Under the Helmet ~ (The Mandalorian x Male OC)

Chapter 42: The Spark

happy birthday pedro pascal 🥳 stream dreams by fleetwood mac

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Daedalus woke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. He had hardly been able to sleep ever since the standoff on Muunilinist. He had Din back, but he still felt bad that Rotella was out there somewhere at Lyra's mercy.
He threw on a robe and made his way to the kitchen for a glass of water. On the way, he passed by Din, who was sleeping on the couch. Or at least, he thought he was sleeping. Since he was in a public area, he kept his helmet on while he was sleeping. Daedalus had done it once before, and could only imagine the pain Din would wake up with in the morning.
It had been three days since the Mandalorian had chosen to be with Daedalus, but they were taking things slow this time. The Foundling would let him sleep in his room eventually, but he wanted the timing to be right. Last time they were together, they took things a little too fast, and burned out just as quickly. He didn't want to push it. He got his water and walked back to his room silently.
Crawling back into his sheets, he reached for Rotella's wedding ring that Din had found on Zygerria. They had placed a bounty on Lyra's head (Din's suggestion), but Daedalus didn't want to wait around. He spun the ring on his finger. Poor Rotella.

———

Din awoke with a throbbing pain in his neck. You would think that he had grown accustomed to sleeping in his helmet by now, but somehow it seemed to pain him more and more each time. He made his way to the break room for a cup of coffee, and found Daedalus scrolling through a star chart.
"How's you sleep?", the Mandalorian asked politely.
He shrugged. "Not great, but probably better than you. How's your neck?"
Din took a seat next to him. "Pretty messed up," he admitted, rubbing a hand on the sore area.
Daedalus stuck his hands out, motioning for the Mandalorian to let him rub his neck.
"I, uhh, kind of have to keep the helmet on..."
"Oh please, everyone here as seen your face. It's not really an exclusive thing anymore."
Din shrugged and removed the helmet. It was the first time Daedalus had seen his face in, well, two years. His hair had grown into a curly, disheveled mess, but had kept his face clean shaven, besides his iconic mustache, of course.
The Foundling ran his hands along the back of Din's neck, pulsing his thumbs in a deep massage. The Mandalorian didn't want to admit it, but it felt so good. He let out an involuntary groan, and immediately turned red in embarrassment.
Daedalus smirked. "You like that?"
Din nodded sheepishly. "Carry on."
The Foundling continued rubbing his neck, and eventually moved his way to the back of his head, running his fingers through his messy hair. The Mandalorian closed his eyes and took in every small scratch and stroke of Daedalus's fingers. Bracing his head up with his thumb, the Foundling pulled him in for a kiss. He had never forgotten the feeling of Daedalus's soft lips.
They pulled apart and stared deep into each other's eyes. He had missed this. Din placed a hand on his partner's thigh and another on his jawline before pulling him in for another kiss.
The footsteps of a Wookie could be heard from the hallway. Wally entered the room, and upon seeing the Mandalorians locked in a kiss, he bellowed loudly and ran from the room.
The Mandalorians began laughing hysterically and drew apart.
"I missed you," Daedalus cooed.
Din smiled. "I missed you too. I missed us."
The Foundling leaned back in his chair. "Speaking of which, are we...you know...'official' again, or..?"
The Mandalorian nodded. "I would think so."
Daedalus moved forwards until he was right in front of Din's face. "Good."
They kissed once more before the Mandalorian put his helmet on and stood from his seat. "I'm going to go check if any leads on Lyra came in, I'll be right back."
"Hold on, I have a question," Daedalus urged.
Din leaned in from the doorway. "Yeah?"
"What even is a Foundling?"
"Well, technically they're a child that a Mandalorian takes in and raises as their own, but I guess I just used that term for you because I took you under my wing," Din informed.
Daedalus tilted his head. "Am I still a Foundling?"
"I don't think so."
"So then what am I?"
"Just a Mandalorian I guess."
He stood. "But 'Mando' is your thing, what's mine?"
Din shrugged. "I guess that's for you to decide. Until then, you're my Foundling."
The Mandalorian left Daedalus alone to contemplate his new title. He made his way to the cockpit, where he found Gayle sitting in the pilot's chair, staring out at the hypnotic pulse of hyperspace.
Din went to the holotable to scan for any new transmissions, but found none.
He turned to Gayle. "I never got around to thank you for your advice."
She swiveled in her chair to face him. "I didn't do it for you."
"Still, I appreciate it."
She stood and joined him at the holotable. "Just don't mess up this time, I won't be so helpful next time."
He was slightly put off by her warning. He mustered a hesitant "Ok?" before leaving the room and heading back to Daedalus. He had turned off the holomap and was now spinning the Zygerrian wedding ring on his finger.
"Are you sure you have no idea where she could be?", he asked.
Din was at a loss. "I've got nothing. She was in jail on Dromund Kaas for 14 years and her parents were bounty hunters, but I'm pretty sure they're dead. She said some stuff about Scarif being a common destination for her family to lay low, but I'm pretty sure that's out of the picture since it was destroyed by the Empire."
"I mean, the planet's still there, just...in pieces."
"I'm not sure if it's really that big of a lead. She only mentioned it once or twice."
Daedalus shifted his focus from the ring to the Mandalorian. "Could we just try...please?"
"If it would make you feel better," he assured with a nod. "Where'd you get the ring, anyways?"
The Foundling scoffed. "It's a long story, but I kind of...married Rotella. But before you say anything, we feel nothing towards each other, we're just friends and it had to be done in order to get her off Zygerria and keep my name clean."
Din was shocked. "I...I can't say I like it, but I understand," he consoled. "Are you going to get a divorce, or..?"
"I'm not sure, we haven't really had the chance to discuss it honestly," he sighed. "But she did it for me. I could have just kidnapped her and I would've been wanted by the Zygerrian forever, but she saved me from that. I owe her this."
"I understand. You've been quested, just as I was to return Grogu to a Jedi."
"Sure."
A single year trailed down Daedalus's face.
Din placed a hand on his arm. "Hey, we're going to get her back, I promise."
The Foundling smiled softly. "I hope so."