𝐑𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 - 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫

- 𝐓𝐖𝐎

SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TIME IT WAS WHEN SHE AWOKE. vana rolled over to face the doorway of the room she and omega shared, a sigh escaping her lips. cid had been kind enough to allow them to sleep there; vana was surprised the trandoshan had sleeping quarters in her saloon.

vana slowly slid out of bed, stepping over omega and walking out of the room. it was silent, which was unusual for the place. she padded into the main area, but she was met with another figure. crosshair sat at the bar, swirling his drink. his eyes were focused on the cup, but she knew he knew she was there. she hesitated in her steps, but she continued. vana walked behind the bar and made herself a glass of water, feeling the stare of crosshair on her body.

"can't sleep?" she proposed as she took a sip of her drink. he didn't reply; why would she ask such a question? of course, he couldn't sleep. now that she was here, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to talk either. he didn't want to talk to her, he didn't want to see her. crosshair had fought with the system that killed her friends, that slaughtered the next generation of jedi. how could he look her on the face and speak?

"i know you don't want to talk, i get it," she started, her voice soft. crosshair still kept his gaze on the cup in front of her. his guilt turned his heart bitter; she shouldn't be there.

"but...you couldn't control it. none of them can. as much as you think you were the villain, you never were." crosshair didn't respond, but he turned his face away from her. he wouldn't admit it, but hearing that from a woman who lost everything to the war soothed him, to an extent. he'd always live with the guilt, but crosshair could see a light at the end of the tunnel.

"did you come out here just to lecture me?" his bitter tone shocked vana, but she shook it off.

"no, i didn't," she responded shortly. vana grabbed her glass of water and stood up to leave. she hoped that maybe at some point her words would permeate through crosshair's stone-cold heart.

"just," she breathed, "know that i'm not mad at you and i won't hold a grudge against you," she spoke softly before padding back to bed. her words soaked into crosshair's mind, but he didn't acknowledge it. he kept the walls up the best he could, even though he knew he had to face his guilt eventually.

———

the next morning, rather early, she was shaken awake by someone. she opened her eyes, an annoyed groan escaping her lips.

"what?"

"we might have a new mission," hunter hummed, his voice still gruff from a night's rest. vana ran her hands down her face, exhaling. as much as she enjoyed being with the bad batch, she hated the missions. a small part of her wanted to settle down and stop fighting, but the kenobi part of her reasoned, 'if not me, who?'

"so, we do," vana exhaled, her eyes meeting hunter's. she's always been fascinated with his eyes, the way they changed color based on the setting they were in. but they always comforted vana, he always comforted vana.

"cid said it's someone on tatooine that needs assistance with some beast or something. i dunno, she just said the people are suffering," hunter shrugged. he sat down on her cot, taking one of her hands in his. he could tell she hated fighting, and it wasn't because she's said it, he could see how tired she was. the bags under her eyes were permanent, and he swore her hair was getting blonder every day. she sat up, keeping her hand in his.

"i hate this," she admitted, keeping her eyes on their hands.

"i know," he replied softly. before he could say anything else, they were interrupted by tech yelling for them.

"guess that's our cue," vana hummed, letting go of his hand to get herself ready. he nodded in agreement, walking out. the feeling of vana's hand in his never left his body. it left a tingling feeling, one that the sergeant couldn't get rid of so easily.

when she was ready, the two of them stood with the rest of the batch and cid, who went over their mission.

"there's a village on tatooine. i know a guy there named gale, and he's asked for your help in taking care of some pirates."

"you said earlier it was a beast," tech pointed out, adjusting his goggles.

"yeah well pirates, beasts, same thing right?" cid waves off tech's point, which didn't come as a surprise to him.

"technically no," tech mumbled under his breath.

"what was that, goggles?" the trandoshan called back.

"nothing," he shook his head. the team split, gathering supplies and whatever else they needed. tatooine was an interesting place, and it would make sense for there to be an imperial presence there; the jedi have a history with the planet. vana thought about this as she grabbed snacks for the journey, even if they were mainly for omega and wrecker. as she packed, a chilling sense came over her. she shivered, attempting to shake the feeling away. but, it didn't leave her. something was waiting for them on tatooine, but she wasn't sure if they were friendly or not. vana knew they'd find out, but she hated going in blind. they'd be fine, they always were, right?

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it's been ages so hello hello. work has been killing me, but since i'm almost done, i'll have more time to write! this was a little rushed i'll admit, but i wanted to get something out to you guys. i hope you enjoy!