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Thrawn sat as the shuttle descended to the planet below, watching placidly out the viewport as they drew closer and closer to the white and blue world. He appeared completely calm and relaxed, lost in thought even to the casual observer.
Eli knew better.
All the signs were there.
The slight tap of a blue fingertip against the powered down datapad in Thrawn’s lap. The red eyes, staring intently at the rapidly approaching terrain. The slight shift of his body in the chair, the slow crossing and uncrossing of his long legs during the course of the shuttle ride.
Thrawn’s datapad was never powered down when it was in his hands. He never simply looked out the viewport of a shuttle when he had an opportunity to work. And he never fidgeted. His interest and excitement was written plainly for anyone that knew how to see it.. which meant it was going to be one of those missions. Eli had known it would be; as soon as he realized they were en route to an ice planet, he had resigned himself to the fact. Thrawn on the ground was an exercise in patience and required a certain willingness to accept that things were very possibly not going to go to plan under the best of times. Thrawn on the ground when there was snow and ice present required willingness to accept that whatever plan there might have been would be all but abandoned within the first thirty seconds after touchdown. He was still professional, still got the job done whatever it might be, but keeping Thrawn on task in such a scenario was like herding tooka: everything took twice as long and necessitated constant vigilance.
It was worth it, though, to see him smile - really smile - and to see the light in his eyes shine so brightly.
Thrawn was on his feet and waiting at the head of the ramp as soon as the shuttle broke through the atmosphere; Eli lingered in his seat a little longer. He was already wearing his winter gear: snow boots, thick gloves, and a long, heavy white coat. Thrawn was in his usual uniform and nothing else. It was too much to expect him to wear gloves or special boots, but Eli could both hear and feel the wind buffeting the shuttle as they approached the ground. Even Thrawn would feel the chill of that.
“Sir.. Your coat?”
“Hm? Ah. Yes.”
Thrawn grabbed the garment and pulled it on, not bothering to seal it shut. Eli sighed; he had to pick his battles, and this wasn’t going to be one of them. The shuttle touched down and Thrawn rode the ramp as it lowered, hopping to the ground well before it was fully locked into place. Eli followed with considerably less enthusiasm, eyeing the falling snow with distrust. It was picturesque, but he was a child of the sun and scrub. This was not where he was meant to be.
Thrawn, on the other hand, was absolutely in his element.
He had gotten roughly six steps from the shuttle before stopping, his open coat blowing back from his shoulders like a cape from the force of the wind; his arms held just slightly away from his sides, bare palms turned forward and fingers curling slightly as if we were welcoming an old friend. One might think the frigid gusts and the tiny pieces of ice they peppered against his skin were akin to the soft caresses of a gentle breeze the way that his lips turned slightly upturned and his eyes closed in an expression of bliss. Snow was sticking to his hair, mussed from the wind; he looked younger, like the weight he carried was momentarily set aside as he permitted himself to experience the moment.
Eli, on the other hand, was shocked into a standstill when the first gust cut through him like all the layers he had on were made of nothing but flimsi. Cursing, he hugged his arms around himself and slowly made his way to Thrawn, eyes watering and skin already turning red. He waited until the cold was too much to tolerate, then cleared his throat to get the Chiss’s attention.
“Sir? Shall we?”
Thrawn opened his eyes and looked down at Eli, a hint of surprise in them that rapidly turned to concern.
“Commander. This weather does not seem to agree with you.”
Eli would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t so busy keeping them as near to closed as possible against the wind.
“Not exactly, Sir, no.”
Thrawn hummed, the sound nearly lost.
“That will not do. We still have to walk a short distance to reach our destination. Permit me to assist you.”
He shrugged out of his coat and placed it around Eli; the difference in their relative sizes was enough that he was able to seal it closed around where Eli’s arms were still hugging his chest, giving the human the look of a puffy marshmallow with legs.
“There. Does that help matters?”
Mortified, Eli’s head sunk; his embarrassment secretly turned into delight when he discovered that he could cover half his face in the neck opening of the larger man’s coat. In addition to blocking the wind, the jacket smelled like Thrawn; a unique scent combination that was both impossible to fully describe and to ignore the presence of. Eli was suddenly glad his body was so cold; hopefully the flashes of heat the scent had brought forth wouldn’t be noticeable to Thrawn’s infrared vision.
“Very much, Sir, Thank you. Won’t you need it, though?”
Thrawn tilted his head slightly, a look that might have been fondness, might have been amusement flitting across his features.
“Not at the moment. If I do, I will let you know. Shall we?”
Thrawn set a slow pace forward, both to enjoy the brisk air and to keep an eye on Eli as they traveled. Without the ready use of his arms, were the man to slip and fall he wouldn’t be able to stop himself; in his mind’s eye Thrawn imagined Eli rolling down a hill until he was less a marshmallow and more a giant snowball by the time he reached the bottom. He huffed soft laughter at the thought, which made Eli glance over at him suspiciously.
Thrawn schooled his features and cleared his throat, an amused glint lingering in his eye as he subtly guided Eli closer to flatter terrain.