Chapter Text
2 years later
Returning to the Ascendancy in disgrace was something Thrawn had not foreseen. He had expected never to return home. Clearly, fate had other things in store for him. Now, as he sat aboard a shuttle, alone, except for a single navigator acting as his pilot, he did not know what to think.
Thrawn stared at the distant, yet slowly nearing planet in the viewport. If he was not to be imprisoned—or even exiled again—he would be a free man. Perhaps for the first time in his life, there would not be any expectations of him. He doubted the Defence Fleet would welcome him back, after all he had done.
After it had become apparent that all his plans were for nothing, his thoughts had been only of Eli. Sending Eli away had been one of the hardest things he had ever done. Now, there was a chance he could see Eli again. Perhaps, now they could… he could finally tell Eli—Thrawn banished the thoughts from his mind. He would have to concentrate on facing Thrass first. No doubt his brother would be angry with him. Ar’alani certainly had been—enough to send him on his way with barely a word, separate from the rest of the fleet.
Thrawn could not help but wonder where Eli was. To his knowledge, Eli still served under Ar’alani’s command. Still, he had not seen the human during his brief stay on the ship, and no one had informed him of Eli’s whereabouts.
The navigator Ar’alani had provided him with was quiet and cold, not answering any of Thrawn’s questions. There was something familiar about her, though. The closer to Copero they got, the livelier the girl looked. When they received their landing permit, Thrawn saw her smile for the first time.
She landed the shuttle on the landing pad with an expert touch, and immediately took off, running outside before Thrawn had time to even contemplate rising from his seat. He frowned at the unexpected breach of protocol but followed the girl outside. Once he was outside, he looked at the scene unfolding before him and froze.
Thrawn watched the small Chiss Navigator run across the landing pad and right into Eli’s arms. It really was Eli—Thrawn would have known him anywhere. He was not clad in his Defence Fleet uniform, but instead wore Mitth colours, his luxurious outfit decorated with intricate embroidery—he looked like he belonged here. Thrawn felt his heart skip a beat.
He heard the Navigator’s voice—young and eager and so very happy—answering Eli’s questions about the trip, and her wellbeing. Eli sounded like he had always lived here, only a trace of his accent remained; a slightly lyrical lilt to his Cheunh. Thrawn felt a burst of pride that was not his to feel; he had had no hand in Eli’s success in adapting to the Chiss society, it was all due to Eli’s own effort and talent.
“Un’hee, I’ve missed you so much. How is everyone? I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.”
Un’hee…? Hearing the girl’s name, it all came back to Thrawn—that explained the familiarity. She was slightly older now; no wonder he had not recognised her sooner.
The young Navigator beamed at the human. “Everyone’s all right. Even Admiral Ar’alani promised to be there. She’s coming the day after tomorrow, as agreed.” Before she could continue, Thrawn saw his brother appear. It had been many years since he had last seen Thrass, and it threw him a little to see his brother so… changed. Thrawn had never seen Thrass look so relaxed. He looked… happy.
The reason behind his brother’s happiness became clear very fast: Thrass stepped closer to Eli, looping his arm around the human’s waist, and leaned down to drop a kiss on Eli’s cheek. Thrawn could hear Eli laughing, and watched him raise his hand to tug Thrass down into a proper kiss. It felt like his world stopped for a moment, before everything resumed, forever changed. Oh.
“Father, we have a guest!” The disgusted look on the Navigator’s—Un’hee’s—face was almost comical. Eli bent down, and dropped a kiss to her forehead, too. “Dad, no. Stop it.” Eli laughed again, and Thrass smirked down at the child. Then, he turned to look at Thrawn and froze.
“Brother…” His stillness was only momentary—after a few seconds, he was already moving, almost running towards Thrawn, and wrapping him into a hug. It was Thrawn’s turn to freeze, unaccustomed to such close contact, before he melted into the touch, suddenly unaccountably glad to see his brother again. “Thrass…”
His brother squeezed him before letting him go. “Welcome home, Thrawn. I had no idea you were back.”
Thrawn raised an eyebrow. “It seems Admiral Ar’alani neglected to notify you of my arrival. How strange.”
Thrass let out a half-censored curse. “Of course.”
Thrawn noticed Eli walking towards them at a more sedate pace, hand in hand with the Navigator, Un’hee. He was almost afraid to face the human, but he forced himself to do it anyway.
“It is good to see you, Eli. I trust you are well.”
Thrawn could see something complicated cross Eli’s face, the expression disappearing as quickly as it had appeared, leaving only a delighted smile in its wake. “Thrawn. You’re back. It’s good to see you, too.” Eli gestured with his free hand in the direction of Thrass and Un’hee. “I’m doing very well, as you can see. Really busy at the moment, and kind of stressed, but other than that–”
“Dearest, no one said you would need to organise the whole thing yourself.” Thrass’s voice told Thrawn that the subject was not a new one.
Eli merely raised a brow. “Do you think I’d trust the preparations to just anyone?”
Un’hee sighed theatrically, and Thrass snorted. He motioned for Thrawn to follow him, and explained on their way to the house. “It will be our one-year anniversary in two days. We hadn’t planned to celebrate it publicly, but then Admiral Ar’alani and several of the Steadfast’s navigators heard about it, and all but forced us to throw a party.”
It hurt—it really did. Thrawn forced himself to face the hurt head on—he had endured so much; he would not allow this to break him. He smiled back at his beaming brother, his expression sincere.
“Congratulations, brother.” He turned to look at Eli, gorgeous in his burgundy tunic, the afternoon light casting a beautiful glow about him. “Congratulations, Eli. I wish you both happiness.”
They were married, had been for a year. They had adopted children; apparently almost every navigator aboard the Steadfast was now unofficially theirs, if not on paper. Thrawn did not know what to think—on one hand, he was happy for them. He truly was. On the other hand, he felt like he wanted to break something.
The party was beautiful, the guests were happy, and Eli and Thrass seemed even happier. Ar’alani had appeared exactly when she had promised she would, accompanied by almost half a cruiser’s worth of people, and this was in addition to all the navigators. It appeared that Eli was very well-liked and respected. Thrawn was happy about that, too; Eli deserved it.
He had finally told his friend as much, after the party. Thrass had disappeared somewhere, and Thrawn was left alone with Eli. He looked at the human—it was clear that Eli was sure of his place here, radiating confidence. It seemed that his decision to send Eli away had been for the best, if not for the reasons Thrawn had originally had in mind.
Eli just smiled at him, radiant; confidence was a good look on him. “This is where I was meant to be. Thank you for sending me here, Thrawn. I understand, now. I couldn’t have wished for a better friend.”
Then, he clasped Thrawn’s hand in a traditional Chiss handshake, only to be cornered by an excited gaggle of navigators. The sudden attackers dragged Eli off somewhere as soon as he released his grip, leaving Thrawn staring after him.
“Friend.” Yes, you are my friend, he thought. And I am yours, and always will be.
When the time came for Ar’alani and her entourage to leave, Thrawn went with them. They would take him to Csilla for a proper debrief, and to face the Council. Ar’alani, while not pleased with him, treated him with respect. They travelled with sublight speed, not bothering to jump with the assistance of navigators. Thrawn suspected that it was in order to give Ar’alani a chance to talk with him properly.
He was correct—an invitation to her office arrived almost as soon as they had left Copero. Thrawn righted his borrowed Defence Fleet uniform, lacking any rank insignia, and set off to face her.
“Sit, Mitth’raw’nuruodo.”
Thrawn sat in the chair she had gestured to, and accepted the very generous glass of wine she offered him. Ar’alani looked at him over the brim of her own glass, her eyes keen and narrow; reminiscent of a hunting nexu.
“I trust you’ll behave yourself, and refrain from causing any problems for your brother.” Or for Eli Vanto went unsaid.
Thrawn had the sudden urge to either laugh or throw his glass into the nearest wall. Of course, he did neither, instead taking a generous sip of his wine, and raising his brows. “I shall do no such thing. I am very happy for them.” It was the truth; Thrawn had privately vowed to guard them, to keep them safe. He would hurt any who threatened to hurt them.
Ar’alani nodded. “I see.” She swirled the wine in her glass. “Great many things have changed here during your absence. I trust it will not take long for you to catch up to speed.”
“Ma’am?” Thrawn’s mind was instantly trying to work out her meaning, drawing conclusions.
“You shall be reinstated in the Defence Fleet under my command. The Grysks are defeated, and we have managed avoid civil war here in the Ascendancy, but we still have need of your skills. Your timing in exiting your… Empire was fortuitous.”
Thrawn ignored the jab about the Empire, though the reminder of his failure stung. “I will be in active service again?” It was all that he wanted, now.
“Yes. You will be officially reinstated after the debriefing—the ruling of the Council will be a mere formality. Welcome back, Commander Mitth’raw’nuruodo.”
“Thank you, Admiral.” Thrawn nodded his thanks to Ar’alani. This way, he would be useful again. He could continue to keep his people safe, to keep Eli safe. And he would have the privilege of serving together with Eli again. That was acceptable. He would do that, gladly.