Come on soldier can’t you do better than
Good soldiers follow orders good soldiers follow orders good soldiers
Hunter no wait what are you
diersfollowordersgoodsoldiersfollowordersgoodsoldiersfollo
Hunter bolts upright, biting down on a curse in a way that’s become instinctual ever since Omega joined them, since Hunter decided he couldn’t afford to half-ass this parenting thing.
Omega.
Where…?
They were captured. Shit, they’ve been captured and this is a cell and he doesn’t even know where he is. Omega isn’t anywhere around, he can’t feel her, and Tech is gone too and Echo and Wrecker and—
“Sarge.”
No. That can’t be right.
He’s in bigger trouble than he thought.
“Hunter. Hey, Sarge, calm down. Breathe.”
Hunter takes a few deep breaths and nearly gags on the smell of blood. He opens his eyes. “Crosshair?”
“...Yes.” Crosshair blinks down at him, eyes meeting Hunter’s forehead in what used to be a courtesy but is now more than likely fear. “You were panicking.”
“Shouldn’t I be?” He shifts uncomfortably and Crosshair moves away, letting him sit up. “You’re…”
Crosshair closes his eyes, leaning against the duracrete wall. “Normal again. Whatever that means.”
Hunter doesn’t know what to say. He rarely does.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me. Any of you.”
Hunter still doesn’t know what to say, so he tucks himself up against Crosshair’s side like he’s done since they were cadets and squeezes him hard. It takes him a moment, but Crosshair squeezes back and, for the first time in nearly four years, doesn’t snicker and call Hunter short when Hunter has to sit up straight to rest his cheek on Crosshair’s head.
Finally, words find their way back to Hunter’s brain and he says, “I forgive you.”
Crosshair, because he cannot allow himself a moment of weakness, replies, “They took the others to the containment cells on H-8. We’re on G-3V.”