He was shocked to find her looking up at her ceiling. There was virtually nothing to do in the little room except look out the view port, and that is how he found her nearly every time the door slid open. Not this time. She was somewhere far away, daydreaming, that wasn't new. (The poor girl couldn't be trusted with any tech whatsoever.) Suddenly, though, the passing system was not interesting enough...or perhaps all systems looked the same if you had to watch them go by as often as she did.

She shot him a glare when he stepped over the threshold, snapping away from whatever fantasy she'd been engaged in. The glare was convincing, save for the teasing feeling that vibrated through his consciousness. He could picture Rey as a playful person, but this was the first time he'd felt it. She was beginning to resent all of his reminders to pay attention to how she acted, and, of course, like so many other things acting came very naturally to her.

The door whooshed closed behind him, and by sheer habit he punched in the shadow screen's lock. "Thought you could use some more practice," he said without turning around.

"So were you just getting your arse beat?" He sensed more than saw her rise up to a sitting position. "That was kind of a-"

Kylo Ren turned to lock eyes with her, "Yeah," he mumbled. The tone was lighter than his face let on, but who knew if she could even tell with the mask on. She knew. Of course she knew. He was not a mystery to her.

She kicked her feet over the side of the bed, gingerly easing her toes to the dura-steel floor before wincing from the chill. Slowly, she rolled her feet down from the ball of her foot to the heel, graceful as any dancer. "Before you say anything, I know I could put my shoes on," she stood up and wiggled her toes, "But I've decided that I want to fight barefoot today."

"We have to walk there," he said, unsure of why he suddenly felt so self conscious for her.

Rey's head tilted sharply, and she studied him as if they were meeting again for the first time, "Well, yeah..."

He couldn't explain his premature embarrassment to himself, so he wouldn't be able to explain it to her. It was best to just let her do what she wished. He had never before been ashamed to walk down the halls with Rey. Of course, people had stared, but he was Kylo Ren. He had a presence that immediately set people off. Even those that were not force sensitive could feel that this man was different. Normally it made him laugh. As he moved through the halls they seemed no more intelligent to him than the average vornskr, sniffing the air before a storm. It was that damn Hux. He really had done a number on him. Every conversation in the halls that he passed was about him, every laugh, and every gesture was mocking him.

"What's wrong?" She pushed off the bed and moved towards him. "You're nervous. You're never nervous. Not like this, at least."

"It's nothing, okay? I just- Hux really got into my head today."

"The scar," she said quietly, her brow furrowed and her eyes became distant and dark. She chewed the inside of her lip and clasped her hands in front of her. The regret and confusion pooled off of her skin, shimmering in the air like a heatwave. It burned through her. She was thinking of that day in the snow. How hard it had been, how terrifying. She was thinking about the storm trooper, wondering what had become of him. She was thinking about a pilot and a half cocked smile she had barely begun to know. She was thinking of a man in an old ship, all of the constellations mapped in his worry-worn face. And then he heard her, "I'm sorry."

Except he hadn't heard her, because she hadn't actually said anything. The words were soft, but vibrant. It was a familiar sensation, the sense of seeing the words as if they were printed on the back of his eyelids. He had heard her, but she hadn't spoken. It had finally happened.

When his eyes fell over her face she looked vaguely surprised, but not entirely. The bond between them had grown to her his might seem the next natural step. For Kylo it was terrifying. Anxiety bubbled through his throat. Only his uncle and Snoke had ever done that, and both had had much longer connections with him. He replied back, suddenly unsure of his own abilities, "Rey..." Her name echoed through her mind, and the recognition lights up her face. She grinned, manic and exuberant as only a child could be.

"This is new," she said. Kylo nodded once, feeling his eyes squint into an almost smile. "This is...amazing." He nodded again, and this time the smile touched his lips. "This is a little weird."

He laughed at that, a quick bark of a laugh. "That it is."

"Time to practice?"

"Time to practice."

It was hard going once they stepped into the training room. It had been years since Kylo had fought someone who had entered his mind, and Rey fought nothing like his uncle. His uncle had been all calm and technique. Rey fought more like him...well, more like him but crossed with a vornstr. She was as feral as Hux had claimed, but what Hux hadn't realized was how much this worked to her advantage. And since Kylo was now set on leaving, this worked to his advantage as well. Besides, Luke would have squashed this wild quality about her combat style, and that was enough reason for Kylo to foster it.

Rey stood, leaning over her training saber, panting. "I can't...I don't know what else to do."

She had beat him once at the beginning, but a hard wrap against his spine had woken him up. There would be a bruise there tomorrow, but she'd hardly touched him since. He had a lot of fostering left to do, but wasn't it better to build from the foundation that was there?"Are you connecting yourself to the force?"

She huffed, as if he were treating her like a child. "I'm trying, but every time I do," she made a face and quickly threw her hand open again, "...poof! There you are. In my head. How can I be unpredictable if you can see what I'm thinking?" She leaned back on her weapon, dejectedly.

Kylo removed one of his gloves, letting his hand breathe. It was meant to buy him time. He'd never taught anyone before, not like this. His knights had already been skilled, and so he'd simply had to fine tune their skills and command. Rey had taught herself, there were no references on her fighting style for him to consult and make use of. The foundation she'd built herself was unsteady, true, but it wasn't all bad. She often tried throwing her strength into moves without planting her feet. She often let confidence override her sense of caution. These things were easily corrected, but it oftentimes seemed like Rey, herself, had no idea what she was doing.

"Maybe this was a mistake, " he admitted quietly more to himself than to her. She stayed silent, knowing he had more to say. "I'd be better at teaching you if..." he made a grasping gesture with his bare hand, trying to grasp the words, "Well, if I were teaching you a form that I, myself, knew." Rey remained silent. They both knew there wasn't enough time for that. They both knew there was no time to turn back and change strategies. "But," something lit up behind Kylo's eyes. He didn't smile, he rarely smiled, but that only made this small change in expression that more dramatic. "You aren't like me, are you? I predict what you're trying to do, because you've been observing me, imitating me." Rey opened her mouth to finally speak, but he cut her off, "Even if you don't mean to. Even with years of practice you'll never be as strong as I am. No matter how hard we try I can't not influence you. We should be focusing on your conditioning, not your combat skills."

Rey rolled her eyes. He was the teacher here. "Sure, but I can't run laps around the base, can I?"

Kylo sniffed, "No, but even our cadets don't do that. We have the ampthorium for that."

Her green eyes narrowed as she tasted the word, "Ampthorium?"

It was impossible to bite the grin back. Kylo's face brightened, and he suddenly looked like a young boy, without understanding why Rey also broke into a smile.