Work Text:
Here’s the thing: Etho was planning on going to sleep.
He was, but then he got so caught up in filling some stuff out for Xisuma and the next thing he knew, he wasn’t even tired anymore.
After he finished doing whatever X needed him to do, he laid down on his bed, closed his eyes, and stayed there for the next hour unable to go to sleep.
It sucks, considering his body ached after some sparring with Bdubs. X needed Etho to make sure Bdubs could hold up his own, sparring and promising that he was alright to go with his team on their next mission.
Etho didn’t notice Bdubs hiding a wince or hissing in pain, so he wrote a pretty nice report to X to get him cleared.
But every time his eyes shut, all he could see was the Sith that hurt Bdubs in the first place.
It wasn’t uncommon for Etho to leave in the middle of the night without saying anything. Usually, X just sends him a message later asking to make sure he wasn’t kidnapped.
It’s not good for him to stay here looking after Bdubs when Bdubs doesn’t need him. Bdubs needs his friends and X, not the guy who got him into this mess.
It’s why he decided to head to his ship and take off from there.
Before he and Bdubs were taken, X had wanted him to bust down on some illegal exotic animal trading. While not urgent to the Rebellion, X has reason to believe the Empire may be behind it.
Whatever opportunity they have to bring down the Empire will always be a win for them, no matter how small.
He pauses on the boarding ramp to check his communicator for the location X had given him. He doesn’t stop to think that the ramp is already down to his ship. He just continues on, lifting the ramp with a quick flip of the lever.
As he passes the lounge, a sound makes him stop.
Etho realizes two things.
One, there’s a soft glow in the cockpit and somebody’s head is poking out from the pilot’s seat.
Two, this isn’t his ship.
Instead of turning around, his curiosity gets the better of him. He walks forward and promptly stubs his toe on a toolbox blocking the entrance to the cockpit.
“Oh, sorry Etho!” He looks up to see Joel rushing out of the seat, bending down to grab the toolbox. “I didn’t know you were coming.”
Etho, despite wearing boots, can feel the sting of hitting his foot. He laughs it off but he must sound slightly strained because Joel continues.
“I guess I shouldn’t leave the toolbox in the worst possible place. If it wasn’t you, it was going to be me later.”
Etho glances at the wrench in Joel’s hand. “What were you up to?”
Joel chuckles, but honestly, it sounds a bit more like a crazed laugh. He’s frustrated; Etho can tell by the way his fist curls around the wrench like he might hit him over the head with it.
“Stupid shields don’t want to turn on!” Joel shouts despite it just being the two of them. “We banged them up in your rescue mission.”
“Ah, should’ve figured…” Etho breaths in. Don’t think about it too hard. Don’t think about it too hard… “Sorry about the ship.”
“It’s Bdubs’ ship but he left the repairs to me, apparently.”
He stiffens, but he catches himself. He relaxes his shoulders and tries to appear more at ease. Etho lets out a breath when Joel raises an eyebrow at him, pushing past him to check out what he was working on.
“What seems to be the problem?” Etho finds where Joel was working and lets out a chuckle. “How long have you been at this for?”
Joel sits on the pilot’s chair and crosses his arms, glaring at his setup. He set a towel down under the control panel for his knees but must’ve eventually gotten tired because there’s a pillow and a blanket strewn across the floor.
“I don’t know what the problem is and I’ve been here for the past four hours!” Joel kicks the pillow, to which Etho frowns. It’s not like it’s the pillow’s fault…
“Can I check it out?” Joel hands over the wrench without hesitation. Etho laughs under his breath, being met with another kick from Joel to his shin. “Agh!”
“Don’t laugh!” There’s no bite to Joel’s words, obvious with the smile stretching across his face. “Repairs aren’t really my thing!”
Etho kneels down in front of Joel, watching how Joel looks away as Etho gets himself comfortable on the floor. He grabs the discarded pillow and sets it under the knees, checking out what Joel was struggling with.
He finds the problem after scanning the wires and panel for a quick minute. Joel leans back in his seat and watches Etho work.
The silence they fall into doesn’t last. Etho’s either asking for another tool or Joel’s piping in with excuses as to why he couldn’t fix this himself.
Joel’s quite the talker, even when Etho dodges the question. “Did X send you after he realized I was taking too long?”
Etho fastens a screw. He doesn’t exactly want to explain why he was in the hangar on his own accord.
Joel hums, picking at a scab on his elbow. “Maybe not. X checked up once, when the repairs were going well, but hasn’t been back since.”
“What were you doing before I got here?” Etho’s topic change wasn’t very slick, judging by the way Joel eyes him as he leans back in his seat.
“Taking a break,” he shrugs. “I attempted repairs, went and took Scar’s blanket, took a nap, did more repairs, got nowhere, did some more, smashed my finger, and then I sat down in frustration.”
“You… sit down when you’re frustrated?”
“Yeah? Why? What do you think I do?”
Etho sits back on his knees, moving away from his handiwork to take a good look at Joel.
Joel’s smiling down at him, a little larger than life, but a little reserved. He could’ve come back tomorrow after sleeping off the frustration, but he continued in spite of not knowing how to properly repair the problem.
Something’s keeping him awake too. Etho wants to see if he can figure it out.
“Can you pass me the big screwdriver?” Etho holds his hand out, watching as Joel gets up and grabs the tool from the toolbox.
When their fingers touch, Etho grabs him by the arm and pulls him down next to him.
“What were you actually doing before I got here?” Etho narrows his eyes, but all Joel does is stare at him. There’s no fear, which is something Etho isn’t used to.
There’s only curiosity.
Etho lets Joel go, holding his breath to see what Joel does next.
“Were you doing something before you showed up? Why were you in the hangar?” Joel doesn’t get back onto his seat. He sits next to Etho with no animosity.
Etho turns back to the task at hand. He shrugs, surprised at the slight guilt feeling crawling into his chest. He tried to intimidate Joel based on his reputation, hoping it would hold up. It obviously didn’t and something tells him he shouldn’t have done that.
“I actually was taking a break, by the way,” Joel comments, bringing his knees up to his chest.
“But you didn’t just sit when you got frustrated, did you?”
Joel hums. Etho sneaks a glance at him, tempted to turn away when they make eye contact. Except Joel doesn’t back down, and Etho doesn’t plan to back down either. He holds his gaze until Joel leans back and sighs, strained laughter sounding through the air.
“I kicked the panel that controls the navigation system. Sparks and stuff flew out. I think I broke it but if I check and see it's damaged, I will be here for much longer.”
“So you sat down?”
Joel nods. “So I sat down.”
Etho looks at the closed control panel that controls the navigation, noticing the dent that Joel left. He can’t help but let out a hearty laugh at the sight, knowing that the system has got to be at least slightly damaged.
He hears shifting from beside him. Etho braces, fully expecting a kick, but relaxes when all Joel does is laugh with him. It’s a bit ridiculous but Etho can understand the frustration. He doesn’t kick down control panels, but he can see why Joel resorts to that.
“Why don’t you get Cub to do the repairs? Isn’t he the engineer of your team?”
“Eh…” Joel waves a dismissing hand through the air. “He is, but he’s still not fully recovered from his injury. He might’ve fooled X into thinking he’s alright but he should rest a bit more. I’d rather him not have to spend hours doing this.”
“Or maybe it’s just you that takes hours.”
This time, Joel does kick him.
Etho laughs, adjusting his mask when it begins to slip down his face.
Joel catches the movement and pokes him on the arm. “Alright, Mr. Etho. What were you doing before you got here?”
“Wandering the hangar?” When that doesn’t work, Etho sighs. “Leaving.”
Joel nods. Etho waits for a judging stare, or maybe even a lecture about how leaving at a time like this wasn’t right, but it doesn’t come. Joel just… continues watching him work.
“You don’t think this is a bad time?” Etho asks, but Joel doesn’t seem interested in making assumptions about him. “You know… With Grian and Bdubs starting their recoveries and tension high with the Empire?”
“Not really.”
When Etho tightens what looks like the final screw, the ship lets out a satisfying hum. Joel jumps to his feet, clapping excitedly and holding out a hand for Etho. He takes it, grinning when the ship’s shields read as stable.
Except Joel was pointedly ignoring the navigation system reading unstable.
“I can take this from here! Thank you so much for your help, Etho.” Joel waits for Etho to drop the tools into his waiting palm, and really, Etho should. He’s done more than he’s been asked already.
But he tightens his hold on the screwdriver, kneeling down next to the other damaged control system.
“You can head to sleep now, if you’d like,” Etho tries, but as soon as the words leave his mouth, he knows Joel won’t listen. “I’ve got this.”
“I’m seeing this through to the end.” He sits down next to him, his presence strangely welcomed.
Joel works him through the night and Etho lets him, if not for the experience than for the company.