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]

"...Sure," she says, apprehensive but not, it would seem, upset.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Okay. Um. I think - I have a sort of mystical appreciation for the uniting of undoctored sperm and undoctored egg into potential child, where that method is available, and from that basis I don't really mind what changes are made as long as they're all unambiguous improvements - all the things you said about headaches and colds made sense to me, but, say, if you were going to make the kids tetrachromats I'd want to find some way to convert standard colour formats into something that a four-coloured display could render so they'd see it properly. Actually, now that I've thought of that, I want to do it anyway. Is it possible? Can you bend your genius to it or locate an appropriate engineer or something? I'm getting off-track, sorry - because it seems like being a tetrachromat isn't unambiguously better, see, you have that problem with holos, but if the problem was adequately solved it would, er, not be a problem."

He takes a quick breath.

"—And as long as enough of the original sequence remains that you can fairly say you didn't just replace the genome wholesale with something designed from scratch. And - I don't know, I'd want to be appraised of what you were doing, I'd want to get a say, express opinions, but I trust your judgment enough that I don't expect to want to really veto anything. You aren't going to give our children, I don't know, fangs or something else that would get them spit on in the street, you aren't going to insist that their heights be arranged in birth order or want to predetermine their sexualities according to specific ratios or something - I thought it was terribly sweet that you wanted to give them all my eyes." Another breath. "And it's not as though we urgently require an heir at this very moment, so we have time to work out the details? I think? I hope?"

[isthisart]

"Oh, I agree they shouldn't be tetrachromats and I don't think I can do that without starting from scratch anyway - and I'd have to think about that but at a guess it wouldn't get very good color fidelity - And of course I can keep you apprised and there will be no fangs or anything - do you want me to actually give them your eyes or did you just think it was a nice sentiment?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"I... wouldn't go as far as saying I want you to give them my eyes, but I think it's terribly sweet and you would not have to try hard at all to convince me. I am extremely convincable on that point."

[isthisart]

"You have pretty eyes," she opines, snuggling him. "And I'm homozygous for brown, they'd all have brown eyes if I didn't do anything. It's not like red hair where we have a one in four chance hands-off."

[thisvorlunatic]

"See? I'm convinced already."

[isthisart]

Linya beams and hugs him.

[thisvorlunatic]

"I love you," he says, hugging back.

[isthisart]

"I love you too. I feel much better about this now," she says contently.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Me too." He kisses her cheek.

[spacetobreathe]

The next time Miles has a mission, it's Elli Quinn who picks him up, a few jumps from Komarr. "Admiral," she says, smiling.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Elli," he says, smiling back. "How do you feel about smuggling rebels?"

[spacetobreathe]

"I feel very much in favor of it today, sir."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Good! Because that's what we're - " His hand moves abortively towards his trouser pocket. He looks at the hand, looks at the pocket, sighs, and continues on a different tack. "Actually, before I get into that, there's a little errand I'd like you to run - not necessarily now or soon, but ideally before the next time I personally run a mission. I don't suppose you've heard of the new holo-pens coming out of Barrayar? They haven't come very far out of Barrayar just yet."

[spacetobreathe]

"Uh - maybe? But I might be thinking of something else. Do they have them on Escobar? Pol maybe?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"I'm not sure if they've reached that far yet. They only got to Komarr relatively recently. It's basically a full comconsole - a little cut down, but not much - in the shape of a pen about yea big." He measures the distance between his fingers. "They can't output sound without a peripheral, but they can record it, and record and display visual holos. The storage capacity is a little cramped, but they have extra data space in their charging stations. They're magnificently convenient, I have one at home, I want one out here, and they were developed by Lady Linyabel Vorkosigan, who doesn't yet have clearance to know about Admiral Naismith. I can't carry my usual model around with me in my Naismith hat because it's a custom job in the Vorkosigan colours. I can't buy an extra pen myself, directly, because I don't want her investigating and finding one or the other of me at the end of the paper trail. Therefore, I charge you with the task of subtly acquiring me a pen. Standard model, no customizations, let's go with white for the colour."

[spacetobreathe]

"Sure. They sound nifty, maybe I want one too."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Feel free. They're nifty as hell."

[spacetobreathe]

"I knew you got married but I don't think I ever congratulated you. Congratulations. I assume Admiral Naismith continues to be single?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Admiral Naismith may admit to those who know him pretty well that he has a spouse waiting for him in an undisclosed location that may or may not be Beta Colony. But to all others he prefers to keep his private life private."

[spacetobreathe]

"Right then. Let's go smuggle some rebels, and I'll have a pen for you next time we see each other."

[thisvorlunatic]

They go. They smuggle. The operation goes off without a hitch. Miles returns triumphant to Barrayar about six weeks later.

[isthisart]

And his wife, waiting for him in her undisclosed location, is very happy to have him back again.

"This was a long one," she says, not quite edging into "plaintive". "Welcome home."

[thisvorlunatic]

"God, I know," sighs Miles. "Pick me up and carry me upstairs, I don't even care right now."

[isthisart]

Linya is more than happy to oblige. Up they go, him snuggled in her arms. There is nuzzling.