Under the Helmet ~ (The Mandalorian x Male OC)

Chapter 25: The Briefing

The ship went straight to the Adelphi New Republic outpost after leaving Sorgan. Daedalus had partially aligned himself with the Republic since they had picked him up from Cophrigin V. In the eight days that had passed since he saw Din, his anger had only grown. There was just so much ignorance in the Mandalorian's thought process.
They exited the ship and entered the damp air of. Adelphi. It was dark out, and everyone headed to their quarters immediately. As Daedalus left, Din called out to him.
"Hey, where do I go?", he asked.
"Not with me," the Foundling sassed.
Din scoffed, "Can we at least talk about it?"
Daedalus wheeled around to face him. "Talk about what? How you left me? How we spent a month getting to know each other and forming a bond, all for you to literally throw me out of your life when things get tough? What is there to talk about, Din? What other side is there to this that I don't see that justifies what you did?"
It began to rain as he finished his spiel.
"I just wanted you to be safe. I didn't want you to be associated with me after the bounty was put on me. I didn't want you to get hurt because of me," Din confessed.
Daedalus stomped closer to Din. "I thought it was clear that we were together for things like that. For anything. I don't care that I'm 'associated with you', I want to be with you. Or at least, I wanted to."
The Foundling turned and made his way indoors to his own personal quarters. He didn't care what Din thought. It was the truth. Ending things with him wasn't how he wanted this to go, but how was supposed to forgive him after that. They just weren't on the same page.
Daedalus peeled off his wet gear and threw himself down on his bed. It was sad, but he missed how things were with Din. He could find someone new, though. Someone who understood just what commitment was.

———

Din woke with a stiff back and rampant headache. He had been forced to sleep on the floor of a side room, as no one was around to assign him to a room. Daedalus had ended things with him, and it hurt. He couldn't say he did anything wrong, as dumping him off on Cophrigin V had been a bit extreme.
He sat alone in his thoughts until Cara found him and sat down next to him.
"He broke up with you?", she asked.
Din nodded.
"I don't blame him honestly, what you did was...shitty," she lectured.
Din looked over at her. "Thanks."
"Why'd you do it."
"Because I love him."
"Funny, that's the same reason Daedalus said he wanted to stay with you," she held eye contact with him. "I'm not trying to tell you how to go about this, but if you don't apologize, you're going to lose him."
"Thanks," was all Din could say.
He didn't want to apologize.
Cara stood and extended a hand to help the Mandalorian up. "I've got a mission for you. Should keep anyone tracking you off your tail."
She led him to a briefing room, where Daedalus and a few other soldiers were awaiting orders.
Cara played with the controls of the table, and pulled up a holographic planet.
"Dromund Kaas, it's a marshy planet in the Esstran Sector. The planet was highly involved in the Imperial regime, and after the New Republic took over, they've distanced themselves and stayed out of all government events. We've sent ambassadors, none of which have returned. I've received orders to send in a small squadron of soldiers for recon, and recon only. It's important that whoever is operating out of here doesn't know the New Republic has sent you. You'll fly out to the outskirts of the capital, Kaas City. Get as much information as you can and get out. Are we clear?"
Various sounds of approval rang out from the small crowd.
Cara nodded. "Good, you leave in an hour."
Din made his way to the Marshal. "I take it Daedalus is going on this mission with us?"
Cara looked at him in disgust. "You think I'm going to that sink hole? You, Daedalus, and 4 other soldiers are going. I actually have duties here to attend to."
"Like what?", Din quipped.
The Marshal gave him a dirty look and left the room.

———

Daedalus was dreading the mission. He didn't even know why he was going. Cara said it was to make up for the trip she had to take to pick him up from Cophrigin V, and after this mission he was free to do what he pleased. Helping the New Republic was nice, it was cool to be apart of something bigger, but bounty hunting was also pretty fun. The thrill of the chase was exhilarating. Perhaps he would consider forming his own little bounty hunting team.
For now, he was being forced to go on this mission with Din and a handful of other soldiers. He was almost certain Cara was trying to play matchmaker in the whole situation, but Daedalus was pretty certain he didn't want to get involved with Din again.
The hour they were given passed quickly, and the team found themselves on their way to Driland City in no time. Since this was an incognito mission, they were utilizing a GX1 Short Hauler, a transport ship with no weapons system, but was capable of high speeds and long-range communications. Daedalus had a sinking feeling in his gut, as no one had been to Kaas City and returned since the fall of the Empire, and it didn't help that the ship they were flying in on had no weapons. His only hope was that the mission would remain diplomatic.
Cara had also insisted the team take nothing that would make them stand out, so Daedalus had to leave his armor and Darksaber behind. Instead, he carried an electrostaff. Din had taken the order roughly, and had discarded all of his armor but his helmet, which he painted camouflage green and brown. He had made it very clear that the second they got back, he was removing the paint. Daedalus thought the paint job looked better than the base grey color of his beskar.
He noticed he had been staring at Din the whole time, and immediately looked down at the floor. He didn't want to fall for the Mandalorian again, he had been there before, and he knew how it ended. Mentally, he couldn't handle it again. The few days he had spent alone were some of the worst of his life. Forced to stay in his head and live off the land.
He wouldn't let himself go back to where he was, no matter what it took.