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This two-parter is once again deticated to the wonderful modern batch art of @transformersluna
I will soon be posting these on Archive of our own but I have to wait on that little mail thingy.
Ps: english is not my first language so please dont be too disappointed in my writing but I wanted as many people as possible to be able to read what I write.
Clutching the steering wheel tightly with his white knuckled hands, he parked on the side of the road leading to the house of Omega's friend Hera. The two met after Omega's prolonged period of isolation at school and soon became inseparable. So it was no surprise that Hera, who was throwing a big party (supervised, of course) for her 15th birthday, made Omega her special festivities coordinator.
When Hunter dropped her off there that afternoon, he promised to pick her up again, no later than 9 p.m. Rolling her eyes and pointing out that she wasn't a baby anymore that needed constant supervision, they finally agreed on 9:30 p.m. Wide victory smile, she skipped up the stairs to Hera's house and fell into her friend's arms on the porch. Hera's father behind them putting up garlands and fairy lights on the porch roof. He waved at Hunter with a friendly smile, and of course Hunter returned the gesture. And with another wave from Omega, he started the car and drove back home. Biting his lips, he thought of her last words.
-Hunter I'm not a baby anymore-
Something strange twisted in his chest at those words, accompanied by the usual turmoil of guilt. If only they had taken her out of Nala Se's poisonous hands sooner. He refused to call her a mother for what she did to each of them. But that was all over now, and Tech had already told him at least 100 times that, technically, since he didn't know about Omega at all until, she was 9 years old, it wasn't his fault.
However, after they learned of her existence, the top priority was to get her out of the abusive household of Nala Se as soon as possible. This turned out to be much more difficult than anticipated. A long uphill battle that Hunter and his brothers fortunately won. Omega had had to overcome a lot since then. But she had always been able to count on each of them. All Hunter ever wished for her was that she could have a normal childhood and grow up protected. Only, unfortunately, she didn’t have a chance to start that sooner. Bittersweet. He knew everything was better now.
He heard someone shouting behind him and stared into the rearview mirror. A shock of blond hair crept up to the side of the blue work truck. Turning around she waved once more and then reached for the driver's door.
''You're late.'' he sighed, eyebrows raised.
''Just-'' she turned her left wrist ''15 minutes. Sorry,'' she hissed. The apology only half-serious and delivered in a Chrosshair eske tone. He didn't even had to look at his sister, her eye roll almost audible. Defiance graced her face. He shook his head. She seemed to be downright looking for trouble with her brothers lately. Hunter remembered that teenage years were unpleasant but staying calm about a behavior he wouldn't let any of his brothers get away with was particularly challenging. Cross, to everyone's surprise, seemed to be the best at dealing with it. Showed her patience and understanding when no one else had any left. Hunter envied him for that.
Eventually it all would pass, Echo had said, and he clung tightly to that. Swallowing, he turned his head toward her.
''How was it?" he tried to start again.
''Great-'' Her voice sounded dishonest and pressed but for some reason Omega tried to fool him with a smile. She slid down in the passenger seat and leaned her head against the window. -not a good sign- Her features twitched whenever a streetlight illuminated her face. At the next traffic light, he eyed her more closely. Her nose was slightly red, her eyes glassy and dull. An outsider would probably not have noticed this, but Hunter knew better. No something was definetly up. -Was that why she was late?-
''You want to tell me what's going on?’’ His free hand reached for hers but she was faster and quickly slipped it into her jacket pocket. A sting to his heart. ''No. I just want to go home.'' A mixture of exasperation and anger. He pressed his lips together and nodded. With the radio murmuring softly in the background, he began to think.
Was it time for her monthly thing again? He thought back - A quick math break later established not for another two weeks or so- that couldn’t be it then. He cast her a suspicious look out of the corner of his right eye. When that became an issue some time ago, he was very grateful that Tech had taken over that particular conversation. He was very nonchalant and matter of fact about these kinds of situations and everyone, including Omega, appreciated that.
Something seemed to slide heavily into his stomach. He swallowed hard against it. What if someone tried to make advances on her? What if she tried to fight back? He kept hearing on the news that all kinds of things like that happened to young women. Why had he let her go to that stupid party? He growled.
''Hunter- I think Wrecker would prefer if you leave the steering wheel in the car.'' Omega turned to him with a startled look. He looked at his cramped hands which seemed to have parked the car by themselves in front of their house. Unease shook him to his very core. Something seemed to snap behind his pupils.
''We're going to talk about this now.'' his voice almost shouting in the standing car. She put on a pouty face. Her specialty. ''It can't go on like this. We're all not going to take this much longer, and you know that very well.'' Any bottled-up frustration seemed to spill out of him all at once. He knew it wasn't fair to take it out on someone half his age but he couldn't help himself. Maybe a good scolding would finally get her to open up. Heart hammering in his chest, he turned in the seat with his whole body facing her. He saw her blink heavily, heard a gulp and immediately regretted what he was doing. ''Omega-'' he started softly. But it was already too late.
She fled out the door, huffing and sniffling, and slammed the car shut with way more force than needed. He jumped out of the truck and tried to catch up with her. But she was faster. Without taking off her shoes or petting Gonky, she trudged loudly up the stairs to her room.
''Hello?’’ Echo's voice faded from the left side of the house cut off by the slamming of the upper bathroom door.
"LEAVE the house alone, will Ya?" Hunter called after her. He heard something muffled yelling back at him but for everyone’s sake he ignored it.
Hunter's footsteps came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. The squeak from the upper floors attic stairs announced her withdrawal. With another heavy sigh, he sat down on the steps and began to take off his shoes. The little Cat coming closer. Her green eyes sparkling. She meowed softly. ''Hey Gonky-" he stretched his hand further out. ,,Don’t worry. I didn’t forget about you.'' the little grey cat pressed her head affectionately against his shin. He nuzzled the back of her neck with his fingertips. Purring loudly, he lifted her in his arms and went into the living room to join his brothers.
"Well, that didn't seem to go over nicely." Tech chided. His eyes fixated on Hunters expression. He shrugged his shoulders, sitting down beside him. Gonky still in his arms.
"Seems to be her new usual if you ask me." He stared at the TV, not realizing it was turned off. "I cant seem to get through to her." He lowered his eyes on the cat. His breath hitched. "I yelled at her."
Wrecker gasped, Echo and Techs expressions remained neutral patiently waiting for him to continue with his confession. "And Echo before you try to lecture me- I know I shouldn't have. But I tried to guilt trip her to telling me what her problem with us is." The little cat massaged his chest with tandem movements. A short silence with muffled sounds above them followed.
Ever the observant one, Tech said "You shouldn't take hormonal imbalances evoked by adolescence too personal Hunter." His tone offering neither solace nor rebuke. He picked his crossword puzzle back up and scribbled a word into the white squares. Echo leaned forward, facing him. "She'll come around. She always does." He had a reassuring smile to offer, and Hunter took it gladly. His brother was right. He knew that. Even after a particularly bad mood swing, she still searched the company of her brothers. But Hunter couldn't shake the feeling that this was different. He anticipated the worst.
Trying not to startle Gonky he fumbled in his back pocket for his cell. Message from Cross bright on his screen. A gif from their conversation earlier. Too bad he worked night shifts. He could have needed his youngest brother right now. Hunter clicked the icon and typed.
Is it too late to give her back?
Seconds later, a speech bubble appeared. Three smiley faces with tears of laughter.
Fire station? Give me 15 minutes tops. Every word pinched with sarcasm.
Don’t be late. He jokingly wrote and added a scrouchy face for good measure. Clearly trying to overshadow his own insecurities he felt when it came to her parentage. Damn he loved his little sister, but she could push him to his limits, that was for sure. Cross typing again, Hunter hoped it would be something beneficial. But because it was Crosshair he was talking to; he knew it wouldn’t be.
Don't bash your heads in until I get back. I have to hold the camera after all. A gif of a monkey cartoon character swinging his wooden bat. Have to work now. Fucking nighttime walk-throughs.
Huffing he clicked the power button of his cell. Gonky slowly awoke from her tandem movements and began to creep across Hunter's lap between Tech and his crossword puzzle, which he had since finished. They heard heavy footsteps again, complemented by the crashing sound of glass and a loud drawn-out groan. What had gotten into her? Before the party she had seemed ok. Fine even, more than usual in the recent weeks.
His pulse raced as he rose from the couch. Tech pushed Gonky off his lap. ''I'll be right behind you.'' Hunter held him back with one hand and shook his head. No. he had to fix this on his own. To make her feel better about what the hell was bothering her. Starting now.
SOMEONE PLEASE DRAW HER AND ALL HER BROTHERS CRYING IN THEIR OWN WAY!!!! Pretty please please please 🤙🙏
I would like to thank the @bad-batch-week discord for giving me the prompt “what the batchers would do if they weren’t soldiers”, that led me to this.
Crosshair: Now Cross absolutely will not let anyone see that he’s crying. But he is. She’s just so darn adorable and he can’t cope. He’s so proud of his vod’ika, she was so nervous and took some coaxing to do this, and she’s doing so great.
Wrecker: Standing. Ovations. Every scene Wrecker is on his feet or letting everyone know that’s his little sister! Crosshair and Tech remind him to save the cheering and applause to the end of the show. He’s so proud he could burst, the tears are flowing, and he whispers to remind his brothers of this every five minutes.
Tech: Omega’s performance is so profound it’s moved him to tears, and he’s not afraid to show it. Out of all of them, he was the least bothered about seeing this school play, but he’s come out of it a changed man. Truly inspired. Is in charge of filming because Echo is crying too hard.
Echo: The proudest of moms. Was so sure he could stay composed but the moment that girl skips onstage he’s gone. Immediately hands the phone for Tech to film because his hands are shaking too much. Scolds Wrecker for the constant standing ovations but secretly wants to do the same. He and Hunter spend most of the show holding onto each other, crying.
Hunter: Utter crying wreck. This man is a mess. He loses his composure the moment she comes onstage. That’s his vod’ika! She waves at him excitedly from the stage and he gives her thumbs up. Everytime she catches his eye, its a thumbs up. He needs a nap after the show because he’s so exhausted from crying. Spends most of the show crying on Echo.
Omega: is literally playing a tree. But she’s having the best time.
- The video of Omega’s performance is a whole mess. Tech is filming, but Crosshair thinks he could do it better. They show the video to Cid and realise it is mainly Crosshair and Tech aggressively whisper-arguing, Wrecker cheering, and Hunter and Echo could be heard sobbing in the background. (this one is inspired by @writegowrite‘s contribution to this thread).
- Omega gets a louder cheer for playing a tree, than the kids playing the main parts. The Bad Batch have NO shame. Some find it adorable, though.
- They absolutely pick Omega up after the show and give her flowers, and celebrate with lemonade “champagne”.
- If Omega falls over during the show, they all have to pin Hunter down before he dives onstage. Omega never loses her cool, though. She owns it, strikes a pose and gets right back on her feet. (another great idea from @writegowrite )
- If Omega has a singing solo, it’s over. The five of them are on the floor in a big crying heap.
Love this especially the Crosshair one
Hello there!
I have written more Headcanons! I do so enjoy writing these.
This one is a sort of continuation of the last one I did, that you can find right here.
So, as the title stipulates, this one is about the Bad Batch reacting to Omega being upset. It’s gonna be slightly AU, as I will be including Crosshair. Our boys aren’t really shown to be processing their emotions as they are constantly on the move (and are apparently built to withstand stress), so I thought I’d write a little something about how I think they would help Omega process her emotions.
Warnings: Fluff galore! Lots and lots of it. There will be quite a bit of angst and minor mentions of violence. Slightly AU. Some swearing (both English and Mando’a – forgive me if the Mando’a isn’t right. I relied heavily on the internet for the translations). Also, I never got it proof read so sorry in advance if there's any grammar/spelling mistakes!
Happy reading!
Hunter:
· We all know Hunter is stoic and acts like a tough, no-nonsense leader, but under that dark and broody façade is a sweet man who loves Omega with all his heart. She is very precious to him and he’s very glad that they took her with them when they escaped from Kamino.
· She managed to push past his tough exterior and unlock emotions within him that he didn’t even know he had. Watching her grow as a person and experience the galaxy brings him so much happiness and he’s glad that he gets to experience it with her.
· So, when Omega is hurting, he hurts too, and not just because he can sense when she is upset by the way her breathing changes or the sounds of her very quiet sobs that anyone else would struggle to hear.
· He doesn’t like seeing her sad but, in the beginning, he doesn’t quite know what to do when she’s upset, as he’s never really had to deal with an upset child before.
· He doesn’t really go for physical contact with anyone because of his enhanced senses, and at first, he is reluctant to hug her back when she hugs him – usually he would just put his hands on her shoulders and try to talk to her.
· But Omega is too sweet and pure and deserves all the love in the world, so the resolute walls he built up from being a soldier came crashing down and he finally hugged her one day when she was particularly sad and exhausted.
· He just held her close and gently rubbed her shoulders, telling her that everything would be okay, and promised her that he would always be there to look after her. He would never leave her, and he would never let anyone hurt her.
· The hug also puts him at ease too and after a while even his senses become used to it and it doesn’t bother him. He also needs this as much as she does, even if he doesn’t realise it at first. (Tech was right all those months ago when he was rambling about the benefits of a hug).
· He will never push for her to tell him what’s wrong, but will let her know that when she’s ready to talk he will be there to listen and offer support.
· Omega will often fall asleep, safe, and warm, in Hunter’s arms. He sometimes falls asleep too, relieved that he could be there for her and that she was safe in his arms, protected from harm.
Wrecker:
· A lot of people think that Wrecker is just big and loud, so how could he possibly be a comforting presence when someone is upset?
· Well, for one, he is the best hugger out of the Bad Batch and when people are upset, particularly Omega, he is usually the first to notice (after Hunter and his enhanced senses).
· He took to Omega basically straight away when the Bad Batch escaped Kamino with her. They have the same excitable energy and constantly hype each other up.
· They have a very special bond, and he hates seeing her upset and will do anything to see her smile again. Seeing her sad makes him upset and angry. He just wants her to be happy.
· He will scoop her up in his arms and hold her until she calms down, humming a random tune to soothe her.
· He will try to make her laugh by telling awful dad jokes and he will let her hold Lula because Lula helps him when he’s upset. He will also grab the Tooka doll he made her, called AZ, because double the tooka, double the happiness.
· When Omega does finally smile, Wrecker’s heart will soar. He feels that sometimes people judge him and fear him because of his appearance, but when Omega seeks him out when she is upset and he can make her smile again, it makes him realise that maybe people are wrong about him and that he’s wrong about himself - maybe he’s not so scary after all. He does in fact understand the need for subtlety and softness when it comes to comforting someone, despite what appearances suggest.
· When she has calmed down and is ready to talk about what’s wrong, he will be like “Who made you upset? Was it Crosshair? Because I’ll kick his shebs!”
· Once any ass-kickings have been given (if needed), they will seek out some food together (Mantell Mix is a favourite, of course).
· They will laugh and joke and have the biggest grins on their faces, happy to be in each other’s presence.
Tech:
· Tech, the clever clogs that he is, knew how special Omega was from the beginning when he analysed her DNA.
· However, he was still a little awkward around her at first because he, like the rest of his brothers, wasn’t used to having a child around, but they ended up bonding over their mutual love of knowledge and Omega hanging on his every word, especially when it came to teaching her about the Marauder. He likes that she doesn’t brush him off when he tells her facts, and actually asks him more questions and genuinely likes learning what she can from him.
· Now, Tech is a very smart man and has gathered knowledge about what to do if someone is upset, you know, just in case he ever needed to comfort someone.
· In theory, comforting someone seems pretty straightforward, but putting it into practise? Not as straightforward as it seems!
· Omega was upset one day, and usually she would seek out Hunter or Wrecker, but they weren’t there. He knew he had to do something, as he didn’t like to see her upset. But the thought of trying to console her made him slightly uncomfortable. What if he made her feel worse rather than better?
· He pushed his anxiety to the side anyway and asked her what was wrong, but she just sniffed and shook her head, leaving Tech to search his brain for what he should do next. He internally berated himself for being slow in providing comfort, because the longer he took to think of something, the longer Omega was upset.
· After a few long, slightly uncomfortable moments he said “You know, I have read that hugs have been proven to reduce stress and they also release oxytocin- “
· Before he could even finish his sentence, Omega threw her arms around him and held tight. He awkwardly patted her back at first, but then relaxed and hugged her properly. He held her tight and sat quietly for a few moments, letting her get her breathing back under control.
· He also started to feel the benefits of the hug and finished telling Omega why hugs are healthy. She looked up at him and smiled, thanking him for making her feel better. Seeing her smile at him like that made his heart melt and he was so relieved that he could help her feel better. He knew that information about hugs would come in handy one day!
· Omega would then tell the rest of the batchers this and try to get all of them to hug regularly, for the sake of their health! This idea was met with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
Echo:
· Echo wasn’t so sure about having Omega aboard the Marauder at first, mostly because he didn’t think she would be safe travelling with them.
· But then he saw how well she fit in, and he realised that she belonged with them.
· During his time as an ARC trooper, Echo saw some pretty messed up shit on the dangerous missions he was sent on (often with Fives). Some of these missions gave him terrible nightmares, and he would wake up shouting and terrified. Fives would calm him down and hug him, saying “It’s okay, vod, you’re safe”. He would also do the same for Fives if he ever had nightmares. He still has nightmares from when he was imprisoned at Skako Minor.
· One night, Hunter, Wrecker and Tech were out getting supplies, leaving Echo on the ship with Omega and Crosshair. Omega had retired to her room at his request to get some sleep a few hours before.
· He then heard small, quiet whimpers coming from Omega’s little room and immediately went to see if she was ok. By the time he climbed up the ladder, she was awake and looked terrified, and the scared look on her face reminded him of himself and Fives, when they would awaken in the dead of night, from dreams plagued with war and darkness.
· He asked her if she had a nightmare and she nodded her head, so he helped her down the ladder, and took her to sit down in one of the chairs in the cockpit, stopping to get a blanket along the way.
· He put the blanket around her, and she immediately leaned into him, searching for comfort, and he hesitantly put his arms around her, worried that his cybernetics would hurt her.
· However, she didn’t make any sign that his cybernetics bothered her, so he held her more firmly and let her cry, while he whispered, “It’s ok, vod’ika, you’re safe”, just like Fives would whisper to him.
· He let silent tears of his own fall, thinking about how unfair it was that Fives wasn’t there with him, about the war that had taken so many of his brothers. He hated that Omega was going through this, she was too young! He composed himself, putting on the mask of a tough soldier, and asked Omega what her nightmare was about.
· He vowed that night that he would always be there for Omega, no matter what.
Crosshair:
· Crosshair was very against having Omega aboard the Marauder. She was a child, had no combat experience, and would be a liability.
· He found her irritating at first, she and Wrecker were always doing something and were too energetic for his tastes. He tried to avoid her as much he could, which was difficult to do on the Marauder. He was even sarcastic and downright rude to her a few times, which the rest of his brothers reprimanded him for.
· Yet, no matter how sarcastic or unpleasant he was, Omega would still try to talk to him. She always made an effort to ask how he was, to engage him in conversation. And she always made sure he was included in every discussion the group had. She even came to him for advice about shooting her bow on a few occasions.
· She started to grow on him, and after a while he got used to her presence and even started to enjoy it, and he stopped trying to avoid her and actually held conversations with her. She was a little ray of sunlight in their ragtag group. But there was no way in hell he would ever admit that to anyone, he even had trouble admitting that to himself!
· One day, he was asked to stay behind with Omega because she needed a break, whilst the other batchers went to do an easy job for Cid. Apparently Hunter had decided that Wrecker’s, Tech’s and Echo’s skills would be needed more than Crosshair’s for that job.
· He heard Omega crying, and he froze. What the kriff was he supposed to do with a crying child? That was usually Hunter or Wrecker’s territory. Kriff, even Tech and Echo would be a better choice than him.
· But they weren’t there, and he couldn’t very well leave Omega to sit and cry on her own, could he? Even he wasn’t that cold.
· He approached her slowly, and knelt in front of her, intent on asking her what was wrong and trying to fix it as fast as possible. Before he opened his mouth, she threw her arms around him. He sat frozen for what felt like hours, arms limp at his side whilst Omega held him and cried. He brought his arms up and patted her on the back a few times before drawing her slowly away from him and looking at her.
· “Come with me,” he said, and he took her to a little makeshift target practise range he had made for himself to let off some steam when he needed to, making sure she brought her bow with her. They stood side by side like that for a while, Omega shooting her bow and Crosshair occasionally giving her advice on how to shoot more accurately.
· From that point on, Crosshair and Omega became closer and would use the practise range together when everything got a little too much for them. And Crosshair vowed quietly to himself that he would never let anyone harm their little ray of sunshine.
Tag list: @eyecandyeoz @itsjml @kratosfan6632466 @radbatch
(if you wanna be tagged in any of my future stuff just let me know via message!)