Stark Industries, Monday

[endsthegame]

"...me head over heels on gasoline--"

"Turn that off."

Jane let the music play for a few more seconds before she switched it off. "What, you don't like it? And here I thought all humans liked inane pop music."

Ender rubbed his forehead, then cast a glance towards the shop. "Howard is a much quieter taskmaster than Tony ever was," he said, "And I'd like to keep the place that way."

Which was naturally when the sound systems of the shop kicked in, and Ender was forced to get up and switch all of them off manually before he got fired for disturbing Howard's midday tweaking session. Or whatever else the man got up to when Ender didn't see him.

[[ open! apparently this song is a thing for me today. ]]

Comments

[endsthegame]

"So I've been told," Ender replied, reaching up to stroke his fingers through Ben's hair. "I have a hard time picturing you as a groupie as it is."

[momslilassassin]

"So you need to believe, kreetle," Ben murmured.

[endsthegame]

"Who says I don't believe it?" Ender asked. "I'm just... making sure."

Because he worried. And he didn't want to be Luke, or Graff, in this particular instance.

[momslilassassin]

Ben trailed his finger along Ender's cheekbone. "If I change my mind, you'll be the first one to know," he promised. "But I'm not going to."

[endsthegame]

It was Ender's turn to let his eyes flutter shut.

"It's your decision."

[momslilassassin]

"And I've chosen you," Ben murmured with a tiny smile.

[endsthegame]

"Better proof of your terrible judgement, I've never had," Ender said, and kissed Ben gently.

He was a little out of his usual depth in this, too.

[momslilassassin]

Ben cupped Ender's cheek as he kissed him back, trying to be as reassuring as he could be without being overwhelming.

He knew that getting Ender to be entirely okay with this would be the work of months, if not years.

[endsthegame]

Ender wanted him to come along - had for a long time. But that was what made it problematic: was he letting Ben come with him because it was actually for the best, or because his own, more selfish feelings got in the way?

And if it was for the best, would it even matter? One good deed with selfish connotations meant nothing in the face of everything else he'd done - so maybe he should stop kidding himself.

Or...

Ender tried to shut his brain off there, and was only slightly successful, his forehead dropping against Ben's after he broke the kiss.

[momslilassassin]

"Talk to me?" Ben asked softly, stroking the back of Ender's neck.

[endsthegame]

"I think you laid it all out pretty clearly," Ender said, smiling a little at the touch.

Though not really letting it coax him into talking about what was on his mind right now.

[momslilassassin]

Three years ago and Ben would have been climbing the walls with frustration at that, but he'd learned patience since then, at least when it came to Ender.

"It'll be an adventure," he said with an answering smile.

[endsthegame]

"Though hopefully not one in the Skywalker meaning of the phrase," Ender replied. "I'm hoping my universe's future holds rather less shooting at one another."

[momslilassassin]

"Me too," Ben said, looking a little tired at the thought. "Nothing from the colony about people turning on each other yet?"

[endsthegame]

"Not a word," Ender said, and now it was his turn to touch Ben's cheek.

Strange, how ingrained something like that could get, when you had only started doing it because it seemed to help the other person.

"They're trying to build a new society. To conquer the hostile world around them so they can raise their kids. They have enough resources, and at this point I doubt money means much to them."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "Makes sense. We should probably look into what makes a society go violent." He gave Ender a little smile. "If you haven't already..."

[endsthegame]

"One side hoards resources, the other wants them," Ender said. "One side believes strongly in one religion, the other side believes strongly in theirs, and somewhere in the middle, their teachings bump into each other the wrong way. Or maybe one side has too many people and not enough territory, so the only way to secure more is to conquer more. Or one side doesn't have enough women, and so they go to war to get more, to improve fertility."

He smiled, though it was a bittersweet one this time. "Or maybe we humans are just inclined to massacre one another every once in a while," he said. "Sometimes your universe makes me think that's it."

[momslilassassin]

"Please don't take that lesson from my galaxy's screwed up...everything," Ben said.

[endsthegame]

"I'd rather not," Ender said. "I'd like to think that even if we are, we should be capable of putting in a better effort than that."

[momslilassassin]

"Let's make that the bar we try to set," Ben said, only half-kidding. "Shakespeare won't become as messy a place as Coruscant."

[endsthegame]

"If it ever did, it would take millenia," Ender pointed out - damnable logic - then reached for his abandoned burger. "If we can get the current settlers and the new haul of colonists to integrate well when we get there, I'll consider us successful."

[momslilassassin]

"Would you mind giving me the current settler's list?" Ben asked. "I want to study it."

[endsthegame]

Ender blinked with brief surprise, but then he nodded. "Is there anything else you'd like me to pass on?"

[momslilassassin]

"Whatever you think I might be most helpful with," Ben said with a smile. "I don't want to take over your job at all, but the better informed I am, the less you have to explain to me."

[endsthegame]

"I'll slip you as much of the non-classified material as I can," Ender promised. "You have a point, of course."