Safe and Sound (Star Wars: The Bad Batch AU)

Chapter 6

A/N: I edited chapter 3 a bit because I found a video that shows us a better idea of what Wrecker's house actually looks like (it's an actual house that you could buy for $9.5 million dollars)
Anywho, this chapter also has a slight mention of alcohol abuse. Also, the firearm mentioned in this chapter will be the same one from the Star Wars universe but as slugshots (regular guns, AKA guns with metal bullets instead of lasers)
Enjoy.

The end credits rolled, the Spider-Man theme blaring in the all surround sound speakers. Rafa got up, stretched, and exited the room. She needed to get some air.
Her footsteps echoed through the hall as she thought over what happened two hours earlier. It was kinda her fault, and she could've said something else. But what was she supposed to talk about? She hasn't heard from Hunter or Omega in years. Stupid Hunter. Granted, she could've re-worded it, but it was so sudden.

After a long walk, Rafa found herself in the outside kitchen. There was a cool breeze rustling the palm trees. She closed her eyes and listened for the wind splashing the water in the pool. It was calm out here.
She wishes things were different. She hated herself for everything she's done. If she hadn't won so much money from gambling that one night, then she wouldn't have been tempted to gamble again. Just once more. She remembered telling herself. It was also what caused her drinking problem. Within a year, she resorted to robbery to pay for the debts she gained. She was way to ashamed to admit to the others what she had gotten herself into.

Why do I have to be the way that I am? I'm such a- she shook her head. No, that's who I was. I've changed. I've been sober for over 3 years. She reminded herself. She went over to the mini fridge and looked to see what there was. There's water, vitamin water, sodas, juice, and Caprisuns. She got herself a vitamin water. She's not a big fan of sodas.

The last time she had one, it almost made her loose her sober streak. Stupid, I know. Granted, that was years ago, but she didn't want to risk it. It was her 2nd or 3rd time being sober for a week, and everyone was hanging out. She got a soda and it's strong fizz reminded her of the burning sensation of alcohol. It made her wonder... would this taste better if it was spiked? It was hard to resist the urge, but it's just a little drop. How bad could it be? It's not going to hurt anyone. And so she slipped out of the room and went to where she kept the last bottle of liquor. Wrecker had previously dumped it all out, but she was able to sneak one and save it. She went to that spot only to find Crosshair dumping it all out. "Don't think I didn't know you kept one," he said as he dumped the remains down the kitchen drain.

She closed the fridge door, and took a swig. Not half bad. She turned around and saw Hunter come through the opened remote controlled sliding glass door. Great, what does he want?
"There's sodas in the fridge if you want," Rafa gestured to the fridge. Hunter eyed her suspiciously. "What, you think I came out here for a drink? Your brothers dumped it all years ago. The only alcohol you'll find is in the vanilla extract."
Hunter slowly nodded. He went to the chairs in front of the counter and sat down. "Hey, could you get me one?"
Rafa turned around and opened the mini fridge. "There's sodas-"
"Soda."
Rafa got him a Dr. Pepper and put it on the counter. "There you go."
Hunter took it. "A Dr. Pepper. You remembered."
"Of course I did, you're one of the only ones who like it," Rafa tried to blow it off. Hunter opened the can and took a swig.
"Listen, I want to apologize for the way I've acted," Hunter admitted.
"Apology accepted-"
"No, I mean it. I overreacted, and if Wrec-"
"No, it's my fault too," Rafa stoped him, "I took it too far. So I'm sorry too."
Hunter remembered that it was hard for Rafa to admit things like this. Maybe she really has changed.
"Apology accepted," Hunter drank some more of his soda. After a long and uncomfortable silence, he sighed, shaking his head, "We need to stop fighting around Omega."
"Now that I can agree on. It's not the best character builder," Rafa sipped her vitamin water. The author disagrees. (Bruh I can't strikethrough on here)

Omega ran through the sliding glass door. "Mom, Dad, look what I got!" She waved around a red and yellow dinosaur plush.
"Cool! Where'd you get it from?" Hunter asked.
"I got it from Build-A-Bear!" She gave the Dino to Rafa.
"That's pretty cool, Omega. It's very soft," Rafa commented.
"Thanks! Guess what I named her?"
Rafa tapped her chin. "Elmo?"
"No, I named her Red!" Omega giggled, "Press this foot, Red will talk to you!"
Rafa pressed it's foot. "Hi! I'm Red, we're going to be best friends!" The foot spoke.
"Wow," Rafa was impressed, "None of my stuffed animals could do that."
Omega gasped, "You had stuffed animals too?"
Rafa nodded. "You'd have to ask Grandma Cid about that and if she still has them."

Hunter smiled at their interaction. Omega and Rafa were chatting away like old friends. It's been a while since he's seen Omega this happy. Hunter got up and went inside. When he got to the door, Omega called to him. "Dad, could you go and get Lula?"
Hunter turned around, "Of course I can."
He went inside and started the long walk to her room. On the way there, he wondered how different his and Omega's lives would've been if he had stayed in Florida, and if Rafa never went down the path she did. It wouldn't have changed much. He did want to live a more normal life for Omega so, like Tech, he would've worked part time at the local high school. He wouldn't go on every mission, so that he could be there for her. Rafa didn't want to live a normal life, as she didn't see the point of leaving everything for a 9-5 job. With how much they made with Wrecker, they could've provided for whatever future Omega chose.
But, Hunter didn't want Omega to grow up in the environment that they were in. As much as he wanted to stay in Florida, he knew it was the best choice to leave and start a new life. Wrecker helped him out a lot when he divorced Rafa. Wrecker didn't want him and Omega to leave, but he still helped them any way he could.

Hunter entered Omega's room and spotted the large plush on the foot of her bed. He grabbed it and headed back to the outdoor kitchen. On the way back, he started going over everything Wrecker and the others had done to help them. As soon as they heard what happened to Rafa, they reached out to Hunter and helped him any way that they could. Wrecker offered to watch Omega, with help from the others. They've done everything they could to make Omega's life as normal as possible over those six months. Wrecker said that he didn't have to pay him back, but he still wanted to. How do you pay back someone who's had your back through it all? Hunter wasn't sure. But one thing he could do is take up Wrecker's offer. Granted, it's been almost six years since he's been on a mission, but he couldn't be that rusty. He went to the shooting range whenever he could, and had his own "mini gym" set up downstairs where he could do his training.

He gave Lula to Omega and set out to find Wrecker. It took him almost ten minutes to find him.
"Hey Wrecker," Hunter sat down.
"Hey Hunter. What's goin' on?" Wrecker asked his brother.
"Do you remember that job you talked to me about? The one with the spice?"
"Why, you wanna come along?" He asked.
Hunter nodded, "It's the least I could do to repay you for what you've done for Omega and I."
Wrecker laughed, got up and hit his brother's shoulder, "Let's go see how rusty you are.

Ever since he's moved here, Wrecker had added a paint ball room and a shooting range so they could work on their skills. Wrecker led Hunter to the shooting range, and gave him the proper gear (noise cancelling headphones, protective eyewear). Wrecker set up the targets around the large area behind the counter, and in no time Hunter was ready. He chose a DC-17 pistol. He loaded the gun and stood behind the counter.
Wrecker came back behind the counter to the control panel. He scratched his head. "Usually Tech's the one to do this," he muttered. He gave his brother a thumbs up as soon as he turned it on.
Hunter flipped the switch off of safety, and had a good stance. He fired. As soon as he shot down the first target, other targets appears and started moving. He quickly fired at them, shooting each one once or twice before moving onto the next target. When he counted 12 shots, he unloaded the magazine, replaced and reloaded it, and went back to firing. He got all of the targets within 5 minutes. Using the control panel, Wrecker brought the targets in for closer inspection. The small targets on the walls had extended into view like the stop sign of a school bus. Hunter turned the safety on and put the gun on the counter. The targets all had holes in them. Half of the shots were almost at or near the bullseye.
"Haha. Not bad." Wrecker hit Hunter's shoulder (Bruh Wrecker's just a giant puppy or something lol)
"I've always been better at hand to hand combat," Hunter admitted.
"You got that right," Wrecker replied, "You sure you wanna come? It's very dangerous. And if you get caught, then you could lose your job."
"I know the risks. Besides, we've never gotten caught before. Dad taught us to be the best, remember?" Hunter assured him.
Wrecker nodded. "I remember."
"You got my gear?" Hunter asked.
"Right where you left it," Wrecker smiled.