Private Love At First Swipe

[Sam Sheridan]

Naboo/Theed​

Evening/Partly cloudy​

Sam was already regretting this stunt. After her last two relationships, she was hesitant to start blundering around with another. But a deal was a deal, and she couldn't pull back after losing a bet with her daughter. She just didn't actually expect someone to find all that much interest in her profile on that dating app. And judging from Ara's reaction, neither did she.

But there she was, standing by some sort of pretty river and waiting for her "date" to arrive. She wasn't good with texting so a personal meetup was simply the best option. She wasn't too afraid of him being some sort of scumbag either. The two pistols holstered under her jacket made sure of that.

She looked herself over again. This must have been the first time in a while that she actually dressed up somewhat nicely. Usually she would simply wear her work clothes or her shorts and tank top at home. But not tonight. She actually went out to buy a decent black t-shirt and a pair of jeans that didn't look ten years old. The only thing she felt good about buying was the hoodie she got to go along with her getup.

Pulling out her datapad, she checked for any messages to see if he was going to ghost her. She doubted that anyone would leave a message when they did that. She slipped it back into her pocket and leaned back against a wall, taking in a deep breath as she watched the sun slowly disappear in the distance.

Zephyr Krayt

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

To say he was clueless would be an understatement. Mandalorians didn't exactly have an overt dating culture to prepare him for this sort of thing so he would learn through experience and for a man who didn't own as much as a shirt, there was little to expect.

Though a usually confident person, the unfamiliar social situation left him a little uneasy which was made even more uncomfortable by the lack of armour which had become a second skin over the years. However, he knew enough about social conventions to know it was inappropriate to turn up on a first date in full armour - well with a non-Mandalorian at least.

With that in mind, he donned some of the few casual clothes he owned which were in part what he wore under his armour anyway: cargo trousers, a t-shirt and jacket, all in unimaginative varying shades of dark grey, and twin blasters hidden beneath the jacket. Naboo was safe territory in theory but he was distrustful and couldn't be too careful with an alleged bounty on him.

The planet was pretty, if you were into that sort of thing, but the hardened warrior had never been taught to appreciate the nuance of beauty as such was unimportant in his family at least. The person he was here to meet had intrigued him enough that he considered meeting her despite her being outside of his culture. It wasn't a deal-breaker but it would complicate matters.

It didn't take long to find her at the agreed location so he hesitated for a moment before approaching the lone woman. "Sam?" He asked tentatively to ensure it was her first. "Zephyr. Nice to meet you." He offered a small smile.

For a sickeningly long moment, he realised he didn't know the proper way to greet her in the situation. A hug was too familiar and a handshake seemed too formal. By the time he had come to assess the options, the moment had passed and any further contact would've been awkward from his end.

The customs of dating were still unfamiliar to him but he worked with what precious information he had learned by reading about it. "Did you want to get something to eat?" He spoke confidently despite the caution he felt. "I can't say I've been to Naboo often to know many good places but it's Naboo so I can't imagine anywhere will be sub par."

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

When Sam heard her name she quickly turned her head to see who knew her name. "Yeah that's me." she answered simply, waiting cautiously to see if this was her date.

Luckily he was.

A smile formed as he introduced himself. "Nice to meet you too." she spoke as she turned to face him. She attempted to hold a hand out for him to shake but faltered halfway, feeling that it was way too professional. They both seemed to short out in the moment, not having a clue how to greet each other comfortably. A chuckle escaped the girl as she shook her head. "Off to a great start, I'd say." she joked, brushing aside some loose hairs.

"I'm not too familiar with Naboo, but I have done some jo-err... work here in the past. One thing I can tell you is that the food ain't bad at all." she explained as she approached him, motioning towards the city behind them. "So with that in mind, I'd say we can go grab a bite to eat. Lead the way." she continued with a small smile. She had a speeder parked nearby, though she figured a walk with the guy could give them some time to learn a little bit of each other. Something Sam wasn't fully sure about doing on a first date.

Walking with him, she cleared her throat after a few moments. "So Zephyr... you mind if I call you Zeph? Are you a Mando? 'Cause your surname's rather very similar to a clan I've heard about." she asked, wanting to break the rather awkward silence between them.

Zephyr Krayt

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

It was an unusual feeling to be out in public feeling so exposed and such discomfort was evident by the tension in his body language. He was far from socially inept but in such a foreign situation it was hard not to have moments of awkwardness. "Sorry. I've never done this before." He confessed with a chuckle. It would definitely be a learning experience.

"Well if they're going to spend all their time refusing to participate in wars then they might as well do something useful and make decent food." He commented. There was precious little reason to come to the pacifist planet of Naboo aside from when a bounty thought it smart to seek refuge there due to the protection they'd receive from the local law enforcement that was a nuisance to bounty hunters.

Zephyr did as was suggested and led the way at a strolling pace, figuring they weren't in a rush and had time to talk. Suddenly she hit him with a couple of questions in quick succession which caught him off guard. "Um, no, that's fine... Yeah, I am. Clan Krayt. That's why this is new to me. How many Mandalorians do you see sitting in coffee shops?" He half-joked with a smile.

He walked with his hands in his pockets but upon realising he was doing so he removed them to look less uncomfortable in case Sam thought it was anything to do with her - which it wasn't. "How did you come to work for the Jedi then?" He asked. Normally, he wouldn't have much interaction with people from the Concord since they had differing ideals but from what he knew about Sam, she seemed to deviate from the typical mindset of the Concord members which made him willing to give her a chance.

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

Sam had to admit that walking with Zephyr through the peaceful streets of Naboo was helping her relax quite a bit. She glanced at him when he spoke up, admitting that he was a Mando. A chuckle escaped her at his little quip as she shrugged. "Good point. Usually I see them in bars or in warzones. Coffee shops... not so much." she admitted with a smile.

He continued on to ask about her work in the Concord. Sam's smile faltered as she glanced down at the ground for a moment. "Call it... a favour from a friend. I was in a bad headspace. I was trying to cut off my old life and start over, I had some other stuff going on as well, I went through a rather nasty breakup..." she glanced up at him with a hint of nervousness as she realized what she said. "... Not that it's that important..." she dismissed awkwardly before continuing. "... And I had a friend who is a Jedi. He helped me out with a place to stay and hooked me up with a job in their hangars to fix up their vehicles. I love to work on vehicles and I needed something to get my head away from all the crap going on, so I took the job without a second thought. Pay is good, hours aren't bad and I'm doing what I love most, so I'm happy right where I am. The politics and stuff don't matter to me, all I worry about is making sure the machines that come my way are in perfect condition when I'm done with them." she explained with her smile returning.

A snicker escaped her as a thought popped up. "Plus it's given me a way to connect with my daughter. That's how I ended up here to begin with. She said her pod racer is quicker than my swoop, I challenged her. If I lost I had to sign up on a dating app and if she lost, she had to do all the chores in the house for the next month. Guess who lost." she admitted with a warm smile. But the moment her story ended, she froze up with a deep blush forming.

She never mentioned having a kid on her profile...

Zephyr Krayt

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

Of all the places to let his guard down, Naboo seemed like the most sensible place to do so with their low crime rates and general peace-loving nature it was difficult to remain inconspicuous if you were armed to the teeth, looking to claim on a bounty - thankfully for him if the rumours of the bounty on him were true. "You usually see them in armour too." He replied.

He listened as she spoke of her story, mentally making notes of the information since they needed to build some kind of rapport if they were going to have any kind of success with their meeting. "Oh." He blurted out after hearing of her break-up, looking down at her, trying to gauge her emotions from her expression but before he could continue she was quick to dismiss the matter. It was no doubt something that would come up in the future if they decided to meet again.

From the little information he had been given in their short initial interaction, she sounded somewhat... troubled which made him wonder what was happening in her personal life, though it was far to soon to start prodding for information on that. He wouldn't have been happy if she had done so to him. "Sounds like a pretty sweet deal. I didn't think the Jedi had a whole lot of money but then again, I wouldn't know."

Her lifestyle sounded a little dull to him compared to what he was used to but he wasn't about to insult her by saying so. It just remained noted for future consideration. "There's not always a lot of money in bounty hunting unless you build yourself a reputation." He told her. "Which I haven't quite managed to do yet." He continued.

Zephyr's gaze quickly shot to Sam when she mentioned a daughter and he almost completely glossed over her following story. There was a moment of silence after she finished before he asked. "You... have a daughter?" His tone expressing confusion and expression suggesting surprise. It wasn't wholly improbable as she was in her late 20s after all but he had never so much as been in a relationship so it was a shock and a half to say the least. He was unsure what to do with the information. It was a possibility he hadn't even considered and was wholly unprepared for.

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

Sam gave a light shrug at the comment on bounty hunting. "I used to work as a merc for a bunch of people. Now and then a bounty would come my way too. Money's not bad at all if you survive your jobs." she admitted to him.

However as he asked about her daughter, her blush merely deepened as she rubbed at her forehead. "I knew I should've mentioned it on the profile. I just had a feeling that would've chased everyone off." she spoke with a hushed voice. "Yeah, she's turning fourteen one of these days. I'm sorry..." she looked up at him with an unsure expression. "This was a waste of time. If you wanna call it off, that's cool. I'll pay for your fuel. It's the least I can do for dragging you out here." she offered with a defeated tone as she glanced around. "I'll walk you back to your ship, where did you land?" she asked, convinced that he had lost all interest in this "date" after that bit of info.

Zephyr Krayt

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

"True, that. It's not so bad until you irk the wrong people and they put a bounty on you then things get... messy." He replied. It was refreshing to meet someone who seemed to have a similar mindset to his own yet didn't share his culture which was arguably the reason for his mindset - she was different.

It was certainly a surprise and it was definitely something that should've been brought up beforehand but they were there now and there was no point letting a perfectly good date go to waste. She seemed very apologetic for her blunder which made the Mandalorian more empathetic to her plight. Doing the mental maths, he knew she had to have been pretty young when she had her daughter and while he didn't know her circumstances, it seemed unreasonable to blame her for that.

Still, it was a shock which caused hesitation in his response until she finished trying to amend the situation. "No, it's... surprising but there's no need for that." He tried to reassure her, though he was still uncertain himself. It would be an idea he would have to entertain, at least in the future, if things went that far. For now, he tried to help her to feel more at ease so things would run more smoothly.

"What's her name?" He asked, hoping to show a small amount of acceptance even if he hadn't truly internalised it. There was no need to make her feel worse than she likely already did. "I uh... I actually have a nephew who's not much younger than your daughter. Not by blood but that's how our families tend to go." He informed her, slowly becoming more accepting of the idea, though it still wasn't ideal.

They neared a restaurant which looked somewhat amicable and far from the usual scene he would find himself and from the sound of it, Sam too. He scanned the menu situated outside and was taken aback by the prices. "Do people really eat food this expensive?" He thought aloud before realising it must've made him sound cheap so he quickly added. "It must be nice then."

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

To her surprise he reassured her that it wasn't a problem. Sam calmed down a bit and gave a small smile as he asked for her name. "Her name's Ara. And don't worry. I wasn't planning on dropping the two of you into a room right after the first date. That might end disastrously for all parties involved." she chuckled softly as she pushed some hair behind her ear. He mentioned having a nephew which earned a laugh from Sam. "A Mando kid jamming with an Underworld gutter rat. That might be an interesting day." she quipped.

Things were much more relaxed afterward. They continued on to a restaurant which was much pricier than Sam expected. "I can count on one hand the times I ate this expensive. Last time I ate at a place like this, the food was arguably the best I've ever tasted." she commented as she read over the prices on display. "We can go fifty-fifty, don't worry. I ain't no miser." she reassured as she gave him a bump on the shoulder.

Once they had their seats, Sam looked around the place with a hint of discomfort on her face. "You also feel like you're always being watched in places like this? I guess it's just me being used to junk food joints and stalls. I'm not one for sitting down and eating at snazzy places like this." she glanced around them again and gave a smile. "Can't argue, though. Places like these are much more pretty than a simple stall selling barbequed... stuff." she quipped.

She studied him for a moment, not talking at all as she scanned his features. "So tell me about yourself. Were you born into your clan or how'd you join? I'm a little rusty with my Mando stuff." she asked casually as her eyes stared into his.

Zephyr Krayt

 

[Zephyr Krayt]

"Oh?" He sounded intrigued. "Is she protective? Feisty? Or just a teenager?" He inquired, assuming the pair to have a close bond given their relatively small age gap compared to most parents and children. Meeting her daughter was a daunting prospect. Mandalorians were no strangers to suddenly having children thrust into their lives but this was different, though he tried not to concern himself with it too much as there was no saying whether they'd even get to that stage. "Yeah, yeah." He chuckled. "That would be... something." He replied, dwelling on her phrase of 'gutter rat' and wondering just what kind of life the pair of them had led before landing work with the Concord.

"Oh good. It's been a long time since I had a decent meal. It's usually whatever's fast and easy, you know... life on the move. I wouldn't rate myself as a good cook that much but I've never really cooked for anyone. My mooka harasses me for food every damn time though if that's something to go by." He told her whilst still scanning the menu. "Oh, okay." He replied hesitantly, not realising there was another way to pay, being unaware of some of the social etiquette around dating.

Zephyr's gaze followed Sam's around the room before they met again. "Yeah, definitely. It feels quite exposing." He agreed. "Who decided this was normal anyway? I've never seen Mandalorians date. You just kind of... choose someone you like and spend time with them." He shrugged. "So we go to a hotdog stall next time?" He asked, half-joking.

"Oh, um..." He seemed almost startled by the question, not helped by his expression which he usually never had to make a conscious effort to hide. "I was adopted into it. I was separated from my Mother in a battle when I was young." He replied semi-truthfully. In essence, it was true but missing major defining features of the story. It was unlikely that Sam would have a reaction to the truth as negative as some Mandalorians did but it was a lot to entrust with a near-stranger. "What's your story? Why did you call Ara a gutter rat?" He asked, trying to seem interested rather than like he was changing topics.

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

Sam smirked at Zephyr's question, giving a shrug. "She's half Zabrak, grew up on the streets, and she's hit puberty like a freighter. Go figure." she quipped as she glanced at him.

In the restaurant, they seemed to be of the same mind about snazzy places like these. "Well I can't cook to save my life so you're lucky with that one. I do wanna see that mooka, though. It looked adorable in those pics." she smiled at him. It made her wonder whether getting a pet would be an idea worth entertaining. She would have to discuss that with the boss-lady back home...

"Hot dog stall is perfect. Though now I'm curious. How awkward are dates between Mandos? Like... say you're into someone but they're not into you. What happens then? Do they just fold you like a camping chair and move on?" she asked him. "Won't lie, though. I can definitely see myself in a suit of Mando iron if it weren't for all the traditions and other strings attached. You guys seem to have a pretty blunt way of doing things." she admitted with a shrug.

His next question caught her off-guard, though. A red hue appeared on her face as she uncomfortably sat back and cleared her throat. "It's a long one. And not a pretty story at that. I'll... I'll tell you about it once we're done here and in a more secluded spot." she managed to crack a smile as she spoke. When the waiter arrived and handed the menus, Sam looked completely taken back. "Half these names I can't even pronounce. The steak sounds promising, though." she commented, glancing up at him to get his input.

Zephyr Krayt