For those who know about that spoiler leak, you know exactly want this nightmare is about.

This is a short little self-indulgent comfort fic I wrote for myself, but maybe y'all can find some comfort in it as well.

Also, keep watch on my ShadowsStoryStuff tumblr in the coming weeks! I'm working on finally getting the PDF of "Off to A Great Start" out! It's got some edits not seen in any posted chapter, including a new redesign I have for them. Undercut Crosshair anyone?
Also eyyy the anniversary of "Adventures of an Idiot" was yesterday!

But back to the main reason you're here.

Content Warning: Spoiler leak mention, nightmare aftermath

"Sweetheart?"

An ear turned back at Crosshair's whisper. Usually that voice would cause any stress to melt away, leaving behind a feeling of comfort and security.

But not tonight.

Not after that nightmare.

Defector.

Turncoat.

Traitor.

How? How could he?

Crosshair was the dependable one. The reliable one! The one you could trust to have your back no matter how bad things got. The one who would always be by your side.

It made no sense.

Yet it was hardly the first time I had a nightmare like that. A nightmare about Crosshair turning against his brothers for the sake of the Empire.

It couldn't be him.

My only consolation was that nightmares had canon-Cross, not the one I lived with and loved, but the terror and gut wrenching betrayal haunted me nonetheless.

What if that cruel twist of fate happened to my sniper too?

"Sweetheart," Crosshair said again, voice bearing more urgency as he sat beside me on the cabin steps. A lean arm rested over my shoulders and pulled me to him. "You're shakin'. What happened?"

I just shook my head and shrank further into myself.

Silence stretched before he asked, voice soft, "Happened again, didn't it? The nightmares?"

He knew I had 'em. I broke the first time I woke up from one, that horrifying image of Purge Trooper Crosshair burned into my mind's eye. Horror, terror, confusion, panic. All swirling together in a nauseating cocktail and driving me out the bed and out the door to puke in the bushes.

It was the first time I told the men about their spin-off show. A rocky conversation, to put it bluntly. Explaining how the onset of the Empire tore their family apart and scattered the pieces in such a way that it would take a miracle to reassemble them.

One of the few times I'd seen true panic on Crosshair's face. To know that in another timeline, he turned evil. To know that a slight altering of events could turn him against the only family he'd ever known...

"Shadow?" Crosshair asked again, a hint of panic in his tone as he tugged at me. "Was it a nightmare?" A pause. "Or the nightmare?"

I whimpered and nodded.

"It's not me. That's not who I am here."

Words spoken then and now, they didn't hold the weight they should.

I finally turned and buried my face in his chest. "You tried to kill them," I sobbed, gripping his arm as my world threatened to spiral out of control. "You tried to kill your brothers."

"Not me," he stressed, holding me tightly. "It was that monster from the other timeline, remember? It wasn't me."

Tears burning the back of my throat, I gripped him tighter. He was right. That traitor... It wasn't him. It wasn't this Crosshair.

My Crosshair.

It wasn't him.

I was in the good timeline. This would be the good ending. It had to be. It had to be.

I refused to let it turn out any other way.

"I gotta stop it," I croaked. "I gotta stop-"

"But Order 66 doesn't happen for a while yet, right?" Crosshair soothed, gently cutting me off. "Umbara is still part of the Republic. It's alright." He pulled me closer, nuzzling the top of my head. "I'm here. Not goin' anywhere."

I sniffled and nodded weakly, breathing in his scent in an effort to calm myself.

He was right. Umbara hadn't happened. I had time. I could still prevent it all.

"Hey," Crosshair whispered. "Got an idea."

"Huh?"

He nudged me away and stood up before offering a hand. "Come on."

Not sure what this sniper had planned, I stared uncertainly at the hand.

"Would never hurt you."

No... no he wouldn't. That Crosshair may have turned evil, but this Crosshair wouldn't. My Crosshair wouldn't.

Taking his hand, I let him pull me to my feet. "Where we goin'?"

"You'll see," he replied, pulling me into the woods.

I frowned as I recognized the trail. "The lake?"

"Sshhh. Follow your sniper," Crosshair scolded.

"Followin'," I mumbled.

Finally, I caught sight of the lake through the trees. Mystical was the only word to describe the way the indigo waters sparkled with the light of a million stars. Words couldn't describe how soothing and breathtaking the sight was.

Stepping out of the trees and emerging on the shoreline, Crosshair continued to tug.

"Cross, you... you hate water."

"But you don't," he said, still tugging. He faltered as the first tiny wave of cool dark water lapped at his feet, but yet he continued forward. To his ankles, his knees, his thighs. His breath grew uneven, his hand shaking in mine, but still he remained in the water as I stepped out to meet him.

I blinked up at him. "Cross," I began. "You don't have to-"

"Water relaxes you," he said, shaking his head. "Can touch here. It's shallow."

I stepped forward and embraced him, focusing on the cadence of the woods and the gentle song of the water. Arms curled tightly around me, squeezing before the sniper took a breath and began to sit down.

"Cross-" I started again.

"Sshhh. Not afraid if you're with me," he replied, running a hand through my hair.

"Heart says otherwise," I mumbled, but sat down with him. We moved slightly landward so the water only reached our chest, but once we settled down in the soft sand, I felt the panic begin to fade.

A soft chuckle. "Told you."

"Yeah, but now you're shakin'," I retorted in a weak attempt at playfulness.

"But you aren't anymore," Crosshair pointed out.

"No," I agreed, breath evening out as the cool water swirled around me and drove away the terror of the nightmare. Gazing out over the lake, serenity washed over me at the peaceful and magical sight.

No war here. No inhibitor chips, no Albino Molerat Bastard, no traitors, no empire, no evil plot, no death, no pain.

Just me and Cross.

The good Cross. The only Crosshair I accepted.

A hand stroked my back beneath the water, thumb rubbing in a reassuring circle. "Will never betray my brothers," Crosshair whispered. "Will never betray you." A soft kiss pressed against my temple before he rested his forehead against mine. "I promise."