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Safety in Something Familiar

Summary:

The Bad Batch ends up stranded on a planet in the outer rim and meets up with a somewhat familiar face.

Chapter 1: Desolate Unkown

Summary:

A crash landing

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“I thought you fixed that part!”

“I thought I did too! Stop yelling at me and hang on to something this isn’t going to be pleasant!”

Shouting rang throughout the small ship as it hurdled its way towards the planet. The crew wasn’t even meant to be this far out, but yet here they were headed head first into an endless sand dune. 

“I hope the ship makes it out of this one!” A small voice pipes up amongst the various yelling. 

“The ship? What about us! It’ll be a miracle if we survive a drop like this” Echo rolls his eyes, clutching onto the harness of the seat as best as possible.

“Everyone shut up and hang on! We’re about to make contact” Hunter raises his voice to silence his team. They have been through worse, but not by far. Seconds after he commands silence, everyone braces for impact in their seats and the ship’s hull digs itself into the dune. If there was anyone nearby they would have been able to see the large sand cloud that accompanied it. But alas this was an endless desert, and the Bad Batch was never lucky enough to have someone conveniently nearby to help them.

Hours passed by, but it only seemed like a few moments for the clones as they slowly regained consciousness. Hunter was first to open his eyes, doing a quick scan of the state of the ship. The ship had also been through worse, but it was going to be a while before the Marauder was back in the air. The pilot's seat had broken off, many of the screens had shattered, and all of their personal belongings that weren’t strapped down had landed directly in the cockpit thanks to the sharp ninety  degree angle they had crashed at. Using his quick look around the room to make sure he could see straight, he looked around at the state of his team. Hunter noticed that most of his team had stayed in their seats with the harness still intact.

Hunter let out a groan as he made an attempt to move his arm, wanted to unclip his own seat harness, “alright sound off- Omega.”

Hunter made it a point to do role calls after any near-death experience, crash, or cave in. Once Omega had joined the team, her name replaced Echo’s as being the first one called. But yet when he called her name he was met with silence. He hated that. Nothing more terrifying than someone not being able to answer during role call. 

“Omega?” He called louder.

“I see her! She’s trapped under the pilot's chair. Hold on.” Echo called out as he unclipped his own seat harness and carefully descended into the cockpit of the ship. Now knowing that Echo was alright and currently preoccupied recusing Omega from the pile of stuff she got buried under, Hunter skipped his name and moved on. 

“Tech”

“Somehow still alive.” The man in question was sitting to his right, glasses crooked, and arm bruised, but nothing serious.

“Wrecker”

Wrecker just let out a groan as he did his best to wake up. He was alive, just most likely concussed. Hunter let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding; everyone was perfectly fine. Somehow Omega was the only one to get flung out of the seats this time. 

Hunter used parts of the now broken ship to climb towards the exit, motioning for everyone to do the same. Tech nodded and unclicked the harness carefully so as to not fall down in the cockpit himself. He then moved to assist Wrecker out of his seat before helping him ascend the ship. Hunter climbed out of the door and pulled himself out of the ship, taking a small tumble as he fell into the sand. The drop out of the door of the ship was higher than he originally thought it was.

"All clear!” He yelled after doing a quick survey of the area. He couldn’t see anything but sand for miles. 

Wrecker made an attempt at moving carefully out of the ship but landed on his back after taking the seven-foot drop. Still in pain from the crash, Wrecker opted to lay on the ground for a bit longer. Unlike his brothers, Tech was successful in carefully climbing down the side of the Marauder. 

“Where…are we?” Hunter questioned, mainly to himself.

“Judging by the endless sands and the two suns, I would have to say Tatooine.”

“Tatooine? How the hell did we get all the way out here.”

“Because you did a shit job of fixing the hyperdrive that’s how!” Echo’s voice boomed from the doorway of the Marauder. Tech and Hunter turned to look up at him and were quick to notice that he was carrying an unconscious Omega on his back.

"Well how was I supposed to know that the suppressors were bad?"

"That's your whole thing! Knowing things!" Echo argued as he descended.

"Well, I don't know everything " Tech huffed and crossed his arms.

"You don't?" Wrecked looked up at him with a squint.

Once Echo carefully descended the ship, Hunter was quick to meet him on the ground to help Omega. As soon as he passed the child over, he took no time before marching over to Tech. "I told you that the hyperdrive was broken but you didn't listen." 

Hunter rolled his eyes but did his best to ignore their squabbling. The fact that Omega still hadn’t woken up yet was beginning to make him worry. Well, worry more. He knew how to check pupils for a concussion, which she thankfully didn’t have. But he wasn’t sure if it was something worse, they needed to find a town or at the very least a random traveler to help them. He moved Omega onto his back and stood carefully before addressing the group, who were still bickering. "Alright that's enough! Arguing is not going to fix this mess, now c'mon. There's got to be some kind of civilization nearby."


The heat was nearly unbearable, especially to a group of people wearing black armor and basically skintight black suits underneath said armor. Not to mention the sand that had let itself into all the nooks and crannies of their plastoid armor. The group individually had half a thought to remove their armor, but quickly realized that carrying it in their arms would be more of a hassle then wearing it. 

Omega had woken up at some point during their journey. Thankfully for everyone's sanity she was perfectly fine, just a splitting headache and some light bruising. Once Tech gave her a quick once over with his handheld multi-purpose device, she was given the all clear to walk on her own. Echo and Hunter explained the situation as best as they could to her on the way. She had a lot of questions that they weren’t sure how to answer, but she seemed happy enough to be with everyone.  

The plan was to see how much repairs for the ship would be, and most likely have to find a place to camp out for a while till it gets fixed. Not to mention sending Cid her least favorite kind of update. Aka that they were going to be late…very late. None of them even knew if she would even get their message due to how far out they were. 

As they walked Tech was trying to wrack his brain around what had happened. He always double, sometimes triple, checks everything in the ship before they take off for a longer mission. During his routine check, nothing came up as broken or malfunctioning. Yet the hyperdrive still messed up. Normally when a ship has a malfunctioning hyperdrive, it just means that it's unusable or only usable for short distances. This mistake had flung them farther into space than they wanted to be and shorted out many of their other necessities upon leaving hyperspace. He was almost angry at himself for not seeing the mistake, but the confusion on how something like that happened under the radar of his very thorough checks was stronger. 

He was so lost in his own annoyance that he hadn’t noticed how much time had passed. When Echo finally called his name for the third time, he realized that the batch finally stumbled upon a small town. Small stone huts scattered the perimeter; each building had a moister tower outside of it, but the main heart of the town was surrounded by larger stone walls. It didn't look like anything fancy, but it was civilization and that's all they wanted. 

Strolling around town felt more tense than it usually did. They were used to the stares at this point. It didn't matter if they had their helmets on or not, people were always wary of them. Hunter was the first to remove his helmet, taking in the humid putrid air. His bandana was already drenched in sweat, and he could feel stray hairs sticking to his face. He hated this planet already. But there was no time to complain, they needed to split up to cover more ground. Hunter turned to his team to give them their tasks. 

"Tech, Echo, ask around for anyone that knows how to fix a ship or at least has the parts. Wrecker, see if you can find us some food. Omega and I will figure out where we are and get water." 

Everyone gave a nod of acknowledgment as they were given their missions before walking in opposite ways. Tech and Echo seamlessly resumed their argument from the ship as they walked away. Omega turned to Hunter with a smile. That smile meant that was she wanted to go exploring and was silently asking. Hunter rolled his eyes slightly before ushering her in a different direction. The kids love for exploring new places was going to be the end of him.

Hunter had never been to Tatooine before, had only heard stories of the endless desert and how difficult water was to come by. Thankfully, the team had just finished a high paying job for Cid right before they got thrust into this one. The two wandered the streets, doing their best to blend in. There were a few food stands, open bars and closed off cantinas, and a handful of shops. It didn't take long for he and Omega to learn that they were in Mos Eisley. A small town that was most known for it being one of the few places in Tatooine with a pretty good but also functioning space port. Hunter had a feeling that’s where Echo and Tech ended up. 

He was already starting to hate this place. With a sigh, he headed towards one of the shops. Not really sure what else to do but to ask someone where to go. The clone wasn't really sure what he was looking for, practically guessing at this point. But he was never wrong. The shop that they happened to stumble into was just the place they needed. 

During a majority of the walk around town, Omega had stayed by his side. Trying to be better about not running off on her own without warning. She didn't mean to get in trouble, she was just a naturally curious child who loved to explore. The child followed Hunter into the shop and opted to sit patiently on one of the stools as they waited for the shopkeeper to grab the barrel. As she looked out of the shop's entryway into the slow stream of civilians just going about their day. One caught her attention. A man in a brown cloak, hiding his face. After glancing up at Hunter to check if the coast was clear, she hopped out of her chair and quietly walked to the doorway. The man didn't seem like a threat, something about him even intrigued her. She looked back at Hunter, who hadn't noticed that she left her chair and thought about heading out just for a second. Surely Hunter wouldn't notice that. Right?

Once again, her curiosity got the better of her and she headed out into the street. As she closed the distance between her and the hooded man, she spoke with a smile. "Excuse me sir! Hi there!"

The man turned his body to look at her, face contorting into a few different emotions before landing on confusion. "I'm sorry, are you talking to me?"

"Yeah! Sorry to bother you but do you know any good places to repair a ship? Ours crashed pretty bad a few hours from here. So, we’re just asking around!" 

"I- no I'm sorry you're better off asking someone else." The stranger adjusted some of the fabric around his body, almost as if he was trying to hide under it more than he already was.

"Omega! There you are!" Unbeknownst to Omega, Hunter had caught up to her already. His boots stopped next to hers before turning to the stranger. "Sorry to trouble you sir, she has a habit of running off." 

The stranger watched as Hunter turned his gaze to give a disappointed sigh to the small child. He was saying something, but the man was too focused on his face. It was a face he knew all too well and had spent the last year and a half trying to forget. Not only did he recognize Hunter's face, but the tattoo on his face. The stranger felt his stomach twist into knots as a wave of sudden anxiety washed over him.

Hunter looked back to the man, just intending on making sure he wasn't dangerous. Instead, the men locked eyes. Piercing blue eyes gazing into Hunter's soul in a way that should have felt uncomfortable and invasive but didn't, it almost felt...calming. He stared back, trying to make sense of the situation. Then it hit him, just like the blue waves he saw in the stranger's eyes. He knew this face. He never forgot a face, even if he had only seen the face in person once and on a holo a handful of times. Hunter never forgot a face, but especially not one so distinct as the one in front of him. 

Hunter opens his mouth to speak, but his voice is so quiet that even he's unsure if he heard it. "...you..."

The man's eyes widen for a moment before he tears his eyes away from the Clone. He wants to reply, or at least apologize, but thinks better of it before turning away from the pair fully and walking away.

"There's no way," Hunter whispers to himself.

"Well, that was weird!" Omega says loudly, knocking Hunter out of his thought spiral before it can even start. Hunter doesn't respond, and just turns back around to lead Omega back to the shop. 


Another hour passed before the team reunites around the center of town to discuss their findings. Wrecker was successful in getting a decent amount of food for the group, he was very proud of himself for not eating half of it on the way over despite how hungry he was. Omega passed out the water that she and Hunter bought as Tech and Echo explained the tired look on their faces.

"It's going to take a week. At least." Tech stated, as if ripping off a Band-Aid. 

Wrecker let out a loud groan, "A week!"

"It will take a few days to get someone out there that can pull the ship out of the sand, and then even more time to fix it enough to fly again. It would be best to only do bare minimum until we can get back to Ord Mantell quickly. Cid was already displeased that we were going to be late again." 

"Good idea. We'll just have to find a place to camp out for the week then." Hunter said with a nod, earning a groan from both Wrecker and Omega. It’s not like they had much of a choice, no ship means no cool air or going anywhere else but here. 

"We could always go back to the ship. Camp around it!" Wrecker suggested, taking a bite out of the food he bought.

"I would rather not be out in the open while in the middle of the desert. This is Tatooine after all." Tech retorted, readjusting his glasses. 

"If we stay around here, we might run into people like that weird guy again!" Omega said matter of factly. She didn't mean it as an insult, weird was good in her eyes. 

"Weird guy?" Questioned Echo. 

"Yeah! I was just asking around about where to fix the ship, he said no, stared at Hunter for a bit, and then ran off." 

"We get stares all the time kid, I probably just got recognized as a clone. Nothing to worry about. Try to forget about the ‘weird guy’, we need to figure out where to stay for the next few days." 


They ended up setting up camp just outside of town. Wrecker and Echo had made a trip to gather some of their things from the ship, as well as to make sure no one saw it as junk and stripped it for parts. Thankfully it was still intact when they arrived. That night as they drifted off to sleep, everyone huddled together for warmth, Hunter's eyes remained open. He normally had trouble sleeping due to his senses being overloaded or there being too much to think about. This time was different. He couldn't place the reason, but he kept thinking about the stranger from earlier.

Hunter never forgets a face; he knew that one. He knew he was right, yet he couldn't help but second guess himself. He couldn't be all the way out here, could he?

Notes:

Yeah idk what this is either- more on the way!

Chapter 2: Drawn to You

Summary:

Hunter has a feeling he can't seem to shake so he decides to follow it.

Chapter Text

The next morning the team woke up groggy and stiff, no one slept well. Most of the members of the bad batch were very slow risers. Hunter always woke up first, but that was due to his lack of sleep. Then Tech, who normally spent the first hour in silence but still awake. Then Wrecker would be bursting with energy as soon as his brain woke up all the way. Echo was always last, and needed multiple cups of caf to even begin to think properly. Omega was their only outlier. She didn’t have a sleep schedule like the rest of them did, she fell asleep when she wanted to and woke up just the same. If this were any other day the schedule would continue as normal-

But this was not a normal day. Hunter had been awake for hours by the time Tech finally sat up. He rubbed at his eyes before putting his glasses on, seeing that Omega was also already awake and pacing around their little campsite. With a silent sigh he moved to stretch his arms, his body wasn’t the biggest fan of sleeping on the ground all night. Omega was quick to notice his movement and bounded over to him with a smile, already way too energetic for this early in the morning. 

"What are we going to do the next few days while we wait for the ship to be fixed?" 

"There isn't much we can do at the moment Omega, but I believe our next action should be finding a place that sells caff." Tech rubbed the crook of his neck, attempting to get rid of the new ache. Echo let out a grunt of agreement next to him.  

"Can I go explore while you do that?" The child's eyes lit up in excitement, as she looked around expectantly over at the others, mainly looking over to Hunter for permission. 

Normally whenever Omega asked to do something dangerous, Hunter was quick to shut her down with his signature tired dad sigh. To Tech’s very tired surpise, Hunter stayed silent. He had spent the night watching the stars, barely getting any rest. He managed to sleep for a little of an hour without realizing it, but something was keeping him awake. Hunter woke up just in time to see the suns rise as he sat on a small rock close to their camp. Watching the two suns rise was beautiful, but his eyes kept drifting to one specific spot on the horizon. And he was still sitting upon that rock, as the rest of the team woke up. 

"Hunter, are you alright? You have been acting a bit…strange since yesterday" he heard Tech say.

"Yeah I'm alright. Just a feeling I can't seem to shake" 

"That's never good, we should get out of here." Echo finally speaks, voice still hoarse from sleeping in the dry air. He sits up slowly, rubbing at his eyes. His brain may be running on zero caf but he still knows that when Hunter has a feeling he can't shake it means trouble, specifically trouble for them. 

"No it's not the usual kind. It's almost like...I'm missing something. Like a piece to a puzzle"

Wrecker, who had been doing his best to wake up, finally spoke in a voice as gruff and energetic as usual. "You do puzzles? Since when?"

"Is that what you do when you're not sleeping? Puzzles? How interesting." Tech rose an eyebrow.

"Oh shut it both of you!" Hunter groaned, turning away from the horizon to face the group. "I just have this feeling that I'm close to…something" 

"Is that what that feeling is?" Omega questioned, causing everyone to turn with various shocked expressions. "I don't really know how to describe it though…it's kind of a weird tugging feeling"

"Yes, that's exactly it!" Hunter felt a twinge of excitement pull his lips into a smile.

"Yeah! It started after I talked to that weird guy yesterday!" 

Hunter didn't admit it out loud, but that's when the pulling feeling started for him. He's had that feeling before, just less intense and it always went away after a few hours. Whenever he felt the strange pull, he would always follow it blindly, and it would never steal him wrong. In the past whenever he followed the feeling to reunite with his team, to shelter and safety. It's been acting up more and more since Omega joined their little group, but the pull would also lead him back to her. But this time was different, they weren't in any immediate danger, everyone but Crosshair was accounted for (but they were fully aware of where he was). So Hunter couldn't help but feel troubled by the overwhelming tug at his very being. Yet he still wanted to follow it, tracking things was in his blood after all. 

"Can we kriffing figure this shit out later, after we locate some damn Caf" Echo grumbled. 

"Echo!" Hunter snapped.

"Hey you want the filter back on? Caf. Now." 

"It's okay Hunter! I already know all those words" Omega giggled, "I did grow up on Kamino too remember." 

A while ago Hunter laid down the rule to limit the cursing around Omega if at all possible, Echo was the worst at this. He was too used to hanging around Fives and the rest of the 501st, that added with the chaotic energy of the Bad Batch, swearing came somewhat naturally to him. And now that he was extremely un-caffeinated, his 'Hunter Approved Filter' that he's been working on was nowhere to be seen. 

Hunter ran his hand across his face with a sigh, “Omega and I will go back into town and locate the caf, the rest of you stay here.”

“Not gonna argue with that.” Echo grumbled again, already moving to lay back down. The ground wasn’t super comfortable, but if it meant closing his eyes for another twenty minutes then it was worth the back pain. 

Hunter didn’t feel great about separating the group again, but as he looked out to his half awake team, he realized that just taking Omega would be the best option for everyone involved. Tech needed his moment of silence before going about his day, and Hunter knew that. He could already see Wrecker’s body trudging its way over to the food he bought the other day, Wrecker needed to eat as soon as he woke up and Hunter knew that. Hunter also knew that Echo would be a problem if not outright difficult to deal with if not properly caffeinated. So taking only the hyperactive child with him was the only option. 

“Do you think that guy will be in town again?” Omega asked as they walked. Neither of them had any idea why she was so stuck on this random stranger she spoke to the day before, but Hunter would be lying if he said that he wasn’t wondering the same thing. He decides to just shrug in response and continues their walk in silence. 


Ten cups of caf split not even close to evenly later, the team was finally at full consciousness all around. After Echo had downed his seventh cup of caf, with his verbal filter fully restored. Omega wasted no time in repeating her question from earlier.

“Sooooo….what now?”

“Bored already I see.” Tech stated before taking the final sip of his drink.

“I’ve never been to a place like this before! If we don’t have anything to do while we wait, why don’t we go exploring!”

“Now Omega, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Tatooine is nothing but endless deserts, no one knows what's out there.” Echo moved his eyes from the child to Hunter, who seemed lost in thought again. “Right Hunter?”

“Huh?” Hunter tore his eyes away from the horizon and looked to his group. He honestly hadn’t been paying that much attention, which was scarily unlike him. His whole thing is paying attention to everything . So when he turned to his team looking slightly caught off guard, the expression of their faces shifted to something akin to concern. 

“It’s a bad idea for her to go exploring right?” Echo repeated.

“...I’ll go with her this time. A bit of walking around will help pass the time.”

“Really!” Omega cheered.

“Let me guess, you’re going to head west?” Tech gave a slight point in the direction where Hunter’s eyes had been glued all morning. He watched as his brother's eyes expanded in surprise. “It was not very hard to guess. You have been looking in that direction since I woke up, and judging by your terrible sleeping habits, I am going to guess that you had been there for many hours before that. Something is troubling you Hunter, you are not very hard to read.”

“He’s got a point! Hey I got an idea, why don’t we all go!” Wrecker suggested with a wide grin. 

“I’d be fine with that. Been kinda wondering what’s had his attention all morning. And as Hunter said, it’ll help pass the time.” Echo gave a small shrug before crossing his arms. 

Hunter’s gaze moved around the group. The pulling feeling hadn’t left his body, and he wanted to follow it. Oh he wanted to follow it so badly. The feeling had been incredibly intense during the sunrise, but since then it has lessened. Still present and overwhelming, just less so. As if it were a boiling pot of water simply cooled down to a simmer. He wasn’t originally planning on going in that direction out right, just hoping to end up there by chance…wherever there is. Now that the team was in agreement for their next ‘mission’, he nodded and began to lead the way. 


The walk was long, and hot, and full of complaints from the others. Echo regretted agreeing to this trip nearly immediately, but still followed Hunter as he always had. The other three trusted Hunter and Omega with their lives, but this walk was testing it. The batch trudged their way through sand dune after sand dune, simply allowing their leader and their newest recruit to lead them somewhere interesting. But said leader and new recruit were simply following a feeling. A strange tug at their very soul. As they got closer to a cluster of rocks and mountains, Hunter felt the feeling get stronger. They were close. Close to what, he still had no idea, but it had to be something . Omega was all for following the strange need to head west, but she could almost tell that whatever Hunter was feeling was way more intense then what she had. Hers felt like a light hand guiding her somewhere, no pain, not making her unaware of her surroundings. But Hunter had been silent for the majority of the walk, eyes searching for something- anything.

Eventually Hunter leads the team to a small cave with nothing but a small moisture tower outside of it. His chest felt like it was about to cave in from the intense pressure, still he continued to move ignoring Tech and Echo’s comments about how this could be someone’s home. Even Omega was a little hesitant at entering the cave, but she trusted Hunter enough to follow. As did everyone else. 

Fifteen steps from the entrance they reached an opening. This was most definitely someone's home. A dark brown cloak hung from a hook mounted on the wall to their right, a small (but sad) kitchenette in the right corner, a bed roll laid out on the floor next to the left wall, and…a man meditating. Upon seeing the man, the intense pressure on Hunter’s chest lifted nearly immediately. The pulling feeling was gone, and now Hunter was hyper aware of his surroundings once again. He had entered someone’s home without permission, and his whole team just…let him lead them inside. Thankfully, the man had yet to notice their presence. Hunter took that as a blessing from some higher power and turned quickly to leave as fast as possible, feeling the instant regret of his actions. As Hunter turned, the others got a better look at the man in front of them. His hair was a deep orange, paired with a beard that looked like it had seen better days. His clothes were slightly tattered tan robes. He looked simple and fantastic all in one. 

As Hunter moved past everyone, Echo finally got a full look at the stranger. He knew he looked familiar but it wasn’t until he could see his meditation pose did Echo finally realize who they had found. 

"...Kenobi..?" Is all that whispers out. The voice was just barely loud enough to alert the man. The team watches as his eyes shoot open and he stumbles to stand up quickly. The stranger's eyes remain wide for a moment, before sending a confused squint in the group's direction. The strangers' eyes dart around the room, and the group. Looking for answers or at least an explanation. 

Echo’s breath resembles a laugh as he speaks in utter disbelief. "Holy kriff it is you."

Curious by Echo’s tone, Hunter turns back around to face the stranger like the rest of his team. They watch as the man's body tenses up. They see his panicked eyes shift across the room, still seeking answers as if they were carved into the walls. He reaches for something at his side, but his hand stops as if he were trying to reach for a weapon that was no longer on his person. Echo takes a hesitant step forward, drawing the full focus of the stranger before them. His stare was unrelenting as Echo could feel the stranger's eyes scratching at his armor.

What felt like an eternity and a second all in one later, the strangers' eyes resumed their shocked expression for a third time. As his face shifted, the man moved his arms up in a defensive fighting stance. His brows furrowed in a silent rage. It was a look the batch was quite used to. Someone would recognize their armor as Clone Armor and glare until they went away, the glare from this stranger felt way more hostile than any off hand glare from someone on the street. They needed to act fast. 

Wrecker quickly shielded Omega with his body, fully unsure of the entire situation but not taking any chances. Tech’s hand hovered over his blaster, he wasn’t the biggest fan of shooting down a stranger in his own home but he knew what he had to do if the situation called for it. Hunter…Hunter stayed unmoving, eye’s completely entranced by the man in front of him. Echo put up his droid arm in defense as he used his Human hand to quickly remove his helmet. 

"Woah woah sir, we're not going to hurt you. We've all had our chips taken out" As he spoke he pointed to the scar on the side of his head that looked far fresher than the others. He turned to the others and motioned to do the same, which they did. The tense feeling that was once smothering this small cave began to dissipate more and move with every helmet removed.

The man in front of them lowered his hands as he came to the realization as to the identities of his new house guests. He knew them. Of course he knew them, anyone who fought in the war knew about them. He looked around at the group, letting his features soften as he finally locked eyes with Echo. The clone just gives him a sad smile before taking another step and pulling him in for a hug.  He lets the strangers head rest in the crook of his neck, holding him tightly.

"You're supposed to be dead, Jedi.” Echo says softly.

"And you're supposed to be brainwashed.” Obi-wan’s words were barely audible from within the hug, but Echo still hears it and he lets out a sad chuckle

"Who is this guy?" Omega whispers to Wrecker, who just gives her a shrug of equal confusion. 

Echo released the stranger from his hold, lips still pulled into a sad smile. He knew the man in front of him more than the rest of his new team, even though he thought that the batch had met him at least once. Either way he took it upon himself to introduce the ginger haired man in front of them. "General Obi-wan Kenobi."

"Please...just call me...obi-wan.” The man spoke sheepishly. 

"It's good to see you sir" 

"I'm surprising myself by saying this but same to you" 

"Wait- Kenobi? Isn't that the man Cody always spoke of?" Tech asked, finally choosing to include himself in whatever was going on. If anyone had noticed Obi-wan flinch as Cody’s name was said, they didn’t mention it. 

"Oh that guy!" Wrecker beams, also finally leaving the entrance of the cave with Omega following close behind. “Weird seeing you all the way out here!”

"I...yes it is very strange. What are you boys doing out here anyway?" 

“Our ship…crashed last night. It’s going to take a long time to get it out of the sand and fix it. We were trying to figure out how to pass the time when Hunter got a weird feeling, we just followed him all the way out here.” Echo explained. 

"A weird feeling..?" Obi-wan arched an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. 

"Yes. He describes it as getting a sudden flash of energy that heightens his alertness. In most cases it's about incoming danger. But on very rare occasions it allows him to lead us to safety or something important. Today it brought us to you it seems" Tech readjusted his glasses as he rambled.  

During a majority of this whole encounter, Hunter’s eyes never left the ginger haired man. Something about him makes Hunter curious. Normally strangers that trigger his heightened senses make him uneasy, but the man in front of him makes him feel almost at peace.  Hunter looks to the man’s calm blue eyes. At first they seem kind but the more you look, the more you can truly see the sad and uneasy weight that they carry. He looks to his hair, the copper color shines perfectly in the light of the two suns as unkempt waves of hair move in the small breeze coming through the open wall. He looks to his clothes, robes tattered and torn from overuse. Doing a quick glance around the cave, Hunter guessed that he doesn’t have much else to his name other than the old Jedi robes on his back. Said robes don’t even look Jedi anymore, the sand storms of Tatooine are most likely the ones to thank for their current state. He glanced towards the man's lips, just for a second and saw that they were still moving.  

The conversation was still going on around him, but he was too lost in his own thoughts to realize. This was unlike him. He had not been able to focus on anything since they crashed on this desolate planet. At first the lack of focus hadn’t been his fault. He had simply walked in silence like a man possessed following an imaginary beacon, but now that the intense pulling feeling was gone his lack of focus was completely his own doing. 

His thoughts begin to spiral as he questions everything he’s felt in the past few days. What compelled him to come all the way out here, and for the pull to bring him and his team straight to the doorstep of the one and only Obi-wan Kenobi. What was this nearly overwhelming sense of calm that had washed over him the moment he stepped foot into the cave. And even with the feeling gone, why did he continue to stare at the man like he held any kind of answer to all of this. What the hell was wrong with him. 

Hunter felt a small hand poke his back before he heard Omega whisper up at him. “Psst- you’re staring.”

He knows. Kriff he knows. But something about the man in front of him felt so incredibly safe and warm, while also feeling closed off and frightened. He wasn’t sure what to make of any of his thoughts at the moment, so he settled on looking for answers in the waves of Obi-wan's eyes. 

Chapter 3: Your Song

Summary:

The batch stick around for the night and Obi-wan learns something through the Force

Notes:

Sorry for being gone for a bit! I just moved but I can write again yay!
Shorter chapter for now, had to split a really big one before it got too big lmao
More coming soon!

Chapter Text

Obi-wan hadn't had company in so long, and the batch enjoyed talking with him. Especially Echo, who was smiling at Obi-wan as if the last year hadn't happened.

Omega was quick to introduce herself, she was always excited about making new friends. She was also filled with questions for the strange man, as well as weird facts about her brothers. Obi-wan did his best to answer her questions, a polite smile across his face. 

The ex jedi had briefly met the Bad Batch just before the purge, but now that he was getting to know them for real a tinge of guilt set in for not meeting them sooner. They were all so lively that obi wan couldn’t help but be entertained watching them interact. They were so independent from one another, yet the closest team of any kind that Obi-wan had ever seen. 

As Obi-wan looked around at the others, he thought back to a conversation he had with his Commander. 

Cody had brought up the Bad Batch a few times, mainly just brief mentions. But one particular night, after a few too many drinks, Cody shared his worries to his General. His worries about the war, about the 212th, but also about how the 'Batch 99' was doing at that very moment. Obi-wan hesitantly questioned him about 'Batch 99', and at the time Cody was more than happy to reply. The Jedi could see in his eyes how much he cared for his younger brothers as he spoke.

He explained how terribly they were treated from Clones and Kaminoan's alike, simply because they were different. The Kaminoan's were the ones that made them different in the first place, but even they still looked down on the batch. He continued his explanation by saying that he was one of the few that didn't look down on them, and actively defended the batch back on Kamino.  The Commanders eyes looked like he wanted to say more, but it hurt too much. Obi-wan had just placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, showing that he understood Cody's pain. The Jedi felt his heart pull at itself, as he watched his beloved talk about his family that he cared so much for with such a painful look in his eye. 

But that was long before Obi-wan had met them himself. He knew a few things about them, but mainly that Cody would have gladly given his life to protect each and every one of them. 

Obi-wan watched as Wrecker let out a loud burst of laughter at something Omega said, he also noticed Tech rolling his eyes at the same time. He had missed the joke, but smiled all the same. 

"It's getting late. Why don't you all stay here for the night. Unless you have somewhere else to be." Obi-wan suggested, causing all eyes to turn in his direction.

"Sir? Are you sure? We wouldn't want to intrude" Echo’s eyebrow rose slightly.

"It quite alright, I insist" He really did miss the company of other people. Sure he went into town every few days, but this was different. These were people he actually had something in common with. Their very presence gave him a warm feeling that he hadn’t felt at all in the last year. Comfort and safety.

"As long as you have caf, Echo here needs at least seven cups before doing anything" Hunter joked, finally adding to the conversation. 

"I'll see what I can do" Obi-wan let out a soft chuckle. He knew he didn't have any. He couldn't exactly afford it at the moment, but he wanted the batch to stay just a little longer. 

The team allowed themselves to get more comfortable inside Obi-wan's home. The team had taken off any armor on their top half in an attempt to get more comfortable. They had civilian clothes, but those were currently in a box stuck behind a fallen sheet of metal that only Wrecker could move. But with the ship being worked on, and also incredibly delicate at the moment, they were stuck with the armor.

After a while the conversations picked back up. Their idle chats mainly consisted of the batch telling Obi-wan what they've seen and heard over the last year. The chips, and how theirs didn't work correctly. Rex and his small band of Rebels, Hunter could have sworn he heard Obi-wan's breath hitch when Echo mentioned that Rex’s name. A small cloud of worry flared up in his stomach at the reaction, but thought better then to bring it up. He had a pretty good idea as to the sudden nerves surrounding the captains name anyway. Hunter was about to bring up Cody as a slight topic change. He thought that Obi-wan should at least know that he wasn’t dead, but Echo stopped him before he could even get a word out. He had no idea how Echo even knew what he was about to say. The bad batch knew how close the two were, having heard many tales of the ‘Stubborn but handsome General’ their older brother had to deal with. But Echo knew more than the rest of them, he had seen the pair grow closer with his own two eyes.

The conversation died down after that, Obi-wan somehow understanding what was left unsaid. He shifted the conversation to a different topic entirely, by mentioning how little room there is in his cave. 

"If you're concerned about sleep arrangements, don't be." Tech reassured him without giving an explanation. 

"We normally end up in a pile anyway when we're not on the Marauder." Echo explained in his place, as was their new routine.

“A-are you sure?” Obi-wan wanted them to stay and keep him company a bit longer, but he was worried about were the six of them would find room to rest in his small home. He could always go without sleep for the night, but there was barely enough room for them to just sit and chat in the main area let alone space for four adults and a child to sleep.

“Positive!” Wrecker beamed, flashing the whole room with his signature toothy grin.


Which is exactly what happened. As the twin suns began to set Wrecker pulled his brothers into a big dog pile. Tech fell asleep nearly instantly, as he laid on Wreckers right side. Echo who laid down on Wreckers left, also fell asleep pretty quickly. Omega found a spot in between Echo and Wrecker to get comfortable, already used to their close way of sleeping. Everyone seemed exhausted from the long walk they had that day, followed by the all of the emotions that came with finding the one and only Obi-wan Kenobi out in the middle of nowhere. However, Hunter and Obi-wan stayed up for a bit longer. 

Hunter sat on the edge of the rather large hole of the cave, he’d call it a large window if not for the lack of glass, and Obi-wan stood a few feet next to him as they watched the suns set.

"Sorry again for intruding like this" Hunter said in a hushed tone. He wasn’t worried about waking the others, but he was uncharacteristically nervous.

"Nonsense. I was the one that offered for you to stay, remember?" Obi-wan smiled as he looked over at Hunter.

The two had spoken the least since the batch’s arrival but there was something about him that instantly made a pleasant melody hum deep within Obi-wans soul. He felt the whispers of the melody earlier that day and thought it was the Force calling out for him, which he had no intention on answering as much as he wanted to. But when the Bad Batch had shown up that same evening, he began to question his previous thoughts. Throughout their visit, the melody seemed to get louder whenever Hunter spoke or stepped closer to him, which only confused Obi-wan further.

Now as he watched the clone peacefully watching the suns setting, it was even louder. But somehow still felt muffled, like it hadn’t even reached a fraction of what it could be. Normally those who were not trained in the ways of the force had very simple two chord melodies that always played at a normal level. Despite the almost muffled sound, Obi-wan could tell that his was far more complex than it should be. He knew each clone had a different song, they had always harmonized so well together while still being different enough. But he also knew that the clones all had the same temperance to it. Similar but different, just as they were physically. 

Everyone felt and heard the force in different ways. This was just how how Obi-wan had come to learn force signatures, as melodies and songs specific to each and every person.  Some were loud and proud, others were soft and subtle. Those in tune with the force had always had louder songs, stronger feelings would come across in the harmonies within Obi-wans soul. Anakin's had always been rather loud, but much like every one else's melodies, reflected who he was as a person. Obi-wan had come to enjoy the melodies of many of those he held close, Cody's song was soft and gentle and by far Obi-wan's favorite. It always sounded more like a requiem, but Obi-wan had come to love it's sound. Some days hearing every ones songs failing to harmonize with each other was a curse, but some days it was a blessing. Of course he didn't hear everything all the time, but certain people are very difficult to drown out. He did still have days were he would meditate in a rather busy area and just listen to the song of the people. 

He thought back to earlier. Echo’s was as it always was, just with a mechanical whir attached. Tech, Wrecker, and Omega’s were very similar to the clone song he was used to, just with different notes and feelings here and there that perfectly reflected who they were. Tech’s had a constant beat to it, it was truly telling how analytical he was. Wreckers was like a loud riff on an electric guitar, but always the same chord and never changing in volume. Omega’s was light and whimsical as is the case with most kids her age. Hunter however sounded…stuck. Obi-wan could tell that the melody was beautiful even in its muffled state. He could tell the complexity of it, and could vaguely sense something unlike the clone song he had grown accustom to. But something was blocking it, and Obi-wan would be lying if he said he didn’t want to know what it sounded like without being blocked.  

The ex-Jedi realized he had been staring at the Clone for a few moments too long, too entranced by his sound. He was quick to snap himself out of it and stepped closer to the other man.

"You should get some rest as well Hunter." He placed a light hand on Hunter’s bicep before turning away and walking deeper into the room. Hunter sighed in agreement and moved to lay down on the outside of the bad batch puddle, a few inches from Tech. He brought his bandana down to cover his eyes as well as blocking out some sound from his ears, before closing his eyes. 

Chapter 4: Allow Yourself

Summary:

Hunter can't sleep and ends up discovering something about himself during his late night talk with Obi-wan.
or
Obi-wan finally lets out some feelings.

Notes:

This one has been in the works for so long- I think about them constantly. Let me know what you think!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Only an hour had passed and Hunter hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He should be tired, or at the very least irritated that he couldn't sleep. Instead of thinking about it too hard, he decided to give up on sleeping altogether as he sat up slowly, pushing his bandana back up to his forehead. After he opened his eyes, the clone was quick to notice that the small cave was missing someone. He still couldn't see very well at the moment due to overall tiredness and the only light being the moon shining through the various holes and cracks, but yet he still knew that Obiwan was missing. He wanted to panic, he had just met the Jedi and now he was gone.

Did he leave in the middle of the night to turn us in? Did he get taken? Is he dead? 

Worried thoughts zoomed in and out of Hunter's mind. He was about to wake the others and prepare for an impromptu search and rescue when he felt a familiar tug in his heart. 

Of course he followed it. 

He followed it out of the cave and all the way over to the top of a nearby large boulder. It was easily bigger than some of the huts and hovels they had seen most of the locals living in. As the man carefully made his way to the top, he heard the newly familiar voice call out. 

"I'm a very hard person to sneak up on Hunter" 

"Yet we snuck up on you earlier" He teased, sarcastic comments were second nature to him no matter his comfort level with its recipient.

"...you caught me at an off time." 

Hunter rolled his eyes before sitting on the right of the other man. "Couldn't sleep?"

"I've never slept easily, so I always find a place to meditate for a while. Lately I've found myself up here. The night air is cool and the light from the stars is very calming. What about you?" 

Hunter let his left leg stretch out, but kept his right one bent to use as an armrest. "Just woke up and noticed you were gone. I know I keep sayin this but sorry if us intruding made you feel like you couldn't be in your own home." 

"Oh don't apologize Hunter. It's...nice to see some kind familiar faces after all that's happened" 

The pair sat in silence for a moment as Hunter worked up the courage to ask something. A question he needed to mentally prepare for due to the sensitive topic that it was at the moment. He couldn't help that he was a naturally curious person, he always blamed it on his enhanced trait and hyper vigilance. So Hunter allowed himself to stew in the uncomfortable air as he prepared his question. 

"Can I ask...how you survived? Last I heard you went down on Utapau"

Obiwan sighed as his stare hollowed out and his eyes became unfocused. He just looked out into the middle distance looking at nothing in particular as he spoke, tone flat as a line. "He missed."

Hunter opened his mouth to ask who he meant, but quickly stopped himself as his brain thankfully works quicker than his mouth. 

Oh.  

"Sorry for bringing it up" Is what he said instead.

Obiwan didn't reply, just continued to stare off into the distance. Hunter watched him for a moment before turning his own gaze onto the horizon. The awkward silence was quick to resume as Hunter searched for the right thing to say, while also looking for the confidence to speak again. The clone didn't dare risk looking over at the Jedi as he attempted some small talk.

"He talked about you a lot." 

"Good things?" 

"Always. Never a single complaint, well unless you count his disappointed sighs after saying that you refused medical assistance for the umpteenth time." Hunter's tone was light hearted, but cautious. Cody was all these two had in common, and he wasn't even sure why he was insisting that he talk to the jedi in the first place. Maybe it was the sad look in his eye that Hunter had a strange urge to protect, or the way his voice wavered when he saw Echo, or maybe it was just the fact that he was on his own for the first time in years and it didn't take a genius to see how lonely he was. Something told Hunter to stay by his side, so he did. 

A beat of silence went by before Obi-wan took in a sharp breath and hesitantly opened his mouth. "Do you- is he- what happened to him?" 

Even through the shaky breathing and stumbled words, Hunter fully understood the question. The clone finally looked over at the other man, a kind and careful expression resting on his face. "I don't know what happened to a lot of the regs...but I'll ask Rex next time we see him. He might know something. And he'll be glad to hear you're alive" 

Obi-wan just gave a small nod as he pulled his knees close to his chest. He could feel his own chest rising and falling more rapidly than it should, the concern from his own breathing only heightened his anxiety. The jedi began to dig his fingernails into the fabric of his robe. Unfortunately for Obi-wan, who thought he was being subtle, Hunter was quick to notice the other man's nerves as the clone felt the energy surrounding them shift into something sour. 

"S- Obi-wan?" 

Ignoring Hunter, Obi-wan closed his eyes as he began to attempt to count to ten. But all he saw in the darkness of his closed lids was Anakin in flames and his beloved battalion shooting at him. Memories and trauma that's been following him where he went for the past year. Nothing he did ever made it go away, or even lessen the pain. He opened his eyes again with a jolt as wet hot tears began to stream down his face. Obi-wan looks around slightly panicked. The very existence of his tears startled him more than anything.The jedi and the clone locked eyes for a second before Obi-wan moved to cover his face in his hands, knees still close to his chest in an upright fetal position. 

Hunter's hands itch in the want to move closer, to hold him, to protect him. But he stayed frozen, staring at the crying man. His sobs are audible, but clear that he's doing  all he can to hold it back. 

"My apologies" He somehow chokes out after a moment as his hands drop back into his lap, "I don't know what's come over me." 

Hunter's eyes widened slightly as the sight of the now crying Jedi in front of him. If there were any of his brothers or Omega he would be quick in placing a comforting hand on their shoulder, then he'd bring them in for a hug if they wanted it. But this wasn't any of the Bad Batchers, this was a man- not a Jedi that he barely knew. Still his body reacted on instinct as he was unable to control the itch to comfort the man. His arm moved to place a light hand on Obi-wan's shoulder, but caught himself and stopped just before making contact. He looked over at the man, the others eyes riddled with anxiety and anguish, a look that made Hunter ask his next question as delicately as he could. "Obiwan…have you let yourself grieve during any of this?" 

Silence 

"Sir. Even my team has made time for it, how I don't know but I made sure that they did. Too much shit has gone wrong over the last year to not let yourself cry about it at least once." 

"No no, that's quite alright. I know how to handle my feelings. What happened was absolutely terrible, but I know better than to dwell on it". Obi-wan's chest rises slowly as he takes in a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves.

Hunter's eyes squint slightly, before taking in a deep breath as well. He takes a mental note of the weird energy still surrounding them before speaking again. "Listen. I know I only know you second hand but can I ask a question, you don't have to answer." 

Obiwan slowly nods. 

"Who hurt you" 

Obi-wan finally turns to face Hunter for the first time since their conversation started. His eyes go through a wide range of expressions that Hunter would be very amused by in any other situation, before landing somewhere between pleasantly surprised and slightly amused. Tears still falling from the Jedi's eyes, he's stopped trying to hide them but isn't sure what to say. No one has ever asked him anything like that before. Hunter feels his hands itch once more, in a need to lean over and pull the man in for a hug. He decides against it again, opting to put his hand up in defense and apologize. 

"Shit sorry that was a bad question to ask-" 

Obiwan wipes the tears from his eyes with his sleeve, and speaks with his voice wavering ever so slightly. As if he was saying a speech that he had not rehearsed in years. "No it's...it's just a strange way of phrasing it. As for the answer...I don't believe anyone hurt me. I simply took a vow to learn how to handle my emotions when I joined the order. And I-"

"Well that's banthashit"  

"Excuse me?"

"Don't most jedi join when they're still kids?"

"Well yes-" 

"That just makes that worse! Imagine telling some random kid to control their emotions.  That'd be not only impossible but also fucked up." 

"You're thinking of Omega when you say this aren't you." 

"Well yeah, she's like my one experience with kids, but she's got so many feelings and emotions that not even she knows how to handle. I couldn't imagine telling her to keep that in-" Hunter stops himself from rambling and sighs as he looks away. "I don't know much about the Jedi honestly. We've only worked with a few a handful of times. I'm sure Echo would punch me just for asking shit like this. It just doesn't make any damn sense." 

"Are you worried...about me?" Obi-wan felt the slightest twinge of a smile pull at his lips. Hunter just rested his chin on his hand. Not knowing how to respond. His avoidant eyes told Obi-wan all he needed to know. "I promise that I'm just fine. Just a small setback" 

"That's just it. What do the Jedi even have against emotions?" 

Obi-wan returned his gaze to the horizon. "I...The Jedi are encouraged to love. But only in moderation and equally. Love all life equally no matter what. Feelings make things messy. With feelings comes bias'. The needs of the greater good always come before the needs of the few. They forbid attachments for that very reason." 

Hunter stared at him as he talked and honestly couldn't believe the nonsense he was hearing, but did his best to hide that on his face as he pushed for more information. "Attachments?"

"Any bond you have with someone. Familia, romantic, even platonic like a very good friend. They didn't want any decisions to be made with a bias. So even though many of us got along just fine, we all knew that if one were to do something wrong we would not be able to side with them"

Hunter gave another squint, ready to finally call bullshit. "So grieving over your friends and the fact that the galaxy has gone to shit just...isn't allowed?"

"The Jedi Council would look down on me for it I'm sure." He honestly wasn't sure what the council would have to say about all of this, but he knew that they would tell him to 'curb his feelings' and handle it.

"Obi-wan do I look like a jedi to you? I'm not gonna rat you out for crying. You're clearly grieving. So much has happened in the last year and you certainly lost more than we did. All that grief has got to be eating at you. " 

"But-" Obi-wan quickly turned his head over in surprise to look over at the clone. The Jedi was truly at a loss for words. He had only ever worked with clones that were apart of a battalion, and of course the Jedi themselves. He thought all of this behavior was normal, never did he think that explaining the Council's rules would elicit this type of reaction. 

Hunter's eyes softened as he gave the Jedi a small smile, "You lost your only family in by far the shittest way I've ever seen, you have every right to grieve and be upset. Jedi order be damned. It's not like they're around to yell at you just for grieving. They may have been super strict, but even they weren't emotionless droids." 

Obi-wan let out a breath that was far more shaky then he wanted it to be. "C...Cody told you how stubborn I could be....didn't he" 

"He sure did, one of his favorite qualities...I think" 

Obi-wan let out a weak laugh as he felt his body curling in on itself again. He wanted these feelings gone, but he knew that he had been getting worse and worse about pushing his emotions deep down. He couldn't even close his eyes without seeing the fruits of his failures. All he wanted was a break. He wanted to break. As he closed his eyes once more in a final attempt to steal his nerves. Hunter's words rang around in his skull.

'You have every right to grieve and be upset.' 

Those words paired almost perfectly with the calming melody that imitated Hunter's force signature. Obi-wan allowed himself to bask in the melodies of Hunter's song just for a moment.

And he broke. 

Obi-wan began to sob once more, this time harder and unhidden. His breathing was getting too out of control, but thankfully Hunter was quick to pull the Jedi into a strong hug. Obiwan hid his face in the crook of the clone's neck, unable to control the emotions spilling out of him. So many years of pent up feelings and grief, let out in a single moment. Hunter didn't care that his black undershirt was now wet and covered in snot. He just cared about the fact that Obiwan was finally allowing himself to grieve. His screams were muffled by Hunter's body, but the sound was so gut wrenching that it only made Hunter pull the Jedi closer. The clone arms snaked around the Jedi's small form.

Not only was the clone born with heightened tracking abilities, but he had realized over the last year that he has also been born with higher protective levels then any of his brothers. Yes they were all protective over each other, and especially Omega, but he was a natural carer as well as a natural worrier and something about Obiwan tugged at his heart. He couldn't quite place it, but all he knew was that he needed to hold and protect the man weeping in his arms. He wanted nothing more than to keep him safe at that very moment. 

Hunter let one of his arms rest on the other man's back, moving the other up to his hair as he began to sing a Mando'an lullaby.

Nuhoy, ad'ika

Gar ner cyar'ika

Ni Ja'haili'gar

Akay vaar'tur

 

Nuhoy, ad'ika

Gar ner cyar'ika

Ni laarari'gar

Akay vaar'tur

 

Nuhoy, ad'ika

Gar ner cyar'ika

Ni cabuor gar

Akay vaar'tur

 

He learned the melody a long time ago and only used it when his brother's enhancements were giving them so much pain as cadets that they couldn't sleep, but it always worked to calm them down. Just like it had for Obi-wan. Hunter's soft baritone voice had brought comfort to the jedi. He could feel the other man's breathing regain its steady rhythm and his sobs becoming less violent. Hunter kept Obi-wan in his arms, a hand still idling in the jedi's copper hair.

"Feel better Jetii?"

Obiwan slowly pulled himself out of Hunter's hold, and wiped his face on his sleeve. "I...yes...thank you...you're quite good at comforting people." 

Hunter returned his hands to his lap and gave Obi-wan a small smile, "I do what I can. Just had lots of practice with the others. Do you feel better after crying?''

"Yes actually. I feel a lot better." For the first time in a long time, Obi-wan genuinely smiled as he returned the soft expression. "Now who comforts you when you're upset?" 

Hunter's smile faded as he looked away with avoidant eyes.

"Ah a hypocrite I see." 

Hunter whipped his head back to look at Obi-wan, who cut him off as soon as he opened his mouth in protest.

"I don't think there's anything you could say in this situation that could make you sound not like a hypocrite." 

Hunter just scoffed lightly and looked back into the horizon. Obiwan let out a whisper of a laugh as he does the same. The pair return to their silence, this time in complete comfort. 

Obi-wan's eyes drifted up to the night sky, and as he recounted the names and stories of the constellations, he couldn't help but listen to Hunter's song. The melody almost mimicking that of the lullaby he had just sung. Perhaps they were the same song. And what a beautiful melody it would be if it was anything like Hunter's singing voice.  Obi-wan's curiosity and need for a distraction at the moment made him cave, he looked over at Hunter almost hesitantly. "May I also ask a personal question, feel free to not answer" 

"What did you want to ask?" 

"Can you…describe how you found me. I know Tech described it as an odd feeling you get thanks to your heightened senses. But I'd like to hear it in your words." 

"I…" Hunter paused, looking down at his hands to think for a moment. "I'm not sure how to describe it honestly. Sometimes it's like an idea gets placed in my head, and sometimes I get put in a trance and almost pulled into a certain direction. Today was one of the strongest 'trances' I've been in. I barely remember half the day honestly. It was like I was being moved around like a puppet, aware of my surroundings enough to know that where I was headed was more important. It wasn't like I was being controlled, I could have stopped at any time. But I didn't want to." 

Hunter let out an aggravated sigh in the middle of his haphazard explanation, "I had no idea that you were going to be on the other end of it, I never know what's on the other end but it never steered me wrong before…" Hunter moved his body to face Obi-wan directly, locking eyes with the Jedi. "And it still hasn't" 

The other man mimicked his movements and sat cross-legged facing Hunter, knees almost touching the clones. Obi-wan held out his hands with the palms facing up, his face shifting into a kind but nervous expression. "May I try something?"

Without asking what he meant, Hunter nodded and placed his hands in Obi-wan's. He watched as the jedi closed his eyes and took in a deep breath; he did the same.

The moment his eyes closed he could feel so much, not only the calloused hands of the man in front of him but everything . He could feel each grain of sand shift and sway in rhythm with the entire planet, he could feel both a comforting warmth and an immense cold chill coming from the man opposite him, he could feel the light of the moons light up his mind allowing him to sense things as easily as if his eyes were open. For someone who gets over stimulated as often and as easily as Hunter does, he should have hated this sensation. Feeling everything at once with this much intensity would make any normal being break under its weight. But Hunter wasn't normal. He was quite literally built to feel and sense things in ways others couldn't. It took a few moments but he eventually realized that this was the feeling that he had learned to suppress from an early age. This is what he's been blocking for years.  

As a cadet it was so overwhelming that he would often faint from how dizzy he was. Over time he learned to live with it and it just became a constant hum in the back of his mind. He knew not everyone had it, so he knew he had no one to go to for help. Plus he was worried that the Kaminos would think it was a defect on top of the enhancements and it would get him decommissioned. So he thought it best to just grin and bear it for the rest of his life. 

Yet here he was on top of a large rock with a Jedi he had only heard stories of, feeling that hum at its full volume for the first time in years. It felt so freeing to finally have that box in his mind unlocked and open. His shoulders relaxed as he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. Hunter did his best to focus on the warm feeling emanating from the man in front of him. As he honed in on the feeling, it became clear to him that this was the exact feeling that pulled him and his team across the desert to this solitary cave. Even as Obi-wan let go of Hunter's hands, the feeling was clear in his mind. However the intense feeling coming from the other man had simmered down as their hands grew further apart, Hunter found himself missing the warmth.

"Just as I thought" Obi wan's spoke softly, both in disbelief and amazement. Obi-wan instantly ached for the feeling as soon as their hands disconnected. Hunter's song was beautiful. It was a song of safety and protection and of love. It was a melody that Obi-wan would never be able to forget. How someone's force signature could be so comforting to feel was beyond him. Most signatures of the council members were like flower water, steady and beautiful from a distance but lacking color and any kind of comforting warmth. Hunter's however was ever changing, using only the regular clone song as a background harmony. Not even Cody's changed that often, or even had that many layers to it. Obi-wan could still hear it ringing as clear as day, the gorgeous tones of Hunter's soul no longer muffled and hidden. The jedi couldn't help but stare at the clone, an almost fond look in his eyes.  

Hunter didn't reply as his eyelids slowly opened. He wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, but the once distant hum in the back of his skull was now singing loudly in a melody only known to him. The feeling or sound wasn't as overwhelming as it should be, he could still think properly as the melody rattled around his skull. Nothing hindering, just more present. 

"You, my dear Hunter, are force sensitive." Obiwan smiled up at the clone as if he were presenting him with a gift, barely masking the adoration in his voice.

"Force sensitive? Isn't that a jedi only thing?"

"It wasn't unheard of for some clones to be force sensitive, it just wasn't very common. But anyone can be sensitive to the force, it is all around you. Some people are just born more attune to it then others. But your force signature is…radiant. Your soul shines so brightly my dear, if these were simpler times you would make a wonderful Jedi" Obiwan kept his smile, but he felt his fingers itch to reach out to Hunter once more. He hadn't felt the force that strongly in quite some time, mainly for his own safety, and had honestly missed the beauty of it. It was a familiar feeling, something he had been lacking. That feeling was safe to him, as was Hunter even before this discovery. 

"Nah, too many rules. Not really my style" Hunter joked.

"Didn't you just say that you don't know that much about the jedi?" Obiwan teased as he raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you just explain that the Jedi were against attachments?" Hunter mimicked his tone and expression. Obiwan broke his stare as he let out a light chuckle, Hunter returned it with a smile. "Seriously though. Attachments are really all we clones have, we do technically come from Mandalorian blood."

"I suppose that is true, my point is that I have never heard of a force signature this strong from anyone that wasn't training to be a jedi already."

"Maybe it has something to do with how the Kaminoans enhanced my senses?" Hunter's shoulders lifted up in a slight shrug. 

"Possibly. Having all of your senses forcibly heightened would include your ability to sense the force. I'm honestly surprised you're not more surprised about this" 

"I should be, but it…all just makes sense now. Even when I was a cadet I had a weird buzzing in the back of my head, it gave me fainting spells that nearly got me decommissioned. I eventually learned to tune it out, like I put it away in a locked box. But whatever you did just then, opened it. And it honestly feels like a massive weight on my whole body was instantly lifted." Hunter's smile stayed. A smile that Obiwan found himself lost in. He could tell from the moment he first saw him that Hunter wasn't the type to smile often unless he meant it. Sure he gave small smirks at his brothers when they would say something ridiculous. It seemed like that kind smile was only reserved for looking at Omega, the child that he had come to care for like his own daughter. But now, Obiwan was at the end of that kind and caring smile, as he had been for most of the night. Clones were not built for soft things, but Obiwan found himself thinking how well the expression fit on his face. Even with the tattoo that took up half of Hunter's face, the relaxed features made him look incredibly attractive. A thought that obi-wan instantly sent to the back of his mind, ashamed that he thought it in the first place. He had been thinking it on and off since he first set eyes on the clone, he was well aware he had a type- but he still pushed it all deep down as he always did. 

"Then I'm happy to be of some help. It's the least I can do for what you've done for me tonight"

"I didn't even do anything, I just told you the truth. Crying isn't a bad thing y'know. Wrecker cries seeing a fully stocked armory, Tech denies it but he does the same thing with computers and ships that function perfectly. It's just a thing that happens, nothing to be ashamed of."

Obi-wan let out another soft chuckle, which turned into a yawn. A yawn that he tried desperately to hide, earning him an eye roll from Hunter.

"C'mon jedi, I think it's time we get some rest"

"I'll be-"

"If you say that you'll be alright one more time, I'm just going to carry you back because we both know that's banthashit." Hunter teased. Thanks to whatever Obi-wan did earlier to unlock the box in his brain, he was finally getting tired. So he stood up and reached a hand down to assist the Jedi. Obi-wan hesitantly took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled up. 

The pair had resumed their comfortable silence on the walk back, too many things going through both of their heads. Both of them were so lost in the maze's of their own thoughts that they failed to realize that they were still holding on to each other's hands. Neither noticed, cared, or minded. Hunter only let go once they entered the cave so he could move back to his spot next to Tech. As the clone moved to bring his bandana over his eyes once more, he realized that Obi-wan was standing in the middle of the room still. Eyes unfocused as if he were half asleep while still standing. 

"Well? you coming over here or not?" 

Obi-wan shook his head in an attempt to wake himself up as soon as he heard Hunter's voice. "What?"

"You need to sleep, so you joining the pile or not? There aren't many other options." Hunter watched as Obi-wan slowly moved to a corner of the room, it seemed cramped and uncomfortable and was the farthest he could get from the Bad Batch pile. The clone just raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't want to intrude, I'm fine over here for the night" Obi-wan smiled over at him, before turning his attention back to the corner. Hunter could almost see the gears in his head turning as Obi-wan tried to figure out how to actually be comfortable in such a small space. With a sigh, Hunter stood back up and took Obi-wan by the hand and brought him back over to the sleep pile. 

Obi-wan had participated in many clone sleep piles before, but only with his battalion on cold planets or like this, where one of them saw the tired look in his eye and made him relax with them. As Obi-wan laid down, only inches from Hunter's face, he thought back to his battalion and what they would say if they could see him now. Probably just tease him for how quickly he got attached to the Bad Batch. 

Just before he finally pulled his bandana over his eyes again, Hunter whispered. "I got bad sensory issues so I won't be able to see or hear you that well after I put this on. If you need me for any reason just tap me and I'll wake up. No running off to that rock on your own." 

The Jedi let out a soft chuckle as he nodded. "Noted. Thank you again Hunter."

"Mhm, goodnight Obi-wan". Hunter hummed as the bandana finally made its way over his eyes, he was fast asleep seconds later. Obi-wan however wasn't so lucky. He was exhausted, but he couldn't help but look over at the batch sleeping every so peacefully before his eyes came back to Hunter. A man he had only known for not even a full rotation, but someone he felt a great deal of comfort just being around him. Something about Hunter made him feel like no matter what happened, he'd be alright. Maybe it was his lack of knowledge about who he was as well as the Jedi as a whole that made him feel free, or the fact that he had stayed so long to comfort a man he barely knew in the dead of night. 

He finally drifted off as thoughts of the man peacefully sleeping next to him floated around his head.

Notes:

Mando'a Lullaby from @Themichiefoftad on tumblr

Translation:
Sleep, little one
You are my sweetheart
I will watch over you
Until morning

Sleep, little one
You are my sweetheart
I will sing to you
Until morning

Sleep, little one
You are my sweetheart
I will protect you
Until morning

Chapter 5: Rosemary Tea

Summary:

Hunter and Obi-wan go on a caf run, then Hunter finally realizes some feelings.

Notes:

Thank you so much to everyone who's been liking this idea so far!! I actually have plans for a 'part 2' set after Season 2 when this one gets finished!
This story has become my brain rot

Chapter Text

Sunbeams forced their way inside the cave, giving a certain Jedi a rather rude awakening. He was still getting used to the large amount of light that the two suns brought each morning. As he moved to sit up, he was stopped by a weight on his side. That same weight was also pressed against his chest. It took Obi-wan finally opening his eyes to realize his current predicament.

At some point during the night, he had shifted his body closer to the man next to him. Obi-wan's face was comfortably nestled in the crook of Hunter's neck, the other man stubble lightly scratching his forehead. An arm loosely dropped over the Jedi's hip, the other bent behind Hunter's head. Obi-wan could feel the rise and fall of his chest, the Jedi didn't have to check his force signature to tell that he was sleeping soundly for the first time in a while. And Obi-wan was feeling weirdly rested as well. His eyes still stung from the amount of crying he did last night, and even in his sleep if he had to guess by how wet his face felt. Despite all of that, he was comfortable. The warmth of Hunter's sleeping form so close to his own was ready to lull him back to sleep at any moment. 

Just as he was about to close his eyes and return to a state of comfortable unconsciousness, his brain woke up fully and he became hyper aware of his surroundings. Eyes suddenly wide as he stared in the void of Hunter's shirt. 

Kriff .

This is not good.

Thoughts raced and rattled around his skull. He needed to move before the other man, or maker forbid any of the others, woke up. The Jedi first attempted to slowly shuffle backwards and out from under Hunter's arm, but at the smallest movement the other man only tightened his hold. Obi-wan felt his entire body freeze at any small movement or sound made from the others in the room. He then tried to carefully pick up Hunter's arm and place it off of him, attempt two was also unsuccessful. Hunter let out a small grunt as soon as Obi-wan's hand made contact with his. 

"...mrnin..." It was more of a mumble than any audible word. But it was audible enough for Obi-wan to realize his fear had come true. Hunter was awake. He didn't dare reply, he didn't dare even breathe. Nerves bubbling up inside of his throat. 

Obi-wan felt the arm that was comfortably resting on his side, finally left its spot. He felt himself instantly miss its warmth. He didn't dare look up, in fear of seeing the other man's eyes this close up. Obi-wan heard a bit of shuffling, before the arm came back into view. It didn't return to its spot, but comfortably landed in between the pair. 

"Kriff- its bright" again more mumble than vowels, but Obi-wan guessed that Hunter had just pushed his bandana back into it's normal place. Taking this as an opening, the jedi shuffled away from the Clone before sitting up. Eyes still avoiding the man next to him. 

"Y-Yes good morning" His voice hesitant and soft. He needed an escape. "Ah- I was going to head into town to get you and your brothers some caf. I will be back shortly" 

The man stood quickly, he knew he didn't have enough credits at the moment to get the batch what they needed but it was his only option. Much to his surprise Hunter sat up, rubbing at his eyes. 

"Give me a second, I'll go with you." The clone let out a yawn, words finally sounding more audible. "Echo is super picky about caf, and thankfully I've got the credits to pay for his bad habits" 

Everything in his being wanted to tell Hunter to stay here. His need to be alone, the awkward position they woke up in that morning, on top the bad taste in his mouth that came from using other people's money. Yet he heard himself say, "Alright. I will wait outside." 


The walk into town wasn't terrible, hot and unbelievably humid yes, but bearable for both of them. Obi-wan's nerves had calmed down halfway through their rather quiet walk. Hunter didn't seem to mind the silence, using the travel distance time to wake up completely. 

Once they arrived, Hunter expected Obi-wan to lead him right to any kind of cafe, but he had no idea. 

"How do you not know where to get caf?" 

"I'm more of a tea person" 

Hunter couldn't help but laugh, not at him but with him. "You look like a tea drinker" 

"What is that meant to mean!" Obi-wan faked an offended expression, before letting out a laugh of his own. The energy surrounding the two had finally gone back to being comfortable. 

They asked a few other shopkeepers where (and if) to get the hyper specific kind of caf that Echo needed. Tech and Hunter weren't picky about what kind they drank, Tech would drink any basic black caf blend and Hunter just needed something with a bit of flavor in it. 

Thankfully for all of their sanities, there was one shop near the center of town that sold the specific kind. Hunter couldn't believe the prices on just a single cup. Yes they could technically afford it right now, but their savings were suffering at the expense of Echo's caffeine addiction. With a heavy sigh Hunter forked over the credits and got six cups of the premium brew, two basic brews with hazelfruit flavoring and milk, and a rosemary tea. The woman behind the counter raised an eyebrow at him at the expansive order, but didn't care once she saw the credits on the counter. 

"Premium takes a while, so it'll be a few minutes. You're welcome to sit down and wait" 

Hunter nodded and found a place in the corner to sit and wait, Obi-wan followed quickly behind. 

"I've never been in here before…it always seemed too expensive." Obi-wan said softly, mainly talking to himself but using it as an open invitation for some small talk with Hunter. 

"It is! I've never even heard of this place. What is 'Cor-Bucks' even supposed to mean." The man grumbled as he rested his chin on his palm.

"I believe that it's a branch that originated on Coruscant. That's most likely where the 'Cor' comes from." It went unsaid, but they both knew the prices were even higher thanks to how difficult it was to find water on Tatooine. Wanting to keep the small talk going, he turned to Hunter. "So who else likes tea among your team? I noticed that you ordered a Rosemary blend."

"Oh that one is for you" 

"Excuse me?" 

"You said you like tea more so I didn't get you a caf" 

"I- that isn't the point…you didn't have to get me anything you know. I wouldn't want to waste your money" 

Hunter looked at him with a confused squint. "O-" he had to stop himself from saying the other's name in such a public setting. "You let us into your home, and let us stay there all night completely unprompted, the least I can do is get you a drink." 

Obiwan couldn't help but smile. He wanted to just thank Hunter and that would be the end of it, but the Jedi ways were too engraved into his brain. Do good and expect nothing in return . That's what he was taught, that's all he knew. Laying down his life and giving everything he had and expecting nothing in return. So something as simple as buying the Jedi a drink without him having to ask, felt foreign. His stomach twisted and turned in ways he hadn't felt before, at least not for a long time. He couldn't tell what he was feeling. Was this a good emotion or a bad emotion? He didn't know. 

Across from him was Hunter, now sporting a very concerned expression on his face. Since their discovery of his force sensitivity last night, obi-wan just guessed that he could feel the shift in the energy around their small corner table. Hunter's eyes seemed to call his name, before his mouth opened. 

"Are you okay?" 

"Yes…apologies, thank you for buying me a drink." He took a deep breath to steady his nerves once more. "May I ask why you chose that flavor?" 

Hunter just shrugged. "Just seemed like a thing you'd like." 

He really did choose something that sounded interesting. Something about Rosemary stuck out to him, it sounded sweet and elegant all in one. So he figured it was perfect for the copper haired man. Little did he know that he happened to choose Obi-wan's favorite kind. He hadn't had it in a long time due to how little credits he had, but he used to have a whole shelf reserved just for Rosemary tea back in his quarters on the Negotiator. 

Hunter ignored the fluttering in his stomach that came after looking at the kind expression of the other man, just as he tried to not get lost in the oceans of his eyes. He wasn’t sure why he had been so captivated by the Jedi, but his heart almost yearned to learn more about him. He had only heard stories, mainly from Cody and that one time they worked with Skywalker, but the stories never spoke of who Obi-wan was, only the great feats he had accomplished. Hunter knew there was a difference. The stories only spoke of the great General Kenobi, not the kind man who sat across from him smiling all because Hunter bought him tea. Most people wouldn’t be able to guess that this was the same great Negotiator if they didn’t know his face. Hunter wanted to help him keep it that way, the man he was looking at was far more interesting then any general he’d ever met. 

Their idle chatter resumed, with Hunter asking questions about Tatooine and Obi-wan answering with an annoyed look in his eye. Not annoyed at Hunter or any one in particular, but just Tatooine as a whole. Which no one could really blame him for. The only time his eyes seemed to light up is when he briefly mentioned a boy named Luke. Giving no other information, just a name, but Hunter could see how much he cared about whoever this boy was. At first the sergeant assumed it was his son, just basing his guess on the look in his eye. But quickly doubted his own theory. The Jedi didn’t have relationships let alone kids. Well part of that was a lie, he knew about the relationship between Skywalker and Senator Amidala before the purge. That information was thanks to a very tired and possibly drunk Rex after they helped him out on a mission. But Kenobi didn’t look like he had anyone let alone a child. Still, he didn’t press further and just allowed the man to talk. 

Soon their orders were ready and they were out the door. Obi-wan had his drink and a small carrier for four out of the six premium brews, Hunter held the carrier with the other two as well as the Hazelfruit cups. The jedi kept his head down and his voice quiet as they walked through town, still avoidant of anyone in town. It’s not like they didn’t stand out. On his own, Obi-wan doesn’t stand out at all…or at least that’s what he chooses to believe. However, today he walked alongside a man who was very clearly still wearing fifty percent clone armor. Hunter was too used to the stares where ever he and his team went to notice, or care. It wasn’t until they had made their way completely out of town that Obi-wan opened his mouth again. 

“Hunter I’m afraid I have another question, my curiosity is killing me” He spoke with a teasing tone, he knew he could have just asked it and not asked for permission first. Hunter just rolled his eyes, before fully turning his gaze to the other. “You did order a rather strange range of drinks, I know you mentioned that Echo requires a lot of caf in the mornings but the amount you bought still seems like a lot for your little group.”

“Five of the premium cups are for Echo, normally he gets more but I wasn’t going to get that bastard seven. Not at those prices. Thankfully Tech only needs one, he’s not super picky about taste but figured why not. Wrecker and Omega don’t drink caf, and definitely don’t need it. I would have gotten them juice or something, but it would have melted by the time we got back. And then the tea for you.” As Hunter explained, Obi-wan’s smile grew.

“It’s endearing how much you know about your team, I know you’ve been with most of them your whole life but it is still nice to see.” He was a second from changing the topic when something occurred to him. “Wait a moment, does that mean that the Hazelfruit cups are yours?”

Hunter just turned his eyes away, and picked up the pace a little out of embarrassment. Leaving Obi-wan a step behind, doing his best to not laugh. The jedi didn’t want to laugh at him for his drink choice, just at his reaction. He did his best to hide his laugh once he caught up to the clone. 

“Hunter, your drink of choice is nothing to be ashamed of. And what was it that you said earlier? Oh yes, ‘You look like a hazelfruit person’” He teased, earning a playful offended look from the other before they both burst into laughter. 

“Okay okay, you got me. I can’t do bitter drinks, even the smell is bad enough to overload my senses sometimes. The flavored shit just gets rid of all that”

“Is hazelfruit your favorite?”

“Tied with basic vanilla, it’s not bitter like what Echo and Tech drink, and it’s not overly sweet like caramel. Somewhere just in the middle, which is what I need to not overload my brain.” Hunter had chosen to look over at Obi-wan as he talked about his preferences, getting into the detail of certain flavors being too much one way or the other. The jedi just looked at him with a certain fondness in his eyes. Whatever this instant connection between the two was, they were both content. Hunter was about to turn his ramble into something else, before catching himself and turning away. “...Do I really look like a hazelfruit person…”

Caught off guard with Hunter's mumbled question, Obi-wan had to stifle a laugh. “To me, yes, but I haven’t met anyone else who favored that flavoring before. I was simply teasing you my dear” 

Hunter kept his eyes in front of him, once again ignoring the light feeling that washed over his whole body at the term of endearment. That’s just how he addresses people , he reminded himself. Yes he was avoiding the Jedi’s eyes, but the air around them wasn’t uncomfortable, so the idle conversation resumed once more.


Echo was the only one awake when the two returned. He didn’t even bother giving a verbal greeting, just waited for Hunter to shove a hot cup of caf into his hand. He mumbled something along the lines of “Oh you got the good shit” after his initial first sip. He sat in silence, almost unmoving, as he nursed his first of many cups. 

After cup two, Tech woke up and began drinking his own cup. Much like Echo, sat in silence and focused all of his attention on his drink. 

After Echo’s fourth cup, and in the middle of Tech’s second, Wrecker began to stir awake. He was a slow riser, but he just needed a few moments to get his bearings before he was running at full capacity. Obi-wan took Wreckers short mumbles as cue to start making something in his small kitchen. He didn’t have much, but he was positive he could whip something small up for each of them. Hunter opted to help out with breakfast even though Obi-wan didn’t ask. 

It wasn’t until after both Echo and Tech had finished their drinks, and the sweet smell of some kind of meat sizzling on the stove top that Wrecker and Omega finally woke up completely. Omega was already bursting with energy, as always. She bounded over to the pair in the kitchen without even giving so much of a good morning to the others. 

“Are we actually getting breakfast!”

“Well good morning to you two Omega.” Hunter chuckled, eyes focused on the meat he was cutting. 

“I know it isn’t much but I do hope you and your brothers enjoy it.” Obi-wan looked down at her with a small smile, before turning his attention back to Hunter. “I’m assuming everyone likes theirs done a little differently. So I guess I will need your assistance after all.”

“Oh oh! I know this one! Hunter and Wrecker like it rare, like with all the juices and stuff. I like only some of the juices, I think that's called medium rare…Tech likes his without any at all, and Echo doesn't care!"

"Nice job kid." Hunter said with a proud smile, Obi-wan just nodded and got back to cooking. Omega was proud of herself for remembering everything correctly, it made sense that Hunter knew all these facts about the others and she really wanted to reach that level. 

With breakfast finished cooking, the group sat around in a lopsided circle. Obi-wan didn't have a table or any kind of furniture, but the batch wasn't complaining. Finally, the jedi reached for his drink. His eyes widened upon his first sip, before turning to Hunter with a new sparkle in his eye. 

"This is the best Rosemary tea I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. Thank you very much for this" 

"Glad you like it." Hunter said simply, doing his best to not look into the now sparkling blue eyes that were trying their best to dig their way into Hunter's heart. The clone could almost feel another set of eyes digging into him, it was Echo and his intent was a lot less soft than Obi-wan. As an excuse to not look at the man next to him, or any of his brothers, he finally took a sip of his own drink. "That is good." 

"May I try it? You can try my tea if you'd like." Obi-wan was still smiling as he handed over his tea. Hunter shrugged and swapped the drinks. 

The Rosemary tea was…sweet and sour all in one. Too many sensations, but so little at the same time. Hunter could see himself drinking it more often on cold nights as a relaxer, but not for first thing in the morning before a mission or a long day. Hunter had never been much of a tea drink but he still found himself liking it, truly he did, it tasted like a calm rainy day in a home he only dreamt of. 

The hazelfruit caf tasted like a less sweet caramel drink that Obi-wan had tried a few times, just with an added after taste. The after taste wasn't bad, it was pleasant even. It was close to what he knew but yet different enough to tell the difference. He liked this one better. 

As the two talked about their drinks over breakfast, seemingly in their own little worlds. The others began their own conversation.

"Those two have gotten really close!" Wrecker commented, his voice at the normal volume but completely unnoticed by the sergeant and the Jedi. "Do you guys think this is how Hunter flirts?" 

"It better not be." Echo whispered, mainly to himself. He had been watching the two interact since they re-entered the cave. They had gotten closer. Somehow they went from almost strangers to sharing drinks in less than a full rotation. 

"I would not know what that looks like. And I don't believe I want to know." Tech responded. Everyone in the batch was naturally curious and almost nosey. This fact was not true for Echo, who had spent so long dealing with an overly curious Fives which led to him quickly becoming the voice of reason among the bad batch. Being the voice of reason meant being the one to say ‘no’ when anyone got too curious about anything. Even when it came to the personal matters of his brothers, which Tech wanted very little to do with it. Not that he didn’t care about them, he just didn’t care about this. 

"Something must have happened last night! I woke up in the middle of the night and those two were cuddling in their sleep! It was really cute." Omega chimed in with a large grin. Hunter looked happy, she could see a small smile he rarely wore resting across his lips. And she was not about to be the reason that stopped. Her three brothers turned to her, in near sync. Wrecker shared the same excited grin as she had, Tech just looked confused, and Echo was simply aghast like he knew something they didn't. Which was partially true. 

"I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. Hunter has always been a clingy sleeper, when he does sleep that is." Tech gave a small shrug before placing a piece of meat in his mouth. 

Echo turned his attention back to the pair in front of them, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They were just talking, Obi-wan had a simple smile on his face like he used to wear, and Hunter looked normal. That didn't mean that Echo wasn't going to sit the sergeant down and have an in depth talk about what the kriff was going on. Doing his best to ignore them, and everyone else, Echo ate his breakfast in silence. 

 

Breakfast was going smoothly other then the confused stare Echo kept giving Hunter. Omega had asked Obi-wan a question, which finally allowed the other batchers to enter the conversation. It was going just fine, until Hunter's comm started ringing. The Bad Batch’s stomachs collectively dropped. There really was only one person that could be calling them. Echo had half a thought that it could have been Rex, but they were never that lucky. With a sigh, Hunter stood up and excused himself to take the call outside. The person on the other line was for sure going to yell at him, and he’d rather take that scolding in private and out of ear shot of both Omega and Obi-wan. 

Once he stepped out of the cave, he answered the call. 

“About time bandana.” It was Cid, of course it was. And she was angry, of course she was. 

“Cid. Before you ask us to do anything, we can’t exactly leave this planet. Tech and Echo already told you about our little issue”

“Little issue! Are you nuts? What did you get sand in your brain or somethin? You boys need to get back here tomorrow or I’m going to start losing money. And when I lose money, you lose money. So figure it out and get the hell over here”

“The ship-”

“Are you listening to me? Tomorrow . You can get another dumb ship. That last job should have paid you enough to scrap something together.” Her voice was as degrading as ever to Hunter’s ears. 

“Those credits were already given to the people helping put the Marauder back together. We’ve only been here , whatever job you’ve got for us can wait a few more.” Hunter didn’t want to leave Tatooine just yet, it’s not like they could leave anyway. This was like a forced vacation to the Batch, something they get so very rarely. 

“You think I’m some kind of charity case?.” He saw her sigh as she ran a hand down her face. “Fine. If you boys don’t get back here in the next two days, then I’m done keeping your little secret”

“Cid- That’s unreasonable”

“No, it’s business.”

Click

Once Cid’s holographic figure disappeared, Hunter let out an aggravated sigh. Three days would have been pushing it, but they only have two counting the rest of today. His original plans now out the window, he turned back towards the entrance of the cave. As he was about to mentally prepare himself on how to tell the others about his conversation (more like lecture) with Cid, he spotted Echo leaning against the stone doorway. 

"How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough to know Cid's not happy."

"So, all of it." Hunter rolled his eyes as Echo nodded. "I'm going to go back into town to check on the ship later. See if I can't get things rushed a little."

"That's probably a good idea. It'll most likely take the rest of the credits we have to bribe the mechanic though."

"We just need it working enough to fly, we can fix it ourselves when we get to Ord Mantell. We need to be at least on our way by tomorrow night." Another annoyed sigh escaped Hunter's lips. "I'm going to tell the others." 

"Hunter." Echo grabbed Hunter's arm, preventing him from walking back into the cave. 

"Something the matter, Echo?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't come out here to see what Cid had to say, I had a feeling whatever it was wasn't going to be good."

"Alright then, what do you need?"

"We need to talk." Echo removed his grasp on Hunter and crossed his arms. 

"About?" Hunter's annoyed and serious tone was gone, he genuinely had no idea what Echo could have wanted to talk about.

"Kenobi." Calling him by his first name still felt weird on Echo's tongue even though the Jedi had insisted on it. And just calling him 'the general' wasn't correct anymore. 

Oh.

Taking Hunter's new dumbfounded expression as an opening, Echo grabbed on his shoulders (or as much as he could with only one human hand) and shook his leader. His tone was more frantic than he wanted it to be, his serious expression completely taken over by a more shocked and almost confused expression. "Tell me honestly Hunter. Have you seriously been flirting with Cody's husband?"

Hunter laughed; he couldn't help it. There is too much going on to not laugh. The shaking, the way that Echo looked almost worried for him, the accusation as a whole. All of it was hilarious. The accusation is what hit Hunter the hardest. Was he flirting? absolutely not. Hunter is no stranger to hookups and flirting with random people at random bars that he'd never see again, and whatever conversations he had been having with Obi-wan were nothing close to that. Another reason that Hunter couldn't help but laugh, was the fact that Echo was accusing him of flirting with another man. Hunter was straight as a line, always has been.  Hunter had only ever flirted/hooked up with women, men just weren't his type. Men had flirted with him before, and it always made his stomach turn in a weird way so he would politely turn them down. However he would only ever admit it to himself but some men were nice to look at sometimes, but there's a difference between admitting someone is attractive and wanting to sleep with them. Did he think that the color of Obi-wan's eyes was the most gorgeous blue he'd ever seen, and that his smile gave his stomach that same familiar turn, and that his very presence eased any of his overloaded senses. Well yes, but that didn't mean he liked men, or Obi-wan for that matter. It's not gay to say that you like the color of someone's eyes. Everyone in the galaxy knew that Obi-wan was attractive, even he knew that most of the 212th were in love with the Jedi in some shape or form. So his thoughts were completely straight and normal. 

"Hunter answer me-" Echo literally shook him out of his thought spiral, his tone still faking seriousness. He just sounded like the concerned older brother that he was. "You've been staring at him since you saw him and don't think I didn't pick up on you two being super chummy this morning. There's nothing wrong with you flirting with him, but Hunter this is a dangerous path."

"Wait- did you say husband?" Is all that tumbles out of his mouth. It would make sense if it was true, but it also made no sense at all. "I thought-"

"Well they weren't actually," Echo interrupts, "But the whole 501st and 212th made jokes and bets on it. I'm sure Rex knows more details then I do but they were always super close, so when I say that this is a dangerous path I mean that if Cody is still out there and finds out- you're a dead man . He was always super protective over Kenobi."

"I thought Jedi weren't allowed to have attachments, that's what Obi-wan told me." Hunter ignored the new pit forming in his stomach. 

"Yeah well, Kenobi, Tano and...Skywalker...didn't really follow that rule. Or any rule most of the time." Echo finally let go of Hunter's shoulders, dropping his arms to his side. "So just answer the question Hunter." 

He wasn't flirting, or at least he wasn't trying to. Right? Sure he had spent all night with the other man wanting nothing more than to hold him close and feel that comforting warmth. He wanted to learn more about Obi-wan, not the Jedi master or even general Kenobi, but the man who loved rosemary tea and dumb jokes, the man who loved everything so intensely that Hunter could pick up on without even trying, the man with the beautiful oceanic eyes that still looked so kind despite all they had seen. He wanted to know more so badly; what foods he liked, what else made his eyes sparkle, what music he liked, anything really. Was he also interested in how he held himself in a fight? Of course he was, he was still Hunter after all, but something about the far more simple person underneath the Jedi training was more intriguing to the clone. But Hunter still wouldn't call what he was doing, flirting. He didn't really know what to call it, their time together had been wonderful however short it was. All he did know is that Obi-wan hadn't left his mind, or his sight, since the moment they arrived. And after last night his heart tugged with a feeling of wanting to protect the other man, to be there to sooth his tears, to make him laugh, to tell him that it was okay to just be .

Oh.

O h.

"No, I'm not flirting with him, you moron." Hunter lied.