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When Omega woke up the first thing, she noticed, was that she had a headache. An uncomfortable pounding behind her temples that seemed to have manifested overnight. She blinked a couple of times, trying to fully wake up but then winced as the light that shined through her little window hurt her eyes and made the pain in her head even worse. Omega let out a frustrated groan. She really didn’t want to be sick. Not today, when she was supposed to meet Lyana and a few others at the beach to go swimming and sunbathing all day.
The weather on Pabu had been great for a few days now and Omega was really enjoying the sun, going swimming whenever she could and eating lots of ice cream. Therefore, she just couldn’t afford to be sick and missing out today. After everything that had happened on Tantis and all the dangerous missions she had been in before, Omega was really looking forward to their new, almost carefree life in their small house on the little island. Sometimes though, she missed flying through the stars, helping people and going on adventures but she also really didn’t mind taking a break from all this to just be with her friends and family.
Like Hunter always said, she was doing her best at ‘just being a kid’. Although she usually made sure to point out that she wasn’t such a little kid anymore which the others tended to ignore most of the times. But since she really had grown up a lot, Omega decided that she would not let this little cold or whatever she might have stop her from spending the day with her friends at the beach. She forced herself to sit up and rubbed her eyes. Aside from her pounding head she could feel her throat hurting when she swallowed, and she seemed uncomfortably cold without her blanket despite the hot temperatures outside.
She sighed but pushed herself of her bed to find some clothes and then went into the small bathroom to brush her hair and to make sure that there weren’t any visible traces of sickness on her face. Under no circumstances could the others know she even might be sick. Hunter would ground her to her bed and Crosshair would probably sit at the door with his sniper rifle ready to make sure she didn’t leave the house.
Omega smiled at the thought of them going into hyper-protective mode. Although it annoyed her most of the time, she also knew it showed how much they cared. But despite all this, Omega entered their shared living-room with the full determination not to let them notice anything odd so that she could just disappear to the beach and into the ocean.
“Morning kid, slept well?” She heard Hunter’s characteristic voice greeting her. He was alone in the room for which Omega was grateful. The less eyes on her the better.
“Morning”, she greeted back, “yeah, I slept fine. Are Wrecker and Crosshair out already?” Internally she winced at her own, unnaturally scratchy voice. Talking did not feel great.
“They left about an hour ago”, Hunter replied, smiling at her, “I wanted to wait for you to wake up though. Thought we could eat breakfast together, I tried to make something you’ll hopefully enjoy”
Eww food. Omega really wasn’t hungry, and the prospect of eating made her rather nauseous. She was about to say that she didn’t want any breakfast, but the kind smile Hunter was giving her made this a lot harder. He was trying everything he could to make her life here as best as possible and Omega really didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Besides, on any other day she would’ve loved to have breakfast with him.
“Hunter, I’m sorry but I don’t think I have enough time to eat something. I’m supposed to meet the others at the beach and I’m late already. I’ll eat something with them later”
Omega thought this was a pretty good and more importantly plausible explanation why she couldn’t eat right now and one look at Hunter told her she had convinced him because he nodded in understanding.
“You did sleep a little longer than usual today. I didn’t remember you were supposed to meet this early, but I’ll just pack you some of the food for your picknick later”, he said and got up to pack her a bag.
“Thanks Hunter” Omega gave him a big smile although her head had started pounding even worse and her throat still felt uncomfortably scratchy. And then she couldn’t help it. She had to cough. Although she tried to muffle it into her elbow Hunter immediately turned around, concern written clearly over his face. Omega groaned internally. Not only did the cough burn like hell in her lungs, but now Hunter also probably wouldn’t just let her go. At least not without further questioning.
As if he could read her mind, he asked: “Are you alright, kid? That cough didn’t sound too good”
“I’m fine Hunter”, Omega replied, not being able to keep a certain annoyance out of her voice. But her reassurance apparently wasn’t convincing enough because now Hunter was coming over and eyed her more closely.
“You look a little under weather, Omega”, he finally stated, still with this concerned look.
“Nah, I’m just a little tired, nothing to worry about”, Omega tried to deflect but her words were betrayed by another coughing fit. This one was a lot worse and left her almost a little breathlessly for a second. Hunter immediately caught her shoulder to steady her and used his other hand to gently brush her hair back before he placed it on her forehead.
“You definitely have a fever Omega”, he said, giving her shoulder a comforting little squeeze. On another day Omega would’ve loved to just fall into his arms and allow him to make her feel better, but she really wanted to go out today.
“It’s not that bad Hunter, probably just a little cold”, she therefore replied.
“Well even if it’s not that bad yet, you should stay home and rest”, Hunter told her, “we do not want this to get worse”
“But I really want to hang out with my friends, we’ve planned this whole fun day of swimming and relaxing at the beach”, Omega protested, her voice almost whining a little. He would not really make her stay home because of a cough and a fever, right?
“You are not going to the beach, let alone into the ocean, when you’re already sick Omega”, he replied, making it sound more like an order in his sergeant’s voice that he rarely ever used anymore, “you should go back to bed now and rest a little and then later we’ll have a nice, relaxing day at home”
“But I’ve been really looking forward to this! I don’t want to stay home!”
This time she definitely whined but she didn’t care. Tears were burning behind her eyes. Why did Hunter have to be so unfair and why did she have to be sick today out of all days?
“This is not open for discussion”, Hunter said firmly, before his face softened a little. “I know you are disappointed kid, but you can be with your friends another time, when you’re not sick. And hey, when you’ll feel better later, maybe we can do something fun with Wrecker and Crosshair that’s a little less active than swimming”
“I don’t want to do something with you, I want to be with my friends! You’re being so unfair Hunter!”, she yelled at him angrily and turned around to hide back in her room.
She knew she wasn’t exactly fair to Hunter either, who just wanted to make her feel better, but he always thought he knew exactly what was best for her. Well, sometimes he didn’t. She could hear him say something, but she didn’t listen anymore as she forcefully closed the door behind her and crawled back into bed, curling up under the blanket. She was still cold, and her head felt like it would explode any second. Feeling miserable made her even more angry and frustrated and she couldn’t stop a few hot tears running down her cheeks. Everything was just so unfair.
_
Hunter ran a desperate hand through his hair. He had really messed this up. Or had he? He sighed audibly. In his opinion, he had done everything right by making sure Omega would stay home and rest. Of course, he could also understand that she was sad about missing out on meeting with her friends, but Hunter had believed that she would understand why this would be a bad idea. Although he would never admit it, it had hurt Hunter a lot, when Omega had told him she didn’t want to spend time with him.
Of course, he understood that his little girl was growing up and became more independent everyday but even though he knew in theory that this was a good thing, he couldn’t help but miss his precious little kid. Not so long-ago Omega would have come to him when she felt bad, and he would have done everything in his power to make her better. But apparently, she was too grown up for this now. Hunter sighed again and decided that no matter if she wanted him to be with her or not, he should at least check up on his kid.
When he entered her room, his heart ached a little at the sight before him. Omega lay curled up on her side under a blanket her back turned towards him. He could hear her sniffling quietly.
“Hey kid”, he began hesitantly, not wanting to push her too much.
“Go away”, Omega muffled in response.
“I brought you a glass of water and some fruits”, he continued, ignoring her request and placing the items on her nightstand.
Another muffled ‘not hungry’ was the only reply he got.
“Listen Omega, I know you’re mad at me, but I really don’t think I deserve this kind of treatment. It’s not my fault you got sick today and you also know it would be irresponsible for you to go swimming like this. I’m sorry you have to stay home and I’m sorry you’re not feeling well but I can’t help you if all you want to do is sulking in your bed being mad at me”
He had said his words in a friendly but also determined voice, trying to show Omega that he could understand her but also that she should try to understand his perspective.
“Just leave me alone!”, Omega yelled back, turning around to look Hunter into his eyes. He could see her flushed cheeks and her glassy, slightly red eyes.
“Alright fine, if this is how you want to do this I’ll go”, he replied, trying to keep the anger and worry that were battling inside him out of his voice, “but I think you should think about the way you’re acting right now and if that’s really what you want”
Hunter didn’t wait for a reply and just turned around, hiding the mixed emotions appearing on his face. Before he left the room, he stopped and said: “I’ll still be in the other room, if you need anything or want to talk”
With that he closed the door behind him and let himself fall onto their couch. He really, really wasn’t good at this whole raising a kid and being a parent thing. Finally, he decided to comm Wrecker and Crosshair to tell them about what happened. Maybe they would have an idea how to handle this situation, because Hunter was certainly completely clueless on what to do next.
-
“That doesn’t sound like Omega”, Wrecker commented after Hunter told them about his morning. Crosshair and Wrecker had just come back from helping out with the fishing boats.
“I’d say that being stubborn and overly emotionally invested in something completely trivial, does sound exactly like her”, Crosshair retorted, a small smile on his lips that Hunter couldn’t quiet place.
“But I do agree with Hunter, she shouldn’t have let her frustration out on him, while he was trying to help”, his younger brother continued, “I’ll make sure to tell her that”
Crosshair moved to get up, but Hunter stopped him by grabbing his arm.
“Just let her be Cross, it’s not that big of a deal” He knew his voice was lacking any confidence and Crosshair looked at him doubtfully.
“You’re hurt she doesn’t let you help her, and you’re hurt that she’s angry with you”, Crosshair stated, “that kinda makes it a big deal, doesn’t it? At least for you”
“Yeah, I don’t feel great about it”, he admitted, “but maybe that’s just what it’s like from now on. With Omega getting older, I just don’t now how to handle this new mood of her, you know? I thought I had become quite good at sensing her feelings and being able to help her, but it seems she prefers hating me now instead of allowing me to help”
Hunter couldn’t keep a certain sadness out of his voice, but he didn’t really care his brothers got to see him like that. They had been through so much together that he had learned not fear showing vulnerability in front of them anymore.
“Nah don’t worry Hunter, she’s still our little kid, yours especially”, Wrecker tried to reassure him and patted his shoulder. Hunter sighed again, wishing his brother was right.
“Thanks Wrecker but I’m not so sure. She yelled at me to leave her alone. She’s never done that before”
“Well since you don’t want me talking some sense into her, that really just leaves us with the prospect of waiting for her to make a move” Crosshair said and settled back on the couch, getting comfier.
“How can you be so relaxed about this?”, Hunter asked incredulously, “I don’t even think she’ll voluntarily leave her room today again. She was really upset”
All he wished he could do was give her a big hug and make it all better.
“I think I learned to understand how Omega is thinking. And what I’m a hundred percent certain of is that for some reason she loves us like crazy, so just give her some time, she’ll come around”
With that Crosshair got himself a drink and then leaned back, closing his eyes.
“Cross is right Hunter; she can’t stay mad at you for long just like you can never be mad at her either”
“I know all this Wrecker, but still, she is sick and probably really not feeling well and instead of being with her, I’m stuck out here”
It didn’t help at all that they could hear Omega coughing behind her door and with his enhanced hearing Hunter was even capable of making out the sounds of her congested breathing. He really felt bad for his kid.
“Oh, will you relax now, Hunter”, Crosshair was starting to sound annoyed, “she’s just behind that door and not deadly sick. She’ll be fine on her own for some time. Just trust her to make the right decision. And please shut up now, your overprotectiveness is giving me a headache”
Wrecker laughed at this and even Hunter managed a little chuckle. Although he knew that Crosshair could be just as overprotective about their little girl, he decided not to comment this any further and actually tried to relax a little. After all, his brothers were right. There was nothing to do but wait.
-
In her room Omega was still lying curled up in her bed. She had heard Wrecker and Crosshair returning some time ago and now tried to ignore their muffled voices from behind the door. For a moment, after Hunter had left her alone, she had considered to maybe escape through her window but had quickly decided against it because she just didn’t feel up to it.
Truth to be told, Omega felt rather awful. Not only because she had started feeling more and more sick but also because of the way she had treated Hunter. It made her feel guilty. He must think she hated him, but she hadn’t really meant to hurt him she had just been angry, and her headache had made her reallycranky. Ugh, thinking about her headache just made it worse.
Another coughing fit forced her to sit up what in return made her feel rather dizzy. She really hated being sick and all she wanted was to curl up with the others on the couch, wanted Hunter to play with her hair in the comforting way he always did and Wrecker to tell her jokes that were so impossibly bad she just had to laugh.
Omega could’ve kicked herself for yelling earlier. But in the back of her head, she remembered Hunters voice telling her to come out if she needed him. He wouldn’t reject her, would he? She didn’t believe he’d actually do it, but she had been rather mean to him. Deciding asking for help couldn’t really made her feel worse than she already was, Omega slowly got up, trying to ignore the pain in her head, chest and heart, grabbing her blanket before making her way to the living room.
When she opened the door, she immediately saw the others on the couch. They all looked up at her simultaneously, making her feel pretty uncomfortable, and she seemed to shrink a little under their glances.
“I… I…ehm”, she began hesitantly but suddenly emotions seemed to overwhelm her and she couldn’t stop the tears spilling from her eyes. “I really don’t feel good”, she finally managed to say, her whole body trembling a little.
She looked up, her eyes meeting Hunter’s for a second before he opened his arms, patting the spot next to him and said: “Come here kid”
Omega didn’t hesitate and rushed to him as fast as she could, ignoring the fact that the room was spinning a little. She ended up halfway next to and halfway on top of Hunter, burying her head in the crook of his neck crying openly now. Although she knew she must look incredibly ridiculous, making such a big deal of this whole thing but she didn’t care what they might think about her. All she cared about was, that Hunter wasn’t pushing her away. Hunter had wrapped her into a warm and safe hug, gently rubbing her back and running a hand through her hair.
“Hey, it’s alright kid, okay. I’ve got you”, he whispered to her reassuringly.
“It’s not okay”, Omega replied, moving away from the safety of his hug just enough that she could look at all of them properly. She tried to wipe away the tears and sniffled a little before she continued.
“I was so mean to you Hunter although you were just trying to help me. And I just yelled at you, I don’t even know why it was stupid it’s just a beach trip, but I made such a big deal out of it. I shouldn’t have said all those things to you, you must have thought I hate you, but I promise I really don’t! I don’t know why I let it all out on you!”
She had been talking really fast, which hadn’t been a good idea because it seemed to have triggered a new coughing fit. Omega curled into herself trying to catch her breath.
“Easy kid, in and out, okay”, Hunter coaxed, still rubbing her back.
She could hear Wrecker say: “Aww kid, that sounds painful”
When the coughing seemed to have died down for now, she realised Crosshair was handing her a glass of water.
“Drink”, he ordered in a firm voice that was betrayed by his concerned eyes.
“Thanks”, she mumbled as she drank a small sip that surprisingly cooled her sore throat.
“It’s just that I feel really awful, and of course you were right Hunter”, she continued after a moment of silence, “going to the beach would’ve been just stupid but I didn’t listen and now everything hurts and I’m really, really sorry”
She looked up at Hunter, trying to determine if he was still mad at her. After a second, she was relieved to see him smiling at her.
“It’s alright Omega, I’m not mad you”, he said, “let’s just focus on making you feel better. Can you tell us a little more about how you’re feeling?”
“Not that ‘everything hurts’ hasn’t been an excellent description”, Crosshair added smirking and Omega had to laugh a little as well.
“My head feels like it’s gonna explode, my throat is just really yucky, I have to cough all the time, and I can’t breathe properly. And I’m really cold”
As to enforce her last point, she curled deeper into Hunter, shivering. Hunter wrapped the blanket around her before placing his hand on her forehead again.
“You definitely still got a fever”, he stated.
“That really sounds awful, kid”, Wrecker said sympathetically, “but, lucky for you I got just the idea to make you feel better. Be right back”
He got up and left after giving her hair a little ruffle.
“What’s he up to now?”, Hunter asked.
“No idea”, Crosshair replied shrugging. Turning to Omega he said: “You know kid, that’s so like you, managing to get the flu when it’s practically burning outside”
“Cross- “, Hunter said in a warning tone, but Omega had to laugh, knowing Crosshair’s teasing was his way of showing that he cared.
“Yeah, I’ve been asking myself how it is even possible to get sick in summer”, Omega replied, whining dramatically.
“Well one thing is for sure, if somebody can manage the impossible that’s definitely you”, Crosshair told her smirking. Without a warning she quickly freed her arm free of the blanket and pushed her little brother into the side.
“You are the worst”, she complained laughing. Before Crosshair could defend himself, Wrecker returned, somehow managing to carry four bowls of ice cream without dropping them.
“Cold stuff is supposed to help sore throats right? Which makes being sick a totally good reason to eat lots of ice cream”, he grinned at them, handing each a bowl with a spoon.
“Thank you, Wrecker”, Omega beamed at him and immediately ate a big spoonful. Wrecker was right, it really soothed her throat, and she didn’t care that it made her feel even colder. It simply tasted too nice.
“Anything for you kid”, he replied, giving her his biggest smile, “I know it’s not like being with your friends, but I thought maybe you’d still enjoy it”
“It’s perfect!”
“We’ll have you better and ready for the beach in no time, kid”, Hunter promised, also smiling and giving her shoulder a little squeeze.
“So that you can get in some new trouble with your friends”, Crosshair added. Omega gave him a glare and he smirked at her.
“Actually”, she said hesitantly, “I’ve been thinking, maybe when I’m better we could all go to down to the beach together, like you know a family trip. Only if you want of course”
“That sounds like a great idea, Omega”, Hunter said, and Omega thought that he looked genuinely excited and maybe even a little relieved at her proposition.
“I’m not sure sitting on sand is really my thing”, Crosshair argued. Omega’s smile dropped.
“Please Crosshair”, she whined, giving him her puppy dog eyes, she knew he couldn’t resist. She was right.
“Fine, I’ll go but I’m definitely not going to swim”
“Ah Omega and I will find a way to get you into the water, right kid?”, Wrecker said conspiratorially and shot Omega a knowing look.
Immediately Omega pictured Wrecker throwing Crosshair into the ocean and had to laugh. She gave Wrecker a big high-five and finished her last bit of ice cream. Suddenly Omega felt very tired and absently leaned back against Hunter, her head on his shoulder, slowly closing her eyes.
“Get some rest kid”, Hunter said gently and this time she didn’t need to be told twice.
Just before she drifted off to sleep, she took in the picture in front of her one last time. Sitting on the couch with her family, protected and loved. Omega smiled to herself. Maybe being sick in summer wasn’t too bad after all.