Touch

“You come here often,” Thrawn states, but Eli can hear the question dancing behind his tone. 

“Yeah. When I first came here I obviously didn’t have a place to go so I stayed in base housing and would walk around to find a place for dinner.” []

Thrawn leans forward, his eyes filled with a mixture of understanding and guilt. “They were the only people who would serve you.” 

Eli sighs. He should have known that Thrawn would figure it out, he went through the same thing, after all. “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter.” []

“I am sorry for what I have put you through.”

Eli reaches across the table on instinct. “Don’t be. I love my life here. So what if the beginning had a few hiccups? Most beginnings do.” 

Thrawn turns his hand over to catch Eli’s fingers in his own. For a moment, he just stares at their hands.

“In the beginning, I thought you were a spy.” 

Eli laughs. “I know, in the beginning I thought you were going to kill me at any second.” 

“I know.”

The waitress comes back to deliver their drinks and they both withdraw.

~

Thrawn puts his hand back on the table, just a tiny bit over the center. Eli feels his lips twist up into a full grin and sets his hand just in front of Thrawn’s. Thrawn twitches his index finger ever so slightly so that it brushes up against Eli’s. Moving his hand forward by mere millimeters, Eli lightly ensnares Thrawn’s index finger between his first two fingers. Thrawn smiles, something soft and so, so fragile, and rubs his finger up and down the length of Eli’s. Their hands are equally calloused, but Eli hardly notices, he is too caught up in the cool whisper of Thrawn’s skin against his own. It sends a shiver down his spine. 

Thrawn moves to withdraw. “My apologies, Chiss are cooler—”

Eli tightens his grip. “No.” He loosens his hold and Thrawn stays. He runs his own fingers up the length of Thrawn’s in an echo of his touch just moments ago. “I don’t mind it.” []

“I had not expected you to feel so warm.” 

“It’s my undying optimism. Keeps me nice’n’toasty.” 

Thrawn smirks. []

Eli hums with thought as their food is set down. This time they don’t separate and Eli has never been so grateful to be left-handed in his entire life.

~

From "New Beginnings" by amukmuk (go to read it all - on A3o).

[Photo: pins by @ritarussiandoll_pins, art by @maryallen138]