dye

[isthisart]

The next time Linya and Ekaterin meet up (for impromptu bonsai skellytum pruning lessons, lunch, and an attempt to teach Ekaterin the simplest version of a complicated haut card game) Linya says, while shuffling for a second example round:

"Miles and I are planning to get married again, Barrayaran ceremony groats and all, and I wondered if you'd be my Second."

Comments

[isthisart]

"All right."

They shed Bylinkin once safely past the threshold - Linya pauses to thank him again - and up they go.

[thisvorlunatic]

He holds her hand on the way up. It seems the thing.

[isthisart]

He is entirely welcome to hold her hand.

She scoops him when they are in their room. Scoops and hugs.

[thisvorlunatic]

"I love you," he says, snuggling her. "I'm sorry my planet is full of idiots. Who do things like pull your hair. I'm probably unreasonably offended about that part."

[isthisart]

"I love you too, and yes you probably are. He neither broke nor extracted any hairs that I noticed. Bylinkin was very quick and my hair is tough stuff," Linya says. "They may be slightly pinched but will smooth out in a couple of days."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Good." He pets her hasty braid and cuddles her some more. "I'll just continue being unreasonably offended, then."

[isthisart]

"You're adorable." She sighs. "The fellow was, inconveniently, not a student, but a professor. With tenure."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Bugger. Is he going to make your life difficult? Does he teach any of your classes?"

[isthisart]

"No, none of mine, he was guest-lecturing for the physics course but it was a one-off or I imagine he'd have made his displeasure known before today."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Well, that's good, I guess. Still."

[isthisart]

"Yes. I'm glad I didn't become complacent about going accompanied outside the house," she sighs.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Me too." Cuddle cuddle. "I'm glad you weren't hurt."

[isthisart]

"He didn't have a weapon on him. Even if I'd been alone I think I could have gotten him off of me before he did any damage, although I don't think I could have managed it as elegantly as Bylinkin."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Well, that's what Armsmen are for. Protecting the Count and his family."

[isthisart]

Linya nods. She gives Miles another snuggle and another kiss and then lets him go so he can see to the care of her abused hair.

[thisvorlunatic]

He brushes the hair. He pets the hair. He braids the hair - a five-stranded French rope braid that spins elegantly down her back. He pets the hair again. And then he sits in Linya's lap and kisses her.

[isthisart]

Yay, kisses!

"I love you."

[thisvorlunatic]

"I love you too. And your hair. I definitely love your hair."

[isthisart]

"It's extremely conspicuous that you love my hair."

[thisvorlunatic]

Miles giggles. "I, um, yes." A memory of a certain conversation with Bel Thorne springs to mind, and he adds, "...How hopelessly pathetic was I when I first saw you? With the falling to my knees and all?"

[isthisart]

"...Do you want me to generate a number on a scale from one to ten or elaborate further on what I thought of it?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Oh, I don't know, is both an option? I confess I'm much more interested in the latter."

[isthisart]

"Then the latter you shall have. It's - a substantial part of your appeal is the way you sort of - project your experience of the world outward. It's very compelling. When that experience happened to be that you were thunderstruck by my designer's artistic choices, that was flattering; the particular way you displayed it was incidental."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Well, now I'm going to be insufferably pleased with myself," he says, grinning.

[isthisart]

Linya giggles and snuggles him.