d spent countless mornings trying to imagine were in the bunk next to him.
“This doesn’t look like any ‘perilous and life-threatening event’ that I’ve ever been a part of.”
Hunter’s amusement, while somewhat muffled by the modulator in his helmet, was entirely apparent in the small chuckle that followed his quip. Tech snapped his head toward the door, the intrusion he’d utterly forgotten was on its way taking quick advantage of the adrenaline still doping his blood and setting every inch of his akin aprickle. Yet… having your form pressed against his in that quiet moment of long-anticipated reacquaintance had embedded him with a need for you equally as powerful, and releasing you from his clutches felt oddly like he was willingly permitting a limb to depart his body.
“Who— who are you?” you voiced as you turned toward the door, shielding your eyes with the same hand that had last been the recipient of Tech’s converged affection.
“Hunter,” the sergeant chirruped, boots treading thoughtlessly atop that trail of morbid, red breadcrumbs as he crossed the room and extended a hand. “Glad to see you’re not dead.”
“Why would I be dead?” you asked as you shook his hand, a very potent confusion still swaddling every word that left those lips.
“Good question,” Hunter chuckled, tipping his head forward slightly to pull that painted plastoid bucket from his head. “Can’t say I have an answer. Tech was losing his marbles about a limp fickle tree or someth—?”
“Ficus,” Tech interrupted, feeling a fresh surge of embarrassment rise to his already heated cheeks. Those frenzied emotions… the atypical and unbridled panic from mere minutes ago was being quickly usurped by a coursing regret for the composure he’d altogether abandoned the minute your safety was in question.
He cleared his throat and shifted his goggles on his nose, shying away from your inquiring gaze as it returned to him. “My apologies for the infiltration,” he continued, readjusting his helmet needlessly under his arm. “My brother and I returned with every intention of completing the required electrical repairs, only to find the premises looking uncharacteristically derelict. Regrettably, I had no means of contacting you, so I permitted myself entry hoping to affirm your safety, or collect clues to identify the assailant.”
He chanced a glance in your direction; the way your wide eyes darted intently yet curiously back and forth between his instantly threatened to steal the justification still poised on his tongue, and watching your lip disappear between your teeth saw the battle against that implacable itch to reach for your hand vigorously resurrected.
“There was undeniable evidence that harm may have come to you,” he offered, reaching instead for his datapad and tipping the screen toward you. “My scanners indicated blood of a human origin splattered in several places, with a significant percentage of it congealing atop the handle of a hammer still perched in the sink. Objectively, all access points to the establishment appeared to have been boarded to prevent any external supposition, eliminating any obvious need for an investigation. Your beloved flora was presenting with several signs of neglect, and I noted a discarded caf beside the computer that my scanners confirm has been sitting undisturbed for nearly two dozen rotations.”
“Ew, what?!” you exclaimed as your expression shifted abruptly from concern to disgust, nose scrunching as you peered over your shoulder toward the counter.
“Is that what that smell is?” Hunter queried under his breath, his throat bobbing heavily as if trying to steel himself against the cresting heave in his stomach.
But the notion of the abandoned dish and its putrid contents didn’t befuddle you as it had Tech, instead he watched your eyes soften and roll before an incredulous scoff huffed from your nose.
“Figures,” you groused with a small shake of the head. “He has the wherewithal to put a bloody hammer in the sink but not the dirty mug.”
Tech paused, your grumbled words failing to establish even a scrap of sound reasoning in his already overladen mind, and the slight cock in Hunter’s brow as he turned to glance inquisitively at his brother clearly indicated he was equally as confused by your insufficiently explanatory grievance.
“Who’s ‘he’?” the sergeant asked on their behalf.
“My father,” you answered with another disgruntled roll of the eyes. “I asked him to come here and seal the place up for me.”
“Your father left this carnage?” Tech posed, unable to keep the bewilderment from his voice. “How peculiar.”
“But… why?” Hunter added.
“It’s a long story,” you replied, failing to conceal a large yawn with the back of one hand as the other stretched high above your head. “And I’ll happily tell you the whole thing once I get some caf in me. Give me a few minutes to turn the power back on and then we can catch up.”
The first twinge of an adoring smile tugged at Tech’s lips as he watched you first heave a preparatory sigh before squaring your shoulders and reaching for the handle of that soiled mug. With your nose pinched tightly between your fingers, and your cheeks expanded to their full capacity under the strain of a held breath, you carried the dish at arms length and retreated to the back door. Tech watched you go without even really seeing you… eyes unfocussed, mind spinning tirelessly. It seemed wholly impossible that attempting to ascertain his feelings for you during their trek along that sunlit pathway had rendered him so uneasy that he nearly faceplanted; then mere seconds later, he’d hurled headfirst into a panic so foreign and inexplicable that even Hunter, his most astute brother and the person who likely understood him most in this galaxy, had difficulty navigating Tech’s discombobulated fears. Now here he stood, the ravaging tornado of emotions spanning the last half an hour, only a thing of the past. His mind, instead, brimming with nothing but absolute certainty of his affection for you, and it wasn’t until (“...oof!”) you tripped over the long-abandoned spools of wire and nearly slooped that rancid liquid all over the floor, that a distant glimmer of reality returned to him, and he hastened to retrieve the discarded flashlight and hand it over to you.
“Was that a hug I just saw?” Hunter jeered, knocking his fist against the dome of Tech’s shoulder the second your figure vanished into the enshadowed hallway.
The genius soldier did not answer, offering his brother a mildly embarrassed, reproachful glance before shifting his attention to the device in his hands.
“You know Tech,” the sergeant persisted, keeping his voice tactfully low. “You’ve pulled some really impressive tricks out of your arsenal over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever been more impressed by you than I am now.”
Tech let his brother's indirect praise wash over him, turning his response over in his mind several times. “It is most peculiar,” he uttered quietly to the screen as the lights flickered into life overhead, “That simply the notion of this companionship can trigger such dichotomous sentiments.”
“What do you mean?” Hunter queried as he stepped toward the front door and pushed it closed.
“Well… it seems implausible that one individual could initiate both anxiety and comfort in another, as they are contradictory emotional responses that otherwise do not theoretically coincide.” Tech kept his eyes pointedly downward to the illuminated device in his hands as he spoke. “How is it that my fear for the safety of another is rendered so paramount, that the notion of having lost said person clouds the judgement in which I hold in such high regard, particularly so when the person in question is one of whom I hardly know? Yet, the moment I deem their safety established, I am overcome with a protective urge so robust that I would unquestioningly forfeit the use of my limbs if encircling them promised a shield from any potential harm?”
The momentary silence that ensued post-confession was undoubtedly amplified by the recent extermination of fracas from the outside world, yet nothing reverberated louder amongst the walls of that dusty shop than the proud pause that proceeded Hunter’s answer, the smile doming his inked cheek as he stepped back toward his brother entirely missed by the genius still staring deliberately downward.
“I don’t know,” the sergeant answered slowly, placing a discerning hand on the top of Tech’s shoulder. “Feelings are powerful things… I guess we don’t give ‘em enough credit.”
“Indeed,” Tech agreed as he finally lifted his gaze, eyes flashing as he peered at the space where you were due to appear at any moment…
“Hunter?” he added quietly as a thoughtful silence reemerged.
“Yeah, ‘vod?”
“I do not think I will ever tire of this ‘feeling’.”
Hunter’s response was stolen off his tongue by the squeak of old hinges as you pried that back door open with the toe of your shoe, reappearing moments later in the doorway with a green mug held carefully in one hand and a clear glass of water in the other; the way your lips pursed and hitched to one side as you focussed on maneuvering toward the counter without spilling either liquid, rearousing the tingle under Tech’s skin.
“What’d’ya say we pull these boards down?” Hunter spoke loudly, clapping his brother on the arm before turning to face the obstructed windows.
“That would be fantastic,” you said, carefully depositing your steaming mug beside the computer. “I’m handy enough in my own right, but I don’t trust myself not to pull a ‘Dad’ and take a finger off trying to get them down.”
“It’s not a problem,” Hunter answered, dismissing your comment with a wave of his hand as he crossed the room and debated which of the wood panels to dismantle first. “Tech, let's start with the one on the right—”
But Tech heard none of his summons, too enraptured with the charming crease between your brows as your concentration shifted toward your drooping plants, hands lovingly tipping that glass of water into the clay pot housing your limp, little tree.
“—and then we’ll just go along the front and rip 'em down one by one. We can stack them in the corner out of the way for now. Ready? Tech…? Tech.”
“Coming.” Tech wrenched his gaze from you and hurried to meet his brother next to the furthest of the boarded windows.
“I’m a little alarmed at how easily you broke in,” you admitted with a smirk as the duo trod past the counter moments later, carrying the first the half-dozen bulky boards between them.
“It was quite simple,” Tech offered, lowering his end of the board to the dusty floor in the corner and keeping it stable while Hunter tipped it against the wall. “With the correct tool and the appropriate leverage, one can deactivate such an unsophisticated deadbolt system with relative ease. If the security of your store is of utmost concern to you, I would recommend installing a mechanical upgrade; one that permits only those who carry an individually coded microchip to ent—”
“What’s with the boards anyway?” Hunter interrupted, leading his rambling brother back toward the windows.
“I, uh… I was on Ryloth.”
The soldiers froze, hands stalling in their feat of tugging the next of the boards down while they exchanged fleeting, dark looks. “Ryloth?” Hunter repeated. “In the middle of a war? Hmm… that’s kinda—”
“Kinda risky. I know,” you agreed, looking somewhat crestfallen as you perched your chin in your palm and gazed listlessly out the now transparent window. “In my defense, the war hadn’t really reached Ryloth when I bought my ticket. Though, admittedly, I would have gone anyway with the situation being so dire. Those poor kids… Maker, I feel for them. And it’s only going to get worse as access to medical supplies gets increasingly challenging…”
Hunter looked back at Tech and raised his eyebrows, confusion etched into every superficial line of that tattooed face as he readjusted his grip around the edge of the wood panel and tugged it free of its shoddy adhesion.
“Are you being intentionally vague?” Tech voiced innocently while shifting his goggles on his nose. “Or have I simply overlooked a myriad of implied details?”
“No,” you snorted, glancing at him with an unexpected affection and igniting a blush to his cheeks potent enough to force his gaze away from you again. “Sorry, I’ll backtrack a little…” As you picked your head out of your palm and perched yourself, instead, in the desk chair behind the computer, Tech reached for his end of the nearest board and gave it an assertive tug. “About a month or so ago, an impoverished family came in here looking for some help. There were these three kids– cute as a button, but losing their eyesight pretty rapidly. Their mom has a degenerative visual disease that the kids ended up unknowingly inheriting, and Dad was at-a-loss for what to do. There’s no cure for the condition itself, but I told them I’d make some glasses for them that would help preserve the vision they had left. I tried to expedite the process as much as possible, but they fled the planet before I could finish.”
“They wouldn’t stick around for free glasses?” Hunter asked incredulously, eyes attuned to the floor below him as he walked carefully backward to the corner where they’d stashed the first panel.
“Their situation was pretty destitute,” you answered sadly. “Anyway… once their glasses were done, the only option left was to hand deliver them, as I don’t particularly trust inter-stellar couriers anymore with all the rampant piracy these days, and… well, part of me has always wanted to do some missionary work. Unfortunately, it was barely an hour after my shoes hit the sand outside of Lessu that the blockade was implemented, and all public transports were barred from entering or leaving the system. So I—”
“You’ve been trapped on Ryloth!” Hunter groaned. “For weeks!”
“That explains the fetid caf,” Tech chimed.
“Please don’t take this as a complaint,” you continued quickly. “Being on Ryloth and living with that family was an unforgettable experience, and one of which I would never have been granted the opportunity, but… I was more than a little worried about this place; this level of the Undercity is notorious for petty theft and pickpockets thanks to its proximity to the lifts, and the affluent clientele that trickles in from the surface one level above. A few days after I landed, I managed to get a transmission back to my Dad and asked if he’d come and secure the store until I could figure out how to get back, but… I think I might have drastically overestimated his handyman skills. He admitted to me afterward that a poorly-aimed hammer strike had done some damage to both his left thumb and my floor. He conveniently didn’t mention he was growing a mold farm in my favourite mug.”
“Any substantial trauma to the thumb could prove detrimental,” Tech spoke up, tipping the second board on top of the first. “The thumb houses several primary vascular bodies including the Princeps Pollicis, a major artery branching from the deep palmar arch. If the artery itself has sustained enough significant external force to cause a secondary dermal laceration, it has the potential to elicit substantial blood loss, not to mention warrant a possible surgical repairment.”
“And that explains the mess,” Hunter agreed, pointing toward the puniceous trail still adorning the floor beneath their feet.
“Mess is an understatement now that I’m looking at it,” you chuckled. “I’m still not sure if I want to thank him for helping me or invoice him for all the cleaning I’m going to have to do before I can reopen this place.”
***
It took just shy of an hour to remove and rehome the barriers your father had inexpertly installed, and the welcome addition of the dazzling sunlight through the now-unobstructed (albeit dusty) windows had the store feeling nearly exactly as Tech remembered. As he and his brother trod back toward the counter, dabbing droplets of sweat from their brow with the backs of their hands, the Ficus Elastica on the counter stood proudly erect in, what appeared to be, its own personal ray of sunlight.
“Thank you so much,” you sang as they approached, the grin atop your lips challenging that bright celestial body in the sky for its title as the most radiant entity in the galaxy.
“Not a problem,” Hunter answered as you hopped out of the chair and walked around the counter to meet them. “If the panels are still here the next time we’re planetside, I’ll get Wrecker to come rip up 'em and throw ‘em out back for you.”
“That’d be great,” you nodded eagerly. “He’s the only one I haven’t met yet.”
“Actually speaking of…” he continued, “I should check in and make sure Crosshair hasn’t lost his temper and used him for target practice. Gimme a second and then we can start the wirin–”
“I can manage.”
His interjection was abrupt, slipping off his tongue nowhere-near as passively or nonchalant as he’d intended when Tech opened his mouth to reassure his sergeant, and the responding look on Hunter’s face readily confirmed that Tech had also failed to conceal that burgeoning need to be alone with you. But he was fighting a losing battle; the trio stood only inches from where he’d first wrapped his arms around you. Despite continuing to dodge each other’s bashful glances, the near-irresistable urge to grab your hand and wreath you with his arms hadn’t left him since releasing you, and he was more determined than ever to swallow that ever-plaguing apprehension and physically communicate how much you’d been on his mind since your last encounter.
“I am capable of completing the installation without assistance,” he added politely. “And Crosshair was particularly irascible this morning despite having acceded to his demand that I park the ship in an area of complete shadow, so the need for a supervisory presence is likely heightened.”
“Shadow?” you interrupted questioningly from Tech’s elbow. “What does he have against daylight?”
“Hurts his eyes in the morning,” Hunter answered offhandedly. “You sure, Tech? We lost time with the whole ‘possible-murder’ thing. Think you can tackle it alone?”
“I will not be alone.” He glanced fleetingly in your direction before swallowing.
Hunter hmph’d quietly, mimicking his brother and glancing your way as his lips twitched against the impish smirk he continued to stifle. “Well alright then,” he conceded, returning his brother's mildly guilty look with a rather knowing one of his own. “I'll leave you two to get… reacquainted. Just don’t abandon your comm again; there are no ‘unscheduled breaks’ from war no matter what you say.”
“Thank you for the help,” you said, extending a hand toward the retreating sergeant. “And for making sure I’m not dead.”
Hunter offered you a smile and a respectful nod before his face disappeared behind that painted plastoid again, and he made his way toward the front door. Distant, yet raucous laughter filled the shop as he pulled the door open and stepped over the threshold.
“Oh… and don’t forget, Tech,” he added, the visor of his helmet poking back around the door unexpectedly. “We’re leaving for Felucia at first light tomorrow. Midnight curfew.”
***
As you locked the door behind the departing sergeant, Tech stooped and collected the coiled wires from the floor, tossing them over his shoulder before following in your wake toward the sanctity of your workshop. Despite your established safety, he couldn't prevent his eyes darting toward that large aluminum basin as the kitchenette passed on the left, the tool that had so-instantly horrified him now scrubbed clean and leaning benignly against the side of the caf maker to dry. The moldy mug, however, was nowhere to be found, though the peculiar addition of a small, tightly tied garbage bag sitting on the floor by the fire exit had Tech near-certain he’d never see that red ceramic again.
“I’m sorry I scared you,” you offered as you veered right into the fabrication lab, the slight chuckle beneath your words recapturing Tech’s attention. “It seems that’s a habit I’ve unintentionally fallen into. First I gave you a heart attack about your goggles… then this. I’m regularly quite the bore, I promise.”
Tech bit back the retort on his tongue as he stepped through the doorway— you, a bore? Well that seemed even less likely than Crosshair dropping to his knees and begging them to forgive his abhorrent attitude.
“An apology is not required,” Tech spoke instead. “It would appear that I jumped to an inaccurate conclusion upon arriving here to find you missing. It was a most uncharacteristic overreaction, and one from which I now-suffer a great compunction.”
“Compunction?” you repeated, brows furrowing at the implications of his confession as you reached gently upward and began to lift those heavy coils from his shoulder. “Why?”
Tech hesitated for only a breath, watching your nimble fingers blanch under the weight of the wire as you took it from him. “Well… several years of advanced training and exposure therapy have rendered me effectively inured to a multitude of scenarios that others may deem distressing,” he divulged as something near concern wiped the smile from your lips. “Yet, I failed to maintain control of my emotions in the face of your disappearance. I became largely inexorable, making objectively impetuous and questionable decisions.”
“Tech,” you uttered in little more than a consoling whisper, his stomach lurching as your free hand collected his from somewhere near his hip, those slightly chilled fingers weaving their way in between his before the soft, consoling brush of your thumb nearly weakened his knees. “There is nothing to regret. Worrying about someone is nothing to be ashamed of, and arguably even less so if that person is someone you care greatly about. In fact, an initial surge of panic followed by attempts to verify their safety is likely the expected psychological response to such concerns. You walked into what looked like a very foreboding situation and had no data to disprove your suspected theory.”
“I suppose that is correct,” Tech shrugged, dropping his gaze to the toe of his oily boot, “Though it has been several years since I last studied the sympathetic subsection of the autonomic nervous system in response to traumatic stimuli.”
“Sounds like an interesting read,” you mumbled through a sarcastic smile that prompted the return of his gaze. “Tell me– if the same situation presented itself again, would you not react similarly? Would you not do everything within your power to make sure that someone was okay while everything around you was telling you they’re not?”
“Of course I would.”
“Then that’s that,” you answered simply. “There’s no reason to regret your actions, just like I don't suffer any contempt for getting myself stuck on Ryloth. Making the trip there was the best and potentially only solution based on the information available to me at the time. Things went awry… and that’s okay, because we should always do what our gut is telling us to do when it comes to things and people that we care greatly about.”
And there it was: that intemerate benevolence that he wholly adored about you, reemerging to knock him over the head with a validation that he’d never experienced before… and the subsequent moment, as his eyes locked on yours and his grip on your hand tightened, he felt truly seen as himself. Not Tech the highly-skilled soldier… not Tech the ingenious mechanic responsible for keeping the GAR’s most elite squad in the air… not Tech the pilot who loved his datapad above all else and never slept. You saw Tech… accepting and welcoming him as he is; validating his infrequent displays of vulnerability as if humanity was something he could and should experience first hand without fear of persecution or judgement.
“Oh, and don’t think I didn’t catch that,” you added, brow shifting into a devious arch as a playful smirk tugged at your lips.
“Catch what, exactly?”
“The oxymoron you dropped in there: ‘found you missing’. Someone can’t be found and missing, hun. But keep dropping them– I’ll catch ‘em every time.”
Was it that teasing smile, or the enamoring, little puffs of air that escaped your nose as you snickered in the wake of your own coy intelligence? Or could it be the way your gaze kept darting from his eyes to his lips, that had him feeling as if he were suddenly hovering? The ground had, at some point, simply disappeared from below those smeared and blackened boots– vanishing into nothingness with everything else that had previously encircled them underneath those dim, humming lights. There was simply nothing but your hand interlaced with his. Nothing but the soft flutter of your eyelashes as they danced with every subtle shift in your gaze, and the unobtrusive quiet of an empty building that promised no foreseeable interruption. Every unhurried second ticked into the past by the chrono on the wall saw him pulled toward you by a force presented to him only once previously– when he’d boldly adorned the back of your hand with the same gesture that he longed to press to your smiling lips.
But… did you want that? Was your heart also hammering heavily in your chest, threatening to send the room spinning more than it already was? Were you as captivated with his eyes as he was with yours, letting that effulgent twinkle dazzle him like the radiance of hyperspace did? Had the last month also seen you seeking out moments of solitude, keen to forgo the mundanity of the present in favour of vanishing into the memory of him? The memory of an utterly ineffable connection?
Or were you standing there watching his eyes flutter closed, wondering what in Maker’s name you’d done in your past life to warrant having to endure such an awkward encounter? Was your mind frantically trying to find the words to politely reject his bold advance? Were you desperate to yank your hand from the clutches of his clammy gloves, and assert that he simply complete the required electrical repairs and then vanish indefinitely?
That sabotaging little flitter of doubt was enough to have Tech leaning backward, eyes opening to their full extent and quickly darting toward his boots while he reached for his goggles and shifted them needly atop his nose.
“Tech?” you whispered as he pulled his hand from yours, stowing his gauntlet comm in the pouch at his thigh before tugging at his gloves.
“I should initiate the electrical deconstruction,” he muttered as his face burned, pulling his datapad from its holster and bringing it to mere inches from his nose. “Can you please deposit those coils in the corner underneath the panel?”
“Sure.”
The sigh that preceded your curt answer was near deafening, circling around that quiet room what seemed to be half a dozen times before it dissipated into the now suffocating quiet. And while that soft huff of exasperation had near-tortured him, it was the unbridled disconcertment wholly engulfing your reply that stole his attention back from his device, and he watched with a sense of suppressed horror as your face fell rapidly into, what looked to him, an expression of dispirited chagrin.
***
Tech spent the next several hours near-furious at himself. Thoroughly incensed that his body never failed to repeatedly fall into the encompassing urge to physically connect with you whilst his mind remained downright incapable of elucidating the veracity of his perception, and infiltrating every modicum of that surging desire was an equally powerful right-hook of uncertainty.
Chiefly infuriating was your continued, unwavering kindness; he could barely stomach the ever-gracious way you offered to help him at regular intervals. Truthfully, he’d like nothing more than to have you hovering at his elbow for the entirety of the process, handing him whatever tool was required to progress the installation and witnessing him do what he truly did best while he chattered endlessly about the importance of matching the electrical capacity of the wire to its respective fuse. Yet, every time his eyes met yours, he was harrowingly reminded of his close shave with humiliation; reminded of the sheer confusion he’d seen behind your eyes as he pulled away from you, and your persisting geniality had him nearly-suspicious it was nothing more than a front upheld until the work was complete.
For the sake of niceties, and as a measly effort to atone for his self-proclaimed embarrassing behaviour, he accepted the glass of water you’d offered him shortly after he began the labour-intensive work, though despite the layer of dust gathering in his throat with every inhale, it sat untouched on the counter beside the lens generator.
He took his frustration out on the task at hand, snipping wire casings with an unnecessary gusto and scowling anew with each new electrical breaker that he clicked into place, but it seemed no degree of mechanical tinkering could distract him from the resentment coursing through him. Even the addition of a small radio, churning out happy-go-lucky, intraplanetary hits every couple of minutes was no match for his morose mood.
“Tech?” he heard you probe from the doorway several hours later, as he stooped over the sink in the kitchen and began to scrub the grime from his hands.
“Mmm?” he answered, ignoring the prickle erupting on the back of his neck at the sound of his name leaving your lips. He felt you approach, listening to the muted scrapes of your shoes on the floor as you neared, casually leaning against the counter in his peripheral vision.
“My brain might still be on Ryloth time but… were– were you about to kiss me?”
His stomach plummeted to his toes, eyes quickly unfocussing on that aged and rusted drain, hands briefly hesitating in their attempts to rid his skin of the encrusted soot and grime that had accumulated over hours of working in the walls.
“Yes,” he admitted after a poignant swallow, and found himself watching the drain noisily consume the stained suds falling from his fingers, hoping the gurgling sound would be loud enough to drown your surely impending stammered apologies for the uncomfortable misunderstanding and your request that he leave and take his misguided feelings with him.
“Well why didn’t you?”
His head jerked somewhat awkwardly; he’d nearly snapped his gaze toward you, only to stop himself part way through as the sound of your stifled chuckle surprised him. Tech stilled upon realizing that laugh had not sounded chastising at all. Nor jeering or humiliating, nor repulsed or repugnant. It sounded almost… frustrated. Indignantly accusatory, as if you were mildly annoyed that he hadn’t kissed you.
He reached blindly for the towel folded on the counter adjacent the sink, lips pursing as he thoughtlessly ran that cloth between his fingers until his skin began to revolt against the continued abrasure.
“Tech?” you whispered, the delicate probe successful in only fleetingly drawing his gaze.
“My affection for you, while subjectively highly enjoyable, is paired with an exponential degree of uncertainty that I have never previously experienced,” Tech divulged to the fabric in his hands. “And there are recurrent moments when, despite all other variables suggesting otherwise, I suffer an inherent doubt that you would ever reciprocate my feelings. You are well educated and even better mannered… meticulous with the quality of your work… exceedingly intelligent… your compassion for others and your willingness to assist them, even where the circumstance would deem reciprocity impossible, is truly unrivaled by any person I have ever met and… and…” He paused to regain control of his words as they spilled uncontrollably from mind to mouth.
“Tech, hun,” you cooed through the ghost of another exasperated laugh. “You are all of those things too. You have no vested interest in this shop yet here you are, laying on your back in the dust, doing several days worth of electrical work so this place can function at peak productivity and make my life easier. You graciously donated several hours of your time last month to help me plough through the mountain of work that had been looming over me for days. You broke in here ready to hunt down and assault whomever it was that had allegedly harmed me without even a thought for yourself. Despite having malignantly convinced yourself that you lack emotional intelligence, you have a truly exceptional mind. You are uncommonly and refreshingly polite, and you have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen, which is saying something because I’ve seen a lot of eyes. I– I’m kinda crazy about you, too.”
A truly exceptional mind? Refreshingly polite? Did you believe all of this to be true? He searched every inch of your face for any signs of insincerity, any fragments of dishonesty, any twitch of the lip that might disenchant the gratification coursing through his veins from your admonishment.
“Well,” he continued, attempting to keep his tone neutral as the realization that he’d likely blown his chance with you threatened to kick his heart clean out of his chest. “With any luck, another moment shall present itself where I may demonstrate how much you undoubtedly mean to me.”
He jammed his finger needlessly against the bridge of his goggles, dejected gaze dropping back to boots now dirtier than ever while a quiet, albeit forlorn sigh left his lips and he resumed inattentively fiddling with the little towel.
“Well,” you mimicked. “Since, the ‘ideaology of luck’ is, apparently, illogical… allow me.”
He must have stumbled over his toes in the subsequent second, though the most he’d ever be able to offer was a deduction based on the force you’d used to tug him toward you. In the reality of that moment, your perfect response to the divulgence of his feelings and the unexpected affirmation that you, too, felt similarly, had instantly rendered him euphorically ignorant to anything other than the feeling of finally having your lips against his.
That damp little towel somehow ended up displaced and draped atop the caf machine, but exactly how and when it had left his hands was a mystery that did not need solving. There was simply nothing else worthy of consideration or acknowledgement in that moment; nothing more important than the small drafts of warm air cascading across his cheek every time you shifted your lips atop his; nothing more prudent than the small yet mighty grip you maintained on the collar of his chest plate keeping him no more than a breath away from you. Somehow, you ended up perched on the counter next to that hammer, its existence now so inconsequential that it wasn’t even spared the courtesy of a glance as it fell over and landed with a thunk behind the caf machine. Tech didn’t even notice you blindly lift his goggles from his nose and rest them on his forehead, though the tender brush of your thumbs along the chronic indents on his cheeks sent shiver after shiver down his spine.
It wasn’t until your lips separated from his, and he was enveloped almost entirely with that same feeling of permitting a limb to depart his body that he returned to some semblance of awareness.
“Are you still uncertain?” you asked him with a smile that sat somewhere on the border of devious and playful.
“Darling,” Tech answered near-breathlessly, “The only notion unclear to me at this point, is how I will survive until I can see you again.”
“Speaking of…” you sighed, gesturing to the small chrono embedded into the caf machine. “You should probably head out. It’s nearly midnight.”
Tech glanced at the old clock as it mocked him. 23:44 pm. Just enough time to collect his tools from their scattered displacement around the fabrication lab and depart the store. He’d be climbing the Marauder’s ramp within minutes… silently deposit his pack in the cockpit… settle down at the workstation to tinker with his current modification project and reminisce about his afternoon in your company. But… why? Surely if his squad members were already tucked into their bunks, or quietly preparing their weapons for deployment tomorrow, there would be no harm in staying here a little longer with you? “There are no unscheduled breaks from war, no matter what you say…” The sergeant had been referencing his previous alibi; the off-the-cuff excuse Tech had offered his brother after the previous, irresponsible mistake of letting his comm depart his person had ensured him unavailable and unreliable.
His jaw tensed under the audacity of what he was about to do.
“Please excuse me,” he requested of you politely, stealing a chaste peck of a kiss from your lips before stepping backward and extracting his gauntlet comm from the cargo pouch where he’d previously stored it for safekeeping.
“Hunter,” he spoke after activating that little blue light. “What time are we set to depart for Felucia?”
“0600…” his sergeant answered suspiciously. “But curf—”
“I will see you then.”
“Te—!”
Tech silenced his comm with the blind poke of a button and tossed it carelessly to the countertop where it came to rest next to the hammer, his hands instantly reaching to cradle your waist while he chased your kiss so eagerly that you nearly toppled backwards.
***
An hour. It took an hour to stop kissing long enough to resume talking, and then several hours after that to accept that neither of you were going to achieve any other productive tasks that night. Still wholly invigorated by your union, Tech declined your midnight offer for a caf, though with how the taste lingered on your tongue between sip and kiss, he may as well have drank a cup on his own.
At quarter-past two, you dragged him by the hand back toward the lens edger and lifted his goggles from his nose. You first giggled about how much he absentmindedly squinted in the void of his regular, average eyesight, before instantly launching into an educational titter about precisely why humans even developed that anatomical squint response, and how effective it can be at temporarily improving visual acuity. And while he longed to query every fact against one of which he’d researched on his own time, he’d found a new use for his lips that he much preferred.
Shortly after four, as you locked your hands around his waist and groaned into his chest about having to spend the next several days on your hands and knees, scrubbing the floor in preparation for the reopening of your store, Tech accidentally knocked over a bottle of effervescent blue liquid; the same concoction you’d used to disinfect his glasses previously, and a quick glance at the ingredients list while he collected the dripping container had him instantly yammering about how the peroxide additive would be the perfect solution for removing the embedded blood stains.
A short time later, an unseen gang of bad mouthed adolescents were heard hollering on the other side of the fire exit door, their voices amplified by the stillness of the night and the empowered notion that they were loitering where they were not permitted, and despite their inebriation posing no apparent threat while you remained behind a locked door, Tech still refused to let you leave the backroom until he could confirm their exodus.
At half-past five, an oversized yawn barely concealed by your hand reminded Tech that, despite wishing Father Time would simply abandon his post and gift him a moment with you free from that nagging and imminent deployment, his squad was waiting for him; his sergeant likely highly perturbed and waiting for the pilot’s next transparent excuse.
“How do the eyes feel now?” you asked over your shoulder as you walked ahead of him toward the front door, his pride-and-joy helmet bobbing near comically on your head as it concealed the smile that he could hear lay atop your lips.
“Much improved,” he answered, breathing in what he could before your companionship would be lost to him for another little while.
“Thought so!” you chuckled proudly, the modulator in his helmet distorting the music of your amusement. “Changing the refractive indices of a lens can sometimes initiate a bit of a hiccup in visual processing, especially when paired with changes in curvature and correct application of coatings, but the foreign sensation typically dissipates within a rotation or so.”
“May I remind you, you need not have gifted me new lenses.”
“I just supplied the material,” you argued, helmet wiggling again as you casually shrugged away the innocent condemnation in his tone. “You did all the work the last time you were here. They’ve been sitting here waiting for you to come back so I could put them in your goggles. Plus, yours were in… questionable… condition, and if your last set were any indication of Kaminoan knowledge of refraction, you’re much better off with these. How do you feel about the slight tint after wearing it for a few hours?”
Tech forced his gaze toward the window where the sky was undoubtedly beginning to lighten under the embrace of the sun's first morning rays. He, truthfully, hadn’t given that slight yellow tint any thought in some hours; what was initially found quite unusual had quickly morphed into something… “Quite calming,” he answered.
“There’s built-in blue light protection, too, for all the quality time you spend with that datapad. Give it a month or so, and your circadian rhythm will thank me.”
You stopped when you reached the front door and turned around to face him. Despite the exhaustion having swollen the tender skin beneath your eyes, there was no denying they were still alight and twinkling as they watched him approach. But Tech stopped shortly after you did, knowing that the nearer he reached the door, the nearer he’d be to leaving, and he wasn’t yet done processing the night's events. The budding sunrise on the other side of the glass was bringing with it an understanding he never knew he’d been deficient. So this… this is what he spent his days fighting for. Feelings like this. Companionships like ours. People like you who spent their time trying to better the lives of others without even a hint of motive. Someone who cared if he returned or not.
Tech sighed, very aware that finding the correct words to elucidate his feelings for you was simply a task for another time. For now, as the sun continued to betray him by rising ever higher with every lingering breath, he wanted every last second with you to be one completely void of thought.
“How many fingers am I holding up?” you probed suddenly, breaking into his torpor. He refocussed his gaze and found another of those playful smiles crinkling your eyes, palm raised to shoulder height and facing him.
He let only the ghost of scoff depart his nose as his lips lengthened under their own smile, and he resumed his approach, not stopping until the toes of his boots were nearly touching yours. As he reached upward and gently pulled his helmet from your head, a faint ache erupted in his chest, amplified by the quiet snicker that left you and the regretful reality of that sound being one he would not hear for the foreseeable future.
“Five,” he whispered after tucking his helmet under his arm, interlacing his gloved fingers with yours and holding tightly to your hand.
“Correct,” you breathed, eyes fluttering closed as he rested his forehead against yours. “If your next mission is counting fingers, you’ve got that in the bag.”
“Considering Felucia is widely known as the Planet of Fungal Forestry, I would deem that largely improbable. However–” he added, identifying the first flickers of fear behind your eyes, “–it is highly probable that I shall return by month’s-end.”
“If Cranky Crosshair doesn’t use you for target practice first?”
“Cranky Crosshair compares naught to Hunter when he’s truly angry. Hence why I must not be any later than I already am. Goodbye for now, darling.”
He stole one last, lingering kiss from your lips before reaching for the handle on that vibrant yellow door.
Hi! I was wondering if I could request spicy Tech (gn reader plz also sorry if you're not doing requests right now! You can ignore this if you aren't)
More spicy prompts! Thank you for this Tech ask, anon. This is my first time fully writing Tech so please bear with me…I hope it’s satisfactory 😉
I wasn’t sure if you wanted something from the spicy prompts list, so I chose “Just lay back and let me take care of you.”
Offering a Hand
Warnings: NSFW 18+. You give Tech a hand with his work (you give Tech a handjob)
Pairing: Tech x GN Reader
Word Count: 1400. These are getting longer. Lol
Spicy Prompts
You and Tech had been tinkering all day, doing much-needed repairs and tune-ups on The Marauder.
The others had just left to search for some parts at a nearby junkyard per Tech’s request.
You slyly stayed behind, saying Tech needed your help with repairs to the navigation system. That was a bald-faced lie, and everyone knew it, but it was an excuse to be alone with your boyfriend.
You were in the cockpit, as was Tech. He was hunched on the ship’s floor, soldering a piece of equipment he had ripped from underneath the main console.
His jaw was set tight, fingers working quickly and expertly, his eyes set in intense concentration.
You swallowed, a familiar spark igniting in your loins, thinking of what those fingers could do, how you wanted that intense, yellow-tinted gaze on you, your lips on that incredibly alluring jawline…
“Do you need assistance with something?” Tech questioned without looking toward you, continuing his work.
“No…just enjoying the view.” You remarked as you schooched next to him, pressing your shoulder to his. You were also on the floor, trying to sort a pile of wires that was untouched.
“Can you hand me the servodriver since you are just “enjoying the view” and not assisting me like you told the others?” Tech adjusted his goggles, glancing at you momentarily before going back to his tinkering.
You chuckled, remembering Hunter’s look when you said Tech needed your help and you should stay behind.
Hunter knew that wasn’t true, but gathered Omega, Echo, and Wrecker to go to the junkyard, knowing you wanted privacy.
“Sure...only if you kiss me.” You leaned into him more, the aroma of hot metal mixing with his natural musk flaming the fire inside you even more.
Tech stopped, placing his soldering equipment down, looking fully at you.
“I presume your proximity to me and the promiscuous tone in your voice means you will not be handing me the servodriver, correct?”
“That’s right.” You smiled, brushing your hand across his cheek.
Tech adjusted his goggles. “I also infer you stayed behind, not because you wanted to aid me, but to be alone with me. Is that also correct?” You bit your bottom lip, nodding.
“Ah. What would you like to do?”
You took one of Tech’s hands in your own.
“Well, I was thinking I could actually give you a hand if you’d let me.” You raised your eyebrows, seeing if he’d catch your meaning.
You could see Tech’s cheeks darken slightly as he cleared his throat. “Oh, I see.”
You leaned in, your nose brushing against his as you moved your other hand up his thigh.
You could hear Tech’s breath hitch, his own hands coming to your shoulders as your lips met.
“It’ll be a while before they get back. And besides, you look like you need a break.” You muttered against his lips, giving his upper thigh a hearty squeeze as you grazed your hand over his crotch.
Tech gripped your shoulders and let out a low groan as he leaned toward you, kissing you back, his body relaxing as your mouths moved together.
“Just lay back and let me take care of you.” You whispered as you pulled away momentarily, seeing a quick flash of hunger pass over his brown eyes. “We have time before the others get back.”
Your hands roamed up and under his shirt, watching Tech begin to calculate behind his goggles as you tried to tug his shirt off.
“Taking into consideration the travel time to and from the junkyard, and how quickly they may be able to find the parts, we more than likely have an hour before they return. So I suppose you can…assist me.”
You grinned mischievously, crawling on top of Tech’s lap, his shirt halfway up his torso, him still calculating how much time you might have alone.
“Sounds like plenty of time, don’t you think?” You asked before taking his lips on yours again, and Tech finally helped you get his shirt off.
Your hands roamed his lean form, and you could feel his muscles flex under your gentle touch.
You pressed down into his lap, feeling him harden beneath you.
Tech’s hands were now skirting under your shirt, touching all the places he knew elicited a response from you.
He had every inch of your body mapped and memorized, knowing exactly where and when to touch you to get the best response.
You hummed in contentment against his lips, those expert fingers working their magic as he caressed your skin.
You released his lips from yours, yanking off your shirt and going straight back to an impassioned make-out session.
You began kissing down his chin and nibbled on his jawline as Tech pushed his goggles back into place.
You worked to undo his pants, making quick work of his many straps and pockets, tossing them to the side with a thud as you slipped a hand under his waistband. You carefully ran your fingers up his now hard length, relishing how he felt.
This situation was one of few where Tech was speechless, a shaky sigh from him the only sound he could emit.
Tech grunted while you teased the head of his cock with your fingers, eyes wide under his goggles as he stared down at your careful ministrations.
You loved how he felt under your fingertips, his velvety head already wet with precum. You used your thumb to slowly spread it around, and you could feel Tech tremble against you, his quiet sounds of pleasure catching in his throat.
“Hold on.” You said, quickly jumping up off his lap and running to your bunk, digging through a small drawer. You grabbed the bottle of lube that Tech loved to use on you, but this time it was all for him.
You squirted a generous amount on your hand and hurried back to where he was eagerly waiting, now sitting in the pilot’s seat. You stepped up to him as he tugged his pants further down his thighs.
“Easier access and more comfortable for the both of us.” He stated as you sat back on his lap, Tech’s rigid cock pressed against his belly.
You reached down between the two of you, gently sliding your hand up and down his length, a hiss of approval escaping through Tech’s clenched jaw, his eyelids fluttering at your touch.
You squeezed and twisted your fist in a languid rhythm, also knowing just how he liked it.
Tech grabbed at your waist, his head leaning back against the headrest as you worked his cock with your hand.
He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but a low groan came out instead as you squeezed him a little harder.
You watched his chest heave faster, his other hand digging in to the armrest as his brow furrowed, concentrating and focusing on how you were making him feel.
“F-faster.” Tech urged, sweat beading on his brow, his breath labored.
You obliged, increasing the pace of your fist around his cock, loving how you could feel every ridge and vein slide across your palm as Tech came apart in front of you.
Tech suddenly grasped the back of your head, bringing you to his lips, his mouth hot and desperate on yours as you worked him.
“Close…” was all Tech was able to utter, his pleasured moans becoming louder and more frequent.
You couldn’t help but let out a blissful sigh, seeing how much pleasure you were bringing him as your other hand reached down to tenderly squeeze and cup his balls.
Tech twitched and bucked against you, his head falling back again to the headrest, cursing under his breath.
“Cyare…I won’t…last much longer.” Tech warned, his goggles now sliding down the bridge of his nose.
With a final twist of your wrist, Tech let out a long groan of your name, his pearly release coating his lower abdomen and chest.
You eased him through his orgasm, feeling his cock twitch and throb under your palm, milking him of every drop, drunk on the sight of him fully undone just by your hand.
You stroked him a few more times, rubbing your thumb over his sensitive head as Tech tried to compose himself, pushing his goggles up with his hand, steadying his breathing.
“That was…satisfactory. Thank you.” He leaned forward, kissing you sweetly in thanks.
“I hope it was more than just satisfactory.” You teased as you hopped off him, grabbing a clean towel from your bunk.
A small smirk tugged at the side of his mouth. “It was, very much so.”
You leaned over him, gently cleaning him up as he softly ran his hand down your face.
“Thank you, cyare.” Tech tugged his pants back up and you sat on his lap again, leaning onto him as he held you. You felt his hands wander, his fingers now slipping under your waistband.
“Based on my calculations, we still have plenty of time for me to return the favor.”
Tech’s words were husky in your ear as you smiled into his neck, shivering at his touch. “It’s my turn to enjoy the view, hmm? Now…where did you put that lube?”
A/N: Am I sorry for continuously posting smut and having a great time writing these? No. 😅
