Bad Batch Oneshots

Return

Crosshair and Omega
••The Batch are finally able to rescue Crosshair from the Empire's clutches, but nothing will ever be the same.

"Omega, eat your food."

Omega glanced down at her rations, then purposely returned her gaze to the hall to avoid Hunter's glare.

"Crosshair's not here yet." She said.

Hunter let out an exasperated sigh. "We already waited twenty minutes for him. I don't think he's coming out." He replied.

Omega's eyebrows creased into a gentle frown. Ever since Crosshair had been rescued, she noticed he'd been spending less time around everyone. She chalked up it to the fact that he probably still had ill feelings toward them due to the Empire's influence, though she had absolutely no idea how much he'd been through or the severity of those experiences.

He would come around sometime, right? He had to.

"Don't be too disappointed." Hunter spoke in between bites. "He's always been that way."

Her frown deepened.

"No. This feels wrong." She said, finally turning her head to meet Hunter's gaze. "We should wait for him."

"If we did that, we'd be here all night. Trust me."

"But he's one of us! You'd wait for Tech, wouldn't you? What about Echo? Wrecker?"

"Kid—"

"What makes Crosshair any different?"

A soft creak caught Hunter's attention as well as Omega's and she mimicked the movement of him turning his head. Standing in the hall was Crosshair, hesitant and dressed in his blacks. Not the old ones with the familiar Republic cog printed on the front, but the ones provided by the Empire.

Black. Devoid of any identifying symbols aside from the plain aurebesh that stated his number.

Everyone but Omega tensed upon Crosshair's appearance, though Hunter was the most noticeable, his hand instinctively twitching closer to the knife that laid on the floor by his leg. Crosshair saw this and frowned, a glimpse of hurt briefly washing over his expression.

Omega could not bear the silence that followed.

"Hey Crosshair.." She greeted, attempting to relieve the tension. "I waited so I could eat with you. I've got your rations right here."

Crosshair scarcely acknowledged her kindness, instead glaring at Hunter. However, the usual sharpness was not there. His glare was dull, almost appearing to be filled with exhaustion.

"Forget it. Obviously I'm not wanted here." He muttered bitterly, turning to disappear back down the hall.

"Crosshair, wait!" Omega cried out, but it was too late.

He was already gone.

She felt that familiar burn in her chest as her throat tightened. She whirled around to face Hunter, eyes brimming with barely contained tears.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked slowly, her voice trembling.

The words had spilled from her mouth with no thoughts behind them, only anger. She didn't care if she hurt Hunter with them. She didn't care about his feelings. The only thing that mattered to her in that moment was the fact that Hunter had made his own brother—his own batchmate—feel unwelcome in a place that was supposed to be his safe place.

"Omega, you know I didn't—" Hunter started.

"Stop, Hunter." Omega interrupted sharply. Breaking eye contact with him, she pushed herself to her feet and gathered both her rations and Crosshair's in her arms. "I'm done listening."

Hunter could only watch as she too disappeared into the hall, leaving him utterly speechless. He could practically sense the waves of anger emanating from her—so raw and volatile. He had no choice but to let her go and the others knew that. They kept their reactions reserved instead of trying to convince her to stay.

Nothing he said would make the situation better. He just had to live with that.

•
•
•

Omega sat against the wall across from Crosshair's door for over half an hour before she finally gathered the courage to approach it. Leaving the rations—which were now cold—behind, she slowly walked up to the door. She raised her fist to knock, though she hesitated when her knuckles were inches away from the door's cold, metallic surface.

Would Crosshair answer? Would he appreciate her efforts? Would he even acknowledge her?

Considering the circumstances of the past, he most certainly hated her—and why wouldn't he? In her mind, she had unintentionally replaced him. And with him trapped in the Empire's web, the Batch had to move on.

She remembered looking over her shoulder as she sprinted to the Marauder when they first escaped Kamino.

She remembered catching that glimpse of utter betrayal on his face before she was shoved inside by Hunter.

After Kamino, it was Bracca. Then Ryloth.

They had left Crosshair behind three times, and that was three times too many.

Omega knew there had been obstacles in their path that prevented them from reaching Crosshair, but he wasn't completely aware of that. She knew that in his mind, he was being betrayed and left behind over and over and over again—and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

She gave the door a few soft knocks and waited for a response. One agonizingly long minute passed before she heard shuffling behind the door, which lifted her hopes. Then, things went silent and her hopes plummeted once more.

"What do you want?" Crosshair's voice startled her.

Anxiety tied Omega's gut in knots, but she swallowed that fear and straightened up. She was here for a reason.

"I brought your rations." She said. "They're a little cold, but... so are mine. Maybe we could eat them together?"

Silence. Omega pursed her lip.

"I just want to spend some time with you, if that's alright." She thought for a second before quickly adding, "Please?"

For a brief moment, she thought that he wouldn't open the door. Then, much to her surprise, the door slid open with a soft whoosh to reveal Crosshair standing there, arms crossed over his chest.

Omega gathered up the rations and entered his room, being mindful of anything he had laying out in plain view. It had been a while since she was last in Crosshair's dormitory. After the escape from Kamino, she would often explore his room and even lay on his cot, thinking about how they would get him back.

She handed Crosshair his rations and sat down on the edge of his cot with her rations in her lap. He sat beside her, though he purposely put some space between them.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, keeping their gazes fixated on their food or the floor. Finally, Crosshair decided to break the silence.

"Why do you care so much?" He asked. For once, his tone held no hints of malice or mockery.

Omega poked at her rations with a fork. "You're my brother. You may have done some bad things in the past, but that doesn't mean I stop caring about you."

"Sure seems like they don't care." Crosshair muttered through a mouthful of food.

"They do, they just have a harder time showing it. We've always cared about you, Cross. Even when you thought we didn't."

Crosshair looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

Omega met his gaze. "You didn't deserve what happened to you, and I'm sorry it took us so long to save you." She said, smiling a little at him. "But I'm glad you're back. The Batch isn't complete without their sniper."

For the first time in several months, Crosshair smiled. No matter how small it was, it was still genuine—and that's all Omega needed to see.