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Ivan has just recently been assigned to Earth. It's very cultural. He has already explained Vor to groups of natives four separate times. Some of them seem to find it really hilarious to call him Lord Vorpatril. He doesn't mind; some of those people are girls who giggle it and bat their eyelashes. He likes it here just fine.
After he finishes with his day-job duties (separate from attending diplomatic functions to stand around and look handsome) he attempts to let himself out of the room with the comconsole and all its data to sift through, only to find that the hallway has turned into a bar.
He looks over his shoulder. The office is still normal. Which is to say there are no other exits.
Ivan goes into the bar, squinting.
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middlingalong
middlingalong
Ivan follows in and plops down.
He looks out the window while Elli takes off and his heartbeat calms the hell down.
He looks out the window while Elli takes off and his heartbeat calms the hell down.
thisvorlunatic
Miles looks at Mark, who is staring at the floor in seriously depressed Miles-mode, and decides not to try to engage him in conversation just yet.
middlingalong
"This is going to be tons of fun to report about," Ivan says, which prompts him to have a bit of a coughing fit.
thisvorlunatic
"Well," says Miles, "I still have that urgent mission to go do, and unfortunately I can't blow it off to write reports. ...For God's sake, Mark, you're making me depressed. We won, remember? You won."
Mark does not respond.
Miles scoots closer and hugs him.
Mark freezes.
Mark does not respond.
Miles scoots closer and hugs him.
Mark freezes.
middlingalong
Ivan should've thought of that but he was somewhat distracted with all this urgent looking out the window he needs to be doing. "Hell, Mark, he's dead, he can't get you now," he says. "I should've killed him in the first place."
thisvorlunatic
Mark unfreezes and scrunches down and lets Miles continue to hug him. Miles continues to hug him. It seems to be helping, or at least, the warning bells in the back of Miles's head are no longer ringing such an insistent tune of 'suicide watch, suicide watch'.
middlingalong
"'M I going to have to carry you into the embassy, Mark?" wonders Ivan. "Now that'd give -" cough cough - "a wrong picture of who bailed who out."
thisvorlunatic
"Just... away. Somewhere," says Mark.
"To the most depressing place he could find on short notice, probably," says Miles.
"To the most depressing place he could find on short notice, probably," says Miles.
thisvorlunatic
"...Mark is currently being me to stave off his post-murdering-Galen panic attack, and whatever he's feeling under there, it's translating into a more depressed Miles than I can recall ever having been in my life," says Miles.
middlingalong
"Oh."
(Coughing fit.)
"...Well, soon we'll be back at the embassy and you can get your panic attack over with?"
(Coughing fit.)
"...Well, soon we'll be back at the embassy and you can get your panic attack over with?"
thisvorlunatic
"That'll be nice," snorts Mark.
"Humour! Bleak depressing humour, but it's a start!" says Miles. He hugs Mark some more. Mark sighs and leans on him.
"Humour! Bleak depressing humour, but it's a start!" says Miles. He hugs Mark some more. Mark sighs and leans on him.
thisvorlunatic
And there is the embassy.
"Gonna have to drop you off and run," says Miles, "I'm still needed offplanet. Mark? Refrain from doing anything exceptionally stupid?"
"Mm," says Mark.
"Mark," says Miles.
"Gonna have to drop you off and run," says Miles, "I'm still needed offplanet. Mark? Refrain from doing anything exceptionally stupid?"
"Mm," says Mark.
"Mark," says Miles.
thisvorlunatic
"I'm not going to get into specifics lest I give him ideas," says Miles. "Mark. Seriously."
"...I won't do anything you'll wish you'd blown off your mission to prevent me from doing," says Mark. "My word as Vorkosigan."
"All right," says Miles, satisfied.
"...I won't do anything you'll wish you'd blown off your mission to prevent me from doing," says Mark. "My word as Vorkosigan."
"All right," says Miles, satisfied.
middlingalong
"Right then. Have fun doing whatever it is, Miles," says Ivan, and he goes out of the aircar.
thisvorlunatic
Mark follows. The aircar takes off behind them.
"I don't actually know if Captain Galeni is still alive," he says reflectively. "Galen might've tried to recruit him and then killed him when he wouldn't turn."
"I don't actually know if Captain Galeni is still alive," he says reflectively. "Galen might've tried to recruit him and then killed him when he wouldn't turn."
middlingalong
"Well. Let's go check."
In they go.
Galeni seems very surprised to see them.
They haven't even been noticed missing yet.
thisvorlunatic
Mark sticks around exactly long enough to verify that Galeni is alive - less than a second - and then heads to Miles's room to have a panic attack in it.
middlingalong
Ivan sticks around long enough to deliver a report.
Then he gets some food from the cafeteria and plenty of water too and brings it back to his and Mark's room, and eats half and leaves the rest for Mark to have when he is done panicking.
Then he gets some food from the cafeteria and plenty of water too and brings it back to his and Mark's room, and eats half and leaves the rest for Mark to have when he is done panicking.