I'm back! Still exhausted, but that's life at this point lol. And we are jumping right back into the fun. With Crosshair of course! Tricky yet sneaky twig, in more ways than one! There's more of his shenanigans to come, that's for sure!

Also, for the upload schedule, this story and FNF will have alternating weeks. I decided to still do both FNF and TtFR at the same time, but sadly Fateful Tides is taking a backseat. The quality may drop on both FNF and TtFR, but it be what it be.

As always, chapters will be uploaded to before they are publically released (two weeks prior). All patrons $3 and up can view this tier! Big thanks to patrons Lil, Jesse, and Dragon!

I'm also now pretty active on Insta, and you can find a link to that on my page!

Warnings: Language, mentions of abandonment, descriptive sexual content (touching, kissing, biting).

This chapter contains adult content. By continuing, you acknowledge that you are over 18+ and can legally view such content.

Amazing.

Stupendous.

Fantastical.

Marvelous.

Stunning.

Breathtaking.

Mesmerizing.

I didn't care how many terms the thesaurus could come up with, nothing would ever do this justice.

Blue with hints of green and gold streaked by the viewport, blurring together as we raced through faster than the speed of light. I couldn't tear my eyes away, the spectacle damn near stealing my breath.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind, a chin settling on my shoulder as dark hair tickled my cheek. "Like it, cyar'ika?" Hunter rumbled, lips brushing my jawline.

I nodded, hugging his arms. "Yeah."

"Does it live up to expectations?"

I gave a short laugh. "Hardly."

"Is that... a good thing, Squeak?" Wrecker ventured.

I glanced over at the man as he nervously fiddled with his hands. "Oh, yeah! I just meant that the shows and movies don't do it justice." I gestured at the viewport with one hand. "There were never any streaks of gold or green. Mainly blue."

"So it's better!"

I nodded. "Yeah! Everything is better in this version of your universe!"

"Happy to hear," Hunter said, nuzzling my cheek.

I purred, leaning into his caress, then glanced around. I still halfway couldn't believe that I was really here with my favorite clones and was a partner to all of them-

Wait. Someone's missing.

"Twiggs?"

Hunter released me, allowing me to turn around and see that the sniper had indeed vacated the cockpit. Anxiety rippled through me, endless scenarios running through my head of him being mad at me, and I looked to Wrecker with mild desperation. Of all the Batchers, he'd know Crosshair the best, right? He'd know if Crosshair was pissed, right?

"Should I be worried?" I asked, scratching my arm.

He'd know.

Right?

Wrecker shook his head. "Nothin' you did," he assured me, pulling me into a hug. "He just likes bein' alone sometimes!"

I leaned into him, ear against his chest. The steady, rhythmic beat of his heart helped soothed me, but only slightly.

"Perhaps," Tech began, adjusting his goggles. "You talking to him would be beneficial."

We all looked at him in surprise.

"I do not pretend to understand how he operates, aside from sarcasm and vindictiveness," Tech continued, gesturing away. "But I can see that you are able to get through to him." He tapped away at his datapad. "A surprising discovery, admittedly, but one I have seen numerous instances of. He may tolerate your presence even when he seeks solitude."

My ears twitched back and forth as my tail flicked from side to side. I looked up at Wrecker. "Think he'll yell at me?"

Wrecker frowned and glanced back into the ship, before smiling at me. "Nah. Might be grouchy, but he won't yell at ya!"

My tail twitched again before I turned and headed for the rear turret. "Well, dealt with him bein' grouchy before," I said as I left.

Yeah, and remember what happened?

The river. The jungle. The morning after. The...

The slip up and the hell that followed.

Grouchy Crosshair was not someone I liked being around. Grumpy Crosshair could be rather endearing, like a disgruntled housecat disturbed from a nap. Grouchy Crosshair was like dealing with a defensive raccoon; all it wanted to do was get you away from it by any means necessary. Even if that meant hurting you.

Would Crosshair truly tolerate me? Or would he push me away?

"Got the perfect name," came the soft voice through the blast doors that led to the rear turret. "Nothin'. We get caught, seppies will ask what's in my pack, I'll say Nothin', and you can jump out and rip their faces off when they open the pack."

Happy chittering followed.

So, he's finally named the hellspawn.

It was a good name though, I had to admit. Who knew Crosshair could be a creative bastard?

Should let him read Odysseus.

I stood at the door, wrestling with my options as panic crept up my throat.

Won't know unless you try. Make him tell you no. Don't work yourself up over nothing.

But it wasn't nothing. Crosshair did snap. Snap at me. Harsh, scathing words that ripped me to pieces and left a shattered mess of broken parts. Venom flowing freely and paralyzing me, stealing my breath and sending agonizing fire across my body. My heart.

I was a lot of things, but a fool wasn't one of them. An idiot, maybe. But not a fool. As close as we were, Crosshair was still a complex and unpredictable person. It was a toss up in any situation if he'd be tolerant...

Or not.

But one thing was for sure.

The only way to make any progress, in any form, was to have these uncomfortable moments.

Go for it.

I swallowed hard and lightly knocked on the door. "Cross?"

Silence greeted me for a few moments, sending my anxiety through the roof, before a soft sigh reached me and the door wooshed open.

Crosshair sat with his feet propped up on the yolk, the newly named Nothing perched on his knees. Dark eyes regarded me with a mix of concern and, to my horror, annoyance. "Sweetheart, I do care deeply for you," he began. "But need alone time too."

Look what you did.

My ears flattened. "Ah, sorry. Just wanted to check on you. I'll go."

He shifted in the seat, reaching out as panic flashed across his face. "Wait, didn't mean that harshly."

I turned back. "If you're fine I can just leave. Worried you were upset is all. Sorry."

He held my gaze then shook his head with a groan as he leaned back in his chair. "They did a real number on you."

I frowned, brows knitting together in confusion as I uncertainly indicated the way I came with my thumb. "The boys...?"

"Whoever conditioned that response."

Ah. Right.

I averted my gaze, smiling sadly as my throat burned. "Just when I think I'm past it all, everything comes crashing back."

No one ever talked about how healing also meant dealing with horrible, soul crushing back-slides, where all your efforts and progress crumbled away and left you back at square one. No one told you how utterly hopeless it felt when it seemed like all your hard work was in vain. No one told you how damn exhausting it all was.

Such was the war with mental illness.

A small hum. "Know what you mean."

I glanced up.

Crosshair was tracing the rifle sight around his eye, a grim expression on his face. Noticing me staring, his face softened and he beckoned me closer. After I hesitantly approached, he patted his lap. "C'mere."

As Nothing hopped down and scuttled through the door to bother one of the others, I tried to decide the best way to sit before sitting side saddle with my legs hanging off the seat and my cheek against his shoulder.

His arms curled around me. "Would tell you if it was you botherin' me. You know that."

I just nodded, fighting back an anxiety attack as wounds from nearly a decade ago flared to life. Vicious bastards, memories were. I could hardly blame my mind for reacting as it did; it just wanted to keep me safe from repeat pain whenever it noticed a situation similar to situations in the past. But damn it all to the deepest part of hell if survival mode didn't kick in at the worst times.

"Don't leave those I care about behind. Never have." He hugged me tighter. "Never will."

"Even though... you said you would?"

Crosshair flinched. "Wasn't thinking' right. Panicked." He sighed heavily. "But that's no excuse."

No, it's not.

How could I ever be sure he wouldn't think that way again? How I could be sure he wouldn't let panic rule his decision...

And drive him to leave me behind for good?

Exhausted as if I'd just been hit with a rogue wave at the beach, air knocked from my lungs and body crashing into the hard sand beneath, I closed my eyes and buried my nose into his neck.

Crosshair said nothing as he rested his head against mine, the hum of the engines and his steady heartbeat the only sounds in the confined rear turret. Honestly, though, the silence was fine. Far more comfortable than any awkward conversations. Meant more to me in a way, too. It'd taken a bit of figuring, but I'd realized that Crosshair's love language was definitely physical touch.

A brush of the arm first let me know he didn't mind me around. Bandaging my wounds showed he cared about my wellbeing. A hand on the cheek comforted me after the nightmare of him dying. Sleeping back to back assured me he didn't hate me for scarring his face. And...

A hug proved that, truly, he was sorry for the pain he had caused me.

Crosshair holding me was the same as Hunter doing something for me, or Wrecker giving me a gift, or Tech spending time with me. Or myself giving Crosshair a pep talk.

The silence now stretching between us wasn't as awkward as it would have been this time yesterday, or as hostile as it would have been a week ago. Just unspoken understanding.

We're improving. Still rocky, but we're all getting there.

I wasn't sure how long had passed before I finally worked up the courage to give the sniper a small kiss on the cheek beneath his tattoo, his stubble rough beneath my lips

He returned the gesture by brushing my short hair aside and pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead.

I purred and wiggled into a more comfortable position, resting my head against his shoulder as I watched the stars streak by and disappear in the distance.

"Pretty," I remarked, flicking my tail at the lightshow.

Crosshair hummed in agreement, but when I glanced up his eyes were on me and me alone. Of course, when my cheeks reddened, that infuriatingly smug grin appeared on his lips. "Look good in blue, but red suits you more."

I glared and elbowed him hard in the ribs.

He chuckled, sounding just like he had in his Clone Wars debut, before running his fingers through my hair. "But, must admit dark blue isn't half bad."

"Think so?"

"Matches those stunnin' eyes."

I rolled them as my cheeks burned again. "Great. Figured out compliments are my weakness, huh?"

"Always knew." He smirked. "Remember what I said at the dinner table?"

"When I called you the bastard lovechild of a vulture and a sleep paralysis demon?"

He chuckled again. "Yes." He lightly lifted my chin, running a thumb along my lips. "Can honestly say they're sweet as well as pretty."

I playfully snapped my teeth at his finger.

Only...

He didn't move it.

Holding his thumb in my teeth, I stared at him.

And he looks at me. And I look at him. And he looks at me. And I look at him!

His smirk grew. "Well, darlin'? What's your move from here?" he drawled, the added roughness in his tone sending shivers down my spine.

But alas, I may have been horny but I was also a feral gremlin.

Pulling a Stitch, I licked his hand.

Crosshair jerked his hand back, staring in disbelief at the slobber running over the back of his thumb and wrist. When his eyes returned to me, my stomach dropped through my feet at the downright evil look in his eyes and the sinister smile that accompanied it.

"In for it now, sweetheart."

You'd think I would have been used to how fast Crosshair would move. I'd seen him fight and fought him myself in hand to hand combat. I knew he was a quick little slippery snake. So, then, how was I not prepared for him reversing our positions in almost an instant?

Straddling my lap, legs wrapped around the back of the chair and pinning my arms to my sides, he grinned sadistically. "Overheard Wrecker mention somethin' to the Sarge. Something about." His fingers hovered over my ribs. "You bein' ticklish."

My heart stopped. Wrecker was vicious. Hunter was merciless. But Crosshair?

He'd be downright cruel with tickling.

"Er, uh, um, parlay?" I squeaked, ears pinned against my skull.

He grinned, drumming his fingers on my ribs. "To accept... or to not accept the surrender."

"I have a counteroffer!"

"Perhaps I'll accept, perhaps I won't." He tilted his head. "What's your offer?"

Mischief giving me a smile of my own, I tilted my head to the side and offered my bare neck to the sniper.

Crosshair remained silent for only a moment. "A gift?" he purred. "How generous." He nuzzled the spot before kissing it softly. "Been thinkin' about what I said earlier? Been wonderin' how it'd feel to let your sniper mark you?" Teeth grazed over the skin. "What kind of man would I be if I didn't... alleviate that curiosity?"

"Gonna do it or not?" I growled, heat pooling in my gut as his breath raised the hair on the back of my neck.

"Patience, sweetheart, he scolded. "Got time to kill." A hand shifted from my ribs to my stomach, slowly gliding under my shirt. "And I'll be damned if I don't savor every second of this. Waited far too long."

I bit my lip, withholding a moan when his hips rolled ever so slightly against mine as that nimble hand inched higher and higher. The rough tips of his fingers left a trail of fire in their wake, sending bolts of electricity up my spine.

"Quiet? Unusual from you," he teased, shifting his hips forward and freeing my arms as his feet planted themselves back on the ground. Grinding against me, he chuckled deep in his chest. "Where's that fearsome roar?"

"Shit do you have a dirty mouth," I groaned, hands finding his waist and squeezing tightly in a fruitless effort to ground my senses as the sniper continued to overwhelm them with gentle yet maddening caress.

"It's useful for more than just words."

The words slipped out. "Prove it."

A dark chuckle. "Careful what you wish for, kitten."

Had his hand not clamped tightly over my mouth, I would have moaned loud enough for them to hear all the way in the cockpit as Crosshair sank his teeth into my neck. The surprisingly sharp lovebite lasted only a moment before the man began to suck on the tender wound. In contrast to the bite, this was slow and steady, his hot breath scalding the sensitive skin. Crosshair's hand kneaded my stomach, pressing just below my navel, before creeping steadily towards my chest.

I grasped his wrist, uncertain.

He broke away from the blossoming hickey on my neck just enough to whisper, "Trust me, Shadow."

Slowly, but surely, I released his wrist.

"That's it," he whispered, kissing what was sure to be an angry red mark thanks to his teeth. "Relax. Let your sniper treat you nice."

I nodded, leaning my head back against the headrest and closing my eyes.

"Been wantin' to do this for a while." Lean fingers slid up and around my chest to just below my right arm before a thumb brushed across that sensitive spot.

My back arched, raising my hips into his and pressing my pelvis against his erection. My hands tightened on his hips before I copied the sniper, sliding my hands beneath his blacks and up toward his chest. Lean, hot muscle flexed beneath my fingertips and palms every time he took a breath, and as I moved higher he rolled his hips against mine once more.

Talk about delicious friction.

More kisses and lovebites trailed down my neck, creating a line from my ear to my collarbone. With his teeth accompanied by that skilled hand on my chest, the second heartbeat between my legs grew more intense and a soft whine slipped from my throat.

Crosshair inhaled deeply. "Kark, you smell amazin'."

My legs twitched and I resisted the urge to rub them together to alleviate some of the building pressure in my core. My resolve didn't last long, unfortunately, and I broke. Shifting beneath Crosshair, I desperately tried to give myself some relief.

Crosshair sat harder on my hips, holding me firmly in place. "Ah ah ah, sweetheart." His hand slipped from my chest, much to my dismay, before tilting my chin up. "Not yet."

I opened my eyes and glared at him, ears flat.

Dark eyes stared back, filled with a sort of primal desire I had not even seen from Hunter. "We're both about to lose it. Don't want to stop once I start. But promise you this." He leaned in, dropping his hand from my mouth to my throat and holding me in place as his lips hovered mere millimeters from mine. "When it's time, I'll make you so sex drunk you won't be able to think."

Fuck, that's hot.

"You better," I rasped, tightly gripping his waist.

He smirked. "How else am I to find out how kinky you really are?" When my eyes widened, that smirk grew. "Think I forgot the first day? No. I never forgot." He squeezed my throat ever so slightly tighter. "And I can't wait to pay you back for all those little insults." He released my throat then gathered my wrists and pinned them above my head. "Every." He rolled his hips hard. "Single." His hand slipped down. "One."

His fingers pressed over my clothes against that extremely sensitive spot at the apex between my thighs. As I gasped, his lips pressed against mine with all the hunger of a starving man. His middle finger slowly stroked between my legs, his index and ring finger pressing into either side. I whimpered, bucking my hips and trying to tug my wrists free, but the sniper was relentless and held me firmly in place as he continued to work. Even as my volume and struggles grew, he showed no mercy.

Then, just before I could reach the point of no return, he stopped and broke the kiss.

I gasped, bucking my hips into his again. "Cross-"

That hand pressed firmly over my mouth once more, dropping my wrists. "As I said, darlin'. Will make you pay for every little insult."

Were it not for the risk of the other batchers hearing, I would have screamed at him. If they hadn't heard us already, that really would give it away. But fuck if Crosshair wasn't an evil bastard!

Is this what it's like to be on the other end of teasing? Hellfire, this sucks!

Trust Crosshair to be the embodiment of karma.

"But, tell you what."

One ear flicked up as the other went sideways.

"Be patient and next time, I'll give you a little treat. Sound fair?"

I pulled his hand away and jabbed him in the stomach. "Nothin' about the way you play is fair."

"And someone likes that, don't they?" he purred.

I looked away, cheeks hot. "Shut up."

He laughed before his arms wound around my shoulders again. "I love you, cyar'ika." He nuzzled my neck. "I really do."

I couldn't help but smile. "I love you, too, Crosshair. I love you, too."

Thanks for reading! As always, leave a comment/follow if you enjoyed!

Also, one small thing, if there are any things in S2 of the show that conflict with this series (not that they should), I am not watching the second season until it finishes so please avoid giving me spoilers! Thank you :D