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When Vanto had invited Thrawn to join the bridge crew of the Chimera for drinks, Thrawn had not been quite sure what to expect.
This was not a political event, where Thrawn’s colleagues made subtle slights interspersed with sips of expensive wine. This was Vanto and Faro and Pyrondi Hammerly and Lomar giggling into their tankards, the stories they shared made unintelligible by their insobriety.
Pyrondi concluded a bombastic story from her time at the Royal Imperial Academy with a flourish, spilling her drink down her arm. Hammerly threw a napkin at her with a grin and fresh laughter rippled around the table.
“What about you, Vanto?” Faro wheedled. She nudged Vanto’s ribcage with her elbow and received a glare in response. The raised corners of his mouth indicate his ire is manufactured. “You’ve always been tight-lipped about your academy days. But you must have gotten up to some trouble.”
Vanto’s shoulders stiffen and then relax suddenly, as though forced. “Myomar was pretty boring,” he countered.
Faro waved a hand dismissively. “I’m not talking about Myomar. I’m talking about Royal Imperial, with this guy.” She gestured emphatically at Thrawn.
Never before had Faro addressed Thrawn so familiarly. He found himself smiling.
“There’s no way nothing interesting happened,” Lomar said. “C’mon, Vanto.”
Vanto was displaying his usual indicators of embarrassment. Thrawn could only guess at Vanto’s reasons for feeling embarrassed about their shared past; instead of speculating, he stepped in to help.
“Once, I pushed Eli into a bush,” Thrawn said.
Silence greeted his statement. Thrawn realized he had, until this moment, spoken little. And rarely did he call Vanto by his first name.
Suddenly, to Thrawn’s surprise, Vanto snorted and then dissolved into laughter. “You did!” He exclaimed. “You pushed me into a bush!”
Vanto seemed to find the memory more humorous than any other anecdote that had been presented thus far. Thrawn had never heard him laugh so hard and took the opportunity to catalog the sound: Eli’s laugh begins with a wheeze, which tapers into a harsh sound, almost resembling a bark; sometimes, the sound is closer to a snort.
Everyone had joined Vanto in laughter now, although Thrawn sensed it was more to do with the contagious nature of laughter than the comedy of his comment. Even Thrawn couldn’t keep a straight face, smiling as he watched Vanto’s face glow in the infrared.
“Why did you push Eli into a bush?” Pyrondi eventually asked, somewhat breathless from giggling.
Thrawn flicked his gaze to Vanto, wondering if he should hand the story off to him, but Vanto flapped a hand in his direction. “No, no,” Vanto said with a grin, “I wanna hear it from your point of view.”
“As you wish,” Thrawn acquiesced. He wondered if he could make Vanto laugh again.