singing open the great gates

[middlingalong]

The following day, very little happens, except for Vorreedi mentioning that Yenaro has been arrested (by the civil police, for theft, on charges from a ghem-lord Miles has never heard of, as opposed to by Cetagandan security for treason).

Also, Ivan gets bored - with all the bodyguards Vorreedi now requires for them after the incident at the bioestheties exhibition, the possible spontaneity of going out with his ghem girlfriends is much reduced.

But the next day they get to attend the Singing Open of the Great Gates.

And oh, is there ever singing.

Comments

[middlingalong]

"Gotten any friendlier now that you've eaten candy together?" wonders Ivan.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Ivan."

[middlingalong]

"It's a reasonable question! I don't think you've thought this through!"

[thisvorlunatic]

"What, exactly, do you think I haven't thought through here...?"

[middlingalong]

"It's a genetic thing, for them, right? Usually she'd be marrying some guy who already had a few wives and nobody could call her neglectful for never touching him? For all you know you've consigned yourself to a life of celibacy. If she's thinking about it at all she's thinking about how to turn - somatic cells into usable gametes or whatever it is they do to make extremely clinical little Cetagandans."

[thisvorlunatic]

"A life of celibacy as opposed to the rich and varied sex life I had before, eh?" he snaps, and gets up from the table to stomp off back to his room.

...It's possible he doesn't think that through very well either.

[isthisart]

Here is Linya! She has the drawing function of her pen up and is painting in midair what could very well be the internals of a pen.

"Hi," she says, when Miles comes in.

[thisvorlunatic]

"...Hi," says Miles. He manages a smile, even.

[isthisart]

"What do you usually do on long trips?" she asks, annotating some internal pen widget.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Argue with Ivan?"

[isthisart]

"What about?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"...Um."

He blushes.

[isthisart]

"You don't have to tell me, I guess. Tell me something, though, we have gotten married and most of what I know is in your public file."

[thisvorlunatic]

"Ivan thinks I'm going to be, um... disappointed in the area of marital relations," mutters Miles. "Which I'm not - I mean - disappointed isn't the word - I wasn't going to assume, just because you married me - it's not like I actually have any others to be proverbially forsaking, it all works out the same in practical terms - "

[isthisart]

She puts her pen away - and then she interrupts him by scooping him up off the floor and bringing him up to a level where she can place a gentle little kiss on his lips.

[thisvorlunatic]

Miles makes an extremely undignified squeaking sound.

[isthisart]

Linya puts him back down.

"You're very cute," she says.

[thisvorlunatic]

"Thank you," he says, mainly on automatic. His brain is still crackling with fireworks of delight.

[isthisart]

"You're very cute, I actually like you, I don't know about doing much about it right now while we have really only barely met and you still have force screen bruises all over you but - what were you going to do if this hadn't come up in conversation?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Um... wait indefinitely for you to either bring it up or - not," he says.

[isthisart]

"Okay... so - no promises on scheduling. I didn't have any love-poems back home to give me an idea of how, in practice, I will want things to go. But it is not out of the question, and in full generality you are allowed to talk to me. Okay?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"...Okay," says Miles. "Uh, as regards how-in-practice-you-will-want-things-to-go - Beta Colony exists. It's possible to have, um, outside help figuring some of these things out. If that sounds like an appealing option."

[isthisart]

"...Not really, since the first thing I am sure of is that I don't want to figure it out with someone I don't know at all. But out of academic curiosity - how does that interact with the monogamy custom?"

[thisvorlunatic]

"Well... on Beta Colony it's perfectly normal for a monogamous couple to go to an LPST for, er, couples therapy, so to speak. Individually or jointly. If they're both fine with it. On Barrayar not so much, but people on Barrayar who would object don't need to hear about it."

[isthisart]

"Ah. To be clear, when I asked whether monogamy was customary on Barrayar this was mostly an oblique way of inquiring after your expectations."