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If you asked her, Thunhe would say her dads are teachers. Obviously not in a way where they stand in a hall and lecture for hours just to hear themselves talk. No, they pinpoint the strengths of people and direct them down paths that will allow them to properly flourish. The day she had told them she wanted to go to Taharim, neither of them had questioned it. They guided her, taught her what to expect and she very nearly graduated top of her class.
And now, they take time to answer questions of their new bridge officers—training runs now that the war is over. After everything that happened—the kidnapping, the acquisition of the Grysk ship, the subsequent battles, her dads became war heroes. Everyone wants to learn under them; the Protector went from being infamous to genuinely famous, young up-and-comings trying to pull family favors to gain a position here. But the Protector has never been one to crack under the pressure of the Syndicure.
If you asked her, Thunhe would say that her dads are soft. Not in a way that makes them weak, but the way that lets her know that they love her. They bake her a cake every year for her birthday and each year the cakes get a little better. She distinctly remembers the first cake they made together, it was lopsided and the icing was practically sliding from it, but it meant more to her than she could ever express. At that point, she and Eli had been a family for a while, but all of them together feels complete and whole. She hadn’t known how much her da had been hurting until her dad entered their lives.
And now, they have family dinners with Yokima and Wuluko and her dads. Eli sits at the head of the table, telling old stories and Thrawn sits there, enraptured even if he has heard the tale before or, in some cases, he was there to witness the story. Eli gives hugs freely, welcoming Yokima into the fold after her family turned her away in all but name, and Thrawn gives his time, helping Wuluko achieve an analyst position even though he nearly blew his career out of the water when he helped save her all those years ago. To those who are kind to them, they return that kindness tenfold.
If you asked her, Thunhe would say that her dads are warriors. It’s obvious in the way they move around each other and around the ship. Their bodies are lythe and fit, and neither of them are afraid to make a decision that will ultimately kill their enemy. They are protective of their own, but they aren’t afraid to spill blood to honor the Ascendancy.
And now, there is peace. But peace doesn’t change the way a warrior acts, the way a warrior thinks. Thunhe had thought maybe it did until she had taken them out to dinner, until she had seen the way they are constantly scanning for a threat, covering for the other when their attention is pulled elsewhere. Da had signed the check and Dad had been right behind him, using his own body as a shield while scanning for someone who could do harm. It is simply their way of life, to always be ready to defend.
If you asked her, Thunhe would say that her dads are in love. They have been for decades now. It’s obvious in the way they move around each other. Both of them are so reserved around others, neither wanting to reveal their hand before the opportune moment. Thrawn never offers smiles and Eli offers smiles that never reach his eyes.
And now, when they are alone together, it's like watching a flower stretch towards the sun or the tide rise with the moon. The two ebb and flow around each other, their eyes glimmer with adoration and their lips twist with private jokes.
If you asked her, she would have said that she never expected this life to be hers. And now, Thunhe looks around her family gathered around the table—small and perfect and so entirely hers—and she thinks there isn’t a single thing she would change.