"Well," Aden said, reaching to rub at the back of his neck as his cheeks got a faint hint of purple across them- looking a bit awkward, "I'm no stranger to seeing people as pieces on a game board and treating them accordingly, but... Having a friendly relationship to someone I'll be working with for a while is superior to an antagonistic one."

Even aside from that whole humiliating having a crush on someone thing. Being a gracious host was preferable to keeping his distance, especially considering how he relied on Thrawn in much the same way that Thrawn had found a use for him and what he could supply him with.

"Besides, we're both Chiss."

He shrugged. Aden got along fine with aliens, but he was always going to have a certain preference toward his own people and give some amount of preferential treatment to them. That included being nicer, too.