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?

Comments

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"Retiring at what, 22?" Luke asked with a smile. "Well done."

[endsthegame]

"I doubt it'll stick," Ender said cheerfully. "I retired from the military when I was eighteen, and yet look, here I am."

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"Somehow I don't see either of you spending the next eighty years of your life as cheerful slackers," Luke agreed.

[endsthegame]

"We'll see," Ender said, as the skimmer slowed to a halt. "It's early yet."

[momslilassassin]

"This is our house," Ben said, stating the obvious but with pride.

[endsthegame]

Ender hopped out of the skimmer. "Welcome to our backyard," he added.

[momslilassassin]

"Watch out for the giant hole," Ben offered with a grin.

[endsthegame]

Ender walked past the giant hole - see, Luke? - to the door, unlocking it and pushing into the house.

They could follow, or they could have a moment outside. He wasn't going to push either way.

[momslilassassin]

Ben loitered outside for a minute, biting his lip. "We've gotten you a mattress," he said. "There's only the one bedroom--"

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

Luke gave him a patient look. "Ben. I didn't think I'd see you again. Do you think I care about the sleeping arrangements?"

[momslilassassin]

"Oh," Ben said, suddenly finding his feet absolutely fascinating. "Yeah, I guess not. Come on in."

[endsthegame]

Inside, Ender was busying around putting some snacks on the table in the living room. He had a feeling they'd either be spending a lot of time talking, or a lot of time letting Luke eat and sleep and generally get over his portal lag.

Unlike Ben, he felt no urge to flail.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

Luke was taking his time as he came into the house, getting a feel for the place emotionally. He didn't really care about the decor, but he'd take all his senses would tell him about how his son was doing.

"It's very nice in here," he said finally, finding a place to sit. "Very relaxing."

[endsthegame]

"We spend a lot of time outside, working," Ender said, putting a bowl full of chips down in front of him. "I had to promise Ben I'd make sure we wouldn't take any of that home with us."

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"Well the exercise certainly agrees with you both," Luke replied with a genuine. "You look happy."

[endsthegame]

"Life's not bad out here," Ender answered. "We could be a lot worse off."

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

Luke smiled a little wryly. "I know." He turned to Ben, who was sitting restlessly next to Ender. "If this was where the Force urged you to be, I'm not going to tell you not to listen to that, son."

[momslilassassin]

Ben blushed. "Well, I could have explained it a little less...dramatically."

It was as close to an apology as he was going to come.

[endsthegame]

"Probably," Ender said with a little smile, but he reached for Ben's hand in some attempt to keep him from flailing so hard.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

Luke's eyes flicked to their joined hands, then back up to their faces and smiled again. "You seem happy," he repeated. "I didn't know how much I'd missed seeing that until now."

[endsthegame]

Ender dearly hoped Ben was going to remember that one - it was a bittersweet sentiment, but a valuable one.

"You seem tired," he returned honestly. "I hope we can help."

[momslilassassin]

Ben's hand had gripped Ender's more tightly. "Vacation drives Jaina a little crazy," Ben replied with a smile, "but I think you'll adjust easier."

[endsthegame]

"No one'll be asking you to participate in any politics," Ender said, "And no one'll stop you if you decide to give the skimmer crews a hand."

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"It's been a long time since I've gotten to tinker with my hydrospanner," Luke said with a light grin. "That could be fun."

[endsthegame]

"Ben can take you," Ender replied, his mouth quirking.

Tinkering was probably a Skywalker bonding experience.