Fixer-Uppers, Monday

[endsthegame]

A few emails back and forth with Valentine had gotten Ender an invitation - one he wasn't as keen on turning down as he might have been in the past. His portal was set for tonight, and so he'd brought a bag with a few things with him to work.

Not a lot; he had no doubt clothes would be provided for him on Eros, and anyway, the baggy pants and hoodies of Fandom served no purpose on an asteroid where everyone knew who he was anyway.

But that still left a full shift and some change before he could go. He was spending that time the same way he'd spent the past few days: working furiously, both back in the workshop, and occasionally on emails at his laptop, going through some research.

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[endsthegame]

At which point Ender seriously contemplated reaching over and patting him, or something, in recognition of how tactile Ben was. He didn't, though, but he could read the wonder off of Ben's face. "Settle down, Jedi," he said. "It's just me."

[momslilassassin]

Ben smiled and took a deep breath. "I know. Sorry."

[endsthegame]

"Apologise to me if you're actually doing something wrong," Ender said, dismissively. "It's just a reminder."

[momslilassassin]

Ben's cheeks went pink. "So's when the portal?" he asked, changing the subject.

[endsthegame]

"Between four and five," Ender said, rubbing at the back of his head. "I didn't want to take too much time away from work, but it's a two hour spaceflight from the Portalocity station to Eros."

He was not going to go into the pink cheek bits.

[momslilassassin]

"Get in just in time for rush hour," Ben said with a little grin.

[endsthegame]

"Not really," Ender said, wryly, "That's calculating back from the leaps time likes to take when one of us hops from one dimension to the other. It'll wind up being two days for me, two hours for you."

[momslilassassin]

"If you come back in four days and you're six years older, I'm going to be annoyed," Ben told him.

[endsthegame]

"I'm not planning to stay that long," Ender promised him. "I have things to do here."

[momslilassassin]

Ben's smile grew a little brighter. "Good. I might miss you. Maybe."

[endsthegame]

Of course he would. A foolish little teenage part of Ender's psyche even managed to perk up happily at the knowledge, but he didn't know what to do with it and so it was brief, and faded.

"Thanks," he said instead, "At least I'll know I'll have a room to come back to."

[momslilassassin]

"I didn't say that," Ben teased.

[endsthegame]

"Don't pawn off all my stuff, Skywalker."

[momslilassassin]

"How about just the good stuff?" Ben asked.

[endsthegame]

"If you do that, I'm stealing your Jedi robes," Ender announced. "At least until I get replacement clothes."

He wasn't going to be spending his days marching around Fandom in IF dress, thanks.

[momslilassassin]

Ben snickered. "There's a mental image."

[endsthegame]

"It'll be tough, dealing with that varied colour scheme," Ender deadpanned.

[momslilassassin]

"It'll be so strange, seeing you out of the strong greens, oranges and plaids you prefer," Ben said, nodding.

[endsthegame]

There was a short pause.

"You're not allowed to watch What Not To Wear anymore," Ender decided.

[momslilassassin]

"It's that or infomericals," Ben complained.