Stark Industries, Monday

[endsthegame]

Ender had expected some sense of nostalgia when he opened up the shop that morning - for the very last time. And he did, but it was nothing acute, no deep longing in the pit of his stomach: more like the tingle at the edge of a bruise, knowing it was the first sign of healing some terrible damage.

"You seem happy," Jane observed. "Finally done pretending to do good, wholesome blue collar work?"

"No," Ender said, sitting back in his seat. "I'm just ready to resign."

He went through the motions for the rest of the day, doing maintenance on the machines out back and poking at old research projects. But none of it really seemed to stick when it came down to it, and by the end of the day, on his way out, he knocked on the door frame and said, "I resign."

He wasn't just talking to the shop.

[[ open! ]]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

Ben was feeling decidedly more nostalgic as he came into the shop with coffees and sandwiches.

"You're sure we're not still freshmen?" he asked.

[endsthegame]

"If we were, you wouldn't have come in here like that," Ender pointed out. "There would have been more shuffling and muttering something about buying parts."

[momslilassassin]

Ben smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "And decidedly less of this."

[endsthegame]

Ender smiled and kissed him back. "You would've spent more time staring at your feet instead," he murmured.

[momslilassassin]

"Pulling at my robe," Ben said, "And you would have sat there appraising me and wondering how much of your past to share."

[endsthegame]

"Four years is a long time," Ender said. "Especially when you're young and spry."

[momslilassassin]

"Neither of us was ever young, even when we were younger," Ben replied.

[endsthegame]

"True," Ender admitted. He reached out and poked at Ben's hand. "Are you ready to move on from this chapter of the book?"

[momslilassassin]

Ben curled his fingers to hold Ender's hand. "Yeah," he said softly. "I've learned as much as I can here."

[endsthegame]

Ender slid his fingers between Ben's without even really thinking about it. "I think we're agreed on that."

[momslilassassin]

"I'll miss parts of it," Ben admitted, squeezing Ender's fingers, "but I'm taking the best of it with me."

Dork.

[endsthegame]

"I think I'm taking the important part, too," Ender admitted.

Both dorks. "Everything else I can leave behind."

[momslilassassin]

Ben leaned in to give him a more thorough kiss.

[life_inshadow]

At some time when Ben and Ender weren't making out amid the appliances, Tara stopped in to say goodbye.

"Hey," she said, glancing about to the machines. "So ... last day here, huh?"

[endsthegame]

"Last workday," Ender agreed, looking up and offering her a smile. "After working here for... going on four years, I think. Not bad in this economy."

That was a joke.

[life_inshadow]

Tara smiled back at that. "Nice," she said. "Too bad you're leaving. If you kept it up and maybe someday you would have gotten to be assistant to the assistant manager."

[endsthegame]

Ender laughed. "Yes," he said, "That would be what I've spent my entire life aspiring to."

[life_inshadow]

"And yet you're walking away from all this," Tara said, shaking her head. "I don't understand it."

[endsthegame]

"I'd been kind of hoping to start a potato farm alongside my lucrative assisting business," Ender admitted, "and there's no room. You see how it is."

[life_inshadow]

"Oh, well, as long as you're going to give it up for a good cause," Tara nodded, and dropped the act. "I leave today."

[endsthegame]

"Ben told me something like that," Ender admitted. "Are you ready for it?"

[life_inshadow]

"More than," Tara said firmly, convincing herself she meant it. "I'm worried about Warren, but ... he seems like he'll be okay. Once he gets over the culture shock from Kaeleer, anyhow."

Rich, attractive people generally did fine anywhere, from what Tara could see, and Warren certainly had options if he hated Sunnydale. But she still felt responsible.

[endsthegame]

"And adapting to Sunnydale should in theory be a lot easier than adapting to Kaeleer," Ender said with a tiny smile. "And you make a decent support system, I'd say."

[life_inshadow]

Tara hid her smile at that behind her fingertips. "I'll try to be one," she agreed. "And you ... I know you're going to be one for Ben."

Not that it was the same thing, really.

[endsthegame]

"He's still in repression mode," Ender admitted. "Convincing him that it's okay to get emotional on me once the reality hits... that'll be something."