Fixer-Uppers, Monday

[endsthegame]

Ender had come back from Eros earlier that morning - about an hour late for work, but he'd done his best to make it back quickly. It'd have to do. Instead of heading up to his room, he'd immediately beelined for the store, which was why his (one bag of) luggage was currently resting behind the desk.

It had been a busy weekend, but that was fine - it had kept his mind off of things. Still, the quiet of the store was a blessing right now, and for once he didn't skip right ahead to his research; he took a moment to wander around the building and enjoy the feel of solitude.

Don't judge him.

[[ open! ]]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

Ben had been stewing on the information Alessandra had given him about the convenience store hold-up since he'd heard about it, but had decided that yelling at Ender in an apartment that was probably bugged was a bad choice.

And leading off with it was just rude, which was why he seemed the same as always as he came into the shop with lunch.

"Behold," he said, "food not in squeeze containers."

[endsthegame]

"I think I remember what that's like," Ender mused, shooting him a brief smile. He had no idea of anything that might be on Ben's mind, though he'd figured the Jedi had ferreted up at least some information while he was there. That had been an acceptable risk. "But it's fuzzy."

[momslilassassin]

"So was some of the food," Ben exaggerated, smiling back and holding out a burger.

[endsthegame]

"All the better for it to stay in your digestive tract for a nice, long time," Ender said, grabbing the burger. He took a bite.

[momslilassassin]

"So I should really be sending them a thank you note for the intestinal distress," Ben sad. "I'll get on that after class."

[endsthegame]

"They'll be very pleased to hear from you and your intestines," Ender said, then took another bite and set the burger down.

[momslilassassin]

Ben took a bite of his own burger, then asked, "Were you ever going to tell me about the guy who pulled a gun on you?"

[endsthegame]

Ender's expression registered surprise for all of a split second; then it shut. "I didn't realise I was supposed to," he said. "Nothing really happened."

[momslilassassin]

"Someone pulled a gun on you, Andrew," Ben snapped. "That's never going to be nothing."

[endsthegame]

"And nothing happened, when it came right down to it," Ender returned, though he was having a harder time keeping himself even and calm than usual. He still thought about that moment frequently, especially when Ben was asleep. "I didn't realise I had to report in to you about everything that happens to me. Do you need suggestions for a place to put the bug?"

[momslilassassin]

"Not everything," Ben retorted. "I don't kriffing care what you had for dinner. But when someone attempts to make this an Ender Wiggin-free universe? I want to know that!"

Ben didn't know why he was this upset about something that had happened months ago, but a niggling part of his brain thought it might have something to do with who he'd heard it from.

[endsthegame]

Would an Ender Wiggin-free universe really be that bad?

Ben's opinion didn't count; he was horribly biased.

"It was just a scared colonist," Ender retorted. "No one was actually planning to shoot anyone, and considering it ended with a whimper, I didn't see why it was any of your business."

[momslilassassin]

"For such a genius, you're kind of an idiot," Ben muttered to his now-squashed hamburger. "How'd it go down?"

[endsthegame]

"Now that's just unkind," Ender said, mildly, and was internally happy he'd gotten a grip before Ben's senses caught on to anything. "I turned up at the wrong time, that's all. He waved his gun around for a while, I talked to him, everyone talked to him. Eventually he calmed down and the marines took him."

[momslilassassin]

"So he wasn't aiming for you specifically," Ben said, still looking far from happy. "He just wanted to shoot something."

[endsthegame]

"He just wanted the money he'd come for," Ender corrected. "I don't think he actually had it in him to shoot someone. Seriously, Ben, you're a few months' late to pull the protective act."

[momslilassassin]

"And whose fault is that?" Ben retorted.

[endsthegame]

Ender lifted his eyebrows.

"Were you going to barge in and punch the poor man while he was in military police custody?" he asked. "Weeks after the fact? Because that's about all you could've done."

[momslilassassin]

"I could have yelled at you about it in a more timely manner," Ben replied, well-aware how ridiculous that sounded.

[endsthegame]

"And how useful that would have been," Ender said, sarcastically.

[momslilassassin]

"Shut up," Ben said. "I already know I sound stupid."

He ran his hand through his hair, unable to put into words just how deeply the image of someone holding a gun on Ender disturbed him.

[endsthegame]

The advantage of not being an actual, powers-enabled empath was that Ender's demeanour didn't immediately change with Ben's shifting emotions.

The disadvantage of being an empath in every way a non-powered human could be, however, was that Ben's state of mind did come across very clearly, and Ender could imagine how it felt.

"I'm fine," he said, his tone turning more gentle. "As I've been for the past few months. No one's going to get me that easily."

It wasn't really a lie.

[momslilassassin]

Ben's eyes locked onto Ender's face, not really knowing what he was searching for. "Your definition of fine can fluctuate rather wildly," he said quietly.

[endsthegame]

"Maybe," Ender admitted. "But look-- no holes in me." He managed to quirk a tiny smile.

[momslilassassin]

Ben's hand reached out almost unconsciously and his thumb pressed against Ender's forehead, just in confirmation.

"You don't need the holes to be hurt."