And There Was Another✔️

Chapter 26: Transit

Seth sighed softly as he stared at himself in the mirror. He stood nude before it, and in the powerful lights of the bathroom, it was pretty clear how messed up he was. He'd gotten fairly used to the other scars that remained on his body. They'd accumulated over the past several decades when there hadn't been time or opportunity to get to a more serious medical facility. There were fairly effective treatments for getting rid of most any scar nowadays, and he actually had basically free access to them given his rank and status in the Republic military, but not only did he not have the time, he didn't seem to have the want to either.

It felt kind of pointless, given his occupation.

And his level of attractiveness.

Removing scars kind of felt like polishing up a battered, rust-eaten, time-worn trinket. There just wasn't much reason to.

"Why are you sighing in here?" Nova asked, slipping into their shared bathroom and coming up behind him.

"Just...looking at the new scars," he replied.

Specifically, he was looking at his right shoulder. A new patchwork web of scarring had emerged there. It wasn't as glaring as some of the others, but it was ugly. It had come from the burn when he'd first crash-landed on Taris. He knew he shouldn't be bitching about it, even in his own head, because it could have been a lot worse if Seri hadn't saved him or applied that kolto.

"Oh come on, you're being ridiculous, they're no big deal," Nova said. She hesitated, then winced suddenly. "I'm sorry, that was really dismissive and rude. Um...I was actually going for, uh, reassurance."

"It's fine," he replied.

"No, it isn't! This obviously matters to you." She heaved a sigh and came to stand beside him, looking up at him. "I have seen you fearlessly throw yourself into combat with terrible odds, and yet you're hedging now in a simple conversation. Why?"

"Well...this isn't a battle. You aren't an enemy. I don't like fighting."

"Seth, it doesn't have to be a fight!" She paused. "I'm sorry. I'm getting worked up. I just...I care about you, and you're a great person, and I hate seeing you miserable. Which you obviously are...take a shower with me?"

"Yeah, sure," he replied.

She turned on the shower and they got in. He had to admit, this wasn't the conversation he'd been expecting to have first thing in the morning. It was the night after they'd taken off from Dantooine and started heading for Hoth.

"Talk to me," Nova said.

"I don't know what to say, I guess. It just feels like anything on my mind will make you unhappy, because you hate seeing me miserable."

Nova frowned, considering this. "That's a fair point, I guess. But I want to hear it anyway."

He tried to figure out how best to put it, because even in his own head it didn't make sense. "I guess I've got conflicting ideas going on, none of them good. I'm frustrated because these new scars are just the latest thing to be added to the list of unattractive features about me, but at the same time, I also kind of figure, what difference does it make? Ugly is ugly."

"Wow, Seth," Nova said, staring at him from beneath the shower. "That...I'm not even entirely sure where to begin. I mean, you aren't ugly for starters. I at least know that much. And don't give me that 'you're just saying that' crap, Seth. Because I'm not. I'm genuinely attracted to you, for a number of reasons, but one of them is physical. I think you're hot. Obviously Seri does. I think Maya might even be turned on by you, but I doubt she'd ever admit it. And I'm pretty sure you said it yourself: scars are hot. Plus, I'm really not trying to be dismissive here, but why do you even care?"