Hijra [A few weeks later]

[momslilassassin]

Ben was catching up on emails from home--news about the Sith, the latest gossip from Jag and Jaina's corner of the galaxy and whatever Allana had gotten herself up to while being unsupervised (there was a lot of "it'd seemed like a good idea!!!" in her correspondence)--and then poking around scientific journals about advancements in reproductive technology.

You know. For no real reason. Cough.

He drank tea and really missed having those yummy red fruits around. He'd need to ask when they came back the next time he went to the market.

Comments

[endsthegame]

That didn't surprise Ender; he'd known Ben had worried about it, at least on some level. "I think you're as sharp as you need to be," he said. "Sharp enough to realize when it's time to adapt to a new situation. It's more useful to us now to know how to be careful and thorough than reckless and ready to leap into combat."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded thoughtfully, taking another bite of his pastry. "Probably," he agreed, "but I still want to be able to win in a fight, just in case."

[endsthegame]

"What kind of fight?" Ender asked, as they found a seat somewhere nice in the sun. "It's not entirely practical to train to fight Sith Lords anymore."

[momslilassassin]

"I'm pretty sure that I'd get my ass kicked if I ran up against one right now," Ben admitted ruefully. "I don't know. I felt a little out of my depth visiting Karla."

[endsthegame]

"Karla's had a lot more war and struggle to deal with in her daily life than we do," Ender said quietly.

[momslilassassin]

"True," Ben said, finishing off his honeycake, "but I still want to be able to help our friends out when they need it."

Ben wasn't quite ready to hang up being a hero.

[endsthegame]

"Then maybe we'll need to wait a little longer before we have kids," Ender said.

[momslilassassin]

Ben chewed on his lower lip as he processed that. "I can't have both."

[endsthegame]

"It's not a strict black or white decision," Ender said. For a moment, he truly hated that he wasn't able to reach out and touch Ben right now. "We'll always be able to offer some level of help, no matter what. But if we become parents -- we can't keep on the move and give our kids the attention they need and make sure we're perpetually at peak readiness to take off in case Tony pisses off another supervillain."

[momslilassassin]

"Yeah," Ben said. "You can do two of those at the same time, but not all three."

Since his parents had tried all three his entire life.

[endsthegame]

Ender hadn't wanted to pull that card unless he didn't have anything else left. But it was on his mind, too.

"So we have to decide where our priorities lay," he said. "I can wait, if that's what you want to do."

[momslilassassin]

Ben was quiet for a long moment. "I don't want to wait," he said.

[endsthegame]

Ender nodded.

He offered Ben a small smile - it was the best he could do, under the circumstances. "Okay."

[momslilassassin]

Ben smiled back--it was a weak attempt, but it was there. "Let's find some coffee."

[endsthegame]

"There should be a shop around the corner," Ender said, getting onto his feet.

[momslilassassin]

Ben brushed his fingers against the back on Ender's hand as they walked. "I like the music," he commented.

[endsthegame]

"It's a lot more atmospheric than the tawdry pop songs we left behind," Ender said, the terrible snob, but his mind was set on trying to come up with ways to improve Ben's day.

[momslilassassin]

Ben loved him a ridiculous amount for even thinking that way. "Tawdry, huh?" Ben teased. "Maybe you've been here too long."

[endsthegame]

Ender snorted. "I was never a big fan of Fandom's playlist," he said. "This, on the other hand..."

He glanced towards Ben, then towards the corridor ahead. "First one to get to the performer gets to choose where we have dinner tonight."

[momslilassassin]

Ben's face, probably as Ender intended, lit up. "Without knocking people over or calling attention to ourselves, I assume."

[endsthegame]

"Of course," Ender said, nodding. He already knew he was going to lose the race - but that didn't bother him. "No power abuse."

[momslilassassin]

Ben did a credible impression of Han's "Who? Me?" look, then grinned. "Of course. One, two, three, go!"

And Ben melted into the crowd.

[endsthegame]

Ender followed after him only a moment later, darting from one street to another at a respectable pace that didn't make it seem like he was running.

[momslilassassin]

Ben wove through the crowd almost effortlessly, feeling more like himself than he had in a long while. He'd forgotten how much fun some of what he could was.

He approached the stage from the east, eyes open for Ender.

[endsthegame]

"Are you sure you didn't just teleport here?" Ender joked about half a minute later. It was easy to tell Ben apart from the crowd - the red hair was a given.