Damascus, Sunday

[lockestheway]

Peter Wiggin had brought Petra Arkanian with him because she knew Caliph Alai. They had both been in Ender's Jeesh together. And it was Alai who had sheltered her and Bean in the weeks before the Muslim invasion of China-or liberation of Asia, depending on which propaganda mill you shopped at

Comments

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie was done talking to her 'boytoy' and, in fact, establishing he wasn't one any longer. If one wanted to assume 'boytoy' was just Peterspeak for 'boyfriend'.

And now she was in her office, catching up on work again to clear her head. That involved checking in on Peter, as well. Ring ring.

[lockestheway]

Peter preferred not to think in terms of 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend' or 'wife' or 'husband', more 'distracting things that he didn't need nor want to deal with right now'.

But he answered the phone dutifully. "If this is a yes, Petra--"

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie rolled her eyes. "No, this is the other young woman who gives you a hard time."

[lockestheway]

Peter sat up. "Oh, thank god," he said easily. "Sorry, this has been a very busy line."

Which was as close to this line is bugged, fyi as he was going to get.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie assumed that to be the case most of the time, anyway. "I can tell," she replied mildly. "How are things, other than that?"

[lockestheway]

"Other than having to get up criminally early tomorrow morning, fine," Peter said mildly. "My traveling companion has only stormed out of the room once so far."

But then they'd only been here a day.

[whenshewasnice]

"I see she's exhibiting some restraint, then." She was mostly joking. And mostly at Petra's expense. "Good."

[lockestheway]

"She's still upset with me about the Achilles thing," Peter said, "Surprising no one."

[whenshewasnice]

"She can just join the club." She suspected her parents would never be completely over it, either. "Besides, it's not really you she should be upset with."

Bean was his own damn man.

[lockestheway]

Peter rolled his eyes. "Yes, but why take it to her own damned husband when she can take it out on me?"

[whenshewasnice]

"You're more fun to torment."

Funnily enough, this was not from personal experience.

[lockestheway]

Peter pulled a face. "Oh, thanks."

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie shrugged, inaudibly. "If she yells at Bean, she has to actually deal with the consequences of it within her relationship. If she yells at you, however..."

[lockestheway]

"And she doesn't want to deal with any consequences because they only have limited time," Peter muttered. "I know. The irritating thing is how logical it all is."

[whenshewasnice]

"Deal with it, Peter," she replied, although not unkindly. By Natalie standards. "You'll be home again soon, anyway."

[lockestheway]

"Maybe," Peter said. "Or maybe at 5 AM tomorrow morning the soldiers will come and march me off to the chopping block."

An option he considered in almost any situation that involved him leaving the Compound, to be honest.