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Pretty is as pretty does
Echo, did not really see it.
Not now after all the altercations done to his body by the Techno Union while being a POW and certainly not now, after having had the almost exact same outlook as most of his brethren had way back when.
Nope, it was something totally different now. Paler skin tone, no hair, well, mostly no hair, but Echo kept the crown bald these days and then, the studs from being held in the icebox by his captives. Then, there were other things, some more visible than others.
His scomp arm for one, having opted to forgo a hand prothesis, at least for now. The scomp having become quite handy, puns intended, during their missions.
Echo was staring at himself in the tall mirror. Having done so for a while on this day. Really looking at himself as Echo was trying to understand what the others had meant with their statements just prior.
As right now, Echo was pale in comparison to the rest of them. The metallic parts mostly not visible and even with his new cybernetic hand replacement Echo sometimes used, he looked like nothing of the others. And certainly like nothing of before.
He stood there gawking, making faces at himself.
There was something perhaps there though, a small truth what the others had told him. And yet in the end, Echo could not sign under the dotted line in an agreement of their assessment of himself.
What was it they had said making Echo doubt his, perhaps own sanity, his own vision?
Well, it was the very fact that his new team, his new family, had called him pretty.
In varying degrees, true. But the sentiment was there and quite the same. They had all seemed earnest and stating it during occasions when Echo seemed to need it.
Was it agreed? To cheer Echo up?
Echo doubted that though, but everything was possible.
“Simply gorgeous, Echo!” Straight out of Tech's fascinated lips.
“Pretty boy you are, Reg.” Crosshair’s more surprisingly non-snarky comment was let out.
“You look very good, very pretty, Echs.” Wreckers choice of words after Echo had cracked a smile.
“I really love the way you look, Echo.” Hunters chosen words spoken in hushed tones.
“You’re really looking great there, Trooper.” That one was from Rex, but truly, the sentiments were there. Always had been where Echo was concerned in the Captain’s eyes.
There had been no jest, no coyness beneath those words at all. This much Echo knew to be true, having sorted the varied sentiments in his mind already several times over.
And yet… as Echo stood there, still trying to fathom what the others saw in him… Well, it was warming to the ARC Trooper even if he wasn’t exactly convinced the compliments were shared out of the fact they were true.
Most importantly though, looks aside, Echo was loved. And that was all that mattered to Echo right now, as he stood there, staring at his visual.
The one being, trooper, he had become after enduring a lot of hardship and torture.
And that was something Echo too could live with.