Chapter Text
The thing with the mom camp was that it started out as a joke. Crosshair teasing him, Hunter snickering, Wrecker laughing, Tech listing off certain beneficial qualities, totally oblivious to their merriment… Somehow though, the idea seemed to stick with the four as for his birthday that year, way back in March, he’d received a flight ticket to an all-inclusive yoga retreat in Florida for the bodily restricted. It had been a cute gesture; Omega drawing a card and his brothers all pitching in their bonuses left over from the beginning of the year…
After Fives death hardened him up, Echo had only rarely been touched by anything. That day, however, he could’ve sworn his heart had made a little jump.
Given Omega’s attachment issues, Echo figured it would be better if Crosshair drove him to the airport alone, fearing watching him leave would push her too far. After breakfast, Echo had gone through the house, collecting his duffle bag and checking over the contents for the travel. He’d packed some compression wear he could put on and precautionarily taken blood thinners for his poor circulation. The doc had said he should keep on massaging his stumps to ensure a good blood flow but bearing the sight of his missing lower legs without something to cover them up was horrendous and scary to most. Therefore, Echo hadn’t been sure if he would’ve been able to take off his prosthetics on a commercial flight. The last thing he wanted when breaking off to a holiday was to scare other bystanders.
The day of his flight, Omega had been trying to put on a brave face, but Echo still knew how upset she was by the way she’d stuck to Hunter that day. At the goodbyes, Echo had clutched her tight, promising they would call each other every evening and text in between. Omega had nodded, burying her face into his stomach region, and holding back tears. Immediately after he’d released her, she went back on the porch to claw to Hunter’s side next.
Echo swallowed, waving back at his siblings before getting into Crosshair’s Mercedes.
“Have fun in mom camp-“ Crosshair had teased at the airport check-in.
“Shut up Crosshair.” Echo had retorted with a grin, stepping back but being pulled in by one of Crosshair’s rare one-armed hugs. “Maybe I find you a single one, so you can quit being so bitter all the time.”
“Funny- Robocop-“ Crosshair had mumbled, handing him his bag. “Get your ass down to Florida.”
Echo had turned around for a final time, strangely thrown back into the time he’d left with Fives for their military service one year prior to the quadruplets. Smile faltering, he’d gulped thinking about the brother he’d lost. Coming back to the states without Fives had been more than just horrendous. It had been his worst nightmare.
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On first glance, nothing about the other participants looked off. Something Echo quickly got self-conscious over. They started off with awkward chatting before warming up to one another. Being reminded about Crosshair’s snide comment, Echo’s jaw clenched, realizing only adult women in their thirties and forties to be present.
After setting up camp in one of the designated rooms, Echo gathered up his courage to join the others outside. He startled, glance sweeping over a very familiar face he hadn’t spotted before.
“Echo-“ Suu’s french accent chimed. Quick on her feet, she went over for a kiss on either side of his cheek.
“Oh uhm-“ Echo stuttered befuddled, fully lulled into the charm of his cousin-in-law. Heat creeping up his neck, Echo was quick to be at a total loss for words. Between “Hi” and “Hello” his intimidated brain decided to have a shortcut, landing on both. “Hillo-“ He cursed himself, aggravatedly clearing his throat.
Suu grabbed him by the prosthetic and pulled him over to the group; the wide smile on her face was unbreakable. “Everyone- zis is Echo.” Suu announced, a fling of pride mixed in. “My ‘usband’s cousin and a good family friend.”
An even more beautiful woman with long hazelnut hair stood up, reaching over the table to extend her left hand for a firm shake, accommodating for his missing right. “I’m Padmé.”
Echo’s face darkened in color. Gaze locked with his toes, he focused on breathing for the meantime.
Padmé chirped a laugh. “I think Echo needs a taste of that white wine you brought, Suu.” Suu snickered, reaching across the table to put a glass in front of his face, filling it half full.
“Is that what Cut had us make last summer?” Echo inquired, thanking her and taking the glass. His family taking the four hour drive to Saleucami-Canyon to help out on Cut’s farm for harvesting had taken almost an entire week off Omega’s summer break. Echo took a sip. It was sweeter than expected, but it was the perfect accommodation for the sunny day.
Suu nodded. “Blackberry- You will taste your ‘ard work-“
“I hope so.” Echo laughed, hoping he wouldn’t be reeled in again for this year’s harvest. Being on the farm was nice but the dirt stuck in his prosthetics wasn’t at all something to look forward to again.
He noticed the sets of eyes, piercing through the front of his head.
Padmé leaned forward; a true prom queen, so much he could tell already. “Tell us Echo-“ He gulped, thinking this was going to be about one of those inquisitive talks how he came to be so… disfigured. “Suu mentioned you had family.” She smiled; not at all what he feared he had to expose.
“Yeah. I live with my five half siblings.” His skin went cold to the touch. He didn’t miss them already… did he?“Quadruplets around my age and a little sister.” Echo tried to smother a grin. “She’s thirteen. Omega-“ He explained, watching their faces for the unconventional name. “She’s a very good student.”
“Best of ‘er class-“ Suu interrupted, deconstructing the dam of demureness Echo’d built up. “What was it? 91 percent grade average?”
“96 percent!” Dopey smile, Echo nodded, being reminded of her certificate for grade seven… and her school transfer. What a year it had been- “She’s way smarter than all of us combined. We are very proud.” He ended flatly, not wanting to disclose how they came to live that way. God knows he’d done that many of times before, every time reciting her troubled past, hence discrediting all the progress she’d made ever since her rescue. “What about you guys?” Echo took a lengthy sip, the alcohol already clouding his brain. Padmé had been right. It helped tremendously.
Not shying away from the opportunity to speak first, Padmé scooched forward. “I have twins. Boy and girl. Three years old.” She smiled, faltering as her face suddenly looked a little saddened. “I am married-“ Padmé made a high pitched noise, making Echo jerk. “My husband, Anakin… he is somewhat of a menace-“
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Omega’s face popped up on the screen of his phone, gripping him out of the chitter chatter with the other moms. He quickly set the chardonnay aside, squirming out of the blanket to take the call in private. Florida in December was a little chilly, but nothing a self-knitted Wrecker cardigan couldn’t fix. He pulled it tight around his shoulders, flesh hand buried in its warmth while the prosthesis held the phone in place.
“Hey kiddo, what’s up?”
“Not much.” The strange quiver in her tone she tried to hide gave away every emotion. “Uhm-“ She gulped, making Echo’s insides twist. “Hunter doesn’t want me to tell you this-“ an awfully heavy sniff followed, “But I miss you… like a lot.”.
Ah, great. He’d been gone for five days, and Hunter was already encouraging her to bury her emotions… He really couldn’t await coming home tomorrow. “It’s okay, Omega- I’ll be back soon. Mhh?”
She sniffled a little more, then a pressed “’kay.”.
“Just have to go to sleep one more night, sweetheart. Just imagine I’m there.”
A high pitched “mhhhmhh.” and fabric dragging over the speakerphone. In the background, Wrecker’s booming laughter cut Omegas further sniffles short. “It’s just- I can’t imagine you to be here. You have to actually be here. I wish you would be-”
“Aww kiddo- Only twenty more hours and we’ll see each other again. Okay?” Another “MhhMhh” from her end of the line. Echo tried something else. “How’s Tech’s project going? Does he still have all his fingers?” Before Echo left, Tech was in the middle of constructing their very own porch swing. A project, though initiated by Tech, required the help of all the siblings.
“Yeah. But he curses a lot while working, so I guess it’s not going too well-“
“I just hope you’re not listening to that.” A sincere, stuffy sounding laugh erupted from the other end. “I love you, kiddo. Just another day. You’re doing fantastic.”
“I love you too.” She promised, pulling away as if their call had to end soon.
Echo’s chest clenched, wanting to pull her through the phone for a tight hug. “Megs? Can you give your phone to Hunter before we hang up?”
“Sure-“ Omega said. She called for Hunter’s name, another fabric rustle indicating the phone had been passed on.
“Hello? Mate? How’s-“
Echo couldn’t hold back any longer. “Hunter? How irresponsible can you be?” He silently hissed as to not cause any more attraction his long time away from the others had been provoking.
“Huh?”
“Don’t tell Omega she can’t say she misses me.”
Hunter moved, feet making staticky noises as he came in contact with the carpet. “Look, I just didn’t want to make you feel bad.” Hunter defended himself, whispering.
“Omega is already facing difficulties in voicing her emotions.” Echo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and being reminded of the countless meetings he had with conversing with Obi-Wan, Omega’s assigned therapist at school and, as luck would have it, the husband of one of his half-brothers. “It’s not good to prohibit her from doing that even more.”
“I don’t know man-“ Hunter grumbled. “I’m just doing what I think is right-“ Hunter grew restless, already done with the situation. “If the kid called me crying, don’t you think I wouldn’t feel sad?”
“Hunter-“ Echo emphasized. “That’s important. Just don’t ever do it again.”
“Hrmpf-“ Hunter emitted, slowly getting behind his mistake. “Yeah, maybe was kinda stupid. Sorry.”
A tense silence washed over the two, making the call awfully long in its duration. For a second, Echo thought if they should hang up, then, another, far better thought crossed his mind. “Please tell me you have eaten anything other than fast food since I’m gone?”
“Well, you know Wrecker has a membership card at McDonalds.” Hunter joked, “but yeah” his brother opted for a pressed laugh. To Echo, it didn’t sound right. “We’ve been cooking a bit-“. Echo knew that tone.
“Hunter,” He emphasized with a smirk. “If my kitchen is anything but spotless when I come back, I’ll rip the ugly tattoo straight off your face.”
“Missed you, mate.” Hunter tried to schmooze. “Miss your threats-“
“Miss you guys too.” Echo mumbled, gaze drawn to the feebly lit porch he’d been sitting on for the last few hours, watching the sunset with the other moms. He’d been sticking out like a sore thumb. A guy in his late twenties, never mind the triple amputee factor… The most the other moms had were chronic illnesses, back injuries or as far as Echo could count, one had been missing a toe…
“How are the others? Heard Tech’s been having a hard time with the swing?”
“Yeah. Not our fault though. He doesn’t let himself be helped and thinks he knows everything better than we do.”
Oh boy, without Echo’s guidance, it seemed like the four boys were just as helpless as children. Dealing with Tech’s autism could be quite the challenge sometimes, but Echo initially thought for Hunter to have a working strategy down. He sighed again, suddenly longing for another glass of wine.
With Hunter’s stubbornness and persistence and Tech’s incapability of understanding an indirect approach, Echo wasn’t quite sure how the four of them ever harmonized that well. On first glance, they were a match made in heaven. On the second, not so much.
“You think you can get to his perspective for a bit?” Despite the decorated army vet status, Hunter was as juvenile as he had been in his teens.
“I tried.” Hunter grumbled. But it’s a shitty perspective- Echo supplied in his mind with a smile.
“Ayayay” Echo sighed, shifting his weight. “Just don’t kill yourselves till I get home. ‘kay?”
His neck jolted upward. Suu waved , signaling that they were going inside. Echo swallowed, already enjoying the silence out there by himself. The different company had been nice, but after listening to hundreds of stories of them humble-bragging with their kids, Echo wasn’t sure if he could stomach another one…
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Despite what he’d initially thought, the morning hadn’t been all that stressful. He’d calmly packed his bag, said his goodbyes, and ventured off into a taxi that took him to the airport. After arriving almost three hours early, he even had the time to rummage around in the many overpriced gift shops, stopping for a weird crocodile saltshaker and a red sweatshirt with a palm tree for Omega.
The flight hat been short and not even half as uncomfortable as it had been at his arrival. The checkout and second pass through the x-ray device at airport security screening had been a bit of a hassle. Rummaging for his implant card hadn’t left the Florida security all that convinced, so Echo didn’t really have a choice other than to unpack his bag completely only to find it at the very bottom.
But as soon as he went off board to set foot into his hometown, he was hit with a tranquility not even three months in a yoga camp could’ve resulted in.
"ECHO!" someone called behind the barrier from the gate. Out of instinct, he knew exactly how this high-pitched voice belonged to. He turned around; duffle bag previously swung over his shoulders knocked to the ground.
Omega came barreling down from underneath the nylon ribbon, stopping on her toes as to not gather too much momentum before she wrapped her arms around his waist. She’d made the mistake of coming at him in full force once before, causing Echo to lose his balance and knocking him clear off his feet. "Omega? Have you grown? You’re so tall!" Echo asked, knowing it would immediately put a smile on his sister’s face.
"I don't think so." Omega muffled into his shirt, trying her hardest not to sniffle. "I missed you sooooooomuch!!!"
Echo slid down on his knees, pulling her close and giving her cheek a little smooch. "I missed you too, sweetheart." His hand traveled around her back, the prosthesis on his right locking her in a firm position. Chin rested on top of her shoulder; Echo closed his eyes for a second.
Gosh, really, he had missed her. The evenings spent with the other moms had been nice, no doubt, but it really couldn’t be counted as a substitute for cuddles from his youngest sibling. He would take the huddles on their small couch over watching the stupid sunset in silence a tenfold.
Then, Echo spotted the rest of the group slowly approaching and shimmying themselves past other passengers. Not two had come as he initially thought, but all five of them. He couldn’t hide a stupid smile from breaking free. After all those years with the quadruplets, Echo still thought of him as a lesser part of the household. Staying where he was at earned him the title of a member, but still, the feeling lingered around he never quite belonged there.
“Got some cooking advice for us?” Crosshair smirked, breaking the sentimental silence mounting up.
“Noo!” Echo shook his head, knowing he had to make the berry cobbler recipe one of the moms wrote out for him disappear for a while.
“Given your talents, you'd certainly benefit from a little advice.” Tech chided crisp, stubbing him with the tip of his shoe.
Crosshair made a face, Echo was glad Omega couldn't see from her position. The ends of his thighs coming up with complaints, Echo stood back up again, letting Omega's face rest against his stomach.
Each of their faces held on to an exhausted smile. Echo wasn't sure if he wanted to know what had been going on. “You guys look a little worse for wear.” He tried, gently nudging them with his words.
“Could be ‘cause we’ve been cleanin’ all day-“ Wrecker mumbled sheepishly, causing one of Echo’s eyebrows to quirk up.
“Yeah, Mate.” Hunter mumbled, coming closer to stroke over Omega's hair. Like her life depended on it, Omega wasn’t pulling away from Echo in the slightest. “We wanted you to keep your- What was that called again?”
“Shanti?” Echo grinned, sweeping up and down Omega's back. Suddenly, he felt bad for his harsh words the night previous. “You guys-“ He stuttered. “That's very thoughtful.” Echo praised, knowing his siblings needed it.
“I dusted off all the surfaces and took care of all the trash-“ Omega mumbled from below, earning herself a head pat (and an extra sticker).
“Very diligent.” Echo rumbled, directing his siblings toward the exit of the airport. He wasn't keen on standing in the same spot forever and after the long journey, his legs hurt a lot. “I hope your brothers helped?”
“Course we did! The kid can't reach everything. Even made dinner for ya.” Wrecker proclaimed proudly. “Oven mac'n'cheese with breadcrumbs on top-“
“Did you remember to turn it off before you left?” Echo's grip around Omega's shoulder tightened, briefly a little concerned for how fireproof the house was. Echo would’ve normally gone for something lighter, but after a week of green smoothies and salads, he longed for something less nutritious.
Wrecker looked at Hunter for that. Not for long, but still a little too lengthy for comfort.
Hunter nodded.
“Well in that case, it’s good to be home.”