Chapter Text
“Y'know what I miss?"
Zane looks up from his novel curiously, as Echo Zane plops himself down on the couch. Copper limbs gently clanging together as he sits. The ice elemental smiles, pondering for a moment. There are several things he believes his little brother could have been missing, but none of them seem right with the grin so clearly plastered on his bronze plated face.
"…Hmm…I cannot say I know." He admits after a beat of silence. Echo sighs longingly, seemingly reminiscing to himself.
He slinks a bit deeper into the crumby couch cushions of his apartment, and sighs. "Biking." He says after a second, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. "That's what I miss."
Zane hums in response, eyes turning back to his novel. Yet he does not resume reading right away. "You miss biking with the Sons of Garmadon?" He asks, flipping the page even though he knows full well he hadn't actually read it.
Echo gives his signature dry laugh, scoffing. "No, I miss biking. Period." He reiterates, gazing up at the worn out ceiling, discolored from water damage. "The feeling of the wind blowing past you, the thrill of the chase…the…the freedom." The bronze nindroid rambles, biting his lip and shutting his dull yellow eyes. "It was incredible."
"And here I thought you guys were a biker gang just because it seemed the most evil thing a city could have to deal with." Zane chuckles, earning himself a playful punch to the shoulder. "Hey shut it. Even if we weren't evil, I'd still want to be apart of a sick ass fucking biker gang."
Touche, Zane thinks to himself, smiling at the other droid. "Yeah, wouldn't want the big bad Sons of Garmadon to end up just being some pastry chefs."
The two share a chuckle, Echo imagining Kilo dressed in a stupid chef's hat and apron. The mental image sending him into another fit of giggles.
"Y'know…" Zane begins, finding his normally very polite and proper verbiage seemingly non-existent around his sibling. "I could always make you a new bike? Nothing's stopping you from biking now."
His brother is quick to shoot him down, "Pshh…nah. I've got no one to go with anyways, biking's only fun when you've got someone with you for the chase." Echo states, almost matter-of-factly.
"Couldn't you go with Morro? Or Cryptor?" Zane suggests, finally putting down his book which has been long since forgotten about.
"You see any of them around this place? They're busy as shit, barely got time to see them inside the house let alone out of it." Echo mopes, crossing his arms to cover his chest.
"You could make some new friends?" Zane tries again, immediately wishing he could bring those words back into his mouth as Echo nearly cackles. "Me? Make new friends? C'mon brother, you're supposed to be the sensible one."
The silver droid rolls his eyes, gazing out of the nearby window. Deep blues and blacks paint the sky as the sun begins to slumber across the horizon. Tiny stars dot the billows, like sand on black paper.
"I could come with you."
Echo pauses, seemingly finding the floor to be very interesting all of a sudden. He taps his fingers silently against the blanket to his side, eyes glancing between wooden planks.
"I couldn't ask that of you…Mr. Perfect Found Family." He bites after a few moments. "You've got other things to worry about than me anyways."
Zane rests a comforting hand on his brothers shoulder. "I'd worry about you regardless of other circumstances, brother. If this is something you'd like to do I'd be more than happy to accompany you with it."
Echo gives his brother a sparing glance, eyes self-doubting and sullen. "Besides…" The ice elemental begins, causing Echo to truly look at him. "You still owe me a rematch from last time." Zane chuckles, ruffling his brother's hair. The bronze droid groans, "I said I was sorry for that months ago."
"Months of prodding, but the apology was accepted." The older nindroid grins, getting up off the couch with only the slight groan of protest from his gears.
"So…you gonna make me a bike?" Echo asks, shifting on the couch. Zane nods, smiling at his brother. "I shall."
"Cool…I'll uh…see you around then." The former general mutters, barely above a whisper. Even with his horrid social awareness, Zane knows this means his visit is over. He nods, bowing his head slightly. "See you around indeed."
Thank yous are not exchanged, they don't need to be. Zane knows, and that's what matters.
- - -
"Shit you made this…?" Echo breathes, staring at the….honestly beautiful vehicle in front of him.
It almost looks just like the bike he rode during his time as a general, yet it's a beautiful sunset bronze. Golden yellow accents fading into a rich orange, a custom symbol crafted just for him proudly displayed at the front of the bike. Of course, it's much less menacing than it had been before, less red and imposing.
Yet…Echo likes it, as "emo" as he is. (According to Morro at least, and really, he's one to talk in the first place-) He enjoys the bright colors. They almost resemble a phoenix…rising from the ashes, glowing proudly after being buried under the rubble.
"So…you like it?" Zane grins, nudging his brother's shoulder. Echo jerks, attempting to look stand-offish. "Oh yeah…yeah it's fine. Not as ugly as I thought it'd be."
The older chuckles, tossing his brother a helmet as he goes to get his own bike. "Why do I need this?" Echo asks, lifting the helmet up.
"Oh, yeah….no real need…but it'll complete your look I guess." Zane smiles, rolling out a bike of his own. Echo thinks about it for a moment, his brother made a good point. "Yeah…it's a sick ass helmet."
"Yeah? Cole painted it for Jay, but Jay never wears it." The ice elemental comments. "Something about not having enough blue…"
That wasn't an inaccurate assessment, it was mainly orange with a few yellow lightning bolts. But the ombre of the oranges matched his bike, so he really didn't mind the fact it was made for a ninja.
"Whatever. You ready to go or are you just going to keep stalling?" Echo jabs, climbing onto his bike. Zane rolls his eyes, sliding his own helmet on his head.
"I am going to destroy you!" Echo grins, revving his new ride, feeling red hot adrenaline course through his circuits.
The two race out of the monastery's bunker, dirt kicking up as they ride through the vast deserts of Ninjago. Echo had never felt more alive, watching the dusken sun kiss the sky as he and his brother race through the sand dunes. Puffs of smoke and ash cascade around the screeching tires, becoming a cloud behind them.
"You having fun?" Zane yelled from beside him, his white bike slowly becoming a more murky, dusty brown. Echo grinned and sped ahead of his brother. "Does it fucking look like it?" He yells back, spraying a bit of sand on Zane's already dirty bike.
"Hey- Get back here!" The ice elemental shouts, frost forming at his hands before rocketing out to form a ramp. Echo grins, cutting across the dunes to be the first one to make the jump. Zane follows suit, flying into the air just behind the younger droid.
They continue on like that, bickering and yelling as they ride across the wastelands. Hours tick by like seconds, and before they know it, they're at that same cliff where they'd had their first real fight.
The two slow to a crawl, hopping off of their bikes and tossing their helmets in the sand. They chatter and chuckle as they practically fall into the sand. Exhausted yet energized at the same time from their excursion.
The silence is comfortable, the only thing really audible is the sound of their heavy breathing. Perhaps a few rustles of the desert plants and animals, but that's it. Echo smiles at the sky above him, shutting his eyes for a second to catch his breath again.
He'd really forgot how much he missed biking.
"First master…this was…." Echo begins, sighing as he looks into the deep black sky above him. "This…"
He chokes back his tears, emotions and feelings and all that other sappy shit coming at him at full force. He props himself up on his elbow, rubbing his eyes in attempt to catch the fluid beginning to fill them. "Sorry…shit…didn't mean to get emotional."
"Don't fault yourself for having feelings brother," Zane smiles softly, placing a hand on Echos shivering form.
"I just-…" He sobs, wiping at his eyes again. A few stray tears managing to escape his vision. "I never thought I'd make it here."
The ice elemental sits up next to him, "What do you mean?" Worry is sprawled across his titanium face, faintly glowing blue eyes painting eerie light where he looks.
Echo can't find it in himself to stare his brother in the eyes, so he opts to stare at the dirt instead. Feelings swell within him, threatening to burst out as he tries his hardest to choke them back down.
"I-…I thought I'd be stuck in that-…" He chokes on his breath, "In that damn lighthouse for the rest of my sorry life." He admits, tears beginning to freely flow without stop. "I never would'a thought someone would come for me. I didn't want 'em too…I was too…broken. Too flawed."
"A-and now…." The bronze nindroid huffs, wiping his eyes more aggressively. "I've got this stupid fucking brother, who fucking cares about me. And-…I've got a family…and a home-"
Zane rubs soft circles into his brothers back, hearing choked whimpers and shuddering breaths make his heart ache. He wants nothing more than to hold his brother close and never let go, and he'd do anything for this kid.
"It doesn't feel real…some days," Echo chuckles wetly, sniffling slightly. "I'd always thought I'd end up in the streets…dismantled in some random fucking alley but…"
"Your life is turning out better that you expected it to be and you are confused by it?" Zane asks, earning an upset glare from the other. Quickly, he back tracks. "No-…no I am not judging you, brother. I am simply asking for clarification, as, this is what I am understanding."
Echo's eyes soften, nodding slightly as he pulls his knees into his chest. "Just…some days are better than others…"
"I can relate to that." Zane reassures, slinging a tentative, comforting arm around his brothers shoulder. "I promise you, Echo. This may not be the life you think that you deserve, but trust me when I say this: You do deserve it. You absolutely fucking do."
Echo tenses slightly, but melts. "Thank you…" He whispers, leaning his head against his older brother's shoulder.
"I'm right behind you brother. Not matter what."
The two sit in silence for god knows how long. If it was an hour, a minute? It didn't matter, what mattered in that moment was each other.
"I love you." Zane says after the moment had passed. Stars twinkled above them, dancing as they laid under the cosmos.
"I love you too" was lost to the wind, never truly spoken. But it was there, hugging them both like a warm blanket.
The two get up, riding home together in silence.
They never really speak of the moment ever again, it was just simply something that didn't need to be relived. It showed them both that they had each other's backs, and that's all it needed to do.
Soon the bike rides became a weekly endeavor. Echo would text his brother, sometimes late into the night or early into the mornings. Every time, Zane would be up and ready to go within ten minutes.
Sometimes he doesn't even use words to ask anymore, just sends a few emojis of a bicycle and gets ready. He knows Zane will send his signature thumbs up back before he even put down his phone.
It was these simple moments together that brought them together. In the quiet wonder of the world standing by each other's side. Their differences sidelining into what made them brothers. Into what made them family.
Echo smiles to himself, looking up from his phone at Zane playing some racing game with Cryptor on the floor in front of him.
He doesn't think he deserves this, but he wouldn't trade it for the world.