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Things are not going as Echo had hoped. They ran into Fives a couple of weeks ago and Echo could barely believe it. He thought he was hallucinating at first. But then Fives cracked the stupidest joke imaginable and Echo knew he was real. He had his twin back. Unexpectedly, unbelievably, against all odds– no, against reality itself. Fives’ story was full of miraculous helping hands and daring escapes. He was just as ecstatic as Echo to be back together, despite everything.
Until they ran their first extraction together. It was a disaster.
“Where were you?”
“I was right. There,” Echo wails. They are almost butting heads. “Where I was supposed to be!”
Fives gesticulates wildly. “You were supposed to be on my right! You’re always on my right.”
Echo is about to pop a plug. He shoves his disparate arms under Fives’ nose. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m left-handed.”
Fives glances down at Echo’s scomp, clearly meaning to say something wholly inappropriate, but then snaps his mouth shut and says, “Okay, I forgot about that.”
Echo grunts and throws both his arm and his scomp up in exasperation before leaving in a huff. He can’t talk to Fives like that.
Of course, Fives comes to find him later. Echo is sitting on the crumbled remains of the outer wall of their compound, looking out over the sea of clouds, when Fives approaches.
“Hey,” Fives says quietly.
Echo nods in greeting. He swore to himself he wasn’t going to cry but now that Fives is standing there, looking for all it’s worth like not a day has passed since they set out for the Citadel, Echo fears he might choke if he opens his mouth. He was so ready to have Fives back. It was like getting his limbs back. But it turns out that you can’t just attach new parts to old hardware.
Fives leans on the broken wall to Echo’s left and stares at the cloud cover spreading out before them. “I’m sorry,” he mumbles.
“Me too,” Echo agrees. He was so angry when Fives didn’t notice Echo’s minute change to a maneuver they had pulled dozens of times during the war. He wanted so badly for Fives to catch on, for things to be as they were before. Echo should have realized that it was an impossible wish. They both almost died (and to this day, Echo isn’t entirely sure that he didn’t die all the way at least once), Fives was marked a traitor, shunned even by his own brothers, Echo was used and abused and altered beyond recognition. Fives went on without Echo, and Echo found a place within Clone Force 99 and then with Rex - again. Their paths diverged and meandered away from each other - and it changed them.
But they found each other again and that has got to mean something.
Fives fidgets for a few moments before standing up and moving to Echo’s right side. Echo gives him a confused look, but Fives merely nods firmly as he settles his elbows on the chipped top of the wall. “Yeah,” he notes, “that should work.”
Echo smiles fondly when he realizes that Fives is trying to adjust to their new situation. Maybe Echo should too. The changes he’s gone through are more visible and are still giving him grief every now and then but that only means he can point to something tangible when he’s angry. Fives doesn’t have that luxury. Echo sometimes sees him rubbing his chest where the blaster bolt presumably hit. Fives always covers it up with a joke, says it’s just another token of war, but Echo knows that’s not true.
“I’ve become a pretty good shot with my left,” Echo muses.
“I noticed.”
“I could use someone to watch my right flank though.” Echo holds up his scomp, the hard edges glinting in the setting sun, scratched and dented by constant wear and tear. “Pretty shit to aim with this.”
Fives bumps his shoulder against Echo. “That’s what I’m here for, buddy.” He doesn’t look at Echo when he sighs, “I’ll do better next time. Promise.”
Echo smiles. “Me too.”
Fives gives a resolute nod and together they watch the clouds drift past as the sun slowly sinks below the horizon. This is quieter than they’ve ever been, but Echo likes it. He still knows when Fives is sitting on a dumb comment though so when Fives opens his mouth Echo has a pretty good idea of what’s coming.
“And you are absolutely sure that we can’t weld a blaster to your scomp?”
Echo laughs. Not everything has changed.