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As the Empire’s de facto representative to a number of worlds thanks to the Chimaera’s assigned patrol route on the Outer Rim, it was not uncommon for Thrawn to be diverted from his normal responsibilities to serve as an overseer for various tasks deemed to be either a waste of time or simply of little interest for the local Moffs to handle on their own. He seldom minded the variation in his routine - it granted the opportunity to explore and experience worlds and cultures he might otherwise have missed. And where Thrawn went, Eli followed.
The conflict negotiations between the two hostile factions had resolved rapidly - as they tended to when a Star Destroyer was in orbit over a planet - and Thrawn was looking forward to absorbing the local culture during the allotted time remaining before he was due back on the ship. To that end, he had, with the assistance of Eli, planned a day full of sightseeing and experience.
Thrawn was awake, showered, and dressed before Eli had even roused; he woke to the smell of the caf Thrawn was not-so-subtly brewing in an effort to entice the human to start the day.
Eli groaned into his pillow, only the top of his head visible under his blanket. “Gonna rain today.”
Thrawn checked the weather on his datapad; the forecast was clear. He glanced up as Eli climbed out of his bed and shuffled to the open window in his pajamas, breathing in the non-recycled air with a deep, pleased sigh. He joined Eli, who had planted his hands on his hips as he stared skyward. The Chiss peered out over his aide’s head, scanning the very dry ground outside, then glanced upward at the clear, cloudless sky, frowning.
Eli caught his expression and snorted. “You’ll see. It’s gonna rain.”
“Noted, Commander.” Thrawn was too polite to let the doubt he felt bleed into his voice or mannerism, but Eli knew the man too well not to detect it anyway.
“You’ll see.”
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Art museums and walking tours filled the morning, and by early afternoon both Thrawn and Eli were tired and hungry. Settling down at a charming open-air café near the water, they ate a light lunch and relaxed afterward; Eli with his eyes closed and face turned to the sun, Thrawn watching Eli as the light played over his skin and hair. It had been, both thought, a good day.
A sudden chill in the previously warm breeze and a dark shadow passing over the sun caused Eli’s eyes to open and Thrawn to glance up. Black clouds were rolling in rapidly, and not thirty seconds passed before fat raindrops began to fall - just a few at first, then more and more as the clouds unleashed their contents onto the world below. The cafe cleared out, with people rushing for cover in buildings or homes, hugging their belongings to their bodies to keep them dry. Eli and Thrawn did the same: Eli grinning and laughing as they scrambled out of the wet, Thrawn pointing out a small alcove set in a nearby wall, the recessed space and small awning over it just enough for them both to fit within.
“Told ya it was going to rain, didn’t I?” Eli wiped water from his face, mood high despite his hair and clothing sopping wet and sticking to him; he stepped back until he was flush with the wall then pulled Thrawn in closer to keep his back out of the runoff from the awning, a curtain of water keeping them from any potential escape route for the moment.
“That you did.” Thrawn reached out, hesitating for just a moment before pushing wet hair out of Eli’s eyes. “How did you know?”
Eli swallowed as Thrawn’s fingertips brushed his skin, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. He was suddenly very aware of how close they were standing to each other, and how very small the space they were in was.
“Um. Oh. When I was a kid I broke my arm when I fell out of a tree. Ever since then I get an ache when rain’s comin’.” Thrawn gave him a dubious look. “It’s true! It just doesn’t come up much on account of us, you know, living in space.”
Thrawn opened his mouth to respond when his comm chimed. He had to lean forward to fish it out of his wet pocket, one forearm pressing against the wall next to Eli’s head.
“Yes?”
“Looks like you were right, Sir. According to historical data and the present forecast, it’s probably going to be about two weeks before there’s enough of a lull between storms that we can safely get a shuttle to your location.” A pause. “Strange, isn't it, that the negotiations were scheduled at the start of their rainy season? It’s a good thing you two have so much shore leave banked.”
Faro’s voice came from the device, faint over the sound of the rain, but not faint enough that Eli couldn’t hear the faintly accusatory, sarcastic note in her tone that Thrawn either didn’t pick up on or chose to ignore.
“Understood. Continue on patrol in the meantime, and contact me if necessary. Commander Vanto and I shall make do here until then. Thrawn out.” He keyed off the device, then raised a brow at the expression on Eli’s face, who seemed to have forgotten his fluster.
“You knew! You planned all this, Sir, you knew this was gonna happen. Don’t deny it.”
A small, satisfied smile flashed across Thrawn’s face, vanishing as soon as it appeared, replaced with his typical aloofness.
“While it is true that I was aware of the local climate patterns, and that there was a strong likelihood that our visit would occur during the weather shift, I didn’t know until this morning that it would begin today.”
“And you made sure that we would still be planetside when it started to rain so you had an excuse for a vacation.” Eli snorted lightly, amused, then shook his head. “But how did you know that today would be the day?”
They had inched closer during the course of the conversation, practically pressed together now. To avoid the spray of the rain, Eli told himself, until Thrawn tilted his head slightly and reached up again to slowly run the pad of his thumb over Eli’s bottom lip.
“Because you told me it would.”
A simple answer, and one that made Eli’s heart race.
“You.. ah. You trust me that much, Sir?”
Thrawn leaned down, close enough that both their faces were tinted red from the bright glow of his eyes. When he smiled this time, it remained, his voice soft as he replied.
“I trust you absolutely, Eli.”
Who exactly closed the gap was unclear and ultimately unimportant; all that mattered was the kiss: cool and warm, soft and firm, tentative and sure, a culmination and a new beginning all at the same time. Nothing existed outside their little space and the shared moment, hidden from prying eyes by stone and water; not Admiral and Aide, but just two people that, against all odds, had reached out and found each other.
It was going to be a very enjoyable, very memorable two weeks.