A/N: A big thanks to SirenBanshee. You are one amazing beta!

A/N: Please be aware that, in this chapter, I will completely ignore canon when it comes to saber making and saber colours. This is done on purpose to suit my story because, really, it's all just fiction. The change concerning the saber colour is that the colour is defined by the link between crystal and Force user. The change in saber making will be evident as you read the chapter.

A/N: Also, the song 'Light a Fire' by Rachel Taylor fits this chapter (and the last one) very well, I think. In a way, it covers a big part of this story. In any case, it's worth listening too.

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They sat on the logs next to the fire in an awkward silence. Kylo had his arm around Rey, holding her close against his side. He still felt he didn't deserve her—that she should be mad at him—but, at the same time, he couldn't find it in him to push her away. Her presence soothed him. It evened out his breathing and calmed the turmoil in his head.

"Would you like something to eat?" he finally asked, unable to endure the silence any longer. "Have you ever eaten an orange?"

She tilted her head to look up at him. "An orange?" she asked, uncomprehending.

"Yes."

He pulled away and started rummaging in his bag, feeling very glad he had resisted the urge to destroy it earlier. Finally, he found the smaller bag of oranges he'd brought and handed one to Rey. He watched her as she studied the fruit, laughing as she tried to bite into it and grimaced.

"You want me to eat this?" she exclaimed. "It's awfully bitter!"

Kylo chuckled. "You have to peel it first," he said, taking an orange of his own.

"You could have told me so before," she protested goodnaturedly.

He bumped her shoulder and started peeling his orange. When he glanced to the side, he saw her lean over, curious to see what the fruit would look like without its peel.

"It's … all in parts?"

Her question sounded more like disbelieving confusion. He nodded and, after dropping the peel, pulled the orange in four parts before plucking Rey's orange out of her hands and giving her his.

"Separate one part and try it," he encouraged her. "There might be a small pit in it, just so you know."

Rey daintily took hold of one part and pulled it away from the rest. After carefully studying it—and a doubtful, sideways look at him—she bit into it.

"Oh!" She stared at the fruit. "How can it be both sweet and sour?"

Kylo smiled and focussed on peeling the second orange. "Do you like it?"

"Yes!"

His smile widened at her enthusiasm. They were enjoying their fruits when an animal that resembled a deer stepped out of the woods.

"Look," Rey said over the bond.

He glanced at the animal before looking at Rey. There was a look of wonder in her eyes as she stared at the animal. Kylo looked back at it. To him, it was nothing special, yet, due to his extensive stays at the main ship, he didn't see animals more often than Rey. He wondered what it must feel like to retain your sense of wonderment throughout life. He wondered how Rey had managed it. Her life had been far from easy after all.

"Too bad, it spotted us."

Kylo refocused on the world around him just in time to see the animal's tail disappear into the woods.

"Too bad, indeed," he murmured, turning back towards her and gently touching her cheek.

Tenderness filled him with such an intensity it almost hurt. When she questioningly looked up at him, he mentally shook himself. He had just tried to kill her; what was he thinking? He quickly dropped his hand and started rummaging in the bag.

"Are you ready to finish that saber of yours?" he asked as he pulled out the box with the crystal.

"Oh!" Her eyes grew wide.

"What?" he asked.

Rey started fidgeting, looking away. "I- uhm. I kind of rushed out of the ship as soon as I could. I left my bag behind. I guess- I guess I should go get it?"

A mild rush of panic surged through him. She was leaving? Rey grabbed his hand.

"Don't worry!" she said. "I'll be back; I promise! Besides, Maz's orders only work for so long on a certain, strong-willed individual. Given how anxious I was, it's probably best to let him know I'm okay."

Rey's mention of Chewie momentarily caused his anger to spike again, but he knew she was right. Family stood above all for the Wookie, and no doubt he'd adopted Rey as part of it. Gritting his teeth against his own insecurities, he nodded.

"I won't take long," she said, standing.

After a last smile, she picked up her staff and disappeared. Kylo stared after her, stared at the spot where she had entered the woods. He could feel his anxiety rising so he started to pace. He had threatened her, yelled at her, tried to kill her, distrusted her; how could he believe she was coming back? She had said she forgave him, but how was that possible? Why wasn't she angry with him?

"Stop fretting." He stumbled mid-step as Rey's voice reached him over their bond. "I'm not going anywhere."

The fact that she had felt his jumbled emotions made him feel weak and pathetic. What must she think of him now?

"You impossible man!" she half laughed, half admonished. "You're being absurd. I'm almost at the ship; I'll be right back."

Sighing, he sat down. He knew he was being absurd, but he felt out of his depth. If he was honest with himself, he often felt out of his depth when it came to Rey. She did not behave like the people he had grown up with and he did not know how to respond to that. The same sometimes happened with Phasma, but at least there he had protocol to fall back on.

He closed his eyes and tried to relax. He had shown her distrust earlier; he would trust her words this time around. Rey would come back, just as she had promised. Despite his intentions, he still jumped to his feet in relief once he heard her approach.

Rey merely shook her head at him and dropped her bag next to his at the fire. She opened it and pulled out her saber.

"This is it," she said, handing it to him. She looked somewhat nervous and uncertain.

He took it from her with a reassuring smile and turned it over in his hands. It was sturdy, yet not too heavy, and it looked as if it was made from salvaged parts. It looked so typically Rey that he couldn't help but smile at it.

"Is it okay?" she asked. "Did I make it right?"

"It suits you," he answered. He nudged open the compartment that held the electronics and would later hold the crystal. "It's perfect, Rey," he said after studying it. "And I expected no less from you." He handed it back to her with a smile. "Now, shall we link your crystal?"

She nodded at him with an eager, open expression on her face.

"We will only need the saber at the end," he said. "It's easiest if you sit in meditation."

Once they were both seated on the ground—knee to knee, as usual, Rey's saber to her right—he opened the box.

"Now, hold the crystal in your left palm and cover it with your right hand so that your fingertips are touching your wrists, then hold them both against your midriff. Yes, like that." He gave her another reassuring smile. "Close your eyes and listen to your heartbeat. Hear it drum, feel it throughout your body, make it the only thing you're still aware of."

Kylo waited as Rey's breathing slowed and the look of concentration on her face evened out. Slowly but certainly, he started hearing her heartbeat over their bond. He closed their connection so there would be no interference from his part.

"If your heartbeat is steady in your body and mind, reach out with the Force and find the crystal. Find it and find its vibrations. Feel how it's connected to the world around it. Feel how the Force flows through it. Feel the crystal's natural rhythm."

Again, he waited. Every now and then, Rey's eyebrow would twitch, much to his amusement. It was only once he could feel the crystal's presence at the edges of his mind that he continued.

"Both your heartbeat and the crystal are now in your awareness. Keep them there, study them, and harmonise them. Coach the crystal's rhythm to pick up on your heartbeat. Make it so that it adapts its speed, its waves, to beat in sync with who you are. Link yourself to it. Become one and then separate again."

Rey frowned and he could almost hear her confusion. Still, there was no one way to do it. Linking a crystal to the core of your being was something every Force user had to figure out for him- or herself. Each crystal was different, as was each user.

He had read about a few, rare occasions where a crystal and the user were incompatible. There was no doubt in his mind about this connection though. He could not imagine any crystal unwilling to bond with Rey.

Careful not to disturb her, he moved away a bit. Anything that disturbed her concentration now would cause the process to be disrupted. She would have to start over or, in worst case scenario, the crystal would become useless.

He looked at her, studied her. Minutes ticked by and the sun moved through the sky. She looked so serene, almost too perfect to be real. Her hair fell over her shoulders and moved in the slight breeze that had picked up. She was slender and he could clearly see the strength of her body. In his eyes, she was a force of nature, and a beautiful one at that.

Smiling, he watched some of what was going on in her head play out on her face. Her eyes furrowed and smoothed out again. She had a tendency to pull up her nose and murmur silent words. Had her eyes been open, he was sure he would have seen an array of emotions pass through them.

After what he figured to be about two hours, light started pulsing from between her hands. Kylo smiled. He knew it meant that the linking had begun. He opened their bond just enough to hear the heartbeat that was still thudding through her and he watched as the pulsing light of the crystal slowly adapted to it. As it synched, the light grew constant and bright, before slowly dying out to a glow. Rey sighed, opened her eyes, and nearly toppled over.

"There now," he said, catching and steadying her. "You succeeded."

Rey shook her head and blinked. "I did?"

Kylo laughed. "Yes, you did. Do you need a break? Or do you want to connect it to your saber?"

"Connect it!"

He laughed again as she immediately perked up. With one hand still firmly grasping the glowing crystal, she reached for her saber and opened the compartment.

"Do I just put it in there?" she asked.

"Yes and no. You place it in your saber but you need to forge the connection between the crystal and the electronics. While touching the crystal in the compartment, send out the Force and create the paths the crystal needs to follow."

Rey nodded and followed his instructions. After a short time, she closed the compartment.

"Is it safe to try?"

He looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"If I did something wrong, it's not going to explode or anything?"

He hummed with mirth. "No. If you did something wrong—which you didn't—nothing will happen at all."

"Oh, okay."

Rey eyed the saber while he eyed her. "Well?" he asked. "What are you waiting for?"

She seemed to snap out of a daze. "It seems a bit unreal."

He smiled. "It's very real, Rey," he said softly. "Turn it on."

Taking a deep breath, she held the saber away from her and pushed the button. Kylo stared in awe as the laser beam erupted from the hilt.

"It worked!" Rey cried out.

"It's- It's purple," he muttered, turning his awed look from the saber to her.

"Is that … not a good thing?" she asked, extinguishing the light.

He moved closer to her, cupping her cheek, staring into her eyes. "How can you be so precious?" he murmured.

"Ben?"

"Purple is rare, Rey, very rare. Most Jedi ended up with either blue, green, or yellow. Because Sith bleed their crystals, they end up with red sabers, but purple…"

She was staring up at him, her eyes wide with curiosity and perplexion. His emotions were running havoc. He held her face with both hands. She was so close, so beautiful, and so, so unique. This precious creature that brightened his days and showed him paths he had never seen before. This woman that showed him forgiveness and kindness, one who refused to believe he was a lost cause. One so balanced, she created a purple saber.

It was in that moment that he knew, without a doubt, that he loved her. He wanted to be hers forever. He wanted her by his side for eternity. Rey, his Rey.

He whispered her name, before bending his head and pressing his lips to hers.