Work Text:
“Just ask her”
“I can’t”
“Echo, if you chicken out someone else will ask her, and then you’ll miss your chance”
“I know Fives, I just” Echo watched from across the mess hall at the new officer that had joined the 501st, all the guys heard, as soon as they had all the troopers casually made their way to the bridge nonchalantly introducing themselves to her. It also didn’t help that she was beyond gorgeous.
Hardcase, Jesse, almost all the guys were trying to find a way into her heart. She was pleasant enough, but never gave them an inch. She gave a simple smile, treated them with dignity, and remained friendly, but she never flirted back despite their efforts. Something Echo had noticed the times he was called to the bridge.
“Well, if you keep staring at her, it’s gonna turn creepy”
“I know, Fives! I … She … What … UGH!” Echo turned back to his food, yet his appetite was gone, since she walked into his life, everything seemed different. Food, air, colours, everything was dull, lifeless, Echo couldn’t take it anymore and pushed himself away from the table.
“Where you going, vod?” Fives called out
“For a walk, I’ll see you back at the barracks.”
“Echo, you haven’t touch…”
I didn’t hear the rest of what Fives was yelling, I just needed to get away from the mess hall, from the way those guys were flirting with her. There weren’t too many places on board the Resolute that were completely empty or that you could find a quiet place to think. I wandered around the halls for a while before deciding to head off to one of the closed hangars, a few were currently under repairs from the last time we encountered the Separatists. As I walked into the hangar, I noticed how everything looked abandoned, the scorch marks from the fire and explosions were gone.
I walked to the edge of the hangar and sat down with my legs hanging over. It was quiet, a lot better than the mess hall and away from all the giggles. I sat there for almost half an hour when I heard the door slide behind him.
I didn’t bother turning, I knew who it would be.
“How did you find me?”
There was no response, which was odd, Fives, never failed to fill a silence. The lack of response really puzzled me, I turned to call out Fives.
“Why are you being…” It wasn’t Fives, instead there was a very non-Fives looking person there, I kept my eyes focused on the eyes boring into my very soul.
“I’m … uh …”
“Hi” I offered
She offered a small smile, and a tiny wave, “Hi,” neither of us said anything.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt”
“It’s okay, would you care to sit?” I motioned to the space beside me, she simply nodded, and sat on the edge. Her face looked hesitant.
“You okay?”
“Never sat dangling my feet from a ledge in space before, it’s a bit unnerving”
“I can help you get up, if you don’t feel comfortable” I moved to stand, but her hand reached mine.
“No, I just need a minute”
I nodded, we sat for a little bit, when I felt her hand grip mine, I looked down to it. Her hands were smaller than mine yet they fit perfectly against my own, hers were soft, smooth, warm.
“I’m sorry” she started
“It’s okay, I get it, it's making you nervous”
“It is. You’re Echo, right?”
I was surprised she knew who I was, I nodded, not sure what to say really, ‘you know my name?’, ‘I didn’t think you noticed me?’ Nothing I said would have really made any sort of impact.
“It’s nice to meet you, I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while”
“Really?”
She nodded to my answer, “You’re different”
“I am?”
“You’re sweet, and out of all the other guys on board” she motioned to the ship behind us, “you are the only one who hasn’t tried to flirt with me. You haven’t even introduced yourself.”
“I figured you had enough attention, I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable”
She smirked at that “Because staring at someone from across the mess hall wouldn’t make them uncomfortable”
“Oh, you saw that?”
“Yeah, Fives voice tends to carry” she laughed
“Yeah it does” we sat in silence for a little bit, “how are you like being on board the Resolute?”
“General Skywalker and Commander Tano are great, I really like them, Captain Rex is a good man, I admire the way the men respect him. Plus there’s this one ARC trooper who really caught my eye.”
“Really?”
“Hmmm”
“Fives can be a pain, but he’s a good guy”
She laughed again, “I’m sure he is, but he’s not the one that caught my eye, the one who’s sitting beside me and holding my hand is definitely someone I want to get to know. He’s humble, kind, a bit dorky, and sweet.”
“I’m not a dork”
“You are such a dork, but it’s a good thing.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah” she shifted closer, I moved slightly closer to her, “after all a dork keeps a respectful distance, until I make the first move.”
“That’s not being a dork, that’s being a gentleman”
“Getting really excited about orders and procedures, that’s not dorky?”
“That’s different, that’s being excited about your job”
“Oh, is that what you call it?”
“Yeah” her eyes locked with mine, we both leaned in, “you know for someone who’s really gorgeous, I’m surprised you went for a dork.”
“You think I’m gorgeous?” Her eyes shifted from my eyes to my lips
“Yeah, I do” I looked at her lips
“I’m a giant nerd, gorgeous is not my first thought” we were a hair’s breadth apart.
“What kind of nerd?” We both closed the distance, our lips crashed on each other. It was everything I could have imagined. Her lips were soft and warm, I moved my hand to her hair, I’d never thought she would have wanted me. We pulled apart, I looked at her face, her eyes remained closed, her cheeks had a slight tinge of pink. I watched as her eyes fluttered open, looking into mine, a smile graced her lips.
“I’m a huge nerd for procedures too” she beamed at me.
“I should probably take you out for a date, since you’re a fan of procedures” I teased, although in truth, I felt a bit guilty kissing her already.
“How about we go dancing?”
“I … I’m not a good dancer”
“That’s okay, neither am I, we can just dance all the really slow songs, that way we can just sway back and forth”
I passed my thumb over her cheek, “That sounds fun, we can go for dinner at Dex’s Diner first.”
“Maybe 79’s for drinks after?”
“After dinner or after dancing?”
“After dancing”
“That sounds fun” I smiled, “I feel I should apologize” she gave me a puzzled look, “I shouldn’t have kissed you before going on our first date.”
She giggled, leaning into my side, “well how about this be our first date”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, so tell me about what it means to be an ARC Trooper”
We spent several hours sitting in the hangar, just talking, laughing, getting to know one another, it was probably the best date I’d ever been on. Before long, I noticed she was starting to get sleepy.
“I think I should walk you to your quarters, you’re starting to fall asleep”
“‘M fine, you’re comfy”
“I’m glad to hear that” I smirked into her hair, “but if you roll off the edge, you won’t live, and I’d very much like to make sure you live long enough so I can take you dancing”
“Fine” she rubbed her eyes, she was beyond adorable. I shifted, till I was kneeling on the hangar floor. I helped her stand, but her feet were barely cooperating. I moved my arms under her knees and carried her down the hallway. A few troopers watched us, she curled into me, her hand clutching my shirt, I couldn’t help but smirk at her sweetness. I reached the hallway of the officers when I realized I didn’t know what door was hers.
“Sweetheart” I whispered in her ears
“Hmmm”
“I don’t know which is your door, I need your help”
“Ummm… last one on the left” she aimlessly motioned her hand, I couldn’t help but laugh a little, she was so completely out of it.
“I’ll still need your code” I reminded her as I carried her down the hall.
“1409” she mumbled
“What?” I asked, it couldn’t be right, her door code couldn’t be the same as my CT number.
“1409” she shifted her head a little, “why?”
I couldn’t hide the smile, “Don't worry sweetheart, I’ll tell you tomorrow.” I punched in the code, the door slid open, her room was sparse, there were a few pictures, I didn’t look that seemed too intrusive, and she’d probably show me in her own time. I laid her on the bed and laid a blanket over her tucking her in, I leaned down to brush her hair away and placed a kiss on her temple.
“Goodnight, sweetheart”
I walked to her door, looked back one more time, as her soft snores filled the room. I could stay there and watch her all night, but I needed to rest too. It didn’t take me long to make it back to the barracks.
“Where were you?” Fives asked, hanging off his bunk as he looked at me.
“I was just around” I didn’t want to tell him, but I couldn’t hide the smirk that appeared.
“You asked her out, didn’t you?”
“Maybe or maybe we had our first date”
“Did you kiss her?”
“Fives!”
“You did!”
“We’re not talking about this” I walked away, grabbing my sleep wear and went to the refresher. When I came out, I threw my blacks in the laundry pile, and headed to my bunk.
“How was it?” Fives asked
I let out a sigh, as my head rested on my pillow, “You're not dropping this are you?”
“No, just tell me, did you have fun?”
I smiled at that, “Yes”
“Good”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Fives and I walked on to the bridge, I looked over at my sweetheart, I saw how her face blushed when she saw me, since our first date three months ago, after dinner every night, we would go to the hangar and sit and talk, learn more and more about each other. We were about to have our first shore leave in months, and I’d finally be able to take her dancing.
“General”
“General” we both saluted General Skywalker as we approached him.
“At ease, Fives, Echo, I’m sorry, but your shore leave will be cancelled,” we both looked at each other than at Captain Rex.
“Was it something we did?” I asked
“No, Echo” Captain Rex began.
“Gentlemen, we are being assigned to a highly classified mission, once we land on Coruscant, the two of you, Captain Rex and myself will be going to the Jedi Temple to receive our orders. We will be teaming with Obi-wan and Commander Cody for this assignment.”
My eyes shifted slightly to my sweetheart, I saw how her back became rigid, “Of course, General” we both saluted and walked off the bridge, I gave a quick glance at my sweetheart, she gave a subtle nod. An indication that we would meet in our hangar. Thankfully they kept the hangar closed for now.
I looked at Fives, “Fives, I’ve got a bad feeling about this”
“You always say that”
“No I don’t”
“Yes, you do, and we always make it, right?” Fives put his hand on my shoulder. I had to admit, he was right, no matter what, we did make it back. I let out a sigh, and nodded.
“It’s just your nerves, it’ll be fine, trust me.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“I’m sorry, I won’t be able to take you out on a proper date, I was really looking forward to dancing with you” I looked into her eyes as I brushed her hair behind her ear.
“That’s okay, love, so we’ll just go dancing when you get back. We’ve waited this long, what’s a few more days, right?”
“How did I get so lucky with you?” I leaned down pressing my forehead against hers.
“No, love, I’m the lucky one” we didn’t speak for a while, her hands were holding on to my armour, the way she clenched it, I could see she was feeling nervous.
“Sweetheart, are you okay?”
She let out a shaky breath, “I …” she looked into my eyes, stepping closer, “I trust you, Echo, I do. I just … I don’t like the fact that there is zero information provided for this assignment. I have a pretty high clearance and I couldn’t find anything. I have a really bad feeling.”
Knowing she was nervous, resurfaced the feelings I had just after the meeting with the General, I let out a shaky breath, “Honestly sweetheart, I’m a bit nervous too, but I think it’s because for the first time, I feel as though I have something to lose.”
“You think that’s why we’re both nervous about this”
“I do” I gave her my best reassuring smile, however, I knew my nervousness was more than just losing her, there was something about the way General Skywalker held himself, he was nervous too, something I rarely saw from my General. She wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my chest, there was barely any space between us and yet she kept pulling me in. I wrapped my arms around as tight as I could, “I promise, I’ll fight to come back, might take me a bit of time, but I will come back. Okay?” I placed a kiss on the top of her head.
“Okay” she looked up to me, “I believe you, Echo” she gave me her best smile, “at least we still have two days before we’re on Coruscant.”
“Exactly, now what to do with two whole days?” I teased, she gasped and smacked my arm. We both laughed, I hoped the teasing would calm our nerves, but as soon as the laughter died down, it hovered there. We just stood in the hangar wrapped in each other’s arms.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
I was in my apartment, trying to keep the nerves at bay. We were supposed to be boarding the Resolute in a few days, I hadn't heard from Echo, the only news I did hear was that General Skywalker arrived back from his classified mission this morning. I waited for Echo to show up, I figured he hadn't been able to contact me, maybe there was a mission briefing which was keeping him away. At least we still had a few days before we had to leave so we'd still be able to have our date. I sent him a ping, but there hadn't been a response.
I was preparing lunch for us, when a knock came on the door. I turned off the stove, and moved the pot to another burner, rushing to see my love, I couldn't wait to be in his arms again. Except when I opened the door Fives was standing there.
“Fives! Welcome back!” I threw my arms around him, I looked around him to see Echo, “Where’s Echo? Is he running late? Come on in.”
I motioned for Fives to follow me, “I just made Echo and I lunch, there’s enough for you too, if you’d like some. So where’s Echo? You know, for a stickler for procedure, he’s always late” I didn’t want to stop talking. If I didn’t stop talking, Fives wouldn’t be able to correct me. He wouldn’t be able to tell me what I sensed he came here to tell me.
“So, you hungry? I don’t know if you'll like it, I’m not sure if Echo will like it, but I figured I’d give it a try. He can tell me what he likes, maybe if I know his favourite food, then I can…”
“You need to stop” Fives cut me off, his tone was soft, and hurt.
“I can't” the lump that I was trying to ignore rested on my throat. I heard Fives come up behind me. He placed a gentle hand on my arm, and turned me. I closed my eyes, if I didn’t see the pain in his eyes, if I didn’t see the hurt, then it didn’t happen, right. Our fears didn’t come true.
“Please look at me” Fives voice began to crack
“He’s not coming, is he?” I let out as a tear came down my cheek, I opened my eyes to see Fives had been shedding his own tears.
“No, he’s not coming” the confirmation broke me, I fell to my knees. Fives did his best to hold me, as the both of us sat there completely shattered, crying. Eventually, Fives picked me up and had me sit with him on the couch, he told me about the mission, how Echo … the reason he wasn’t coming back. I didn’t say anything for a while.
“Say something”
“He lied”
“What?”
“Echo, he lied to me, he said he’d come back to me, that he’d fight to come back, but he lied. He’s not coming back. He’s not fighting for me.”
“He tried, I think that’s why he tried to go for the shuttle, he wanted to get back to you.”
“Thank you, for telling me”
“Captain Rex said he’d come and visit you tomorrow. He also said if you needed a few days, he’d smooth it over with the General.”
“No, I’ll be ready. You’re not getting time off, so why should I”
“You don’t…”
“I’m not taking it.”
Fives simply nodded, “I’ll give you space, if you need anything comm me, okay?”
I nodded.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Officer, can I speak with you for a minute”
I looked up to see Captain Rex standing by my station, I nodded, and headed over to the Captain’s office. It had been four years since Echo passed away, and a year since Fives. I had never moved on from Echo, I know sometimes some of the guys, Jesse and Kix had told me I should try to move on, to meet someone new, but I just couldn’t. I don’t know why but I just felt like I’d be cheating on him.
“Everything okay, Rex?”
“Yeah, vod’ika, it’s just …” he looked tired, stressed, I sat in front of his desk and reach forward to grab his hand.
“Hey Rex, I’m here, what’s up?”
He squeezed my hand, and patted it with his other, “It's the last attack, Cody and I are … we believe something’s off, the way the Separatist are attacking, it’s like they know what we’re planning before we even do.”
“You think we have a traitor?”
“It won’t be the first time, but I actually believe that they somehow tapped into our database. I’m going with Cody, Jesse and Kix, to find out what’s going on.”
“Oh” I felt the butterflies in my stomach, I couldn’t lose anymore, I had already lost Echo, Hardcase, and Fives, I tried to fight the tears that wanted to escape, “please be careful, I can’t lose you guys too” I locked eyes with Rex, he nodded.
“We‘ll do our best vod’ika”
I nodded, I stood to walk away, “I miss him too” Rex called out before I walked out of his office.
“I still dream about him,” I swallowed the warm bubble, “it’s so real, when I wake up, I expect him there.”
“Me too” I heard Rex shift from his seat and come up behind me, “I miss how he made you smile and laugh, you still had a bit of light with Fives, but after Fives … it’s like the light went out in you, vod’ika.”
“Having Fives, made it still feel like he was here, but now …”
“I know” he laid his hand on my shoulder, I turned to look at the Captain that became a brother to me, “I wish I could see that light in you again, even if something happens to me on this mission, please promise me, you’d try to find that light. Please.”
I nodded, he pulled me into a hug, nothing else needed to be said, as silent tears fell down my face.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I received a comm when I was at my apartment, “Rex?”
“Hey vod’ika”
“You made it back!” I couldn’t keep the joy out of my voice, at least Rex made it back.
“Yes, we all made it back. Vod’ika, I need you to come meet me.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, we just need to talk.”
“That doesn’t sound good”
“Just, trust me, please”
“Alright, tell me when and where”
- - - - - - - - - - -
I waited at 79s, the place was busy as always, a few of the 501st were there, they all waved and came to greet me, but everyone left me alone, they all knew there was no trying. I would always be Echo’s girl, that would never change.
“Hey vod’ika”
I turned to Rex who took the stool beside me, I pushed his drink to him, “Hey Rex, glad to see you’re in one piece.”
“Me too”
“Why did you want me to meet you at 79s, it’s really not your scene”
“I wanted to talk to you about something, and I needed some liquid courage before I did”
“Oh, okay. Sounds serious”
“It is” I watched as he downed his drink in no time. He ordered one more, and downed that too. My eyes went wide, I knew he could drink, hung out enough times with him, Kix, Fives, Jesse and Hardcase to know that, but he never did two shots back-to-back like that.
“This must be huge for you to take two shots”
He let out a sad chuckle, “Let’s go for a walk”
“But you just got here”
“I know, but trust me, please”
I nodded, I finished my drink and left the credits on the counter, we headed out of 79s, we started walking along the promenade.
“Alright, you gonna keep me in suspense or you gonna tell me what’s going on? Was it a traitor, is that what you’re going to tell me?”
“No, it wasn’t a traitor, and they … in a way they did tap into our data base, but …”
“But …” I watched as his hands rubbed his face, we stopped at a bench, the street was empty, odd for the time of night, but then with the increased Separatist activity more and more people were staying home. Rex motioned for me to take a seat.
“We traced a signal, a signal that had a repeating number.”
“Okay” I shrugged
“They were holding a clone hostage”
“Who was holding a clone hostage?”
“Techno Union on Skako Minor”
“Is he okay? How long was he there?”
“He’s … relatively okay, after all they did to him, he was in their hands for a number of years.”
“That poor man. What do you mean relatively okay?”
“They did experiments on him, fixed him after he had been injured in an explosion, but the Techno Union turned him into more of machine, they replaced his legs after he lost them in the explosion with droid’s legs. They also replaced his forearm with a scomp link. They even turned his brain into a computer.”
“Those bastards, please tell me you got them all, that you made them pay for what they did.”
“Yeah we did”
“I can’t even imagine what that poor clone must be feeling, to be in the hands of those … monsters for so many years. Will he be getting help?”
“I hope so”
“Why do I have a feeling that’s not the only reason you wanted to meet me?”
“Well it was, but it’s not the complete story”
“What is the complete story?”
Rex turned to look me in the eyes, “He’s been held captive for four years”
“Four years … why … Rex?”
“Remember I said the signal kept repeating a number?”
I didn’t answer, I could feel the tears, please, don’t let it be him, please don’t let him have been in the hands of monsters for four years.
“The number was …” Rex took a deep breath “1-4-0…”
“No!”
“Vod’ika”
“No! No, Rex! Don’t tell me that he’s been … No! He’s dead, he died. He wasn’t held captive! He wasn’t tortured! He’s dead!”
“I’m sorry vod’ika”
I felt as though Fives had come to tell me Echo had died all over again, the tears were coming hard and fast, Rex pulled me into his arms and held me, as I completely broke down. He held me for a while, before I was able to compose myself.
“Where is he?”
“He’s at the barracks”
“I need to see him”
“Vod’ika I’m gonna warn you, he’s not the same Echo, not right now, maybe in time he will be, but he’s finally getting a chance to heal”
I pulled out of my vod’s arms, “I understand Rex, I do”
“I’ll see him tomorrow and see if he wants to see you”
“Rex, tell him he has no choice but to see me, tell him I don’t care what he looks like, I need to see him.”
“I’ll try”
“Tell him, I’ll meet him anywhere”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I sat in my apartment, my palms were sweaty, my stomach was queasy. Rex had told me that he had finally persuaded him to come see me, he wanted to do it somewhere we wouldn’t be stared at, or made him uncomfortable. I offered my apartment and that seemed to be acceptable.
It had been four years since I last saw him, four years, since I felt his arms, four years since I looked into his eyes, four years since I felt his lips. I waited four years for a miracle and it finally came.
*Knock, knock*
I stood from my couch, I fixed my hair one more time, readjusted myself. I took a deep breath before the door slid open.
I looked at the clone standing before me, his skin was pale, clearly he had been hidden away, his face was thin, he kept his arms behind his back.
“Hi” I finally offered a smile gracing my lips
“Hi sweetheart” Echo replied, a smirk appeared
That’s all I needed before I threw my arms around him, I pulled him into me, his arms wrapped around me. We stood in the doorway both of us shedding silent tears, eventually I pulled away.
“Want to come in?”
He simply nodded, I wiped the tears from his face, and grabbed his hand, pulling him in to the apartment. He looked around the room. He stood by the door, keeping his distance, even when I grabbed his hand, he didn’t reciprocate the gesture, he just let me hold on to it, and let it drop unceremoniouslyfrom my hand.
“How have you been?”
“Echo, you don’t have to try that hard”
“I … I don’t know why you wanted to see me”
The statement blew me away, “Seriously?”
“Yeah, I mean look at me, why would you want to see this?”
I walked closer to him, “Echo” I reached for his hand again, but he pulled back, I let my hand return to my side, “I wanted to see you because I needed to, I … I never stopped loving you.”
Echo turned his face from me, “Why? You could have found yourself a good man, a man who could have given you so much more.”
“Echo, I never wanted anyone else, since the moment I saw you on the Resolute, I’ve never wanted anyone else. You’re all I ever wanted.”
I saw a tear slide down his cheek, “Echo, please look at me” he didn’t turn his head, I was out of my depth, I wanted to grab his face, I wanted him to look into my eyes, I wanted to press my lips on his, I wanted to caress his face, but maybe that was overstepping it.
“Echo?” He finally turned to look at me, “I don’t care what you look like, I’m so sorry for everything that happened to you. I can’t even imagine what you went through, or what they did. I will make it my personal mission to destroy every single one of them for hurting you.” I stepped closer, he didn’t seem to flinch, “I told you, I would wait till you came back, that a few days more was no big deal,” I stepped closer again he didn’t move.
“Echo, you told me you’d fight to come back for me. I could never move on from you Echo, every night I’d go to bed dreaming of you. There were times” tears started to well up, “when all I wanted to do was be in a coma because then” the tears started to slip down my face, “then I’d be with you all the time.” I stepped closer, Echo was crying too, “I love you, Echo, that’s not going to change, not time, not death, not what the Techno Union did to you, nothing. Nothing is going to change how I feel about you. I’ll understand if you don’t want me, but I still want you. I can’t breath without you Echo, when you … when I thought you died, I died too. You are everything to me, Echo. Even if you only wanted to see me today and never again, at least I’ll know that you’re alive, I’ll be able to live, because you did. I’ll be able to breathe, because you’re breathing.”
I closed the distance between us, “I will follow wherever you lead, because you’re my Echo, you are my life, my heart, my soul, having you back means I’m back too.”
I reached my hand to brush away some of his tears, “Echo, I’ll tell you every day, every hour, every minute, every second, that I am here for you, however you’ll let me.” I felt his hand rest on my back, as his scomp wrapped around my back too, the pressure was light, he was hesitant.
“Sweetheart, you’re the only thing that kept me alive, during all that time, I just kept picturing your face, kept seeing your beautiful smile.”
I raised my other hand, I gently caressed his face.
“I’m glad you fought, my love”
“They … I … I’m not …”
“Echo, you don’t have to tell me right now, we can take this really slow, okay? I just want to be here for you.” He nodded as another tear streamed down his face, my thumb caught it, as I gently brushed it away. I looked over to the radio, and smiled at him.
“You know, there’s something we can do that we hadn’t done but always planned to, when we were both back on Coruscant.”
He looked at me, his face puzzled, I didn’t say anything, I pulled out of his hold and walked over to the radio, I found a slow jazz song, an old favourite of mine. I turned to look at Echo a small smile pulled on his lips, he walked over to me, his hand reached up and brushed back my hair, a gesture he had done a million times before.
“I do believe I owe you a dance, sweetheart”
“No time like now”
He pulled me into his arms, I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him in tighter until there wasn’t any space left, we slowly began swaying, I rested my head on his chest, I closed my eyes listening to the familiar heart beat I memorized all those years ago, his cheek rested on the crown of my head.
“Sorry, it took so long, sweetheart”
“It was just a few extra days, love.”