Archive of Our Own ^beta

Thalias pulls her perfect em'chee from the oven. It is a traditional Mitth Family recipe, one that is probably too fancy for the dinner party Thrawn and Laeliv are hosting, but what are the Mitth if not a little flashy? 

“Smells good,” Samakro says as he strides into the kitchen, buttoning the sleeve of his tunic. “Are you trying to show up the hosts? You know Thrawn and Laeliv are career military, right?”

“Then it's only right to make sure there is at least one edible thing at the party.”

He scoffs. “Mitth.”

She turns to him, arms crossed across her chest. “What is your bet for tonight?”

“My bet? On dinner being edible? I'm not putting any money down that I know I will lose.”

She rolls her eyes. “I meant on Thrawn and Laeliv being in a relationship.” 

He leans up against the counter. “I don't have any money down.”

“What? Why?”

“Why would I bet on people's lives?” 

“People had money on us.”

“And I didn't like it then either.”

She sighs. “Well I have money down.”

He hums. 

“Do you care to know what I wagered?”

“No.”

“You're absolutely no fun.”

“I haven’t heard that before.”

She smiles and takes in her husband in every way but name. Samakro, Thrawn, and Laeliv all serve as family representatives within the EDF. In the same way that Ar’alani renounced her family to swear loyalty to the fleet, they have sworn to uphold their family’s position in the military. There will be no more in-fighting instead there will be many families united as one force. 

Which ultimately means no outside family marriages, if any at all are to be considered. There are so many rules with these new positions, it is a miracle they exist at all. 

“What?” Samarko asks, smile curling his lips. 

“Let’s go,” she says, “We’re going to be late.” 

“And miss the hardly edible dinner? A shame.” 

~

They end up arriving right on time, which Samakro has said may as well be late many, many times. He knocks on the door, bread in one hand while Thalias stands with her bottle of moonberry wine. 

“Good evening,” Thrawn says as he pulls open the door and steps aside. “Eli is still finishing up dinner.”

“I made em'chee,” Thalias says, “and brought wine.”

“Thank you,” Thrawn says and takes the wine from her hands. “The kitchen is through here.” 

Thalias knows Thrawn and Laeliv as two individuals. She shaped her entire life around Thrawn. Before his exile by trying to find him and after by trying to create an Ascendancy that is fair and safe for everyone. Laeliv showed up somewhere after. He is everything she remembers Thrawn as: intelligent, compassionate, ruthless. 

And yet, she hadn’t expected a convergence of the two as one. Their home is warm and welcoming. The floors are a well-polished cherry wood. The walls are painted a neutral tan color, but art hangs on nearly every wall in a way that isn’t tacky like Samakro’s mother’s house. 

“Hey! Welcome to the party,” Laeliv greets with a smile. He stands in the open concept kitchen with a towel over his shoulder. Three pots simmer away on the stove and it all smells divine. 

“Thank you,” Thalias says, feeling Samakro’s hand on the small of her back. “You have a lovely home.” 

“I can’t take credit for any of the decor,” Laeliv smiles, “that’s all Thrawn.” 

Thrawn nods and rounds the counter. “You picked out the art piece in the bathroom.” 

Laeliv hums, smile still hanging from his lips. “And you hung it in the bathroom so it must’ve been a real winner.” 

“Perhaps,” Thrawn says and leans in when Laeliv offers a spoon to taste one of the dishes boiling on the stove. 

The doorbell rings and Thrawn goes to answer it, leaving Thralias and Samakro with Laeliv. Thalias goes to start a conversation, but her darling husband beats her to it. 

“Did you read that finance report from Davott?”

Laeliv groans. “It’s a bunch of kraytspit.” 

The conversation devolves into something Thalias could follow if she felt like talking finances at a party, but instead she admires their home. The kitchen is warm with life. The cabinets match the redwood flooring, the countertops a speckled stone that glistens in the golden overhead lights. The living room has a stunning art piece of a field anchored above the couch. Around it are framed pictures of them with their friends. Some are from a different life when Thrawn was among the humans, and others are more recent. All are filled with joy. 

“Hey there's the boss,” Eli says as Ar'alani and Wuutrow enter the kitchen followed by Thrawn. 

“We agreed no titles after work,” she says. “I brought a salad.”

Samakro looks at Thalias as if to say that should be the expectation of dinner tonight—sad bags of lettuce and lovingly made, but inedible dinner. 

“And I brought liquor,” Wutroow grins. “Can't have a party without the spirits.”

Laeliv laughs. “Well we still have a few minutes till dinner is done. Let's crack open the alcohol and I'll give you a tour.”

Thalias chooses the moonberry wine she brought, not because she hates the liquor, but because she has never been very adept at holding said liquor and doesn't want to embarrass herself. 

They start in the living room, where Laeliv explains that the art was painted by Sacher. “She gave it to us shortly after we moved in together, right?” 

Thrawn nods. “She said that every home needs a focal point.”

Eli hums and leads them down the hallway. “Here is the bathroom. Feel free to laugh at what I thought was a truly beautiful art piece.”

Thalias can't bring herself to laugh at any of it. It's just a bathroom, for Frost's sake, but it is a perfectly blended representation of them both. It is light copper, the painting of plateaus proudly displayed on a shelf above the toilet. There are two glass containers with gold lids and an extra roll of toilet paper. 

They move into the bedroom and Thalias’ only thought is that it was clearly set up for two people. The walls are painted a deep green, with thick black blankets covering the double bed. A cherry bedside table stands on both sides, each adorned with a golden lamp. One side has Laeliv's reading glasses and a book, the other is noticeably empty. A desk, which looks markedly out of place under the window, has an array of different questises and data cards. 

Thrawn’s bedroom is right next door and smaller. It has all the disjointed feeling of an office, turned bedroom. It breaks her heart. They are among friends, there is no need to hide. 

When dinner is served, it is delicious. The first course is a creamy vegetable soup. They gather around their table that is just big enough to prevent elbows from bumping, but small enough to make the dinner feel intimate. Thrawn sits next to Laeliv and gets up from the table when he notices his glass is empty. Laeliv looks up at him, a warm smile twisting the edges of his lips and Thalias almost expects them to kiss before they remember themselves. 

The second course is a roasted bird with a wine sauce. It is similarly amazing. If Samakro had bet on dinner being edible he would have been rolling in credits. It is all so divine. 

Finally, Laeliv serves dessert. It is a simple fruit pie with a side of ice cream and yet completely fits the comfort of the evening. 

“It's Thrawn’s favorite,” Laeliv smiles, “I hardly had a choice in making anything else for dessert.”

The two are effortless around each other. Thrawn clears the dinner table and prepares to go boxes, citing that they made far too much to finish on their own. Thalias knows better, though; they intentionally made more because they are, at their core, selfless. 

Wutroow and Ar'alani leave first with their arms fuller than when they arrived and then Thalias and Samakro start making their way to the door as well. 

She pulls Laeliv into a warm embrace. “You both are welcome to ours anytime,” she says. “Perhaps we can make it a monthly dinner date.”

Laeliv smiles and doesn't bother correcting her on the idea of a double date. “That sounds nice. Thank you for the invitation.”

She pats his arm and then hugs Thrawn.

“Thank you for coming,” he says. 

“I wouldn't miss it.” She looks at both of them, standing side by side, mirrors of each other. 

She bids them goodbye one more time and follows Samakro to the aircar. He turns the heat on for her and pulls away from the curb. 

“My heart is breaking. Why do they feel like they need to hide in front of us? Are we not good friends?”

Sam reaches over and takes her hand. “It's not that. It's… it's the same reason I still have my own apartment.”

She looks at him. 

“Interfamily marriages are illegal. We have to keep up appearances and for them,” he shrugs, “they're both outsiders. They'll never have the security we have.”

“But Laeliv has the Stybla.”

“And you know they would do what any family would if they found out the alien they adopted because he's good at math suddenly became a problem. It's unfair, but…” he trails off. It is unfair. There is no ‘but’ that changes that. 

“You knew?” she asks. 

“Of course I did. I fished Thrawn out of the Chaos when Laeliv was my first officer. Of course I knew.”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“It's not my place. Besides, the more people who don't know, the more they have the benefit of plausible deniability. You're the Mitth Patriarch. If you're asked about Thrawn and you don't know, you're not lying. If you do, and you lie, that is perjury.” 

She sighs. “I want them to retire and be happy together.”

“You know they'll never do that.”

“I know,” she sighs. “I love you.”

Interlocking their fingers, he kisses the back of her hand. “I know. Sorry I can't marry you.”

“Maybe when you retire.”

“Only if you become an Ufsa.”

She smiles. “Deal.”