Seems this battle aftermath went significantly better than chapter 43! Emotions and such flying about all over the place! All around good times!

Well... mostly :)
Remember the last line of Ch 5: Emotions are Pesky? Now it comes back to haunt us.

CW: Sexual themes, horny sniper, residual issues from Trust Shattered

It was a risk.

A big risk to kiss Shadow.

The possible rejection would have stung worse than a blaster bolt, tearing down his confidence once again.

But he couldn't wait any longer. Couldn't take it. It'd been driving him mad for far too long.

As early as the karkin' strawberry patch, his eyes had begun to linger on their lips, the urge hardly more than a distant and outlandish fantasy. Nothing more than some wild idea born from a strange combination of heightened emotions around the Realm Walker and ironic care for them. But it'd only grown stronger as the days progressed, blooming into an undeniable urge in the crater and reaching an almost maddening desire yesterday morning.

And last night…

It was only because his confidence was low and he knew that a hug would mean so much more that he went for an embrace instead.

But now?

With Shadow affectionate towards him again?

With his spirits high and blood still hot from battle?

With the others a fair distance away still, leaving him and Shadow alone for at least the time being?

He couldn't take it.

He wanted it.

Craved it.

Needed it.

Needed to know what it felt like. What Shadow felt like. Tasted like, even.

Well, he got his answer.

Heaven.

That's what this strange mountain guide, now his partner, felt and tasted like.

A white-hot surge of what he could only call hunger gripped him with all the might of a supernova. More. He needed more. He was a drowning man and Shadow was a breath of fresh air. Blood roaring in his ears, his helmet slipped from his grasp as he pulled Shadow in closer.

The Alphian grunted in surprise, but didn't pull away.

No.

Pressing against his front, they raised on their toes to deepen the kiss.

They were…

Excited.

The revelation quickened his pulse and sent blood rushing downward. One hand slipped down to softly curl around their throat as the other slipped up and brushed just under the edge of their shirt.

Oh how he wished his gloves were off.

His mind began to wander and he gladly let it. Let his thoughts spiral off into uncountable scenarios, each more heated than the last.

Scenarios in which his hands were free to explore, unbridled by the need to maintain composure in front of others.

Scenarios that, apparently, bleed through his body chemistry. Something he quickly realized as Shadow moved closer, tail around his wrist as one hand gripped his arm and the other grabbed his belt.

And yanked.

Oh shit.

All the self control in the galaxy wouldn't help him if this went any further.

Lightly squeezing their throat, he broke the kiss and rasped, his forehead against theirs, "Woah, darlin'. Can't be goin' too far right now."

A leg shifted between his, brushing his knee. "Says the man with his hand two inches above my ass," Shadow retorted, voice rough and they tugged his belt again, harder this time.

So this was the side of Shadow that Wrecker and Hunter had gotten all to themselves. Jealousy raged through him, coupled with the still hot desire in a blazing inferno, but he took a deep breath to calm himself.

No. Not here. Not now.

He'd pick his moment.

A moment that didn't include his rapidly approaching squadmates.

Crosshair wanted Shadow to himself and himself alone.

Yes.

He would pick his moment.

"Later, sweetheart." He lifted their chin again. "Worth the wait."

Disappointment flickered in those blue eyes, the pupils far wider than usual, but Shadow replied, "Fine. Later."

He smiled and hugged them close, burying his nose into their neck and inhaling deeply. A loud purr erupted from Shadow's throat as they leaned their head against his, tail winding around his leg.

"Get it, you two! Kark yeah!" Wrecker laughed, carrying a broken droid head.

Shadow laughed and turned to face the demolition expert before leaning into Crosshair with their head on his shoulder. "Guess we got one shipper."

Crosshair looped an arm around their waist, hesitating before letting his hand rest on their hip. "Guess we do."

Gazing out over the battlefield, the grassy hillside strewn with the sparking remains of droids, icy blue droid-scicles, and still smoking collapsed tanks, he allowed his smile to grow. Yet another battle success to mark on the Marauder wall, adding to their long list. He quickly decided that Shadow should be the one to mark it. What better way to solidify their place among them as a true team member? Wrecker certainly wouldn't have an issue.

"Did well, Ice," Hunter praised, pulling off his helmet as he joined them. "Did very well."

"Kark, yeah they did!"

"Thanks, Shaggy," Shadow said with a grin in Wrecker's direction before focusing on the sergeant once more. "What'd you think of Liftoff?"

"Guess we got a Plan 100," he chuckled.

Perfect. That was perfect. The plan name suited Shadow as well, for he really did feel like he was soaring when around them.

"Yeah! Cause it was 100% awesome!" Wrecker cheered, punching the air.

"I concur," Tech agreed with a smile as he joined them, the Night Hunter perched on his shoulder.

The odd creature was doing an energetic dance, bouncing up and down as it waved its forelimbs side to side. It looked happy, or at least Crosshair thought it did. If the thing viewed him as a parental figure, he should probably learn what different dances or body language meant.

"The droids certainly were not prepared for such a maneuver," Tech continued. "And that element of surprise will most likely continue for some time until word of you gets out."

Shadow looked up at him. "Cross?"

"Did perfect, sweetheart." He nuzzled the space behind their ear. "I'm proud."

His heart leapt as their smile widened and they rubbed against him with a loud purr. Maker, he really could get drunk off that sound.

"Hey, where's that Halfblood?" Hunter asked, looking around for Trevor.

Crosshair scanned the battlefield, frowning at the absence of the Halfblood. Should they be worried about that? It certainly was… out of character for the godling.

"Last I saw," Sarah said, joining them. "He went to check on Scooter."

Shadow frowned. "Odd, usually likes to loiter after a fight and brag."

Yes, he did. So where was he? Why stick with them all the way until the end of the battle? Why leave now?

Crosshair's scar began to ache.

Trevor would never miss out on an opportunity to brag. At least not the Trevor he'd come to detest over the past few days.

Something was amiss.

And the sniper did not like it.

"I think Wrecker has that area well managed," Tech said in response to Shadow as he eyed Crosshair's batchmate.

"Hey! You said it was a success yourself!" Wrecker said, smacking Tech.

"Ow!"

"Let me heal his arm before you start rough housing," Sarah said, stepping between them as Tech began to threaten the larger clone.

"Can you expend that energy after fighting?" Shadow asked, tail wound around Crosshair's leg. The weight of the extra limb comforted Crosshair, but only slightly.

His mind was still on Trevor's sudden vanishing act. Ominous to say the least…

"Do you want healing too?" Sarah gestured to the fighter's leg.

"Nah, it'll be fine," Shadow said, squinting at the jagged gash.

Guilt rippled through Crosshair.

How had he not seen it? How had he not been able to protect them?! Was he so caught up in kissing Shadow he hadn't even stopped to check on them after the battle?

"Twiggy?" Shadow asked, softly elbowing him. So, they caught his mood shift. "You don't think this was your fault, right?"

"Shoulda checked if you were ok first…"

To his surprise, a sly smirk appeared on the Realm Walker's face. "After that kiss? I'm more than ok."

He matched their smirk, that urge to tease ruthlessly reawakening. It had been enjoyable to verbally spar before, but now? It was tenfold better, even if the not so subtle tension drove him crazy. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Shadow purred, elbowing him harder this time.

Crosshair hummed in mock thought. "Guess I'll have to do it again."

"Promise?"

"Don't talk just to hear myself speak."

Shadow laughed at that, the sound filling Crosshair with new energy.

New hope.

This would work. They would make it work.

"Aw… you two are so cute!" Wrecker exclaimed.

What had been a fond smile directed at Shadow quickly became a glare directed at Wrecker. "Mind your business."

"Hey! Shadow's my business too!" Wrecker retorted, jerking his thumb back towards himself, but there was no genuine aggression.

"All of them, Shadow?" Sarah teased warmly. "Sure you can handle that?"

"I'm ambitious and I know what I like," Shadow shot back, still grinning.

"Yeah! Us!" Wrecker laughed.

"You certainly are ambitious," Tech replied. "I am glad your dragon plan worked well."

"Get some good recordings, Techie?"

"Of course." The engineer looked at Crosshair. "I will need your helmet to get an aerial and up close view of Shadow's flight patterns to analyze for future missions."

Right. His bucket. That'd he'd dropped. Like an idiot.

But Shadow… Shadow was worth dropping his helmet for.

"Sure, Shorty. Whatever," he said, beginning to reach down for it only for Shadow to present it on the tip of their tail. The Night Hunter sat atop it. Smiling at Shadow as he let the odd critter scamper up his arm, he clipped the helmet to his belt while keeping one arm looped around Shadow's waist.

"Come with me, Tech. I'll get that arm right as rain in no time." Sarah eyed Shadow's leg. "Yes or no to the healing for you?"

"I'll get that," Hunter said, stepping forward.

"Just probably need to bandage it." Shadow's sly smile returned. "Think you can handle that, Shaggy?"

Hunter mirrored them. "Think I can, darlin."

No.

No!

Hunter wasn't about to pull Shadow away from him already! Could he not be greedy with Shadow's affection for five minutes?! He constantly had Shadow.

Shadow's hand rested over his and it was then Crosshair realized he'd been squeezing their hip possessively.

Their words rang in his ears.

"Not a sandwich!"

Shadow had a right to alternate between them. That was part of being polyamorous. Equal affection for all of them. Or at least, he figured it was. Romantic relationships were entirely new to him, poly ones even more so. While it stung knowing Shadow also cared for his brothers in the same way, he hardly resented the Realm Walker for it.

They'd all just have to work at the inevitable jealousy.

A daunting task to put it lightly, but they'd never shied away from a challenge before.

Besides, asking Shadow to choose would just lead to more problems.

Hugging them close one more time, he let his arm slip from their waist. "Will make a battlefield check with Wrecker."

The fur on Shadow's tail smoothed and the look of concern melted away. "Thanks, Twiggers," they said, raising on their toes to nuzzle his cheek.

Smiling softly at them, he caught Hunter's eye and nodded to him.

Hunter nodded back and pulled Shadow's arm around his shoulders to help the Realm Walker limp back to the barn.

Wrecker laughed and punched Crosshair's arm as the sniper joined him. "Someone's smitten!"

"Who wouldn't be?" he replied honestly, slipping on his helmet. He gently rubbed the Night Hunter's back with a finger, earning an affectionate tap-tap-tap on his helmet.

"Did well, Cross!" Wrecker continued, grinning ear to ear as they headed towards the edge of the battlefield. "Proud of ya!"

"Just some droids," Crosshair said with a shrug, kicking one.

"Not that. Shadow," Wrecker said. "You're doin' well with 'em."

He kicked another droid. "At least they don't make it hard."

If anything, they're making it easy.

And he couldn't even begin to put into words how grateful he was for it.

-Wrecker PoV-

Over and over.

Again and again and again.

Shadow flying around and spitting ice played on a continuous loop in his head.

Wrecker's cheeks ached from smiling, but he couldn't help it.

He could have watched Shadow fight for days. Every time they went into battle, they pulled a new trick out of their helmet.

That was the expression, right? Pull a trick out of your helmet? Or was it a hat?

Didn't matter.

What mattered was his awe and amazement at Shadow, which only continued to grow the longer he was around them. Nothing, not even that mess last night, could shake his love for the Realm Walker.

His smile faltered.

But that intense and gut wrenching catastrophe definitely rattled him. More so than any battle he'd ever been in, and just like a battle he knew there would be scars from it. Knowing Shadow feared him last night… thought he would hurt them…

It stung worse than any blaster bolt, and he'd been shot a lot!

He'd rather be blown up again than relive that night.

"You turned. You tried to kill me."

No! He would never!

He crushed a B2 with his foot, sweat trickling down his spine.

A shower. He needed a shower. A shower to calm him down and ward off the painful memory from the night before.

Would… would Shadow be open to taking one with him? He knew a hot shower with them would do wonders. He didn't crave anything sexual he just…

He just wanted a moment alone with the Realm Walker. A moment to relax. Unwind.

Assure himself that the nightmare from last night was behind them.

At least Crosshair had learned his lesson from the experience. Learned his lesson and made an effort to get better.

Wrecker knew he had it in him. Tech and Hunter doubted him, but Wrecker never lost faith in his batchmate.

Crosshair did stupid things, yeah, but didn't all of them do something stupid?

Hunter erupted on Shadow back at the bottom of the hill two days ago. Tech had antagonized them numerous times with his desire for blood to experiment with. Wrecker felt sure he himself had irked them at least once too, although a specific instance didn't come to mind.

Granted, Crosshair's was… quite a bit worse, but at least he owned up to it. Usually the sniper wouldn't have bothered, content to let the person hate him and disappear from his life forever. But not this time. The fact he actually apologized to Shadow meant the world to Wrecker.

His batchmate was healing!

All thanks to Shadow.

His grin returned.

The mission was a success, and then some! A new teammate and their first real partner! Wrecker knew many of the regs had partners, but none of the batch had really dated before.

They never really went to bars due to Hunter's senses, and given the nature of their missions there wasn't much time for partner hunting. Tech had, somehow, achieved a one-night stand with some mechanic on an Outer Rim fuel stop, but the younger clone declined to pursue it further on the grounds that "he was pleasant aesthetically, but a sexual nightmare utterly lacking creativity".

Whatever that meant.

What would… Shadow be like?

He shook his head violently. Not here. He couldn't think about that here.

Focus on somethin' else!

But what?

What about Shadow's planet? Their next big destination?

Shadow never did say what exactly they'd find before the laughing spell overtook them before the crater. They mentioned something about it being hidden, but no specifics.

That was fine. They'd be journeying beyond Wild Space to get there, leaving plenty of time to ask Shadow more specifics.

Wrecker never really cared about the details of planets before. All he cared about was getting to lay waste to a battalion of tinnies. Who cared about the plants or landscape nonsense down there? Unless the plants were carnivorous of course.

But this time it was different. It wasn't some random planet. It was Shadow's planet! One they'd worked really hard on. Given how active and intense their imagination had been so far, he couldn't wait to see what surprises lay in store. He wanted to know all of it!

Wrecker frowned at Crosshair, who had stopped patrolling and now stood staring up at the sky.

"Hey! Cross, what's up?" he asked, stopping by his batchmate.

Crosshair said nothing, pointing at something rising up from behind the mountains.

Wrecker squinted at the dark shape silhouetted against the brilliant red and gold sky. A cloud? No, not a cloud.

Smoke.

Coming from…

He gasped.

The Outpost.

Uh oh

Big thanks to patrons Jesse and Lil!