Chapter Text
Wrecker had to admit; the life they’d built for themselves on Pabu was like a dream come true. He lived on a beautiful, peaceful planet, with his brothers and sister, and they carried on occasional missions, but nothing was too dangerous.
Thanks to their contacts, they had easily found a house large enough to accommodate 5 adult men and a ten-years-old girl.
So, obviously, they didn’t each have their own room, but they were used to sleeping together and it’s sleeping alone that would be more anxiety-provoking for the soldiers, so their arrangement suited them perfectly. Omega, of course, had her own room, although she regularly crawled into bed with one of her brothers at night. As for the others, Echo and Tech shared the ground-floor bedroom, while Crosshair, Hunter and Wrecker occupied the first-floor one. This division was not due to chance, but to Tech and Echo’s various mobility difficulties. Between them, they had three bionic legs, one prosthetic knee, four prosthetic hips, countless spinal implants, and many other things, so climbing stairs could sometimes be complicated and painful for them.
Another advantage of the downstairs bedroom was that it had a bathroom included. As soon as they’d moved into this house, one of the first things they’d done was to replace the classic shower tray by an ultra-flat one, again to facilitate access. This bathroom was a little smaller than the one upstairs but was still big enough to store all the medical equipment Echo and Tech needed on a daily basis, which also avoided cluttering up the communal pharmacy with all their stuff.
The bedrooms were of acceptable size, perfectly adequate for the former soldiers they were, and the upstairs bathroom even had a bathtub, a real luxury. But the largest room in the house was also the one they spent most time in, namely the kitchen/dining/living room. Most of the ground floor was open plan, which meant that those in the kitchen could also chat with those in the living room without any problems.
The house also had a nice little garden, from which a gently sloping path led down to the beach below.
In short, it was paradise, and no one could find fault with it.
But despite this peaceful island and near-perfect house, the Bad Batch was still a group of traumatized soldiers, and it showed.
Sometimes it was Crosshair who couldn’t sleep and spent the night in the kitchen, trying out more and more new recipes. Sometimes it was Hunter who locked himself in his room because his senses were too overwhelmed outside. But the most recurrent were the nightmares. Nights when no one had nightmares were unfortunately rare in this house, but as it was nothing new, they were used to it. That didn’t mean it was easy, far from it, just that they knew how to react.
So that night, when Wrecker went downstairs at around 3 a.m. to get a glass of water and reflexively stopped in front of his brothers’ room to check everything was all right, and heard little whimpers of distress, he felt his heart clench but was unfortunately not surprised.
Deciding that his glass of water could wait and was certainly no more important than his brothers, he gently opened the door, slipping into the room and scanning it with his eye to see who needed help.
And this time, it was Echo who was grappling with his demons. Approaching his bed, Wrecker glanced at Tech to see if he was still asleep and was relieved to see his other brother sound asleep. ‘He must have taken a sleeping pill before bed.’ Wrecker thought quickly, knowing how hard Tech normally found it to sleep.
Arriving right next to Echo’s bed, Wrecker knelt on the floor, and placed a hand on the mattress, not yet touching the cyborg, knowing that Echo didn’t always react well to contact in these situations.
“Echo. Echo, wake up, it’s only a nightmare.” Wrecker tried.
This first attempt didn’t have much effect, but the taller Batcher wasn’t discouraged. There was no way he was going to abandon his big brother when he needed him.
“Echo, it’s Wrecker. You’re safe. We’re on Pabu, in our home. You’re safe.”
Echo still didn’t wake up, and this time Wrecker had to intervene because his brother’s breathing was starting to get really chaotic, with Echo half couching and panting as if he couldn’t breathe.
So, Wrecker decided to sit on Echo’s bed beside him and gently but easily took him in his arms, straightening him into a semi-seated position, with his head resting on the taller man’s shoulder and a strong arm keeping him upright.
“Come on Echo, wake up. Or at least breathe.” The demolition expert asked, rubbing Echo’s left shoulder in circles.
A few seconds later, Echo’s medical comm started beeping and a quick glance at it told Wrecker that this was the cyborg’s pacemaker, alerting him of an anomaly that was hampering the little machine’s operation.
It wasn’t yet time to panic, but Wrecker was starting to get really worried. If Echo was panicked enough that his heart was beating so fast that the pacemaker was alerting, something had to be done before it got too dangerous.
“Echo, wake up!” He asked, louder, shaking him gently.
Still no reaction. Wrecker gave himself one more try, and he would move on to a method that would work for sure but was riskier. The last solution to wake up any of his brothers in a fraction of second was to use his Sergent’s voice and call them to attention. Wrecker hated this technique because, even if it was effective, it played on other traumas, and he hated that. Especially since if he called Echo to attention now, there was a good chance Tech would hear him and wake up too, as would Hunter, upstairs. That’s why it was the last resort.
Fortunately, it didn’t come to that, as Echo woke up just then. As is often the case, he woke up gasping for breath, sitting up even more and nearly losing his balance.
“Woah, woah, easy Echo, easy. Breathe, everything’s fine.” Wrecker said calmly, keeping one hand on his back to steady him, but not to block him.
Echo turned his head a little to look at him, and Wrecker saw nameless terror in his brother’s wide eyes. “W-Wreck-er?” Echo croaked.
“It’s me, I’m here. Breathe Echo, you need to calm down. Breathe with me.” Wrecker insisted, worried because the pacemaker alarm was still beeping.
Echo tried to take a deep breath, but it caught in his throat and the cyborg nearly choked.
“Breathe, Echo.”
“C-Can’t!”
“Yes, you can.” Wrecked insisted. “Your brain tells you that you can’t breathe, but I swear you can. Look, do as I do, breathe with me.” Wrecker asked, delicately taking his brother’s left hand and placing it on his own chest, slowing his own breathing, and amplifying the movements.
It took a few dozens of seconds, but Echo eventually regained a slightly calmer breathing rhythm, even if it wasn’t yet normal. The pacemaker also stopped beeping, although a heart rate alert was still illuminated on the comm.
“That’s good, Echo, keep breathing, you’re doing great.” Wrecker encouraged with a calm smile.
But Echo couldn’t calm down any more than that, and every 20 seconds or so, he would shake his head, as if trying to chase away bad thoughts. Then, he started glancing around, his hand opening and closing on the large t-shirt Wrecker was wearing. But he couldn’t calm down.
“Can we- Can we get out?” He finally asked, still panting.
“Of course we can.” Wrecker agreed immediately. He’d been seconds away from proposing the same thing and was incredibly proud of his brother for asking the question before he did. “Do you want your legs or your chair?” He then asked.
Echo hesitated for half a second, glancing at his legs on the floor beside his bed, before shaking his head. “Wheelchair. Please.” He asked in a barely audible voice, still trying to catch his breath.
Wrecker nodded and reached over, grabbing the wheelchair. The chair was a fairly recent addition to Echo’s stuff and a new Pabu exclusive. The wheelchair allowed Echo to move freely even when he couldn’t or wouldn’t use his mechanical legs. It had taken him a fairly long time to accept it. Because accepting the wheelchair meant accepting not to wear his legs all the time, which also meant he couldn’t be ready for battle in half a second if necessary. And even though here on Pabu they didn’t need to be ready to fight 24/7, it was one of the first things they’d learned as clones, to always be ready for battle, and it was hard to unlearn.
But now, and for several months already, Echo was increasingly willing to use his wheelchair, which greatly reduced his pain. The ground floor of the house had absolutely no steps and the passageways were wide enough for him to move around easily, so he didn’t have to worry about that. And even though he accepted it more and more, Echo sometimes tended to forget that the chair was a possibility, so the others reminded him from time to time, like what Wrecker had just done.
“There you go.” Wrecker said, putting on the brakes after placing the wheelchair against the bed. “Do you need a hand getting in?” He offered, still benevolently.
Echo didn’t answer aloud but nodded discreetly. Wrecker then helped his brother settle in, taking care not to put his hands on his spinal and thoracic implants, or grab him in places where the scars were too thick.
Yes, it had taken them a while to learn all the painful areas where Echo didn’t like to be touched, but it was no more complicated than knowing that it’s forbidden to touch Hunter’s hair without explicit permission or that Omega is extremely ticklish under the arms and that touching her here guarantees you a fist in the face.
Once Echo was settled in his wheelchair, Wrecker grabbed a blanket and laid it on the bar at the back of the chair. Perhaps Echo wasn’t cold now, as evidenced by the large beads of sweat running down his forehead and neck, but the air outside was quite chilly at this time of the year on Pabu, so Wrecker took a blanket for later. He didn’t want his brother to catch a cold after all.
“Want me to push you?” Wrecker asked gently.
“Yes, please.” Echo said in a low voice, lowering his head, feeling almost ashamed to ask his brother for so much help.
Wrecker sensed this immediately but said nothing aloud, contenting himself with placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder, squeezing gently.
They left the room without further ado, Wrecker taking care to close the bedroom door so as not to disturb Tech any further, even though the engineer hadn’t moved at all.
Wrecker then led them quickly through the kitchen, stopping just a moment to turn over the two small wooden squares with their names that were just beside the door before opening it and stepping out with Echo, using the ramp that had been in place since their arrival in this house.
The little wooden squares were a system they’d put in place when they moved in, allowing them to know where the others were. Each of the 6 inhabitants of the house had a square with their name on it, with one blue side and one orange side. If the blue side was visible, the owner was inside the house, and if the orange side was visible, they were outside. This way, everyone knew at a glance where the others were, and it eased a lot of their anxieties. But the wooden squares could also be used at an alert signal. If one of them ever left the house unintentionally, they wouldn’t return their square, which would indicate to the others that there was a problem. But fortunately, they’d never had to use the squares in this way yet.
It had taken them all a few days to get used to turning over their squares every time they went in or out, but it was now a part of their routine and nobody ever forgot.
Once outside, Echo finally felt like he could breathe and took a deep breath, Wrecker’s hand still on his shoulder. But contrary to what he’d expected, Wrecker didn’t stop there, just outside the door, and continued towards the path that led to the beach. Fortunately, the path was practicable enough to go with a wheelchair, and even if it was a little too steep for Echo to venture down alone with it, Wrecker was there, and the cyborg had total confidence in his brother and knew he’d never let him fall.
It took them a few minutes, but eventually they reach the beach, and Wrecker took them a little further along the path, stopping at the end of the path, locking the brakes on Echo’s chair before sitting down on the ground beside him, facing the ocean, without saying a word.
The two of them remained like that, in silence, for several long minutes. Wrecker knew that Echo would talk when he was ready, if he felt like it, and that there was no point in rushing him. And contrary to what some people thought, Wrecker could be very patient when he wanted to be. He’d wait until morning if need be, but he’d wait until Echo was ready before even moving.
When, some ten minutes later, Echo shivered, Wrecker simply grabbed the blanket and laid it over his brother’s shoulders, the blanket large enough to also cover Echo’s torso and what remained of his legs. Echo murmured a thank you and returned to his observation of the calm sea stretching out before them, so different from the raging waves of Kamino.
It was almost 20 minutes after arriving at the beach that Echo sighed heavily and spoke again. “Thanks Wrecker, and sorry.” He said softly.
“There’s no need to apologize, and it’s perfectly normal.” Wrecker replied immediately in the same tone.
The average person wouldn’t describe their voices as low or discreet, but for Echo and Wrecker, it was as if they were whispering. Having both partial hearing loss, they knew that if they actually whispered, the other wouldn’t be able to hear it. But they were used to that too and didn’t need to think about it to do it.
“I got you up at 3am and we’ve been out for 40 minutes. I think that deserves an apology.”
“Absolutely not.” Wrecker disagreed. “First, you didn’t wake me up, I was already up. And secondly, I couldn't leave you like that. Not even mentioning the fact that it was intense enough to make your pacemaker go totally haywire, I wasn’t going to leave you at the mercy of your nightmares like that, and you know that perfectly well because you would have done the same thing, so it’s okay.”
There was another short silence before Echo resumed. “I didn’t know where I was.” He murmured. “I felt the cold of Skako Minor and the heat of Lola Sayu at the same time. There was also the emptiness of Rishi and I- I didn’t know where I was. Everything blended together. There was too much and not enough at the same time and I- I was completely lost…”
Wrecker let a few seconds of silence pass, making sure his brother had finished speaking before placing a hand on Echo’s left arm, squeezing gently to ensure his presence without risking hurting his brother.
“We’re on Pabu. You’re here. You’re safe. I’m not going to say it was just a nightmare, because unfortunately it really did happen, but you’re safe now. And the others and I will do anything we can and even more to make sure it stays that way.” Wrecker assured him.
Echo sent him a slightly crooked smile, but he honestly felt better. Even though he had to admit that the cold was beginning to make itself felt. After all, it was almost 4 a.m., they’d been out for over 30 minutes, and even if it wasn’t extremely cold outside, it was definitively chilly. Not to mention that Echo had only a t-shirt and a blanket with him.
“Shall we go back inside?” He proposed, after seeing a slight shiver shake Wrecker’s massive body.
“If you feel up to it.” Wrecker agreed.
“I do.” Echo affirmed, unlocking the brakes on his wheelchair and starting to make his way back. “Hurry up, I’ll get up there before you.” He teased.
Wrecker just laughed clearly and stood up in turn, stretching and making his spine pop.
“Old man.” Echo accused, already a few meters away.
“I’m nearly 100% sure you didn’t hear anything.” Wrecker replied.
“I didn’t need to hear it to know that your back cracks when you stretch. Old man.”
“You’re older than me, I remind you.” Wrecker challenged, catching up with his brother in just a few strides.
“Barely. And how the hell do you walk so fast?” Echo grumbled.
Wrecker laughed loudly. If Echo was starting to tease him, he was doing better.
Echo couldn’t help but smile back at his brother’s clear laughter. And before he had time to react, he found himself thrown into the air. Not out of his chair, no, his whole wheelchair suddenly gained attitude.
“What the- Wrecker! Put me down now!” The cyborg exclaimed, turning his head and seeing that his little brother had just grabbed his chair and was carrying it with him in it as if it was nothing.
“If I leave it to you, we’ll be up in 3 hours. It’s much quicker this way.” Wrecker replied simply, striding along the path to their house.
Echo tried to protest but simply shook his head with an amused sigh. When Wrecker had an idea, it was hard to get him to change his mind, and honestly, he didn’t mind all that much. Grabbing the chair, Wrecker had been careful not to tip it in any way, and Echo didn’t feel any more unbalanced than usual, so he didn’t really mind.
Besides, if it made Wrecker happy to carry him, he wasn’t about to take that away from him.
Thanks to Wrecker’s long and powerful legs, they were up in less than 2 minutes, and the taller man gently placed his brother’s chair back on the floor, Echo still in it.
“Thanks for the lift.” Echo said, putting his hand on the double push rim that enabled him to propel his chair in a straight line even with just one hand.
“My pleasure.” Wrecker smiled broadly. “You think you’ll be able to go back to sleep?” He asked.
“I don’t know about sleep, but I’m at least going back to bed. At least, if I can’t sleep, I’ll rest. And I’ve got a book to finish anyway.”
Wrecker nodded, fully understanding his reasoning, and simply moved forward to open the door, then stepped back to help Echo up the ramp.
And what a surprise it was when they saw that the kitchen wasn’t empty, but that a figure was sitting cross-legged on the counter, illuminated by the moonlight.
“What are you doing up at this hour, Miss?” Echo asked as Wrecker turned over their wooden squares.
Omega yelped, not having heard them come in, and turned around, without coming down from her perch.
“I was hungry.” The young blond defended herself. “And you, why where you outside? Is everything okay?” She asked, immediately concerned.
“We’re good, kid.” Echo reassured her. “Just needed a late night beach walk.”
Omega frowned and stepped down from the counter, walking over to the cyborg and giving him a big hug.
Not even surprised, Echo returned the embrace before pulling back. “Go back to sleep, kid. Hunter will be crazy if he finds out you’ve been here all night and not sleeping.”
Omega rolled her eyes but didn’t argue, stomping off silently up the stairs after hugging Wrecker too.
Echo said nothing more and headed to his room, Wrecker following. “Thanks for everything, Wrecker. You should also go back to sleep.”
“Do you need help getting settled?” The demolition engineer asked, rather than accepting right away.
Echo thought for a moment. Before going back to bed, he’d have to go to the bathroom to empty his bags, but he could do that on his own. Besides, it was something he still considered gross and shameful, so he didn’t like to impose it on his brothers, even though they’d already told him 100 times that they didn’t mind at all.
“No, I’m good. You’ve already done enough tonight.” He refused.
But he had once again underestimated Wrecker’s abilities to pick up on everything. “Really? You’re not even gonna empty your bags before going back to bed?”
“I mean, yes, but I can do it alone.”
“Being able to do it alone and having to do it alone are two different things and you know it; but if I have to say it a thousand more times, I’ll do it without hesitation. Besides, I know it’s more complicated to empty them with just one hand, and I’d be surprised if you’d put your arm back on just for that. So, I’ll come and help you.”
“You don’t have to do… that, Wrecker. You really don’t.”
“I know. And stop talking about it like that. Helping you empty your bags is no stranger than helping you transfer or even carrying you from the beach in your chair.”
“It’s just not as glamorous.” Echo muttered, giving up trying to change Wrecker’s mind.
“Don’t care.” The taller Batcher simply replied as he gently slides open the door leading to Echo and Tech’s bedroom, immediately heading for the bathroom after noticing that Tech was still asleep.
Echo sighed softly and followed his brother, closing the door behind him. Even though he still wasn’t thrilled by the idea, he then headed for the adjacent bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Despite the presence of Echo, still in his wheelchair, and Wrecker, there was still a little room in the bathroom, partly because it was very clear, to facilitate circulation even in a wheelchair.
By the time Echo had crossed the bedroom, Wrecker had already taken out what he needed, namely a basin to collect the contents of the bags, and wipes to clean the bottom of the bags before closing them again. He had also taken out a towel to put on Echo’s lap to protect him from any splashes.
“You could at least wear gloves.” Echo said, noticing that Wrecker hadn’t taken any out and was washing his hands.
“What for? To make sure I don’t have any bodily fluid coming into contact with my hands? It wouldn’t be the first time. Besides, there aren’t any gloves here in my size, and I don’t want to go and find some more. This’ll do.” Wrecker shrugged. “Unless you want me to wear gloves, in which case I’ll go and get some.” He added.
“No, that’s fine.” Echo said, locking the brakes on his chair.
“There you go. Lift your shirt, please.”
Echo complied, discovering his colostomy bag and urostomy bag, other gifts from the Techno Union, who hadn’t thought it necessary to repair that part of his abdomen when they’d got him. And by the time Echo had been rescued, the damage was too extensive and too old to attempt surgery to reverse the process. So, Echo had kept these bags as souvenirs. He didn’t mind it too much; it was just another thing he’d had to learn to do differently after Skako Minor.
And even though he was used to it, he couldn’t understand how his brothers couldn’t care less about helping him empty his bags. I mean, Wrecker was going to help him literally empty a bag of shit and a bag of piss in a basin. But Wrecker seemed to be determined, and Echo decided to let him.
“You tell me if I hurt you.” The taller batcher said as he knelt beside his big brother, putting his big hands on the colostomy bag.
“I can’t feel my stomas, Wrecker. They can’t hurt me.”
“I know that. But you’re attached to the stomas, and you can hurt. So, tell me if you’re in pain.”
Echo hummed but made no further comment, letting Wrecker work.
And in the end, Echo shouldn’t have worried, because the whole process went very quickly and not even 10 minutes later, Wrecker told him he could put his shirt back on normally, getting up with the full basin to empty it in the toilet.
Echo was still a little embarrassed that Wrecker had helped him with this but tried to get over it.
After taking care of the basin and putting away what he used, Wrecker accompanied Echo back to his bed and helped him transfer again.
Echo quickly snuggled under the covers, only then realizing how cold he was. A shiver escaped him, which of course didn’t escape Wrecker’s notice.
“You okay?” His biggest little brother asked, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
“Just a bit cold. I’ll warm up, don’t worry. Thanks for everything Wrecker, I won’t keep you up any longer, you can go back to sleep.” Echo said, sinking into his blankets and closing his eyes.
He expected to hear Wrecker’s footsteps receding, but when after a few seconds he heard nothing, he opened his eyes again, seeing that his brother was still there, looking at him with furrowed brows.
“What’s up? You want your good-night kiss?” Echo smirked.
He had expected a verbal response, either accepting his proposal or refusing it, but he hadn’t expected Wrecker to cross the last meter separating him from Echo’s bed, catching the cyborg in his arms and sliding into his bed in the same movement, then resting Echo on his chest and wrapping him in blankets and his arms.
“What- Wrecker! What are you doing?” Echo whisper yelled.
“You’re cold, so I’m warming you up.” Wrecker simply replied, his voice also echoing behind Echo’s back, having it pressed against the taller man’s ribcage. “And I know you’re always better off with someone after a nightmare.”
Echo’s first instinct was to protest, to tell him to leave it and go to bed, but the truth was that he had neither the want nor the will to move from there. Wrecker was warm, comfy and, above all, extremely stubborn. Not to mention that he was 5 times bigger than Echo. If Wrecker had decided he was going to spend the rest of the night here, Echo snuggled up to him, it wasn’t Echo who was going to stop him.
So, the cyborg sighed and relaxed, letting himself melt into Wrecker’s arms, who in turn relaxed, letting a smile take place on his lips. “Good night Echo, try to get some more sleep. I’m here to chase away your nightmares.”
Echo smiled softly and didn’t reply verbally, simply wriggling a little to get more comfortable, his head resting against Wrecker’s comfy shoulder, the taller man’s arms enveloping him without trapping him.
“Good night, Wrecker.” He said simply.
He wanted to thank him again but knew it wouldn’t do much. Wrecker knew he was grateful, he didn’t need to say it anymore, at least for tonight.
Relaxing with his brother in his arms, Wrecker also smiled as he closed his eyes. Maybe he’d lost an hour or two of sleep, but he wouldn’t change anything in the world. Here, at last, he was at peace, and he knew his brother was, too.