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Thire knew he was only feeding his "lost puppy" nickname by taking Neyo aside the second he saw him to keep him all to himself and hope to capture his full attention but... he just could not help himself.
At the very beginning, he was not looking to fall in love, he had no desire for someone else to break his heart by not coming back to him. He could not say exactly why he had fallen in love with Neyo either, he was not even like his previous cyare, but he had noticed that he felt butterflies in his stomach at the idea of seeing him again, that hearing from him made him happy and excited for hours and that every time they got to know each other a little better and started having jokes that only made them laugh in the middle of a group... unlike Fox who would not recognise romance even if it bit him on the arse, Stone who avoided it as best he could and Thorn who was carefully only looking for sex, Thire recognised these symptoms for what they were.
He was in love, once again.
And now that he had had time to come to terms with it, he wanted to know if he had a chance. Rejection would be easier than losing the one he loved, but at least he knew that Neyo considered him his friend, even if he generally ignored his flirtation.
"I'm glad to see you again, I didn't expect you to be here already... What's wrong?" Thire asked seeing the almost disappointed look Neyo had when he looked at him as they sat down in a quieter place.
"Nothing.
"Don't take me for a fool, just say it."
Thire sighed when the other openly looked away with a disinterested look.
Secret bastard, how was he supposed to communicate if the other could not even say things that bothered him? He knew Kamino had fucked him up way harder than most people but it was starting to get to be too much.
He tried other topics of conversation and they talked but the atmosphere was so heavy and oppressive that Thire took advantage of the first opportunity as their glasses were empty to run to the bar and walk away. Neyo did not smell much yet, but the feeling of misery that clung to him was particularly suffocating.
"Trouble in paradise with your future riduur? "
"Shut up, Hound. "
"Oh, so bad?" The trainer asked this time with concern and sollicitude. "What happened?"
"I don't know what happened, that's the whole problem!" Thire got annoyed. "The last time we saw each other, everything was fine, and now I don't know."
"Last time you didn't smell like the Alpha, maybe he doesn't like your smell but doesn't know how to say it?"
Thire frowned, trying to sniff his clothes.
"Do I smell bad... shit." He stopped himself when he remembered that Hound didn't have an apparent designation yet before turning to the first clone that passed him. "Sorry. Hey, you, do I smell funny?"
The poor Alpha he had randomly called out stared at him in confusion, seeming to ask his friends what he was supposed to say or do, before finally leaning forward.
"You smell... pretty normal, I mean, nothing unpleasant anyway."
"Thanks, you can go. Hound, I need some advice before going back."
"My advice would be to go immediately," his vod replied, looking behind him, "because someone might take your place if you don't make it clear that you're seriously trying to court him."
"I've been trying to seduce him for months, how could he not know I'm serious?" He scoffed, finally picking up his order.
"He might think he's just a game, a flirtation that you don't really want to see come to anything."
"That's not-"
"Example of highly clear communication: there's a guy talking to him and they seem close, so go find him before he leaves without you."
When he turned, Thire saw in front of Neyo a large Iktotchi that his at least visual knowledge of every Jedi High General allowed him to identify as Saesee Tiin.
A colleague of Staas Allie, Neyo's direct superior.
And therefore... someone he could have met before.
Hoping strongly that the man was not trying to court the bastard he had fallen too hard in love with to back down, Thire approached, very careful not to let his drinks slip even as he watched the two exchange whispers in each other's ears.
What could they possibly be saying to each other that no one else could hear?
Just as suddenly as he had arrived, the Iktotchi had left and Thire sat back down, more than a little jealous that his presence and brief interaction had soothed Neyo to the point that he smelled almost radically different. Was he so good to have around?
"What did he want?"
"Chatting."
Probably realizing that Thire expected more, the guy reflexively rubbed his facial tattoo before giving more details.
"He's telepathic, much more than the other Jedi, and we've worked together before so he wanted to... exchange news."
"Ah. Is everything okay with-"
"He said you are in love with me."
Neyo watched him without even blinking as he choked on his drink and coughed for dear life.
"He said what?!"
"He said you were in love with me," the other repeated coldly once more. "Is that true? You’ve said more than once that you wouldn’t mind more, but there’s a very important difference between "more" and a romantic relationship. Forget your insufferable flirting, make your choice now."
Thire ignored the fact that he was convinced that Neyo liked his flirting because for one thing he would have told him to stop from the beginning if he did not like it and then because he had caught him blushing several times at his affectionate gestures, and answered once he was convinced that his voice was still operational.
"I thought I was clear."
"So… you haven’t changed your mind."
"No, I like you."
"Since the beginning?"
"No, but now it’s been a while. Are you interested?"
"If you're willing to go slow, I'll give it a try," the other replied looking everywhere but at him but his flushed cheeks made him reach out to touch his face.
"You have no idea how happy that makes me," he admitted with a sincere and sweet smile that did not stop even when Neyo slapped his hand.
"Don't say things like that, you idiot."
Thire heard the challenge and accepted it, leaning down to whisper in his ear:
"Yes sir... do you want me to kiss you to show you how much I mean it?"