fandomtownies | Stark Industries, Monday

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Stark Industries, Monday

For once, Ender wasn't coming in to work alone - Val had insisted on accompanying him. As they made the quick trip down from the dorms, they talked, mostly about inconsequentially intellectual things. There was little she was willing to share about the future, and there was little he really wanted to ask: there were more important things to share.

It was strange to have her around. He still wasn't sure how he felt about it. But it was, by and large, less fraught than it had been last year. Val was intelligent and a good conversationalist, and they didn't stop sparring when they got to the shop.

Instead, they'd pulled up some of the recent data from Shakespeare. Valentine's knowledge of the colony was minute at best - it simply wasn't so important anymore in her time.

He could still sense she was keeping things from him, but her enthusiasm about analysis was genuine.

"Oh, and tell Jane I'm grateful for the data," Val whispered in his ear at one point. "But I guess she just heard, didn't she?"

"You should appreciate me more often," Jane replied.

[[ jane bits NFB; otherwise open! ]]

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Luke had implied that Ben should stay close to the hotel today, but he hadn't outright said it, and so Ben had decided to ignore that and go exploring some more.

A shop full of electronics? Sign him up.

"Hi!" he said, bouncing in to the shop. "Do you have power couplings?"

Sorry, Ender and Val's brains.

Ender had seen a great deal in his time at Fandom. A really, really great deal. Dinosaurs, gremlins, genderswaps, witches and wizards...

On that general scale, looking up to see a tiny version of the decidedly not tiny boyfriend he'd left in his room just that morning wasn't really that insane.

It was just odd.

"Hi there," he said, shooting a quick glance in Val's direction. "We most likely do."

Val was a little more wide-eyed. She shot Ender a look back and mouthed, "Is that even tinier dad?!"

"Astral!" Ben said. "I need a couple. Uncle Han goes through them weekly or something--the Falcon--that's his ship--is always having problems."

Pause.

"He probably won't like me telling people that, huh."

"Don't worry," Ender said, shooting Val an amused look. He made a motion with his hands, trying to calm her. "Anyone who's heard of the ship knows what it's like - they just don't bring it up because they're afraid your uncle might shoot them."

Ben seemed satisfied by that answer and didn't wonder how these people knew the Falcon: EVERYONE knew the Falcon.

"He totally would," he said, nodding. "And he doesn't miss."

"Sounds like someone's got a case of hero-worship," Val muttered. She was snapping out of some of her befuddlement, and by now was trying not to laugh.

"So, were you planning to give those couplings to him, or replace them yourself on the sneak?" Ender asked.

"Hadn't decided yet," Ben replied cheerfully. "I guess it depends when I see him. I'm training to be a Jedi and I'm really busy now."

I'm training to be a Jedi.

Ben was really young, and full of hero-worship at this age; there was very little Ender could do or say that might nudge him onto a different path a little earlier, make his life a little easier.

He smiled instead. "Are you enjoying the training?" he asked.

Ben nodded, looking a little thoughtful. "It's different than I thought it would be, but my Master is really good and patient and stuff."

"That's always lucky."

Val shared a glance with Ender. The stories of the Jedi she'd grown up with were... complicated.

"What did you expect it to be like?" Ender asked lightly.

"Not as much work," Ben admitted. "I thought when Mom and Dad went off on an adventure it was more interesting than it is."

Ender laughed softly. "The adventure itself is probably very interesting," he said, "and likely to end in calamity if you don't prepare yourself by doing all the hard work, first."

Ben wrinkled up his nose at that. "Yeah, that's what Jacen tells me too."

Alarm flashed in Val's eyes. She knew better than to say anything - or rather, she was taking Ender's lead. But still.

"It's probably better to get your parents' advice, too," she said.

"I think what Valentine is trying to say is that a good Jedi keeps his ears open at all times," Ender said, leaning forward on the desk. "Not just for his Master - or random shopkeepers."

Edited 2012-04-02 17:42 (UTC)

Ben nodded solemnly. "You're a pretty nice shopkeeper, though."

Ender's mouth curved into a smile. "Maybe I'm just trying to trick you into coming back to buy more stuff," he said.

Which, he reflected, was kind of a funny new way of looking at the past four years...

"It would work if I didn't live in another galaxy," Ben said, laughing.

"Who knows," Ender said. "You're here now. You might swing by again."

"Maybe," Ben said. "Dad lets me come with him when we have another relative graduating from school." He smiled at the two of them. "I should find him, though. He might be worried."

Probably not, but these strangers, no matter how nice they seemed, didn't need to know that.

"Tell him I said hi," Ender replied, and smiled a little at him. "And you're welcome to come back any time. No purchases necessary."

"And here are your parts."

Valentine's voice was a little more hushed. She couldn't help it. But she put the bag on the table. "On the house."

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