"Why don't we go get a drink and you can tell me all about it?"
Thrawn looked over Eli. He seemed serious. "Alright."
Eli half smiled and started down the stairs. The meeting with Yularen had gone far over what it should have, Thrawn arguing with the Colonel about a detail that Yularen refused to accept was Nightswan's work. Thrawn was irritated, but Eli seemed to find it mildly amusing. Thrawn wasn't offended. He was simply, curious.
"Its been forever since we've been planetside, it'll be nice to get away from the Thunderwasp."
Thrawn pursed his lips. Eli was right, of course, but the last thing Thrawn wanted was to socialize with anyone.
"Hey!"
Eli and Thrawn both turned around. Their new weapons officer, Lieutenant Scofi, was jogging up to them.
"Would you both like to join me for a drink?"
Thrawn resisted an eye roll. This would significantly change the length of their night out.
"That's where we were going." Eli said, sounding less than amused himself. But Scofi had very important parents, and Thrawn trusted Eli's political judgement.
"I know the perfect place."
Scofi led them to a tiny dive bar that Thrawn was only half certain was legal. There were quite a few navy members and government officials present, which eased his mind a bit, but he still found himself unwilling to touch anything with his bare hands. Eli made himself the buffer between Thrawn and Scofi, and for that Thrawn was relieved. He could nurse his drink in peace.
"First one's on me, commander." Scofi said a little too eagerly, and he nodded once before letting the sound of the patrons drown out he and Eli's small talk.
The bar tender poured the drinks in front of them, Sliding them in front of them. Eli tossed the drink back, the bartender already pouring another. A woman got up from one of the nearby tables, leaning against the bar between Scofi and Eli.
"I don't think I've seen you around here before." She said.
Eli turned to face her, his posture loosening.
That was the type of night Eli was looking for.
Women always approached Eli. Events, dinners, and even on board the ship, Thrawn would catch women and sometimes men trying to get Eli's attention. Heat in their faces, a nervous jitter about their stance, Eli was always attracting people. A vast majority of the time he was simply polite, especially on board the Thunderwasp.
Sometimes, Eli would go home with someone. These instances were very rare, and Thrawn understood why Eli did it. He was private and considerate about the matter, but Thrawn hated them all the same.
"I think I'll be heading back to the ship," Thrawn said, finishing his drink.
Eli looked up at him, a mixture of pity and silent begging in his eyes. "C'mon, commander, its early."
Thrawn eyed him knowingly. "I wouldn't want to… infringe on your time planetside."
Eli looked at the woman and back at him, "no, I'll stay right here with you." He drawled, and Thrawn clenched his teeth.
Stay here with you. Stay here with you, where you sit alone.
"No. I insist. Enjoy your night," he looked over at Scofi, "thank you for the drink, Lieutenant."
Before Eli could continue to humiliate him, he turned and left the bar.
Thrawn looked at his chrono. Eli was well over an hour late. He pursed his lips, watching the viewport, his gaze fixed. Eli had never been late since thrawn had met him, not to anything.
Thrawn remembered a time Eli had caught something Thrawn had never heard of, an influenza that was floating around the campus. It was apparent that Thrawn had been immune, because he never caught it, instead, bringing Eli whatever he told him to. Water, broth, medicine, Thrawn did all his bidding without complaint. When the weekend was over and they were due to return to their classes, Eli went. He was still terribly weak, but he still went to his classes, even completing an exam.
Something had to be wrong.
Thrawn had his com paged a half dozen times. No answer.
"You did not see him last night?" He asked Scofi, sitting at his station.
"No, sir, he left with that woman."
Thrawn pursed his lips. Something was wrong.
"Lieutenant Scofi, watch the bridge." Thrawn decided.
The Lieutenant nodded and Thrawn swept from the bridge, determined.
He walked down the long corridor to Eli's quarters, and knocked.
No answer.
Thrawn knocked again, his gut telling him that something was seriously wrong.
Thrawn pulled his ID cylinder from his pocket, stuffing it into the emergency compartment above the hatch.
It slid open, and the stale air in the room was all that greeted Thrawn. He saw the top of Eli's head from his bed. Silent. Unmoving.
"Vanto?" Thrawn asked cautiously. No response.
"Eli?" He said again, approaching cautiously and touching his shoulder.
He was very warm, far warmer than he should have been.
"Eli." He said with more urgency, rolling him toward him. Eli's head lolled, drool and vomit on his face.
He turned on his com. "I need a medic. Now."
Thrawn cradled Eli's head, touching the side of his face. "Eli." He commanded, slapping his cheek a few times. "Wake up."
Eli's eyes rolled and he grunted before falling back again. He was pale, a yellow tinge to his skin. The medics rushed into the room, pulling Eli onto a gurney, medical jargon vollying between them, the beeping of various tools and monitors interrupting them.
They stuck him with some sort of needle, opened his eyes, and tried to rouse him. Nothing.
"Sir, he's gonna need a hospital," one of them said, one of the sensors screaming in the medic's hand.
"Find the nearest medical frigate and get him there on a shuttle. We will follow as soon as we're cleared to do so." Thrawn said, his tone even.
The medic nodded, and the rushed from Eli's quarters, leaving Thrawn alone in the stale, still air.
Eli was going to die.
Thrawn was in the military. He knew that in war, people were lost. Despite his best efforts, he knew this was something he could never wholly eliminate.
But Eli?
Eli was too good for that. He was and outlier in every way. He was unusually intelligent, thoughtful, kind… to die alone in his bed, covered in his own vomit?
Thrawn clenched his jaw.
Eli…
Could he stand the empire without Eli?
It sounded so terribly dramatic, but he wasn't sure he could stay without him. The empire was so ghastly, human culture so difficult to understand. Without Eli, this could all be for naught. All of his plans could fail without someone there to help him navigate the precarious politics that came with higher ranks.
He needed his friend.
"Captain Thrawn, Vanto is going to Medical Frigate Halo." The medic called.
"Copy."
"I'm Captain Thrawn. I'm looking for Ensign Eli Vanto."
Frigate Halo was nearly silent. Its blinding white hallways were painful, their clinical stillness disturbing. There was no sound, the eerie silence a stark difference to the beeping and yelling of the medics in Eli's room. He almost preferred the noise. It informed. This silence did nothing but remind Thrawn of death.
The man at the desk looked back to the other medic behind him. It was late, and given their lack of decorum, they clearly didn't get many visitors.
"Dr. Remda." The man said into his comm.
A pause. Thrawn watched the face of the man at the desk. He was uncomfortable, and Thrawn wanted to utilize this to his advantage if this Remda didn't allow him in.
A voice came on "yes?"
"Doctor, there's someone here to see Eli Vanto."
Another pause.
"Is it Captain Thrawn?"
Thrawn frowned.
"Uh, yes ma'am."
"Bring him in."
The medic looked taken aback, but stood.
"Follow me."
"Thank you."
Thrawn followed him down the white hallway, the doors all shut and their curtains drawn. The medic opened a door on the right, holding it for Thrawn.
Eli had tubes sticking out of his nose and arms, machines beeping and shifting, pumping medicines and liquids into him. He was pallid, and so still that Thrawn would believe him dead if the machine didn't say otherwise.
A woman sat before the bed, a datapad in her hand. Her waved brown hair was up in a ponytail, her green eyes finding his.
"Linnia," Thrawn said quietly without realizing it.
"Thrawn," She half smiled.
Thanks so much for reading!
Raw- Thanks for your input, I'll keep it in mind. I entirely agree that Thrawn comes off potentially asexual in the materials, but for the purpose of my plans for this romance/hurt-comfort story, I am taking more of a 'Thrawn is a socially isolated being who is often victimized for his lack of social skills and political ineptness' approach. This underlying reason is my drive for his behavior, including that with Korma. Not necessarily looking for sex, but humoring companionship for companionship's sake, because he's lonely and intoxicated. Thrawn is a well controlled person, which is why I used alcohol as a tool to get Thrawn to act outside his norms. Thanks for your review and your input, I hope you continue to enjoy the story :)
