The Portal on Shakespeare [a week later]

[momslilassassin]

A mattress had been bought for guests, the house had been scrubbed from top to bottom and then bottom to top, and Ben, even though he knew that Luke wouldn't care in the slightest, had stressed out about what they'd have for dinner for the last three days.

Now he was a half-hour early for the time his father had sent him for the portal, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet.

He was excited and terrified in almost equal measure.

Sounds like a fun vacation, huh?

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[endsthegame]

"Do you need me to find you something to punch?" Ender asked.

He was only half-joking.

[momslilassassin]

Ben laughed and shook his head, blushing slightly. "No thanks," he said. "I'll calm down."

[endsthegame]

"Good," Ender said, "Because we only brought one skimmer, too, and I can't think of any wildlife that could keep up with you." He shot Ben a smile.

[momslilassassin]

Ben smiled back, then leaned in and gave Ender a soft kiss. "Tell me to stop being ridiculous."

[endsthegame]

"Stop being ridiculous," Ender said, touching Ben's hand as he pulled back. "This will be fine."

[momslilassassin]

"Right," Ben said, letting out a small sigh.

[endsthegame]

"Now let's hope the portal functions as advertised," Ender said, returning his attention to the object in question.

[momslilassassin]

"And didn't transfer Dad through Hoth and a universe full of shrimp," Ben added, grinning.

[endsthegame]

"Amusing as that may be," Ender said easily.

[momslilassassin]

"That's be one smelly reintroduction," he agreed, glancing at his chrono. "Fifteen minutes, give or take," he said.

[endsthegame]

Ender took his hand and squeezed it. "You can still go for a few laps around the rock," he said. Not kidding this time.

[momslilassassin]

Ben smiled. "I love you," he murmured, kissing his temple before going for a run.

[endsthegame]

Ender hung back, keeping his eyes on the portal.

He seemed lost in thought - in reality, he was listening to Jane, who was detailing the state of the portal connection as well as her personal opinions on Luke and what his next stop should be.

[momslilassassin]

Ben returned just as the portal began to do its portal-y thing. He reached a little nervously for Ender's hand as a very familiar silhouette came walking toward them.

[endsthegame]

Ender squeezed Ben's hand back, and flashed him a brief smile.

"Ugh, him again," Jane muttered.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

Luke finally walked close enough that his bright smile could be seen. "Ben! Ender!"

He reached out to hug Ben tightly, closing his eyes as he did so.

[momslilassassin]

Ben found himself happily crushed. "Hi, Dad."

[endsthegame]

"Luke," Ender said, regarding both of them with a little smile on his face. "Welcome to Shakespeare."

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

Luke finally let go of Ben and extended his hand toward Ender. "Thank you for the invitation, governor."

[endsthegame]

Ender shook his hand. "I didn't invite you here as a governor inviting dignitaries," he said, "You're family. So don't even mention it."

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

Luke looked touched. "Family, huh?"

[endsthegame]

"I wouldn't let a dignitary crash in my house," Ender said, and then added, jokingly, "We'd have found some place with an extra bathroom instead."

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

I'm impressed there's a bathroom," Luke admitted. "When Ben said 'establishing a colony' I was thinking tents and sleeping bags."

[momslilassassin]

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaad," Ben said, good-naturedly exasperated. "We haven't had a chance to build a structure around the portal. It's not all like this."

[endsthegame]

Ender chuckled. "The planet was settled decades before we got here, by the military forces that came out here to fight the formics," he said. "They couldn't return to Earth, so they landed here. Miranda Village, our chief settlement, is quite civilized."