This is being cross-posted from Ao3. It was originally posted on 17 December 2019.

Beta love goes to GaeilgeRua for allowing me to use her Grammarly subscription and title love goes to SquarePeg72. Any other mistakes you find are my own and I'll deal with them whenever. Much love, xxDustNight!

Disclaimer: All non-original characters, plot points, and information belongs to those at Marvel Studios, Warner Brothers, or J.K. Rowling, George Lucas and Disney, and anyone else that may own any part of it. The story plot and dialogue belongs to me. I do not write for profit.

"He's much more grumpy than usual," Hermione told Ginny as she sipped on her hot cocoa.

Ginny rolled her eyes and set her empty mug aside. "It's been a rough year for him, Hermione. He lost his mother and essentially was forbidden to go back to his galaxy. What do you expect?"

"I never thought losing Leia would mean he'd be banished from going back to his home," Hermione replied with a sigh. "I just don't know what to do to make him feel better, and with the holidays right around the corner…"

"Come on," Ginny said as she stood to clear away their dirty lunch plates and mugs. "You're great at coming up with festive activities. I'm sure you can find something to take Kylo's mind off the loss of his mother, this Christmas."

"I have no idea… It's not like we're dating or anything. He's just a good friend," Hermione said before resting her elbows on the table and burying her face in her hands.

"Do you like him as more than that?" Ginny inquired as she returned to the table. The dishes were now washing in the sink so she could focus on her friend.

Hermione peeked through her fingers, her cheeks starting to burn. "Maybe. I don't know. I think he's far too broken to care for anyone right now."

"So show him what it could be like to fall in love," Ginny stated simply. "Give Kylo a Christmas he'll never forget and make him see what's right in front of him. I see the way you look at him. Everyone does."

"What if he doesn't feel the same way?" Hermione questioned, no longer hiding behind her hands.

"I honestly don't think that will be an issue," Ginny began with a smirk on her lips, "But if he doesn't love you back, then it's not the end of the world. It wouldn't be the first time you were rejected."

Hermione frowned. "Thanks for that boost of encouragement."

"Anytime," Ginny said, smiling. "Now, let's brainstorm."

Kylo Ren walked downstairs and into the living room. Ever since he'd come to stay on Earth as part of his punishment, he'd lived with Hermione in her little house. It was small, much smaller than the spaceships he was used to living inside. However, he found the space quaint, in a way. The spare room was his own, but he was allowed to go anyplace he desired so long as he didn't have a tantrum and ruin things like he had at the Ministry.

His first few days had been mayhem, to say the least. He'd been carted off to Azkaban until Hermione had promised to reign his anger in, and she had. Her entire persona seemed to calm him, slowly chipping away at the anger he felt at having to leave behind everything he had ever known.

It also helped that his mother occasionally would visit, but that ended abruptly about a month ago. Dameron had visited with the worst news possible. His mother had died. A heart attack, it seemed. He also told Kylo that he was no longer welcome in their galaxy and that the doorway in the Ministry would no longer be open as a portal.

Kylo had nearly gone into a rage, but Hermione yet again calmed him down. She forced Dameron to leave and whisked him off to a pub where they both got far more intoxicated than he'd ever been in his entire life. The next day she'd orchestrated a small memorial service at the local cemetery where he was able to say a quiet farewell to his mother.

Despite all of the kindness, Kylo couldn't help himself from acting on his negative energy from time to time. He knew that he was unfair in the way he was treating those around him, but he couldn't help it. His heart was broken over the loss of his mother. He'd killed his father, forced his mentor to kill himself, and now lost Leia as well. What was left for him in the universe?

As Kylo settled himself down at the kitchen table, the back door open, and in walked Hermione. She had a bunch of bags in her arms, and he immediately jumped up to help her with the load. "Here, let me get some of those for you," he said as he slid a few bags from her hands into his own.

"Thank you," Hermione responded, her cheeks flushing slightly. "There's one more thing outside I couldn't bring in just yet, but let's put these bags in the living room first."

Kylo followed her through the kitchen and into the living room where they deposited the bags on the sofa. From a quick glance, Kylo could see a myriad of colourful things. If he had to garner a guess, they were decorations for the Earth holidays that were about to take place. He wondered to himself what Hermione had in store.

Clearing his throat, he asked, "Should we bring in that other item?"

Hermione's eyes lit up as she clapped her hands together. "Yes! You're going to love it." She bounded back through the kitchen and out the door.

Curious, Kylo followed behind her. He desperately wanted to know what else she had in store. When he walked through the back door, he found that it was snowing. The little flakes had just started to coat the cold ground, and he glanced up at the clouds. It was apparent that the snow was going to be falling for a while and would probably add up before the night was through. Looking toward Hermione, he saw her dragging a rather large tree toward the door.

"Why are you bringing that inside?" he inquired, arching one eyebrow.

Huffing and puffing from the weight of the tree, Hermione answered, "It's a holiday tradition to have a Christmas tree inside to decorate. It's rather heavy; can you give me a hand?"

"Why not use magic?" Kylo was used to Hermione using magic around him even if he was limited in the amount he was allowed to use the Force.

Hermione bit her lip. "I didn't want to show off."

In other words, she didn't want to make him feel bad for not being able to use his own kind of magic. Sighing, Kylo stepped forward and easily hefted the tree from her grasp. "Where would you like it?" he asked without commenting on her confession. He was used to people hiding their magic from him to save his feelings.

"In the corner of the living room by the window. Here, let me run ahead and get the stand ready." She disappeared from view, and Kylo carried the tree inside, a few of the pine needles falling off here and there to litter the tile in the kitchen and then the hardwood floor in the living room.

Kylo saw the stand she set up and placed the trunk in it with care. Hermione went to work, securing it with the little nobs around the edges and then stood back to admire everything. Unsure how to react, Kylo stood there silently, waiting for Hermione to say something else.

"Okay," she said as she got back to her feet. "We're all set. Now, let's get the rest of the decorations up before we decorate the tree. Do you want to help?"

Her smile was so radiant that Kylo was loath to say no, so he nodded and let the decorating commence. The next couple of hours were spent with Hermione explaining to Kylo where to hang garland and wreaths, baubles and lights. By the time they were finished empty the bags, all that was left was the tree. Hermione pulled out one last bag which was full of ornaments and yet another strand of lights.

"Kylo, now we have to wrap these lights around the tree evenly. Can you help me with that?" she questioned. "I'm a little too short to reach the top."

Smirking, Kylo said, "Of course." He took the lights and with Hermione's guidance draped them around the tree. After the lights were wrapped, he stepped back to admire his handy work. It looked alright, but something was missing. "What do we do now?"

"We hang the ornaments," Hermione told him as she held up the bag.

Kylo looked inside and saw all the different shaped and coloured ornaments. "Is there any specific way we are meant to place them?" he asked as he picked a red ornament from the bag. It was shiny and red and reminded him of his old lightsaber when it was activated.

"Not really," Hermione said, setting the bag on the couch and grabbing a few ornaments for herself. "We just randomly place them around the branches until they're full and it looks pretty."

Glancing at the tree and then Hermione, Kylo said, "It's already beautiful." Of course, he didn't exactly mean the tree. He was starting to realize that it was Hermione who was making all of this beautiful.

"It is, isn't it," Hermione replied, blushing. She continued to hang ornaments with Kylo until the bag was nearly empty.

Grabbing the last two ornaments, Kylo handed the green one to Hermione and held onto the red. "Two left," he said, watching her face closely.

"Together?" Hermione asked, holding her ornament aloft.

"Together," Kylo agreed, unable to keep from grinning slightly. Then, both of them placed the last two ornaments on the tree.

After the tree was done, they both stood back to admire it. It was quiet a spell, the room illuminated by the lights on the tree. It was a festive environment, and Kylo felt quite taken by it for some reason. He'd never had holidays in his galaxy and wasn't entirely sure what captivated him about it now. However, when he looked down at Hermione's smiling face, he suddenly realized what it was.

Love.

He'd somehow fallen in love with Hermione along the way. Before he could say anything or rush from the room to try and comprehend what he was feeling, Hermione cleared her throat and drew his attention.

"There's one more thing that we need to add to the tree," Hermione said as she bent over and grabbed something that was hidden under the sofa. She held out a shiny object that was shaped like a star.

"Where does that go?"

"On the very top," Hermione said, holding the star aloft. "Care to do the honours?"

Something magical seemed to happen as Kylo took the star from Hermione. Their fingers touched, and it felt as if a jolt of electricity coursed through his veins. Hermione must have felt it too, because a small gasp left her lips. Not sure what to do, Kylo hurried to place the star on the top part of the tree. Once it was there, Hermione plugged it into the other lights, and the tree was finished.

"Perfect," Hermione breathed, cosying up to Kylo and lopping her arm through his. "What do you think?"

"Can I be honest?" Kylo inquired, staring down into Hermione's eyes. The tree lights were reflected there, and he thought she'd never looked more beautiful than she did right then.

"Yes, of course," Hermione answered.

"It has been a difficult transition for me being here, but you've made it bearable," he started, unable to stop the words from flowing. He'd never been one to talk so much, but that was suddenly changing. "And when my mother- Well, let me say that I cannot thank you enough for the way you took care of everything."

"Kylo," Hermione said, touching his arm. "I wanted to show you that people care about you here too."

"I know they do now because of you," he whispered and then placed his hand on her cheek. In that moment he wanted to kiss her so desperately his entire body felt aflame. Only he couldn't. Something held him back.

Hermione, on the other hand, appeared to take matters into her own hands. She surged upward and pressed her lips gently against his own. Kylo immediately melted into the kiss, his hand sliding from where it had rested on her cheek to tangle in the hair at the base of her neck. The kiss was magical, more powerful even the Force itself.

No more words were spoken aloud for quite some time as the pair spent the evening learning what the other tasted like. They sat on the couch in the light from the tree they decorated together, falling in love and just being with one another. The future was bright for the both of them, and it was all thanks to the Christmas spirit that Hermione had brought into Kylo's life.