So this chap and the last chap were originally the same but it got hella long so I broke it in half lol

Had some Wrecker flirting, had some Hunter flirting, but now? Crosshair time.
No I'm not ignoring Tech, my attraction to him is just very unpredictable at best and I can only write shipping scenes when in a shipping mood. So... sorry nerd.

ANYWAYS
What sparring scene is complete without thinly veiled tension?
Still cackling that this is all I really use my black belt for nowadays. Worth it pfft.

Also, this will be the last "chill" chapter for a while. After this... well all I gotta say is BUCKLE UP. It's about to get interesting. And not in a smutty way.

Warnings: Language, sexual content, territorial commandos

"How kind of you to grace us with your presence again."

"You really got a knack for sarcasm, huh, Twiggy?" I snorted as Hunter and I arrived at the shelter.

"One to talk, Furball," he retorted around the toothpick, yet a subtle smirk tugged the corner of his lips. He'd removed his armor, as had Tech, the pieces lying inside the lower level of the shelter.

"And that's all that happened. We just talked," Hunter growled at his sniper.

"A talk?" Crosshair's eyes narrowed as he looked me over. "There are leaves in her hair," he muttered, plucking a few out. "What kind of talk results in this?

Don't you dare go red just because Twiggy had his hand close to your face .

"Ok, there was just some mild sparrin'," I countered, forcing my ears to stay still. "You know how I am."

"Right," Crosshair drawled, rolling his eyes.

Someone ain't fooled .

"Sparrin'?!" Wrecker exclaimed, coming up behind Crosshair. "Can ya show us moves again? This time Cross can see what you can do!"

I shrugged. "I mean, I'm down!"

Minutes later, we had all migrated to an open area in front of the trail shelter. Hunter had claimed a fork in a large oak with Crosshair sitting on the branch above him. Tech and Wrecker opted for a fallen log, leaving me without a partner.

"Yo, who's gettin' tossed around?"

Wrecker gestured above his head. "You should use Crosshair for the moves!"

I twitched my ears and looked up at the sniper. "Care to be a test dummy, Cross?"

Flicking his toothpick away, the man jumped down and stepped in front of me without another word.

That fast ? I mean I won't complain but... odd. "Ok Wrecker wants to see a takedown if you're cool with that."

He brought his fists up with a nod. "Just tell me where to strike."

"So eager to attack, ya just sewed me up!" I teased.

A sarcastic smile. "Ha ha. Funny."

"Nice laugh, Twiggy. It's a thrust kick to my stomach and I'm gonna do a takedown. Don't worry, I will not drop you hard."

"Better not."

"Ready... kick!"

Quickly stepping forward and catching his leg with the bend of my left arm, I locked him in and grabbed the front of his blacks with my right hand. "Brace," was the only warning I gave before using my other leg to sweep his plant foot out from under him.

Crosshair grabbed my shoulder as he fell back, but let go once he realized I really wasn't going to let him fall.

"What move is this?" he asked nonchalantly, casually crossing his arms as if he wasn't in such a vulnerable position with his back three feet off the ground.

"Inside Reap." I paused. "This is the move that taught me how to pick you off the floor of the Marauder ."

Something flickered in his eyes. Remorse over the venom was spat at each other? Or fondness over how far we'd come since then? But there was something there before the sniper blinked it away and remarked, "Handy move for an opponent who kicks a lot."

"Yep. That and Stretch are good ones but since I like roundhouses I will not be teaching you Stretch."

"Oh?"

"Because you may use it against me."

That small, maddeningly attractive smirk reappeared. "Why would you be kicking me?"

"Because you're Crosshair and activate my rage response."

He reached up and flicked my forehead for the comment.

My ears flattened. "I should drop your noodle ass for that."

"Ah, but you won't," he gloated, seemingly secure in the knowledge that I promised not to drop him.

But I didn't need to drop him to spook him.

"Pretty smug for someone who's only halfway through a move."

That smirk faltered. "Halfway?"

Replying with a smirk of my own, I set him on the ground before bracing my knees between his, forcing his legs apart. Still gripping his right leg, I brought my free hand back and punched down hard.

The look on Crosshair's face as I stopped just shy of his groin was hilarious and I laughed as I let him go. "Aw, someone get caught off-"

Legs slammed into mine, sending me to the dirt.

"Guard." Now laying on my back, I rolled my head to the side and glared at the lounging sniper next to me. "Well played, Twiggy."

"Never brag unless you're certain your opponent is down," he purred, propped up on one elbow.

"Maybe I should have let that punch connect," I remarked, mirroring him and jabbing a finger into his chest with every word. "Only reason you're not curled in a fetal position with tears in your eyes is because I was nice ."

He lazily smacked my hand down. "If that's what you want to believe, sweetheart ."

I jumped to my feet. "Oh, it's on . Get your stickbug ass up, I'm doing another takedown."

"Get him, Squeak!" Wrecker cheered from his log.

"Don't kill my brother," Hunter chuckled from his perch.

"No promises," I snickered as Crosshair got up. "Haymaker."

"Doin' that one you showed us?" Wrecker asked eagerly.

"No, not rotation seventeen. I'm doing Step-Drop but with a sweep since Charlie here wants to be a difficult extension cord." I gestured in mock anger at the sniper.

"If you're as skilled as you say, shouldn't have any problem," Crosshair teased.

"And I won't!" I replied with false cheerfulness, baring my teeth. "Now quit yappin' and start swingin'!"

"Give the word."

"Move!"

Knife block to the wrist, palm heel to the nose but don't hit him, hand on the shoulder, calf to calf to take his balance, kneel down with him, knee to the back, arm bar over my other leg, and, finally, punch to the side.

Knowing full well I could break his ribs, I pulled the final strike.

"Satisfied, Charlie?" I asked, fist resting on his side.

"Hardly."

I placed pressure on his arm as he tried to snatch my shirt and flip me over. "Awww, is someone pinned?" I taunted with false sweetness as he hissed in pain and glared up at me.

"What goes around comes around," he reminded me. "My turn to show you a move."

My ears twitched. Play was all fine but...

Would Cross take it too far?

Not that I could exactly back down. That wouldn't look good, and I didn't need him taunting me for shying away.

"Fine. What's the great Twiggy got up his sleeve?"

"Stand up."

"Nah, you'll sweep me once I let go."

"No, you expect it now."

Narrowing my eyes, I released him and quickly sprang away, weight on my toes and tail lashing to keep my balance.

Slowly getting up and brushing himself off, Crosshair brought his fists up in a fighting stance. "Ready?"

No . "Yeah."

"Know how to take a fall?"

At least he asks .

I also appreciated the way his smugness tempered when he asked the question, proof he legitimately wanted to make sure before he decked me.

How polite.

"Aye. Wouldn't have gotten to black belt if not."

"Good."

Smacking my hands down, he lunged in and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, trapping my right arm. Shifting to the side, he yanked me back while dropping his weight towards my leg. As I fell, he rolled with me and secured me in the same triangular bodylock and headlock Hunter had a few days ago.

"How's that, sweetheart ?" he whispered in my ear, arm tightening around my neck.

I fought down a shiver. "Swell," I replied, voice strained from the pressure on my throat. "But you forget, Twiggy."

"Hmm?"

"I bite." Quickly pinning my ears, smacking him in the face with one and causing his grip to loosen, I turned my head to the side and locked my teeth on his forearm while taking care not to hurt him. Confident I'd won, I grinned around his blacks as the headlock weakened further. "Ha ha! 'e migh'y Sha'ow iff fic'oriouf!"

Translation: The mighty Shadow is victorious.

Crosshair lightly shook his arm to see if I'd let go and, when I didn't, he shrugged. "Good thing I'm used to Tech."

Wait wha-

"Ack!" I exclaimed, spitting out his arm as he jabbed a finger from his free hand into my gums behind my back teeth. "You just stuck your finger in my mouth!"

"My arm was in your mouth, furball," Crosshair reminded me, releasing me from the leg lock and pushing me off.

I sat up and made a face, nose wrinkled. "Bleh! I cannot believe you!"

Crosshair chuckled as he pushed himself into a kneeling position. "Aww, is someone... caught off guard?"

I narrowed my eyes at him before forcing him into his back with a telekinetic shove. Pouncing on him, I swung my leg over his hips and sat down hard. Claws out and lightly resting on his throat, I purred, "I don't know, is he?"

You want to have a sparring scene with sexual undertones, Crosshair, then you'll get a sparring scene with sexual undertones!

A rather interesting scent, combined with subtle localized pressure from behind and a repressed sneeze from Hunter told me I wasn't the only one feeling the tension.

The sniper's dark brown eyes narrowed, but that smirk of his soon returned. "Seems he is." Then, astonishingly, he tapped my arm three times.

Surrender.

"Huh. Thought it would have been harder to get you to yield."

"Thing is, sweetheart, I always have backup."

Wrecker's arms wrapped tightly around my waist and snatched me into the air. "Surprise, Squeaky!"

"Hey! False surrender is a war crime!" I protested, wiggling in Wrecker's grip. "You dirty little cheater!"

"Says the one who bit me," Crosshair replied, standing up and smirking down at me as he crossed his arms.

"Oh, someone wants to play nasty ." Lifting him off the ground and spinning him upside down with his feet in the air, I snickered. "Now who's in charge?"

The sniper uncrossed his arms and placed his palms against the ground. "Drop me."

I raised a brow but slowly released the telekinetic hold on him.

Arms supporting his full weight, Crosshair took a few steps on his hands before dropping back to his feet. "Full of surprises, remember?"

"Guess-" A yawn interrupted me. "So."

Hunter jumped out of the tree. "Ok, time to call it a night."

"Will take first watch," Crosshair offered.

"Gotta clear your mind, Cross?" Wrecker teased, earning him a truly venomous look.

Fighting down a laugh, I held my tail out of the way as Wrecker carried me to the shelter. Levitating my bag over after he set me down, I tossed it into the loft and climbed up after it. Once up, I picked my spot and dragged out a sleeping pad.

"What, exactly, do you have in there?" Wrecker asked as he joined me in the loft.

"Sleepin' pad. My back is more jacked up than a buckled slip-strike fault."

"Uh... a what?"

"Slip-strike faults, also called transcurrent faults, wrench faults, or lateral faults, are fractures in the rocks of a planet's crust in which the rock masses slip past one another parallel to the strike, or the intersection of a rock surface with the surface or another horizontal plane," Tech relayed as he hopped up as well.

Wrecker gave his brother a blank look. "Huh?"

"My back is bad, Wrecker," I chuckled, arranging the mat. "Honestly, this thing is bigger than I thought. We all could easily fit if we slept in a pile."

"Aw yeah! We co-sleep all the time!" Wrecker said cheerfully.

"Sleeping pile it is!" I laughed, dragging out a few blankets and making a nest of sorts with them.

"May I help?" Tech asked, kneeling by my side.

"Don't see why not! Just a few blankets in the middle, focus on the edges. Something tells me it's gonna get cool tonight now that we're out of the crater, so I want whoever ends up on the outside to stay warm too."

"Understood! Heat conservation is key," Tech agreed, moving to the opposite end of the mat.

Getting the sleeping area ready as Hunter joined us in the loft, I sat back and looked proudly at our handiwork. "Not bad, Techie!" I said, nudging the engineer.

His eyes lit up. "Thank you, Shadow."

"All right! Looks good, Squeak!" Wrecker said, coming to my otherside before scooping me up and dragging me into the nest.

When Hunter came over and pulled me away from Wrecker, holding me against him with a territorial glare at the demolition expert, I knew this would not end well.

"Hey, Shaggs. You got to cuddle last night," I grunted.

Not that I had any complaints about his strong grip. Or his thigh against mine.

The amount of thigh riding fantasies I had was shameful.

Or not. There were worse fantasies out there.

I'd seen... so many things on Deviantart.

"Yeah, Sarge!" Wrecker protested, grabbing my leg and lightly tugging. "Share!"

"Not a sandwich!" I reminded him, trying to wiggle from Hunter's vice grip.

"You slept in his arms today," Hunter countered. "He got you this afternoon." He rubbed his head against mine with what I could only describe as a whine. "Can't I have you for tonight?"

Have me !? Well, ain't that hot as hell.

"No. I'm sleepin' next to Wreck tonight. You get tomorrow after the Vault."

Provided nothing goes haywire .

I wiggled again. "Now lemme go."

Hunter groaned and released me with a scowl. "Fine," he muttered, arranging himself beside me but facing away.

I kicked his shins. "Stop poutin', ya big baby."

"I am not pouting."

I rolled my eyes at Wrecker. "Sure, Sarge. Sure."

Hunter glared at me over his shoulder before a wicked smirk split his face. "Wrecker, she's ticklish."

My eyes widened. "You skull-faced son of a bitch!" I yelped as Wrecker laughed and snatched me closer.

"You ticklish, Squeaky?"

"No I am-eek!"

His fingers viciously attacked my side as his other arm pinned me to him, holding me still.

"Wrecker!" I protested, wriggling in his grip. "Lemme go! Le'go!"

I just received a laugh as he continued the torture.

"Mercy, man, mercy!" I yelped, bringing my legs up to try and fend his hand off with my foot.

"Hey, Sarge! Get her legs!"

"Don't you dare!" I warned the tattooed commando as he rolled over and reached for my ankles.

Strong hands locked onto my ankles. "Payback for calling me a baby."

"Vengeful bastards!" I spat.

"All's fair in love and war!"

"Very true!" Tech replied, attacking Hunter and wrestling the sergeant away.

"Hell yeah, backup!" I laughed, twisting in Wrecker's grip to nail him in the forehead with my foot. As he rocked back in surprise, I yanked myself free and dodged around behind him for a headlock.

"Oh no! She's got me!" Wrecker cried in mock terror, barely stifling his laugh. Gasping dramatically, he went limp and fell back against me. "I yield, mighty Shadow! Spare a soldier!"

"No mercy from me!" I cackled, tickling his side. "Karma's a bitch and she just had puppies!"

That couldn't be more true, I realized, as Tech and Hunter tumbled into me and knocked me down. It took about two seconds to find myself pinned under not one, but two commandos.

Logically, I had zero ideas how we even got into the position. Arm and leg placements were hardly...

Ah hell, whatever.

Dogpile on Shadow, I guess.

"No, it's fine," I mumbled from beneath Hunter. Or maybe it was Tech. "Can't breathe or nothing."

"You did suggest we sleep in a pile, Icy," Hunter teased.

Ok, so that was Tech above me.

"Not on top of me."

"You weren't clear," Tech replied.

"Oh, pardon me. I'll make my position... clearer." Summoning up some telekinetic magic to lessen the weight of the commandos, I pushed myself to my hands and knees. The pair still on my back, I shifted my weight and let them tumble off.

Immediately after, Wrecker laughed and wrapped his arms around me. "Always one step ahead, love that about you!"

"Have to be with y'all!" I replied, grinning at Tech and Hunter as they dusted themselves off.

"Alright, alright. Time to wind down," Hunter chuckled. "Or we'll be up all night."

"Rest would be very beneficial to us all, especially if we are to enter the volcano and Vault tomorrow," Tech agreed.

"Yeah, snuggle time!" Wrecker cheered, scooping me up and hugging me close as he laid down.

"Well let me get comfy first!" I said dryly, moving to his side and snuggling close as he laid on his back.

A strong arm curled around my own back, warmth and pressure holding me close to the demolition expert. A hand hovered over my hip before resting there, squeezing gently. A large thumb slipped under the edge of my shirt and lightly stroked the sensitive skin there, raising a trail of goosebumps and drawing a loud purr from my throat.

"Hey, watch your hands," Hunter warned.

"She doesn't seem to mind!" Wrecker retorted.

Resting my head on his chest, hearing the steady beat of his heart and feeling it against my cheek, I chuckled. "Not at all. Besides, had his hands on my ass earlier anyways."

"His hands were where ?" Hunter demanded, jealousy back in full swing as he shot a murderous glare at his smug brother.

"Ha!" Wrecker exclaimed. "I touched her ass and you didn't!"

"This piece of ass has ears and would very much like to sleep before you two territorial males start a fight," I snorted.

"Very nice ears," Tech commented, reaching out to stroke one as he quickly secured his spot on my other side

I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Still after a kiss?"

"No."

"No?" I echoed, ears flicking up.

"You insisted on a surprise basis for kisses," Tech replied. "Therefore, a surprise it shall be."

"Almost afraid to know what you're cookin' up in that little schemin' nerd brain of yours," I said, shaking my head in amusement as I snuggled close to my sentient teddy bear and curled my tail around me.

"I assure you, it will be a pleasant surprise," Tech said, getting comfortable as close to me as he could with Wrecker's arm around my back.

Hunter, clearly disgruntled at being left out, just muttered under his breath and laid down on Wrecker's other side.

"Don't worry, Sarge," I assured him. "You'll get a chance to snuggle tomorrow."

"What if something goes wrong?"

"Oh, c'mon. You're Clone Force 99!" I replied, closing my eyes and drinking in Wrecker's scent before exhaling slowly. A soft and content smile spread across my face as the large clone tugged me ever so closer. "What could possibly go wrong?"

What could go wrong?
Well, to quote Trevor: The ability to see the future is a real NIGHTMARE sometimes :)