Stark Industries, Monday

[endsthegame]

Ender had expected to arrive to the sight of a grand mess, but the store was actually clean, and the sprinklers depleted of paint.

Well, there went his menial task for the morning.

He went into the back area anyway, so he could check over all the machines. Sure, it looked clean, but if a paint chip got stuck in the wrong gear, they might run into trouble later.

[[ open! ]]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

"Ho, kreetle," Ben said, coming in with lunch. "We're done with classes forever. Does that feel as weird to you as it does to me?"

[endsthegame]

"Having classes at all always felt weird to me," Ender said. "Now I feel downright normal."

[momslilassassin]

Benn smiled teasingly at him. "You know what normal feels like?"

[endsthegame]

"Not really," Ender said, "But I'm playing pretend." He flashed Ben a wry smile.

[momslilassassin]

"I'm totally convinced," he said, leaning in to kiss him. "Hi."

[endsthegame]

Ender kissed him back, ruffling his hair. "Hi," he replied. "How's your day been?"

Knowing Ben, with no classes, it involved an awful lot of exercise.

[momslilassassin]

"I sparred with Granddad to make up for last week," Ben said, "and he kicked my ass. I think he's a little bitter about the assassination thing."

[endsthegame]

"No doubt," Ender said dryly. "But no amount of ass-kicking can take that away from you."

[momslilassassin]

"He's got a little bruise right here," Ben said, pointing to the center of his own forehead. "Ooops?"

[endsthegame]

"Bet that takes away from his sense of triumph after sparring," Ender noted.

[momslilassassin]

"Judging by the 'I just bit a gundark' look on his face, yeah," Ben said, not sounding overly bothered. "He's a bad loser. Always has been."

[endsthegame]

"No doubt it's bitten him in the ass a few times," Ender noted. "Always take your losses with dignity. It's what turns defeat into honorable loss, and keeps your people from running out on you."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded thoughtfully. "I try to...not that I have people."

[endsthegame]

"You might, some day," Ender said. "It's an important lesson to learn. As is avoiding defeat, of course."

[momslilassassin]

"It's tough to avoid defeat when I compete against you," he said teasingly, then turned more somber. "But with Daala, for instance, it'll be important."

[endsthegame]

"Daala's in jail," Ender pointed out. "There's not much left to defeat; that's where military doctrine should end."

[momslilassassin]

Ben arched up an eyebrow. "Does she strike you as the type to be gracious in defeat?"

[endsthegame]

"She strikes me as the type to currently be in prison," Ender said mildly, "And beyond ensuring she stays there, there's not much for us to plan."

[momslilassassin]

"Want to place a bet on how long she'll stay there?" Ben asked a little cynically.

[endsthegame]

"Because that's useful."

[momslilassassin]

"It's vacation," Ben said, flopping into a chair. "Aren't we supposed to spend our time on useless things?"

Not the point, Ben.

[endsthegame]

"If by 'supposed' you mean 'if we were normal', and 'useless' you mean 'sipping a pina colada by the beach'," Ender said. "Starting betting pools about the esteemed former Chief of State breaking out and causing a ruckus, potentially posing a risk to more human lives, on the other hand..."

[momslilassassin]

"...hits the trifecta of dangerous, cynical and asking for trouble?" Ben finished.

[endsthegame]

"Three things I really don't think anyone in your galaxy can afford right now."

[momslilassassin]

"Yeah," Ben admitted, reaching for a sandwich. "Have you heard anything from Wynn?"