The Bad Batch: One Shot Collection

Sith Blood (Part 1)

Author's Note: This is for the square "Sith AU" on the Bad Batch Bingo. :D

Summary:

Hunter: I'm glad you're having fun but CAN YOU PLEASE GET OFF OF ME?

Tech: **lying flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling he can't even see**

Wrecker: **walking into the same wall repeatedly** I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING!

Crosshair: **5555555% blissed out, 8888888% hungry, and 100000000000000000000000% unaware that anything's wrong**

~ Rivana Rita

In which the Bad Batch stumble onto a cave in the Clone Wars, missing the rumors that anything of it is amiss... until Crosshair gets transformed into something other.

When he wakes, it's dark. He can't see anything, and Hunter blinks a few times, trying to let his eyes adjust to the darkness, but still nothing. And, his armor's off. That was definitely not his doing, either.

Hunter hears something shuffling. They're not alone. Whatever knocked them out, probably – actually, that was some sort of explosion, or something he didn't understand. Probably, they're captured by... someone.

The shuffling comes closer, and he picks up a familiar smoky-foggy scent. Crosshair. Safe.

"Crosshair?" he asks quietly, turning his head. He still can't see.

He senses Crosshair beside him now, crouching next to him. He doesn't respond verbally, but he touches Hunter's shoulder. His touch is warm and soothing, but it's not half as gentle as it ought to be, as he expected it to be.

Hunter reaches up, half of the mind to push him off and ask what he's doing, but Crosshair outright growls at him, and it hardly sounds human. He freezes momentarily, heart skipping a beat from the sheer unexpectedness and sharpness of the sound, and Crosshair half climbs on him, pinning him to the rocky ground.

Hunter jerks against it, but he's still only half awake, and he's still exhausted from something he can't quite remember, and Crosshair seems strangely stronger than him right now. Which is weird. He's not supposed to be – the regs always made fun of Crosshair for being... weak. Which he's not, he's just not as strong as many of them. He's... well, he's skinny.

"What are you doing?!" Hunter demands, half freaked out, trying to think of something semi-logical he could've done recently that would've upset his little brother.

Crosshair growls at him, shoving harder and pinning him down.

And then he bites him. Actually bites him, and it's not in the typical, chaotic Crosshair manner. It's sloppy, and it hurts. Hunter yelps a little louder than he's proud of, squirming and trying to leverage him off.

What in the galaxy does he think he's doing?

Crosshair presses his mouth to Hunter's neck, and he shivers, trying to pry him off. It feels weird, even if it doesn't hurt, and he's more freaked out than anything else. He's – what the –

"What are you doing?!" Hunter half-shrieks as Crosshair starts sucking blood out of his neck.

Crosshair growls lowly, and goes right back to his – whatever in the stars he thinks he's doing.

Hunter reaches up, trying to pry him off, but Crosshair grabs his wrist, pinning his arm to the ground. His grip is tight enough to hurt. Hunter jerks against his grip, but it's too tight.