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After Skako Minor, when Rex told Echo about Fives’ death, he made you promise him something. It was an irrational promise and you both knew this, but you promised anyway. You knew this even after he stuck out his pinky, tears glistening in those beautiful grey eyes that you had fallen in love with when he was just an ARC trooper.
You knew that you would break the promise even as his lips quivered and he whispered shakily, “Promise me you won’t miss me.”
A silly promise, spoken out of fear, yet you knew how important it was to him. How much he cried in your arms after you wrapped your pink around his and kissed your thumb.
He didn’t want you to feel the same loss as he did. He didn’t want you to know what it felt like to have a piece of your heart shatter. He wanted to save you from the feeling of being left behind, of being ripped away from the people you loved without saying goodbye. He didn’t get to say goodbye to anyone; not Droidbait, not Hevy, and certainly not Fives.
It was, at least to Echo, a miracle that you didn’t die in the initial years of your friendship and later on in your relationship. Every day, he woke and slept with the fear that you, like the rest of his loved ones, would perish without the opportunity to tell him goodbye. That was his luck…
…but it seemed that fate finally took pity on Echo. When it was time for the last Domino to fall, you were there with him. Not to say goodbye, just a simple see you later.
Neither of you were afraid when the Death Star entered the island planet’s atmosphere. In a way, you felt oddly at peace. Perhaps it was Echo’s tranquil silence that eased your worries or maybe just because you knew that you would finally, finally, get the chance to be free of fighting.
You knew just as well as Echo that the fighting had taken a toll on both of you. Echo was paler than usual, heavy bags hanging under his eyes. Even in the warm sand, his hand was colder than ice in your own. You could feel his fatigue with each long, tired breath.
But it was peaceful. It was serene. The night sky was speckled with stars and though there were two moons in the sky instead of one, it was still clear enough to see the blanketing galaxy above your heads. The twinkling stars reflected off of the navy waters, distorted moonlight rippling with each wave. Each soft breeze was a breath of chilly, fresh air.
You and Echo sat in the sand, a few inches away from the shoreline so that the waves just barely skimmed your bare toes. Your boots were discarded down the beach alongside the gear that you and Echo had both shed off your tired shoulders.
He sat beside you in his body glove, bearing his prosthetics to the salty, cool winds. You leaned your head against his shoulder, his hand in your lap as you traced the lines in his palm. Usually, he’d put his cheek against the crown of your head but now, as you turned to look at his face, you noticed his eyes were more distant than usual.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
He blinked a few times, torn out of his daze to tip his chin and meet your concerned gaze. The ghost of a smile curled the corner of his lips before he leaned over, pressing the lightest kiss against your salty forehead.
“They’ll like you,” he said simply, pressing his forehead to yours. “They won’t believe me when I tell them you’re mine, but they’ll like you. I know it.”
You knew who he was talking about, but you decided to ask him anyway, just to hear him speak more. “The Dominos?”
He nodded, turning towards the ocean as he laced his fingers in yours. His eyes watered but they weren’t sad tears. They were hopeful, brimming with a nostalgic sense of longing that you knew would eventually be fulfilled.
“Fives will go crazy.” He chuckled. “He always bragged about being the most romantic. We made bets on who would be the first to bring someone home; maybe introduce ‘em to Rex. He always said his goatee was a magnet. Turns out a bit of facial hair ain’t all that, huh baby?”
You smiled and agreed.
No, looks weren’t all that. You didn’t fall in love with Echo because of his smile or his hair or the endearing way he’d constantly try to fix any stray strands that would bounce out of the clean and cut haircut.
You fell in love with him simply because, in a room full of people, he noticed you - the invisible background character that you assumed you were. The person cursed to watch from the balcony, longing to be noticed by those down below.
Up until the day you met Echo, you always assumed you’d be alone. The galaxy just made you feel that way without any reason at all. Hollow and cold, left to drink alone at a bar while your friends left without a word.
Then, like a little flicker of light in a dark room, there he was - smiling at you from across 79’s. Fives was talking - a bit too much - but Echo ignored him for he was far too dazed by the look of delicate surprise that turned your frown into a shy smile.
The rest was history. A life full of tears and loss, interwoven with a few golden memories that stuck with you up until now, when you could look back and smile with satisfaction. From the day you were reunited after his supposed death to the day you watched him teach Omega how to shoot her plasma bow - memories that seemed so far away now, yet full of warm nostalgia.
You kissed his bony shoulder before putting your forehead against it, sagging your shoulders with a sigh.
“I’m excited to meet your brothers,” you murmured, smiling warmly when he placed another lingering kiss against your hair. He held his lips there for a second, a hum vibrating through his chest.
“Yeah,” he breathed as you both faced the starry horizon. “Yeah, I bet they’re just as excited to meet you too.”
The pristine silence of the night broke when a red beam claimed the sky, striking the ocean with enough force to send a rumble through the water. The waves grew, lapping against your ankles, but you didn’t mind. The water was warm. You wished Echo could feel it.
Maybe there was a warm ocean where his brothers were waiting. They’d be impatient by the time you two showed up, but you could imagine their expressions of happiness - the similar look that you so rarely saw on Echo’s face after Skako Minor. But you could imagine it and the thought alone left you excited.
“Echo?” You called quietly, raising the backside of his hand to your lips.
“Hm?”
“Will you promise me something?”
He turned his head, brows drawn together. “Of course, mesh'la.”
You drew your lip between your teeth, a fleeting nibble giving away your nervousness before you shut your eyes and exhaled through your nose. Echo tensed beside you, nervous.
“If I’m not there… when you see your brothers-”
“You will be,” he interjected with a frown. “You have to. I’ll make sure of it. If you’re not there then I’ll come crawling right back-”
You couldn’t help but sigh and shake your head. “Echo… it isn’t that easy. I’m just… I’m just saying if… y-you have to promise not to miss me.”
Recognition crossed his face before the sadness settled. They were his words, spoken so long ago. Now here they were, echoing back but through your own lips as a sign of your own fear. Echo didn’t deserve to feel loss again, even if he’d gain his brothers back.
And by the uncertainty and hesitation that clouded his stormy eyes like a hurricane brewing over an ocean, you knew that he understood your fear. He was fighting the urge to argue, to make you promise that you would fight tooth and nail to get to him, and he to you.
Eventually, he shifted to face you. Cybernetic knees pressed against your own, leaving no space in between your crossed legs as he put his scomp arm in the sand. He lifted his hand, his pinky up and waiting for you as his words left his lips slowly, delicately. Softer than the breeze that grew warmer with each second.
“Only if you promise me the same.”
Tears glistened in his eyes but he hid the burrowing sadness behind a boyish grin - the happy eyes and the even happier chuckle when you raised your pinky and slowly curled it around his.
Per tradition, the two of you pressed your thumbs together, pinkies intertwined as you both pressed your lips against your thumbnails. You lowered your hands, touching your foreheads together as you breathed in the smell of his skin, branding your skin with the feeling of his fingertips.
You didn’t know that his eyes were open. You didn’t know that he was glossing over your lips with tears down his face, sketching the apples of your cheeks and the color of your skin into his mind. He painted the image of your face into his memory, a beautiful artwork that could never possibly compare to the real thing sitting in front of him.
He finally drew his eyes shut, tipping his chin so that his lips ghosted over your own as he said in a hopeful whisper, “I love you so much. You understand that? More than anything else in this galaxy - I love you. This isn’t goodbye, ok? I’ll see you soon.”
You couldn’t help but cry. Lips curled into a crooked frown, tears lurching in your eyes at the same time as the lump in your throat. You were nodding, but your shoulders began to shake and it didn’t take long for a sob to rip past your lips.
You launched forward, wrapping your arms around his neck. The force of the lunge sent Echo on his back. You hovered over him, your chest heaving as your eyes graced his face, drinking in the look of love mingled with overflowing sorrow.
“I’ll see you soon,” you promised, nodding fervently.
Your lips crashed together. His scomp crossed your lower back, his hand curling through your hair to keep you in place as he kissed and kissed and kissed. Your lips, your nose, your eyes and cheeks, hairline and forehead - just so that you could reward him with a lighthearted giggle past the river of tears that dripped from your chin and wet his clothes.
“Gods I love you,” he breathed, kissing your lips again - once, twice, teeth biting and pulling on your quivering bottom lip before he kissed your wet, salty chin. “I love you so much, ner runi.”
You shook with another sob, tightening your hold around him as if he would dissolve underneath your fingertips.
“I love you, Echo,” you whimpered when the wave of heat rolled over the shore, turning your skin red and smoking the tips of your hair. Your knees dug into the sand as you leaned down, pressing your forehead to his for a final flicker of intimacy. Your tears dried before they could trickle down your face, hot lips pressing against the tip of his nose.
His whisper cut through the smoke, past the screaming planet and dissolving rock. His voice, the fleeting echo that you heard each and every time you dreamt - a distant song that drew a smile to your lips even as you faced a burning planet.
“I’ll see you soon,” he vowed.
“I know,” you promised him back.
-
“Fives? Fives!”
“Ah, and the dominos are finally stacked back up! Look who finally made it! We’ve been waiting for you, brother!”
“S'about time too. Cutup thinks he’s undefeated in sabacc but I’ve been telling him that you’ve gotten better since Rishi. Now I can’t wait to see you beat his ass, little vod!”
“Hevy, I did not say that! That was Droidbait-”
“Hey! Don’t throw me in the Rancor’s pit like that!”
“Alright! We get it! Leave the poor, osik alone. He just got here! Now tell me, who’s the special someone you’ve brought with you? Honestly, they’re a bit too good-looking for you, brother.”
You felt two hands grasp your own. Warm. Full of life and love. Excitement and relief. And when he said your name, it wasn’t an echo. It wasn’t a whisper or a delicate word spoken through delicate lips. It was strong, determined. Passionate and full of pride.
“This is my love. My better half. The only capable person that’s kept my head on my shoulders all these years. Ner runi, these are my brothers…”
You smiled at the delighted grins. The familiar faces that you had met through stories and epic tales of battle and brotherhood. They greeted you with open arms, already calling you 'sister’ as if you had been part of their little family all along.
There was no hollowness in your chest. No feeling of being left behind, of watching everything play out from the balcony.
You were there. Your hand was in Echo’s. You felt his brothers clap your shoulder… ruffle your hair… their laughter in your ears, drawing the brightest smile to Echo’s lips.
You smiled, knowing you were home.