Crosshair x Female Medic Reader

Emotions

Summary: You examine Crosshair's injured hand and help him open up to you.

Warnings: Angst (fluff at the end, though <3)

~

     You find Crosshair down by the beach on Pabu, looking through the scope of his rifle to aim at some fruits on a pile of rocks. You watch as he looks through the scope, taking the shot. It misses as his hand shakes. You hear him curse under his breath. Crosshair turns to you, his expression softening slightly.

"Oh. It's you."

You smile, sitting down next to him. "How's it going?"

Crosshair sighs. "I keep trying to practice my aim, but..." He shakes his trembling hand. "It's not going well."

"Can I take a look at it?" You ask gently.

Crosshair hesitates, hiding his hand by his side. "It's fine. You don't have to look at it."

You look him in the eye. "I don't have to, but I want to."

He sighs again, holding out his injured hand. You gingerly inspect it from just a glance, then turn it and look closer.

"Can you turn your hand to the left, and then to the right?"

He nods, doing as you ask. You continue to have him complete a few simple tasks so you can see what's wrong. After a little while, you're at a loss for what it could be. You let go of his hand.

"I... don't see anything wrong physically. Maybe there's something that's affecting you emotionally that's causing your tremor."

Crosshair looks a bit taken aback. "Something wrong... emotionally? No. That can't be it."

You look into his eyes, trying to reassure him with a kind smile. "I've seen soldiers who are in similar situations to yours. It's really not that uncommon. Especially given the trauma that-"

"Nothing is wrong with me!" Crosshair interrupts you, raising his voice slightly.

You watch him stand up and walk away, leaving you wondering what you did wrong.

~

     You can't deny that you were hurt by what Crosshair said. At the same time, though, you know how he gets when he's upset. You've grown used to his behavior when he's uncomfortable with talking about something, and you can't fully blame him, either. Your time in the Empire was difficult and even traumatic, too. You're currently standing and leaning on the ledge in front of you on one of the middle levels of Pabu. The sun high in the sky since it's early in the afternoon. It's peaceful; nobody is near you right now, and you listen to the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore of the island.

You're startled by Hunter's voice behind you. "Everything alright?"

"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone to be here. Yes, I'm fine."

Hunter smiles, seemingly reading through your lie. "You know, Crosshair's always been like this. Especially during our training on Kamino. When he would get mad, he'd storm out of the room. He was such an angsty teenager..." He laughs. "Don't tell him I said that."

You laugh, surprised how Hunter seemed to just read your thoughts. "How did you know that I was thinking about Crosshair?"

"You've been a part of our squadron for a while, now. I can tell when you're upset about something. Plus, I know that Crosshair's been more defensive than usual lately."

"I was examining his hand and I told him that I believe it's most likely a reaction to the traumatic events he experienced when Hemlock experimented on him. After that he got up and left." You explain. "He's been gone for a few hours. I thought I'd just give him some space."

Hunter stands next to you, looking at the sea. "For the rest of the squad, he won't apologize if he lashed out at you. He mostly finds small ways to be annoying, like adjusting the Marauder's settings, or putting our armor in a different place." Hunter laughs again. "But I can tell that you're different. I know he loves you, even if he can't always show it, or doesn't handle his emotions well. He'll come back and apologize for you. Just give it some time."

You watch Hunter walk away, leaving you to yourself again.

~

     Hunter's predictions were right. After finding ways to help out the island for a few hours, Crosshair found you. You've just got back from helping a woman fish for the day, and Crosshair approaches you on the dock. He looks up, meeting your gaze.

"Can we talk?"

"Of course." You say, walking with him.

You two find a secluded spot on the beach to sit together. 

"I'm so sorry about earlier." Crosshair says, taking a deep breath. "As much as I hate to admit it... you're right. I just don't want to believe that something's wrong with me emotionally."

You place your hand over his. "Nothing's wrong with you, Cross."

"But there is. It was wrong of me to raise my voice at you."

"It's okay. I understand, and I forgive you."

Crosshair smiles slightly. "How... how do I fix this? If it's not a physical injury, then..."

"I know Omega says that meditating helps her. You can also talk with me- or talk with any of us, really, if you ever want to. Talking about your emotions doesn't make you weak or a burden, either. You know that, right?"

Crosshair nods. "Yes. Thank you, Y/N. I love you."

"I love you too." You respond, leaning your head on his shoulder.

~

     Echo finds you two on the beach. 

"Will you be joining us for dinner in a bit?" He asks.

Crosshair shakes his head, smiling. "I have a date planned for Y/N and I."

You look over at him. "You do?"

He nods. "I do." 

"Have fun, you two." Echo says, walking away. 

"When did you plan a date for us?" You ask Crosshair.

"When I walked away earlier, I spent the last bit of time planning a date for the two of us tonight. I wanted to do something nice for you."

"You didn't have to-" You begin.

"But I wanted to." He interrupts, smiling.

You smile back at him, holding his hand. "Well then, lead the way to whatever you have planned for us." 

~

     Crosshair leads you to an outdoor patio area for what seems to be a small restaurant on Pabu. 

"I made us a reservation for tonight." He explains as you approach one of the servers.

"Really?"

He nods. "Anything for you, my dear."

The server leads you two to a table that overlooks the lower levels of the island. You two sit down, and the server leaves. Above you are strings of lights that are hung up between multiple wooden posts. The sun has just begun to set, and the lighting is perfect.

You laugh, surprised by this somewhat unusual behavior from your boyfriend. "I would've been fine with eating with the others."

"I know. But I wanted to go on a date with you. I wanted to spent time with you; just the two of us. Remember when you and I used to sneak out on dates when we were working for the Empire?"

"I do. Those dates were fun."

Crosshair places his hand over yours on the table. "We should do this more, then. I know we're both working through some things, but we can still do things like this. We can... have fun again. Enjoy ourselves."

"Yeah." You smile. "I'd like that."