Romcom

“I appreciate your willingness to share” Thrawn said. “One may learn a great deal about a people by the stories they tell of others”

“And?” Vanto asked. The wrinkles return. His head turns slightly to his right.

“I do not understand”

“I ask what you have learned about humans” Vanto said. His eyes narrow slightly.

“I misspoke. Apologies. I meant to say I could learn about one person, you, from the stories you choose to tell”

“And what have you learned about me?” Vanto asked. His eyes return to normal size. His vocal tone lowers in pitch.

“That you do not wish to be here. [] You wish to return to your numbers and inventory lists []”

“Fascinating. [] What I don’t know is why you care”

“Why I care about what?”

“Why you care about me” Vanto said. His eyes narrow again. His tone returns to the lower pitch. “You’ve been studying me—don’t think I haven’t noticed. You ask me to tell you one of the legends I learned as a child, then you ask about my home or background or childhood. Always small questions, always delivered very casually. What I want to know is why” He folds his arms in a crisscross pattern across his chest.

“I am sorry” Thrawn said. “I meant no harm. I was merely interested in you, as I am interested in everything about your Empire”

“But why me?” Vanto asked. “You never ask about [] any of the other senior officers. Or even about Emperor Palpatine or the Imperial Senate”

“They are not connected to my immediate survival” Thrawn said. “You are. [] You are my translator. You hold my words in your hand, and their meanings” []

“Krayt spit” Vanto said. He makes a snorting sound through his nose.

“Forgive me?”

“I call krayt spit. [] You speak it as well as I do. Probably better—you don’t have a Wild Space accent people can make fun of. []”

“What is meant by krayt spit?”

“It’s a slang term for nonsense” Vanto said. The left corner of his lip twists upward. “Especially nonsense that the speaker knows is nonsense”

“I see. Krayt spit. I will remember that”

~

I survive on coffee and slow-burn romcoms.

And this *is* one of them.

[Checking each other imperceptible physical reactions!

The hate/love game!

The final grandiose declaration!]