Digging their ship out off the snow had been exhausting and took longer than Hunter would have liked. He didn't want to stay on this planet any longer than strictly necessary. On one hand because this giant worm was still out there, and it didn't feel save staying between this creature and an imperial base. Abandoned or not, there was still a not to be underestimated risk that the Empire would show up again. On the other hand, he could feel how this planet was agitating Crosshair. Of course, he had no idea why and his little brother hadn't complained but Hunter knew from even the tiniest changes in any of his brothers' behaviour when something was bothering them, and Crosshair seemed to feel a lot more uneasy than justified by their general situation. Admittedly maybe Hunter had been too hard with him. Deep down in his heart he had felt a great feeling of happiness and relief when he had seen Crosshair returning with Omega but it also hadn't been easy to forget what his brother had done to them, how he had betrayed them and played a part in endangering Omega. Trusting him again had felt harder than expected and at first, Hunter had more or less only been focusing on Omega, trying to make sure that his kid was as okay as possible under the circumstances. Now, after he and Crosshair had talked at least as much as they both felt capable of at the moment, things were getting better, and Hunter was sure they would eventually be good again. Especially since he would never let anyone of his family go again. Not after what happened to Tech. After what happened to Omega. No, from now on they would stay together and work the rest out along the way. Hunter sighed and let himself drop onto the cold, snowy ground. It didn't take long till he felt a familiar presence sitting down next to him. Omega looked at him smiling a little. She leaned into him, and Hunter instinctively wrapped his arm around her shoulders, unconsciously trying to keep her warm and save.
"Hey kid", he said smiling back at her silently marvelling at how cute she looked in those too big clothes, her face red from the cold.
"Hey", she hummed into his chest.
"Echo said the repairs are almost finished", he continued, "ready to get out of here?"
"Yeah", she replied, nodding a little. She seemed unusual quiet, Hunter thought.
"Is everything okay, Omega?", Hunter asked, trying to mask his concern.
"Hmm", she mumbled nodding again. Hunter frowned. Something was clearly off with his kid. Then suddenly he could feel her shaking a little and heard a very quiet sniffle, muffled against his armour.
"Hey, what is it kid?", he asked gently voice filled with care, "you know you can talk to me, about anything".
He was trying to sound encouraging and not worried but wasn't sure he succeeded. After everything that happened, he couldn't let go off his constant worry. Realizing how much he loved her, his little girl, didn't make it easier.
"I… I was thinking about Tech", she whispered hesitantly her voice shaking, "I miss him Hunter"
Oh, Hunter hadn't expected that, but realized that they never got to properly talk about his death, how they were dealing with it. He tightened his grip on her, gently pulling her to sit even closer before he said: "I know kid, I miss him too. We all do".
"It's just that I always thought one day we would all be together again, with Crosshair and just be happy. But now Crosshair is back, and Tech will never know".
She was crying by now and sobbed quietly. Hunter didn't know what to say, partly because his own throat tightened at Omegas words. Tech would never see that Crosshair came back in the end.
"It's…it's just so unfair!", Omega sobbed, "why did he have to die, Hunter?"
"I…I don't know Omega", his voice broke, "I'm so sorry"
He could feel tears building up in his own eyes and because he wasn't sure how to comfort her since there was nothing that would take this pain away, he just held her, let her cry into his chest and allowed his own tears to fall down on snow. Everything had been going so fast, after Techs death, Omega getting captured, them desperately looking for her and then all the emotions that came with the reunion. There hadn't been the time to properly mourn their brother.
"You know Omega", Hunter began as soon as he trusted his voice again, "wherever Tech is right now, he would be very happy to see us back together. And is probably laughing at me and Crosshair for fighting over all this".
He could see Omega rubbing her eyes as she lifted her head of his chest to look at him.
"And I know that Tech would be very proud of you, for escaping all by yourself and finding us", he continued, gently rubbing her arm.
"I wouldn't have made it out without his training", Omega replied, smiling just a little bit again, "he always told me how datapads and control panels works, and he taught me how to fly well enough to get us out".
Hunter nodded smiling.
"Yeah, he was a good teacher and like I said, he would be very proud of you", he said, smiling a bit himself "and you know what? He probably would have never admitted it, but he loved teaching you".
Her eyes lit up.
"Really?", she asked.
"Definitely", Hunter affirmed squeezing her shoulder, "he always had that little smile on his face when you asked him a question. I think teaching you was one of his favourite things to do".
"I loved him teaching me too", Omega replied. Hunter was glad, she seemed to be in a better mood. But suddenly her smile fell again.
"I never told him, how much I loved it, never thanked him for answering all my questions", she realized, sounding on the verge of crying again, "I never told him how much I loved him!"
Hunter felt like his heart shattered into a thousand pieces. Hearing Omega sobbing, seeing her hurting like this was the most painful thing he ever experienced. Pulling her close again, he desperately said: "Oh kid, he knew. Trust me he knew. Every smile you gave him, every time you talked to him. He knew, Omega and I hope you know that he loved you too".
She rubbed her eyes again and wrapped her still tiny arms around his waist.
"Thank you, Hunter,", she mumbled. They sat in silence for a while both thinking about Tech, about how much they missed him. Hunter knew his brother would have wanted them to go on, to keep fighting for Omega but he had to admit it was a lot harder without him. Tech had been a supporting steady presence in all this craziness that kept them grounded in difficult situations. And Hunter hat also noticed how much Tech had started to enjoy civilian life. Teaching Omega, talking with Phee. He had seemed comfortable, happy and Omega was right, it simply wasn't fair that he wasn't around anymore, that he didn't get the chance to really enjoy his life. Hunter suddenly noticed that Omega was shivering next to him. They had been sitting here for a while and he had almost forgotten that they were still on a very cold planet.
"Come on kid, let's get back to the ship, see how the repairs are going and then we can warm you up a bit", he gently suggested, "I saw you throwing snowballs with Wrecker earlier, you must be feeling cold by now"
He could feel Omega nodding and they both slowly got up and started walking towards the ship. Hunter kept a supporting hand on Omegas back and the little girl still leaned slightly into him. Before they reached the ship, Omega suddenly pulled on his arm, holding him back. He looked down at her.
"I...I'm glad you and Crosshair talked", she said hesitantly, "I didn't like it that you were fighting. They met each other's eyes and Hunter smiled.
"I'm glad too, kid", he admitted, "him being back was something I needed to adjust to, but now I'm just really happy you are both with us".
"Do you think Crosshair misses Tech too?", she asked quietly.
"Yeah Omega, I think he misses him too", Hunter replied, "probably more than we know".
Omega nodded sadly.
"We all miss him, kid", Hunter continued honestly, "and there will be moments when it hurts a lot and moments when we feel better. But the important thing is that we will never forget him and we still have each other. As long as we remember him, a part of him will always be with us".
He hoped he had said the right thing, he hoped what he said was true and he hoped that together all of them would be able to overcome their grief. Maybe not today, probably not tomorrow. No, it would take a while, but they would be okay.
"We won't forget him", Omega repeated with a certain determination in her voice.
"Never", Hunter replied. They looked at each other and smiled, Hunter squeezing her shoulder again. Then he bent down and grabbed some snow which he pressed into a ball.
"What do you think kid, want to give Wrecker a cold surprise?"
He grinned at her at she didn't need to be told twice as she immediately grabbed some snow for herself.
"Let's go!", she exclaimed and pulled Hunter with her towards an unknowing Wrecker.
Hunter thought about Tech for another second, imagined his smart little brother watching over them. They would be okay. Eventually. Then all his attention was drawn to a giant mass of snow hitting him straight in the face and a joyful laugh from Omega. He smiled. Yeah, they would be okay.