His heart was racing as he sat down in the pilot's seat.
It was an odd feeling.
The surge of emotions that were pulsing through him.
He had expected to leave alone, and had been preparing for it. After all, he had found the Jedi and that was his mission: get the kid to his kind.
It would have been yet another mission successfully completed.
But as he pulled the Razor Crest into the sky, he could hear the kid gurgling happily behind him.
Grogu.
He had to remind himself that the kid had a name.
He had learned so much, yet still had so many questions.
He recalled Ahsoka's words, telling him about Grogu's history and talent and warning him about their attachment.
You're like a father to him.
It wasn't just a guess, Ahsoka knew Grogu's mind and he certainly could not forget how happy the kid had sounded when he said his name.
He knew it was impossible but he could swear he felt the kid's warmth against his shoulder through his armor as he clung to his shoulder as they walked back into the ship, together.
He often felt something similar to this after completing a particularly tough mission and recognized it as relief but it was stronger than he had ever known it.
Despite the mission he hadn't wanted to let the kid go. He didn't want to say goodbye. He couldn't imagine not carrying the little guy around anymore. The ship would feel too empty, too quiet.
Funny that, he never had a problem with it before. He preferred to work alone most of the time.
He often wondered but never really let himself think about it, what the kid thought of him.
He was stubborn and petulant and mischievous but he clung to him when he was afraid or in need of comfort.
He has formed a strong attachment to you.
Oh he felt it too now, heavy in his chest. The weight of emotion and attachment.
He was now headed to yet another planet, where once again, he would have to face leaving the kid with someone else.
He felt a lump in his throat at the thought of it but pushed it back.
He had a mission, an assignment.
Except...Grogu was not just an assignment and he knew that.
He felt a sense of duty and protection and affection unlike anything he had known before.
The thought of leaving him and never seeing him again put a pit in his stomach. Not just because he worried about the kid but because he would miss him.
He had formed an attachment too.
Once the Razor Crest had cleared the atmosphere and entered deep space, and he had set it to cruise, he heard the familiar shuffling behind him.
Then there was the glimpse of the large green ears popping up beside him.
He turned his head toward him and Grogu was staring up at him with wide, brown eyes, shining with the same relief he felt.
He couldn't communicate with him like Ahsoka could but still he knew what he was thinking.
Grogu perched beside him and brought the silver knob out of his pocket. He hadn't realized he was still holding onto it.
Then Grogu smiled, gurgled happily, and then turned to the joystick where it belonged.
His eyes scrunched up and he held up his little hand and the knob floated back onto the stick and slowly screwed back on.
"Thank you buddy." Din told him and Grogu whipped his head back to him. "You put it back where it belongs."
Grogu turned his head, stared at him for a long moment and then stood up. He reached out and placed his hand on his forearm, somehow catching his gaze through the helmet, and then squeaked.
"I know, Grogu."
Grogu's ears twitched and he smiled again at the sound of his name.
He wished he understood what he was saying but he knew the gist of it.
"You are also where you belong."
Ahsoka said it would be up to Grogu to decide his fate and he wondered what Grogu would discover once he truly connected with the Force and what he would decide, but he also knew his words to be true, at least from his perspective.
Despite his mission, despite the Jedi, and the Mandalorians, Grogu belonged with him and he didn't want it any other way.