#jessix

“It’s been an honour to take your place, Captain,” Jesse put in, “I… just hope I’m an adequate substitute.”

He laughed awkwardly, somewhat forcedly, and Rex smiled - it was faint, but it was genuine.

“You’re more than adequate,” he said, “I meant what I said before. You’re doing great, Captain.”

That finally broke Jesse’s resolve, and his eyes welled with tears that he tried frantically to blink away, with little success. Rex rolled his eyes affectionately.

“Oh, c’mere Jesse.” He laughed weakly, grabbing Jesse by the arm and pulling him into a fierce hug, which Sister and Kix quickly joined.

The four of them stayed like that for what felt like a very long time, their arms wrapped tightly around each other.

“I’ve missed you all so much.” Rex whispered finally.

“We’ve missed you too, Captain.” Kix replied raspily.

“You don’t need to call me that anymore.” Rex said with a shaky chuckle.

“We know,” Sister murmured, “but we’re gonna do it anyway. You’re still our Captain.”

“Always will be.” Jesse mumbled tearfully into Rex’s shoulder.

“Alright,” Rex cleared his throat with another laugh that was bordering on a sob, “before we get too sappy here-”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Sister cut him off playfully before he could wiggle out of the group hug, and Kix felt her arms squeeze a little tighter. Then, in a softer, slightly more hollow - perhaps even desperate - tone, she added, “not yet.”

Rex sniffed.

“Okay,” he said, “just… promise me you’ll take extra good care of Echo now that he’s back. I know you will anyway-”

“We wouldn’t do anything otherwise,” Kix interrupted him fiercely, “he’ll get the best care possible, Rex, I swear.”

Rex seemed mildly taken aback by the intense dedication in his voice.

“Thank you,” he breathed, and Kix could feel a lot of the tension he’d been holding rolling out of his body, “I can’t think of any Clones better than the three of you to lead the 501st.”

“Besides you.” Sister pointed out with a snicker.

“Stop.” Rex choked, almost pleadingly.

It was time for the hug to end. It probably should’ve ended a while ago.

It was still a long time before any of them let go.

“I have something to give Echo.” Sister murmured.

Rex and Ahsoka had left Coruscant about an hour ago, and she, Jesse, and Kix had retreated to her commander’s quarters to process that - and the entirety of this mission, really - in private.

“I didn’t tell Rex,” she went on, uncharacteristically nervous as Kix and Jesse glanced at each other and then back at her, “I wasn’t sure how he’d feel about it, but… I’m sure you both will understand.”

Without waiting for either of them to speak, she stood and crossed the small room to her desk - which Jesse was currently sitting on - and pulled a small metal crate from beneath it.

Kix had seen that crate every time he’d been in Sister’s quarters - even before she’d become a commander, she’d kept it under her bed in the bunks as an ARC trooper. She’d had it for so long that Kix couldn’t even remember when he’d first noticed it, and he and Jesse had never asked about it, silently agreeing that she’d talk about it if she wanted to.

Sister had brought the crate over to her bed now, and Kix and Jesse both came closer as she opened it and pulled a round, white, dented object from inside.

Kix had to stifle a gasp.

“That’s-” Jesse began in shock.

“Echo’s old helmet.” Sister filled in, turning the polished helmet over in her hands and looking at it with a mournful expression.

She must have cleaned it up after she’d found it and not touched it since for it to be in such good condition. It even looked like she’d touched up the paint a little bit.

“And I don’t wanna hear it,” she said quickly as Kix opened his mouth, “yes, I know going back for it was dangerous and stupid. The Citadel was crawling with droids and I barely got outta there without getting caught. I was going to leave it on neutral ground just outside where we camped out in those caves, but…”

She trailed off, and a brief memory came to Kix then. The horrible shock of that battle, the unbelievable denial he’d felt - Echo couldn’t be gone, he couldn’t be, not Echo. He remembered how cold those caves had been, and damp. He remembered hearing Fives sobbing from somewhere around a bend in the tunnel as Rex and Cody tried to soothe him, despite how utterly futile that seemed.

But he also suddenly remembered something he hadn’t fully registered at the time; with his head rested on Jesse’s shoulder, wondering where Sister had gone to, and suddenly spotting her sneaking in with something charred and black under her arm, too far away for Kix to make out what it was.

He hadn’t thought much of it then, too full of numbing grief to question anything, but now it all made sense what Sister had been doing that day.

“But you couldn’t.” He finished for her, and Sister nodded wearily, still not taking her eyes off Echo’s helmet and holding it so delicately in her hands, like she was afraid it would shatter.

“I know we’re meant to leave our brother’s helmets where they fall,” she said quietly, “if we can, of course. I felt Echo deserved more than just having his helmet left on the battlefield. He deserved proper remembrance. But by the time I got back to camp I found myself running to hide it in a crate instead, I just couldn’t leave it behind, it felt like I was abandoning our baby brother.”

Kix’s eyes stung with tears. She was exactly right, that was how he’d felt too.

“We’re not mad at you, Sister.” Jesse said gently, resting a hand on Sister’s cheek as she turned to look at him.

“I know you aren’t,” she sighed, though relief had flooded her gaze and she had finally allowed the faintest hint of her radiant smile to shine through her sorrow, “and I’m sure Rex wouldn’t be either, none of us wanted to accept that Echo was gone.”

“It’s a good thing we never did.” Kix murmured, and Sister and Jesse both turned to grin at him.

“C’mon,” Sister gave a slight laugh, “let’s go give this back to him, welcome him back into the 501st.”

Echo and Fives were curled up asleep together in the bunks, under the blanket Lionel and General Skywalker had brought them.

Kix could tell Sister hated to wake them, but she did so gently so neither of them would be startled.

However, Echo’s eyes still snapped open at the sound of his name, and he struggled to rise to his feet, seeming to have forgotten about his missing legs.

“Commander,” he began urgently as Fives blearily opened his eyes mid-snore.

“No need to get up, Echo,” Sister murmured quickly, “both of you, stay put. We’re just here to give you something.”

“Give me…?” Echo repeated, confused, as Sister moved aside.

His eyes fell on his old helmet, held by Kix and Jesse together, their fingers intertwined in the back. Echo squinted in the lowlight, before a small smile began to spread across his face.

“You kept my-?” He started.

“Why didn’t you tell ME you had that?!” Fives interrupted loudly.

“Shush,” Echo huffed, nudging him, “let me see it!”

He extended his one hand to Jesse and Kix, and they both knelt down to his level, holding the helmet and allowing Echo to touch it as his eyes filled with awe.

“I did my best to restore it to its former glory,” Sister murmured awkwardly as she watched him with tender fondness, “I couldn’t get all the dents and marks out, but I-”

“The paint’s a little off.” Echo commented, seemingly without thinking, and Sister blinked.

“It’s… huh?”

“I typically used to water mine down to get a lighter shade,” Echo explained. Then he glanced up at her somewhat sheepishly. “Shit, did that sound ungrateful? Cuz I’m not, this is the best thing ever, I promise.”

But Sister had already given in to a bout of chuckles, tilting her head back.

Kix could never resist that beautiful, hearty laugh of hers, it was too damn contagious, and it didn’t take long for him and Jesse to start laughing too.