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techwrecker · 6 hours

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Sparkles & Boots

Summary: Phee challenges Crosshair to a little game of paint war.

Word Count: 1.7K

Warnings: N/A

Ships: techphee on the dl

Tags: fluff?, slice of life, tech lives, non canon compliant

TW: N/A

A/N: I hope you enjoy this Phee & Crosshair scene we never got but definitely deserved! I had to sit on this prompt awhile but I hope I did it justice <3 Thanks for the ask! dt: @general-ida-raven

crossposted on my ao3 of the same name here

“A smile wouldn’t kill you, you know!” Phee shouted from across the courtyard. “That’s what normal people do when they’re having fun!”

Crosshair stayed put behind the barricade, chest heaving with exertion. The pair were fighting for their lives in a friendly game of paint wars, one-on-one.

It had all started with Phee bragging to the crew of The Marauder that her shooting skills were better than any blaster-slinger this side of The Maw. Crosshair wasn’t a betting man, but he couldn’t let her get away with such a bold statement.

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“Alright, five credits says you can’t beat me in a game of paint war,” he suggested.

“Only five?” She retorted, egging him on. “I would have thought you’d value your Republic-trained skills higher than that. Come on, Sparkles…” Phee trailed off expectantly, Crosshair’s “charming” personality earning him the sarcastic nickname.

Crosshair scoffed with a smile and pulled out a toothpick from his chest pocket.

“Fine. Ten,” he said, placing the splinter of wood in the corner of his mouth. “It will be even easier to succeed with you in those ridiculous heeled boots.”

Phee’s face burst into roguish excitement. “It’s called ‘lookin’ good’, not that you’d know. I’ll get the course set up, you load the guns. Brown eyes, you’re with me.” She snapped her fingers together and, making a point to turn sharply on her heel, grabbed Tech by the forearm leading him away from the group.

She pulled Tech into the open space of the Pabu courtyard and he let her. He looked back at Crosshair as they walked away, his face in a flat expression saying “this isn’t a fair bet and you know it”, but Crosshair only lightly shrugged his shoulders in response. After all, it wasn’t his fault the woman liked to boast skills she didn’t have. He was simply going to defend his status as Pabu’s best sharpshooter.

“You can’t just let this one go?” Hunter chided lightly. “We all know you’re the best, Crosshair. You don’t have to prove yourself anymore.” Hunter, ever the cautious leader, would always keep his faith in his brothers’ abilities, but when it came to money, he tried not to squander it.

“Oh, I’m aware. But perhaps she needs some… reminding,” he said in reply, heading to The Marauder for the paint rifles.

The blasters were decommissioned separatist rifles that the people of Pabu had no use for, so Tech was able to modify the power pack to hold a chamber of paint spheres. Being a peaceful civilization, the Pabu residents did not care for anything that had to do with weapons, game or not, so the crew stashed them aboard their home, even if they were only recreational now.

“Crosshair, what if she beats you?” Wrecker asked, handing him the container of paint from the top shelf.

“Do you really think I would let that happen?” Crosshair began to fill the shells and load them into the chamber. “Besides, she can’t be that great of a shot. She’s only a pirate after all.”

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“But, according to my calculations, you have an eighteen percent better chance of being able to best Crosshair if you angle the barricade thirty-seven degrees to the left.” Tech stated matter-of-factly. He was trying to understand Phee’s reasoning behind her lack of concern for victory. Especially when the opponent was Crosshair, whose advantages already far outweighed her own.

“Relax, paint war police. I know what I’m doing.” She stood up and dusted off her hands against her well-loved coat. “I’ve been around the galaxy a time or two and have picked up a few handy tricks here and there.” Phee said with a wink, resting her hands on her hips.

“Yes, but-“ he started.

“Tech,” she placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him squarely in the face. Tech felt his cheeks flush slightly, a sensation he was not yet used to. “I know what I’m doing.” She smiled reassuringly sweet at him and he returned the expression.

“If you say so.”

“I know so.”

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“Okay, here’s the ground rules,” Wrecker started, pausing for dramatic effect. “No face shots. That’s it, have fun!” He finished, bearing a wide smile, clearly proud of himself. Crosshair just rolled his eyes while Phee stifled a chuckle. Wrecker was rarely serious.

“Lizard-toad-snake to see who has the head start?” Phee suggested.

“No need. You can have it,” the clone conceded.

“If you insist, Sparkles!” Phee grabbed her rifle from her opponent and ran to the small, barricaded arena. She was hidden within seconds.

“Well that didn’t take long,” Wrecker observed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It won’t take long for me to snipe her out, either.” Crosshair said as he started toward the playing field.

He decided to settle close to the rim of the makeshift arena. That way he wouldn’t have to watch his back while also watching out for his friendly opponent. He wasn’t using his helmet as this really would have been unfair and he wanted her to at least feel like she had a shot at winning. Crosshair hunkered down to wait until Phee would inevitably give away her position.

Phee, though hidden, posted up toward the center. She knew Crosshair couldn’t rely on his brothers to watch his six and would try and plant himself on the rim. She was hoping she could draw him out eventually. The seasoned pirate peered over the top of the barricade in an attempt to spot the clone.

Nothing. Not even a hint at where he could be at. Phee smiled to herself as she gripped the rifle tighter. This was going to be fun. She sat up to crouch on her toes and quietly started to make her way around the arena when the first ball of paint exploded not 3 feet from where she was sitting a few seconds ago. She froze.

Damn. He was good. Not that she was expecting him not to be, but there’s no way he could have heard her moving... right? And on top of that, she hadn’t even seen where the shot had come from. A great start to the game.

Crosshair doesn’t miss. Not on purpose anyways. It was more of a warning shot. His years of tactical training and combat experience had allowed him to make an educated guess that Phee would have positioned herself toward the center of the paint war field. That, and he saw her shadow when she started to move. But he wasn’t going to let her know that.

“Phee, there is only one outcome to this fight,” he called across to her.

“So little faith in your new found friend!” She joked back with him.

Crosshair stuck his head above the barricade, scope pressed to his face. He could barely see Phee’s hair poking above the cement blockade.

“Gotcha,” he mumbled to himself. He waited to pull the trigger until Phee would move. There was a wooden pole not far from her. She would have to move eventually in order to try and get a better vantage point of his location. It was only a matter of time, and Crosshair was flush with patience.

Quite a crowd had gathered to watch this game of cat and mouse play out. A shot here, a shuffle there. Crosshair may not have been losing, but he certainly wasn’t winning either. But, not that he would admit it, he was having fun. A feeling that had eluded him since he was a Cadet.

He finally had her cornered. She was stuck between the pole and a limestone wall. Crosshair, rifle poised to fire, made his way over to her position. She was a fantastic opponent and had managed to keep the entire game interesting. Her arms were already up in surrender.

“Okay, okay, okay!” She said quickly as he approached. “You got me!” She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impact of the paintball explosion.

Crosshair aimed at her thigh, trying to hit a fleshy part of her body so it wouldn’t be as painful. To his own and the onlookers’ surprise, he hesitated. Phee opened one eye, peeking at the sniper.

“Aren’t you going to shoot me already? C’mon, Sparkles, I know you got it in ya.”

“Let’s make a deal,” he said. “I won’t shoot you on the condition of you admitting that I am the best ‘this side of The Maw’, not you,” he offered, quoting the pirate’s earlier words.

Phee relaxed her face and her smile returned. “Well gladly! But,” Crosshair let out a groan. “Only if you admit that you actually had fun today.”

“Fine. I had fun,” he said, monotonously. He pointed the modified rifle at the ground and Phee relaxed her position.

“Great, me too! And we all know you’re the best Crosshair.” She said, walking towards him. “I’m surprised you didn’t catch on sooner to my plan.”

“What plan?”

“The plan to make you have a great time during recreational activities whilst still stimulating your skills.” Tech cut in from the sidelines. “I thought it was obvious.”

Phee winked at Tech, shooting a fingergun his way in approval. Tech returned to his datapad, slightly flustered. Well, as much as he could be flustered.

“How was that obvious?!” Wrecker burst. The two engaged in debate while Crosshair returned his attention to his opponent.

“You may be the best sniper around, but there is certainly room for improvement regarding your ‘having-fun skills’.” Phee patted his shoulder as she walked past. “I just wanted you to have a good time for once, even if that meant throwing the game.” She really liked winking at the boys.

Crosshair rolled his eyes half-heartedly and let himself show a small smile. He let her have that one as he followed her out of the makeshift arena.

“Besides,” she looked behind her shoulder. “There’s always next time.”

“You know I won’t let that happen…” Crosshair hesitated. “Boots.”

Phee may push her luck and poke his buttons, but he was glad to have her around. Being an outsider to the crew, she was able to look at things from a different perspective. She wasn’t roped into the family dynamic like the rest of them, but she made a fantastic addition to The Bad Batch.

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