Under the Helmet ~ (The Mandalorian x Male OC)

Chapter 13: The Tension

Daedalus was tired. It had been a week since they had taken Grogu in again. His moodiness had dialed down a bit, but Din's lack of attention still bugged him. He had told him they shouldn't get together simply because it was easier than being in limbo with him. Daedalus still had feelings for him, but he didn't want to be waiting for Din to do something about it. He still considered the possibility of being with him, as much as he hated it.
He had started to form a small bond with Grogu, though. The child couldn't talk, but had a way of getting his feelings across in other ways. Occasionally, a single picture would appear in his mind, and it was usually what Grogu wanted at the point in time. It was some Force thing he had learned.
The trio was now on a snowy mining planet for a mission. They had to free a prisoner and take him back to Nevarro. The target was a Republic officer who had offended a Mining Guild worker while trying to form an alliance. A tank carrying the officer and a handful of other prisoners was said to be going through the valley the crew was camped out in.
They were all sitting in the cockpit, Grogu placed on Daedalus's lap. He was rolling around the infamous shifter knob in his hands, occasionally placing it in his mouth. Din and Daedalus hadn't had a meaningful conversation since their fight last week. It was a little awkward with nothing to talk about at this point, but they had plenty of bounties and missions to complete, which kept their minds busy.
"There," Din broke the silence, pointing out the bay windows at two tanks approaching in the distance.
"Two tanks? I thought there was only supposed to be one," Daedalus cursed.
Din shrugged. "The intel was wrong. We'll just have to search both tanks for the target."
The trio prepared to board the tanks. Daedalus had decided to bring the Inquisitor's lightsaber. He had been practicing with it a bit lately, but wanted some real experience with it in the field.
The tanks were coming up to their location. Din had Grogu in a small pouch on side, and held on to Daedalus with his free hands, ready to propel the group onto the roof of the tank with his jet pack. The tanks passed, the group lifting off and landing on the roof of the second tank.
"You two check this one, I'll go to the next one," Din asserted, flying onto the front tank.
Daedalus unclipped his lightsaber from his belt. "You ready kid?" He chided, looking down a Grogu, who cooed in response.
He ignited a blade of his lightsaber and cut a circle in the top of the tank. He jumped onto it, causing it to fall into the hallway below. On either side of him, there were small cells full of prisoners. He scanned the distraught faces for the officer, but saw no matching face. A door then opened at the front of the hallway, and a pilot in a Mining Guild uniform walked out. He screeched some alien language, then began firing at Daedalus. The intruder ignited the second blade of his lightsaber and used its spinning mechanism to deflect the shots.
"Get me outta here Grogu!", he yelled through the hole in the ceiling.
He heard a small squeal then felt himself being lifted out of the tank. Daedalus wasn't quite used to the child's Force abilities yet, and landed flat on his face when he set him down.
"Let's go help Din," he said, taking Grogu in his arms. "Ok kid, your turn."
Grogu closed his eyes and extended his arms, sending the pair flying through the air and landing roughly on the roof of the other tank. Din had blasted open a side door of the transport. Daedalus swung down from the roof and into the tank, where the Mandalorian was in a shootout with the pilots. He was hiding behind a cell, waiting for a ceasefire to take out his foes. Daedalus ignited both blades of his saber and cut the pilot's arms off at the elbow. They bellowed in pain and Daedalus knocked them both out by slamming the hilt of his saber against their heads.
"Take over the controls, I'll find our target," Din called from the back of the tank.
Daedalus made his way to the cockpit of the transport. He had never driven and flown anything in his life, so this was a learning experience for him. He gripped the steering module and tried to
keep it in a straight line, which resulted in stiff jerking motions in both directions.
"Keep it steady!" Din cursed.
An image suddenly appeared in Daedalus's head. Danger. The tank was immediately met by heavy fire from a larger speeder, most likely Mining Guild reinforcements.
Din poked his head into the cockpit. I got the officer, let's get out of here."
Daedalus set the transport on autopilot and met Din in the hallway. The officer, a human female, was standing back, obviously scared.
"It's okay, we're taking you back to the New Republic," Daedalus consoled.
She nodded and moved in closer to the pair.
Din grabbed her around the waist and flew to the roof off the tank. Daedalus climbed his way up the side and joined them. Grogu was deflecting the blaster bolts that he could with the Force, but a good portion of them were still hitting the transport. Daedalus ignited both blades of his saber and deflected what he could with the spinning blades.
"We have to take that speeder out, the other prisoners shouldn't die to our hand," Daedalus pleaded.
Grogu took a few steps forward. Lifting his arms, the speeder began to tip over. The miners screamed as they capsized.
Din nodded, "That's one way to do it. Good job kid."
Grogu made a soft murmuring sound and stuck his hands up, asking to be carried. Din picked up the child and placed him in his satchel.
"How are we getting off this thing?", the officer queried.
"I can take carry you and fly back. Daedalus you can...walk?", Din suggested.
Daedalus was frustrated, but understood.
Din and the officer embraced, and took off back to the ship. Daedalus looked down at the ground speeding by. He took a deep breath and jumped into a nearby snowbank.
He hadn't dressed for the cold weather, as his suit left his arms exposed. He trudged through the snowdrifts and made his way to the transport tracks and followed them back towards the ship. A few minutes later, Din came soaring towards him on the jet pack.
"About time," Daedalus nagged, wrapping his arms around Din, preparing for take off.

———

The team arrived on Nevarro an hour or so later, and Daedalus was ready for a good drink. He had been thinking about Din almost all day, and he craved something to take his mind off the tension.
Din was planning on meeting up with some old friends at the tavern as soon as he dropped off the officer, so thankfully that plan always attainable. Grogu had went to sleep as soon as they had gotten back to the ship, so they decided to leave him there to sleep.
Din planned to meet Daedalus at the bar after he dropped the officer of and met with his friends. The two went their separate ways. Daedalus went straight to the bar. It was dimly-lit inside, and the atmosphere was dearly calm considering the entire city was full of bounty hunters and criminals. He took a seat at the bar and ordered his first round of drinks.
A while later, Din entered with his friends, one a dark-skinned male, the other a buff female. They appeared to be deep in conversation, but Daedalus couldn't hear them. Din must have told a joke, and the three broke into a fit of laughter. The woman placed her hand on Din's shoulder, and Daedalus didn't like it. Sure, he had broken it off with his partner, but he still didn't want him to see anyone else. Part of him believed they would get back together some in the future. Daedalus turned to the bartender, desperate to forget this moment.

———

Din's friends had just left the bar. He had had a great time catching up with them. He had even told them about Daedalus and their complicated relationship. They thought it was inevitable that they would get together, and Din hoped that was true.
By now he was making his way over to Daedalus, who had clearly had a few too many.
"Oh hey buddy!", he chortled as Din took a seat next to him.
"I'm fine," the Mandalorian turned to the bartender. "How many has he had?"
The bartender shrugged.
Daedalus placed a hand on Din's shoulder. "Do you want something?"
"I kind of have to keep the helmet on, you know?"
"What if you had a really long straw? Hey bartender! Get me one of these with the biggest straw you got!"
Din chuckled, "I guess it's worth a try."
The bartender brought him a green-tinted liquid with a freakishly long straw.
"Try it try it try it try it try it," Daedalus pleaded.
The Mandalorian took the drink and managed to stick the straw under his helmet and into his mouth. He took a sip, and Daedalus broke off into maniacal laughter. Din smiled at his partner's childish behavior. As quickly as it started, he stopped laughing. A very serious expression on his face, he placed his hands on both side's of Din's helmet.
Staring deep into his visor, Daedalus whispered, "I love you."
Din pulled back. "You what?"
"I love you, silly," he teased.
Din was stunned. He didn't know if it was just the alcohol in his system or if he really felt that way.
"Aren't you going to say it back? Do you not love me?", Daedalus pleaded, sounding almost on the verge of tears.
"I do. I do love you," Din whispered.
He hadn't realized it before that moment. He did love Daedalus. The month they had spent together was one of the best of his life, and he didn't want it to end.
Daedalus began spinning himself around on the barstool. "To prove your love to me, will you carry me to the ship? I think I'm going to be very sick soon."
Din laughed. "Of course."
He placed a handful of credits on the bar and took Daedalus in his arms.
His partner squeezed at his arms. "Wow, you're strong! Like a Rancor!"
Din carried him all the way back to ship. Before he even entered the ship, Daedalus was snoring. He knew he would be the only one to remember this whole event in the morning, and he was okay with that. At least he knew somewhere deep down that Daedalus did love him, as much as he tried not to.
He laid his partner down in bed. "Good night, Dae," he whispered, "I love you."