Changes

The hour is becoming so late that it is early by some standards and Eli can feel his eyes drooping. []

A rustle of movement catches his attention and draws him to the present. Thrawn stands before him and, not for the first time and definitely not the last, Eli admires his form in civilian clothing. [] If he is troubled by Eli’s lingering gaze, he doesn’t comment and simply extends his hand. “Come,” he says.

Eli shakes his head. “I’m almost done with this.”

Gently, with their fingers just barely brushing, Thrawn plucks the questis from his hands. “You have not made a single edit in twenty minutes. Whatever you are working on can wait. It is time for bed.”

Eli doesn’t want to go—he isn’t ready to say goodbye. It’s impractical, he knows, to be so concerned but this is too good to be true. He and Thrawn aren’t the kind of men who get happily ever afters, they serve their nation and they die doing so.

But Eli still takes his hand and Thrawn pulls him up easily. When they are both standing, Thrawn doesn’t loosen his grasp like Eli expects. Instead, he holds Eli's hand closer, examining the scar across three of his knuckles. “This is new,” he murmurs.

It’s not, it happened about five years ago, but it’s only a reminder of how much has changed between them. “Broke my hand,” Eli murmurs. “Medics had to reset some bones.”

“How did you break it?” Thrawn whispers, rubbing a gentle thumb across his skin.

Eli shrugs. “I forget.”

Thrawn tuts, but doesn’t press the issue, probably because he knows just as well that it was caused by a brief slip in his temper. Instead he takes a step backward, tightening his grip on Eli’s fingers to ensure he doesn’t pull away, and leads him from the dayroom and to Eli’s bedroom. []

Thrawn wakes before Eli, but that isn’t unusual. [] It appears that some things never change. []

"You're still here."

"I have no intention of leaving."

"It's my cooking ain't it?"

Thrawn huffs a laugh. "Perhaps."

~

Please, Stars, let them be happy.

They so deserve to be.

[Another gem from amukmuk. This is "misty". Read it wholly. On AO3]

[Photo: one of my most treasured and beautiful commissions, done by the incredible @psiibee]