momslilassassin | Hijra, some weeks later

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Hijra, some weeks later

It had taken time for Ben to get over himself regarding Alai's existence on the planet, but they'd managed to settle into a routine and Alai was hardly a permanent fixture in the house and so Ben had gradually relaxed.

He was coming into the house with a bag full of the red fruits he and Ender had loved (the lady running the stall had warned them that the season for them was coming to an end, so Ben had bought all the ones she'd had left) and could already smell coffee brewing.

Saturday mornings were pretty great here, he had to admit. "Andrew?"

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"Here," Ender called from the kitchen, where he was poking at the coffee machine.

"Smells good," Ben said, smiling at him. "Naveen says these are the last of the season."

"How many did you get?" Ender asked, looking up.

"About forty," Ben said, grinning. "Wonder if we can freeze them."

"We can try," Ender said. He poured a cup of coffee and walked over to Ben, handing it over.

"You're the best," Ben said, leaning in to kiss him...and that's when someone's phone started ringing.

"Mhmm," Ender sighed, pulling away. "That's me."

He reached into his pocket. "Hello?"

"Dad?" Nat's unfamiliar voice came over the line. "I can't believe you've had this number for twenty years or something."

"This is my Fandom phone, changing it will just confuse everyone," Ender said, blinking. "You're...?"

Which one of the two?

"Nat," he replied. "Kol doesn't jump through portals. He's booooring."

Ender pressed the phone briefly to his chest. "We should get to Fandom," he said. "Our son's on the line."

Ben's eyes bugged out. "Seriously?"

"The middle one," Ender confirmed. He lifted the phone back to his ear. "We'll be there in a couple of hours."

"Astral!" Nat crowed. "Oh, and remember, I'm Nat now. Don't call me by that stupid nickname, okay?"

Ender's mouth quirked. "Sure, Bantha."

Nat sighed heavily. "Daaaaaaad."

"Anything you want from Hijra?" Ender asked without missing a beat.

"You're in Hijra?" Nat laughed. "You guys are young."

"Early twenties," Ender said, "So still older than you, young one."

"Not by much," Nat replied.

"Do you want something or not?" Ender asked, unimpressed.

"Bring me a snack?"

Hard to tell he was Ben's son, huh?

Ender snorted softly. He glanced over at Ben. "He wants you to pack up some snacks," he said.

Nat wasn't getting any of Ender's red fruit.

Ben snorted as well. "None of the fruit," he said. "We'll find weird soda."

"We're on it. We'll be right over," Ender told Nat.

"Safe travels," Nat replied. "Don't end up in that gummy bear layover hell."

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