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Eli straightened his uniform, tried to smooth down his hair, and picked up the data card from his desk. He hadn’t been able to find much, but hopefully the research he had done would be enough to —
His comm chimed. He checked his chrono. The meeting with Thrawn was in half an hour, so he still had a little time, but he usually tried to arrive early. He checked the comm and hurried to answer it. He’d been waiting for this call.
“Hey, Eli!” the other voice on the end was female, bright, and…he hesitated before thinking bubbly. “Sorry it took me a while to get back to you, I just kept forgetting. How are you?”
“…Lieutenant Anders?” he said. He checked the comm signature. It was definitely her coordinates, but it barely sounded like the woman he remembered, who had been perpetually stressed, always irritated, with a snappy, sarcastic tone to her voice.
“Call me Selah,” she said, laughing. “Nobody’s called me Lieutenant in…years?”
Eli paused, then solved that problem by not calling her anything. He checked his chrono again. He was probably going to be late. “Look, I’m doing some research for Admiral Thrawn on the place where you’re currently posted, Nalumbe? There’s not a lot on the holonet, I thought you might be able to give me a firsthand account of what it’s like.”
Anders had been stationed there after her tour on the Thunder Wasp. She was science-track, and apparently the place was incredibly bio-diverse. But that was about as much as he could find about the Empire’s current work on that world. Everything else was either unavailable or classified.
“Wow, I forgot how much we get straight to the point on Coruscant,” Selah said. It wasn’t sarcastic, though, she still sounded far too cheerful. “What’s it like here? It’s great. Why, are you going to visit? You should!” she practically gasped. “Eli, that would be perfect. I could show you around…there are so many beautiful places here and the people are really nice. Have you gotten laid recently? Because you’re a good-looking guy, at least you were the last time I saw you. Kind of got that blushing, innocent quality…”
“Lieuten— Selah—I—“ Eli stammered. Was he hearing this right? He checked the comm signature again. Definitely still her. And he was blushing. Damn it.
“If you do visit, bring extra contraceptives. Or just get the implant first. I mean, you could definitely…”
“I got it!” Eli said, almost snapping the words. “I just…that’s not really what I wanted to know.” He actually hadn’t been with anyone recently. Or…not-recently. It had been years since the last time, in fact. He usually tried not to think about it.
“You’re with someone, then? Exclusively?” she said, “Eli, that’s amazing! Congratulations! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by—”
Eli cut her off. “Besides that, what’s it like? I meant, more along the lines of…culture, etiquette, politics. Um, art.”
“Oh,” Anders sounded a little disappointed. “All of that stuff is pretty much whatever you want it to be, honestly. A few hundred years ago, the people here invented these nanites? They keep everything going. If you want to be in charge, or do art, or study, you can. Whatever you want, as long as it’s not harmful, the nanites can take care of it. That’s what we came here to study, but you know, no one can really figure them out.”
Eli frowned. For a scientist, she sounded suspiciously nonchalant about not knowing how technology that incredible functioned. After ten years, nonetheless. None of this was making much sense, and he was definitely going be late, now. “Um. Is there art, though? At all?”
“Oh, yeah, tons,” she said. “I have a lot of holos. I could send them to you right now. Before I forget!”
“Sure, thanks,” Eli said. He waited until his comm chimed with the data transfer. “Well, I guess I’ll —“ There was a crackle of static from the other side of the comm, and he heard faint female laughter in the background, the low tones of someone else talking. “Lieutenant?” More faint laughter. “Selah?”
It sounded like she’d put down her device without ending the call. Or saying goodbye. He shook his head and ended it on his side.
He ran to the meeting.
“You are late,” Thrawn noted as Eli sat in front of his desk. “That’s unusual for you.”
“Sorry, Admiral,” Eli said, saluting, a little out of breath. “Remember Anders, from the Thunder Wasp? Science Department?” Thrawn nodded. “I heard she was stationed on Nalumbe, and I was waiting for her to call me all week. She finally got back to me just before I had to come here. I figured you’d want the information.”
He handed the datacard to Thrawn. “There’s not much,” he warned. “But Anders did give me some holos of local art.”
Thrawn looked pleased. “Good work, as always, Lieutenant Commander. You always do find a way.” For a moment, he took his eyes off the computer screen and looked directly at Eli, smiling slightly.
Eli’s mouth went dry, and he lowered his gaze. “No problem, sir,” he said.
He cursed himself. He had worked with and for Thrawn for years. His nagging, wholly inappropriate crush on his superior officer should have dried up and blown away by now, after seeing the man in every possible situation. Some of the mystery should have worn off. It hadn’t, though. If anything, it had gotten worse. And he couldn’t help but catalog every single moment like that — a hard-won compliment, a slight smile, an accidental brush of a hand— pore over it, examine it for hidden meaning. It just made his attraction burn brighter. He hoped he was as good as hiding it as he thought he was.
They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, Thrawn scanning through the information Eli had managed to glean about the planet. He held out a hand and Eli gave him the datacard with the images. He loaded it into his computer and raised an eyebrow, very slightly. A man who was not a dedicated student of Thrawn’s expressions wouldn’t have caught it.
Eli waited, watching Thrawn’s long, elegant fingers flicking through the images. Eli couldn’t see the screen from where he was sitting.
“Hmm,” Thrawn said, finally. “Have you seen these, Lieutenant Commander?”
“No,” Eli admitted. “She sent them to me about a minute before I came here, I didn’t get a chance to—“
Thrawn spun his computer screen around. Eli blushed. The image it was currently displaying was a depiction of an extremely athletic sexual position. With four people, one male, one female, two of indeterminate gender. It was brightly colorful, the lines soft and blurred. The people were stylized — intensely beautiful.
“…is that even physically possible?” Eli managed.
“The Nalumbe people have extraordinary spinal flexibility, due to their additional vertebrae.” Thrawn said. There was absolutely no reason a sentence like that, which sounded like it came out of a textbook, should be so erotic, but in Thrawn’s dark, silky tones, it cut right to Eli’s core.
“Are they all like that?” Eli said, clearing his throat. “The artworks, I mean,” he added. Good thing Thrawn kept the temperature in his office just this side of ice-cold.
“No,” Thrawn said, tapping the screen. “Many of them are like this, regardless of the medium.” The image changed, this time to…Eli blinked. It was so colorful, so bright, that he had to blink a few more times to adjust. When he could make out the detail, it almost seemed to move, although it was a static holo: lines flowing and converging on each other, fractal patterns emerging and disappearing. He shook his head to break the spell it had over him.
“Some of them even seem unfinished,” Thrawn mused. “Overall…chaotic. Anarchic. Hypersexual,” he said. Eli was prepared for that, this time, and simply nodded. “Untutored, no distinct style. Whoever provided these to you did not label or group them in any way,” Thrawn pursed his lips disapprovingly at that. He preferred an organized file structure. “So there is no way to say whether these represent a certain region, time period, or even a single artist, although I do not think the latter is the case. Does that match with Lieutenant Anders’ description of her time there?”
Chaotic. Anarchic. Hypersexual.
“Uh…” Eli said, thinking of Anders excitedly telling him how much sex he could be having and then forgetting to end their call and just wandering off. “Yes. Almost exactly.
Thrawn blinked. Eli would have almost called it a wince.
“May I ask…why the sudden interest in this place, sir?”
“Because, Lieutenant Commander,” Thrawn said, with a sigh. “That is where the Admiralty wishes us to go. For one week.”
“The Chimera?” Eli said. “Does Nalumbe even have a stake in the Navy? Lieutenant Anders…didn’t seem to be doing much in the way of research.”
“Not the Chimera,” Thrawn said. “You and I, Lieutenant Commander Vanto.”
“What, like a…diplomatic errand?” Eli said, nonplussed. That wasn’t really their job, although they did have to attend their share of galas and state dinners.
“One part diplomatic,” Thrawn said. “One part reconnaissance. The Admiralty would like to utilize the properties of the native flora for bio-weapons, but the Nalumbe people are resolutely pacifist. There’s a unique automated defense system—“
“The nanites?” Eli asked.
Thrawn nodded. “Exactly. Which will prevent us from building anything overtly militaristic, but if we convince the right people, we may be able to persuade them to allow another research facility. Apparently the first one, set up to study the nanotech, has been…less than successful.”
Makes sense, Eli thought. If it’s staffed by people like Anders. “But why us, specifically, sir?”
“Essentially, Lieutenant, I believe the expression is ‘we drew the short straw,’” Thrawn said, grimacing. “Additionally, the dossier the Admiralty provided, in combination with the research you brought today, leads me to consider this assignment…” he trailed off, actually hesitating. “Personally difficult,” he said, finally.
“I don’t understand, sir,” Eli said. He had never heard Thrawn say something would be difficult at all, much less personally difficult.
Thrawn actually put his head in his hands, leaning over the desk momentarily. “Forgive me, Lieutenant Commander,” he said. “This is not a comfortable discussion topic, however, we have the benefit of many years of…friendship behind us, do we not?”
“Of course,” Eli said, feeling very much like he’d been slapped. His face was burning hot.
“The Nalumbe are a very…open people,” Thrawn said, seeming to collect himself. He sat back up to his usual regal posture. “In many ways. But chiefly sexually. As one who is unpartnered, I would — we would both be open to sexual advances from others. And I am given to understand that these advances are frequent and…overt. This is…not the Chiss way. Nor is it the Empire’s.”
Eli nodded.
“If we were to…feign that our professional partnership was a monogamous sexual relationship, we would…not be subject to those overtures. Which I would much prefer. Personally.”
Eli opened his mouth to say something, realized he had exactly zero words for this, and shut it again. Personally, twice in five minutes.
“It would necessitate physical closeness. The Nalumbe do not value privacy the way the Empire and the Chiss do. And you and I have already shared quarters before. We know each other's’ habits and schedules, and we will need to consult on the mission. But we may have to engage in acts of public affection,” Thrawn was saying. “And therefore, I understand just how inappropriate this request is…”
In the same tone of voice that he would say, Lieutenant Commander, would you hand me that datapad? —albeit with some extremely un-Thrawn-like pauses and hesitations—Thrawn was saying, Lieutenant Commander, would you pretend to be in love with me in public? It wasn’t a giant leap from there, in Eli’s mind, to Lieutenant Commander, would you get under the desk and orally pleasure me? For appearances’ sake.
He flushed, if possible, even hotter. Stop that, he scolded himself. This has nothing to do with you, it’s just convenient. Since you need to be there anyway, it might as well be you. He really hoped Thrawn wasn’t looking at him in the infrared.
“I truly apologize,” Thrawn said. Which meant he probably was looking at Eli in the infrared. “The request is unusual and improper. If you are not comfortable, you do not need to attend. I can discuss it with Commander Faro, or perhaps, I can attend alone--”
“No,” Eli said, a little too quickly. Karyn would laugh until she went into cardiac arrest over this. And Thrawn seemed truly, uncharacteristically, to hate the idea of being repeatedly propositioned. “No, I—uh. I’ll do it. Sir.”
Thrawn looked at him with gratitude and a measure of relief. “Thank you,” he said, simply.
Right. Pretend to want Thrawn. Pretend to be in love with him. And it was only for a week, right?
Eli could do that. He'd been doing the opposite for years.
#
The continent where they had landed, which held Nalumbe’s capital city, was lush and colorful -- everywhere Eli looked, there were bright, deep purples, greens, reds. The plants and flowers here, which grew everywhere -- including over, through, and inside of the buildings -- were oversized, drinking in the sporadic light rainshowers and the constant sun by turn. It was never cloudy long, but it was always hot and staggeringly humid, even at night.
The people were just as gorgeous as the artwork had depicted. Eli had thought that the work that Thrawn had shown him at first was stylized, but as it turned out, the Nalumbe were all glowingly healthy, unfailingly cheerful, and no matter what body type they had, it was the ideal of that form, whether plump and curvy, lithe and athletic, stocky and muscular...and they mostly didn’t wear many clothes at all. Both because it was so hot, and because they just didn’t feel like it.
The Nalumbe didn’t do anything they didn’t feel like doing. Including meeting a diplomatic contingent from the Empire. Thrawn and Eli had waited at the spaceport -- Eli sweating through his uniform, Thrawn growing more and more annoyed by the moment -- for over an hour before someone had shown up.
The Nalumbe woman who greeted them was tall, pale-skinned, and blonde, with the colorful markings on her skin and long pointed ears that were the hallmark of Nalumbe natives. She was angular and thin, her movements graceful and expressive. Eli instantly forgave her for being late.
“I’m so sorry!” she said in lightly-accented Basic. “I was President last week when you confirmed your arrival, but now it’s Solon’s turn, and I thought he would meet you instead. And he thought I would!” She laughed, delighted and said, “It happens all the time. My name is Aspasia.”
“Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, or if you prefer, Thrawn,” Thrawn said. “And my a--partner, Lieutenant Commander Eli Vanto.”
“Oh yes, a bonded pair!” Aspasia said, clapping her hands. “What an honor! Welcome, Thrawn and Eli!” She ignored Thrawn’s respectful half-bow and hugged him, giving him a kiss on each cheek. “I always find that lovers make the best colleagues, don’t you?” she said.
Eli was grateful for his many years of faking stoicism. Without practice, he would have been on the ground, helpless with laughter and secondhand embarrassment. He wanted a holo of Thrawn’s stunned, annoyed expression to be projected in front of his face for the next ten years. It was his turn next, and he was a little more prepared for the onslaught, even returning the cheek-kisses.
He threaded his arm through Thrawn’s, his pulse quickening at the impropriety, even though they had explicitly decided what kind of public acts of affection would be acceptable for this trip, and hand-holding was on the list. Thrawn stiffened at first, probably fighting the urge to pull away, and then relaxed into Eli’s grip.
“You’ll have to forgive my partner,” Eli said to Aspasia. “He’s from a more reserved world.”
“Oh, of course!” she exclaimed. Which seemed like her default mode of expression. “I would love to show you to your accommodations, and give you a short tour of our city.”
The short tour was two hours long, walking through the stifling heat the entire time. They had met more people whose names Eli forgot as soon as they were said, Thrawn had suffered through dozens of overwhelmingly intimate greetings, and Aspasia had not stopped chatting, laughing, and clapping delightedly the entire time.
They’d finally reached their accommodations, which was a hotel of some kind, although there weren’t many tourists on Nalumbe. Eli had noticed that some of the buildings had the half-finished look of some of the artworks they’d looked at, as if someone had become bored with building them and stopped halfway through. The hotel was no exception, with hallways that led nowhere, doors that didn’t open, and windows that hung crookedly. The lines of it and the minimal decor, though, were beautiful.
Thrawn was openly scowling by the time Aspasia found their room. “I thought it was on this floor the whole time!” she said. “We’ve provided you with everything you might need, including lubricants and sexual aids -- those are under the bed, in the cabinet,” she said, pointing.
“Thank you,” Eli said. He might never laugh again, after this, from having to suppress it for an entire week.
“It’s really such a shame that the two of you are partnered,” she sighed. “You’re both so beautiful! Is your partner blue everywhere?” she asked Eli, impulsively. She wasn’t even embarrassed.
“Uh,” Eli said. Aspasia looked at him expectantly. Eli didn’t dare look at Thrawn. “What do you think?” he said, finally, and, as an afterthought, winked at her. She, of course, laughed delightedly.
Finally, she left. Thrawn fairly sprang out of Eli’s grasp.
They scanned the room. It didn’t take long. Eli noted the one bed. Of course. The room was small, barely room for the two of them. It seemed about the size of their tiny dorm at the Academy. He also noted that part of the refresher had a complete glass wall, so that the shower’s occupant would be totally visible to the bed’s occupant.
There was absolutely nowhere private. And, from what he’d been able to glean from the Admiralty dossier, it would be odd for the two of them, as a supposed pair, to separate and go anywhere else alone.
Eli was exhausted. His internal clock was still on ship’s time, and it was the early morning on the Chimera, even though it was early evening on the planet. Thrawn was still standing, stiffly taking in the room.
“Are you...all right?” Eli asked.
“Fine,” Thrawn snapped.
“Do you need to sleep? Because I really do. These people are a little...tiring.” He hazarded a small smile at Thrawn, whose rigid posture relaxed slightly.
“They are,” he allowed, quietly. “No, I do not need to sleep. I will…” He looked around the room. There wasn’t even a chair.
“You can just...sit on the bed. While I sleep,” Eli said. “It’s not that different from bunks. I don’t mind.” He was babbling. He stopped himself.
Thrawn nodded. “I just desire quiet,” he said, fervently.
And that had been the first night.
Today had been more of the same, except most of the people they had encountered had been mostly naked while they did their exuberant greeting rituals, because it was even hotter. There had been a lunch party, some kind of genteel game involving an elaborate board and what seemed like a hundred pieces that had abruptly broken up just as Thrawn got enough of a grip on the rules to have a solid lead (he had really hated that). There had been more appreciative scans of their bodies. More prying questions.
Nalumbe didn’t do quiet. It didn’t do proper. It especially didn’t do much resembling organized work of any kind. Thrawn had politely inquired to one of the countless new acquaintances they had met that day, a round-faced muscular man with dark skin, who they needed to speak to about building permissions for the Empire.
He had shrugged. “The Council makes all the decisions,” he said. “But I don’t pay attention to that, it’s boring.” None of that made sense to Eli. The man raised his eyebrows and gave Eli an appreciative look. Before he could say anything, Thrawn put a possessive arm around Eli’s shoulders. Eli leaned into it shamelessly, knowing he’d regret it later when Thrawn pulled away with distaste.
The man smiled. “Oh, you’re bonded,” he said, fondly. “Why are you out here then?” he swept his arm out in an arc, indicating the central square of the city, where the people seemed to congregate.
“Where should we go?” Thrawn asked.
The man shrugged again. “I don’t know where bonded pairs go, I just know it’s not here. Hey, do you want to go swimming?”
#
Nalumbe, Eli thought, was his own personally-tailored hell.
It was one of the ironic hells, from a myth, the one that you thought was a paradise at first. Be careful what you wish for, he thought, bitterly. Probably this one was where the lustful ended up. A never-ending parade of temptation that was entirely off-limits in every way. Everywhere he looked, there were attractive, half-naked people who were looking at him with interest, that he wasn’t allowed to touch. Meanwhile, he was constantly touching the man he actually wanted, but Thrawn didn’t really want him, or to be here at all.
Eli had never been so desperate, half-hard nearly all the time, unable to even provide himself with some relief, with Thrawn awake at all hours and no privacy. He had finally abandoned his uniform (Thrawn was still grimly wearing his) in favor of something local -- light colored linen pants and an open grey shirt, but that was almost worse. Without something tethering him to the discipline of the Navy -- of his real life, not the role he was playing -- it was easier to believe the role was real.
And that day, while they’d been eyed for the hundredth time, Thrawn had stroked the strip of Eli’s exposed chest with one cool, blue finger, and then given a challenging look to the admirer, who had, of course, laughed in delight. That move hadn’t been on the approved list, and Eli couldn’t get it out of his head.
They were nowhere close to accomplishing their goal. Or even bringing up the subject to someone who cared to talk about it. Eli had never seen Thrawn without a plan. And that meant he was also watching this place take down the calm, cool Admiral he admired so much.
That night, Thrawn reluctantly paced the five steps their room allowed. Once, then twice, then three times, back and forth. “Do the people here ever stop talking,” he said, finally.
“Nope,” Eli said. “You definitely need to sleep tonight, though, sir.”
“How can you--” Thrawn cut himself off. “How can we do another five days of this, Eli? Lieutenant Commander,” he corrected himself, but it was too late. Eli gaped at him. “I am sorry, Lieutenant Commander,” he said, softly. “I forgot myself.”
“It’s fine!” Eli said, too brightly. It wasn’t fine, it was too intimate. He wanted to hear his name in that voice, low and desperate. Wanted to hear it moaned.
It was so hot in the room.
“You know, I really need a shower,” Eli said. “Maybe you could--”
“I will turn around,” Thrawn said.
#
Cold water only did so much. At first it was a relief, but then Eli started to think about Thrawn resolutely not watching him. Would he want to turn around? Would he start to turn, and then remember himself?
Or was it all an act? He was coolly turned, facing the wall, thinking about...whatever he thought about. Ice, probably. Starship design. Maybe chess strategy.
Chess strategy. Thrawn glaring a challenge at him from the other side of a chessboard, his hand reaching out to move a piece. Eli felt his cock twitch at the thought. Gods, this was bad, he hadn’t felt like this since he was about seventeen. He chanced a tiny glance over his shoulder. Thrawn was standing there, motionless, facing away from the glass wall.
He’d do it fast, Eli thought. Then they would go to sleep, and it would be one more day over with. He took his cock in his hand, bit his lip against a moan, and stroked himself. It wouldn’t take long. His legs shook with the pleasure building at the base of his spine. He’d usually try to draw it out, but he was already on the edge. Those fingers, cool on his hot skin. Those eyes, burning at the person who’d dared to look at Eli, his property, his partner. His.
Eli’s orgasm took him by surprise, and he gasped, letting a small, muffled sound escape his lips. His heart raced with the aftermath of it, and the thought of Thrawn hearing him. Knowing what he was doing. Another glance over his shoulder. No change. He leaned against the tile, letting the cold water flow over him. He felt wrung out, blank. Finally, he turned off the water, called out, “Okay,” when he was dressed, and fell onto the bed full-length, telling himself he didn’t care if Thrawn slept or not.
#
It had not been fair of him to ask this of Eli -- of Lieutenant Commander Vanto, Thrawn thought. Thrawn had asked so much of him already, over the course of their working relationship. He had asked the Lieutenant Commander to change the entire course of his life, to be ridiculed, to associate with an alien, to remain unpromoted for far too long. And Lieutenant Commander Vanto had done all of it. Thrawn often wondered why, but reminded himself that Vanto was only following the Navy’s orders.
Thrawn glanced at the Lieutenant Commander’s sleeping form. He looked uncomfortable, lying on the absolute edge of the bed, which was far too narrow for two people. For two people who were not going to touch, anyway. It was hot and close in the tiny room, even with the environmental system working overtime. Beads of sweat stood out on Vanto’s forehead, and his brow was furrowed even in sleep.
Chiss hearing was, in a word, exceptional. There was no question, no doubt, in Thrawn’s mind about what he had just heard. The thought of Eli, desperate for relief, biting back a moan under the fall of water in the shower...Thrawn had only just stopped himself from turning to witness the sight. He had never asked Vanto about human sexual practices, it would have been inappropriate, but he had done some...research on his own. He had seen how Vanto’s unique position--the travel, the danger, his association with Thrawn-- made it difficult to carry on a serious personal relationship, and from his observation, Vanto wasn’t the type to engage in casual sex, either. But on a planet like this, with so much opportunity, and no consequence...it must be torture, for a human with little opportunity in his usual life.
And Thrawn had made it impossible for the Lieutenant Commander to take advantage of it. For entirely selfish, dishonorable reasons. In contrast to humans, Chiss sexual relationships were intense, exclusive, private affairs that unfolded only after months, sometimes years, of association between the parties. Clan hierarchy was important, as was the status of both parties. And casual associations were basically nonexistent.
Somewhere along the line, Thrawn had allowed his admiration for his aide to blur into a wish for more, which given their respective positions, was impossible. It was true that he would have preferred not to be propositioned by the Nalumbe people. And their attitude towards physical contact made his skin crawl. But it was more important that he not witness them propositioning--or touching--Vanto. He clenched a fist at even the mere thought of it. He did not trust that he would be able to see such an encounter without the threat of violence.
Selfish. Dishonorable. The Lieutenant Commander was not his. Eli Vanto did not belong to him, although he was a loyal friend and colleague. But he had asked for this fiction, and now he was trapped in it.
#
“Hello!” The cheerful voice cut right through Eli’s uneasy sleep, and he almost fell off the edge of the bed. “I am so sorry about the mix-up!”
He opened his eyes to see a short, voluptuous Nalumbe woman with dark skin and hair standing over his bed. She was leaning on a tall, stocky man’s chest, the two of them embracing casually as they stood there. Both of them were wearing shirts that were almost entirely transparent. And extremely tight pants.
Eli bit back a hysterical laugh. How much could one person take? He was glad of the sheet covering his lower body.
Thrawn had actually been sleeping next to him, although as far away as he could get. He was awake instantly, warily eying the intruders.
“Mix-up?” Eli said, cautiously. Their door, he realized, didn’t lock.
“We thought you were going to be here next week,” the woman explained.
“It happens all the time,” the man finished. His voice was low and deep, hers was smooth and golden.
Eli looked at Thrawn. He was radiating disapproval and annoyance, although his expression was as placid as ever. Eli was going to have to do the talking.
“Uh…” he said. Lust and exhaustion were a terrible combination for quick thinking. Especially first thing in the morning. “What mix-up?”
“We were supposed to meet you!” the woman said, brightly. “You two are paired, you shouldn’t be mingling with all of these--” she flicked her fingers toward the window. “Wanderers.”
“Besides,” the man said. “We don’t let them make any actual decisions.” He chuckled, as if the mere idea was ridiculous. “Their minds are incomplete.”
Thrawn stood up. He was wearing Navy-issue fatigue pants and no shirt at all. Eli considered the merits of jumping out of the window. “We have not been formally introduced,” Thrawn said. Only Eli could have detected the tightness in Thrawn’s voice. “I am Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, or my short name, Thrawn,” Thrawn said. “And my partner, Lieutenant Commander Eli Vanto.”
“Oh, yes!” the woman gushed. “I’m Lysandre, this is Arsenius.”
“We’re the heads of the Council,” Arsenius explained. “This week. And we realized it’s been weeks since we had a formal meeting. Just completely forgot to hold one!”
“So we’re going to have one tonight!” Lysandre said, almost jumping up and down with excitement. “It will be such fun, especially since the two of you are here!”
“Perhaps at this meeting,” Thrawn said. His voice was more even now. Meetings were familiar. “We could introduce the Empire’s proposal for a new research facility to your Council--”
“Oh, we don’t decide anything at the meetings!” Arsenius laughed. He broke off, looking at Lysandre blazingly, and then kissed her. And then kept kissing her, his hands roaming over her see-through shirt, palming her breasts. She moaned appreciatively into his mouth.
Eli stared. Don’t look at Thrawn, he pleaded with himself. Don’t.
He looked. It felt inevitable. Thrawn was ignoring the two Nalumbe completely, his glowing red gaze fixed on Eli. It was as though someone had shot him with a stunbolt. Eli couldn’t move. The moment stretched out impossibly long.
“Anyway,” Lysandre continued, breathlessly. As if she and her partner hadn’t just been seconds away from ripping each other’s clothes off. “We don’t decide anything at the meetings, the central computer will hear petitions, though. So you can certainly bring your proposal. But we mainly want to know about the two of you. Your partnership is so intriguing!”
Thrawn didn’t take his eyes from Eli’s. “Indeed,” he said.
Somehow, they managed to get actionable information from the other couple -- where this meeting was being held, and when. And then the two intruders finally, blessedly, left.
“Lieutenant Commander,” Thrawn said, sitting on his side of the bed and letting his posture relax. “When this assignment is complete, I order you never to speak of it. Ever.”
“Gladly, sir,” Eli said.
#
The “meeting” turned out to be more like a dinner party.
In classic Nalumbe fashion, they were greeted warmly--and physically--over and over again. There were dozens of couples, and a few groupings of three or more. Names and faces ran together, and Eli gave up trying to keep track of who was who among all the now-familiar chatter they endured.
Thrawn tried to bring up their proposal. It was brushed aside--nicely--with delighted laughter each time. They were left to field the inappropriate, prying questions instead.
“How did the two of you meet?” one of the men, Tychon, asked.
To Eli’s surprise, Thrawn answered. “I was exiled by my people on a remote world. Eli was the only one on the survey team who discovered me who had a language in common with me. He became my translator and…” He shrugged elegantly.
“Very romantic,” Tychon said, admiringly. “You knew immediately that you were meant for each other?”
“No,” Thrawn said. “It took many years for our relationship to become more than collegial.” As if to prove it, he reached over and smoothed a wayward strand of Eli’s hair out of his face, to Tychon’s delight. The Nalumbe man murmured something appreciative to his own partner.
Eli had to do his part too -- he reached up and caught Thrawn’s hand as he was about to pull away, stroked his fingers gently, then let go. Eli wondered if blushing could be fatal.
Thrawn was really leaning into the act now, Eli supposed since these people were the ones they needed to convince the most of their sincerity, their ability to make decisions, not being “incomplete minds.” That minute shiver Eli had felt from Thrawn couldn’t have been feigned, though, could it? Maybe this place was getting to him too. At least here, they seemed to finally be safe from obviously predatory gazes. The other pairs were too caught up in each other.
The dinner consisted of all foods meant to be eaten without utensils. Eli looked around, and sure enough, the expectation seemed to be that they’d be feeding each other. Why that of all things should feel ultimately humiliating, after everything else, was a mystery, but Eli could barely meet Thrawn’s gaze as he held something that looked like a flower up to Eli’s lips.
Somehow, they got through it. The food was almost insultingly good, mostly sweet-flavored and cold, which helped with the oppressive heat and humidity. Thrawn’s lips had touched Eli’s fingers dozens of times. Eli was buzzing with arousal, sitting still was becoming a torture all its own. Through it all, Thrawn was straight-backed and impassive as usual. At least he had finally abandoned his uniform in favor of local clothes, albeit a little more modest than most of the others, for this.
Lysandre clapped her hands, and the Nalumbe quieted after a few long minutes. She beamed around the table. “What a pleasure for us all to be together!” she said. “And to welcome our guests, Thrawn and Eli. I’m sure we’re all looking forward to hearing from them this evening. They wish to present a proposal from their Empire to the Central Computer.”
There were appreciative whispers and murmurs up and down the table.
“And you all know what that means!” Arsenius said. “We must demonstrate our sincerity and joy in those with whom we have pledged ourselves, in order to call a critical mass…I will start.”
Eli startled, looking at Thrawn. Critical mass? he mouthed.
Thrawn shrugged. He seemed to have stopped fighting this place entirely. In contrast to his earlier annoyance, he now appeared...relaxed. Even amused.
Arsenius was talking. “...my beautiful Lysandre, who has brought me many hours of sweet pleasure and joyful laughter. Your smile is as the dawn breaking. Your breasts are lusher than the forests of Koruru…” He went on in that vein for minutes.
Eli swallowed hard. At first, given what he knew about this world, he had thought that demonstrating our sincerity and joy was going to directly translate to orgy. But each person seated at the table instead offered an ode of praise to their partner, minutes of compliments on everything from physical appearance, to private jokes, to sexual prowess. That struck him as even more intimate.
He dug his fingers into his legs, waiting for their turn. He barely heard what anyone else said. And then Thrawn was speaking. “Eli Vanto is my strong right arm,” he said, smoothly. “He is loyal and fierce. His intelligence and assistance is vital to my every success. When I met him, he held my words in his hands, my very voice, and carried it to the ears of power on my behalf. He has sacrificed much to remain at my side, and I value him...greatly.”
Eli was aflame with too many emotions to even start to name. He stared at Thrawn, who raised one eyebrow at him, almost imperceptibly. Your move, he seemed to say. Tactics again.
Eli cleared his throat, selected a point in the middle distance to focus on, and jumped in. “Mitth'raw'nuruodo is...uh, a leader I am privileged to serve. A commander who cares about the lives of those serving him, which is rare. His mind is like...a glacier, cool and multifaceted, seemingly impenetrable, with incredible depth and strength. Each glimpse I have of his true self is a...gift. Remaining by his side isn’t a sacrifice, it’s a pleasure. It’s where I’m meant to be.”
He only vaguely heard the chatter and applause from the Nalumbe, because Thrawn was giving him a piercing look. And then, they were kissing.
Thrawn’s lips were cool on Eli’s, his long fingers brushing Eli’s heated face, holding him gently, almost tentatively. As though he was going to pull away, Eli realized. He buried his fingers in Thrawn’s hair and deepened the kiss in response.
They parted. Eli panting, leaning toward Thrawn desperately; Thrawn looking at him hungrily, his red eyes blazing.
That wasn’t feigned. None of this had been.
“Beautiful!” Arsenius shouted, banging his fist on the table. “Amazing!”
There was a chiming sound, and then an Empire-style computer terminal was building itself out of thin air on the table in front of them. Eli looked at it dumbly, his pulse roaring in his ears. The nanites, he remembered.
“Put in your request!” Lysandre laughed, clapping her hands.
Thrawn nodded at him. After all this, their original mission seemed completely idiotic, so unimportant that Eli had to think for a minute to even remember what it was. He typed biological research station into the terminal, the chiming sound filled the air again, and the terminal dispersed back into the air.
“Accepted!” Lysandre said. There was a cheer from the others.
Under the din, Thrawn hissed into Eli’s ear, “Perhaps I spoke too soon when I issued the order forbidding us to speak about this trip again.”
#
It didn’t take long for the dinner party to devolve into outright debauchery -- Eli’s initial suspicion wasn’t far away from the truth. With their hosts distracted, it was easy to slip away. It wasn’t as easy to make it back to their quarters. Eli’s vision was blurred, sensations were heightened, and they couldn’t keep their hands from each other’s bodies.
“I think I’ve been drugged,” Eli gasped, when they’d finally made it back to their tiny room. Thrawn had shoved him up against a wall in order to lick Eli’s neck. He felt every inch of it, the barest scrape of Thrawn’s teeth like a rasp against his overly-sensitive skin. He shuddered so hard that Thrawn caught him and held him up before his knees buckled.
Thrawn considered him, looking into his eyes. Eli’s pupils were wide, his eyes unfocused. “That makes some sense, considering the plant life on this world,” Thrawn said, slowly. He felt much the same. “Are you all right? Do you require medical attention?”
“Definitely not,” Eli sighed. “It’s actually...really good. Um, don’t stop.”
Thrawn agreed. Everything was multiplied, refracted. Eli’s skin was the softest thing he had ever felt and he never wanted to stop touching it. “I won’t,” he said.
Eli shivered. Thrawn’s words were dark, like a threat, and that made him want to...he dropped to his knees, freed Thrawn’s cock, and took every inch in his mouth.
Thrawn tangled his hands in Eli’s hair and pulled. At the same time, he thrust into Eli’s mouth, hitting the back of his throat so that Eli gagged. Tears collected in his eyes. It was perfect. Eli moaned around Thrawn’s cock.
“How long have you wanted this, Lieutenant Commander?” Thrawn said, voice ragged, breath hitching as Eli stroked him.
Eli stopped for a moment, pulling back, looking up at Thrawn, “A long time,” he said, voice raspy. “Probably since the Dromedar incident. And...you can call me Eli, you know.”
“I will call you whatever I wish,” Thrawn hissed, yanking on Eli’s hair again. Eli yelped, leaning into the touch. “And I have wanted you since the moment I saw you on my exile world, Lieutenant Commander. So do not stop until I say otherwise.”
“Yes, sir,” Eli said, automatically. He grinned up at Thrawn and began again. His world narrowed to a singular purpose: the movement of his hands and mouth on Thrawn’s cock, Thrawn’s little hitches of breath, not-quite moans, his fingers tangled in Eli’s hair.
After what could have been seconds or hours, he found himself being dragged upward, shoved onto the bed, Thrawn on top of him. The Chiss was stronger than a human, Eli was being moved and manipulated as though he weighed nothing. He let it happen, didn’t even struggle. “Eli,” Thrawn moaned, as he climbed on top of him, ran his hands over Eli’s chest, down to his aching cock. “I heard you,” Thrawn said. “The other night, in this room.”
“I was--” Eli thrust his hips up into Thrawn’s hand as he stroked. “Ah! I was...kind of hoping you would hear me.”
“Were you thinking of me?” Thrawn said, voice low. He bit the side of Eli’s neck.
“Yes,” Eli gasped. “Yes!”
“Yes, what.” Thrawn bit him harder, on the place where his neck and shoulder met.
“Yes, sir!” Eli said desperately.
“I have watched you now for years,” Thrawn said. His mouth was bare centimeters from Eli’s ear, his hand still working Eli’s cock expertly. “You have taken no other lovers. Because you are loyal to me.”
“That’s right, sir,” Eli said, the words coming out in a jumble. “I wanted you. I would have gotten on my knees, any time, if you asked, I would have done it on the deck of the Chimera, in front of everyone, if you told me to, I would have...I would have--”
Thrawn slapped him, hard, and then caressed his face. Eli leaned into the touch, Thrawn’s cool fingers soothing on the mark from the blow. “I know. I know what you wanted. What you want,” Thrawn said, darkly. “And I want to tell you to do it. But these matters are not casual among the Chiss. Not in the least. Do you understand that, Lieutenant Commander? Once we are joined, I cannot see you with another.”
Eli couldn’t look away from Thrawn’s blazing eyes. Your move. “I understand, sir,” he managed. “And...I feel the same way.”
“Good,” Thrawn said. “Do you want me to tell you when to come?”
Eli nodded, then remembered. “Y--yes, sir. Tell me anything, please.”
“Turn over,” Thrawn said, tightly. And smiled darkly.
Eli was beyond words. He managed a whimper as Thrawn slipped another slick finger inside him. The Chiss was whispering something in his native tongue into his ear, endearments, admonishments, whatever -- Eli didn’t care. He was on the edge as he had never been, his vision darkening with it. But he hadn’t been told he could come.
He held back, biting his lip. Thrawn teased him for an eternity, until Eli started to beg for it. “Please, sir, Thrawn. Admiral. Please, I can’t--”
Finally, finally, he felt Thrawn’s cock at his entrance. He rocked back, and Thrawn thrust forward. Eli gasped, almost losing his balance and falling flat on his face on the bed. Thrawn caught him, held him horizontal, and started fucking him in earnest. Eli let the Admiral do it, falling forward into those strong arms, Thrawn’s hand stroking his cock, Thrawn’s mouth on his neck…
“Now, Lieutenant Commander Vanto,” Thrawn snapped. Eli let go, his orgasm sweeping over him like a wave, carrying him along. He was aware of Thrawn following him, his hands gripping Eli’s hips hard enough to bruise, or so he hoped, the arms holding him shaking with shared pleasure.
They both sprawled the wrong way on the bed, gasping, Eli reaching out a hand toward Thrawn, who ran his fingers over it, limply, spent.
“Was this a plan?” Eli managed, after a few moments to collect himself. “Did you know this would happen?”
“No,” Thrawn admitted. “I truly did not want to be propositioned. Or to see you accept any such offers, although that is selfish of me. Humans are different, in this sense...I admit I was not sure that I had read you correctly. I merely...hoped.”
Eli grinned into the mattress. “When have you ever been wrong, sir?” he mumbled.
“That is very true, Eli,” Thrawn said, regally.
#
Nalumbe disappeared below them as the shuttle took off.
“I am almost sorry to leave,” Thrawn said, giving Eli a meaningful look.
Eli snorted. “No, you’re not. You hated it there.”
Thrawn tilted his head. “...That is true,” he allowed. “The people were...not to my taste. And the weather was appalling. And it was never quiet. And yet.” He looked Eli up and down.
“And yet,” Eli agreed. They would go back to their roles, now. Superior officer and subordinate. Aide and admiral.
“We will need to be careful,” Thrawn mused.
“We will be.”
“Will you mind?” Thrawn asked, diffidently. “That you will be my aide, and not my…” He trailed off, not willing to finish the sentence.
“I am your aide,” Eli reminded him. “I like being your aide. Sir. It’s not a problem. And as for the rest…” He grinned.
“You’re mine, Eli Vanto,” Thrawn growled.
“Yes, sir,” Eli agreed. "I am."