#sawrex

The couple's back garden was almost unrecognisable. Orange wasn't a colour Hunter would normally have associated with a wedding, but it was the grooms’ favourite and they had pulled it off beautifully. The way the soft coral-coloured flowers complemented the lush greens of the garden and the pristine white of the furniture was breath taking. Rows of benches and been arranged on either side of the lawn to create an aisle up the middle, at the end of which, stood an intricate floral arch. One side of the aisle was taken up entirely by the Fett clan of brothers. Plus, Bly's wife Aayla who looked stunning as always in one of her signature two pieces. As well as Plo, guardian of the Koon triplets. And the only positive male role model any of them had left in their lives. Hunter wasn’t surprised that Jango was a no show, even if hated the relief he hadn’t realised that fact would bring him. For all Hunter knew, the reason he hadn’t shown up was because the man was dead. Hunter told himself that if that were the case, he wouldn’t care. He could count on one hand the total of interactions he'd had with his father and most of them ranged from excruciating small talk to full blown arguments. He still hadn't concluded if Jango's abandonment was worse than Nala's abuse. But now was not the time for that debate. Today was a day of love, not hate. Not long after the music started, the flower girls exited from the back of the house. Hunter had been surprised when the couple had asked for Omega to be one of their flower girls, but then again Obi-Wan had quickly grown fond of the girl during his time as her therapist. Plus, she was Cody’s little sister too after all. Courtesy of Tup, Omega's dyed blonde hair had been curled in sweet little ringlets on top of which sat an ethereal flower crown, whose petals matched her peach-coloured dress. She walked hand in hand down the aisle with Numa, who wore her own matching dress and curls. The pair of them spread sprinkles of confetti from the basket held in the crook of their elbows. Omega waved at Hunter as she passed, to the chorus of coos from the crowd. Hunter didn't hesitate to wave back. Behind them came Obi-Wan's adopted sister Ahsoka. Her role as maid of honour earned her a similarly coloured dress, yet hers was in a more mature style that highlighted the beautiful woman she had grown into, instead of the scrawny teenager Hunter used to know. Hunter knew that Obi-Wan had a brother as well but apparently the pair had some sort of falling out that he was not privy of the details too. Cody looked nervous in his pristine white suite, fiddling with the stripe of his orange tie. Rex stood dutifully besides him as his best man, clasping a comforting hand on his shoulder. At one point, Cody had considered having all his brothers, both half and full, as his groomsmen. But that would have been chaotic to say the least. Out of all his half-brothers, Cody was the one Hunter had always been closest too thanks to their shared love of eighties martial arts movies and experiences of being the eldest left to basically raise their younger siblings. Hunter trusted Rex to be the support of all of them. Then Obi-Wan, walked out of the back door.

He looked as dashing as always in a light beige suite and cream cape hung around his shoulders. His smile warm as he poked his head above the bouquet of flowers in his arms. Cody's nervous expression disappeared in an instant, his smile brightening with every step Obi-Wan took towards him. As the ceremony begun, Hunter glanced over his shoulders to the row behind him, to find that Wrecker had quickly dissolved into a sobbing mess. Tech patted his arm whilst taking photos with his camera. Besides them, Crosshair rolled his eyes, although Hunter knew that his smirk hid a genuine smile. Up in the front row, Hunter spotted Echo dabbing at his eyes, overwhelmed with joy that his older brother, who had given up so much for them over the years, was finally able to receive the happiness he so desperately deserved in return.

As the couple came to say their vows, Hunter felt his own eyes welling up as well.

“Take Obi-Wan to be your husband, do you?” The officiant asked.

“I do.” Cody replied, as though he had never been so sure of anything in his life.

“And Obi-Wan, take Cody as your husband, do you?”

“I do.”

“Then kiss the groom, you may.”

Hunter cheered as Obi-Wan dragged Cody into a dramatic dip of a kiss. He cheered even louder as Omega took the initiative to throw confetti over the pair.

Then came the reception.

Hunter and the rest of the batch stood awkwardly against the garden fence. The benches had been pushed to the sides, turning the lawn into a dance floor. Friends and family of the grooms danced to the beat of old eighties ballads. Hunter couldn’t remember the last time he had been to anything resembling a party, that wasn’t just drinking with his brothers in the front yard. His full brothers he should add. Besides Echo, him and the rest of the batch hadn’t interacted with their half siblings much over the years. Like many things in their lives, they had Nala to thank for that by hiding their existence from their half-siblings for the first decade of their lives. By the time Ninety-Nine had rescued them, trying to get close with the others who had all grown up together had seemed like a lost cause.

Hunter would trust his half-brothers with his life. Although, whilst he knew he could trust them, he had no idea how to talk to them.

“Hunter!” Omega cried, launching herself at him. “Did you see me!”

Hunter held her close, her presence banishing away the guilt ridden feelings of the past.

“I sure did kiddo. You were amazing today.”

She truly had been, standing perfectly poised by Obi-Wan’s side throughout the entire ceremony.

She beamed at him. Then her smile morphed into something shyer and hopeful.

“I was wondering,” She said slowly. “If Numa come over after the party? She really wants to meet Gonky!”

Hunter ruffled the confetti out of her curls.

“Of course she can.”

Omega mushed her face against his red dress shirt in thanks before rushing off to tell her fellow flower girl the good news.

“I’m guessing the girls finally convinced you to let Numa come see your dog then?”

Hunter was startled to find that Bly had appeared next to him, along with his wife. The golden tattoos across his face stretched with an easy smile.

“Err… yeah they did.” Hunter replied, aware this was the probably the first words he’d spoken to who was technically his oldest brother, since Bly’s own wedding nearly a decade ago.

“I’m glad. Numa is always begging for us for one, and we would if it wasn’t for Aayla’s allergies to anything with fur.”

Hunter nodded awkwardly, confused by Bly’s attempt at casual conversation.

“Although, I’m sure the dog is not the only reason Numa is so eager to visit.” Bly said knowingly, gesturing to the other side of the garden.

Hunter followed his gaze to see the two girls engaged in some sort of complicated handshake that appeared involves lots of clapping and even standing on their hands, which ended with them in tangled heap of limbs on the floor.

Hunter smiled. Although Omega was technically the other girl’s aunt, thanks to their similar ages, their relationship was more comparable to that of cousins. He was glad that Omega had the chance to bond with their family at a younger age, unlike the rest of the batch.

“Oh hey!” Bly piped up, dragging Hunter out of his thoughts. “I have been meaning to ask you. You should join the PTA.”

“The what?” Hunter asked in confusion.

“The Parent and Teacher Alliance! It’s a great way to get involved with the events held at the school and to make sure Omega is getting all the support she needs. And it can give you a chance to get to know the other parents and guardians. There’s a lot more people in situations similar to yours than you realise. Plus, it might help make the soccer mums less intimidated by your erm… presence.” Bly said, eyes glancing to the skull tattoo across one side of his face.

“Less intimated by his attractiveness you mean.” Aayla snorted in her French accent. “If for no other reason, please do me the favour of joining so that they can come after you directly instead of harassing me on the playground for your phone number.”

Before, Hunter could process that new piece of information, the couple were distracted by the arrive of Quinlan Vos, champagne bottle swinging widely in his hand.

Not wanted to get involved in that inevitable mess, Hunter moved to the side only to be set upon by Echo.

“Come over here and say hello!” Echo said, looping his prosthetic arm through Hunter’s elbow. Hunter knew that if he tried to break free, he could damage the prosthetic, so reluctantly he followed along. By the smug grin Echo threw at him, his brother knew that too.

They came to a stop besides the buffet. Three of Echo’s brothers were stood in front of the table, suspiciously blocking the view of the cake. With their distinctive head tattoos, Hunter recognised them at the Ti triplets Jesse, Kix and Hardcase.

“Hey guys!” Echo called out.

The three men jumped at his voice and spun around. Hunter forced himself to stifle a laugh as Hardcase nearly choked on his attempt to hide the evidence that they were sneaking extra slices of cake. Jesse had no such qualms, open laughing as Kix thumped his brother on the back.

“Nice to see you again Hunter. I’m glad this time it’s under better circumstances.” Kix said, once Hardcase had coughed back up his cake.

“Me too.” Hunter smiled before his expression turned serious. “I never got the chance to properly thank you for looking after Omega that day. If there’s anything I can do to repay you I-“

Kix cut him off.

“No need to thank me. I was just doing my job.”

“Speaking of jobs!” Jesse spoke up. “The fire station is holding a fundraiser next weekend to raise money to help us train more firefighters. There’s going to games and food and the kids can look around the trucks.”

“If you donate more than ten dollars, I’ll let you press the siren.” Hardcase said in a barely concealed whisper.

“My hospital is sponsoring the fair.” Kix added. “They’re even sending down an ambulance to go with the truck. I’m going to giving some first aid talks there. I thought Omega might enjoy it.”

Hunter nodded thoughtfully. After everything Omega had been through, applying her medical knowledge as a force for good, might help her on the road to recovery. Plus, it did sound like a relatively inexpensive way for them all to have some fun.

“We’ll be there.”

“Great! Can’t wait to see you!” Jesse said and Hunter was surprised by the genuine excitement in his voice.

Unsure, how to respond to that, he was thankfully saved by a tap on his shoulder.

He turned around to find Rex standing behind him, bouncing between the balls on his feet anxiously.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, but do you mind if I borrow you for a minute.”

“Of course.” Hunter said, immediately worried about the obvious seriousness to the situation.

He said his goodbyes to the triplets with promise to talk to them alter and followed Rex to the nearby tables.

“Now don’t panic.” Rex started once they’d sat down. “I just wanted to let you know that I’ve left the police force. But don’t worry, this shouldn’t affect anything to do with Omega.”

Hunter let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He thought Rex was going to tell him that one of the batch had gotten themselves injured or that something had gone wrong with the wedding and Cody needed his help to make a quick exit.

“Thanks for letting me know.” Hunter reassured him. “Although why did you leave? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Rex sighed, rubbing his hand down his face that looked older than his twenty-eight years.

“When I first signed up, I just wanted to do something to help people. But for every right they wrong, they’re responsible for twice as many wrongdoings themselves. Took me longer than it should have to make me realise that.”

Hunter could attest to that sentiment, although he did wonder how much Rex’s new revolutionist boyfriend had impacted the decision. Not that it was any of his business.

“So, what are you going to do now then?”

“Well, Gregor had always wanted to own his own restraint and I think his brush with death and subsequent discharge from the army, really put things into perspective for him. So, he decided to make his dreams a reality. Me and Wolffe have pooled our funds with his and if everything goes according to plan, we’ll be opening Big Bongo’s steak house next month.” Res said, the light retuning to bis eyes, obvious pride at his brother’s leap of faith.

“Congratulations!” Hunter told him.

Rex waved him off.

“It’s Gregor’s idea really, I’m just helping fund it. Plus, it gives me some more free time to help down at the community centre.”

“Still, I’m happy for you. For all of you.” Hunter told him truthfully. Whilst he had never been close to Gregor or Wolffe, he had heard about the botched mission that had led to their subsequent injuries. He was glad that some good had been able to come out of all of that for them. And if enjoying a freshly prepared steak at their restaurant would help them in any way, then it was the least Hunter could do.

He glanced out across the garden, his eyes landing on their pair talking to Bly, who lowered the volume on the speaker.

On the lawn, Cody and Obi-Wan swayed in each other’s arms, unaware of the loss of music, lost in each other’s world. At the food table, Wrecker was in the middle of an arm-wrestling match against Jesse and Hardcase, and was easily beating the both of them. Tech and Dogma were having an animated discussion about the latest apple gadget. Tup was fixing Omega and Numa’s hair into matching braids. Whilst Crosshair and Kix seemed to be getting along well, standing next to one another in silence, rolling their eyes at each other whenever someone did something particularly stupid.