#sergeant hunter

You exhale, gazing out at the sunsets shimmering reflection as you consider your relationship with your former sergeant. The mutual trust you’d developed since your re-assignment had, at some point, morphed into something much less professional and much more unfamiliar. You weren’t used to domestic relationships or a lifestyle that allowed them, and It was… scary, in a way. Maybe that’s why you were still avoiding it, with your feet propped up on the porch swing wrecker had installed for you.

You tried to ignore it at first. You did your job and kept your distance (as best as you could, living out of a starship), and tried not to insert yourself into their little found family.

But he made it impossible. Every time he laid a steady hand on your shoulder, or when he furrowed a concerned brow in your direction. When he’d come to you quietly in the aftermath of a migraine. When his voice lowered and softened to speak to Omega, or when he asked you to look after her while he slept. When his big, brown eyes were the only thing visible through his helmet, and they stared up at you like you were important.

Or, when he was the first person to notice your absence and find out where you’d gone.

His footsteps were no louder than his breathing as he approached you and the sand shifted slightly under his feet.

“Hey,” he murmurs to alert you of his presence. Your head lulls towards him and you’re quiet for a moment as he climbs the porch steps.

“What’re you doing down here?” You ask, not accusatory, but curious. He and the rest of the batch had been around a bonfire on the higher grounds when you’d left.

“Came to check on you. Didn’t tell me you were leaving,” he explains. Despite the relative safety of the island, your former sergeant still liked to keep tabs on everyone. It put him at ease—much like the ocean did for you.

“Mm, sorry. I’m just…” you trail off and gesture towards the shore. He huffs, crossing his arms as the corner of his mouth quirks up.

“Staring into space again?”

You smile, looking back towards the horizon. “Yeah…”

He lets out a low hum of understanding. Another moment of silence passes.

“Omega made dinner. It’s getting cold,” he says idly.

“Thanks,” you murmur, making no attempts to move.

The short exchange wasn’t awkward. No—it was a different kind of tension. The kind that was harder to suppress, that made itself known during even the smallest of interactions. The kind that bubbles up when there’s too many things being left unsaid. You swallow, painfully aware of his gaze that you knew could see straight through you.

He uncrosses his arms with a slow exhale.

“Y/n.”

You glance back up.

“What are you doing down here?”

This time he’s asking you.

You smile a bit, your brow furrowing. “I told you, I’m just—“

“No, what’re you doing down here. Why aren’t you up at the fire?” He asks more directly with a familiar, gentle tone. “You’re always running off somewhere,” he continues, “like you’re hiding from us.”

You smile a bit and blink up at him. “I’m not hiding,” you scoff a laugh, as if he was teasing you.

“Then…what?” He huffs, stepping closer to your porch swing. You lift your head and tilt it towards his tattooed face. “You’ve been doing this since we landed on Pabu. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

“Well, I didn’t realize attendance was mandatory,” you quip, deflecting as usual. He raises an unconvinced eyebrow.

“C’mon, angel. You know what I mean.”

Your smile falters slightly at the nickname. It’d been affectionately given to you during your first week with the squad, in reference to your healing abilities. Your eyes dart away before returning to Hunter’s face and catching the hint of concern in his. He kneels down beside your seat and your breath hitches.

“…I’ve been worried about you.” He admits softly. A defeated sigh escapes your lips.

“Hunter, you don’t need to worry,” you assure him, your voice equally quiet.

“Tch. Too late,” he grumbles. “I’ve been seeing you less and less…You shouldn’t be spending all of your time alone out here.”

“Says who?”

“Says me.”

You look over at him and hold his gaze this time. He looks as serious as ever, his brows slightly crinkled underneath his new woven bandana.

“You can’t be spending all of your time alone,” he repeats with a slight shake of his head. “We didn’t come here for that.”

There’s something about his gaze that makes arguing seem extremely difficult, so you stay quiet.

“Please, y/n, at least come have dinner.”

After another quiet pause, you slowly sit up, biting your lip.

“Fine,” you sigh, although you can’t help the small smile that begins to form.

He looks relieved and offers a hand without hesitation. You accept it, letting him pull you to your feet, only…he doesn’t let go once you’re standing. His calloused hand is gentle and firm at the same time as it curls around your palm and leads you forward.

Without much room to protest, you follow along, letting him lead you uptown towards the campfire. It’s not a very long walk, but it’s enough time for that familiar energy to start flowing between you, the same magnetic pull you’d been experiencing since you met Hunter. It wasn’t unusual for him to distract you from the time passing.

You’re met with Omegas bright smile as you make it to the campfire. If she notices yours and hunters joined hands, she doesnt show it. The girl grins up at her brother with the same enthusiasm as she leads you both towards the rest of the group.

“What’d the little lady make for dinner?” You chuckle. She begins to explain the new dish she learned how to make with Lyana, preparing your plate and pointing out ingredients. Hunter stays beside you until he can lead you away, a large hand on your shoulder blade ushering you towards the blanket he shared with Omega. The three of you fit comfortably, with Hunter propped up on one arm, you sitting cross legged, and Omega nestled happily between you.

As you begin to eat and listen to the batch’s chatter, Hunters gaze gets harder and harder to ignore. His head is always tilted slightly towards you, as if he was tuning out everyone else’s voices and focusing entirely on you. He’s sitting so close to you that his arm is almost behind your back. It sends a flutter to your stomach that you can’t explain, and eventually, you glance over at him and raise an eyebrow.

The corner of his lip quirks up and he raises one as well. “Hm?”

Your smile matches his. “What’re you looking at?”

“You,” he says. “With us.”

“Oh,” you reply. You hold eye contact with him until omega nudges you to ask a question about nexu kittens, causing you to glance away. His eyes stay on you.

Hunter had always loved watching you interact with his younger (older) sister. You were so good with her, and not just because of your medical training, but because of your natural caring instincts that had made all of the batch welcome you so easily. It reminded him of the things he used to picture when imagining a family of his own, which he seemed to do quite often after meeting Cut and his children. He cant stop himself as he shifts on the blanket to loosely wrap his arm around your back—on purpose this time.

Your breath catches for half a second. He hears it, of course, but when you don’t pull away, he settles deeper into the embrace.

“See? We like havin’ you here, Angel,” he murmurs, his voice near your ear when he speaks, low enough for only you to hear. You tilt your head slightly towards him and lean further into his side. He responds by brushing his lips against your hairline, almost unnoticeably gently, and your eyes flutter shut with a slow blink.

Maybe he was right. Omega always enjoyed having you around as her only ‘big sister.’ The others had obviously grown to care for you over the years, and they respected how you treated the batch and civilians alike with such care. On Pabu, there was no reason to be…professional, anymore. You were done fighting for survival. That’s why you’d settled down here in the first place, so you could finally rest, and have a family, and be with—

“Hunter,” Echos voice interrupts, “you two staying out here, or should I kill the fire?”

“I’ll take care of it. Go ahead.”

You hadn’t realized that the rest of the batch had begun to turn in for the night, leaving just you and Hunter beside the dwindling firelight. You look over to him again and he meets your eyes with a questioning hum.

“Nothing, just…” your expression softens as you search his gaze.

“…thank you.”

His lip quirks up and his free hand moves to your cheek, slowly brushing the pad of his thumb under your eye.

“Don’t need to thank me,” he mutters, “just quit running off, yeah?”

You smile softly and nod. His expression softens in return as he leans a bit closer, his nose almost touching yours now.

You hold each other’s gaze for a moment longer before your lips finally meet in a kiss that’s slow and grateful. His hand slides behind your ear to gently guide you closer, and you uncross your legs so that you’re able to lean fully into him. You loop your arms around his neck, earning a low noise from him as he accepts the movement and tightens his grip.

When you finally part for air, he pulls you further into his arms to draw you into his lap.

“Yeah…I like it much better when you’re up here,” he repeats, his hands brushing over your sides. You laugh quietly and rest your forehead against his.