Chapter Text
Fives POV
Today was a good day.
The season didn’t seem quite sure whether it wanted to be spring or fall. A warm, misty rain floated down from above while a chilly wind sped through the empty streets, bringing with it the promise of colder weather despite the deceptively pleasant temperatures of the day. It was absolutely perfect.
Fives lifted his chin, tilting his head back and letting the gentle spray hit him square in the face, the rare Coruscant late summer shower reminding him of Kamino and mischievous cadet days now long behind him but not forgotten. He took a deep breath, then another. The aromatic scents of Coruscant mingled with the fresh dewy raindrops to create the perfect tapestry in his heart of past and present coming together to form an optimistic future he never knew he could have.
Other beings huddled in doorways and under umbrellas, waiting for the sprinkle to let up before venturing out onto the walkways. Fives smiled to himself, enjoying every second of it while it lasted as he hoisted up his packages and turned the corner that led to his apartment - his home.
The war had ended a few standard years ago, but sometimes life in the new Republic still seemed surreal. Having spent every day of the war living in the barracks, on a transport, or in a tent surrounded by sometimes hundreds of brothers, his life now couldn't be more different.
It was a very odd sensation indeed when he’d spent his first night in his very own room in his very own apartment. It hadn’t taken him long to get accustomed to it - or even to like having a defined space to call his own - but he found that sometimes he missed the closeness, the warmth both physically and emotionally, of sleeping side by side with his squadmates.
Which is probably why half the time he found himself sleeping in Echo’s room.
The smile on his face only grew as he approached the main entry to his building. Shifting the bags in his arms so that he had a free hand, he keyed in the access code and the door quietly whooshed open to let him in. Jesse and Kix were away so it would be just him and Echo for the evening, which was just fine by him. It had been too long since he’d had a chance to catch up with his best friend and he was looking forward to it.
There was a lift to his right and a set of stairs to his left. In spite of the heavy bags he was still carrying, he turned left without hesitation. There was too much spring in his step to stand still on the lift, even if he did live nine levels up.
By the seventh level he could feel the burn in his biceps from the weight of the groceries but the smile on his face didn’t even falter. Fives liked the challenge, liked that burn you get when you push yourself a little further than your body wants you to.
When he reached the ninth level he resituated the parcels in his arms one final time and pulled open the door to the corridor. His apartment was just down the hall on the left. In fact, he could already see their door - which stood out from the others even more than it normally did now that Kix had replaced their usual ‘The Doc Is In’ welcome mat with one depicting four lothcats with colorful ribbons around their ears and the message ‘Happy Life Day’.
Fives’ couldn’t help but chuckle as he approached their signature 501st blue door and dried his feet on the new mat. Life Day was still a few standard weeks away but Kix had already strung a cord of little blinking lights around their entry as well. Now that they were ‘free men,’ the civilian holidays that they’d heard about but never paid much attention to during the war seemed a good way to celebrate. He could hardly blame Kix for getting in the spirit a bit early. He shook his head fondly as he punched in the code and walked in.
“Honey, I’m home!” He called out jokingly as he set his bags down on the kitchen island.
“Fives? Is that you?” Echo asked from somewhere down the hall.
“No. It’s Commander Tano,” Fives snorted as he began to unpack the groceries.
“Ha, ha, very funny.”
Echo’s voice was clearer now as he rounded the corner and came into view. He’d clearly just gotten out of the ‘fresher, approaching the kitchen wearing nothing but a towel tied loosely around his waist. There was another towel in his hand and he was still rubbing the water out of his thick close cropped black hair.
“You’re back early.”
“When the most complicated objective in the mission log is to pick up a couple meilooruns and some nerf steaks, it doesn’t take that long,” Fives chuckled. “Don’t drip on the pleakwood or Kix will have your shebs.”
“Good point,” Echo agreed, quickly stepping off the gleaming silvery grey floors of the hallway and onto the relative safety of the white kitchen tiles instead. “He’s fanatical about those floors. Remember that time Hardcase was over for breakfast and he dropped his toast?”
“Oh yeah. It was covered with about half a jar of Dacha honey syrup -”
“And it landed face down right in the middle of the floor.”
“I could actually see Kix’s eye twitching.”
Echo let out a full belly laugh. “Poor guy. I mean, he and Jesse had just finished putting those floors in, what was it, the day before?”
“Yep.”
“Poor Kix,” Echo chuckled, shaking his head. “At least they cleared it up before it could do any real damage.”
“He should have known better than to invite Hardcase over so soon.”
“Yeah, probably. Need a hand with those?” Echo asked, reaching for a bag of groceries.
“Sure,” he said, sliding over the nearest bag. “By the way, how’d the date go last night?”
“Oh, uh…”
“That good, huh?” Fives teased.
“No, it was fine. I mean good - it was good.”
Fives paused at the uncertain tone in his best friend’s voice and looked up from his task. Echo had his head half buried in the bag, but Fives could see a distinctive crimson flush beginning somewhere around his shoulders and rapidly climbing up his neck. Echo was actually blushing .
Fives respectfully kept his observations to himself - for now - and went back to setting the groceries out neatly on the countertop, now more determined than ever to ferret out more details to whatever happened last night.
“So…tell me all about it. Where did you end up taking her?”
“The Blue Nebula.”
“Ooh, nice place. How was it?”
“Oh, it was really good. I had the spiced nerf steak with warra nuts and crispy gornt strips and she got the oven roasted burra fish which had this really amazing sweet and spicy type sauce on it that-”
“Echo,” Fives interjected patiently, looking up at him again. “I meant the date, not the food. How was the actual date?” Echo’s eyes met his for a second before darting down once more, the telltale blush of either embarrassment or pride now bleeding into his cheeks. “Was it fun? Was she easy to talk to? Did you have a lot in common? You know, how was it?”
“Oh, um, yeah, I mean she’s great. That part went great. Really great, actually…” Echo trailed off delicately, shuffling around the items in the bag once more but Fives could tell he wasn’t really focused on it.
Something was up. Echo was definitely hiding something from him. Whether it was something good or bad Fives wasn’t sure yet, but he was determined to find out.
The woman Echo had met at 79’s a few weeks ago - Hehna - had seemed really nice, not that Fives had gotten a chance to meet her. She was outgoing and friendly - not to mention really kriffing hot - and Echo had appeared to hit it off with her immediately. Fives had run into one of the ARCs from the 327th who had been in their ARC program, so he was more than happy to stay back and let Echo work some magic. Echo and Hehna spent the last half hour of his and Fives’ weekly ARC night out chatting and laughing together at the bar before exchanging communication details and heading home.
He and Echo had been working opposite shifts pretty much since then, so Fives hadn’t had as many opportunities to talk to his friend as he would have liked, but he understood from the snippets that he did manage to catch from Jesse and Kix before they left that Echo and Hehna had commed each other a few times since then and things seemed to be going really well. So well in fact that Echo had secured a date with her last night. A date that must not have gone too badly because Echo hadn’t sauntered back into their apartment until well after 0100 this morning.
So, the question was, what was Echo trying to get out of telling him?
“That part…” Fives mused, more to himself than to Echo.
“What?”
“That part…” he said again, a little louder this time, picking up on what might be his first clue to what was making Echo’s face go so red. “You said ‘that part’ went great.” Echo seemed to still across the counter, his hand wrapped around a bottle of binkberry jam and not moving to release it even though it was already where it needed to be for Fives to put it away. “What does that mean?”
“Uh…it means that part went great?” Echo attempted to joke while blushing harder than ever.
“So…does that mean another part of it didn’t go so great?”
“Fives…”
“What? I’m just asking.”
“It was fine . Just… fine.”
Fives was just about to reach over and grip Echo’s shoulders so he’d stop fussing with the jar and kriffing look at him, when a fuzzy ball of chaos leapt up onto the counter. With a startled meow, the black and white blur slid across the slick Corellian marble top, thoroughly knocking over half the things Fives had just finished lining up before coming to an ungraceful stop by crashing into Echo’s bare midsection. With a speed ingrained into only the most skilled ARCs, Echo lifted the jar with one hand and scooped up the speeding lothcat in the other, lifting her up off the table and away from trouble by tucking her in close to his chest.
“Captain is a menace,” Fives grumbled.
“Aw, no she’s not! She’s sweet,” Echo cooed as he pressed a kiss to the vermin’s head and then nuzzled his cheek along it. “You’re just a sweet little misunderstood kitten aren’t you Miss Captain Kittystix,” Echo murmured, stroking her fur gently.
“That’s such a stupid name,” Fives muttered irritably as he began picking up all the things she’d knocked over.
“That’s not her fault,” Echo teased defensively, planting another light kiss to the top of her head. “Blame Jesse for that one. Kix hates it too but it stuck, so now that’s what she goes by.”
Fives watched as Miss Captain Kittystix curled against Echo, folding herself into his body warmth and purring so loudly it was hard to concentrate. As he rounded up the groceries and stacked them up for the second time, he couldn’t help the subtle but pointed feeling of irrational jealousy from creeping into his heart at the sight of the lothcat nuzzling against Echo’s chest and kneading his muscles with her front feet.
It was a scene that was both really cute and really annoying. He had no real reason to be bothered by it - it’s not like he wanted to knead Echo’s pectorals or anything - and yet there was this odd sensation in his stomach that felt an awful lot like jealousy. But making sense of such silly and misguided feelings was a problem for another day. Right now, Echo was trying to dodge the real issue here, and Fives meant to find out why.
Shoving his feelings to the side, Fives lifted the monster tooka out of Echo’s arms, placing her gingerly back on the floor before turning to face his friend. Leaning his hip casually against the counter, he raised one eyebrow and gave his best ‘I know banthashit when I hear it’ look.
“Fine is not good Echo.”
Now with nothing to hide behind, Echo crossed his arms over his chest, the bright red tint spreading even further so that his face resembled the array of tart Corellian apples Fives was currently arranging in a fruit bowl. Fives felt a pang of guilt at the obvious sign that he was making his best friend uncomfortable. Maybe he shouldn’t press this issue too hard.
“Look, if you tell me what happened, maybe I can help you,” Fives said softly, abandoning the apples and instead placing his hand on Echo’s shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. He meant it too. He couldn’t imagine what could possibly have gone wrong, but if it was within his power to make it better, he’d gladly do so without a second thought.
Echo jolted at the contact to his bare skin, his blush deepening twofold before he turned away. As his hand fell awkwardly back to his side, Fives’ eyebrows furrowed at the thought that his touch would have caused such a reaction in his best friend.
He’d touched Echo loads of times before. Okay, maybe not in this state of undress, but close to it. He’d be lying if he said he’d never thought about touching Echo when he walked around like this with nothing but a towel on before, but he knew better than to act on it, and surely Echo knew that too.
Especially when the subject of their conversation was a woman Echo was currently dating and seemed to like very much. Any fleeting thoughts about Echo sharing his interest in not so innocent touches with him was definitely just wishful thinking on his part.
“What makes you think something happened?” Echo turned back towards him just slightly.
Without conscious thought, Fives eyebrow lifted impossibly higher. “Echo,” Fives prodded gently, letting his voice drop to a low soft pitch.
“Okay, fine.” His friend’s head shook in what seemed like defeat. “It really was fine. Good, I mean. Mostly. She was very nice and easy to talk to, and we got along great but…”
His voice trailed off and although Fives wanted to say something to prompt him along, he knew that sometimes Echo just needed time to gather his thoughts. So he forced himself to wait patiently, folding his arms across his chest to stop himself from reaching out again.
Echo sighed quietly, his eyes breaking away from Fives’ to focus on the countertop instead. “It was getting late and I walked her to her apartment.” His hands reached out to grip the edge of the counter, his back muscles flexing. “I kissed her.”
The inexplicable knot that had formed deep in Fives’ abdomen tightened and he swallowed around the lump of something that seemed to have all of a sudden lodged in his throat.
“That’s - that’s a good thing though, isn’t it?”
A chuckle devoid of humor was Echo’s initial response. “You’d think so, right? Too bad it was awful.”
“Awful? Was it her first kiss or something? I mean, she must have had other dates before? I’ve seen her, no way she hasn’t had other dates… Maybe she was just nervous or -”
“ Me , Fives. Me…” Echo sighed again, a hint of insecurity and regret creeping into his tone. “I was the awful one. I was awkward and stiff and just...just awful honestly.” He huffed. “I could tell she noticed, but she didn’t say anything.”
“Look, there will be other girls. It’s okay. Just brush it off and-”
“We have another date set for tonight.” Echo’s eyes darted up to meet Fives’ for the briefest of seconds before dropping back down to the counter once more.
“Oh.”
Fives turned his own attention back to the counter, grabbing another bag and unpacking the contents. The disappointment he felt at realizing that he was not going to be spending the evening with Echo as they’d planned weighed heavily on his chest. He was glad for his friend - no one deserved a shot at happiness more than Echo did - but it was hard to completely bury that feeling of letdown. He had been really looking forward to catching up and sharing some laughs over mantell mix and a cheesy holo with his best friend tonight.
“I know we had plans but -”
“It’s alright,” he interrupted a little too quickly. “We can save the holo for another night.”
“Fives…” He could feel Echo’s eyes on him but he refused to look up.
“Hey look,” he said in a blatant attempt to change the topic and clear the air. “I got more of the sweet whipped Numian cream.”
“Oh!” Exclaimed Echo, reaching out and snatching the container with a speed Captain Rex would have been proud of. “But wait…I thought we had some already?”
“Last time I saw it, Jesse was heading to their room with it. I’m not going in there to get it back.”
The apartment walls were so thin that even though a hallway and the fresher stood between Fives’ wall and Jesse and Kix’s, he still was able to hear far more than he liked. At least when he bunked with Echo the sounds were a little more muffled.
“I don’t blame you.” Echo chuckled, the despondent tone of his voice easing just slightly. “One night I got up to use the ‘fresher and ran into Jesse in the hallway. Not sure how he expected to aim with his hands tied behind his back.”
Fives laughed. “Who would have guessed Kix was into the kinky oisk?”
Echo laughed in return and they settled into a less tense silence as they put the remaining groceries away.
Fives kept stealing glances at Echo. It’s not like he wanted the date to fail or for his best friend to be as lonely as he’d been feeling lately, but he wasn’t sure what he could do to help Echo.
And then it hit him. The idea flashed across his mind as suddenly as a bolt of lightning, and maybe just as dangerous if he'd stopped to really think it through - which of course he didn't. Echo had always really been the thinker of their squad. Fives was the doer.
“I’ll help you!” Fives blurted.
Echo startled, slamming the cabinet door a little too hard in his surprise. “What?”
“I can help you with the kissing.”
“I don’t think any of your pointers can help me, Fives.”
“I know you learn best by hands-on instruction. So, let me help you learn.”
“I am not kissing your pillow.”
“Ew, no. I meant I would help you.”
A silence fell between them. Fives could see that Echo was actually thinking about it, and as much as he wanted to jump in with a list of reasons as to why this was a great idea, he knew better. Echo needed a minute to really process Fives' unexpected suggestion, so he bit his tongue once more, fighting his instinct to supply further support points to prove his theory. Sure enough, just when the quiet was beginning to drag on too long and transition from contemplative to uncomfortable, Echo spoke.
"How exactly would you help me?" Echo asked slowly.
Fives could feel him carefully weighing each word before he said it out loud. He and Echo both knew what he was suggesting here, but either he didn't believe Fives really meant it, or he was simply buying himself time to decide if he wanted to proceed with it or not. Probably the latter. Fives always meant what he said. But he was content to play along either way and spell it out if that's what Echo needed to hear.
"It's simple. I'll help you learn to kiss. You can, uh, practice on me and I'll give you some pointers to, um, refine your technique. It's natural to be a bit rusty when it's been a while. You just need a little practice and you'll be back to wowing your lady in no time."
"A while?" Echo scoffed. "It hasn't been 'a while' Fives. Try 'forever'."
Fives shook his head. "Oh it can't be that bad! I'm sure it feels like forever ago, but however long it's been, there's no reason you can't be an expert again by tonight."
"Oh, it's that bad."
"How do you know?" Fives countered. "How do you really know it was that bad? She didn't say anything about it, right?"
"Well, no…but-"
"And she said yes when you asked her on a second date, right?"
"Actually, she asked me."
Fives' stomach twisted. It was all the same really. It didn't matter if she'd asked him or he'd asked her. They had a second date tonight. No big deal. Stop thinking about it…
"Okay, even better. She asked you. So it couldn't have been that bad, right?"
"Fives I’m telling you, it was that bad. Maybe she asked me out tonight because she had nothing else to do. Maybe she felt sorry for me for being such a bad kisser, who knows? All I know is that I was terrible and I could tell she noticed." Echo huffed out a bitter laugh. "She couldn't miss it. Seriously, Fives I'm not exaggerating. I'm awful."
Fives waved his hand dismissively. "What kind of talk is that? Come on, where's that confident trooper I grew up with who was always top of the class? Where's that self-assured ARC who saved my life more times than I can count?"
"He wasn't there when I kissed her, that's all I can say."
"Alright, that's it. Kiss me."
"What?" Echo startled, his whole body jerking in surprise. "Right now?!"
"No, in ten rotations. Yeah, right now."
"Fives…"
"Come on Echo, what are you worried about? It's just me. I'm not gonna judge you."
"I know that…" Echo hesitated, one hand jumping up to rub at the back of his neck. "It's just that…well, uh…" He trailed off, leaving his unfinished thought hanging out there as his face heated up again.
"So what's the problem? You're always helping me out. Let me help you for once."
"I don't know Fives…" Echo tried to object but Fives could sense that his heart wasn't fully in it this time.
"Okay, I'm not hearing a good reason not to, so…"
He took a tentative step closer to Echo, his heart beating way faster than it should be for a simple demonstration - even if it was a kissing demonstration. Echo's eyes went wide as Fives took another step, closing the short distance between them and coming to a stop directly in front of his best friend.
"Come on, kiss me." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and winked. "You know you want to. I've been told I'm irresistible."
Echo snorted, but his cheeks stayed red. "Who told you that? Your reflection doesn't count."
"Shut up and kiss me."
"If I do, will you shut up?"
"I know you don't mean that, so I'll say yes just so we can get this going before Life Day."
"Ha, ha, very funny."
Echo's eyes darted down to Fives' lips then back up again. He swallowed hard.
"So, how do we…I mean, how do you, uh, want to do this?"
"Let's think of it like any other skill you learn. Start with the basics and assess the situation. Show me what you've got so I know what we're working with here."
"Not much."
"So you say. Now quit stalling and pucker up lover boy."
Echo snorted again, some of the red fading from his complexion as he raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Really, Fives?"
Fives just smiled, waiting patiently for Echo to make the first move. Echo was willing to give it a try, Fives could tell, he just needed to work up the courage or the confidence, whatever was holding him back, to proceed.
Echo’s eyes dropped once more, landing on Fives' lips and staying there this time. "Okay…" He said quietly, almost more to himself than to Fives. "Here goes…"
Echo leaned in and their lips connected.
If Fives had ever imagined a first kiss with Echo - which of course he hadn't…Okay maybe he had, so what? - this definitely wasn't how he'd pictured it.
Echo’s lips brushed his lightly at first and Fives' initial thought was that Echo had been exaggerating, and he was a perfectly fine kisser. But that hasty supposition had lasted all of about ten seconds because the next thing he knew, Echo had opened his mouth and thrust his tongue into Fives' mouth, moving around in there like Hardcase during a sparring match.
Fives allowed the aggressive invasion, attempting to lead Echo's tongue into a slower dance with his. But Echo didn't interpret Fives' subtle suggestion correctly. At all. Instead, he pulled Fives' tongue into his mouth and sucked on it so hard it was like he was trying to siphon all the juice from a jogan fruit with the smallest straw in the galaxy.
Fives pulled back, catching his breath and doing his level best to keep the expression on his face neutral. Echo was looking at him with those big eyes, concerned and a little apprehensive, like he already knew how bad it was.
Fives needed to tread carefully here. He didn't intend to lie to the guy, but he couldn't tell him the whole truth either. Not if he wanted to help him. The only way to do that was through advice, practice and filling his best friend with confidence again.
But really, he'd kissed a lot of beings in his time and that kiss with Echo just now was hands down the worst he'd ever been on the receiving end of. The rest of his friend's date must have been pretty spectacular for Hehna to ask him on another after a kiss like that .
Echo was just standing there looking at him and Fives knew he had to say something.
"Uh…so that was…"
"Awful? Terrible? Horrible, right? I told you I was-"
"No…I mean, well, yeah."
Echo sighed, his eyes immediately dropping back to the safety of the countertop.
"Listen, it, uh, wasn't the best maybe, but it's not like we can't, um…improve your maneuvers a bit."
Echo shook his head sadly, his whole body sagging under the weight of Fives' unfortunately accurate assessment. "I think I'm beyond help, Fives."
"No you're not. What kind of talk is that?"
"I'm just being realistic."
"Pfft," Fives scoffed, stepping back into Echo's space. "That's osik and you know it. Is that what you do when you come in second during a training SIM? Just give up?"
"I wouldn't know. I never came in second during a training SIM," Echo countered with a small half smile.
"Okay whatever. You know what I mean. If you're not perfect at something for once, should you just quit trying?"
Fives watched Echo's spine stiffen at that. And then it hit him. He hadn't really thought about it until now, but maybe Echo had never simply not been great at something before. ARC training superstar, the Hero of Anaxes, the perfect Sergeant with a one hundred percent success rate and zero casualties…Maybe this was the first time he'd actually sort of failed or struggled with anything before.
"I am not quitting," Echo said evenly, his jaw set and his eyes resolute and determined as they slid up purposefully to focus on Fives.
"Good," Fives nodded. "Then let's try that again."
A flicker of surprise passed through Echo's steely gaze. "You - You want to kiss me again? After that ?"
Fives kept his own expression as flat as possible. "Of course. How else are you going to, uh, enhance your technique?"
Echo snorted. "Enhance my technique? That's a good one. I'd have to have a technique to enhance first."
"Okay, so let's get you one then."
Echo hesitated for a moment, that earlier spark of uncertainty crossing his features once more for the briefest of seconds before he nodded in acceptance.
"Alright. If you think this will help…"
"Well, it can't hurt. Now, I want you to kiss me again, only this time, stop thinking about it. It's not a battle where you have to crash in and dominate. It's a …um, well it's…I don't know how to explain it. It's more like a feeling that passes between two people in the moment."
Echo was staring at him like he was speaking a different language.
"I'm not sure I know how to 'not think about it.' How do you not think about something but still stay focused on what you need to do to get it right?'
"You just stop thinking about it. Like right now, you're overthinking this."
"But I don't know how not to-"
Without warning, Fives lunged forward, catching Echo's cheeks with his palms and holding his face still while he kissed him hard on the lips. He could feel Echo freeze and for a second he was afraid he'd taken his impromptu demonstration too far, but then Echo’s body relaxed into the contact.
Fives kept things short and simple, no tongue and barely any movement, just the simple press of lips to lips and the tingly anticipation of more. He slid his lips over Echo's slowly, unhurriedly, as though they had all the time in the world before finally pulling away again.
Echo’s eyes were wide, this look of not quite shock, not quite excitement, but something he couldn't quite place making them shine.
"O- okay…" Echo said quietly, his voice just a little shaky.
Fives’ felt as shaken up as Echo looked. His heart was thumping in his chest, its beat frantic and erratic even though many seconds had passed since the kiss. He took one slow inhale, then another, determined to keep his breathing even despite his racing pulse. His throat bobbed with the force of his swallow, any witty retort he might have wanted to say stuck safely in his vocal cords for the moment.
He shook himself mentally. He was being ridiculous. It wasn’t that great of a kiss to get himself all worked up like this. And anyway, this wasn’t even about him. This was about Echo . Echo and the woman he was dating. This was no more than a demonstration to help his best friend make a good impression tonight. That’s it. His feelings, his thoughts, they didn’t have any place in this.
Channeling his inner Commander Colt, he forced his hyped up emotions to calm the fuck down, reminding himself for hopefully the last time that this was a lesson. Just a simple kissing lesson.
“Now, did you see how I kept the initial touch light?”
Echo nodded, still looking slightly dazed.
“Now you try.”
“What?!” Echo yelped. “Like - like that?”
“Yeah, just do what I did.”
For a moment Fives thought Echo was going to do just that - he took a half step forward and lifted his hand but then let it drop again, shaking his head.
“It’s not gonna work.”
“Trust me.”
For a long second Echo just stared back at him and then all of a sudden, with a speed more appropriate for the battlefield, Echo lunged at Fives. He was barely able to lift his hands and grip Echo’s waist quickly enough to keep their lips from colliding together with a force that would likely have hurt them both. He held Echo’s body still at arms length.
“Fives, what - you said to do what you did!”
“You looked like you were going to attack me.”
Echo huffed and tried to turn away, but Fives’ hands held him firmly in place.
“Try again… but gently . Like I did.”
Echo’s lips twisted in displeasure but he leaned in obediently, much more slowly this time. Fives watched his best friend’s eyes, his stomach twisting in on itself at the way they lingered on his lips as he slotted his face in closer and closer. He closed his eyes - when he was sure that there would be no more sudden movements - and nearly sighed in relief when he felt the slight brush of Echo’s lips against his.
His fingers tightened of their own accord, digging into the muscle just above Echo’s hips, wanting so badly to pull him in closer and deepen the kiss, but his mind thankfully resisted, insisting again that the purpose of this kiss was just a simple tutorial.
“Touch me,” Fives murmured against the soft but barely moving lips against his own.
Echo’s mouth froze even as he shifted on his feet. Fives could tell he was hesitating. He could practically feel Echo overthinking everything, so he tipped his head slightly and pulled Echo’s lower lip between his and sucked gently. He felt a hot puff of air escape Echo’s nose seconds before tentative fingers traced his cheek.
The touch felt painfully reverent and it sent shivers through his system, desires for things he shouldn’t be wanting beginning to take shape in his chest. He hummed encouragingly and pulled back just enough to separate their lips so he could focus.
He’d intended to offer a compliment for Echo’s swift mastery of that first technique. He had planned on going over some suggestions on what to try next and maybe stressing the importance of taking things slow and enjoying it. He’d expected questions. He’d predicted some degree of self doubt or second guessing.
The one thing he hadn’t anticipated was Echo chasing his lips, the smooth and almost sure way he cocked his head to the side and sealed their mouths together once more. This time, he mimicked Fives’ kiss so perfectly that he couldn’t help but part his lips and swipe his tongue tentatively across Echo’s bottom lip. That move must have spurred Echo into motion though, because almost immediately he felt Echo’s tongue slip between his lips quickly. Too quickly.
Fives squeezed Echo’s hips, reluctantly breaking the kiss before Echo could attempt to take things any further. He felt the body tense beneath his fingers and he lifted one hand quickly to cover Echo’s where it still rested on his cheek. He guided Echo’s palm to slide sensually over his skin, curling his fingers carefully between those of his best friend and leading him down, past the stubble of his jaw and the scratchy cut of his goatee until it landed on the side of his neck.
“Easy… okay?” He opened his eyes just far enough to see Echo nod in understanding. “Now, deepen the kiss. Gently.”
Echo swallowed, his throat bobbing as his tongue darted out to wet his lips and Fives almost moaned at the sight.
“Lead the kiss, but let yourself react to my touch as well,” he whispered.
Echo’s eyes slipped shut as he leaned in and brushed their lips together with an ease that definitely hadn’t been there before. There was a new sense of confidence rippling through Echo this time and Fives felt a surge of pride that he seemed to have already mastered this part of the lesson at least. Not that it really surprised him. This was Echo after all. He’d always been a fast learner.
Fives allowed himself to follow his best friend’s example, his own eyes fluttering to a close once more as Echo’s palm shifted, his thumb rubbing tentatively against the skin of his throat. He made a soft grunt of approval and Echo's touch immediately became more sure, the pad of his curious thumb tracing the bump of Fives' Adam's apple before dropping down further. His deceptively skilled hand then wrapped around the back of Fives' neck and pulled him in. Fives didn't resist.
The warm wet glide of Echo's tongue against his lips nearly made him moan. He parted them willingly, without a second thought, his body yearning for more even as his head sternly reprimanded him for thinking such things. He opened his mouth and Echo pressed his advantage, the tips of his fingers twitching with either apprehension or excitement as he tilted his head and slotted their lips together properly.
Fives first thought was to brace himself in case his best friend duplicated any of the unpleasant forcefulness from before, but he needn't have worried. That first swirl of his tongue wasn’t the powerful thrust from the first attempt, but it was still a bit too rough. Fives pulled away just far enough to whisper into his partner’s still open mouth, “Gently.” Then he leaned back in, meeting Echo’s tongue with the tip of his and sliding them together, demonstrating a slower and more sensual motion.
This time, Echo clearly recognized what Fives was trying to do and attempted to mirror his soft, languid pace. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a hundred klicks better than where they'd started. It was…good actually. Really kriffing good. In fact, if he was being entirely truthful, the way Echo was kissing him right now was making him harder than he’d been in a long time.
There was this innocence in the way Echo moved that reminded him in the best way of their time as cadets. Not that they’d kissed way back then because they definitely hadn’t. But the way Echo’s tongue curled around his…It was that eagerness to please mixed with a fifty-fifty combo of uncertainty as to how to achieve that goal and a blind determination to do it anyway. It all came together now, synchronizing seemingly effortlessly with Echo's natural skill to do everything better than anyone else, and it just about made Fives’ knees buckle.
It was definitely wet and sloppy, but it was also sweet and genuine and raw. There was something indescribably hot about how all blended so beautifully in the kiss. A sharp stab of arousal shot through him at the thought of just how much better Echo would get with practice.
Only maybe Echo wouldn’t need any further practice.
He seemed to be fully in tune with Fives now. His slick lips were skating delicately back and forth across Fives’ mouth while his tongue licked its way over all the spots that made his stomach do backflips. Damn he was good.
Now this was definitely the kiss Fives had fantasized about more than once over the years.
Stealing a peek through his eyelashes he saw Echo’s face right on top of his. His eyes were pinched shut tight, ridiculously adorable little crinkles forming at the edges as he held them closed in concentration. Another sharp jolt of arousal raced through his veins at the sight of just how into it, how lost in the moment Echo seemed to be.
Fives’ hands flexed involuntarily where they still rested on Echo’s waist, his fingertips briefly digging into the skin just above his towel before he could stop himself. A rush of hot air blew into his mouth with Echo’s sharp exhale and he was just about to pull back and apologize for taking this too far, when Echo did something unexpected.
He pulled Fives closer.
Echo’s hand slid upwards, fingers tangling in Fives’ thick curls and jerking his head so close that their noses smashed together. His grip was strong but not painful, dominant, but not so much so that Fives couldn’t break free if he wanted to. Problem was, he didn’t want to.
There was definitely something stuck in his throat now; a moan, a sigh, some kind of sexual noise, and it was taking everything he had to keep it trapped in his vocal cords so his best friend wouldn’t know how much this was turning him on.
Echo’s kiss was hungry, wild, and not in an uncoordinated way either. It was passionate in the absolute most erotic and sexy way that any kiss could be, and for the first time since they’d started this lesson, or whatever the kriff it was now, Fives was having a hard time keeping up. And, actually, just a, uh, hard time in general at the moment.
The cautionary sector of his brain that typically set off a flare when he was dancing on the edge of taking things too far had long ago shut down and he was running on autopilot now. His tongue moved without thought, twisting around Echo’s and coaxing it deeper into his mouth and lavishing it with attention. The hand in his hair tightened its grip, wrapping forcefully around a cluster of curls and holding on for dear life as Fives sucked gently on the warm, wet muscle.
And that’s when Fives finally crossed the line and ruined everything.
Lost in the moment, his hand drifted around to settle at the small of Echo’s back. There was a split second there where Fives could have sworn Echo whispered his name, and later he would blame his flawed hearing of whatever Echo actually said for what happened next.
He yanked Echo’s body closer, torso crashing into torso and his slightly sweaty palm holding them there as he groaned his building desire into Echo’s mouth. He felt the poke of what must have been Echo’s hand against his thigh and then in an instant it was all over. Echo pushed himself away and took a step back, placing the kitchen counter between his body and that of Fives.
Both men were breathing heavily, Echo’s face as red as a Coruscant sunset and his lips puffy and shining with the wetness of their kiss. Fives didn’t think he’d ever seen Echo look so good before, and for a long moment it was all he could do not to stare at his very handsome half dressed best friend who’d just kissed him to within an inch of his life. Echo for his part was looking down at the countertop, the thick corded muscles of his right arm flexing where his fist was balled up at his side.
Echo looked as though he wanted to say something. His throat was bobbing uncertainly with every swallow and even though Fives couldn’t see the look in his eyes, he knew Echo well enough to read the rest of his body language. A tense silence settled between the two of them and although Echo’s eyes darted up to meet his more than once in the awkward pause that followed, he couldn’t seem to bring himself to say anything. So, Fives being Fives, he took it upon himself to fix the mess he’d made of things tonight.
"Are you sure you even needed my help?" He forced out with a wry chuckle. His voice sounded strained and rough, as frayed as his nerves and not nearly as nonchalant as he’d intended.
"Fives." Echo spoke to the counter in a hushed attempt at scolding.
He pressed his lips together and swallowed down the disappointment. It's not like he’d expected a dramatic declaration of feelings that would usually follow a kiss like that. Still, he couldn’t help it, Echo’s composed and neutral reaction just hurt.
But, really, what had Fives imagined would happen?
He’d offered to teach Echo how to kiss. He’d done that. Neither had signed up for more. So what if he’d enjoyed it a lot more than he should have?
Maybe he couldn’t control his body’s reaction to that kiss, but he could damn well control his words and actions and keep this situation from getting any more awkward. And, as if he needed any further convincing, the fact that Echo was avoiding him now only proved that he'd gone too far.
He took a deep breath, his eyes trained on Echo’s tense posture and clenched fist hanging at his side. Fuck, he didn’t want to ruin the best friendship he’d ever had over some stupid kiss. No…some stupid kissing lesson .
Fives had never really been in a spot like this before. Not with Echo anyway. He was pretty sure Commander Colt had never given kissing tutorials to ARC trainees before and even if he pondered this dilemma for a week, he’d never come up with another di’kut as foolish as he was to offer something like that and expect to come out of it unscathed. There was no training for a situation like this, no manual with instructions on how to un -fuck this up. No…he was on his own here.
Placing his hands on the counter, his restless fingers curled around the nearest item - a stalk of tangaroot - just to have something to do while he figured out the best plan to get things between them back on track.
"So…good job," he said as evenly as he could manage, idly playing with the bright orange and green vegetable to distract himself.
Echo’s eyes did meet his then, eyebrows lifting incredulously. “What?”
"I - I mean, you took suggestions and implemented them well."
"Oh, uh…right." Echo’s eyes - unintentionally Fives was sure - slid down to his lips before dropping away to the safety of the countertop once more. “Thanks, I guess.”
"You guess?"
"Well, I mean…” Echo angled his body away from Fives and he tried not to watch as Echo fiddled with the knot of his navy blue duracotton towel. The strong, tight muscles of Echo’s back rippled and flexed as he briefly untucked it before pulling it closer to his body and fastening it in place once more. He spoke to Fives over his shoulder. “It's not like she's going to instruct me like you did."
"She could…” Fives mused, really, really doing his best not to stare at the ridiculously sexy dimples that marked Echo’s lower back. “I mean, that might be hot, right?"
He tried replying like he was talking to Hardcase or Rex, but it wasn’t coming out right. It sounded fake, a little disingenuous, even to his own ears. And really, it kind of was. He wanted to mean it, he truly did, but everything inside of him was praying to the universe not to let Echo's date decide to take on teaching him to kiss…or more.
Echo looked as though he wanted to say something. His mouth opened, then closed again as he shifted on his feet, his body stiff and awkward in its pose half turned away. But whatever it was he was thinking of telling him, Fives didn’t want to hear it. He’d made the situation weird enough already and he wasn’t about to let another uncomfortable silence come between them tonight.
“Anyway,” Fives ventured bravely, clearing his throat and attempting to do the same with his mind. “I’d better get all this put away before it all goes bad. Jess will never forgive me if the Cavaellin spiced creme spoils. You know he’s been waiting all week for that.”
“Do you want me to-”
“No,” he said a little too quickly, internally wincing at his almost brusque tone. “No, thanks, I’ve got this,” he amended in a much lighter, more jovial voice as he scooped up the nearest items and took his time arranging them in the conservator. He could feel Echo’s eyes on him but he didn’t dare turn around to meet them. “Besides, you’ve got a date to get ready for. Unless of course you plan on going out like that …” he added with a chuckle that thankfully, sounded much more like himself again.
Echo snorted. “No, of course not.”
Fives didn’t hear Echo leave so he kept his head buried in the shelves for a few extra seconds just in case.
“Will you…” Echo asked quietly, that rare hint of uncertainty creeping back into his voice. “No, nevermind.”
“What?” Fives asked, finally turning around to grab another handful of groceries.
“It’s…no, nevermind. I’d, uh, better get ready for my date.” For a second their eyes met, but Echo quickly broke the connection. “Like you said, I can’t go out like this.”
“Well, I mean, you can, but you probably shouldn’t,” Fives joked, making one last valiant attempt to lighten the mood. Thankfully, this time, it actually worked.
Echo huffed out a chuckle, his face breaking out into a wide and genuine smile. “Hardcase would.”
“Oh yeah, Hardcase definitely would.”
“I’m not Hardcase though.”
“No, thank goodness. One of him is enough,” Fives said with a good natured smirk. “Some of us have to have common sense.”
Echo laughed outright at that. “Yeah, I guess. So it’s probably best that I go put some clothes on then, huh?”
“Unless you want to scare the poor girl… ow! ” he exclaimed as Echo punched him hard in the shoulder. “What? I’m just kidding…”
“Sure. Anyway…I’ll, uh - I’ll let you know how it goes…” It was half statement and half question.
“Definitely!” Fives said in his cheeriest tone, wincing again at how hollow he felt saying it. “You know I’m gonna make you tell me everything.”
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
“Alright,” Echo said, sounding much more sincere than Fives had, which only made that twisting in his gut more intense. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“Okay then…here I go,” Echo said, taking a deep breath to shore up his courage and turning once again in the direction of the hallway leading to his room. “Wish me luck.”
“You don’t need luck, vod. You’re a great guy and she’s lucky to have you.”
Echo stopped in his tracks and slowly, carefully, looked up at Fives. “Thanks…for everything.”
Fives offered him a small smile, his chest tight and his stomach tied up in knots of guilt and adoration in equal parts as he waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t get all sappy on me now. Go on, you don’t want to keep her waiting.”
Echo’s smile faltered but stayed in place as he nodded his thanks once more then silently disappeared down the corridor. It was only then that Fives let himself relax.
He really needed to get a grip. He was being ridiculous. It was just Echo. It was just a kissing lesson. There was nothing more to it than that…
Was there?
