my clone bang 2025 contribution sneak peak !!
From Chapter 2, '79's':
“Tech,” Wrecker grunted from beside him. “Your turn.” “I am quite aware, Wrecker.” Tech stared at his cards for a moment before playing a hand. “Dammit!” Wrecker slammed a fist down on the table, sending beer splashing over the sides of his cup and onto Echo’s lap. “Oh, sorry, Echo.” He quickly grabbed a fistful of napkins and began to dab at Echo’s thigh just around where his prosthetic connected with his upper leg. His hands moved upwards, sopping up the mess higher up and towards his hips, and something was— “Stop, Wrecker, it’s fine. I can clean up myself.” “Oh. Okay.” Wrecker turned around, tossing the sopped napkins into one of his empty glasses. Echo tried to take a deep breath. He felt like his skin was on fire. What was that? Was it the alcohol? He’d been drunk before, but not since before the Citadel. Maybe his body was just processing it differently now. Hunter’s voice cut through his thoughts. “You look a little flushed over there, Corporal.” “I—no, I’m fine. Just a little intoxicated is all.” “Wrecker’s hands tend to have that effect, it’s okay.” Hunter kept talking as if he hadn’t heard him at all. “They’re great for…unwinding. And you do seem tense, Crosshair is right.”
From Chapter 5, 'Hylobi':
Tech was still standing there, still looking at him, as if analyzing every little microexpression Echo was no doubt making unconsciously. “Do you want to be touched?” Right now? By me? Echo could feel himself flush. Why did that still make him nervous? It was nothing Tech hadn’t seen before. But he knew why. Hunter was easy, because he reminded him of Fives. They would have been friends, he knew, if they had met. Wrecker was impossible to not like, and he was tall and handsome besides. Crosshair…Crosshair was difficult. Echo still didn’t know what to make of him. But Tech. Tech seemed to understand him better than he understood himself. It caught him off guard and made him uncomfortable in ways he could never seem to predict. And here, standing in front of him, being offered this, he couldn’t deny that he did want it. He wanted Tech to take him apart and tell him about all of the pieces of his new body, his new being that were unfamiliar so that he might know himself again.
From Chapter 7, 'the Cockpit':
“Crosshair.” Crosshair shot up, tucking the knife behind his back. Tech stood in the doorway. “I–I wasn’t going to do anything.” “I know. Come here.” Crosshair stood, staring at him. Shame percolated down through him, as if rooting him to the floor. “Crosshair. I said come here.” His feet moved against his brain’s will. They always seemed to do that, when Tech commanded him to do things. He could never resist.
The rest of this story, written by me for @clonebang and beta'd by @trooperlaugh will be found on my AO3 in December, accompanied by some incredible artworks done by @discopartydruid.
A combination of angst, humor, and plenty of smut (guys, the military is really horny, and also really fucked up), this fic details Echo's integration into the squad after the events of his rescue in TCW. I hope you see you there! Mwuah :)
