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“It’s late; I didn’t think you were coming.” The Grand Moff’s voice held its trademark stern iciness as he stepped aside to allow the young trooper through the doorway, though there was a distinct glitter in his equally icy eyes. As the metal door slid closed, he allowed himself a glimmer of a grin. The much younger man now stood just inside the threshold, both hands behind his back.
Once the door fully shut, the governor swiftly closed the gap between them, taking the other man’s chin firmly in his grasp, tilted his head up, and placed a firm kiss on his lips which the other eagerly returned.
“What’s behind your back?” Wilhuff was quick to ask when he broke the kiss, greying brow quirking as he tried to peer over the other’s shoulder, hand still on his chin, index finger gently running over his cheek which was turning a warm shade of pink.
The trooper shifted, concealing whatever he was holding behind him and took a step back. He tried his best to contain the wide smile that threatened to spread across his face, but the corners of his mouth twitched terribly. “A gift.” He answered brightly and then tightly closed his mouth again.
Tarkin folded his arms across his chest and cast him a look. “A gift. And are you going to give it to me, or continue to just stand there?” “I don’t think you would allow me to just stand around.” He retorted with a chuckle, a smirk emerging from the twitch at one side of his lips that he just could not contain. There was a faint sound of rustling behind him. His face was turning bright red.
“You should have kept your helmet on.” That signature eye roll punctuated his statement and he gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “Stop wasting my time TK-421.” A smirk was on his lips now. He took a single step forward, his boot landing hard against the floor.
The trooper stood up straighter and now very slowly brought the box that he had been trying to conceal forward. The rustling sound returned, but now the source was definitive.
“Go ahead -- open it.”
Tarkin looked down his nose at the package and then pulled open the lid with one graceful, fluid motion. Staring up at him now was a tiny Loth-cat kitten with bright blue eyes and pure white fur. The tiny creature seemed a little out of sorts from the sudden influx of light but quickly regained its bearings and clawed at the wall of the box with a tiny, high pitched mewl, very much in want of being released.
“A Loth-cat?” He slowly looked back up.
“I found him on my last mission to Lothal. I remembered you mentioning how you enjoyed observing them – he was all by his lonesome and I just co—”
“He’s an Angora. You found an Angora of this quality just meandering through the streets?” He sounded overtly skeptical, not exactly the response his lover wanted or expected.
He was wide-eyed for a moment and then shrugged. He shifted the box so he was holding it in just one arm and gave the kitten a quick scratch on the head. “I’m telling you – I found him just wandering around a back alley. Maybe he belonged to someone, who knows.” His tone was incredibly nonchalant now and shrugged again. “In any case, whether you believe me or not, he’s yours now.”
“Hmph.” The Grand Moff returned his gaze to the box, reached his hand forward and smoothed his hand over the kitten’s head. The creature seemed very pleased, butting his little head against his hand, a quiet purr starting up. “A charming little creature.”
The trooper let the smile he had been constraining bloom. He set the box down on the floor and then picked up the kitten and placed it directly on the floor as well. The kitten seemed very unsure of the flooring and batted at it a few times before taking some tentative steps forward. It looked about inquisitively, taking in its new habitat.
“Go on, check out your new home.” He fanned both of his hands forward, trying to usher the creature into exploration
“You are very adamant about him moving in – I have yet to even say a word on the matter. You are very quick to assume.”
The trooper looked up from his crouched position on the floor, giving the Grand Moff puppy-dog eyes. “Well…” There was a hint of a whine in his plead.
Another eye roll, though in good humor. “He seems fairly intelligent, and he’s a gorgeous specimen...” He was quiet a few beats in apparent contemplation. A true smile was now forming on his lips. “He will stay.”
The younger man was absolutely beaming now.
“Up.”
The order was obeyed without hesitation and as he straightened himself back to his full height, he snatched up the kitten who had yet to wander very far. Wilhuff yanked him as close as possible without squishing the tiny creature between them, prompting another deep kiss. The cat pawed at Tarkin’s chest and looked up at his as they slowly separated by degrees, bony hand still entwined in blond hair.
“See, he likes you already.” A light chuckle bubbled up through the statement. The only verbal reply came from the kitten who was now loudly purring in response to the governor’s pets who seemed to have allowed himself to be enraptured by the animal, an unthinking smile on his face.
“I knew you would like him… his eyes remind me of yours.” The trooper was starting intently at his superior, a shy sort of smile curving onto his lips.
It was a very rare occasion to see the Grand Moff smile, and an even rarer occasion to see such a large grin spread from ear to ear and to his eyes which were glittering. “Charming.”
“I figured you would appreciate something to keep you company… at least when I’m not around." A much more chaste kiss was placed on hollow cheek, arm sliding around belted waist. "But, he still needs a name.”
Wilhuff took the kitten into his hands and gave it a long, inspecting look over, scrutinizing every hair every inch of this squirming little creature. After a long moment, an eternity in the cat's limited point of view, he made his formal declaration. “His name will be... Andronicus.”