"Mae!"
Greef Karga is smiling like a damn kid in a Coruscanti candy shop the moment I walk through the large cantina door. He casually waves me over to the booth he's sitting at in the middle of the crowd, looking like a king amongst hunters. I playfully roll my eyes and decide to comply with his friendly gesture, slowly striding over to him while holding up one of my pointer fingers to the man standing behind the cantina's stocked bar.
"It's good to see you, old man," I say, winking at him as I slide into the plush seat across from him. The booth cushions bounce slightly as I settle down comfortably.
"Hey now—who are you calling old man?" he asks, looking over his shoulder as if I were talking to someone other than himself. I let out a light laugh as the drink I had ordered earlier is placed down in front of me. I mutter a quiet acknowledgment before looking back over to Greef's kind face.
"So, you said that there's a job that you wanted me to work on for you?" I inquire before taking a quick sip of my drink. The thin liquid stings my tongue, running a cold burn down my throat as I force it down.
"There is, but there happens to be a tiny little catch to the entire ordeal," he says, pursing his lips while shrugging his shoulders.
"A tiny little catch?" I question, furrowing my brows and narrowing my eyes at his drawn-out words.
"It's a partner job."
I stay silent and narrow my eyes even more, slowly setting the base of my cup on the smooth surface of the table. He stares into my warm brown eyes, anxiously biting his lip as he waits for me to say something. Within a matter of seconds, I slump my shoulder and close my eyes as a dissatisfied sigh slips past my lips.
"You're actually being serious, aren't you?" I mutter, pursing my lips in slight discontent.
"It's a partner job," he repeats, letting me know that he's quite earnest about his unfortunate statement. I let out a loud groan and open my eyes, immediately meeting his gaze.
"Come on, Karga. You know I don't do partner work," I whine, shaking my head while slumping further into the booth. He hums and nods his head, acknowledging that he definitely heard what I had said, but he wasn't going to necessarily digest the meaning of my words. "And you know what? I have good reason for not taking partner work through the Bounty Guild, especially with what's going on right now in this hell-storm of a galaxy!"
"Honestly, I don't see the harm in taking this one partner job for me—"
"Look, it's been rumored that the Empire might fall and I can already tell that they're starting to panic because they're making it a little too obvious that they're searching for some sort of solution to win this stupid war. And with who's in charge right now, there's no doubt that they're going to start sending people after their little force-using soldier—aka me—to save them from the Rebellion, who just happens to be kicking their Imp asses right now," I whisper in an aggressive tone as I lean my elbows against the edge of the table.
He slowly matches my slouched posture, staring directly into my eyes with an intense gaze that makes me freeze right in place. His hand reaches for something in his vest and I perk up slightly as he slowly draws out a familiar silver bounty puck that I have come to hate. My eyes widen and I almost reel away from him
"Sweetheart, they've been sending people after you. You've just been lucky enough that I haven't put your puck out on the market in this sector and that you've been able to stave off the hunters from the other sectors of the galaxy," he says as a smirk settles over his face. I continue to stay silent. He lets out a light chuckle, shaking his head as he slides the puck back into his vest.
"You told me you destroyed that thing," I say, referring back to the silver puck that has all of my bounty information encoded in it.
"I kept it for... safekeeping," he says, shrugging his shoulders while leaning back into the padded seat. I narrow my eyes as I settle back into the booth as well.
"Safekeeping my ass," I mutter, knowing that the only reason he's been keeping that thing tucked away is so he can hold it over my head in situations like this. He sends me a quick wink before looking over to the door and his smile immediately grows as he spots whoever just walked in.
"Mando!" he exclaims, clapping his hands together once.
I look over to the side to see a tall Mandalorian fellow standing at the edge of the table, towering over us with his broad build. He looks at Greef for a few moments before tilting his head to the side to look at me, but I don't immediately meet his gaze. Instead, I let my eyes slowly trail over his tall figure before I actually manage to make my way up to the visor of his helmet.
My eyes flick up to where I assume his eyes to be and he quickly snaps his gaze away from mine. He looks straight at Greef and I notice how fast he sucks in a sharp breath. I let out a small scoff of a laugh and smirk, wondering if he's as boring as all of the other bounty hunters in this crowded cantina.
I have higher hopes for him.
"Sorry to interrupt. You said that you have a job for me?" the tall Mandalorian says, speaking with absolutely zero enthusiasm in his tone. I purse my lips into a small smile while my fingers mess with the rim of the glass set in front of me.
"Funny, he told me the same exact thing," I say, pulling my hands away from my cup before lacing them together.
"I want you two to work this job together," Greef explains, flicking a finger between Mando and me.
"I already told you, I'm not taking the job," I say, narrowing my eyes at the older man. He shrugs his shoulders and holds his hands up in faux surrender.
"I know, but it could be fun for you. You two are the infamous lone wolves of the Guild. I just want to see what would happen if you guys worked together," he says, smiling eagerly.
"I think I'll pass on the offer as well," Mando says. He must've realized what he had said because he immediately looks over at me. "No offense."
"None taken," I say, not really caring too much about his input on the matter. I shrug and take another sip of my drink, hoping that the effects would kick in before the end of this conversation.
"Well, I think you two are going to work the job together because if you don't, you're not going to be getting any work from me and something else is going to be put out onto the market," Greef says, patting the pocket that my bounty puck is resting in. I clench my jaw and glare at him.
Like I said, safekeeping my ass.
"I can't believe you sometimes. You know that, right?" I say, furrowing my brows at the grinning man.
"Yeah, I know," he confirms, nodding his head while winking. I grind my teeth before slowly glancing up at the Mandalorian. He lets out a heavy sigh, shrugging his heavy-looking rifle off of his armored shoulder. I run a quick hand through my raven hair before holding it out to him.
"Mae Dameron," I say, introducing myself. He takes my hand and shakes it with a firm grip, not saying anything back. "I'm going to assume that I can just call you... Mando?"
"I guess you can," he says, settling down into the booth beside me.
"Good. After all, we're going to be partners in crime after this shit show," I say, rolling my eyes before glaring at Greef again.
"Just for one job," Mando adds stiffly, obviously not too happy that we're going to have to work this job together. Greef smiles wide and I can tell that this is exactly what he wants. I hum lightly, easily finishing off my drink.
"Sure, just for one job."
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Word count: 1420
Note: Hi! I know that this is a little long for a prologue and I apologize for that, but I really wanted to show how Mando and Mae met before we dove into the story. Anyway, I hope you have a good rest of your day!
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Unmasked Love | The Mandalorian
Fanfiction|BOOK ONE| Mae Dameron was a woman with one too many secrets. She held secrets of how she was taken from her family back on Yavin 4. Of the intense and brutal training that a sith lord had put her through. Of the nasty remarks her new guardian had...
