We Are Forever

Chapter 3 - Bonding

Author's Note: Hunter and Crosshair... talk. ;)

~ Amina Gila

Tech leads them to their barracks. The floor here is tilted at a highly unappreciative angle. At least their room is still in one piece for now. It'd been hard to reach it, but it was the first place Tech could find. And, on top of that, they're on the ocean floor now. At least the falling is over, but Hunter has no doubt the rest of the facility is basically entirely flooded. If they're fully under water now, they won't have long before there's only literally a few unflooded rooms, and oxygen levels will be a problem shortly, too.

"Check it out!" Wrecker says gleefully, the first time he's shown a flicker of life since this entire thing started.

"All those missions together, and you threw it away," Crosshair growls.

They all freeze at his voice, turning around.

"Technically," Tech throws back, voice hard and sharp in the way it always is when he's angry, "You are the one who made that virtually impossible now."

"Hunter made his choice," Crosshair hisses back. Hunter still can't see his face. He wishes he could. He also doesn't. It's easier to disassociate when he doesn't... look like him.

"No, I didn't!" Hunter yells back at him, anyway, and everyone's staring at him from the sudden outburst, but he just – just can't. He hadn't wanted to go to Ryloth. It's not fair it was him who – who died there. "I didn't want to go back there! We wouldn't have if someone actually listened to me!"

His chest is burning. He wants to scream but if he starts, he'll never stop. He wants to cry again, and it's ridiculous because he's still nine years old, even if his mind won't work like that. It's maddening. He doesn't get to be weak, to be like this, but now that he's started talking, he can't stop it.

"I didn't want to leave you," Hunter continues his half-meltdown, "But you didn't give us a choice! Come back so you could kill all of us? Wasn't what you did to me enough?"

Echo's hand is on his shoulder, warm and gentle but firm. Hunter stumbles a little when Echo pulls him back, but he doesn't fight – leaning into it and barely of the mind to not cling to him outright. Hunter's still their leader.

He doesn't get to be weak.

He's not four.

Hunter can't act like it. He doesn't get to... It wasn't Omega's fault. Still feels like it was.

"Hunter," Omega whispers, stepping forward, and Echo shakes his head at her, pulling Hunter away from the others before he can hear another "it wasn't his fault" thing. Which. He knows and understands that, but maybe there's part of his way-too-childish brain that doesn't. He wants to just... be angry at him.

It'd be easier.

Anger is much easier than fear, and Hunter's terrified of him.

The room is dark, but there's not much to see of Echo's face, anyway – he has his helmet off right now. His hand is still on Hunter's shoulder.

"Is that really how you feel?" Echo asks him gently. He only talks to Omega with that voice. Not Hunter. Never Hunter – no one does.

Hunter shrugs. Yeah, he does, but he doesn't want to say that. His face feels wet again.

Echo pulls Hunter against him. He buries his face in Echo's neck. Doesn't care that they're being watched. He just wants to get out. Wants to stop hurting.