Bonds Unbroken
Author's Note: This is a gift for Thsle on ao3. :)
Also this is for the Bad Batch Appreciation Week. Day 2 is Echo. :D
PS. This is for the 501st Bingo square of "first experiences". ^-^
~ Amina Gila
Echo has been to Naboo before – once, during the Blue Shadow Virus. He remembers it was a brilliant place, that it was very green and sunny. It was nothing like Kamino. When the Marauder touches down in the grassland, he can see the building in the distance. It's big for only his General, Senator Amidala, and their… children.
Anakin has children, and Echo isn't sure if he should be happy about that or not. He's mostly just weirded out.
He doesn't even know what that means.
The air is fresh, smells of freshly cut grass. It's summertime on Naboo, and it's warm here.
The kid comes out last, pausing to shield her eyes when the brilliant sunlight floods her face.
Echo pauses, turning back to watch her. He'd been awed when he got to see plants at first, too, he and Fives both. The childish sense of awe on Omega's face as she slowly walks down the ramp, stepping into the knee-high grass reminds him of his first missions with the 501st.
Hunter smiles wistfully, watching her.
Omega kneels in the grass, digging her fingers into the dirt. "What is this?"
Echo's been there, once, but it's different to see it on the kid. Their kid, and Echo still doesn't know how to deal with the fact that they have her. Even Ahsoka was different. She's a Jedi. Omega is… a clone, like they are. Their sister.
"That would be dirt," Tech tells her bluntly, and Omega lightly strokes her finger across the blades of grass.
It's the distant, familiar voices that draws Echo's attention back to the house – they're not the only ones here. Some of the other boys are, too.
"There are regs here," Hunter warns, "Don't start anything."
Wrecker makes a grumpy whining sound, expressing exactly what he thinks about that.
"War's over," Echo reminds, "We'll have to get used to it." Oh, there will always be something to fight for, and he has no doubt about that. No issue with that, but they're not here on a mission. They're here, because his General wanted him to come to Naboo. They're not otherwise occupied, and Omega wanted to leave Kamino, to see the galaxy.
Hunter had given in just seeing her excitement, even before their kid asked.
The Clone Wars are over, at least, and there will always be more for them to fight in the galaxy. It's still a strange concept, though. (It would feel more whole, less empty, if Fives were here, too.)
They move towards the house, Echo feeling a little awkward and out of place as they go. He's never been to a natborn residence before, not like this, and nor have the others. He imagines they feel similarly to him. It half feels like they don't belong, that they'll mess this up somehow and never come back, which would really be a shame, since he doesn't know when, or if, he'll see his General otherwise, and Omega is just a kid – she deserves some exposure to normal civilian life.
Right inside the entrance, Echo spots Jesse and Kix, who immediately look up when they see the others approaching.
"Good to see you," Kix greets. He looks cheerful; they both do. It's been a while, and a lot's changed, but Echo is still glad to see the 501st has at least somewhat settled into the changes, that they're alright.
"Yeah," Echo replies, "You, too."
"We weren't sure if you'd come," Jesse adds.
Wrecker laughs, punching his shoulder in his overly-aggressive affectionate way. "Of course, we did!"
"The General's been waiting for you," Kix tells them.
Of course, he has been. He called Echo personally to invite them, and for as uncertain as Echo feels about how to act in a natborn's house – it doesn't only belong to the General, and that's what makes it so awkward – he's eager to see Anakin again.
Omega looks around, wide-eyed, as they go further into the house. "Kamino wasn't anything like this," she breathes.
Everything here is so decorative, and some of the objects lying around appear to have no discernable purpose. The General is married – whatever that means – to a Senator, so Echo probably shouldn't be surprised.
Omega darts forwards to pick up the shiny sparkling… something lying on a stand in the corner, but Hunter hastily catches her shoulder before she can. "Don't touch anything," he cautions, probably feeling as glaringly out of place and lost as Echo himself.
Omega pouts, looking distinctly disappointed, but she steps back.
"We don't want to damage anything," Echo adds, the moment he sees Crosshair promptly reaching to touch some other… decorative object hanging on a nearby wall.
Hunter lets out an exasperated sigh, turning to Crosshair in a failed effort to try distracting him, but then, Tech starts scanning something, a look of fascination on his face, and Echo has the strong feeling that he's also about to start touching. He really wants to facepalm, because they're not children, and they should know better than to start touching like this. (If he finds it a little bit cute, and if it reminds him a little of Fives, no one needs to know.)
Thankfully, there's the sound of footsteps, and they all straighten and turn as Anakin himself walks into the foyer, a baby cradled against his chest. His expression softens into a smile, and there's a light in his eyes which Echo has rarely ever seen before. "I'm glad you're here, all of you," he says in greeting.
"General." Echo's on the verge of saluting, because he has no idea how to greet him properly, but Anakin waves it off.
"It's fine," he tells them. "I'm not a general anymore. I'm just Anakin now."
Somehow, it feels improper and disrespectful to call him that, but Echo just nods, suddenly speechless. Anakin looks… different. He's not wearing Jedi robes anymore. Instead, he's wearing a loose fitting, tan tunic, clothing far more casual and civilian like than anything Echo has ever seen him in. He looks happy, too, far happier than Echo remembers.
"Anakin, then," Hunter agrees, after a moment, the first of them to step forward and try to settle the obvious awkwardness. Maybe Echo is just overthinking all of this. It's Anakin, not a stranger.
"This is Leia." Anakin gestures to the baby in his arms. "Rex has Luke. Padme's busy in the kitchen, so we're on babysitting duty. You wanna help?"
Echo chokes on an inhale, and he's not the only one. All of his brothers are similarly frozen with wide-eyed looks of uncertainty and wariness, and Anakin laughs softly when he sees it.
"It's not hard," he assures. "Omega, would you like to hold her? I know we've never actually met before, but I've heard about you."
She gives him a bright, if shy, smile. "Thank you for helping us," she says earnestly. "I don't think the Kaminoans would have let me go if not for you." She steps forward, holding out her arms for the baby, and Anakin lowers his daughter into her arms. Omega shifts the weight, cradling the child in a way that looks natural, as if she's done it before.
"You're good with her," Anakin remarks, curious. "You've worked with babies before?"
"Yeah," she answers, voice very quiet, almost wistful, "When I was little." She doesn't elaborate, and that makes Echo curious, too. As he exchanges looks with the others, he can see that they're equally intrigued. They'll have to ask her later about that. He'd thought she was alone her whole life in Nala Se's lab, working as her assistant, but maybe not.
"C'mon." Anakin turns to them, gesturing towards the house. "I'll show you around."
It's strange for every hall not to be the same. It feels unnecessarily fancy, but it's not like Echo would know. He's never been to a normal, natborn home before, at least not a Nubian one.
Anakin pauses in the doorway of a sitting room of some kind, and over his shoulder Echo can see Rex holding another baby. That must be Luke. It's still hard to imagine his General having children. He knows natborns don't come from tubes, but the notion of anything else is… strange. And it makes no sense to him.
Not as though it really matters.
"Is he finally sleeping?" Anakin asks, a note of fondness in his voice that Echo already remembers him speaking of the Commander with. He can understand that now, with how he feels towards Omega.
"He's the easy one," Rex replies, dryly, "Is Leia?"
"Right now, she is," Anakin replies, a touch amused.
"Can I hold him, too?" Omega asks hopefully, scamping forwards.
"Of course, you can," Anakin assures.
She reaches up eagerly to take him from Rex – Echo frankly thinks it looks disturbing, with how the baby apparently has to be balanced in exactly the right position.
Anakin watches them for a few moments, before turning to Echo. "It… has been a long time. I was going to stop by on Kamino to see how you were settling in, but I never found the chance before you were away on missions."
They move a few paces away from the room where the others are, so they can talk privately. "How… are you settling in?" Anakin asks. "I know they're different, not really what we're used to."
"It's different," Echo admits, "But it's not bad. The missions are… not as high-stake as what we're used to, but they're often more complicated." Complicated is an understatement of the chaos that he and his new squad often get involved in, but he doesn't regret a minute of it. He's happy to be here with them.
He will never stop fearing their deaths, but over time, he's gotten more used to not constantly grieving. He will always grieve Fives, of course, but with the war over, he may not have to worry about his brothers' deaths the same anymore.
"I'm glad," Anakin tells him, "This wasn't supposed to happen. I knew the stakes of when we went to the Citadel, but…" He trails off, shaking his head. "I never expected what happened to you."
What happened to Fives after, Echo can only imagine. With how much he's constantly grieving Fives, he has no doubt his brother would've done the same for him.
"There was nothing you could have done," Echo replies immediately, and it's true. He made his choice there, knowing he could die. It's what he was born to do. His primary regret is that he wasn't there anymore, to reign in Fives' chaos and that's probably what got him killed. And, of course, that the Separatists turned Echo himself into what killed countless of his brothers. (At least Fives didn't die because of that. He doesn't know how he'd live with himself anymore if he had.)
"Still, I… regret that we didn't go back for you."
"You had no way to know I survived," Echo points out, bluntly. He doesn't even remember much of it. He'd been running for the ship, and then… the sound of an explosion, and everything is hazy after that, up until Rex and Tech found him.
Anakin's eyes flicker away from him, something almost distant in his gaze. "I should have, though," he says quietly. "I'm the strongest of all the Jedi. I should have known you… were still alive then."
Echo doesn't quite know what to say to that. His General has always been different. He's always cared, so deeply, and he's always taken it hard when he perceives that he's failed someone. He's so… protective of them, and Echo has always admired that about him, respected that. Maybe they're soldiers, but Anakin made them feel as if their lives mattered. That's not true for other Jedi, or at least none that he knows or has heard of.
It isn't something he knew anyone, especially a natborn, would be willing to show them until he met his General. Anakin changed everything for all of them.
"I wanted to ask you," his General adds, "Now that the war's over, what you want to do."
"What we've always done," Echo answers immediately, because what else would they do? They were born to fight for the Republic, and that's all they'll ever do. They're clones. Soldiers.
"You have a child now, too," Anakin reminds quietly, "She doesn't deserve that kind of life, and if you want to choose differently, you can."
"It's all we've ever done," Echo replies, "But I can speak with the others." That's why Hunter had been hesitant to take Omega in the first place, because she's not a soldier. But she'd been insistent, so they took her along. Echo's never really had time to think about what they're going to do with her long-term. He assumed they would probably train her, in much the same way the General had once trained the Commander, but Anakin is right that Omega deserves… better than that.
"Do that." He pauses, his gaze turning towards the others, where they're milling about in the next room. Rex asked Omega where she learned to care for babies, and she's hesitantly telling them something that Echo can't quite hear, but he almost wishes he did from the emotions he can see on his brothers' faces. He'll have to ask them about that later.
Anakin looks back at him with a small smile. "I think she would be happy here," he says, and Echo quirks an eyebrow.
"What do you mean, sir – Anakin," he corrects quickly.
"I – I would like to extend the offer for you, all of you, to live here on Naboo, if you would be willing," he answers, almost shyly. "Rex and a lot of the boys are staying not too far from here, in that building on the other side, and – and there's plenty of room for you, too, if you would like. I – You might have been born and trained to be soldiers, but the war is over, Echo. You can make a life for yourself outside of fighting."
Echo blinks at him, taken by surprise at the unexpectedness of the words. He hardly even knows what to say or how to react. Living on… Naboo? Near the General? He… doesn't know what to say to that. A part of him wants to, badly, but… He'll have to talk to Hunter and see how they feel. They've always been on their own. Living with regs and near natborns would be… very different.
"It's okay if you don't want to," Anakin hastens to reassure him when he remains quiet for too long, "And you can still fight if that's what you want. I just thought… you might like a place to call home that isn't Kamino."
"I – I don't know what to say," Echo says finally, still trying to recover himself. He shakes himself mentally, giving Anakin a smile. "Thank you – Anakin. I – I appreciate the offer, so much, and… I think they would, too. Even if I have to convince them a little."
"They do have a reputation," he replies dryly, "For not getting along with the other clones very well. Think that'll be different if they give our boys a chance?"
Echo surprises himself by laughing. "General, I know it would." After all, there is no one quite as chaotic as the 501st, and the Bad Batch, for all that they might dislike the regs, has never worked with clones quite as rule-bending as the 501st, not other than very briefly when they rescued Echo from Skako Minor. They haven't worked together since, but Echo would be lying if he said the idea didn't excite him. He was close with many of the 501st clones, Rex most of all, and being able to work with them? While still staying with the Batch? And while staying near his General? It would be a dream come true.
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