"What's the matter?" Uri asked as Sola whisked by him, securing her shawl with her arms.
She held a lace-bordered handkerchief to her face as she pressed the button to slide the door open and stepped out of the house.
"What's the matter?" Uri asked again, turning on the toe of his boot and rushing at her heels. "Are you crying?"
"Teo and I got in a fight," she said, her eyes looking forward toward his little sports aircar.
"That's nothing new," Uri muttered. He ran in front of her and opened the door to the passenger side.
"He was cruel," she said as he closed the door on her.
He went around the other side and slid into the speeder. "What do you mean?" he asked, protectiveness rising in his shoulders.
She dotted her eyes so as to not smear her makeup. "He didn't want me to come tonight," she said, not answering the question. "He said I spent too much time with you, and the clinic, and our family on Astarrax, and Thrawn." She let out a little sob.
"Surely he can't complain about you spending time with your family?" Uri said, putting his hands on the wheel and starting the aircar. "You have a family estate on Astarrax that you have rights to go to whenever you want. Why not use it? He could always come along. But heaven forbid he leave Coruscant." Uri rolled his eyes.
"He said I made him unhappy," she said quietly.
Uri was quiet for a long moment, gathering his thoughts. He saw his knuckles getting white on the steering wheel and willed himself to soften his grip.
His sister sobbed again, loud this time. "He said no one else would have me."
He grit his teeth. "That's not true," he ground out.
"It is true," she said. "That's why I'm married to him. He's the only person who asked."
Uri bit his lip. His sister's marriage had been a bone of contention in their family, especially after moving to Coruscant. While Sola was not entirely correct, he was the only human asked. Many an Astarraxi family had presented their sons as prospective marriage partners for her. Their parents had decided that since they looked like humans, their spouses were to be humans. He wasn't sure where that particular decision came from, but he had no say in it and was already engulfed in his career before their parents started panicking that no one was coming forth to marry Sola.
Until Teo Tristaine had come along.
He'd been severe, even back then, but not unpleasant. He attended court functions, he wooed Sola with flowers and praise, his parents had presented him as a young up-and-comer, destined for great things. That all changed after the wedding. He stopped attending any functions, claiming he didn't like parties of any kind. A detail that was left out of his courtship. Sola's famous tea parties were put to a stop, he didn't want people, especially people he didn't know, in his house. Her political rise in the education system was put to a stop as he made her too busy with his things to do much of anything on her own. Her teaching in the slums of the city were ground to a halt as too unbecoming. Her outings with friends slowly diminished until she had the children.
Then she'd thrown her entire being into them. Going against custom and tutoring her own kids, rather than hiring one, kept her busy beyond belief. It kept her out of the court circles for the most part. It kept her at home. That, along with the help she gave Uri in his career, took up all of her time.
Only the kids weren't there anymore. He'd reached the pinnacle of his career. She had nothing holding her back now. And Uri knew that Teo didn't like it.
When he was feeling generous, Uri suspected he had a type of extreme social anxiety, which he'd somehow managed to conquer during his courtship, but once the deal was sealed and had only worsened with time. However, tonight he was not feeling generous.
"That isn't true," he repeated. "Lots of Astarraxi families asked for your hand."
She hiccuped. "What?"
He glanced at her, surprised. "Did you not know that?" Surely she knew. He knew, how did she not.
"No!" she exclaimed, hiccuping again. "I thought it was only Teo…"
"Lots of men want you," he said.
"No, they don't," she moaned.
"They do! I've heard them." He glanced at her. So far she had stopped crying, but the swirls on her face were still clearly visible.
"You haven't," she said, glaring at him.
"I have," he insisted. Her look turned from one of angry shock to that realization she got when she knew someone was telling the truth after she thought they were lying. How he wished she was on the Crimson Asp all the time! He could use that talent all the time! "I've even heard some of the younger ones, when we were on Ryloth."
"You didn't," she said.
"I believe the young man's exact words were, 'I'd hit that', " Uri said with a smile.
"How did you hear that?"
"Obviously, they didn't know I was listening," he said dryly. "Or else I'd punched him in the face. Sola, you're accomplished and beautiful and witty and fun. Why would people not be attracted to you?"
She put the handkerchief to her face and began to cry again.
"Oh, Sola!" Uri crooned. "You'll ruin your makeup, darling." He reached out for her and put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side.
"Has anyone said anything to you about being an alien?" she asked.
"Teo pulled that card too?"
"Not just Teo. I've had other people…"
"No one has said a word to me since I became an admiral," he said. "But when I was younger, I got it all the time." Keeping his eyes on the lane, he kissed the top of her head. "Who is it that is saying mean things to you? I can take care of them." He had half a mind to take care of Teo.
"It doesn't matter," she said, putting her head on his shoulder.
"It does," he said, pulling up to the valet parking dock. He waved the valet away, not letting his sister go. "Because you don't deserve it. You deserve only the best things in life."
"You're one of the best things in my life," she said with still watery eyes.
"You're one of my best things, too," he replied quietly, giving her shoulders a squeeze. "Without you, I wouldn't be where I am today. Anyone in your presence should be proud that they know you."
"Thank you," she said, taking a deep breath.
"And you spend as much time as you want to with Thrawn," he said, squeezing her again. "I know he makes you happy."
She began to blush deeply, but a small smile donned her face. For that, it was worth bringing him up, even if he was a bone of contention between she and her husband. "He does make me happy."
"You deserve to be happy. Speaking of happy, do you need me to drive around some more, or can we go to the palace?"
She took a deep breath and her face transformed from the consternation she'd been crying about to a serene confidence. "I'm alright," she said, her voice firm. "Let's go schmooze with the upper crust."
"I hate to tell you, darling," Uri said playfully, "but we are the upper crust."