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Wrecker had never felt relief like when he opened that escape pod on Bora Vio and found Omega, shivering with fear but alive and unhurt. Wrecker hated the quiver to the small girl’s voice as she cried out his name, but nothing gave him more joy than being able to pull her out of that pod.
Without hesitation, Wrecker gathered Omega into his arms and hugged her tightly while running a large hand along her back to soothe her. Her small, cuffed hands dug into his armor, but that didn’t stop Omega from resting her head against his chest and nuzzling herself into his arms.
Wrecker kept his arms around Omega until she pulled herself back only to launch into Hunter’s arms. It was only as he watched Omega cry against Hunter that Wrecker realized just how little physical affection the young girl must have had. The Kaminoans were disgusted by touch, but at least clone brothers had each other to give a pat on the back or a quick hand squeeze. Omega had been isolated away from her brothers her entire life, and thus had been isolated away from the warmth of physical touch.
Wrecker watched as Echo brought out the scomp attachment for his cybernetic hand to remove Omega’s cuffs while gently running his thumb over her knuckles to soothe her, then Hunter ushered her up to the cockpit so she could sit with Tech and watch the stars.
They’d all noticed how no matter how many times they were soaring through stars or the glowing blue of hyperspace, Omega would always be fascinated by both. If the stars could bring her a bit of comfort and happiness after the horrors she faced today, Wrecker would let her look at them for as long as she’d like.
“She’s a smart kid,” Echo spoke, disrupting Wrecker’s thoughts, “I don’t think any other child in the galaxy would have been able to get away, but she did.”
“I wish she hadn’t had to do any of that, but I’m proud of her for figuring out how to get away,” Hunter replied, rubbing at the spot where Omega had nestled into his sore abdomen.
“She’s definitely our little sister now,” Wrecker said, voice uncharacteristically soft as he peered up at Omega and Tech in the cockpit as Tech carefully checked Omega’s wrists for any injuries while Omega stared out at the stars.
Wrecker couldn’t help but continue to stare at Omega, afraid that she would disappear if his gaze wandered for even a second. Omega, ever the smart child she was, turned around at the sensation of being stared at to lock eyes with Wrecker. Wrecker smiled and winked at her, causing Omega to smile in return and squeeze both eyes shut in a failed copy of his wink.
Omega said something quick to Tech, who nodded at her and helped her out of her seat. She rushed over to Wrecker and his brothers, practically bouncing as she skidded to a stop in front of Wrecker. Her dark brown eyes were still tainted red from crying, but it seemed her sadness was forgotten.
Omega reached forward to wrap her small hand around Wrecker’s fingers, so he kneeled to the floor and softly asked, “What’s up, kiddo?”
Omega, still clutching his fingers, replied, “I wanted to thank you, all of you, for coming back for me.”
Wrecker smiled, scooping her up with ease and feeling his heart flutter at her carefree laughter. Hunter and Echo stepped closer as Omega rested her head against Wrecker’s shoulder.
Echo spoke, “That’s what family does for each other, Omega. We’re always going to keep each other safe.”
“Yeah, and we can just punch anyone that gets in our way!” Wrecker bellowed, punching the air enthusiastically. Omega giggled and gripped his armor tighter, her smile growing when Hunter reached forward to brush her bangs off her forehead. He twirled one of her blonde curls around his index finger the same way Omega always did with his hair, and Omega nestled her head closer to Hunter’s delicate touch.
Omega sighed contently, mumbling something against Wrecker’s chest but before he could ask her to repeat herself, Echo grabbed her hand and asked, “How’d you like to go watch the stars, Omega? I bet there are constellations here that you’ve never seen before.”
Omega’s eyes light up like the stars swirling past their ship and nodded furiously. Echo gripped both her hands and Wrecker bent down to make it easier for Omega to jump out of his arms. Omega kept her grip on Echo’s cybernetic hand as she dragged him up to the cockpit.
Wrecker watched quietly as Echo helped Omega into the co-pilot chair before kneeling next to her and pointing out stars. Tech pretended not to watch them, but Wrecker saw his brother flick his eyes over occasionally with a smile on his face.
The horrors of today may have already been dismissed from Omega’s young mind, but Wrecker made it his goal to ensure that nothing bad ever touched his little sister again.
Night fell quickly upon their small ship, and Hunter promptly escorted Omega up to bed. She’d been in the cockpit with Tech for most of the day since she’d begged Tech to teach her every possible way to reroute a circuit and re-wire a comm. She seemed just as determined as the rest of them to never allow them to be separated again.
Tech had set aside all of his projects in favor of teaching their little sister, and it seemed his teaching had begun to pay off. By the time Hunter put her to bed, she knew all of the basic components of a comm and the fastest way to boost its signal.
Hunter had nominated himself for first watch, leaving Echo, Tech, and Wrecker to try to get some rest. Wrecker and Echo were the only ones actually trying to sleep, if the constant noise from Tech’s tools told Wrecker anything.
With Lula clutched tightly in his arms, Wrecker rolled away from Tech’s tinkering to face the wall in an attempt to drown out the noise. He’d barely had his eyes shut for a minute when he heard the sound of Omega’s curtain being pulled back and her careful footsteps coming down her ladder.
There had been several days scattered over the past few weeks where Omega had difficulty sleeping and sought out Hunter to comfort her. They’d simply stare at the stars together, Hunter’s presence somehow calming the young girl until she was tired enough that Hunter had to carry her back to bed. Wrecker, figuring that was what she was doing now, paid the small girl no mind as she quietly approached the bunks.
Wrecker was surprised when he felt an impossibly-small hand drop onto his shoulder as Omega whispered, “Wrecker? Are you awake?”
Wrecker rolled over and opened his eyes, responding with, “What’s the matter, kiddo? You wanna hold Lula?”
“Actually … I was wondering if you could hold me? Like you did earlier today?” Omega asked, her hand still resting on his shoulder.
Her request caught him by surprise but after a moment of thinking, he knew he should have suspected it. She melted every time someone touched her for even a second, her body language showing that she was trying to absorb every second of touch she could get. Wrecker had hugged her for the first time today, and he was happy to know she had enjoyed the gesture.
Wrecker sat up to grab Omega, and he didn’t miss the instant smile that flashed across her face as she stepped closer to him.
“Here kiddo, you hold Lula for me,” Wrecker said, quickly passing off the stuffed toy to the child. Omega cradled the toy in one arm before bringing the other up over her head in a motion that Wrecker had seen other children do when they wanted to be picked up.
Wrecker grabbed her by the waist and picked her up to settle against his chest. With his armor removed, Omega easily snuggled against him and rested her hand against his bicep. Being as careful as if he were cradling glass, Wrecker leaned back into his bunk so they were both lying down chest-to-chest.
Omega shuffled slightly to better settle herself against him, but sighed at his warmth as she snuggled deeper into him. Lula seemed to be forgotten in her hold as she focused on Wrecker, and the girl made no protest when Wrecker plucked the stuffed toy from her grasp to place it on the floor.
Omega moved the arm previously occupied by Lula to his chest directly over his heart. Omega giggled softly as she moved her head over his heart and whispered, “I can hear your heartbeat! It’s so loud, just like you!”
Wrecker managed to contain his laugh to just a soft chuckle as he brushed a large hand through her delicate curls and replied, “Yeah? I bet it’s not as loud as your stomach when it growled the other day.”
Omega scrunched her nose up in anger at Wrecker’s teasing words, burying her face further into his chest so he didn’t see her face turning red. Wrecker laughed softly, patting Omega on the head.
A few minutes passed as a comfortable silence fell over the pair. The normally boisterous clone was silent as he watched Omega pick bits of fuzz off the fabric of his blacks, her dark brown eyes lacking even an ounce of sleepiness. He knew he should be trying to get her to fall asleep, but he hadn’t the slightest idea on how to do that.
Just as Wrecker was about to tell Omega to close her eyes and try to sleep, her soft voice asked, “Wrecker, how do you know if you love somebody?”
Wrecker froze. This wasn’t the kind of question he was ready to answer. Tech always diligently answered her questions, even if Omega didn’t fully understand by the end, and Hunter had always been good at explaining things in a way that kids understood.
“That’s … that’s a hard thing to explain, kiddo. You’re probably better off asking Tech or Hunter,” Wrecker mumbled, figuring Omega would end the conversation there.
To his surprise, Omega picked her head up to look into his eyes and said, “But Wrecker, I want you to tell me!”
Wrecker swallowed nervously, feeling completely unprepared to answer her simple-yet-deep question. Taking one look into her curious eyes, Wrecker knew he had to answer her, even if he didn’t give her the best reply.
“I think you know you love somebody when they make you happy,” Wrecker started, moving to cradle her hand pressed over his heart, “You also want to see that person be happy, and you’re willing to do anything to make sure that person stays happy and safe.”
Omega was silent for a moment before quietly asking, “So ... is it okay if I think I love all of you?”
Wrecker smiled as tears briefly blurred his vision, moving a hand to brush his knuckles delicately against her soft cheek.
“Yes, Omega, that’s more than okay. We all love you too,” Wrecker replied, enjoying the content look on Omega’s face as her eyes closed as he continued to stroke her cheek.
“That’s good, because I think I’ve loved you all for a long time,” she mumbled against his chest, but the meaning behind her words wasn’t lost to him.
Wrecker remembered how Omega already knew their names when they first met, and had a certain excitement about her that made him think she’d been waiting a long time to meet them. Had she loved them before she even met them, or did she learn how to love them in the few weeks they had been together?
Omega’s eyes popped upon as she loudly whispered, “Wait, I have another question! If a group of people all love each other, does that make them a family?”
Wrecker’s hand stilled against her cheek in shock, but a quick nudge of her head into his hand made Wrecker laugh and continue his careful strokes.
“I think it does, Omega. I love my brothers and I’ve always viewed them as my family. I love you, so now I view you as part of my family,” Wrecker replied.
Omega hummed contently, clearly happy with Wrecker’s answer.
“I’ve never had a family before, but I think we’re the best family in the entire galaxy,” Omega said softly, finally sounding tired enough to go to sleep.
Wrecker moved the hand caressing her cheek to the back of her head, holding her steady as he leaned down to press his lips to the top of her head. She stirred slightly at the sensation, a faint smile flicking across her lips.
Omega snuggled deeply into his arms, shutting her eyes and drifting to sleep as Wrecker rubbed soft circles into her scalp. Wrecker waited a few minutes for the small girl to pop her eyes open to ask him another question but when she didn’t, he shut his eyes as well and allowed himself to drift off to sleep.
Wrecker’s last waking thought was of his brothers and baby sister. They weren’t a perfect family, but they were all that each other needed.
When Hunter swapped places with Tech that night, both brothers couldn’t help the smiles that graced their faces at the sight in Wrecker’s bunk. Wrecker had a leg dangling off the side of his bunk, one hand cradling Omega’s lower back while another cupped the back of her head. Omega, looking as sweet as she could with her mouth hanging open, had one hand resting on Wrecker’s chest and another on his shoulder.
The position didn’t look the slightest bit comfortable, but Hunter knew that didn’t matter to either of them. Hunter unraveled a small red blanket, tattered from years of love, and gently unfolded it on his brother and little sister.
Omega stretched in her sleep before snuggling back against Wrecker. Tech stepped forward to lift Wrecker’s leg back onto his bunk and gently brush a hand through Omega’s blonde curls. Neither sibling made any movement, each completely lost in their dreams and each other’s warmth.