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Destang isn't too thrilled with Ivan, but since his lack of thrill takes the form of sending Ivan to a flower show to be out of the commodore's hair rather than, say, confining him to quarters like poor Galeni, Ivan isn't going to rock the boat. He leaves the half-commlink with Galeni in case Miles suddenly has an emergency and goes off as directed to meet the lady he's escorting.
He finds her at the University of London's Horticulture Hall, shepherds her around, makes comments of limited sophistication but genuine enthusiasm regarding the pretty flowers, and excuses himself a couple hours into the affair for a bathroom break.
middlingalong
middlingalong
"You could have that long conversation with Linyabel in which you demonstrate to her satisfaction that you're yourself and then she's mad at you."
isthisart
Linya answers.
"I bought a medical scanner," she mentions, first. "But it will not work over comm."
"I bought a medical scanner," she mentions, first. "But it will not work over comm."
thisvorlunatic
"Come see me at the embassy, then. It's godawful o'clock in the morning, but they'll probably let you in. And Ivan suggested I talk to you instead of pacing a hole in the floor."
thisvorlunatic
"Perhaps the commodore will find 'talking to my wife' a decent excuse. Another excellent reason to have the conversation now. Besides, he's not here at the moment."
isthisart
"Well, all right, the flower show isn't particularly succeeding at holding my attention anymore anyway. I'll be there in ten minutes."
middlingalong
"Best of luck, coz," sighs Ivan. "You know while Mark was being you he didn't talk her up as much as you do but she came up a couple of times..."
middlingalong
"Oh, I was moaning about Sylveth dumping me - by the way, Miles: Sylveth dumped me - and wondering how 'you' managed to hold onto her and there was something about hanging on for dear life but not being clingy and - I don't know how to translate any of it into advice but it came to mind."
thisvorlunatic
"My condolences," says Miles. "Maybe you'll figure out how to keep the next one. ...Thanks, anyway, although I'm not sure how much I trust secondhand quasi-advice from Mark."
middlingalong
"Well, he does a good you, if it's not good advice it might at least be you advice, and Linyabel likes you."
isthisart
Linya comes in. She gives Ivan a look. "You can do your work somewhere else, unless you've lost the pen I gave you. Yes?"
isthisart
She has it in her pocket, apparently. She scans him, and collects the file into her pen, and labels it with the date and time and nothing else.
She sits on his bed.
She sits on his bed.
thisvorlunatic
Miles... paces.
"I don't know what to say," he says. "I don't know... what to do. This is not a usual condition for me and I'm having trouble adjusting."
"I don't know what to say," he says. "I don't know... what to do. This is not a usual condition for me and I'm having trouble adjusting."
isthisart
"Everyone else seems satisfied that there are only two you-shaped people. It's very tempting to just agree with their assessment and scoop you up and cry into your hair for a bit and be done with it - but everyone else, at least of the parties who are on this planet, will be more or less all right if it turns out that you're not you as long as you do both of the relevant jobs, as long as you aren't inclined to assassinate people or sabotage the work. Even Ivan doesn't seem that shaken up and he's your cousin. I'm shaken up. Convince me. Tell me - things they couldn't have turned up through elaborate detective work, and enough of them that it's vanishingly unlikely for them have got it via fast-penta before you hit upon the Bard. Tell me what color my bubble was when it wasn't white, tell me what the first mistake I made when you taught me to fly a lightflyer was, tell me - I don't know, what color my underwear was the first time we made love - convince me so that I can hold you." She swallows. "My dearest partner of greatness."