Under the Helmet ~ (The Mandalorian x Male OC)

Chapter 2: The Stowaway

"What are you doing in my ship?"
The words echoed in Daedalus's head. He had never been more frightened in his life. He opened his mouth to speak up but he couldn't find the words. His biggest fear was pointing a blaster at him.
"Put the blaster down, kid," the Mandalorian's voice seemed to cut through him.
Daedalus dropped the blaster immediately. His loot bag was strewn on the other side of the cockpit, near the Rodian the bounty hunter had discarded. His only hope to survive was to keep his eyes away from the items he had planned on stealing. Daedalus took a deep breath and tried to utter out an explanation.
"I—I was—I didn't—"
The Mandalorian lowered his blaster, obviously not threatened by the blubbering mess before him.
Besides them, the bounty began to stir, causing the hunter's gaze to fall upon Daedalus's bag. Daedalus knew he had to come up with an explanation before he was killed on the spot.
"I'm sorry I—I didn't mean—I'm sorry. Please—"
The navigation module cut him off, the ship was coming out of hyperspace.
"Dank farrik," the Mandalorian muttered, pulling his blaster out of the holster.
Daedalus thought this was it. This is how it ended. The freaking idiot he was tried stealing from a Mandalorian. He deserved this for being so stupid.
The hunter toyed with his blaster for a moment, then shot Daedalus.

———

Daedalus woke with a raging headache. He sat up, confused.
Am I dead?
His eyes began to adjust, and he noticed he was in a primal containment cell in the belly of the ship. He padded at himself, feeling for the blaster wound. Feeling none, he deducted that the Mandalorian merely stunned him.
Thank the Maker, he thought as he toyed with the door to the cell. It was clearly not factory issued, as the crude welding of the barred walls was very unprofessional. He felt in his pockets to see what he had, and found the small metal rod he had, specifically made to pick locks. He jammed it in the keyhole and had the door open in record time. The ship appeared to be docked, so Daedalus headed to the boarding ramp to exit this nightmare.
The door opened to reveal a blinding ocean of sand. Shading his face with his hands, he stumbled out of the ship, noting the looming fortress to the east. He figured the Mandalorian was inside, as was unsure whether he should go in and take his chances of finding some help to get him back to Coruscant. Worse case scenario he had to spend more time being interrogated by the bounty hunter.
Suddenly, the large iron doors of the complex began to open, and Daedalus ran to hide behind another skip docked in the courtyard. He peered out to see the Mandalorian walking out and boarding his ship, ramp closing behind him. However, instead of taking off, the ramp came back down. The hunter walked down the ramp and appeared to look around for Daedalus. Noticing this, he turned back behind the ship's landing gear, fearing the Mandalorian saw him. He turned around to see the hunter walking towards him. Daedalus sighed, knowing that running or fighting him would be in vain. He closed his eyes and sat back against the struts, hope lost.

———

"How'd you get out of the cell?" The Mandalorian queried.
The withered soul in front of him appeared to show ever so slightly.
"I'm sorry," he said for about the thousandth time since they met.
"Come on kid, I'll take you back to Coruscant," the Mandalorian said flatly.
The man looked surprised. "You will?"
"Yeah, now let's go before I change my mind."
The stowaway scampered up and followed the Mandalorian to his ship.
"I take it you've learned your lesson and this will be a peaceful ride back?" The Mandalorian asked once they had entered the ship.
The thief nodded and followed the hunter slowly to the cockpit. The Mandalorian plopped into the pilot's chair and sent the ship flying off into the open space.
Out of nowhere, the man asked, "Why did you come back out to find me?"
The Mandalorian contemplated his answer for a second. "You have something that belongs to me."
The thief looked confused, then reached into his pocket. "You mean this?" He held out the metal knob of Grogu's in the Mandalorian's direction.
The bounty hunter took it from him gently and rolled it around in his palm.
"What is it?"
The Mandalorian hesitated. "It's a token of an old friend."
"What happened to them?"
"I'm not sure," he said quietly.
The man seemed to calm down and stop shaking. "I'm sorry."
"It's all good." The Mandalorian sighed. "What's your name kid?"
"Daedalus. Yours?"
"You can call me Mando."
Daedalus chucked. "Mando? You really can't say your real name?"
"This is the way."

———

Daedalus rolled his eyes. The Mandalorian he was once scared to death of was now asking to be called Mando. Consider all fear, gone. In fact, not just fine, but replaced by other feelings. He felt...sad. The hunter seemed to have a somber past for which Daedalus pitied him. He wanted to break the silence and figure out more about the man under the helmet.
"So you're taking me home now?" He asked unsuspectingly.
"Yes," Mando replied flatly.
"Tell me more about this friend. How close were you?"
"I'm not talking about it," the Mandalorian replied immediately.
Eager to figure out what was under his facade, Daedalus plotted to trick the Mandalorian.
"What if I told you I had something else of yours, and I'm not giving it back unless you open up a little bit," he said with a smirk.
The Mandalorian wheeled around in his chair and stood up over him.
"You'll give it back or I'll pick it off your dead body."
Daedalus immediately shriveled in his seat.
"I was kidding," he said plainly. "I just wanted to know more about your friend."
The Mandalorian sighed and sat back down in his seat. All of a sudden, the ship's computer began to chime; a transmission was coming through. The voice was stern, yet somewhat charismatic.
Hey, Mando! I got a new bounty for you to collect, and get this, it's even bigger than the last one! Come to Nevarro ASAP if you want it, I got plenty of hunters in line to bring him in, but I wanted you to have first pick. Hope to see you soon old pal.
The transmission ended, and the Mandalorian to sighed. Again.
Daedalus thought about what he was going back to. A drunken slob and a life he wished to escape from. Although the Mandalorian scared him to death, he feared living the same way for the rest of his life even more.
Daedalus blurted, "Go to Nevarro."
The Mandalorian turned to look at him. "Excuse me?"
"Go get your next bounty. I want to go with."
The hunter tilted his head. "And you think I want to take a thief with me?"
Daedalus shrugged. "I know I'm not the most trustworthy person, but I can't go back to Coruscant. Just let me go with and I'll help you do repairs on your ship or something. If I'm really that big of a problem you can take me back as soon as you want."
It felt hopeless. He knew the Mandalorian wouldn't.
Facing back towards the front of the ship, the hunter said, "You have to understand the lack of trust I have in you.
Daedalus frowned. "I underst—"
"You can come with."
Daedalus was stunned. He actually pulled it off!
He stumbled on his words "Th-Thank you! I won't do anything stupid."
The Mandalorian leaned his head back.
"Doubtful," he muttered.
Daedalus smiled, pleased with his new friendship.