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I earn a little less credits working with a team, but it’s far more efficient and I’ve found I missed working with people. Though the one person I’d like to get to know more, seems perpetually distant.
My eyes track Echo’s movements as he slides off his stool, denying Omega’s offer of some of her Mantell mix. He leans over and mutters something to Hunter, quiet enough that I can’t make it out from where I'm sitting.
My gaze is on him still as he slips away quietly and for moments after I still watch the unmoving door, debating going to talk to him.
“He’s gone to the ship.” Hunter’s voice startles me from my thoughts and I glance over, only to find him watching me carefully.
“What?” I turn slightly on my stool to face him as he leans against the bar.
“Echo, he’s gone to the ship.” Hunter tells me casually and my heart stops for a split second, I hadn’t realised I'd been that easy to read.
“Right, good to know.” I try to feign indifference, leaning against the bar and taking a small sip of my drink, but my gaze strays again to the door. Perhaps things would be different if we could speak when alone. Then I could get some sort of idea of how he feels about me.
Hunter slips off his stool and takes the one beside me, setting his drink down on the bar with a deep sigh, “Just go and talk to him,” He suggests, “I’m getting fed up with you pining after him.”
“Excuse me!” I gasp, my elbow hitting the bar as I lean back against it, studying Hunter closely. How could he possibly know what i’m feeling, Phee is far more obvious about things with Tech.
“You’re pining.” Hunter repeats casually as though that somehow makes things any better, “It’s getting annoying, so go and do something about it.”
“And have you spoken to Phee about her thing for Tech?” I challenge, already knowing the answer to the question.
“She keeps it off her face better. You are doing a terrible job about it though so please talk to him and make your mind up.” Hunter adds but his words only make my cheeks burn slightly and anger bubbles slowly beneath the surface. He’s being unnecessarily rude about this.
If Hunter is asking me to talk to Echo, However, then I don’t see why I shouldn’t. There’s no use in pretending that wasn’t what I was considering anyway. Besides, it also has the added bonus on getting away from Hunter.
“Fine,” I hiss, pushing myself off the stool and briefly glaring at Hunter as I pass.
The streets are busy on Ord Mantel at this time but I know the Marauder is parked close by. The hangar bay provides a relief from the chaos just outside and my heart pounds in my chest the closer I get to the ship.
The ramp is down, waiting for when the others get back from Cid’s but I pause at the bottom step. I hadn’t even thought about what I was going to say.
Metal clunks quietly beneath my feet as I climb up onto the ship. I spot Echo instantly where he’s sitting in the co-pilots seat. His armour is piled on the chair behind him and he’s wearing only his blacks, hunched over enough that his back blocks the view of whatever he's doing.
“Can I help you?” Echo asks roughly, straightening up to glance at where I'm lingering awkwardly in the doorway.
“Sorry, I hope you don’t mind me interrupting your quiet.” I head inside, taking the seat beside Echo’s. It's the pilot’s seat which is usually Tech’s but he’s not here to complain about it right now thankfully.
“I’m still able to do what I need.” Echo leans back over. From this angle I can see him tightening something in one of his cybernetic legs. They’d mostly been covered before but now I can clearly see how poorly made they are.
“I’m not the biggest fan of solitude anyway.” He adds, lifting his head enough to briefly meet my gaze.
“Then why come alone?” I ask, casually leaning back in the chair, my pulse racing just at the idea of being alone here with Echo.
“My legs need regular maintenance, it's not something anyone else needs to see.” He shrugs, using a cloth from the side to keep the metal clean. The soldering work is poor, even I did a better job, back when I was helping an old friend of mine start up his shop.
“How regular?” I frown, studying the joints of the leg he has propped up. I may not know a lot but I know that doesn’t look right, and I also know maintenance shouldn’t be necessary all the time.
“Most days.” He finishes cleaning off his leg and places his foot back on the floor. “I forget sometimes,” he confesses and lifts his next leg up on top of his knee.
“You never thought about getting a better model?” I question, lifting my gaze from his cybernetic legs and our eyes meet for a fleeting moment.
“This is what the separatists gave me, I never had the luxury of picking and choosing my cybernetics,” He tells me, focusing back on his leg, “I was just glad to be fighting again.” He adds, quieter this time.
I don’t know the full story of what happened to him, but I know enough; The explosion, Skako Minor and the Bad Batch rescuing him.
“And now, would you take new Cybernetics if you could?” I ask and the air falls still, the only sound being Echo running his cloth over his leg quietly.
“It doesn’t matter, that's not an option for me.” Echo shakes his head, which only has the effect of making me want to help him more. I could take him to my friend and he could have better legs, ones far more stable than what he has now.
“And what if it was?” I ask quietly, “I have a friend and he’s good with cybernetics.”
“Why are you trying to help me?” Echo’s question is abrupt and he sets his foot on the floor, the cloth still in his hand, “Did my brothers put you up to this?”
“No.” I frown at him, my brows drawing together,
“Then what is it? You’re a mercenary, you’re only here for the credits.” He says bitterly and throws the cloth down on the surface beside him. His words sting a little, Credits are important, especially in this galaxy where people have to hide from this new Empire.
“You know I don’t like being called that.” I mutter, I don’t like to see myself as a mercenary, not when every other mercenary I've met has been greedy and selfish.
“Doesn’t matter, you’re in it for the credits, it's who you are.”
“Credits rule the Galaxy.” I point out.
“Now you sound like Cid, and every other mercenary.”
If Echo is going to continue like this I might very well leave, I only came because I wanted to talk to him, to understand if my ‘pining’, as Hunter called it, is a waste of time.
“Is that really all you think of me?” I ask softly and Echo’s pale brown eyes meet mine, he says nothing though and just stares like he can straight through me,
“Right, my mistake.” I mutter when the silence continues.
Pushing myself off the chair I make to go and leave, I only pause in the doorway when Echo finally speaks,
“Wait,” He sighs, “You can stay.” he adds.
That’s good enough for me, I swiftly cross the room again and take my old seat, leaning back into it and crossing my arms over my chest. Echo doesn’t look at me though, he just picks the cloth back up to clean the metal of his thighs.
“I would pay for your legs.” I tell him. The reaction is instant, Echo drops the cloth and looks straight up at me with wide eyes. There’s something unrecogniseable in his gaze that I can’t quite place, my best guess would be gratitude but that doesn’t seem quite right.
“You’d really do that?” He asks softly, returning the cloth to the side but his gaze doesn’t leave mine, not even for a second.
“Sure I would,” I tell him honestly, “ The money I get, you should know I don’t use it all for me. You have seen the state of my ship.” I add, it really is a mess that could be easily renewed with the credits I get.
“I thought you liked it like that.” He mutters, glancing away for a moment while I huff a soft laugh. The corners of his lips curve up slightly, almost resembling a smile.
“My ship gets the job done, that's all I need. I have friends, Contacts who are doing what they can to shelter people from the Empire. They need money for that.”
“So you give them your credits?”
“Mostly, I always keep some spare for ship repairs. But I can use that to pay for you to get cybernetic replacements.”
“Why would you do that for me?” He asks, his eyes a little wide as though he can’t quite believe what I’m saying.
“Consider it helping a friend. Believe it or not, I do like you Echo.” I tell him with a grin and he flashes a soft smile, looking away.
His gaze lingers on the window ahead but there’s nothing of interest out there, only some rusted old walls.
“Something on your mind?” I guess.
“My brothers told me-” he breaks off with a sigh and shakes his head, “Nevermind, it doesn’t matter. It wouldn’t really make sense.”
“Well now I'm really curious.” I confess, leaning in slightly and wondering what they could’ve said that bothered him so much.
“They told me that you like me.” He sighs, leaning back in his chair and glancing over my way.
“I just said that, didn’t I?” I puzzle, only a few moments later when he begins explaining does it sink in.
“No, Hunter said you like me as in…”
“More?” I finish and he nods.
“He’s not wrong.” I tell him softly, my stomach tying itself in an anxious knot.
“So it’s not a prank?” He frowns, his brows crinkling as he studies me closely.
“Why would it be a prank?” I ask, suddenly wondering if perhaps they’d pranked him with things like this before.
“Well look at me,” Echo huffs a laugh, gesturing down his body at his cybernetics and small fixtures visible through his blacks, “I haven’t exactly got a lot to offer.”
“The only problem I see is the bad deal of your cybernetics.” I remark which coaxes another smile out of him.
“So you’re telling me you don’t find it… repulsive?” Echo settles on the word with a raised eyebrow.
“Are you telling me that no one has been interested in you before?” I challenge instead, lifting my own eyebrow. Echo just shakes his head slowly at my question.
“I’m not so shallow as to be put off by a few scars. Understatement as that might be, it really does not matter to me.” I insist.
“So you came here for what then?” He asks and I catch the challenge in his gaze.
"Well now that you've asked, I have a couple things in mind." I tell him, my lips curving into a grin as I shuffle closer to him in my chair.
"Are you planning on sharing?" Echo asks and I deliberately drop my gaze to his lips, lingering for a second before meeting his eyes again.
"Do you want me to?" I push myself up from the chair, shuffling over until i'm almost face to face with where he's sat.
"Yes please." He nods and I grin, lifting one hand gently to his cheek, brushing my thumb over his cheekbone.
My heart stumbles in my chest, beating erratically and my breath catches in my throat when he doesn't flinch away from my touch.
I lean forwards then, slow enough that he can stop me if he needs to but not slow enough to make me impatient. Not when this is the closest I've ever been to a moment like this.
I pause just before our lips connect, his head is tilted up to mine and I can feel his breath on my lips.
Blood rushes in my ears and I close my eyes, dipping forwards and closing the gap.
I press my lips against Echo's in a gentle kiss and he returns the pressure, his hand pressing against the back of my neck and he parts his lips slightly, challenging me to deepen the kiss and I do.
Echo's hand drops down and lands at the small of my back, tugging me closer and I land awkwardly atop his lap on the chair.
"Sorry." He mutters when my knees hit the metal and I shake my head softly.
"Don't be." I insist, adjusting my position with my legs settled around his as I lean into his body.
Our lips meet again and I slide my hands over his chest, I can feel how thin he is through the fabric of his blacks but there’s a stubborn strength there too in the way that he moulds his body to mine.
When Echo turns his head slightly, separating our kiss, I lean back from him slightly.
"What do you want?" He asks, "What is this?"
"I want you, Echo. In any way you'll have me." I insist and his hand is on my waist, fingers gently pressing into my skin.
"I want this." He insists, "But more... I don't know that I can give you that, at least not right now."
"You're talking about Sex?" I ask and watch his pale cheeks immediately turn pink, the sight makes me smile.
"Yeah, was that not what you wanted?"
"It is but not yet, I understand if you aren't ready, I can wait for as long as you need me to." I tell him gently, bringing one hand back up to cradle his jaw.
"Thank you." He mutters and I smile.
"Now, about your new legs. We can go tomorrow and visit my friend, I don't have the credits for the newest model but I can certainly get you better ones than you have now." I explain.
"I can't ask you to do that." Echo shakes his head.
"It's a good thing you didn't ask then." I tell him with a grin and lean forwards to press a kiss to his lips again.
"No, really." He says, "What if something happens, what If they get damaged or what if this doesn't work out between us." He gestures between the small gap where our bodies aren't touching and I loosely wrap my arms around his neck.
"And what if they don't get damaged and you spend years with these poor models?" I point out the other option, "And even if we don't work out, I'll still care for you Echo. It wouldn't be a waste knowing that I've helped someone with my credits." I add and he sighs, leaning back into the seat.
"It will be expensive." Echo mutters, "I just don't know how I can justify letting you spend your credits on me."
"It will be worth it, Echo. You're worth it." I insist, "If you wanted an arm too we could figure it out." I add but he shakes his head.
"The scomp is good for missions." He insists.
"Get one for your belt, just because it won't be in your head doesn't mean you can't use it." I add and he pauses.
"I'll think about it." He adds, his hand moving around my back slightly.
"And for your legs?" I ask.
"We can speak with your friend." He decides and I grin, glad he's letting me help him.
"Great." I add, leaning back in and pressing a kiss against his forehead instead.
"I'm not a big fan of medical procedures though, I hate being under all that equipment." He adds.
"I'll be by your side the whole time, we could probably make you sleep through it too if that would help." I assure him.
"We'll discuss it tomorrow, after I've discussed it with Hunter." Echo confirms, leaning forwards then but instead of kissing me, He pulls me into his arms with his arm wrapped around my back.
I rest my head over his shoulder, returning the embrace and I feel his sigh against my chest.
"You alright?" I ask softly, tracing my fingers gently over his back and finding some metal implants I smoothly move around.
"I think maybe this isn't real." He says softly, "Before, when I was different I looked just like my brothers, I met some girls then who seemed to like me but I was the same as everyone else. It never seemed like it was for me." He tries to explain and I really don't think i've heard him speak so much before, "Then after the Citadel and Skako Minor, I'm hardly human anymore. I'm more machine than anything and I never even imagined someone could be interested in me." He explains.
"Were you interested in me?" I ask him softly, still resting my chin on his shoulder but I'm suddenly worried that he doesn't feel the same, that he's only okay with this because no one else has ever felt anything for him.
"I didn't know that I could be." He tells me, his fingers sifting through my hair. "You're beautiful and you're confident, I never imagined you'd be an option for me so I didn't let you. I try not to get in my head about things like that, I always figured that perhaps you'd like Hunter." He adds and I laugh suddenly, drawing back a little and spotting the pink dusting his cheeks.
"Theres no way." I tell him, still grinning and finding it hilarious that he thought i'd go for Hunter.
"He just seemed more reasonable, he looks more like a reg than the rest of us do." Echo tells me.
"Reg?" I frown.
"Regular clone." He answers.
"Oh, I see. But no I never even thought of Hunter like that, I liked you from the beginning." I assure him.
"When Hunter said he thought you were interested in me I laughed it off really, it seemed ridiculous but I can't pretend I didn't start to get my hopes up a little." Echo tells me.
"This, whatever we're doing, it's not just because no one else is interested right? Like you actually do like me?" I ask, because I do want this with him but I don't want to be the last resort.
"I like you." He confirms, "I just never realised that this was something you wanted."
"I tried dropping hints." I tell him softly and he falters for a second.
"Oh, that makes more sense actually." He mumbles and I laugh softly, shaking my head, "I thought you were just flirty with everyone." Echo explains and I grin, leaning back in towards him.
"No, it's just you." I whisper against his mouth before pressing my lips to his again and moving my body against his, pinning him into the chair.
Someone clears their throat suddenly, in the room with us and we spring apart instantly. I stumble back off the chair, almost falling over and I straighten up to see Hunter standing leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed.
"Good thing I came back before Omega did." He says casually and I feel my cheeks burning. We should've heard him coming but we were just too wrapped up in each other.
"Right, yes. Sorry." I mutter and Echo stands up beside me, facing Hunter.
"I'm sorry, I should've thought about that." Echo says, shuffling closer so that our shoulders touch.
"Just keep the kissing to a minimum in front of the kid." Hunter shrugs and smiles softly at us both.
"I'm happy for you though." He adds and I manage a grin.
"I should go," I lean in towards Echo to speak quietly, "I'll contact my friend and we can go tomorrow." I add.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Cid's parlour at 09:00?" Echo responds.
"Sure, goodnight." I lean in and press a quick kiss to his lips before darting away.
"Where are you going tomorrow?" I hear Hunter asking Echo as I head down the ramp and away from the ship, waving at Tech, Wrecker and Omega on the way.