The day the med droids declared Ben healed enough to leave the Resistance base's med bay, Rey took his hand and led him deep into the jungle. He was silent, reveling in the first taste of freedom he had had since before he had called himself Kylo Ren. He squeezed Rey's hand to make her look back and smile at him.

Things had calmed down, though he knew a storm was coming, now that he had left the First Order, now that his former knights were in charge of the largest military power in the galaxy, now that he was healed enough to be released from the med bay. Leia had briefly mentioned that he did have crimes to pay for, that she would not be able to protect him from. His knights, or rather Rey's knights, were already serving their own sentences for their own crimes against freedom and democracy and the general good. They were under constant scrutiny and interrogation, though Div and Kit were unperturbed to give the Resistance all the information they knew. Ahtu was more tight lipped, but she put up no fight against paying her dues. They were being held in the containment block, when they weren't giving Leia and the other leaders all the information they could.

Ben, on the other hand, had been kept under close supervision and heavily drugged when Rey wasn't nearby. Until now he was nearly as good as new, besides the soreness that accompanied every movement.

It was forgotten now that his focus was on the girl that was holding his hand.

"Look at my treehouse," she told him, pointing up at the makeshift shelter she had made.

"It's lovely," he laughed, grinning proudly.

"That's where..." she laughed and shook her head, moving her hand to unlatch the rope ladder with the Force so it swung down to her. "Come up with me."

She was at the top before he caught the rope with his hands. He steadied it and pulled himself up and scrambled onto the duristeel floor that had been salvaged from an old fighter wing. She took his wrist in both hands and tugged. He weighed more than she expected, and he lost his balance and tumbled into her.

She laughed at him and pushed him off. "None of that. You made me a promise you need to keep first!"

He nodded, folding his legs beneath him, gesturing for her to sit with him.

She took the container that held all the pieces, the hilt and the screws and the connections, and she pulled the purple kyber heart from her belt, and she sat down facing him.

He shook his head and offered his hand to her. She studied his hand for a moment before she took it. He guided her so that she was sitting just in front of him, her back against him, her legs mirroring his.

"Breathe," Ben whispered in her ear. "And reach out, and feel the Force." He set his hands on the outside of her elbows.

Rey cradled the kyber in her palms. "How do you expect me to breathe with you so close?"

His chuckle was low in his stomach, and she felt it against her back. She leaned back, setting her head against his cheek. "I expect you to use the Force," Ben hummed, rubbing her upper arm. His thumb traced her scar. "Focus."

"Can I watch you first?"

He nodded, rubbing his cheek against her head. He didn't like taking his hands from her skin, but it would be easier if she saw him put his own saber together.

It was easier for her to focus on the Force when he used it. It was easy to learn the Force when he used it. She had learned so much just from the few brief encounters with him across their Force Bond. She leaned against him, watching him cradle the pieces and his own crystal in his large hands. She tentatively set her fingers on his wrists, feeling his force signature. She felt his chest expand as he breathed in.

The pieces started to hover, and they circled around each other. Rey felt the waves of the Force wash over them and was calmed. She studied his movements and the will of the Force. She found that he was exploring, too, wandering through the force signature of the crystal. He led her along, and he slipped the first pieces together, just a piece into the casing, but enough to gain Rey's attention. She curiously observed his fingers move as the pieces arranged and rearranged themselves.

"This is easier than my old saber," Ben whispered in her ear. "I can tell that the Force is balanced in it."

Rey smiled, watching the saber take form. The hilt was a dark metal, simple, thick. She compared his to her hilt. Hers was lithe and narrow though strong. Their hilts were clearly made by him, but she was impressed by how much hers was truly hers.

The pieces were finally clicking and sliding into place, and the kyber crystal was sinking into its proper place. Rey felt the finality of it, but she didn't expect the small flash of light that came when the crystal was finally positioned in its cradle.

"Did yours...?"

Ben shook his head. "I've never seen that happen. But you felt it? Felt the Force?"

Rey nodded and scooted so she was leaning properly against his chest. "It's beautiful."

"Your turn, Sweetheart."

Rey nodded, and she reached out to collect the pieces she needed. The pieces floated over to her, and the crystal moved up into the center of the floating pieces.

"I'm so proud of you every time you use the Force," he whispered into her ear. He pressed a kiss onto the top of her shoulder.

She felt her cheeks and upper arms blush. She watched the pieces line up into pretty concentric circles.

Ben set his own saber to the side and placed his hands on the outside of her elbows. "I'm here. I'll never leave you."

To her surprise, a few small connections clicked together. Happiness bubbled in her heart.

"You're so happy," he said in awe. "I feel it. It feels like bubbles."

The pieces spun quickly.

He set his chin on her shoulder. "You said before that you used your life Force to heal my heart?"

The waves of the Force nearly drowned them in the comfort and balance that was the Force's way of saying yes.

"The Force keeps finding ways to connect us, Rey," he whispered.

Several pieces screwed into place.

"There was a story," Rey whispered, "back on Jakku, of an underground river that trailed underneath the entire planet." The saber button clicked into place. "They said that there were people who were always on those lines, those lines of life and destiny. There were whispers that the rivers were rivers of pure force that had gone long dormant. They said that even though they were asleep, the rivers still brought people together, people who needed to be together, like animals at an oasis." The saber found more pieces connecting to it, though the crystal still floated between them, waiting for its turn. "I thought it was a fairy tale, a myth. I thought the Force was a myth." Ben rubbed her upper arms. "But now I know it's real, it's there, it's within me," she smiled. "I know it brought me to you." Those words brought the Force rushing into that moment, her lightsaber clicking into a complete piece. It blazed to life, and Rey sighed at the vibrant violet blade.

"That is your lightsaber, Rey. It's all yours. It's beautiful."

She took it in her hands and deactivated the blade. "And yours?"

He smiled, igniting his own. His saber was the same deep purple, and it looked so much more natural in his hand than his previous volatile weapon.

"I would ask to spar, but I know you're still sore," Rey whispered.

He nodded. "I would like to just exist with you for a while, before we have to go back."

Rey turned so she was leaning against him sideways. "Then we will. I am glad that you're here. Like really really here."

"Me too," he said, kissing her forehead. "I don't know what's next, but I'm glad that we will face it together."

Rey entangled her fingers with his free hand. He turned off his saber and wrapped both arms tight around her.

"You have healed my heart and held my hand and drug me back to the light."

"You taught me how."

He laughed and cradled her close.

"How long do you think this will last?" Rey asked.

He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "My love? Forever."