Under the Helmet ~ (The Mandalorian x Male OC)

Chapter 34: Reunion

Din was caught off guard. He hadn't noticed the servant sneaking up on him, and especially hadn't noticed the servant was his ex.
He wasn't sure what to say. "Daedalus...is that you?"
The Foundling nodded, in which the Mandalorian ran to embrace his lost partner.
They met in the middle, wrapping their arms around each other.
"I never thought I'd see you again," Din admitted, pulling back from the hug. "Are you okay? Were you captured?"
"No, I'm just fine. Trying to claim this bounty for my own," he paused. "Where's Lyra?"
"Back at our ship."
Daedalus let out a small sigh and nodded. "And I take it you're here for the princess too?"
"That I am," Din confessed. He had an idea. An idea he may regret, but he was so surprised to see the Foundling that he didn't care. "What if we worked together to get the Princess out?"
A confused look struck Daedalus's face. "I...I'm—"
"Hey!", the voice of a guard echoed down the chamber. "What's going on down there?"
"Shoot me," Daedalus urged. "And meet me on the terrace once the sun goes down."
Din scoffed. "I'm not going to shoot you."
"Do it or my cover is blown, do it!"
Seeing no other option, the Mandalorian shot Daedalus in the shoulder. The Foundling fell to the ground and let out an exaggerated cry.
"Guards, get him!", he bellowed.
Din nodded at his old partner and ran away from the Zygerrian guards. Once he was outside, he used his jetpack to fly over the balcony of the palace and soar back to Lyra's ship, which was parked just outside the city behind a rocky knoll.
Making his way inside, he found Lyra preparing a small breakfast.
"Back so soon?", she cooed.
Din removed his helmet and placed it on a side table.  "Yeah, I actually ran into Daedalus."
Lyra let out a small gasp. "Oh how fun! How is he doing?"
The Mandalorian wasn't sure why, but he never told his girlfriend about his past with Daedalus. He just never felt a need to, as it would only stir up unnecessary drama between the two of them.
"He's doing fine, going after the same bounty as us," he finally mustered.
Lyra brought Din a small plate of blue milk pancakes and assorted berries. "And so we're going to have to compete him for it?"
"No, actually quite the opposite. I asked him to work with us."
"And have to split the million credits with him? No thanks."
"I'm going back in after dark to discuss it with him."
Lyra scoffed. "And you didn't bother to discuss it with me? Those million credits could get us pretty far, but not if we have to split them with Daedalus and whoever he's working with."
"Dae is a good friend of mine, I'm not just going to double cross him like that."
Lyra raised an eyebrow. "And where has this 'good friend' been the past two years?"
It was a fair point. Din had tried calling Daedalus enough times to no avail, and who knows when they would have actually gotten together if it wasn't on accident.
"Still, I can't just turn on him. He means too much to me."
Lyra took a seat across from Din. "Then leave it to me."

———

Daedalus would've felt poorly with or without being shot by Din. Seeing the Mandalorian again had struck a cord in him, and landed him with a blaster wound in the chest. It would leave a nasty looking scar on his shoulder, but it would heal.
After about three hours in the Zygerrian palace's intensive care facility, he was released to aide the princess. He made his way to the kitchen and grabbed her now cold breakfast and returned to her room. Before he could even knock, Rotella was opening the door and begging him inside.
"Dear Maker, what took you so long?", she beckoned.
Daedalus chuckled. "I got shot."
She gasped. "No!" She jumped onto her bed and sat crosslegged. "Tell me everything, now," she urged, patting the spot on her bed in front of her.
The Foundling did as she ordered, lying her meal tray down between them. He didn't know just how much to tell her. She was a very welcoming host, but he needed to keep his focus on his mission. "I saw some delinquent Mandalorian messing with a guard, so I confronted him and... he shot me."
Rotella covered her mouth with her hands. "Did he say anything to you?"
"Not really," he shrugged.
"This may sound weird, but I'm kind of jealous...", she confessed. "It's been so long since I've seen any action like that...I guess I just want to get out of this palace some time."
Daedalus liked the sound of this. Perhaps he could lower her out of the palace then have Gayle, Verid, and Wally kidnap them.
"And can't you leave the palace?", he asked, playing it innocent.
She exhaled. "It's highly highly highly frowned upon, but I guess there's nothing really stopping me..." Her eyes lit up, and she placed a hand on Daedalus's wrist. "What if we left the palace, just went for a walk around the town?"
"Right now?", the Foundling questioned.
The princess nodded.
"You do realize I literally cannot refuse you anything," he teased.
She chuckled and took his hand, leading him to her ginormous walk-in closet. "Here, put these on," she ordered, handing him a commoner's tunic.
"Have you ever worn this before?", he wondered aloud. The getup was something he definitely did not see the princess wearing.
She blew raspberry. "Of course not, I keep it solely for situations. Keep in mind, I am the princess; no one can say no to me."
The two took turns changing in her closet before sneaking out of the palace and making their way into the town square.
There was a shocking contrast between the lives of the royalty and those living in the city. Daedalus hadn't noticed it since he had spent a fair majority in his time in the castle with Rotella. There was slave trades going on all around them. Poor, innocent souls being whipped and humiliated in front of greedy merchants.
"Horrible, isn't it?", the princess confessed, picking up on Daedalus's distaste.
"It really is," he agreed.
"How much of this did you have to go through?", she wondered.
Daedalus was caught off guard. "A fair amount, but nothing this bad."
Rotella shook her head. "I'm so ashamed to be a part of this awful scheme. If there was a way to end all of this, believe me, I would."
"If only it were that easy."
The Foundling was grateful that the two were in disguise. His team and Din's surely weren't the only bounty hunters out there looking to kidnap the princess.
The two of them walked around the city for a while longer, before the Princess decided she wanted to head back to the palace.
Once they reached her room, Rotella grabbed his arm and turned to face him. "I just want you to know that I view you as anything but a slave. It's only customary for the princess to have a personal servant, but please, if there's anything I could do for you, please, don't hesitate to ask."
She was staring deep into his eyes, and Daedalus could tell this was a very intimate moment for her. He didn't want to take advantage of her, but there was something he needed.
"This may sound weird, but could I borrow some clothes?"