yall i came across this cover (linked above) while listening to spotify on shuffle and immediately thought of these two. listen along and enjoy!

***

Omega

Awoken by the sudden craving for a glass of water, Omega sits up, raising a hand to rub the sleepy haze from her eyes.

A glance at the chrono tells her it's quickly nearing 0230, and with her brothers all sleeping soundly, she'd have to ensure her footsteps were nearly inaudible to not wake any of them up... especially a certain sharp-sensed sergeant, whose weary eyes always told a different story than his smile.

But as she's about to push the curtain aside, her hand freezes. Creeping into her room from beneath the soft fabric is a faint light, and while her mind spins, scrambling to find a plausible explanation as to why it's on in the dead of night, one thing's for certain: it's not supposed to be.

The Marauder should be completely dark by now. Someone had just forgotten to turn off a lamp... right?

The argument falls short even to her own ears. Because she knows better.

With a frown, she shoves the curtain away. Now able to see beyond the gunner's mount walls, her gaze follows the trail cast by the soft golden glow all the way to the front of the ship, locking onto the silhouette of a lone figure sitting in the co-pilot's seat. Of course.

Water forgotten, one by one, her hands and feet hit the cold metal rungs of the ladder and before long, she was poking her head into the cockpit. Despite not being able to see over the chair without standing on tiptoes, the flash of red tells her all she needs to know.

***

Hunter

Normally, nobody could sneak up on him, but with bits and pieces of the war they'd left behind stringing together in incomprehensible sequences haunting him, Hunter's mind was in complete disarray.

So when a soft voice asks, "Can't sleep?" seemingly out of nowhere, the sudden hammering in his chest has him immediately on high alert, his already frayed nerves on overdrive.

Upon seeing it was only Omega who stepped out from the shadows, the sergeant let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "No, just... thinking."

His tone came out more clipped than intended, but she seemed undeterred. Omega lowered herself into the empty pilot's seat, absently toying with the end of the short braid tucked over her shoulder as she did so. "Credit for your thoughts?"

"Not this time, kid."

He wasn't trying to push her away. But confiding in her meant asking her to carry his burdens on her small shoulders, and to let someone so young and innocent bear such darkness... He wouldn't — couldn't — do that to her.

She fell silent. Leaning back, her gaze, the same one that had seemed to pierce right through him just moments prior, turned far away. Thoughtful.

The silence was broken a few minutes later. "Do you remember the first time you comforted me after a nightmare, after Kamino?"

Hunter nodded slowly, immediately pulled back in time.

Jerked from his light slumber by the sound of a girl's muffled scream, he'd rushed to the gunner's mount and found Omega thrashing in her sleep, her sheets a crumpled, twisted mess.

He'd stood on the ladder, transfixed. Although he remained unwavering in his decision to rescue her from a crumbling Kamino's fiery clutches, and despite her being one of them, he had hardly known her. Beyond his sense of dutiful loyalty, she was little more than a stranger. What was he supposed to do with a terrified, sleeping child? But he had to stop her nightmare from feeling any more real than it already did.

Up in the gunner's mount, when wide brown eyes stared up at him just moments later, Hunter's mind drew another blank. What now? But as he raised the blanket to her chin, a melody — simple and sweet, full of hope that one day, he and his squad could live in the peaceful world he envisioned — began to write itself.

And against his better judgement, he'd sung it to her.

Present-day Hunter smiled faintly at the memory, remembering how enraptured Omega had been.

She'd clung to his every word like a lifeline.

Long before the melody's final notes faded away, a light weight had fallen against his leg. Nestled snugly into his side was the little clone girl's head, her chest rising and falling peacefully as she slept. It had sparked something new, something... warm in his chest.

But the serenity hadn't lasted long. The jarring contrast between Omega sleeping soundly and writhing in the grips of a nightmare had left him sleepless for days. To see her so vulnerable, even at rest, was alarming; no child deserved to witness such horrors. And yet, despite everything Omega had already been through, she rarely lost her smile, kindness, and optimism.

That night, Hunter had felt something inside solidify. He hadn't been able to put a finger on it then, and it wouldn't be until months later that he recognized what it was: conviction.

Conviction to give her the life she deserved, conviction to keep her safe, and above all, conviction to never let the galaxy's horrors rip any more of her innocence away.

Protecting her would be no easy task; how could a squad of only four stand a chance against an army of millions? But no matter how much an uphill battle it was, Omega was something worth fighting for.

At that moment, he knew without a doubt that he'd do anything for her.

"Yeah," Hunter said finally. "I remember it as clearly as if it happened yesterday."

The corners of Omega's eyes crinkled softly. "Think of the song you sang to me in the gunner's mount, the one you'd hum whenever I was upset."

He remembered the song better than anything. After all, he'd spent the rest of that night committing it to memory and singing it to her in the three years that followed.

"What about it?"

"It always made me feel better, so I thought..."

She turned, flipping a few switches on the dashboard. As the opening chords floated through the speaker, she began to softly hum the tune that had become their song, their lullaby.

"I see trees of green, red roses too...
I see them bloom, for me and you.
And I think to myself, 'what a wonderful world...'"

Through her voice, clear and soothing, a new picture was slowly being pulled into focus. She was painting with words, and with every turn of phrase, Hunter felt himself being drawn into Omega's world, catching a glimpse of the galaxy as she saw it. The lyrics were her paints, and the song her canvas, limitless in its possibilities. He heard only serenity and quiet optimism as she sang, for the wonderful world he'd described in the song oh-so-long-ago was now her reality. It was vastly different from the longing, wistful way in which he'd first sung it, but he loved her interpretation all the same.

His voice joined hers, woven together by the melody that bound them.

"I see skies of blue, and clouds of white..."

They had stepped into their own magical little bubble, where for a few short minutes, there were no worries, no regrets, no fears — just the two of them, held in the warm embrace of a beautiful, sacred hope.

"Bright blessed day, dark sacred night."

When Omega's smaller fingers wrapped tenderly around Hunter's, it wasn't lost on either father or daughter how their roles had reversed. Gone was the naive little girl who'd needed constant protection; she had grown up, and now, she was the leader, offering love and guidance while her loved ones navigated stormy waters.

He squeezed her hand.

"And I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

She squeezed back.

And though the lingering final notes of the song was beginning to waver and fade, the newfound lightness in Hunter's chest, like a hot air balloon promising to uplift him in moments of despair, did not.

She truly was his little star, capable of dispelling storm clouds from even the darkest of days. Looking back, a life without her in it... was unfathomable.

Omega's free hand landing softly atop their interlaced fingers shook him from his thoughts. "How do you feel?"

"Better," Hunter murmured. "Lighter."

"I'm glad," she said earnestly. "You don't have to worry so much anymore. The wonderful world you all fought so hard for — we finally have it."

He'd known that subconsciously ever since the squad had landed on Pabu to stay for good, but now, for her to say it aloud, to affirm it?

The corners of his mouth slowly tugged upward, and a shaky, almost disbelieving laugh fell past parted lips. Finally, at long last, everything began to truly sink in. His squad was safe. He was safe. She was safe. And now... they could give this whole father-daughter thing a real shot.

Rather abruptly, Hunter stood up. He was more than aware it was the dead of night, but it couldn't wait any longer. Elation buzzed in his veins at the prospect of raising his darling girl in peace, and far, far away from the war. They had so much time to make up for, and he wasn't losing another second. Keeping their hands carefully linked, he pulled Omega up from the pilot's seat, and in one fluid motion, he spun his daughter into his open arms.

She melts instantly, like a snowman on a sunny day, into his embrace. Hunter revels in the solidness of her shoulders, the gentle rise and fall of her chest, and the rhythm of her heart beating in tandem with his. And, in that moment, he was grateful to just hold her, silently thanking the Maker for keeping them both alive long enough to see their dreams of this wonderful world come to fruition.

But as the weight of everything they'd been through settled again in his mind, Hunter felt the words he should've said long ago bubbling up in his throat."I love you," he breathed into Omega's hair. "Stars, I love you."

He couldn't believe he hadn't told her sooner. He could say it every day for the rest of his life, but it still wouldn't be enough.

He wasn't usually so forthcoming with his words, and they more often than not got lodged in his throat before he could get them out. But if it meant his little girl could know just how deeply his affection ran for her, he would say it every day.

"I love you too, Dad," came her muffled reply. "More than you will ever know."

***

i headcanon that hunter has a great voice but just doesn't use it D: so i capitalized on that and this chapter was born :) i think he's creative too, which is why the song came so easily to him. his creativity shows in his strategies and balances out his critical counterpart.

anywho, what did we think?? i'm decently happy with how this turned out :D but i gotta edit tmrw morning, im falling asleep rn LOL

sorry for the late update, i had a hard time tweaking some stuff. leave a comment and lmk! constructive criticism is also welcome!

tysm for reading and til the next update! <3

may the force be with ya!
- jazzy :)