The Buzz-bug and the Brain Worm

Ushutwasho had been absolutely thrilled the day that his least favorite Selonian had left the crew, but the rest of the team was not as happy. It's not that she was awful, it's just that he did not find her attractive. And, after blue boy joined up and started making googly eyes with Quyn he found that flirting with any random Twi'lek that smiled at him just simply wasn't satisfying anymore.

And then a different set of lekku caught his eyes. These lekku were attached to a pair of montrals on the head of a spicy colored Togruta who sat a few seats away from him at a cantina one night. The jatz was loud and it was one of those nights where everyone thought they should play a solo at the same time. Her bright yellow eyes looked irritated, which made her seem like an even greater challenge to approach.

He liked a challenge.

"Can I buy you a drink?" he asked.

She lifter her full glass an inch or so and said flatly, "I've already got one."

"How about a bite to eat?"

"Not hungry."

"Care to dance?"

Her lekku twitched, which either meant an enthusiastic yes or a warning to step away. He couldn't really tell since she wasn't facing him.

He decided to take a gamble and placed his hand on her shoulder. She quickly grabbed his hand and faster than he could see what was happening she had him on his knees with his arm pinned behind his back.

"How many times do I have to tell you 'no'?" she gritted through her teeth.

"Technically, you never did," he said, trying his hardest not to let a whine of pain slip through his voice.

That made her pause and she let go of his arm.

"No," she said authoritatively and he decided to back away.

For the rest of the week that they were parked on this particular planet, he just could not get her off of his mind. He was handsome, charming, rarely ever struck out. How could she resist him? She was frostier than an icicle on Hoth. He determined to try to get her out of his mind and look for someone else wherever they landed next.

They day they were supposed to take off, however, Bromm introduced a couple of new members to their crew: a female Shistavanen named Eclipsed and the very same Togruta that had turned him down. Turns out her name was Lishi, and it had to be some kind of fate that she would now be holed up on this ship with him for the foreseeable future.

He smiled broadly as he approached her to introduce himself. She frowned and simply stated, "No."

But, just like a Geonosian brain worm, he figured he could find a way to burrow into her mind and convince her to give him a shot. Plus, he had all the time in the world and - at least while they were cruising through the void of space - she had nowhere to go to escape his presence.

He approached her in the galley as she perused through her datapad for something to read. She simply ignored him, so he sat at the other side of the table and pretended to be busy.

"Do you ever sit still?" she asked without looking up.

"What?" he asked, pleasantly surprised that she spoke first.

"You're shaking your foot under the table like you're laser brained."

"Oh, sorry." He paused his foot, but it just started bouncing again after a minute or, too.

"Varp! You are always moving. You do not sit still for even a second. How have you managed to survive this universe as some sort of smuggler for as long as you have? You cannot possibly be stealthy."

He just stared at her blankly. This was the most he'd ever heard her say and he was thrilled.

"Most beings can't pick up on movement like you can," he pointed to the top of his head and she sighed.

"I suppose you're right, but, for your information, it's like you are a little buzz-bug pestering me twenty-four/seven. We share a wall between our quarters and it is the most mind-numbing experience to have you..."

He was just smiling at her, keeping himself totally still, and she frowned.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure it's just -" she gestured in his general direction "- who you are. I shouldn't give you such a hard time for it. I just... I haven't been in such close quarters with this many people for an extended period of time in a while."

"I get it. I'll try to be more still from now on."

She smiled, just a little bit, at the sincerity in his voice and he beamed. He had done it. The buzz-bug had become the brain worm and he knew it.

Mission after mission, they had each other's back, but Lishi still had a difficult time seeing any substance in the Twi'lek. If it was there, he was putting a lot of effort into hiding that behind being the crew's clown and she couldn't decide what was worse. That is, until the moments came when he stood his ground in rare moments of dissent. He questioned anything he disagreed with, anything his gut told him to question, and he always made solid points. Then, one night over drinks, Quyn told Lishi and Eclipse about how determined he was to free the people on Ryloth. How he despised the slave trade, and that he once was a slave himself as a child.

There was more to this nerf-herder than she'd given him credit for and she felt some relief in knowing that because, despite her best efforts, she had begun to develop a crush on this lighthearted red Twi'lek.

But, she'd turned him down so many times that he'd stopped asking her out. So, she swallowed her pride and knocked on the door to his quarters one morning.

He greeted her with that ridiculously confident grin and she almost decided not to go through with it, but it was too late now.

"Good morning, Ushut," she said nervously.

"Lishi," he nodded.

"I was wondering if you would care to go with me to pick up some gear for our next mission," she said. "And then, maybe..."

Why was she so nervous? She hated how small and girlish her voice sounded. She was typically self-possessed. And there he was, just standing there patiently waiting for what he apparently knew was coming, which just made this worse and she thought he might know that, too.

She wasn't going to finish the sentence. She was too mad, with him and herself.

"Yeah, I'll go with you," he smiled. "You wanna grab a drink when we're done?"

"Yes," she stated simply and turned on her heels to walk away.