Admiral's Honor [ThrawnXReader][Arranged Marriage]

Chapter 21

The two of you finally stopped in-front of a door. You assumed this was Thrawn's quarters, and due to the widening of the corridors, you also assumed that you were relatively close to the bridge. Thrawn used his code cylinder to unlock the door, and it opened with a woosh.

Thrawn stepped inside and motioned for you to follow, the lights flicking on as he did. You stepped through the door and Thrawn turned to face you, standing in the center of the room. You looked around. There was a small kitchenette, a small dining area, and a sitting area. There was one door on both walls to your sides. You guessed at least one of them probably lead to a bedroom, and the other maybe to a closet or refresher you weren't sure.

There was a shelf on either side of the door to your left and right facing the Viewport across from you as you walk in, and a small desk and chair along the wall to your right of the viewport. And other than that the only thing in the room was art. The walls held several holo-images of different sizes, but the shelves held actual pieces of art. 

Thrawn watched you take everything in. He didn't say anything, but you could tell he was waiting for something. When he had invited you to come he had said this was where he kept everything that belonged to him and you would be able to learn more about him. So that might be what he was waiting for. For you to figure something out about him.

You turned your back to Thrawn and faced the shelves, examining the different pieces there. They seemed to almost all be from different planets, or cultures. So he has collected these over time then. Maybe from different missions? It was something that you had heard about him through the palace gossip that he used art to defeat his enemies. So maybe these pieces came from his defeated enemies? Although that did strike you as a bit out of character for him. At least from what you knew so far. Thrawn didn't really seem like the type of person to gloat to anyone about his own victories. 

So then was this art to remind him of his defeats? That didn't really seem plausible either. If he had lost this often he wouldn't be a Grand Admiral. So maybe something in between? not necessarily victories, but perhaps something valuable that he learned through whatever had happened. That was the only explanation that made sense so far.

You could feel Thrawn's red eyes boring holes in the back of your neck so you turned back around to face him. "Its a nice collection." you said. You still weren't really sure what to say to him after he scared you in the hall. You didn't usually scare so easy but you grew up alone on the the streets. That tends to leave a girl with a healthy sense of caution when dealing with angry men. You had had your fair share of run ins with men in back alleys, and though most of them hadn't ended too badly, you had quickly acquired and ingrained fight or flight reflex.

You forced out a small smile with the words. "It must have taken you a long time to gather." 

Thrawn nodded. "I've spent several years acquiring it." 

"What does it take to be added to this collection of yours?" you asked, curious to know if you were right in your guess that it wasn't sentimental value, but rather reminders of something like a lesson he didn't want to forget.

Thrawn quickly scanned the shelves and then his eyes settled back on you. "I would be interested to know what you think the answer is to your own question. You appear to have already drawn some conclusions."

Thrawn was standing in what you had come to realize was his default mode. Back straight up, hands clasped behind his behind him. The picture of military perfection. This was kind of starting to feel more like he was testing you than like an invitation to learn about him. You didn't really have much choice though, you had kind-of asked for this.

"Well," you began, swallowing a bit nervously, "I've heard that you use art to learn about your enemies. And since you don't seem like the bragging type, and you also don't seem like the kind to wallow over defeat, I'm guessing these-" you gestured to the shelves behind you, "represent something in-between." you paused looking for the correct words. "Maybe something that could have been done better even though the outcome was still technically favorable. Am I close?" 

Thrawn raised his eyebrows. "Yes actually, you are correct. I do not often lose a battle, but even when I win there is something to be learned. Always something I can learn to do better." 

You frowned a bit. "So in some ways, though these were victories, to you they do still represent failure?"

Thrawn frowned a bit as well. He didn't particularly enjoy being vulnerable like this, letting someone into his room was, in his mind, the same as baring his soul to them. Though you didn't know this you did notice his small frown before he controlled it. You had hit the nail on the head. And there was the biggest thing you could learn about him from this room and all the art. Not what he used it for, but what it told you about him as a person. 

His crew was very loyal. He was a good leader. Encouraging his troops to succeed, and not punishing failure like the rest of the Imperial leaders would. But he held himself to a much higher standard. Though his success rate was nearly perfect, he still counted every mistake on his own part as a personal failure. 

You really did have your work cut out for you with figuring out a way to get him to chill out a bit.

Author's Note: You're a smart little cookie aren't you ;)

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