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]

"Not nearly long enough," Luke said, staring off into the distance. "Almost twenty years."

[endsthegame]

"What was it like when you two first moved in together?" Ender asked, watching him.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

Luke smiled. "Almost a disaster. We'd both spent so much time on our own that we were very set in our own routines. She had much more stuff than I did--more weapons, more changes of clothing for covert operations--while most of what I had could be stowed in an X-Wing. We were used to our own space."

[endsthegame]

"How'd you compromise?" Ender asked.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"We remembered the reason we'd gotten married to begin with," Luke said with a smile, "which was to spend time together."

[endsthegame]

Ender smiled, too.

"You still miss her a lot," he said.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"Every day," Luke said quietly.

[endsthegame]

"How have you been doing?" Ender asked quietly.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"It's been lonely," Luke admitted. "There's been plenty to do, establishing a new Jedi Temple, but not having Ben or Mara around has been difficult."

[endsthegame]

Ender nodded once. "I'm not sorry I asked him to come here," he said. "But I'm really glad you two got the chance to reconnect."

He looked towards Luke. "You're always welcome here," he said, "And wherever we go, as long as circumstances allow."

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

Luke smiled. "Thank you," he said quietly. Something dawned on him.

"With the portals dumping people from your dimension out--your parents can't visit, can they?"

[endsthegame]

"No," Ender said. "But they're busy enjoying being grandparents to my brother's children. I don't need to disturb them."

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

Luke frowned. "I don't think they'd view you as a disturbance."

[endsthegame]

"They haven't seen me since I was six," Ender pointed out.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"You're their son," Luke countered. "It's not a replacement--grandchildren taking the place of a son. Parenthood doesn't work that way."

[endsthegame]

"Either way, sending a letter is as much as I can do," Ender said.

Whether he would... well, he was genuinely thinking about doing so for the first time in years of telling people 'sure, I'll write them'.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"Are you going to?" Luke asked, focusing bright blue eyes on Ender's face.

[endsthegame]

"Probably," Ender said evenly.

He had experience telling a similar pair of bright blue eyes just that.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"Have you yet?" Luke asked.

[endsthegame]

"Not yet," Ender said, and opened the fridge to rummage around for something to eat.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"Since you went on the ship, or since you went to Battle School?"

[endsthegame]

"Since I went to Battle School," Ender said, taking some cheese out of the fridge.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"So it's not really a probably, then," Luke replied.

[endsthegame]

"It's an 'I might'," Ender said, shutting the fridge.

[notsoreckless.livejournal.com]

"You sure it's not a 'probably not, stop bugging me, Luke?'" Luke asked, sipping from his mug again.