#echo x hunter

The words echo heavily in the silence of the cockpit of the Marauder. Tech stops tipping on his datapad and glances up, surprised; Wrecker gulps and plays with his own hands nervously. Crosshair is glaring at Hunter; and Echo turns to look at his sergeant as well, his face filling with aprehension and uncertainty.

That's the thing with Crosshair, isn't it? He doesn't handle his trust issues very well, and inmediately attacks everyone, even the people he loves, upon a new threat. Hunter's been spending more and more time with the ARC lately; discussing strategies but also having long quiet talks in their free time, simply enjoying each other's company when nothing is expected from the two of them. And Crosshair is seing this developing attachment as a dangerous competition for the sniper's own attachment to Hunter. Hunter doesn't know how else to reasure him that he has space on his heart for both of them. Cross will always be his brother. And Echo... Echo...

Echo is terrified of what he's about to find. He knows Crosshair's words can cut deep if they want to; and he's got that sort of dangerous glint in his eyes now. He's going to push the whole Batch to a drifting point. Echo... Doesn't think he's ready to hear this. He has a guess of what he's about to say; and knowing Hunter only offered him a spot in their team because he pitied him, that... That would break him. It hadn't been so long ago when Echo felt nothing more than a pathetic mix of metals and scrapped bones. Half-droid. Half-human. No longer a reg, a proper clone... His sense of identity had been swipped in a blink, and among the nauseating guilt of having had his mind used to kill other people, other vods... It had been extremely dificult to carry on. He had worked a lot on it, though. He had moved on. Day by day, his confidence and capacities as a soldier, as a person, had returned. Echo prays the trooper's next words won't bring all of it down.

"Shut up, Crosshair" Hunter warns, with a sharpness rarely seen on him. "You've got no fucking right".

Echo winces. It's definitely nothing good if Hunter reacts like that. As a leader, he's use to mediate; to be patient, remain calm.

Crosshair smirks. He ignores Hunter's death stare and gives Echo a smug grin. A promise of destruction. The spark of a fire.

"Surely Echo is smart enough to figure out how much of a fan boy you are by now" he continues, Hunter's standing figure not quick enough to shut him up. "I'm just not sure if he thinks this is a recent development. Wether he knows that you only offered him that spot on our team after Anaxes because you couldn't help but take the chance to have your little crush close to you".

It all happens so fast; Crosshair's confession, and Hunter's harsh slap on the sniper's cheek. The rest of the Batch are left staring at them, doumbfounded.

"You just can't help but pull people into your own missery, can't you" Hunter hisses, cheeks flushing with either embarassment or rage. "You're such a dickhead, Crosshair".

Hunter rushes out of the cockpit; not daring a single glance towards the others. Crosshair huffs, stands up, and leaves as well; taking the opposite direction and walking out of the Marauder into the hangar they're stationed in. Wrecker and Tech sigh, perhaps more used to his; but Echo remains silent, in shock, trying to process what happened between the brothers.

"What... What does Crosshair mean with "crush"?" He asks, hesitant, still not able to believe he has heard that word coming out of the sniper's lips.

It must have been sarcastic. Some sort of joke to make fun of the two of them.

Wrecker scratches the back of his head, his eyes flickering over the room before answering.

"Hunter has always liked you. From before Anaxes, I mean" he whispers, and Echo answers with a lost blink.

Tech decides to throw some light on the subject; since the cat is out of the bag now.

"Wrecker's affirmation is correct" he agrees, and explains "As the leader of the squad, Hunter and I have studied millions of strategies for all sorts of usefull variants in battles. Our trainers encouraged us to learn from other's experiences, and when you made ARC and started to help Captain Rex with them, we studied those too. In adition, Hunter finally started to show his first signs of sexual maturity and attraction; so it was naturally easy for him to fall for you. Even in the distance, without a proper meeting between the two of you, he grew to admire you. To like you. Considering all of this, I'd say Crosshair's use of the words "crush" and "fan boy" to be decently accurate; though I can understand Hunter's anger about him revealing this private information without his consent. I also agree on Hunter's observation that Crosshair tends to hurt others when he is unhappy as well".

Echo is having trouble to think. This is too much to take in; his mind can't quite understand that Hunter –handsome, sexy, competent Hunter– had all this feelings for him burried for so long. He would have never guessed. He is not naive enough to not have noticed that they were getting closer lately; but Echo had only had hoped that maybe, in the future, the sargeant would grow to think of him as a possibility. But not now. Not that he already did. That he always had. That just...

"For the record" Tech continues, holding his index up. "I don't believe Hunter only offered you to join us solely based on his previous attraction to you. He believed you to be a good addition to our dynamic; you were a seasoned experienced soldier, an ARC no less, and that would always be valuable for the team. He asked us and we all agreed on it".

Echo is honestly relieved to hear that. He'd prefer to have been picked for a pretty face than pity; but it was nice to now it hadn't been based on just that. Echo's panick disolves into stunned confusion and surprise.

"And... Crosshair implies Hunter still feels this way for me now, after all this months?" He finally manages to ask, heart speeding up.

There's a new feeling surging inside of him; hope.

"I wouldn't catalogue it into a "crush" any longer" Tech hums, thoughtfully. "After so many experiences together, and the way I've seen you both interacting over the weeks and the few comments he has made about you to me, I'd say it would run deeper than that. Hunter is also not a teenager anymore; the word "crush" sounds too childish for what I think he feels for you now".

A rush of excitement and warmth flows through Echo's veins. This has to be one of the few times he is this glad that Tech is always overly concise and explicit. This information soothes so many worries, gives him so many chances to work on...

"Thank you, Tech" he pats his shoulder. "I think I'm gonna' go see how Hunter's doing now".

Before either Tech or Wrecker has had the chance to say goodbye, Echo is already leaving the cockpit into the direction of the Marauder's common bunk room.

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Hunter is sprawled down on his bed, laying down with his face pressed dejectedly against the pillow, and Echo can almost hear him floating in his own shame. He guesses he'd react similarly if someone had decided to blurt his secret out to the world so suddenly.

"So you liked me, then?" He decides to ask, straight to the point.

The time for hidding and making up excuses –both for Hunter and himself– has ended. If he has a chance, Echo is not going to waste it.

The sergeant groans, pushing his face further into the shield that is protecting him from the outside world.

"You were hot and smart" he reluctantly mumbles, his muffled voice barely audible if not for Echo's implants. "Of course I did".

Echo's heart swell. He can't believe this is happening; that this is real. It almost feels like a dream; those he invented to try to comfort himself at cold nights full of dark memories and fear.

"And you still do? Even if I now look like... This?" A tiny sliver of uncertainty inevitably makes it's way to Echo's mind, and it's enough to finally pull Hunter's face out of his refugee.

"You look different, but you're just as hot and smart now" Hunter replies, a surge of fierce confidence acompanied by a defiant tilt of his chin, almost as if he's daring Echo to contradict him.

Echo feels a pleasant tingle on the base of his spine. Hunter likes how he looks –how he is– right now. Hunter think he's... hot. Echo feels aceptable to look at most days; to know he is admired and desired is... Electrifying. He hadn't really felt like this since Skako.

Echo takes the liberty to slowly walk towards Hunter; carefully sitting in his bunk besides him.

"And you've run all the way down here to...?"

Hunter huffs.

"To not throw a punch at Crosshair's face, mainly, and because I didn't know how to behave around you after he esentially confessed for me" he deadpans.

Echo chuckles quietly.

"You did slap him" he points out, and Hunter shrugs.

"Deserved. He should be glad. A slap hurts less than a punch".

Echo laughs; and it's such a rare sight that Hunter can't help but smile looking at him. His eyes turn soft, his own smile fond; and Echo suddenly realises how this kind of expresion has always been reserved for him.

He catches one of Hunter's hands in his and infuses as much sweetness and warmth in his voice in response.

"I know it must have been embarassing. Perhaps humiliating" his thumb caresses the man's skin and Hunter shivers staring at him. "But I'm somewhat glad this happened, even if in this circumstances. Because I've also been liking you for quite the time now, and I wasn't planning on confessing anytime soon".

Hunter's breath hitches; and he moves to sit straigther in the bed, so that they're almost face to face.

"Why not?" he asks, fingertips caressing Echo's face, almost reverent.

The ARC exposes his own vulnerability.

"Because I didn't think there was a chance someone like you could like someone like me" he whispers, and the words send darts to Hunter's heart.

He sighs and traces a thumb over Echo's lips.

"I don't know how to make you understand how I feel" he softly presses a peck to the trooper's sharp cheek, pale skin reddening inmediately. "You're gorgeous, Echo".

The soldier shivers and melts against Hunter's quick embrace.

He wants to share so many things with him; ask questions, confess some. But he suddenly feels exhausted, and he lets the shorter man pull him down so they're both laying on the bed, legs and arms entwined in a sweet embrace. Echo pushes his nose against Hunter's neck and smiles, giving it too a small peck. The sergeant shivers and answers with a low, pleased hum; and soon sleep falls upon the both of them.

When Crosshair slips into the room in the middle of the night –Tech and Wrecker sleeping soundlessly too in their respective bunks– and sees two shapes on Hunter's bed, he stares for a few seconds before silently climbing into his own and resorting to rest as well. Over the next few days and weeks, when he sees them briefly kissing and caressing each other here and there, he stays peacefully quiet as well.