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There was something special about sharing a bed with someone.
Thrawn mused idly on the idea as he lay next to Eli, stretched lazily on his side as he peered down at his drowsy, prone partner, one hand propping up his head and the other tracing lazy spirals down Eli’s smooth, tan back.
There was, of course, all the exciting reasons one might wish to share a bed with another being. Reasons he and Eli had thoroughly explored for several hours earlier in the evening. But there were also other, more tender, reasons.
Thrawn watched the designs left by his nails as his fingers wandered lightly over Eli’s smooth skin. First, a lightening of the flesh, then a flush of red in the wake of the gentle scratching. When Thrawn had first discovered how vividly Eli’s skin colored to such touch, he was concerned he was hurting him. But Eli reassured him that was simply how Human skin reacted, and that the sensation of the gentle back scratch was more than pleasant.
Thrawn adored the pattern now, switching from his circling to what Eli called a “falling leaf” pattern, starting at his shoulder blades and working his way back and forth across his back, lower and lower until Thrawn reached Eli’s trim waist, then back up to repeat the motion. It left faint crimson stripes, like water colors on a damp canvas, fading almost as quickly as they bloomed.
Thrawn found it incredibly relaxing. The smooth curve of Eli’s muscles, the tiny bumps of his vertebra, the strong plane of his shoulders, a gently rolling landscape for Thrawn’s hands to traverse as they wished.
Eli gave a deep sigh and adjusted his arms more comfortably beneath him, one tucked under his pillow and the other resting on Thrawn’s bicep near his head, his dark curls splayed across the fabric. One foot tentatively brushed Thrawn’s calf, and Thrawn lifted a leg so Eli could entwine their lower limbs, Eli hooking one knee over Thrawn’s and bending the joint just so, so they fit together comfortably. Perfectly.
Eli was always warmer than him, but Thrawn didn’t mind. Thrawn realized on their first night spent together that he craved that warmth, craved to feel Eli’s skin on his like he craved the warmth of the sun on his face. Each place they touched - thighs pillowed on one another or arms draped across backs or faces tucked into chests - was like a welcome summer breeze after a harsh winter. When Eli rolled away from him that first night, movement artifact of a dream or other restless slumber, Thrawn rolled with him and tucked him closer, relishing how easily they fit together.
Thrawn smiled as he listened to Eli breathe. A steady rise and fall beneath his wandering hand, growing slower and deeper as sleep claimed the tired Human. One more pass, Thrawn said to himself as his own eyes grew heavy, the thought an echo of what Eli would occasionally ask when instead of falling asleep, they had to leave their soft bed and continue about their duties. Thrawn brought his hand upward, this time letting his broad palm ghost over Eli’s spine before curling his fingers again and gently running his nails back and forth, back and forth, like a sun’s journey across a sky.
And what a fitting metaphor, Thrawn thought as he continued his exploration. The dusky blue of his own skin against the earthen tan of Eli’s, red tracks of sunlight dotted with the freckles that spread across Eli’s back like stars, all present in the darkened space of their room.
Yes, there was something special about sharing a bed with someone, Thrawn idly mused as he leaned forward, placing a chaste kiss on the warm skin between Eli’s shoulders before settling down and draping his arm over the man. It was a universe all its own.