Sunkissed
Author's Note: This is technically a sequel of sorts to Sunward, but it can be read separately. Basically, the BB time travel waaay back to the past. :)
This is for the Bad Batch Appreciation Week. Day 6 is Omega. ^-^
PS. This is for the Bad Batch Bingo square of "Senator AU".
~ Amina Gila
Omega nervously straightens her dress, smoothing down the silky fabric before wandering from her bedroom towards the sound of voices in the living room, combing through her hair with her fingers. She needs to braid it still, or something, but she doesn't think she can do it alone.
"No, I won't!" Crosshair is yelling defiantly and stubbornly as she gets closer. She sighs. Probably, he and Hunter are still... discussing his attire for the gala tonight.
"Yes, you – Crosshair! Get off the bookshelf!"
Omega snorts to herself as she steps through the doorway to see absolute chaos. Hunter is standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed, glaring up at Crosshair who is now precariously perched atop the bookshelf in the room. Anakin is on the couch, watching, his amusement flowing into the Force.
"Make me," Crosshair snarks.
Anakin snickers. "I'll make you," he says way too cheerfully, holding out a hand.
Crosshair yelps as the Force wraps around him, tugging him closer to the edge of the bookshelf, nearly making him lose his precarious balance. "Don't you dare, you traitor!" he hisses. "I'm going to tell Obi-Wan what you did to his tea."
"Hey! You helped me!" Anakin protests.
"I don't even want to know," Hunter decides, sounding tired, but also amused.
"How do I look?" Omega asks, finally making her presence known, distracting her brothers and fiancé from continuing to argue.
Instantly, three pairs of eyes turn towards her.
"You look like a princess from a horror film," Crosshair tells her, and she makes a face at him.
"Thanks," she replies dryly.
"Ignore him," says Hunter, shaking his head with fond exasperation. "He's just being cranky. You look amazing. Dignified. Like a Senator." His lips quirk upward. "I still can't quite imagine you being a Senator."
Omega laughs despite herself. "Yeah, me either." When she and her brothers first time travelled here, seven years ago, she could never have imagined it either. She would never have dreamed that they would pick up a Jedi, much less two, that they would take over Mandalore, reuniting it and making it stronger. She could never have dreamed that she would be named the new Senator of their planet after their former one, Obi-Wan, was elected Chancellor following the removal of Palpatine from office for misconduct. He's in prison now, the last of the Sith defeated and gone.
And the galaxy has moved on. It's... healing, she thinks, at least a little, and maybe they didn't come here soon enough to stop the production of the clones, but they still came here in time to save the Republic, to save the Jedi and the clones and the galaxy itself.
"You are always amazing to me," Anakin adds with a soft smile that's just for her.
Crosshair makes a strangled sound. "Please do not flirt or be sappy in my presence," he demands.
"Why don't you come down here and make me?" Anakin parrots, smirking, as he rises from the couch, sauntering over to Omega. She leans up to kiss him when he's close enough, ignoring the strangled shriek from her youngest brother.
"I will kill you," he vows fiercely.
Hunter just sighs. "Are you planning to come with us or not?"
Crosshair looks gravely offended at being questioned. "Of course, I am! But I'm not going to wear whatever hideous clothing you have in mind."
Omega rolls her eyes. Sometimes, he is so dramatic. He's supposed to be older than her. Physically, that is. Mentally, he isn't, and it really shows. "You can't come dressed like a soldier or Mandalorian," she points out flatly. "Weapons aren't permitted at the gala. It's just a party. We're going to be just fine. Besides, I'll have Anakin there, and he's more than capable of protecting me."
Crosshair scowls. "He can take his lightsaber," he says petulantly.
Anakin smirks, evilly waving the hilt. "It's a sophisticated weapon," he answers, mimicking Obi-Wan's Coruscanti accent so flawlessly that it sends Omega into a fit of giggles. "It's not uncivilized, like a blaster."
"Hey!"
Hunter pinches the bridge of his nose. "Okay, that's it," he says in his 'sergeant' voice as they like to call it. "Crosshair, get down here and get dressed, or we'll be leaving without you. And if you come anyway, you'll be sitting in the speeder until we get out. Got it?"
"You're no fun," he pouts.
Omega's eyes slide to Anakin, suddenly feeling mischievous. Can I make him? She sends the thought to Anakin over their Force bond, and he nods wordlessly. She lifts her hand, reaching out with the Force and tugging. Crosshair yelps as he's pulled off the shelf and dumped unceremoniously onto the floor.
"Ow," he says, when he finally catches himself milliseconds before smacking face first onto the floor. "That was very unthoughtful of you."
"Oh no," Omega deadpans. "Did you fall and hurt yourself?" She's only willing to joke about it because she knows he's fine. If he wasn't, she would feel it, and besides, she cushioned his landing with the Force.
Hunter chokes on a laugh, and Crosshair turns a sulky glare onto him. "Okay, children, are you ready to go?" Hunter asks.
"No," she answers, suddenly freaked out. She'd gotten distracted by Crosshair's dramatics, so she'd entirely forgotten. "I need help with my hair."
"I'll do it," Anakin offers, throwing an arm around her shoulders – gently, of course, careful not to wrinkle her gown – and tucking her into his side. "Padme taught me a hairstyle that she thought would look good on you. Can I?"
Omega leans into his side, feeling the fluttering warmth in her chest at his proximity. She adores him so much. They became almost instant best friends when they met, and they've only gotten close over the years. Almost three years ago, they'd been captured by Death Watch soldiers when they went out exploring on a trip to Concordia. They'd escaped, but barely, and it was that which brought them closer together, making them realize the depths of their feelings for each other. It wasn't long later when they finally talked about it and tentatively struck up a relationship.
It's grown since, and Omega knows that there is no one she would want to spend her life with other than Anakin. They got engaged just recently, and she's never been happier. Yeah, maybe they're both a little young, only nineteen, but she wants this. She wants to spend her life with him, the way she has all this time.
Anakin left the Order for them after they met, and Obi-Wan, his master, came with him. They picked up Anakin's mother, Shmi, and ever since, all of them have stayed together, slowly becoming increasingly close, a true family. This is where Omega wants to be. This is where she wants to stay, surrounded by her brothers as well as the family who chose them.
"Yeah," she agrees, almost dreamily, staring up into his bright blue eyes, "Of course."
Crosshair whines dramatically in the background, and out of the corner of her eye, she sees Hunter giving him a severe look. It's enough to finally get him moving, and he pulls himself to his feet, grumbling the whole way as he leaves the room.
"I've got to make sure everything is ready," Hunter tells him in the voice he reserves just for them. He's their brother, true, but he's also so much like a parent to both of them, which is a little weird when Omega thinks about how she held him when he was a baby. She can't call him her father because of that, and the same is true for all of them. Except Echo, of course. "Can I trust you two to finish up together?"
"You know you can count on me," Anakin promises with a smile.
Hunter approaches, clasping his shoulder with a nod before he leans over to kiss Omega's forehead. "You know I'll always worry about you," he says wryly, "But still, be careful. I know you have a lot of enemies now that you're the Senator, and... just be careful."
Omega nods, holding his eyes. "I will be, Hunter, I promise." She's gotten better at using the Force to detect who is a threat, who is dishonest, who is sincere. It makes it far easier for her. Still, she struggles, because being the Senator of the entire Mandalorian system is hard. It's so much work, and she has no idea how Obi-Wan managed it before he became Chancellor.
Anakin slides his hand into hers, linking their fingers together as he leads her back to her bedroom. She sits on the edge of her bed, turning her back towards Anakin so he can work. "Do your best," she singsongs. She's excited for this event. Even if she dislikes parties and fancy clothing that feels wrong on her, preferring her armor, she still has come to enjoy this kind of political work. Knowing that she's making a difference in the Senate, fighting for what's right, it all means a lot to her. It's hard, but... it's worth it.
"Anything for you," Anakin answers, his tone teasing, but Omega knows that he means it, and when his fingers slide through her hair, straightening it, as he prepares to style it for the gala, Omega feels a wave of contentment and affection wash over her. No matter what comes next, her brothers will support her every step of the way.
**w**
"That wasn't so bad," Omega says.
"No fights," Anakin agrees, smirking, "That's impressive for us."
They're switching out of their special clothes to normal ones now that they're home and the event's over. It was, surprisingly, without disturbances. That's not normal, and Omega feels a ridiculous amount of relief about their once-success. It's her first evening as a Senator, after all, and it's relieving that it went over so smoothly. Because she has no doubt that that isn't going to last long.
"But I sense a disturbance in the Force," he adds, dryly a moment later. "I think Tech's in the kitchen."
Uh oh.
Sometimes, Omega genuinely doesn't think Tech has any idea how much of a catastrophe he creates the moment he even steps foot into that room. "It was thoughtful of him to get started on the cooking for tomorrow's meeting," she agrees, with a grin. Senators Padme Amidala and Riyo Chuchi are coming over to discuss things with her, so they'll have to cook dinner. "But we better not leave him there alone." Or who knows what kind of concoctions he's going to be coming up with.
Because really, extreme intelligence says nothing about application of said intelligence.
Anakin laughs, and they hastily finish up, heading for the kitchen. Omega is almost certain she already smells something burning, or maybe she's just imagining it, remembering that last time. She has no idea what he did, but somehow, the oven caught fire. Tech firmly maintained it was a technical malfunction, but Anakin picked the entire thing apart and found nothing wrong. Hunter banned Tech from the kitchen ever since, and that was a long time ago.
Tech's busy mixing up something when they step into the kitchen. It looks like some kind of batter.
"Wait, is that... fruit juice?" Omega asks warily, as he pours something suspiciously fruity smelling into the flour.
"Yes," he replies, calmly, "It is meiloorun sauce."
"And you're putting it in the batter?" she yelps.
"Theoretically, it has the same properties as eggs, at the right proportion," he explains, beginning to stir it in.
"Does it also have the right flavor?" Anakin asks, dryly.
Her thoughts exactly.
"It will affect the flavor only slightly," he assures.
"Is that the only change you're making?" Anakin inquires, approaching warily and scanning over the recipe pulled up on his datapad.
"Primarily," he assures.
"I don't think we even have half the ingredients on that list," Omega observes, peering around Anakin's arm. And she has a very bad feeling about what he's putting in instead, and what it's going to taste like when it's done.
"Maybe we can help," Anakin volunteers, "I'm not sure Senators Amidala and Chuchi would fancy a scientific experiment for their meal, no matter how fascinating it might be."
Tech doesn't seem particularly worried about that, not that Omega expected otherwise or he wouldn't have started this in the first place, but by the time he's done explaining all the slight measurement adjustments he decided to make to the dessert, she decides to just... let him finish it. It sounds a little bit too late to save, anyway.
She and Anakin can rescue the rest of the cooking from him in the meantime.
Before there can be any more mysteriously burned oven situations.
**w**
Something's not right. It's nagging at Omega, even when she's mostly asleep, too much so to actually pay attention to the Senate. But the feeling is only growing, and it's –
The snap-hiss of a lightsaber activating in her room jolts her awake, right in time to see Anakin slashing through something on her bed. She jolts upright, the pieces of... worms falling off her bed to the floor.
There's a droid hovering right outside the window, and Anakin sprints towards it before it can take off, catching it with the Force. He yanks it inside – the glass is already damaged anyway, but now, it's shattered all over the floor, not that that's her primary concern – stabbing it with his lightsaber before letting it drop to the floor.
"We might be able to check its memory core to see who hired it," Anakin says, a little breathlessly.
"Yeah," Omega agrees, still shaken. She could have died. It was only seconds away from happening, because she has no doubt those worms were poisonous. Someone was trying to kill her. She has no idea who or why, when she literally just became a Senator, but obviously, she's managed to upset someone already.
"Are you okay?" Anakin queries, hurrying back to her bed.
She takes his hand, squeezing it tightly for a small measure of comfort. He's here, and he won't let anything happen to her. Nor will any of her brothers. She can already hear movement in the house, so they're probably on their way in here. "Yes, I am."
Echo makes it to her room first. "What happened?" he demands, taking in the scene quickly.
"Assassination attempt," Anakin explains.
"Are you alright?" he asks her, concern evident in his eyes.
She nods again. Though, she has no desire to stay in her room alone tonight. Not that that's possible with a gaping hole in the window, anyway.
"I was afraid of something like this," Echo admits, huffing out a breath, "Just didn't expect it to happen already. From what I heard, something similar happened in the... past, too."
He doesn't talk about the past timeline he's from much, except to occasionally mention the Anakin Skywalker who was his General of that time. His relationship with Anakin is very different now, because he helped raise him here. Echo is something of an uncle to him now. Sometimes, Omega thinks Echo really misses the one who was his General, though, even if he's grown used to it over the years.
"This happened before, too?" Anakin asks.
"I don't know the details," Echo replies, "But Senator Amidala was opposing the Military Creation Act. An assassin was sent after her, and the General was watching over her. General Kenobi ended up tracking the bounty hunter to Geonosis, and the Separatists used the opportunity to start the war."
Omega tenses. That doesn't sound good. "Do you think that's what they're trying to do again?" she asks.
"I couldn't say," he replies, "But we have to be careful."
Anakin nods. "Maybe she shouldn't stay here right now."
"I don't know if I should just leave," Omega objects, "I... was just catching up on what's happening, and there's bills I need to vote on..." But if someone's trying to kill her, she can't risk that or her brothers and Anakin getting hurt protecting her.
"We'll talk to the others," Echo decides, "Come on. You shouldn't stay alone."
Anakin picks up the destroyed droid, as they head from the room. "We need to crack this," he says, holding it out to Echo.
"With Tech's help, it shouldn't be a problem," he assures, grimly.
And hopefully, they'll get answers on what's going on.
**w**
In the end, they do settle for leaving Coruscant, and returning to a remote location on Mandalore to hide until the worst of the danger passes. Omega is more relieved than she probably should be, because it feels like neglecting her duties only right after she was chosen as Senator, but they don't have a choice right now.
Snow is falling around them, their boots crunching across the ground as they approach the building. They will be able to see anyone approaching from here, and the place itself is peaceful, but she still feels worn out.
Bounty hunters were after her before, too, after she escaped Kamino with her brothers in the other timeline, but that was different. She was nobody, and it wasn't hard to hide. She's someone important now, and these people are out to kill her.
"You look exhausted," Anakin comments, touching her shoulder.
She sighs quietly, leaning against him for a moment. "It was close," Omega admits, "I never thought an attempt would come so close."
He slips his arms around her, hugging her tightly for a moment. "Don't worry, we'll work it out."
"I know," Omega promises, because she does. They'll be fine, even if it's scary sometimes.
Wrecker pats her on the shoulder, and being right next to him never fails to make her feel better, because even if she knows he can't protect her from everything, his size often makes it feel like he can. "Don't worry, no one's comin' near you here," he promises.
"Anyone want to have a snowball fight later?" Anakin asks, cheerfully, probably trying to change the topic.
"Yes!" Wrecker replies much too gleefully, before Omega even has the chance.
Forget later. She rather thinks she'd like to do it right now.
She scoops up a handful of snow, tossing it at Anakin.
He yelps, then laughs at the mouthful of snow he gets, before throwing one back at her. Wrecker scoops up a huge handful, throwing it at Anakin next, though he doesn't aim anywhere near his head – she doubts the snow could actually hurt, but he's always careful in that regard, when it comes to any of his brothers.
She throws one at Wrecker before he can turn around, and moments later, snowballs are flying back and forth between them almost ceaselessly.
"You need to come in," Hunter's voice calls from the doorway of the building, and Omega finally pauses to look up. The others must've already gone in to look around.
"Now?" Wrecker pouts.
"A storm is coming," he warns.
Probably, he can sense it, and looking up, Omega sees that the sky is starting to cloud over.
Wrecker makes a disappointed noise, and Anakin nudges him. "Don't worry. We can come out when it's over, and we'll have even more snow."
"And maybe we can build snow-clones," Omega supplies brightly, as they head for the house.
The storm does not, in fact, let up very quickly. It's raging on for hours, the wind's picking up until it quickly turns into a blizzard. It's pretty to watch, though.
Except, then, the power suddenly dips, before flicking off entirely, plunging the house into darkness.
Wrecker yelps, and Omega gropes to his side through the darkness. "I'm sure it'll be back on soon," she says, though she really isn't sure of that.
"We're in the middle of nowhere," Anakin points out, sounding rather cheerful, "I doubt they'll give us any preference. But we have a bigger problem?"
"What?" Wrecker asks, a touch warily.
"We don't have any heat."
Oh. Right. Not that it's the end of the world, but it will be a major inconvenience. They're on the northern part of Mandalore, and it's winter time. It's cold here, which means the temperature will be dropping fast.
"Not a problem for us," Wrecker replies, cheerfully, promptly pulling her into a crushing hug, which is just as warm.
Well.
Good point.
Which is how, after the temperature starts dropping for the night, all of them end up curled up in the living room together to stay warm. Even if being in a bed would probably be warmer than huddled on the floor.
She's curled up against Wrecker on one side, with Anakin on his other side. The others went outside to try repairing the power, so they're alone in here right now. But it's perfectly warm, and just as safe, and Omega almost wishes they didn't have to go back to Coruscant for a long while. It's nice out here, just being with everyone.
The vacation will end soon enough, and she'll be back to her job as a Senator, but that doesn't mean they can't have fun here while it lasts.
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