This was just for fun idk why I wrote nearly 5k words on this wtf.

You've been hopping from mission to mission with little to no breaks. To state the obvious, all of you are exhausted and in need of some well-deserved R&R. Hunter originally planned for your break to take place on Naboo, but with the condition the squad is in, he made the call to land on the nearest planet, and find somewhere to stay for the night.

That is, hoping there is somewhere on this damn planet other than the ship to stay at.

You've been with the squad for a while now. The days tend to blur together, so you're unsure how long you've technically been acting as their official supply specialist and occasional communicator. Though you have legit training and orders to be with this unconventional bunch, sometimes it feels like you were only assigned to them to keep them on task and from killing each other.

You're about to scold Wrecker for overstepping into Echo's personal space when Tech and Hunter finally return. They eagerly share that they've found a decent motel for you all to stay at. Everyone will shockingly get their own beds, however, there will have to be two to a room to fit everyone at a reasonable price.

The squad is quick to agree with those conditions. Anywhere but the ship is a welcoming thought.

"Alright, let's draw straws for rooms," Hunter says. He snatches the six straws from the drawer and mixes them discreetly behind his back while the group of you let out a collective groan.

He merely smiles as he adjusts them in his hand to keep the options a secret. He holds out his fist and waves it tauntingly under Crosshair's nose. "I hate picking straws," He mutters as Hunter gives him the first draw. He swiftly tucks his straw under his arm without looking at it to hide it from Wrecker's nosey stare.

"It's only fair." Hunter counters before moving on to Echo and then Wrecker. The two of them immediately compare straws, showing the obvious differences in length. Those two will not be rooming together, thankfully.

"Or we could just, I don't know, pick who we want to share a room with?" You reply before grabbing your straw. You smirk at your result and hide it as Crosshair did. You're more than happy to leave Tech to choose between the last two.

"No fun in that." Wrecker quickly fires back. Once Tech makes his decision, everyone's eyes dart to see who has similar-sized straws.

As if they planned it, Tech and Echo share a high five at their accomplishment of sharing a room. Wrecker immediately starts cheering about how he has Hunter as his roommate.

Leaving you with Crosshair.

Which quickly earns him some teasings once Wrecker finally puts the pieces together. "You have to share a room with Ace." He giggles like a little schoolgirl.

You roll your eyes at your stupid nickname. You had been with the squad for a few days and got into a huge firefight. Not yet used to the heat of battle, you shot at a droid and missed so badly that you wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

It didn't help that out of everyone Crosshair saw it and was quick to point it out over the comms. "Nice shot, Ace." He had snapped, earning loud laughs from his brothers. And, unfortunately, it stuck so you've been living with that awful nickname since.

"Well, someone would have had to room with Ace," Tech states with a huff.

With practiced ease, Crosshair flicks the straw at his taller brother's face. "Better her than you. For once, I won't have to listen to your snoring all night."

Wrecker lets out an offended scoff. Before any more can be said between them, Hunter steps in. "Just go get your things for the night. There's no point in arguing about it." He orders as he takes back the straws to securely place them in the drawer.

Eventually, all of you gather your belongings and march out of the ship. Upon entering the town, you notice that it's not very large, yet it seems to be bustling with all kinds of different sentient beings. It almost feels like you're the only group of humans on this planet.

You weave through the crowd, following Tech who has the motel's location marked on his datapad. Happy that you don't have to lead, you allow your gaze to drift to the interesting scenery and walk on autopilot after Echo.

Crosshair only has to nudge you out of people's way twice, which you reluctantly thank him for.

"I'm starving," Wrecker complains as you cross paths with yet another food stall. "Can we please stop and get something to eat?"

"For the last time. We're checking into our rooms to drop off our stuff, then we'll find something to eat." Echo tiredly replies. You're thankful that he still has the patience to put up with Wrecker's whining. You're also tired and hungry, so it's been a challenge to restrain yourself from barking at him to suck it up.

"I can't wait that long." He dramatically groans.

"You'll live." Crosshair snaps from behind you, clearly about as fed up with him as you are at the moment.

Okay. Maybe it's not just your grumbling stomach and sore muscles making you cranky.

You're not sure why the sleeping arrangement bugs you. While you aren't as close with Crossshair as you are with the others, you two have never had any issues working together. You typically end up siding with him when it comes to discussions dealing with cleanliness and respecting boundaries, so you're pretty sure that you'll get along fine.

After all, the two of you sleep relatively close every night on the Marauder. So why does the idea of sharing a room put you on edge? It shouldn't make much of a difference, right? Besides, you might have more space in a motel room compared to the ship.

So, really, you'll be farther apart than usual.

At least, that's what you tell yourself as you finally reach the motel.

You and Hunter approach the front desk while the others stand guard and watch your bags. "We came in earlier about the three rooms." He says as he rests his elbows on the counter.

"Singles or doubles?" The receptionist lazily replies as she smacks on her gum.

"All doubles. Please." You quickly reply.

Without glancing up from her computer, she slides you a clipboard with multiple sheets of paper. "Read 'em and sign."

Hunter grabs a pen from the cup and begins signing on all of the lines without bothering to read the fine print. Part of you wants to steal it from his hands and make sure you're not signing over your souls to this place, but the other part of you just wants to get into the room and discard your stuff.

That side easily wins out.

Hunter hands the clipboard back and the receptionist swaps it for three keys. "Check out is at noon. Automatic payment happens just after. If you're not out by then, we charge double."

"Do you serve breakfast?" You ask.

"Until 10."

"We'll be out of here before noon then." You reply as Hunter snatches the keys from the counter. None of you will pass up a chance at a free breakfast, especially if it isn't ration bars for once.

"Not my problem if you aren't." She shrugs.

You and Hunter return to the group. He quickly lays down some ground rules. Tech is not allowed to make any modifications to the room, even if it involves adjusting it only for the night. Wrecker has to make an effort to keep his voice down for the other guests. He then looks at Crosshair and makes him promise that he won't steal anything other than the free stuff.

You and Echo are no concern for the sargeant, which brings a smile to both of your faces.

"Alright, let's go get settled and meet back here in 20," Hunter says as he hands you and Echo a set of keys.

You take notice of everyone's room numbers. Relief washes over as you spot that Wrecker and Hunter have a room on the first floor. That should at least take some pressure off of the big guy. Now he won't have to worry about walking too loudly.

The rest of you are on the second floor. You split at the top of the stairs, your rooms ending up on opposite sides of the building. Crosshair quietly follows you to your shared room, his presence a comfort when you see the group of rowdy men just across the hall.

It takes a few swipes, but the door finally registers your key and unlocks. Before it can dare change its mind, you shove your way into the room.

The sight makes you freeze.

All of the rooms were supposed to have two beds. You had specifically requested doubles. Everyone was meant to have a much-needed rest in a queen-sized bed all to themselves. That was the entire purpose of staying in this mediocre motel!

So why is there only one in your room?

"You've got to be kidding me." You scoff as you enter farther into the room.

You glance back at Crosshair to gauge his response, and for once, his scowl is justified. "Great. Just what we were promised."

You place your belongings on the bed, feeling anger boiling in your veins. You're really holding back from blowing up. You're starved and tired, and now they've messed with your already low expectations. "Think they karked up the others' rooms too?"

He quickly shakes his head. "No." He drops his stuff by the door. "I'm going to go sort this out. Don't touch anything."

You raise your hands to prove his point as he storms out of the room. To occupy time, you wander around and inspect every corner. It doesn't seem too dirty, thankfully. Sure, the bedsheets look like they haven't been updated in ten years, but at least the carpet seems to have been vacuumed recently. The bathroom isn't too frightening either. It looks like it's seen better days and you wouldn't dare take a bath in that tub, but it's acceptable for the night.

If your new room is anything like this one, you will sleep well knowing that you probably won't run into any bedbugs or catch some disease.

A knock comes from the door and you dare a peek through the peephole. Thankfully, it's a familiar face, so you open it for him.

"Can't change rooms." Crosshair spits as he marches past you.

"What? Why?"

"It's in the forms you and Hunter apparently read and signed." He glares as he crosses his arms. "No refunds or room changes once guests have entered the room."

"But then how would you know you need a room change if you haven't even seen the room?" You scoff with a shake of your head.

He arches his eyebrow as if to tell you to think about it.

You let out a dry laugh as you begin to pace around the room. "Oh, I am so having Tech leave them a nasty review."

"I don't think a bad review will hurt them the way you hope it will." He says. He reaches into his pocket to pull out his pack of toothpicks. Lazily, he places one into his mouth. "They're making easy money off of morons who don't read what they're signing."

You instantly feel his intended jab at you and Hunter. "That was low." You mumble.

He simply shrugs and flops onto the bed to ignore you.

You shake your head. You're determined not to give him any satisfaction of hurting you. When you do, it usually only fuels him for continued tauntings, unfortunately. "Whatever. I'm getting out of these nasty clothes."

"Need help?" He asks as you march past him to dig into your bag for your spare clothes.

"Gross, Crosshair." You immediately snap back. You keep your head down and refuse to look at him. Embarrassed at his implication, you feel your cheeks heat. You try to find your stuff as quickly as possible to hopefully get away before he notices.

"What? You're the one who announced it." He attempts to say sincerely, but you hear the dirty smirk in his voice. "I was simply offering assistance if you were too scared to ask."

You roll your eyes and purposively kick his leg hard as you head for the refresher. Once you're safely locked inside, you allow yourself to decompress. You close your eyes and let out a long sigh. You won't let him get to you.

Hunter wanted to meet in twenty, so you don't have enough time for a shower before heading out. You settle on washing your face with real water and fixing your hair from the snarled mess it becomes under your helmet.

You change into clean and comfortable clothes, thankful to be out of your uniform. After giving yourself one last look in the mirror, you exit the refresher to find Crosshair still laying on the bed.

"Come on. Get up." You say as you pass by him again to stuff your dirty uniform into your bag.

He lets out a groan but listens. You gather what you think you'll need on your short excursion and meet him at the door.

"Don't even dare complain about the single bed to the others." He huffs before bending down to adjust his boots.

You're about to snap at him that you have every right to complain about being cheated out of having your own bed, but you pause to think about his request. Crosshair was already teased about simply the idea of sharing a room with you so if they were to find out that you are sharing a bed too?

You'd really like to let him have it, considering how much he's pissed you off today, but even you know it's too much ammo for his ruthless brothers.

"Wasn't going to." You say as you adjust the straps on your backpack.

He furrows his eyebrows as if he knows you definitely were but doesn't say anything as he stands back up.

On your way down to the lobby, you end up running into Echo and Tech. They greet you both with weak waves. You lead the way down the stairs as Crosshair slips to his place in the back.

At the bottom, you find Hunter sitting on one of the tattered chairs with his head back and eyes closed. Wrecker jumps to his feet from his seat at your appearance. "Wake up, Hunter! They're finally here!"

"I was just resting my eyes." He quickly grumbles as he suddenly snaps awake.

"Sure." Echo teases as he sympathetically pats his shoulder.

"Whatever you say, Hunter." Tech quickly adds on as the group of you continues to walk past him.

"Careful next time. You don't want to give yourself whiplash." Crosshair drawls as he removes the toothpick from his mouth.

"Kriff off, you guys," Hunter says, but there's no heat behind it. Together, you enter the crowded streets. Hunter adjusts his bandana and makes his way to the front. "Let's go back the way we came. I saw a vendor down there that had decent prices."

"Who cares? I just need to eat something before my stomach digests itself!" Wrecker complains. Though you refuse to say it out loud, you agree with him. You don't even have a preference for the type of food anymore, just as long as it's edible.

"Technically, your stomach can't digest itself. It's covered in—"

"Hunter, just start walking, please." You sigh as you push him forward. The squad obediently follows behind him until you reach the stall.

Once your food is finally ordered and served, everyone devours every last bite. Now having solved the issue of food, the rest of the evening goes smoothly. The group eventually splits with varied ideas about how to spend the last hour of daylight before the sun sets.

Some of you are extremely thirsty, so you search for a vendor selling drinks. When you finally decide what you want, Crosshair steps forward. "I'll get it." He says, buying your drink before you have a chance to argue. When he hands it off, you're about to tell him you could have paid, but he simply says. "For earlier."

It's a peace offering.

You softly smile and accept the drink. "Thanks."

He shrugs and looks anywhere but at you. You know the bar is extremely low for you to be grateful for his half-assed apology, but with Crosshair, this is the best you're going to get.

You're unsure whether he's sorry for the jab he made or the disgusting comment, but you have a feeling it's for both.

Once everyone returns to the motel, your exhaustion hits hard. "Mind if I use the refresher first for a shower?" You ask as you drop your bag at the door.

"Go ahead. I'll take one in the morning." He drawls as he drops onto the bed.

You take your time. You enjoy your nice hot shower and thoroughly follow your nightly routine. When you reluctantly exit, you find Crosshair attempting to make himself a place to sleep on the floor. You hop over him and begin settling yourself into bed.

As you make yourself comfortable, some guilt begins to gnaw inside your stomach. He's been through just as much work and trouble as you, maybe even a bit more if you're being honest. And now you're going to force him to sleep on the floor all because you want a queen bed to yourself?

You let out a sigh. It's the right thing to do, even if you don't want to.

"Cross, you're not sleeping on the floor." You say. His head turns to meet your gaze and you slouch. "There's plenty of space in this bed. We can share it."

He arches an eyebrow. "Who says I want to share it with you?"

That wasn't the response you were expecting. You thought he would be a bit more grateful. "Well, I'm staying up here. You can either join me or have a miserable night on the floor."

He stops making his bed and rests back on his knees. He fiddles with his hands for a moment before asking, "You sure?"

"I'm sure." You nod. "As long as you promise not to kick."

Slowly, as if waiting for you to change your mind, he gathers his stuff from off the ground. You playfully pat his side of the bed, earning you a wicked side-eye.

He eventually crawls into the bed and you feel it dip from his weight. He leans back against the headboard and begins reading on his datapad, effectively avoiding having to acknowledge your close proximity to each other.

Now that you're lying only inches away from him, it's painfully obvious why you don't have the same relationship with Crosshair as you do with the others. You have no problem working as a pair with any of them, but your stomach constantly flips when you're left alone with him. You can stand up for yourself against the others, but always feel warm and embarrassed anytime he compliments or teases you.

You despise how much you enjoy his attention, whether it's his gaze meeting yours after you two catch Wrecker in a lie or the sound of his voice in your ear when he mocks Hunter. You complain when he flicks his used toothpicks at the back of your head, but you secretly like the smirk he always sends you when you yell.

You especially hate how fast he makes your heart race when he brushes past you on the ship. When you're in close quarters, his hands tend to linger longer on your waist than needed for him to get around you and you practically melt from his touch.

Thank the maker his eyes aren't sharp enough to catch the effect he has on you. You're sure if they were, he wouldn't be sleeping in the same bed as you right now.

The thought of him finding out about your stupid crush on him makes you sick. It can't happen.

You suddenly sit up, unintentionally getting his attention. After sleeping with a flat GAR-issued excuse for a pillow every night, a single motel one is plenty. You grab the extra one and stuff it between the two of you. You reach over to snatch Crosshair's extra, but stop when gawks at you.

"You plan on using this?" You ask though you're already pulling it out from underneath his head.

"Whatever." He huffs with an eye roll as you also stuff that one between you.

"There. Now don't cross this line." You declare as you gesture to your makeshift pillow wall.

He shakes his head and goes back to reading his datapad. "You don't have to worry about me, Ace."

"Good." You say as you adjust yourself under the blankets again. "Mind if I get the lights?"

"No." He says. He shuts his datapad off with a click and tosses it to the floor with little care. You cringe, thinking about how it's a miracle he hasn't broken it yet. Once he looks ready, you turn off the light.

You hate this part of sleeping. Are you supposed to acknowledge that you're going to sleep or do both of you just try to fall asleep in awkward silence?

"Night, Ace." He says, shockingly breaking the ice.

"Night, Crosshair." You reply, hoping he can't hear the smile in your voice.

x x x

You wake to the sound of someone talking. Still groggy considering it's nearly three, you assume that it's the rowdy men from across the hall returning to their room.

But you quickly realize it's the sniper sleeping a little closer to you than you remember from when you first fell asleep. He's laying against the pillow wall, his arm draped over it and in your space, but that doesn't bother you compared to his talking.

Figures he'd be a sleep talker. He doesn't say boo when he's awake so he does it while he's passed out.

Most of what he's saying is mumbled gibberish. Occasionally, you can pick out a few callsigns he tends to favor in battle. He ends up grumbling out a lot of configurations, which makes sense given his position.

It's interesting to hear how his brain works, though you can't understand him half of the time. He talks of wind adjustments, then goes silent. He starts back up with something about his rifle then falls quiet again.

You know you shouldn't be listening in, but you've never heard him talk so much before, especially about what he does. You've always known that he's a great shot and that it takes a lot more than just enhanced eyesight to be an impressive sniper, but it's fascinating to hear the steps he must go through every time he shoots if he's doing it in his sleep.

Eventually, he segues into something about soldiers. You can pick out fewer words now. He mumbles about following orders and being a good soldier. Whatever it is, he doesn't say much after that.

You don't know how long you've been listening to him, but you slowly find yourself drifting back to sleep. You're starting to actually grow annoyed with his constant chatter keeping you awake until your name passes by his lips.

You freeze. You thought you imagined it, but he says your name, your real name, not once.

Not twice.

But three times as clear as day. You wait for him to say more as multiple scenarios about what he could possibly be dreaming about run through your now wide-awake brain.

You know you shouldn't be so surprised. After all, you're on a squad together.

But no one else's names have been said, and he always calls you by the stupid nickname he gave you. He never uses your real name.

And now, when his dreams involve you, he finally goes silent. His deep breathing signals that he's still out cold and will probably be for the rest of the night.

How are you supposed to fall back asleep after that?

x x x

You eventually found a way because early morning light is now creeping in through the shades. You attempt to bury yourself deeper under the covers to keep it dark for your eyes. Still foggy from sleep, you try to hide in your bunk on the Marauder.

At least you believe you're in your bunk.

That is until you find yourself curled up against something warm that vaguely smells earthy and familiar.

You nearly jump out of your skin as the realization hits you. You yank the blankets off of your head and slightly jump back, shocked to find yourself so close to Crosshair's chest. You look up at him, expecting his usual scowl.

Instead, he smirks. He's clearly enjoying watching you wake with fear. "Good morning to you, too." He says with an annoyingly gravelly voice to get your attention.

Embarrassed, you find yourself stumbling over your words. You can't seem to find what to say and it doesn't help that your brain always seems to short-circuit this early in the morning. You decide to go on defense. "What are you doing on my side of the bed?" You glare.

His eyes swipe past you then return to your face again. "My side of the bed, you mean."

You snap your head over your shoulder to see that it is, in fact, you who had crossed the established line. Someone tossed out the extra pillows in the middle of the night, meaning you had nothing to stop you from rolling next to him. You fumble over your words again as he stretches out. "I was wondering when you'd notice you were using me as a pillow." He smugly groans.

You feel your cheeks flush and you really want to be mad at him. But instead, you hide your face into the covers and laugh. The whole situation embarrassing and hilarious all at once, so all you can do is own it. "I'm sorry." You smile when you finally show your face again. "I hope I didn't keep you up all night."

His eyes fall to the covers and a sudden shyness replaces his confidence. "No. I didn't notice until I woke up just before you."

Something tells you he's lying, but you decide to let it be. After all, what difference does it make if he did notice? At least he didn't snap at you for getting into his space or wake you up to move over.

He lets out a sigh and tosses blankets aside. "Now that you're awake, Hunter said that they're going to be down at breakfast in 30. I'm going to go take a shower and get ready."

"Alright." You say, falling back against your pillow. "I'll try to get my things packed so we don't have to come back up."

You give yourself an extra five minutes in bed before actually getting ready. You just use the spare mirror in the room to brush your hair out and make yourself look decent. You then attempt the clean up the room a bit and gather your belongings. Normally, you wouldn't dare touch anything that isn't yours, but you decide to help him out and at least move his stuff from off the floor.

When you bend down to pick up his datapad, you find the two extra pillows on his side. You can't help but wonder what they're doing stuffed under the bed, rather than tossed aside like someone who accidentally did it in their sleep.

It's almost like whoever did it hid them there on purpose.

It's probably best that you don't ask him about it.

When the two of you finally make it downstairs for breakfast, Wrecker has practically cleaned out the motel's buffet. Hunter and Echo were lucky enough to get a plate of food before the big guy swept through.

You settle on some jogan fruit that he, unsurprisingly, left untouched and a glass of bantha milk. You're not very hungry in the morning anyway. Crosshair takes a seat beside you, only having a cup of plain coffee.

Tech is nowhere to be found.

"I slept awful," Hunter complains as he rolls back one of his shoulders. "Those beds were worse than the barracks on Kamino."

"No kidding." Echo says. Wrecker grumbles in agreement, but doesn't stop stuffing his face.

"The beds were bad, but this food is great." He grins, getting head shakes from the entire group.

You lightly laugh and roll the jogan in your hands. "It was actually the best sleep I've had in a long time." You find yourself admitting.

"You must have had one of the good beds, Ace."

"Not really. Just a decent pillow for once." You say. You don't miss the way Crosshair suddenly tenses and you find yourself smiling in response. You didn't think that he would actually react to your subtle reference.

That is definitely worth noting.

Perhaps your feelings aren't one-sided afterall.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I feel like that ended super lame, but I literally have no idea how else to close this without adding like a ton of filler. Anyway, might add on a PT 2 or 3. I've got some ideas but we'll see what happens. Thanks for reading, lol!