The Beach, Sunday Morning

[endsthegame]

It wasn't, in the strictest sense of the word, really Ben's 24th birthday; relativistic space travel had a habit of making your age largely meaningless, a number rough to keep track of. After all, in an absolute sense, Ben was turning somewhere between a hundred and two hundred years old today, if not more, and that was assuming that it was still July 27th on their calendar, never mind any other number of factors that came into play when you crossed universes and space-time in all the ways they had.

So Ender felt that there was no real problem with having a party that wasn't, in the strictest sense of the word, a party. He'd gotten an ice cream cake the previous day and hidden it in Ben's moving mini-freezer-- the same freezer that he'd deposited on the beach just an hour ago by itself, trusting it to defend itself. (Ben had made it. Of course it would.)

He'd left some of Ben's friends some cordial messages mentioning the date last night handwavily but included no real imperative to be here, just a mention of the place and time. If that meant they'd have a quiet celebration with just the two of them and an ice cream cake, so be it. He wouldn't complain.

Now? Now he was back on the beach with a picnic blanket, waiting for Ben to come on by on his daily run.

[[ open. also to anyone who wants to use the beach, or wants to wish ben a happy birthday ]]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

Ben was fairly predictable, at least when it came to his morning run, and when he hit the beach, he was pretty zoned out on the world around him and paying attention to his breathing...at least until he saw Ender.

"Kreetle?" he said, coming to a stop.

[endsthegame]

"C'mon over here, young Jedi," Ender called, glancing over his shoulder - and flashing him a smile.

[momslilassassin]

Ben grinned back. "Did the fridge follow you out the door?"

[endsthegame]

"Something like that," Ender said, his smile broadening a little. "Sit down, smartass."

He reached for the freezer door.

[momslilassassin]

Ben flopped happily onto the sand and grinned at Ender again.

[endsthegame]

Ender opened the freezer...

... and produced something staggeringly huge.

[momslilassassin]

Ben burst out laughing. "Where on Earth did you find this?"

[endsthegame]

"About a week's worth of coordinating between JGOB's and Chilly Boulder," Ender admitted. "Happy birthday, Skywalker. Whichever one we're at now."

[momslilassassin]

"You're the best," Ben murmured, leaning in to kiss him. "Thank you."

[endsthegame]

"You're very welcome, provided you eat most of it before it melts," Ender said. He kissed Ben back quickly, then pulled back. "I also hope you don't have plans for tonight."

[momslilassassin]

"None that I know about," Ben replied, smiling. "What do you have planned?"

[endsthegame]

"I have Portalocity tickets back to Naboo," Ender said, "And another set of tickets to a local theme park. Plus I picked out a good restaurant."

He reached over and plucked a cherry off the giant cake.

[momslilassassin]

Ben's answering smile was earnest and deeply touched. "I love you so much," he murmured. "That sounds astral."

[endsthegame]

"I love you too, kreetle," Ender said with a little smile. He handed Ben a plastic plate. "We can freeze whatever you can't get through. Or we can wait and see if any reinforcements show up, I suppose."

[momslilassassin]

Ben kissed his nose and then grabbed some cake. "You called for reinforcements?"

[endsthegame]

"I left some messages, but that was last night," Ender admitted. "Knowing our friends, they might well be busy right now."

[momslilassassin]

Ben smiled softly at him. "Thank you for the attempt anyway," he murmured, kissing his cheek.

[endsthegame]

Ender smiled a little. "It's easy for us to lose track of birthdays the way we've been living," he said. "I figured I should try something while we're on a steady timetable."

[momslilassassin]

"This is the kind of stuff," Ben murmured softly, taking a bite from his cake, then trying again. "When you start listening to those little voices in your head that say you aren't worth being loved," he said softly, "it's this that proves that wrong. You are so very easy to love."

[endsthegame]

Ender's expression softened and his eyes flicked down to his own plastic plate. "I would do this for most if I felt they needed it," he said. "It'd be a calculated gesture, a means to an end. They might love me then, but they'd love me because of the side of me I think it's most useful for them to see."

He spooned a little of the cake onto his own plate. "You and Val are the only people I'd do this for just to make you smile," he said. "Though that's planning, too, isn't it?"

[momslilassassin]

"You'll do it for the kids," Ben said quietly. "You'd do it for Cade if he'd be the least bit appreciative about it."

[endsthegame]

Ender let out a breath. "Let's not focus on my dysfunctions right now," he said after a moment. "I want you to have a good day."

[momslilassassin]

Ben kissed him again. "I'm having a good day," he said. "Time with you is a good day."

[endsthegame]

"Flatterer," Ender said with a tiny smile. "How's the cake?"

[momslilassassin]

"Delicious," Ben said, smiling. "Good job."