Hunter x Fem!Reader
AlN: This was written for a new friend of mine who's absolutely lovely! I hope this is everything you were hoping for! ♡
Hidden Stress
Mission after mission. Bullet after bullet. That's all things seemed to be lately, not that you minded of course - you just needed a break. You were desperate for a break. Not only is your mind filled with the battle plan and trying to protect the batch, but it's also filled with your current worries and stress and it's beginning to overflow. You have no idea how much longer you can keep it together but… Maybe, just maybe after this mission you can find a place to cry alone and deal with these thoughts and feelings.
"Alright, Mesh'la!" Hunter's voice sounded around the corner, giving you time to rub your eyes and take some deep breaths in. Steady your breathing and clear your thoughts… It's not long until you can feel as much as you need to alone. "Are you ready? We better head down now before it gets too late."
"Yeah I'm finishing up! I'll meet you down at the ramp." Shoving whatever you decided that you wanted in your backpack, you stood up and dusted yourself off. This is going to be alright. This mission would be short and sweet - a 4 hour mission. A simple kill and retrieve. Rushing down to meet Hunter, you managed a strained smile before shoving on your helmet. Easy.
"Let's go then y/n!"
Hour One
Easy, scope out the area and keep an eye out for our target. Smiling slightly to yourself, you walked alongside Hunter who seemed rather excited to spend this time with you.
"Thank you again for coming with me on this mission, Mesh'la." He chuckled behind his helmet, moving along the alleyways beside you. "I know it's pretty boring and basic but it's nice to spend time with you without my brothers causing some kind of catastrophe. Tech can deal with that for now." You grinned before nudging him lightly with your shoulder.
"I love spending time with you, even if it was gardening or something I'd still want to do it with you." He hummed happily before double checking the coordinates. Thank goodness that conversation was over, honestly it was starting to make your heartbeat a little too quickly and it was getting difficult to suppress any tears. You couldn't let him know what was wrong though - he's the leader of the bad batch. He has enough to deal with…
"The target should be around here eventually, we can't bombard the actual building because it's filled with clankers." He sighed lightly, crouching behind the building with you. "Let's just wait here, yeah? Tech managed to hack the routine of them so in an hour or two - it should be out and ready for us to take." Nodding along, you smiled. This will be easy, three hours to go until you could finally feel and ease the numbness that was rapidly turning into pain.
Hour two
Just chatting with him was a little harder than you had originally expected. Yeah, you both spent so much time together but… His voice was always so soothing. His laugh was so lovely and it just made you want to pour your heart out to him. He'd listen, you know he'd listen. He'd prioritise you without a second thought over this mission and that was the problem. You couldn't let him do that… He's stressed enough, if anything you should be the one to comfort him right? Sighing lightly, you listened as the hiss of the nearby door sounded.
"Movement." You whispered, leaning across to peek at hopefully your target. Perfect. Hunter moved forward a little whilst crouched, nodding and smirking beneath his helmet.
"Alright, let's trail it for a bit - it should take us to another room where we can grab some information Sid wants." Nodding, you proceeded to follow after the larger droid with Hunter in tow. Everything is going to plan!
Hour three.
Yeah no, it didn't stay to plan much longer. Then again, when did it ever go to plan? It ended up being a pretty obvious trap but you just weren't thinking right now, another reason you needed that time alone to cry. Shooting another few droids down alongside Hunters bullets, you made your way to the control panel and shoved in the data stick you had been given to protect.
"Cover me!" Your voice sounded amongst the bullets as Hunter stood behind you, keeping you as safe as possible. However, he was a little too late to catch the droid on the side who had shot at you causing him to swear under his breath. The bullet grazed past your arm and you took it down with a quick shot to its head. That was nothing, it was just a small graze. So why were tears pooling to your eyes? Oh no. You can't break down here. This cannot happen right now! This may be a short mission, but it's equally as important as the others! Sniffling and trying to keep your emotions in check, you removed the data stick as quickly as you could and began to blast droids away to clear a path for you both. Ducking down into a corner to take a breather, you tried to hide the sniffles and hold the tears back. Not long to go… Hold it together…
"Y/n, are you alright? Let me check your arm." Those words alone seemed to make the dam break as you cried involuntarily. Panicking a little, he grabbed the medpack from his own gear and patched the light blaster wound upon your shoulder. "Hey ... Hey, it's alright now I've got you. It'll stop hurting soon, love, just hold on. Nearly there now." That's exactly what you had been telling yourself all along. Your crying didn't stop though, and that's when he knew it was something more… Hour four had just ticked by meaning the Havoc Marauder would be landing nearby for you both. Picking you up bridal style, he looked around and began to sprint toward the exit. "I've got you now… I'll get us there okay? Rely on me now Mesh'la." His voice softened a little, his heart breaking at the sound of your sobs. "Won't let anything happen to you." He stood true to his word as he carried you into the Havoc, giving Tech the data stick and carrying you to your bunk without another word. Laying you down gently, he laid beside you and held you closely to his chest in a protective manner. "What's going on, love?" Your sobs were now muffled by the pillow but luckily he could still make out what you were saying.
"Stressed n' tired n' Im not doing well." His fingertips found themselves in your hair, threading through in a comforting manner.
"Why didn't you come to me?" You hiccuped a little, turning around to hide your face against his chest instead.
"Didn't want to bother you, Hunter. You work so hard to keep us safe n' it's not fair of me." Gentle hushes left his lips as he rubbed your back.
"Oh y/n, i'm always here for you okay? I won't ever be too busy for you. You do the same for us, You're always working so hard and protecting us. We're a team, Mesh'la please always come to me. I won't ever push my Huntress away, understand?" Nodding lightly, your sobs slowly began to calm.
"Promise?"
"I promise you." Moving back a little so he could softly catch your tears with his thumb, he gave you a smile. "Let's fight these thoughts and feelings together Yeah? Now tell me, my sweet. What's on that beautiful mind of yours?"
