Post MoM AU, general post

[use_everything]

And then one day, it was over.

The memory of how it happened was hazy. Perhaps it was as simple as being ported out, perhaps there was a great experiment, bringing together physicists, chemists, alchemists and scientists to get something WORKING. But like the memories of that time, that other dimension, singular events come and go, like a dream, or an age past.

From the very start, however, there were changes.

Comments

[jacksonian]

[ He opens his mouth, then closes it, confused. Then he shakes his head, completely helpless. ]

[dendarii]

[ Gently: ]

I hope you aren't planning on getting yourself killed.

[jacksonian]

[ He flinches just a bit, but replies stubbornly: ]

If I do, it doesn't matter. It's worth it to save them.

[dendarii]

I don't doubt that. But I still want to see you home safe at the end of it.

[jacksonian]

Home. Meaning here?

[dendarii]

[ ... Miles nods at that. (Don't push him, don't push him...) ]

Of course. Whether you choose to stay here or not. Has Da given you a tour yet?

[jacksonian]

[ He's distracted from his defensiveness, his reluctance to call this home, by that last question. He shakes his head. ]

No.

[dendarii]

Come on. I'll show you around, then.

[jacksonian]

[ He briefly considers protesting that he has the layout of this house committed to memory, then decides to bite his tongue and just grab a few pastries instead. Three go in his pockets, and one gets held as they walk. ]

[dendarii]

[ Miles takes a couple for the road himself. Just in case. He leads Mark back out into the main room and to the staircase. ]

Bedrooms or main floor first?

[jacksonian]

Um - main floor. I guess.

[dendarii]

We'll start with the receiving rooms then.

[ And Miles starts to take Mark around, explaining the layout and the various historical items lying around in Vorkosigan House. ]

[jacksonian]

[ And Mark listens silently, watchful, paying more attention to Miles than he does to any of those items. He takes the running commentary as an opportunity to continue studying his progenitor's face. He eats, too, as they go, working his way through all of the pastries he'd stolen. There's no question that the food has gone over well. ]

[dendarii]

[ Miles relaxes into an animated patter. He clearly loves his home, even when he points out the spots where he's fallen and broken his bones, and is quick to tell stories about everything he's done here. Home, home, home is the underlying refrain. He hopes it will invite Mark to think of it in the same light.

When Mark eats his last pastry, Miles offers him one his own. And keeps talking. ]

I guess we're not in as grand a style as some of the other Vor, but it's beautifully rustic. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

[jacksonian]

[ He takes it carefully, eyes fixed on Miles' face as he does. Always watchful. ]

What are the security procedures on this house?

[dendarii]

Armsmen, forcefields. Especially on the windows.

[ He says without missing a beat. Ascending the stairs to go towards the bedrooms. ]

[jacksonian]

How many armsmen?

[dendarii]

Twenty, of course. You knew that already.

[jacksonian]

[ As he follows Miles up the stairs, he prods further, seeing how long it'll take before Miles breaks and snaps at him - how long it takes before Miles acknowledges that this line of questioning might not be benign - ]

So they're all here today?

[dendarii]

[ It's Mark, Miles reminds himself. Surely he's even less dangerous taken earlier in the timeline? Or - barring that, if Miles gives him every scrap of information he knows, and gives Mark the opportunity to be alone with him, unarmed ... Maybe Mark will believe in himself in turn. ]

No, that's rarely the case. We've got about half here right now. Do you want to see your room?

[jacksonian]

[ That throws him off a bit. Oh. ]

I - am sleeping in a guest room, I assume.

[dendarii]

[ Miles shrugs a bit at that. ]

We don't really have guest rooms in this part of the house. Except for when the Vorpatrils or Gregor visit, I guess. You're just a few doors down from me.

[ He climbs the stairs to the floor that the family lives on. ]

[jacksonian]

[ His step slows; he lags behind. ]

I shouldn't be staying in this wing of the house at all.

[ Because the tour, of course, was unnecessary; he knows exactly where everything is in the house. And this is where family lives. ]

[dendarii]

[ Miles stops, then, and turns to look at him. ]

You're family, Mark. I'm your brother.

[jacksonian]

[ Finally, he cracks just a bit. His voice gets a little shriller as he demands: ]

What are you playing at? What is this, some mind-game?