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Echo liked his routine. He liked knowing exactly what he was going to do, when he was going to do it, and in what order it was going to be done. For example, once the transport touches down on Coruscant, Fives is going to throw his arm around Echo and shout something about “hitting every single club on Coruscant,” which really only meant 79s. Echo will laugh, shove his brother’s arm off his shoulder, and tell him that it didn’t matter how many clubs he went to, no one would want to dance with any one with a face as ugly as Fives’. They’ll go back and forth, with a few more brothers piping in every here and there, but once those doors open, Echo’s gone. His legs take him, almost as if they have a mind of their own, straight to a little shop on a level slightly lower than planetside. Without even really thinking about it, his legs take him straight to you.
Echo will walk into the shop, a little bell announcing his presence from above the door, and be hit with the smell of freshly baked pastries, cakes, and cookies. Although glass display cases attempt to draw his attention with colorful examples of the sugar-filled desserts the shop offers, Echo will glue his eyes to the person behind the counter. When you look up, your lips will break out into a blinding grin and his will have no choice but to follow. And for the first time since being shipped off the battlefield, Echo will feel peace.
Which is why it was twice as jarring for Echo when not only were you not at your post by the register, but there were green plants, candles, streamers, and hanging lights covering almost every surface with a cinnamon spice scent dancing in the air.
“Echo!” A voice to his right called, and as he turned, he finally saw you. On a ladder. Hanging another one of those circular lights. You quickly finished mounting the decoration and then scrambled off the ladder, faster than Echo thought safe, before throwing yourself at him in an embrace.
That was new.
Echo felt his face heat up as he lightly returned the hug, but he wasn’t able to fully pull his thoughts away from the drastic change in interior decor. “What happened in here?”
You stepped back and smirked, “Well, it’s great to see you too, Echo.”
“It’s everywhere.” He murmured. “Did you get pranked?”
“No!” You laughed. “It’s Life Day!”
Your voice held a lightness that made Echo’s gaze snap back to you, like a magnet. He noticed the joy that shone in your eyes and almost radiated from you. Stars, you were beautiful.
“Life Day?” Echo questioned, “Does Coruscant have an extra day in its standard week?”
Your eyes widened, “You don’t know what Life Day is? It’s my favorite holiday!”
Echo shook his head, “We don’t exactly celebrate a lot of holidays on Kamino. I think any sense of joy would make the long necks roll over and die.”
“Life Day is a Wookie tradition, although by now most of the galaxy has adopted it, it’s a huge celebration of family, joy, and harmony.” Echo listened to your explanation and heard the compassion in your voice. Compassion, not pity. Never pity. You never pitied his loss of childhood and normal life experience. It was one of the things on the, admittedly very long, list of things he loved about you. “Most people spend it with the people they love. They’ll make food, spend time together, give gifts, and some cultures even have little mythological figures to go along with it. There’s this one planet who believes that a fat man breaks into their house every Life Day to–”
“There you are, vod!” The little bell on the door rang out followed very closely by Fives’ irritating, grating voice, “I was starting to think you deserted, almost called the General to get a manhunt going.”
Echo turned, opening his mouth to respond, but Fives caught sight of you and his face lit up. His eyes bounced back and forth mischievously between you and Echo, “Oh… so this is where you disappear to whenever we’re on Coruscant.”
“Fives…” Echo warned, but it was useless.
“I never thought I’d see the day when a woman tolerated my brother’s company.” Fives pushed Echo aside, smoothly catching your hand and placing a kiss on it. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss, the name’s Fives. I’m sure you’ve heard all about me.”
Echo knocked Fives’ hand out of yours and glared at him. Fives just raised his arms in surrender. “What? I’m the light of your life, what else would you have to talk about?”
Before Echo could hit him, you laughed, “Oh, I have heard about you, Fives. It’s nice to meet the man who loves my snickerdoodles so much. That actually reminds me.”
You ran into the back of the bakery, returning with a paper bag that seemed stuffed to the brim. “I added some extra pastries that I think you’d enjoy, Echo. And tell Hardcase that I ran out of poppy seeds, so he’ll just have to settle for lemon muffins.”
Fives’ jaw dropped. “This is where you get these from? Vod, you’d better keep her!”
“She’s not a massiff, stop talking about her like she is!” Echo snapped, but Fives turned to you and started gushing.
“Never in my life have I eaten anything as good as the things you make. Your hands must be blessed by whatever it is that’s out there in the galaxy. If this one ever gives you any trouble, you let me know, or any of our brothers in the 501st, and we’ll knock some sense into him.”
“Time to go!” Echo interjected, grabbing Fives’ by the shoulder and shoving him towards the door. “So many baked goods to hand out, so many clubs for you to hit, remember Fives?” Fives continued blabbering and Echo continued talking over him, but you were laughing too hard to understand anything either of them were saying anymore.
“Echo,” you called out, right before he was about to step out of the door, “you can totally say no, if you want, but would you want to spend Life Day with me?”
Echo wasn’t sure if the sudden silence that fell was real or just his imagination, but it felt as if time had stopped. He glanced back at you, and seeing you standing there, surrounded by your silly and over-the-top decorations, he knew there was no place he’d rather be. “I’d really like that.” He nodded.
Then he stepped away from the door and let it close. He sighed, disappointed that his time with you had been cut so short, then turned and came face to face with his brother, who was wiggling his eyebrows at him.
This time Echo really did hit him.
…
“So…” Fives spoke around his mouthful of snickerdoodle, breaking the collective silence in the 501st barracks as everyone ate their pastries, “the baker?”
Echo sighed. It was his fault really for assuming that Fives could mind his business and drop it. “What about her?”
“She’s cute.” Fives shrugged.
“You met her?” Jesse blurted from his bunk across the room. If everyone wasn’t listening then, they sure were now.
“Yeah, I followed Echo after we landed and caught him with her. Someone’s,” Fives gave Echo a pointed look, “been hiding her from us. Can’t imagine why.”
“Maybe it’s because I value her sanity.” Echo mumbled into his fudge.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
Fives nudged his brother. “Look, if you want alone time with your girlfriend, just say that.”
“Girlfriend?!” Hardcase yelled, accusingly looking at Echo.
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Echo defended, before any more of his brothers got any ideas.
“But you want her to be.” Fives countered.
“Well, ye–no!” The truth had slipped out of his mouth before he could stop, and now that it was out, there was no turning back. Gasps erupted throughout the room. Jesse had to sit down, Tup dropped his piece of pie, even Dogma looked over with interest.
Fives cheered triumphantly. “What’s stopping you then? Go get her!”
“She’s not into me.” Echo slumped in defeat. “She’s brilliant and talented and beautiful. And she deserves so much more than a guy who’s not sure if he’ll make it back every day.”
A thicker silence fell over the room. Every man in it knew about their reality. They were bred, born, and raised to fight in a war that was not theirs, for a galaxy that was not theirs, for people who were not theirs. Many clones turned to sunny, loud personalities to hide the pain and loss they felt after every battle. There was this unspoken rule that each clone had to live out his life to the absolute fullest while he could, because he didn’t know when it might end. Now that Echo had verbalized it, the entire barracks was reminded of the injustice of their own existence.
“Vod,” Fives broke the silence again, this time with a seriousness in his eyes that looked foreign on his face, “we don’t get many chances to connect with someone like you have. Most guys would desert if it meant getting your opportunity. You can’t let her get away. At least let us know if any of us have a chance with her, if you don’t want it.”
His joke released the tension in the room, each brother chimed in with their own eagerness to date Echo’s baker.
“Even if I wanted to, she’s not into me.” Echo repeated. Groans erupted from all over the room, Jesse even threw a pillow at his brother. “What? I’m telling the truth!”
Fives’ voice rose above the noise, “Echo, di’kut, that is the stupidest thing you’ve ever said. She’s so into you, it kind of hurt to be in the same room as you both.”
Echo rolled his eyes, but Fives kept going. “Look, tell me I’m crazy, but–”
“You’re crazy.”
“She gives you free food, every time you go to meet her–”
“She’s a generous person.”
“She had her eyes glued on you the whole time–”
“Well, maybe you were scaring her.
“She invited you to spend Life Day with her–”
“She what?!” Kix was the one who interrupted this time. “You’re going right?”
“Well, of course, I told her I would. Why would I accept if I wasn’t going to go?” Echo sputtered. “Should I not have? Is that a bad idea? Should I tell her I’m not coming?”
“No!” The entire room shouted.
“You have to.” Kix got up and started pacing. “This is perfect, confessing on holidays is so much more romantic than confessing on your random Zhellday. Just give her something for Life Day, declare your love, and bam! Mission accomplished!”
“That’s ridiculous.” Echo groaned, “Even if I wanted to, I don’t know the first thing about telling a girl you’re in love with her.”
“Well, you’re lucky that you have six brothers right here that will do all the work for you!” Jesse gestured to the occupants of the room, all of whom had their own versions of their scheming faces on.
Echo glanced at Fives, hoping that he would say something to put an end to this madness for once, but when Fives looked back at him, Echo could see the mischievous glimmer in his eyes.
“Vod, we’re going to get you your cyare.”
…
It was Echo’s own fault. He really should’ve done something, anything this morning instead of blindly following his brothers across the Coruscant shopping district. Anything would be better than standing, in front of this very judgemental old man, in a jewelry shop meant for anyone but him.
“I’m sure this piece is out of your budget, young man.” The shopkeeper barely glanced at the necklace Echo was asking about. “Perhaps you’d be better looking elsewhere?”
“Aw, come on, how much is it?” Fives argued, “It can’t be that bad.”
Echo had not been aware that jewelry was even sold at a price as high as the one that came out of the old man’s mouth, much less jewelry that was sold at a shop on one of the lower, dingier levels of Coruscant.
“That place is a scam.” Fives quipped, the moment the old man had shut the door in their faces. “Let’s try somewhere else.”
Echo glanced around. “I get the feeling that we’ll run into similar problems everywhere. The GAR doesn’t exactly pay well, where would we even find jewelry that any of us could afford?”
“Nonsense. The way to a woman’s heart is through expensive things.” Fives was already looking for a new place to try. “Especially shiny, expensive things. Necklaces, rings, bracelets, girls go crazy for that stuff.”
“I don’t know…” Echo trailed off as he thought about you. You were kind, funny, loving, and selfless. He didn’t take you as the type to get carried away with shine and credits.
“Echo might be right.” Jesse piped in, “There’s only so much we can do in the expensive-jewelry department. But that doesn’t mean we’re completely down for the count. We’ll think of something else.”
Fives slumped his shoulders, but didn’t say anything in his defense. All six of the men began looking around, wondering which one would give the next idea.
“What about…” Tup shyly started, “flowers? Girls like flowers, right?”
“Yeah!” Hardcase nodded, “That way Echo can still buy something for his baker and not have to spend too much money.”
“What’s her favorite flower?” Kix asked, pulling the attention in the conversation back to Echo.
Echo felt his face warm. How was it that in all the hours he spent in your company, all the attention he gave to every detail about you, he didn’t know what your favorite flower was? His brothers looked at him with expectant faces. Would they make fun of him if he told them that he didn’t know? Fives would have asked a girl immediately what her favorite flower was.
“I’ll know it when I see it.” Maybe Echo didn’t lie. Maybe you had a vase that held a certain type of flower all the time in your shop and Echo had never fully noticed it. Maybe you mentioned it in passing a few times. Maybe Echo would see a flower that he would be dying to put behind your ear.
As it turned out, Echo underestimated how many flowers there were in the world. And some of them looked so similar, he couldn’t even begin to guess which one you’d be partial to. This whole gift-giving thing was a lot harder than he thought.
“What about this one?” Jesse emerged from behind a wall of flora, holding a giant, yellow flower.
Echo winced. “I think that one’s too obnoxious.”
“I found one!” Kix shouted from across the flower shop. Looking up, Echo could just see a black-gloved hand holding a dainty, purple flower above the shelves.
That one was better, but it still didn’t speak to Echo in any way that reminded him of you. “I’m not so sure.”
Fives groaned and tossed the bouquet he was about to offer Echo over his shoulder. “You’re impossible. She’s got to like something from here. Where’s Tup? This was all his idea.”
“He’s flirting with the cashier.” Dogma pointed towards the entrance. To his credit, Tup didn’t burst into a noticeable blush, but his shoulders tightened in a subtle motion that told his brothers that Tup heard them call him out. Nonetheless, the flower shop cashier was giggling at whatever he had said.
“At least someone here is striking gold.” Hardcase grumbled. “Now if only Echo could take a page out of Tup’s book. Tup’s book of all people!”
Echo knew his brother’s frustration wasn’t entirely on him. They would die before they admitted it, but none of them really knew anything about women, and this experience was showcasing that for all of them. His brothers huddled together, brainstorming the next plan while Echo ran his eyes over the shelves once again.
It felt like the millionth time he looked at this wall of flowers, but this time, one flower stuck out to him. It was elegant, but simple. Echo knew the petals would bring out your eyes in the best way.
“That one.” Echo pointed to it. His brothers stopped bickering almost immediately.
Fives hopped into motion first, “Perfect! Let’s go.” He marched Echo, who now held the bouquet in his hands, straight to the cashier. “Move over, Tup, you can flirt later.”
This time a blush did erupt on Tup’s face. He turned away to hide it, but the cashier just laughed lightly before turning to Echo and Fives, a more professional mask slipping over her features. “I take it you’re Echo?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Echo nodded, “Just this one please.”
The cashier nodded and began to ring up the bouquet. “I couldn’t help but overhear some of your situation, and Tup filled in a little bit. I just wanted to let you know that these flowers are commonly allergenic. Most people are pretty mildly allergic, but it’s not uncommon for a person to have a pretty severe allergy to them.”
Echo froze. “I can’t give that to her then! What if I put her in the hospital?!”
“Hospitals are not romantic.” Hardcase agreed, wisely.
“I’ll try something else.” Echo sighed, “Thank you for all your help.”
The cashier sympathetically nodded at him, and began to open her mouth to offer more help, but Echo was already being ushered out the doors of the shop by his brothers.
“It’s alright. Shake it off.” Fives assured, “The guys and I have already talked, and we’ve got a plan that’s a sure winner this time.”
…
“I can’t do this.” Echo threw up his hands.
Dogma glanced up from his own project. “Sure you can. There’s nothing that screams ‘Life Day’ more than a pair of mittens, and nothing says ‘I’ll be here to protect and provide for you’ more than the honorable discipline of knitting. Ow-”
Throwing the ball of yarn at Dogma probably wouldn’t help him learn to knit, but it did make Echo feel sort of better.
The plan that his brothers cooked up after the flower shop had not worked. And neither had the next. Or this one, apparently.
In Hardcase’s defense, Echo hadn’t even attempted to put together a 60-piece marching band to parade down the bakery’s street for Life Day. But he had attempted to learn to play the guitar because, according to Jesse, every woman dreams of the day a man plays a guitar and sings for them as they awkwardly avoid eye contact and shuffle in their seats for lack of better things to do. While he was sure the love songs he had tried to learn were beautiful, Echo found out that he didn’t have the musical ability to portray them in any flattering manner.
He was getting so desperate for a good plan, he’d even asked Rex one day, “Captain, if you were a beautiful baker, who was completely out of my league, what would you want for Life Day?”
“For you to leave me alone, probably.” Was the only response he got.
It had been weeks since he last met with her, weeks since she invited him to spend Life Day with her and started this whole mess. He knew that he couldn’t look her in the eyes until he had the perfect Life Day gift for her, but now that was Life Day Eve, Echo was getting hopeless.
Dogma glared at his brother. “You’re going to make me roll that ball back up, aren’t you?.”
“Yup.” Echo met his glare.
“Okay! New plan!” Kix jumped in. The entire room groaned in protest. “Shut it, all of you. I’ve listened to all of your awful ideas, I apologize to the woman you fool with them by the way, but I’ve got something you all don’t: a working brain.” More yarn balls got tossed in Kix’s direction along with insults that drowned out Dogma’s protests.
“Echo,” Kix ignored them, “this girl seems like she’s really special. And really special girls aren’t going to be swayed by things. She’s probably already into you and just needs to know that you’re in love with her. All you need to do is tell her, and the best way to do that is with love letters. They’re simple, heartfelt, and genuine. Three things that women love.” The men in the room had quieted over Kix’s speech, and all seemed to be absentmindedly nodding as they thought this new plan over.
“You’re right.” Echo stood up. “This is ridiculous. I just need to get it off my chest and tell her how I feel. A love letter is the perfect way to gift that.” Cheers erupted from the room this time.
I’m proud of him. Fives thought as Echo sat down and began writing. This was really important to him, but he could probably give her a rock off the ground and she’d kiss him.
Good for him. Jesse thought as Echo threw away his first draft of his love letter. He’s really thinking about what he’s going to say. He’s making sure it comes out just right.
He’s dedicated, I’ll give him that. Dogma thought as he laid down to go to sleep, Echo still writing. It’s not his fault that he can’t understand the value of knitting, but I guess this is the next best thing.
That must be some letter. Tup thought when he rolled over a few hours later, Echo’s pile of discarded letters getting taller and taller. I hope she likes it.
What time even is it? Hardcase thought when he woke up in the very early hours of the morning, Has he been writing this whole time?
I’ve created a monster. Kix realized when he got up the next morning, seeing no trace of Echo, but a huge pile of crumpled up pieces of flimsi next to the desk that he had sat at all night long. Maker help that Baker.
…
“Happy Life Day, Echo!” You greeted the clone standing outside your door. He returned your grin with a smaller one. You noticed that he looked slightly disheveled and he seemed to be breathing a bit heavier than normal. Instead of pointing it out, you decided to politely ask, “How has your morning been?”
“Awful.” Echo blurted before hastily correcting himself, “-ly great. I’ve had an awfully great morning. How about you?”
“I guess my morning has been awfully great too.” You awkwardly shuffled aside, “Would you like to come in or…?”
“Oh!” Echo quickly walked past you, and you noticed as he did so that he was carrying a large sack with him. It was made of dark green cloth and looked suspiciously like something you had seen other clones use to carry their gear. You found it odd, but decided not to mention it. Maybe clones had a regulation that stated they couldn’t go anywhere without their gear, and if him being able to wear the very flattering civilian clothes that he currently had on meant he had to carry around a giant sack everywhere, who were you to complain about it?
“Thank you so much for coming. I know I kind of sprung the invitation on you.” You gestured to your table, which you had set for two people with a candle in the middle. You blushed as you realized that you just presented him with a candle light breakfast, but continued on. “I made a sort of late breakfast for us, and then I have a full day of Life Day activities planned for us. I really wanted to make sure you have the full experience for your first Life Day.”
Echo prided himself in being a very observant and aware man, but he had not heard a word you had said after looking at the table. “It’s only us today?”
Your smile faltered, “Yeah, I had planned the day for just the two of us, is that okay?”
“Yes!” Echo coughed to clear the eagerness out of his tone. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
Echo had never been to your apartment, and so when he first got the comm asking him to meet you there, he got even more nervous than he already was. But his nerves were calmed as he looked around the room during breakfast. Your unique fingerprints were everywhere. Just like the bakery, every inch of this house was decked out in Life Day decorations. Little replicas of a decorated Tree of Life were scattered over various shelves and counters, garlands were hung with Life Day orbs, candles and other decorations covering everything. You even had a larger Tree of Life replica set up in your living room, also decorated to the nines. The entire house screamed the passion and love that you put into all things you care about, and the knot in Echo’s stomach loosened more and more with every minute he spent with you.
Breakfast was amazing. You were a great baker, Echo already knew that, but you were excited to show him that you were an almost better cook. While the day had started off on a bit of a stumbling foot, conversation began to flow easily between the two of you as more time passed. It was nice to see Echo relaxed and smiling. You don’t really know when it started, but these days, your life seemed to revolve around the little moments you were able to spend with Echo. He was sweet and gentle with you, but you knew that he was also brave and courageous. You adored every aspect of him. You hoped that one day, you’d be able to openly show the depths of that adoration. The rest of the day seemed to fly by. The two of you decorated cookies, built orgabread houses, played games, and before you know it, you were snuggled up on the couch, large mugs of wroshyr louse syrup cocoa in hand, watching the third Life Day holofilm of the night. At some point between the start of the second holofilm and now, Echo had managed to sneak his arm across your shoulders, allowing you to bury yourself into his side. His warmth seeped to you, and you were well on your way to falling asleep when he mumbled, “Cyar’ika?”
“Hm?” You didn’t know what the word meant, but you somehow knew he was referring to you. Lifting your head up, you met his gaze. How long had he been staring?
“When you first invited me over, I had no idea what Life Day was, but I did some research, and my brothers yelled at me, and now I think I have a pretty good idea of what it means. You’re really special to me, and my brothers told me that you give special people gifts on Life Day. So I spent the past few weeks, losing my mind, trying to find the perfect gift to give you.” A blush started to creep up his face, but he didn’t let that deter him, “I tried many things, and each one didn’t work, so I tried something else.” He carefully untangled himself from you and left the room. Before you were able to fully wonder where he went, he returned with the sack. “I couldn’t decide on one thing to get you. Each place I went to had something that reminded me of something that I like about you, but I like so much more than one thing about you and choosing which one to show you was impossible.”
He opened the sack and pulled out a necklace. It wasn’t anything big or flashy, but the chain was decorated with little pearls, “This isn’t the original necklace I looked at, the GAR doesn’t pay enough for that one,” Echo joked, “but it represents my point a little better, I think. When I looked at this, I saw all the little kindnesses that you do. Not just for me, but my brothers, other customers at your bakery, sometimes even just strangers off the street. I see a world that is mean and cruel everyday, but when I’m with you, I’m reminded of all the beauty and good that’s in it too.” A lump had formed in your throat, so the only thing that you could do was reach out and take the necklace.
When you looked back up at him, he was holding out a single, purple flower, slightly crumpled from being held in a sack all day long. “I searched a flower shop for hours to find this. I don’t know what it’s called or where it’s from, but when I saw it, I knew exactly where it belonged.” He reached out and gently brushed your cheek as he settled the flower behind your ear. “Right there.”
“Echo,” You smiled, starting to see where this was going, “thank you, I–”
“I’m not finished.” Echo reached into the sack and started pulling out item after item. “I bought you mittens, sorry they’re not homemade, a music box, I didn’t have time to put together a 60 piece band, I even brought Jesse’s guitar!” Your eyes widened as he pulled the instrument out of the sack, along with pages and pages of flimsi with music written on it. “I wanted to find the perfect way to tell you how much you meant to me, but all I did was drive myself crazy and waste so much time. Because none of these things can possibly show how much I look forward to every moment that I spend with you, and every smile of yours that I get to see, and how much I love everything about you. I love you.”
A beat of silence fell over the both of you as you both processed the weight of Echo’s words. “I have a Life Day gift for you too. But you have to close your eyes before I give it to you.” Echo’s shock displayed on his face for a moment, but he nodded and dutifully closed his eyes.
You took a deep breath. Echo’s leap of courage inspired you to take your own. You slowly leaned closer and closer into Echo, allowing yourself all the time you wanted to observe his features. His strong brow, sharp jawline, and full lips. You were most focused on those lips right now. Echo stiffened when you placed a hand on his shoulder for balance and when he began to feel your breath ghost over his lips. “I love you too.” You whispered, and then closed the gap.
Echo still had one gift that he hadn’t given you, but something told him he wouldn’t need that letter anymore.
…
Echo loved his routine. He knew exactly what he was going to do, when he was going to do it, and what order it was going to be done. Once this transport touches down on Coruscant, Fives is going to throw his arm around Echo and shout something about “making sure that the pretty baker sets aside the good stuff for me.” Echo is going to laugh, shove his brother’s arm off his shoulder, and tell him that it didn’t matter what he brought back with him, anything from that bakery is “the good stuff.” They’ll go back and forth, with a few more brothers piping in here and there, but once those doors open, Echo’s gone. His legs take him straight to a little shop on a level slightly lower than planetside, straight to you, but now, he’s thinking about it a whole lot.
Echo will walk into the shop, a little bell announcing his presence from above the door, and be hit with his favorite smell in the world, but now, a pair of eyes is already looking back at him. The baker will leave her post behind the counter, as fast as she can, and throw herself into his arms. And for the first time since he left you, Echo will feel like he’s home.