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"Tech, you're rambling again."
Tech stopped, looking at Hunter with widened eyes before looking down at his hands, a soft sorry falling from his lips.
Tech clamped his mouth shut, fiddling with his hands. Tech mentally slapped himself. Why can't you just shut up?
Ever since Tech could talk, he didn't stop. He wouldn't realize how much or how long he was talking until inevitably someone told him to shut up. Tech didn't understand why he would talk so much, all he knew was once he started, his brain just wouldn't stop. When he did talk, he felt happy. Happy to share his interests and discoveries with his squad but they never seemed to be as interested as him.
Tech kept his eyes on the floor, walking back to his bunk, and grabbing his datapad. He pushed himself back into the corner, gluing his eyes to the screen, ignoring the quiet conversation now happening across the room. Tech didn't even notice the tears that began to collect in the corners of his eyes until the first fell, gathering in the brim of his goggles. He held his breath, attempting to blink the tears. He bit his cheek, forcing his emotions down, trying to focus on the datapad in his hand. It didn't take long for the tears to blur his vision, making it close to impossible to read anything on the screen. He resisted the urge to chuck the datapad across the barracks, settling for setting it down rather harshly beside him. He brought his legs to his chest, resting his chin on his knees.
Tech may not technically be the youngest but he was the smallest. Crosshair was younger than Tech but was already a couple inches taller and Hunter and Wreckers both were larger in size all around. Tech hugged his legs to his chest, completely unaware of his eldest brother approaching his bunk. He didn't even notice his presence until a soft hand landed on his shoulder. Tech involuntarily jumped, his wide eyes meeting Hunter's concerned ones.
"Tech'ika," Hunter reached over, removing his goggles, lightly wiping the tears away from his eyes. "Can you tell me what's upset you?"
Tech moved his gaze down to his mattress, hugging his legs tighter. He couldn't stop talking just a minute ago, why can't he talk at all now? Tech couldn't form the words in his mouth. He could talk forever about fauna on a world he learned about, or a deadly virus that had gone extinct, but talking about himself? Tech's mind went blank. Tech was supposed to be smart! Why couldn't he just simply say why he was crying? Why was he crying?
Why did his chest hurt?
Why couldn't he breathe? Was he breathing? His chest tightened, making it painfully hard to draw in any air.
He could feel himself becoming lightheaded, his entire body seemingly going numb. His blurred vision was now swimming, making it impossible to see what he was now looking at. Was there a person in front of him now? He barely registered the hands now on both his shoulders. Was someone speaking? Everything seemed to speed up and slow down as someone's arms wrapped around him.
"-ech! Tech! Breathe, Vod'ika. It's ok, you're safe!"
Hunter. Hunter was the one in front of him, his hands on the younger's shoulders. "Breathe, Tech'ika. Breathe with me. In. Out. In. Out. There you go. Good. Keep going. Just like that."
Tech slowly matched his breathing with Hunter's, the shakiness of his exhale slowly growing less.
"That's it, Tech'ika. Just like that."
Tech's eyes met Hunter's kind and concerned ones. The older offered him a soft smile, the strong hands not leaving his shoulder.
"I'm sorry…" Tech choked out.
"Tech'ika…" Hunter sat down next to him, pulling him into his side. "What are you apologizing for?"
"I'm always annoying everyone!" Tech found himself clinging to his ori'vod. "I start rambling and I don't even realize it and I just want to share but I just end up annoying everyone and-!"
Hunter stopped him, turning Tech's head to meet his gaze. "Tech, you're okay. I'm sorry that I upset you. I didn't mean to." Hunter reached up, wiping away the remaining tears on Techs cheeks
Tech looked at his brother through his blurry vision as Hunter returned his goggles. "I-"
"Hey, Tech,"
Tech looked past Hunter to Crosshair who was sitting on the floor with his sniper rifle in his lap. Crosshair patted the floor next to him. "I've got to clean my rifle. Come finish telling me about the thing you were talking about while I finish."
Tech's eyes lit up, looking at their youngest in disbelief. "...really?"
Crosshair began to take the rifle apart piece by piece, his only response was to pat the floor beside him again.
A smile worked its way onto his face as Hunter helped him off his bunk. He walked over, plopping himself down next to the young sniper. For the first time in a long time, Crosshair turned to Tech,
and the sniper smiled