Since you mentioned Hunter 👁👁✨ How about Fluff 25 “Your hair is really soft.” ?
character: Hunter (The Bad Batch)
prompt: “Your hair is really soft.”
The house is quieter than usual. You’re not sure if it’s peaceful or unsettling. You’re used to the chaos that’s been four brothers and their little sister—or, at least, three brothers, their little sister, and her adopted father.
Hunter had asked if they could lay low with you soon after the Empire swept through the galaxy and tightened their grasp. He told you it would be dangerous, but when you saw the desperation in his eyes and heard it in his tone, you couldn’t say no. Ever since, the family has been residing with you.
Wrecker and Omega have been sick of hiding away, causing them to ask Hunter if they could go for a walk today. He agreed but knew they would need more supervision, which caused Echo and Tech to step forward and volunteer to go with them. You know they’ve both been missing their adventurous lifestyles as well. Hunter was satisfied with that, though he stayed behind, in desperate need of rest. You can sense he hasn’t been sleeping well, if at all.
Now, he’s sitting at your kitchen table, nursing a cup of caf as he stares out the open window. You sigh and make your way over to him, leaning against the nearby wall as you capture his attention. “You’re gonna worry yourself to death, you know,” you inform him.
Hunter chuckles, shaking his head as he draws a sip from his caf. “Me and the boys have never known anything but war,” Hunter confesses, his gravelly voice even lower than usual. “I just... don’t know what to do now.” He looks up at you. You can see the exhaustion in his gaze. “Everything seems so much harder when you’ve left one of your own behind.”
Hunter had told you about Crosshair. You know the toll it’s taken on him, but you also know how he blames himself for it. “You had to do what you had to do to keep Omega safe,” you remind him. “Crosshair will come around.”
“I don’t know.” Hunter rests his elbows on the table and runs his hands down his face. “I need a plan.”
“You need rest, Hunter.” When you watch Hunter run is hands over his head, you get an idea, watching his shoulder-length hair respond to his movements. “I might be able to help you with that.”
Hunter looks at you with curiosity. “I’ll take any suggestions you might have.”
You gesture to his hair. “Your hair.” Hunter furrows his brow with confusion before you elaborate. “My mother used to play with mine to relax me when I was little.”
Hunter shrugs, reaching up towards his red headband. “I guess it’s worth a shot.” He takes the headband off and sets it on the table. You walk behind his chair, hesitating before you reach your fingers towards his hair. Your eyes widen in surprise as you begin to feel it, gently running your fingers through it as you avoid creating tangles. Hunter releases a soft breath after a few moments of this. “That... does feel good.” He hums when you brush your fingertips along the crown of his head. “Very good.”
“I’m glad.” You smile to yourself as you continue to work through his hair, satisfied by the sound of his soft breathing. “Your hair is really soft.”
Hunter doesn’t answer right away. You think for a moment that you put him to sleep somehow. “Thank you,” he finally says.
You continue to tend to his hair in sweet silence. It feels as if there are many words spoken between you, sentiments you share but are too afraid to put into words. The intimate action of touching Hunter’s hair is a new experience for both of you, both helping Hunter to rest and you to relax as you let your thoughts wander with what your heart has been wanting.
After many long and countless minutes, Hunter speaks up again. “All right.” You stop your movements, keeping your hands close to your chest as you step aside. Hunter stands from his chair and starts to turn. “It worked. I should head to—...”
Hunter trails off when he turns around. Not realizing you’d stepped to the side, Hunter stands right in front of you, his chest knocking into you as his face almost does the same. He grasps your elbows to keep you from falling back, holding you in place close to him. You don’t speak—and you don’t think you could if you tried. You and Hunter hold a strong gaze that says more than your words ever could, your faces gravitating toward each other before you can stop them.
Then, the front door opens. “We have arrived safe—,” you hear Tech’s voice say. You and Hunter jump apart, facing a surprised Tech with disbelief. Echo bumps into the frozen Tech, his eyes also widening at the scene ahead of him. “Perhaps we should have knocked.”
“What? What is it?” Wrecker’s booming voice asks. You see his head poking around Tech’s, with Omega’s doing the same as she sits on Wrecker’s shoulders. When he sees you and Hunter, he groans in frustration. “Oh, come on! We go on one walk and miss those two finally kissing?”
“Finally what?” Omega asks.
“Oh—uh, nothing,” Wrecker tries to cover his words up, ducking away from the door.
“We will take another lap,” Tech assures the two of you, beginning to close the door.
“Have fun, lovebirds,” Echo teases, making you chuckle even amidst your embarrassment.
When you look at Hunter, he wears the same expression of shared embarrassment and amusement. You laugh as you reach for his headband still resting on the tabletop, fixing it in place on his head. “There you go,” you say. “Now go rest.”
You start to walk away, but before you can get anywhere, Hunter grabs you by the arm again. He pulls you back and does exactly what Wrecker had anticipated, kissing you with a passion you didn’t know he had.
It’s not the most relaxing state of rest, but you’re satisfied with it—and figure it can make due.
