Sweet as Applesauce
Erin Griffin
Pairing: Once sided Echo/Sierra, slight Echo/November
Disclaimer: Mutant Enemy owns the characters, and Joss is a big tease.
Summary: After the Awakening, Echo realizes where Sierra's heart lies, and possibly where her own belongs.
Note: Spoils the Awakening, since I saw a lot of subtext between Echo/November, especially when they were hiding out in the clothes racks. Did anyone else miss out on what Mike's unresolved thing was, or was he just a victim of being in the wrong place at the time of the experiment going down?
Echo looked at two of the people who were her friends. They looked like they were meant to be there together. She liked Sierra. She really did, but Victor liked Sierra too. She saw that, just like she saw how much Sierra liked Victor in return. Sierra saw Echo as her friend, someone who she could trust, but Victor... Victor must be something else to her, but Echo couldn't say what that was. It meant more, though. Echo wanted those feelings in someone. She had hoped maybe Sierra felt that way for her, not for Victor, but she didn't. She saw that now. As her two friends sat together at lunch, she started towards them, but noticed November sitting alone. She looked like she needed someone to sit next to her. Slowly she walked to her, and November looked up. She smiled, taking a spoon to her mouth. There was a happy glint in her eyes, and Echo returned her smile. "I like applesauce. It is sweet," she said as she sat down. November nodded.
"I like applesauce, too. I also like apples. Apples are good for you." This time, it was Echo's turn to nod.
"They help you be your best," she said. She shared another smile with November, but there was something that Echo saw, something she wanted to say to her but she didn't know what it was. There was a hint of sorrow she felt when she looked at her, but November was smiling. Maybe there wasn't anything wrong. Maybe she just felt that way because she felt something wrong within herself.
Suddenly November's eyes were staring into Echo's, and she, too, looked as if she wanted to say something. "You helped me. I wasn't left behind."
"Friends don't leave." Echo replied, unsure of what to think of this new conversation, but November said nothing else on that as she placed a hand on her arm.
"We are friends," she said, as if she needed for Echo to tell her that as well, so she did.
"Yes," Echo agreed. She looked down at November's hand and wondered if it was just Sierra she really liked a lot. "I'm your friend."
"I think of you as applesauce," November said softly. They stared at eachother for another moment, and Echo's cheeks felt warm.
"November," a soft voice said behind her, "it is time for your treatment." November looked at her applesauce, then to her Handler. "You can finish it later." This made November smile and stand up. Her Handler put an arm under hers and they walked away. Echo smiled after them. Applesauce made November happy. Perhaps she will make sure she got some when she was done with her treatment. Friends did that for eachother. Friends make sure they are okay and happy. Echo finished her own lunch and went to stretch. She must stretch before she went into the pool. Otherwise she would get sick and not be allowed to swim in the pool. She liked the pool.