Chapter Text
Echo hadn’t slept. Not really.
She had laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling while the dim light from her windows cast warm rays across the room, wavering shadows across the walls. Her body had been still, but her mind had refused to quiet—circling, replaying, lingering on one very specific moment over and over again.
The kiss.
Her fingers brushed lightly against her lips for what had to be the hundredth time.
It had been so quick. So soft. Barely anything, really. And yet—Her stomach twisted faintly, something warm and nervous coiling in her chest. “i didn’t even think about it,” she murmured to herself. “i just… did it. like it made sense in the moment.”
A shadow shifted lazily along the wall, curling toward her like it was listening. “…you..wanted..to…”
Echo exhaled slowly, rolling onto her side. “i think i did,” she admitted. “and that’s the part that feels strange. i’ve never wanted something like that before. not with anyone.”
Her brows knitted slightly. “it wasn’t like hunting,” she continued, quieter now. “that feeling is sharp and clear. this is… softer. but it’s also so much louder. i can’t stop thinking about it.”
The shadow rippled faintly. “…him…”
Echo closed her eyes briefly. “yes. him.”
And that was the problem. It wasn’t just the kiss. It was everything around it. The way he had looked at her. The way he hadn’t pulled away. The way something in his expression had shifted, just slightly—Enough for her to notice. Enough for it to stay with her.
“i think he meant it,” she said slowly. “…the way he was looking at me before that. it didn’t feel like he was just watching. it felt like he was… seeing me.”
A shadow coiled tightly along the wall. “…danger…”
Echo’s eyes opened again. “i know,” she whispered. And she did. On some level, she understood that there was something dangerous about the way Alastor focused on things. The way he decided things. But that didn’t stop the warmth from spreading through her chest when she thought about him. It didn’t stop her from wanting more of it.
She sat up slowly, running a hand through her hair. “i don’t know what i’m supposed to do with this,” she admitted. “i don’t even know what this is yet.”
The room was quiet for a moment. Then a shadow murmured again. “…go..see…”
Echo hesitated. Then sighed softly. “…yeah. i should probably not just sit here spiraling about it.”
—
The hotel was quieter than usual that morning. Soft light filtered through the tall windows in the lobby, casting long golden beams across the polished floors. The air felt calmer, less chaotic than the streets outside, though the faint hum of Hell never truly disappeared.
Echo stepped into the space slowly, her movements more subdued than usual. Not nervous. Not quite. But… distracted.
Her eyes weren’t scanning the room the way they normally did. Her shoulders weren’t as tense. She was somewhere else. Still replaying. Still thinking.
“…you’re gonna walk into somethin’ if you keep spacing out like that, Spooks.”
Echo blinked.
Angel Dust leaned casually against the front desk, one arm draped over the surface, another holding a half-finished drink. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked her over. “Well,” he added, tilting his head, “ya look like you just got hit by a truck full of feelins.”
Echo stiffened slightly. “i don’t—” she started, then stopped.
Angel’s brows lifted. “Oh, this is good,” he said, straightening a bit. “You don’t even have a comeback? That’s how I know somethin’s up.”
Echo looked away briefly, her fingers fidgeting slightly at her side. “i’m just tired,” she said, though even she could hear how unconvincing it sounded.
Angel stared at her. Flat. Unamused. “Yeah, no. Try again.”
Echo hesitated. A shadow shifted faintly at her feet. “…tell?…”
She sighed quietly. “it’s about.. when i went out last night,” she admitted.
Angel’s expression sharpened immediately. “Yeah?” he said, tone lighter but eyes more focused.
Echo didn’t respond right away. And that—That was enough. Angel’s posture straightened, something more serious settling into his expression. “…with Alastor?” he asked.
Echo’s silence confirmed it.
Angel let out a slow breath, running a hand through his hair. “Alright,” he muttered. “Alright. I don’t love that.”
Echo frowned slightly. “it wasn’t… bad,” she said, a little more defensively than she intended. “we just walked around for a while. talked. and then we… hunted.”
Angel’s eyes flicked back to her immediately. “Hunted,” he repeated.
Echo nodded. “yes. together.”
There was a pause. Angel studied her carefully. “…and?” he prompted.
Echo hesitated again. Her fingers brushed lightly against her lips without her realizing it.
Angel’s gaze dropped to the movement. And stilled. “…Echo,” he said slowly, his voice losing its usual teasing edge, “what happened?”
Echo froze. She hadn’t meant to do that. Hadn’t meant to give anything away. But now—Now he was looking at her differently. Carefully. Seriously. “i…” she started, then stopped. She tried to downplay it. “it wasn’t a big deal,” she said quickly. “we just… had a good time. that’s all.”
Angel didn’t move. Didn’t blink. “Echo.” The way he said her name—Firm. Grounded. It made something in her chest tighten. She looked away.
“…i kissed him,” she admitted quietly. Silence. Heavy. Immediate.
Angel didn’t react right away. Which, somehow, was worse than if he had. When he finally spoke, his voice was… different. Lower. Serious in a way she wasn’t used to hearing from him. “…you what?”
Echo swallowed. “i kissed him,” she repeated, her voice small but steady. “it was just—it just happened. i didn’t plan it or anything.”
Angel straightened fully now, setting his drink aside. “An’ how’d he react?” he asked.
Echo hesitated. “…he didn’t pull away,” she said. “he didn’t seem upset. he just… let it happen.”
Angel’s jaw tightened slightly. “Course he did,” he muttered under his breath.
Echo frowned. “what does that mean?”
Angel looked at her again, really looked this time. At the way she stood. At the way her voice softened when she talked about it. At the way she kept touching her face like she could still feel it. And something in his expression shifted. Not teasing. Not playful. Protective. “You like him,” Angel said plainly.
Echo froze. “i—” she started, then stopped. She didn’t deny it. Because she couldn’t. “i think i do,” she admitted after a moment. “i don’t really understand it yet, but… yeah. i think i do.”
Angel closed his eyes briefly, exhaling slowly. “Shit.”
Echo’s chest tightened slightly. “why are you reacting like that?” she asked quietly. “it’s not like i said something terrible.”
Angel looked back at her, his gaze steady. “Because it is terrible,” he said, not harshly—but firmly. “Not because of you. But because of him.”
Echo’s brows pulled together. “that’s not fair,” she said. “you don’t even know what happened.”
“I know enough,” Angel replied.
Echo shook her head slightly. “no, you don’t. you didn’t see it. you didn’t see how he—” She stopped herself.
Angel caught that immediately. “How he what?” he pressed.
Echo hesitated. “…how he looked at me,” she finished quietly.
Angel’s expression darkened. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”
Echo frowned deeper now. “i don’t understand why that’s a bad thing,” she said. “he wasn’t mocking me or treating me like i was weak. he was… interested. in a real way.”
Angel stepped closer. “Echo,” he said, his voice still calm but much more serious now, “Alastor doesn’t do anythin’ ‘in a real way’ unless it benefits him.”
“that’s not true,” she shot back, though there was hesitation in it.
Angel didn’t back down. “Yes, it is. I’ve been around him long enough to know how he works. He don’t just take interest in people for no reason. And when he does?” His voice lowered slightly. “It ain’t good.”
Echo’s hands tightened slightly at her sides. “he hasn’t done anything to hurt me,” she said.
“Not yet,” Angel replied immediately. The words landed heavier than she expected.
Echo looked away again. “i don’t think he wants to hurt me,” she said, quieter now.
Angel sighed, running a hand over his face. “That’s not the point,” he said. “You think people like him mean to hurt people? They don’t. They just… take. And take. And take. And by the time you realize what’s happenin’, you’re already stuck.”
Echo’s chest tightened. She didn’t like the way that sounded. But she also didn’t want to reject it completely. “he’s only been… kind to me,” she said, though her voice wavered slightly.
Angel’s expression softened just a little. “I’m not sayin’ he hasn’t,” he replied. “That’s how it starts. That’s how people like him work.”
Echo was quiet. A shadow shifted uneasily at her feet. “…listen…”
“I just—” Angel paused, searching for the right words. “I don’t trust him. Not with you. Not like this.”
Echo looked back at him. “i don’t know what I’m supposed to do with that,” she admitted. “because i hear what you’re saying, and i know you’re not saying it to be mean or controlling. but i also can’t just… ignore how i feel.”
Angel nodded slightly. “I’m not askin’ ya to ignore it,” he said. “I’m askin’ ya to be careful. To not let yourself get pulled in so fast that you can’t step back if ya need to.”
Echo swallowed. “i don’t think I’m that far gone,” she said quietly.
Angel gave her a look. “You kissed him.”
Echo flinched slightly. “…yeah.”
“And now you’re defendin’ him.”
“…i know.” There was a pause. Long. Heavy. Echo looked down at the floor, her thoughts pulling in two different directions at once.
Alastor’s voice. His attention. The way he had looked at her like she was something worth seeing.
And then—Angel’s voice. Grounded. Careful. Worried.
“i don’t want to be stupid about this,” she said finally. “i really don’t. but.. i also don’t want to push it away just because it might be dangerous.”
Angel sighed softly. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s kinda the problem, ain’t it?”
Echo let out a small, quiet breath. “…yeah.”
Neither of them spoke for a moment. The lobby remained still around them, sunlight stretching across the floor as the distant noise of Hell filtered faintly through the windows.
A shadow curled faintly at her feet. “…confused…”
She nodded slightly.
“i feel like I’m being pulled in two different directions,” she admitted. “and i don’t know which one is the right one yet.”
Angel looked at her for a long moment. Then reached out, resting a hand gently on her shoulder. “Then don’t decide yet,” he said softly. “Just… don’t lose yourself tryin’ to figure it out.”
Echo nodded slowly. “i’ll try.”
But as she stood there, caught between warmth and warning—She couldn’t ignore the truth settling quietly in her chest. Part of her already knew which direction she was leaning.
And that—That was what scared her the most.