Fall Back Into Place - Chapter 4: Hunter Pt. 2

Love this especially the Crosshair one

How the Bad Batch react to Omega being upset (HC’s)

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!)

Hemlock: We have someone you might like to see. *brings Omega*

Crosshair: *pulling Omega towards him* Hurt her and I’ll kill you.

That scene where Crosshair drew his rifle to save Omega and everyone drew their weapons on him because they thought he was going to kill Hunter absolutely gutted me, but I also loved it a lot. Because it showed us a lot about where Crosshair is going, and his relationship with the Bad Batch right now, by doing very little.

Firstly, it showed that Crosshair still cares about The Bad Batch. He knew it would destroy them if anything happened to her. It showed that, on some level, he cares about Omega. He didn’t want her to die. And, most importantly, I think it showed that he still has at least some small sliver of good left buried within him.

However, it also showed that, right now, The Bad Batch does not trust him. They obviously still care about him — you can tell by the way Hunter refused to leave him, the way Omega tried so hard to save his life, the way Wrecker and Tech were hurt that Crosshair never tried to find them just like they never tried to find him. And you can tell by the way they all turn to Crosshair and still offer to take him with them even after everything they’ve done to hurt each other.

….but.

They don’t trust him. And I don’t blame them. Up until Return to Kamino they could excuse Crosshair’s behavior as the inhibitor chip forcing him to do what he’s done. But after Crosshair reveals that his chip was taken out (whether it’s true or not), at this point in time they have to accept that Crosshair chose to attack them. To hurt them. To try and fry them alive in an proton engine. If what Crosshair said is true and his chip is gone, and they don’t know for how long, then that means Crosshair was actively choosing to work against them this whole time. And if Crosshair was choosing to do all of that before, why would he stop now? Especially once he reached safety at the surface of the ocean. It would be so easy for him to just shoot them all, let Omega drown, and take their ship. They see Crosshair draw his rifle on Hunter and have to assume the worst - that he’s going to kill Hunter. Because they have no reason to think he wouldn’t. Hell, in that moment, even my first thought was “what is shooting Hunter going to do” before I realized what he was doing. And I like Crosshair! I want him to be good! I believe that one day he’s going to realize he’s wrong and leave the Empire! But I also recognize that he’s an antagonist, and the Bad Batch has every reason to be wary of him based on what’s happened up to this point and what they know.

I think that moment may have been a big part in Crosshair’s decision to stay behind. Because Hunter and Wrecker and Omega can talk big game about how Crosshair is family and they are willing to take him back and be brothers and sister again. But Crosshair knows they’re afraid of him. He knows they don’t trust him. He knows that if he goes with them, things will never be how they were before. They’ll be looking over their shoulder every time Crosshair sneezes and Crosshair will be walking on eggshells constantly trying to prove to them that he doesn’t want to hurt them. Ultimately, I think choosing not to go with them at this point was the right call. Crosshair needs to redeem himself and prove himself a little for that to happen, and for that to happen he needs to realize that the Empire is wrong. That Crosshair is wrong. And do something about it.

It doesn’t mean that they won’t ever be reunited. It doesn’t mean that they’ll never trust Crisshair again. It doesn’t mean that Crosshair will never realize his mistakes and go back to them. I firmly believe this episode was meant to set up a long-game redemption arc for Crosshair. I think Hunter pointing out that the Empire left him for dead, his interactions to Tech and Wrecker in the tube, and his conversation with Omega in Nala Se’s lab did get through to him enough that the seeds of doubt are planted. You can see the conflict on his face as they’re leaving at the end of the episode. Hopefully with that, combined with how much he obviously still cares for his brothers, he’ll start to realize throughout season 2 that everything he believes about the Empire is wrong. Then hopefully he’ll start the process of making amends and doing the right thing. This episode actually ended up giving me a lot of hope for the future of Crosshair and The Bad Batch.

BOUGHT @galacticproblems stuff before AND I HAVE LOVED EVERYTHING!!!! Need more Omega (wish I could find her and Grogu ANYTHING together since they are my FAVORITE CHARACTERS OF ALL TIME lol and Cross is my favorite sibling for Omega… need more of ANYTHING of her and Cross too… more likely to find last 2 than first lol!)!!!

I HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!

My Tech helmet charms are back in stock, along with some new boys! Fives, Cody, and Wolffe have joined the squad. I have my shop right HERE.

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH SO FAR!!!! I need A LOT of Crosshair and Omega interactions in this pretty pretty please!!!! You are the best for tagging me too!!! READ HER WORK ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A CROSSHAIR AND OMEGA FAN TOO!!!! I’m also super happy it’s not a OC or OC romantic interest fic too…those make me not want to read as much…takes away from their awesome and fantastic dynamic!

Broken: Prologue

Read on Ao3

Chapter 1

A/N: Broken is a TBB Modern AU story I've come up with. Big kudos and shoutout goes to @chaoticvampirejedi for all the encouragement she's given me to work on this, and all the excitement she's showed whenever I told her about it. I hope this lives up to your expectations, Vamp!

If you want to be tagged when I post more of this, sign up here (and let me know if this link doesn't work).

So this is a Crosshair x OC story, and this all stemmed from a thought I had about what the boys would do for a living if they were in the modern world. I hope you all enjoy this!

taglist: @chaoticvampirejedi @pentowrite-wingstofly @groguandthebadbatch

“You ready to go, Sarge?” A baby-faced private asked as he poked his head in Hunter’s tent.

“Yeah, yeah, trooper. I’ll be out in 5,” Hunter answered, tucking his last belonging in his bag. The soldier nodded before ducking out.

“You better hurry up, Sergeant,” Crosshair drawled from where he sat on Hunter’s cot, a toothpick rolling around between his teeth. “Sounds like the kid’s getting impatient.”

Hunter glanced at his brother over his shoulder. “Watch the tone, Cross, or I’m liable to report you for giving attitude to your superior,” he said with a smirk.

Crosshair shrugged, mischief playing in his dark eyes. “A report like that wouldn’t mean much coming from someone who’s not my superior officer anymore…” He pulled out his toothpick and flicked it at Hunter. “Now would it?”

A chuckle escaped the sergeant. He shook his head, muttering, “Oh, Cross, I’m gonna miss you.” He slung his bag over his shoulder as the two of them sauntered outside. They were greeted by the baking Afghani sun and a soft breeze that blew dust around their ankles.

“Don’t worry. You’ll have the pleasure of my company again in two weeks.”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “I can hardly wait.”

Ahead of them, the private was waiting in a jeep, and an older soldier wearing a captain’s insignia leaned against the vehicle. “You all set, Sergeant?” the captain asked.

Hunter nodded. “Yes, sir, Captain Howzer.” He tossed his bag in the back of the jeep. “Ready and itching to get home.”

Howzer chuckled. “I don’t blame you. Army life gets a little tiring after a while, doesn’t it?”

“Actually, sir, I’m just excited to see my kid sister. There ARE some things I’ll miss about the army.”

“Well, the army’ll miss you, Hunter, take my word for it.” Howzer held out his hand, which Hunter heartily shook. “You’re a good soldier and you and your boys have been very successful. If you ever decide to sign on again, I’d be honored to fight by your side.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Hunter offered him a friendly smile. “I appreciate all you’ve done for me and my squad. And if I may speak freely, I feel better knowing they’re going to your command.”

“I’ll do my best by ‘em, Hunter. I promise.”

The men saluted each other. In the jeep, the private asked, “Well, Sarge? To the airfield?”

“One sec, kid.” Hunter turned to Crosshair. “Now, Cross, don’t cause any trouble for the captain, ‘kay? You’re only here till the end of the month, so go easy on him.”

A playful, crooked grin flashed across the sniper's face. “You know I don’t make promises I can’t keep.” He saluted his sergeant, but Hunter just rolled his eyes and pulled him in for a hug. Considering the circumstances, Cross decided not to protest the gesture. He squeezed his brother tight, and they patted each other on the back.

“I’ll miss you, Cross,” Hunter whispered.

Crosshair sighed. “I’ll miss you, too, Hunter.”

Hunter pulled away, holding him at arms’ length. “And seriously, try to stay out of trouble.”

“I will, Hunter. Don’t worry.”

One more hug and Hunter hopped in the jeep.

“Hey, Hunt?” Crosshair called over the start of the engine.

“Yeah?”

“Tell the others ‘hi’ for me, will ya?”

“You got it.”

“And…” His gaze fell to the ground before he lifted it back to Hunter. “Give Omega a hug for me… Please.”

A look of shock was quickly replaced by one of the softest smiles Crosshair had ever seen on his brother’s tattooed face. “I will, Cross. But I’d still better see YOU give her a hug when you join us, okay?”

“Don’t worry. Tell her I’ll give her one personally in two weeks.”

Hunter nodded as the jeep moved forward. “I will, brother. See ya soon!” He waved over his shoulder, the vehicle kicking up a trail of dust as it drove off towards the airfield.

Cross waved until the jeep disappeared over the crest of a hill. Howzer rested a hand on his shoulder. “You alright, Crosshair?”

The sniper nodded, pulling a toothpick out of his pocket and sticking it between his teeth. “Yes, sir. I’m alright.”

Only two more weeks…

I NEED OMEGA & CROSS INTERACTIONS lol! Omega & Grogu are my favorite characters of all time! Cross is my favorite sibling for Omega. I NEED MORE OF THEM OF ANYTHING! Can’t find many fanfics WITHOUT adding random OC/Reader Insert/ROMANTIC relationships (prob picky, with my childhood trauma I want is to find ones WITHOUT a lot of those/specifically romantic ones with main batchers. I FEEL RUDE). Home bound disabled vet with chronic illnesses, ALL of your guy’s fics/pics/etc MEAN THE WORLD TO ME!

He may not actually want it...but he’s getting one in Season 3.

If I see one more thing villainizing Crosshair for everything he’s doing while literally being mind controlled it is ON SIGHT

Yes this big bad villain who WANTS to gun down his SQUAD, the only people that ever accepted him for the SNARK that he is, when you can see so many times how soft he is with them

“Relax, Wrecker. You’ll top him next time.” “No he won’t.”

After one upping Wrecker he clearly is having fun teasing him. You can hear the grin on his face. He loves being with them even though he’d probably rather die than admit it.

“But OP!” You might say. “OP, he hates regs! He antagonized CAPTAIN FREAKING REX how can you say this??” Now I’m not one to ever tolerate someone smack talking regs and certainly not Rex. But I’m gonna surprise y’all, he was justified. Yeah he was extremely harsh and was absolutely gunning for Rex’s buttons, but A. He just said what literally everyone else on that mission was thinking (that maybe Rex was getting too emotionally involved) and B. We see from Aftermath that many regs honestly treated TBB like GARBAGE. Of course Crosshair wouldn’t find it worthwhile to go out of his way to help one.

We jump straight from Rex literally DECKING him (valid on Rex’s part) over Echo to CROSSHAIR PROTECTIVELY PUTTING HIS HAND ON ECHO’S SHOULDER TO STEADY HIM. Why would it matter to let one more reg fall to his death? Because Crosshair isn’t the emotionless, heartless, and callous soldier he spends all of his time convincing everyone he is.

To everyone saying he’s not pulling his shots in the recent episode, I rewatched every episode he was in back to back. He did not miss once. Not a single time. And now suddenly he’s missing shots on Tech and Hunter? Twice? Sounds like he’s fighting the chip if you ask me. Just like Rex did when he told Ahsoka to find Fives; it’s possible to get bits of himself through the cracks, if only for a split second before he’s gone again.

And I’m ending this with the gif of when Hunter invites Echo to be a Bad Batcher. Despite Crosshair’s obvious distaste for regs, he clearly has no problem following Hunter’s lead and accepting someone new into their very niche squad. He never questioned Hunter on anything that we saw, and I doubt he did very much prior to Order 66 judging by Hunter’s horror at Crosshair’s lack of acknowledgment on Kaller. He is not a villain. He’s yet another clone that never deserved the life he was constructed for, another clone with no agency or choice. I will die on this hill

Love this! And love that Cross is in it too. Omega is the biggest reason why I love that Cross is back in this! Wish Crosshair came back especially for Omega And I feel like Echo and Omega have a very special relationship.

ECHO AND OMEGA DESERVED MORE TIME TOGETHER, AND I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL! I MEAN LOOK AT THIS PICTURE! LOOK AT IT! THERE ARE SO MANY TINY MOMENTS LIKE THIS THAT NEED TO BE EXPANDED ON JUST

*screeches Filoni*

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Cartoon) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo & Omega (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) Characters: CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo, Omega (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) Additional Tags: CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo Needs a Hug, CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo has PTSD, Omega Needs a Hug (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Hurt Omega (Star Wars: The Bad Batch), Protective CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo Summary:

Omega has been kidnapped by bounty hunters…Echo helped to find her.

Omega was yanked back into the ship when Hunter falls…Echo comforted her.

Omega was shaken to the core entering Nala Se’s Private Lab…Echo saw her.

Now, that is all over, Echo reassures her he will never leave her.