"Did you say something?"
Thrawn opened his mouth to repeat himself but found the words were stuck in his throat. Damn it, he had felt so confident before he spoke, and yet when the words left his mouth they were barely louder than a whisper. Though maybe that was for the best since the polite invitation that he spent an hour rehearsing in his head somehow got turned into a hurried "Please go out with me" when he actually spoke.
But now Pellaeon stared back at him with concern and Thrawn realized that he hadn't answered his question. The silence had stretched well into awkwardness and he had to say something now.
"Yes, I did."
A long sting of swears unleashed itself in Thrawn's head as his mouth just stopped there. Pellaeon arched an eyebrow, his concern now tinged with some annoyance.
"Would you like to tell me what it was, sir?"
Why yes, he would love to, if only he could get his jaw to unclench.
"Yes, I just – I asked you if you would like to accompany me somewhere off the ship. For something unrelated to work. Just the two of us."
Smooth. Pellaeon's other eyebrow rose to join its twin. Thrawn distantly heard someone screaming, and he realized that it was his own voice in his head. Pellaeon's lips twitched into a smile and Thrawn couldn't tell if that was a good or a bad thing, but it made his stomach flip unpleasantly regardless.
"Like on a date?"
Thrawn wanted to die. If some freak accident involving a terminal falling on his head were to occur just then, well that would have been just great. Just say it, Thrawn told himself as he gritted his teeth, it'll be more embarrassing to stop now.
"Yes, Pellaeon."
Did his voice shake when he said his name? He swore that if his voice shook he would go and close himself in the nearest airlock right this very moment. Stars he had to be blushing too – his face felt hot and he could only hope that Pellaeon wouldn't think anything of it if he turned purple. And oh kriff, had it been quiet too long? Should he have not asked? Should he have waited? What if Pellaeon wasn't interested like Thrawn was and he just made it awkward between them? What if—
"Sure," Pellaeon replied as if it was the easiest thing in the world. "I'd love too."