Lieutenant Commander Eli Vanto shivered as he entered his personal quarters aboard the Steadfast. Maybe someday he would rise high enough in the ranks to have a cabin with its own climate control system. Maybe someday he would get used to the chily temperatures the Chiss preferred. Maybe. But he was a human and neither further promotion nor acclimation seemed likely in the near future.
Of course, Admiral Ar'alani always ensured that the ship's environment was "within acceptable parameters for human survival" according to the instructions Thrawn had sent her- The Care and Keeping of Your Human, or something like that. Eli wasn't actually in danger of freezing to death.
He just felt as if he were.
Inside his cabin, he layered up in a sweater from his mother and an oversized Imperial tunic. He fingered the neat patch he had sewn on the tunic, smiling at the memories it brought back.
His socks. The patch abruptly reminded him of the other mending he needed to do. He found the box with his worn socks and mending supplies and curled up in a chair with his favorite Lysatrian quilt.
Selecting a thick, warm sock, he examined the damage before carefully matching it with the appropriate color of darning thread. If Admiral Ar'alani caught him wearing darned socks, she would probably make him throw them away. He curled his toes, shivering at the thought.
He was about to thread a needle when his door comm buzzed. Hastily, he shoved the socks and work basket under his quilt, praying that the Admiral wasn't conducting a surprise inspection.
He opened the door.
"Vah'nya!" Eli sagged in relief. "Come on in. What can I do for you?"
Navigator Vah'nya arched one blue-black eyebrow as she stepped inside. "I came to check on you. You didn't quite seem like your usual self today and I was worried you might not feel well. Are you... homesick?" Gently, she brushed her fingers over the shoulder of the patched tunic.
Eli caught her meaning."No, I'm fine- honest. Just a little cold. Grand Admiral Thrawn made me wear this tunic on a mission once, after he put a blaster burn on it. He never asked for it back, so I just kept it. It's really warm."
Eli remembered a pet dog he'd had on Lysatra. The hound had claimed his outgrown jacket, often using it for a bed.
"He likes it because it smells like his master," his father had said.
Once, Eli had resented being called Thrawn's "house pet" and yet here he was, bundled up in the Grand Admiral's cast-off tunic.
He wondered if Vah'nya had ever had a pet who was fond of her old clothes.
"You are not warm enough with us?" Vah'nya took his hand in hers, bringing him back to the present. "Your hands are so cold! Does the tunic help much?"
"It's nice on top of my sweater."
"How many layers are you wearing?" She laughed then stopped. She touched the patch. "Did you do this?"
"Yeah, my mom taught me how to mend my clothes before I joined the Academy. She said every fella should know how to sew his own buttons back on, patch up his own holes and darn his own socks."
"You darn your socks?"
"I do and I'm pretty good, too. You can hardly see"- He stopped. "Please don't tell Admiral Ar'alani. I don't think darned socks are exactly regulation and I like to have enough socks to wear double. Keeps my feet warmer."
"Oh, Eli." Vah'nya wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sure the Admiral would understand. Perhaps you should just ask her for new socks."
"I don't know about Admiral Ar'alani, but I know what Thrawn would say. He always liked his office and quarters cold. I was his aide, so our rooms shared a climate control system - meanin' that my quarters were cold, too. Then he got his own ship and kept the whole thing pretty cold, in my opinion."
Vah'nya's mouth formed a silent "O" of sympathy as he continued.
"When I told him I was cold, he said it was an 'adequate temperature for humans'. Finally, my mom sent me some long underwear for under my uniform. And you know what Thrawn did? He said my uniform looked "lumpy and unkempt" and wouldn't let me wear them." Eli shrugged. "At least I can still put them on at night and be warm while I'm sleepin'."
Vah'nya ruffled his hair, regarding him pensively. "It sounds like Thrawn was trying to toughen you up, perhaps to prepare you for joining us. Still, I don't think he would want to be hot all the time, any more than you like being cold."
"It's okay." Eli ducked his head sheepishly. "Sorry about all the complainin'."
Releasing him, Vah'nya took his hand and guided him back to his chair. "Let's get you warm. I'm going to have a talk with Admiral Ar'alani. I know she'll want you to be warm, too."
"Are you going to tell her about the darnin'?"
"Maybe. She might think it's sweet. " Vah'nya tucked the quilt around him and handed him the mending box.
Eli sighed. He was never going to get any respect from these Chiss. Not that he'd gotten much from Thrawn, either, but at least the Grand Admiral didn't think he was "sweet". He supposed he should just be grateful that most of the Chiss liked him now.
He gazed up Vah'nya, who continued to fuss over him. Actually, one Chiss loved him. And he loved her.
"Would you like to sit with me while I do my mendin'?"
She grinned. "I have an even better idea. I'll be right back."
She hurried off, leaving Eli alone with his socks. He finished threading the needle, glad he had picked up a fresh supply on their last visit to Csilla, even though the shop proprietors had giggled shamelessly at his attempt to ask for thread in Cheuhn. Dropping the little wooden darning egg into the toe, he began to sew up the hole.
His door opened and Vah'nya popped her head in, waving her own mending basket. "Now we can mend together! And I brought my holo-player. We can watch a vid and eat snacks."
Sweet Vah'nya. "That sounds like fun."
She hopped all the way through the door. "I have one more surprise."
"Good evening, Lieutenant Commander Vanto."
Eli jumped from his chair, heart in his throat. "Admiral!" The sock dropped to the floor.
Ar'alani chuckled. "Sit down. You've had enough cold for one day, or so I hear."
Placing the basket and holo-player on the table, Vah'nya snugged the quilt back around him, leaving one foot exposed.
"See, Admiral? He's wearing two pairs of socks."
To Eli's mortification, Ar'alani knelt to examine his foot. "Do the extra socks help, Eli?"
Eli? Since when did Admiral Ar'alani call him Eli? Since she had decided he was a poor, cold, little human baby, he supposed.
"They keep my feet warmer, for sure." He swallowed. "Though, somedays, I think I could do with three pairs."
"Then you may do so." Ar'alani rose. "We have no regulations about how many socks officers may wear, as long as you wear them."
"Thank you, Ma'am," Eli stammered, not quite believing his ears. "And if I need to darn up the toes or heels, is that all right?"
"As long as your repairs do not show above your shoes, they are no concern of mine." For a moment, she was quiet, then her fingertips brushed the tunic. "This was ... his?"
What all had Vah'nya told her?
"Yes, Ma'am. I didn't figure he wanted it back with the blaster burn and, well, bein' too big makes it warm."
He wondered if Ar'alani thought he was a pet, too. Watching her face, he realized that she wasn't thinking about him at all. He slipped the quilt off his lap and stood.
"You should have it, Admiral." He pulled off the tunic and held it out. "I think it means a lot more to you than it does to me."
Ar'alani took the tunic and held it close to her heart. " Thank you," she murmured. "Perhaps we can get a small warmer for your room."
"Really? Thank you, that would be wonderful."
Ar'alani smiled at him. "There is no need for anyone to suffer on board my ship."
Still cradling Thrawn's tunic, she turned to go. "One more thing- as long as you follow dress code, I don't care what you wear under your uniform. A few lumps will not be a problem."
Eli's eyes and mouth went wide as she chuckled again and left. When he turned his attention to Vah'nya, she suddenly busied herself with the holo-player.
"Vah'nya?"
"Yes, my Eli?"
"You told her about the long underwear, didn't you?"
Vah'nya blinked innocently. "I had to gain her sympathy. She'll probably scold Thrawn next time they talk."
Eli dropped back into his chair. "I didn't mean to cause a problem in their relationship."
Vah'nya flipped the holo-vid on and sat in the chair next to his. "I think their 'relationship' has survived a lot more than a fight about uniforms."
Vah'nya plucked a sock from his mending box. Eli retrieved his abandoned sock, then hesitated.
"Ar'alani and Thrawn, are they, I mean were they ever- well, I don't exactly know how Chiss do it, but- are they married, or somethin' like that?"
"Chiss get married." Vah'nya patted Eli's flaming cheek. "We do it all the time. I don't know for sure about the Admirals. They're very close. She knows him better than anyone. And she's told me about cooking for him in her suite."
Ar'alani and Thrawn were close in heart and yet had spent years physically separated, driven by a deep devotion to duty and honor. Eli laid his hand over the blue one caressing his face. He had known Vah'nya far fewer years than Thrawn had known Ar'alani. And he could only imagine his pain if he had to leave her.
"So, Chiss do get married," he said at last."Do they ever marry humans?"
Vah'nya leaned back, her glowing eyes dancing. "Maybe. If the humans bring them snacks."
Eli flashed a grin. "Your wish is my command, My Lady."
Author's Note:
I hope you will please indulge my personal fantasy that Lysatra is Space Alabama. That's why Eli thinks of his quilt as "Lysatrian" instead of "Lysatran"- to match "Alabamian".
The inspiration for this random little story struck while I was doing some sewing of my own. I just liked the idea of Eli knowing how to mend his own clothes and had to write. And Eli and Vah'nya make such an adorable couple.
As for Thrawn and Ar'alani, of course they are not explicitly a couple in canon, but as Vah'nya pointed out, they are very close. She is often the only one who really knows what he's up to and Timothy Zahn drops quite a few hints about their feelings for each other. So of course, I must make them a couple!
I hope you enjoyed this story. Thanks for reading and God bless you!