Apparently removing one's wisdom teeth wasn't something they did in Wild Space.

It was their final physical before commissioning in the Imperial Navy. When the medical officer asked Cadet Eli Vanto why his incoming teeth hadn't been removed yet despite that there clearly wasn't enough room for them his mouth, he was shocked when the cadet told him that he just thought that everyone let theirs grow until they popped off the back molars. The medical officer, recovering from his shock then firmly informed Cadet Vanto that this was not Wild Space and that they were more civilized about these things and, to Vanto's dismay, it was a requirement to have wisdom teeth removed before serving in the Navy.

Which is how Cadet Thrawn found himself in the waiting room of the Academy's medical wing.

"Cadet Thrawn," A corpsman called. Thrawn stood up and the woman took in his alien appearance for a moment before gesturing for him to follow, "Come grab your friend." He followed her down a series of passageways to a recovery room where Eli was laying on a table, with puffy cheeks, staring into space with glassy eyes and clearly drugged.

"He should be good to walk with some help, they best thing for him would be to sleep off the drugs. Here are instructions for his care and he'll want these when the numbing wear off." She said handing him a datapad and a bottle of pills. "Change the gauze in his mouth every thirty minutes, and have him apply bacta to the area every few hours. Bring him back if there's still excessive bleeding tomorrow."

"Understood. Thank you." She nodded leaving the room, and he walked over to Eli whose eyes had drifted shut.

"Cadet Vanto." No response.

He shook him. "Eli."

Eli slowly turned his head up to look up at him. As pleasantly surprised expression crept onto his face and he mumbled a greeting. At least Thrawn assumed it was a greeting, the cotton in the back of the boy's mouth made it impossible to tell.

"Come along, it's time to go home.." He tried to sound cheerful and encouraging, not really sure how well he pulled it off, human intonations were still slightly foreign to him.

Eli groaned and pushed himself into a sitting position, and slid off the table. When Eli's feet hit the ground, his knees started to buckle, but Thrawn had anticipated this possibility and caught him and steadied him before Eli's face could come into contact with the wall small room. Together they made their way back to the barracks, with Eli stumbling and Thrawn holding him up.

"Aah sssaid aah caaan waa baa mmmseel" Eli mumbled frustratingly for the third time, straining to annunciate around the gauze in his mouth.

"Please don't talk, you'll tear your stitches, additionally, I cannot understand what you're saying." Eli turned to glare at Thrawn and stubbornly tried to repeat it in Sy Bisti. When Thrawn gave no sign of understanding, he gave up and let his head drop back down, bloody drool leaking out of the corner of his mouth. Thrawn, of course, understood that Eli wished to be allowed to walk on his own. However, he found that feigning ignorance was the best option in this case, as he was half carrying, half dragging the boy as it was. Besides, he hoped that Eli wouldn't remember any of this by tomorrow morning, and he would be forgiven.

Upon reaching their small dorm, Thrawn released Eli who was able to stumble his way to his bunk and collapse face first into the mattress. Thrawn sighed, sitting on his own bunk, and scrolled through the list of instructions provided to him. After reading it through he crossed the room to Eli's bunk.

"Sit up," he commanded. Eli simply moaned in return. The Chiss in turn was given no choice but to gently manhandle his uncooperative patient into a sitting position, propping his back against the wall. Eli's head hung down. "Look up." Eli moaned again. "Eli, look at me." Finally, the boy did as he was told, looking up but unable to hold Thrawn's gaze. Thrawn shined a glowrod into his mouth.

"Your pads have bled through, take them out." Eli finally subjecting to the program, did as was bid, and with convincing applied bacta to his mouth and his even more convincing, placed new gauze pads in. His eyes were dropping shut and he was already asleep by the time Thrawn settled him onto his side and covered him with a blanket.

When Eli awoke, he felt dizzy and disoriented. The last thing he could remember was the corpsman sticking a needle in his arm, and telling him he might start feeling sleepy. He was on his bunk, back in this dorm, his entire jaw hurt and his roommate were sitting on the bunk across from him staring intently.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?"

Eli pulled out the bloody coppery tasting gauze. "Like I got four holes in my mouth," he replied irritatingly, then winced.

"That is expected. You are to take these." Thrawn said handing him two pill and a glass of water.

"Thanks." Eli grumbled, taking them. Thrawn simply nodded in return.

Talking didn't exactly appeal to Eli, but the fog was clearing from his mind and questions kept popping up in his brain.

"How did I get back here?"

Thrawn studied him before answering. "You and I walked back here together."

"Oh," said Eli looking embarrassed, "I don't remember that. How-

"That is also expected." Thrawn cut him off. "I shall return shortly, in the meantime try not to talk." With that, he turned and left the room returning moments later with a thermos. "Are you hungry?"

Eli shook his head.

"I was afraid you might not be, however; the instruction say are supposed to eat, regardless of your appetite."

Eli shook head more vigorously. Thrawn insistently pressed the thermos into Eli's hand. "I have on good authority that the soup is excellent today. Chabba root cream, I believe."

Damn. Eli, thought. That was one of his favorites, and he had told Thrawn about it. He still wasn't hungry but decided to get his roommate of his back and appease him. He took three sips of the soup. Thrawn had been right, it was good, and he could feel his appetite returning, but he didn't want to admit that Thrawn had been right about this as he was about everything else. So he set the thermos back down.

"There. Are you happy?"

"I am satisfied for the moment, yes." Thrawn said turning to leave again.

Then it dawned on Eli that he was acting childish and ungrateful.

"Wait!" Thrawn looked back over his shoulder. "Th-Thank you," Eli stammered out, then added sincerely, "for everything."

A rare, small smile flickered on Thrawn's face. "Anytime."

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think. I love hearing from you all. Look out for my collections of one-shots coming soon titled "Miscalculations" featuring more Eli and Thrawn.