Well ... I love both of them very much. Two entirely different people - Mother is deeply compassionate but also very acute. Hard to escape a conversation with her without getting vivisected. And Da is ... very stern and formidable, but he's a lot softer than he looks. I remember him taking two hour lunches every day just to get time with me as a child.
[ He swallows hard. His throat is tight and painful. He should get out of this conversation. It's a dangerous, bad conversation. Distracting. Stupid. Really stupid. But...it's useful for him to know more about the Butcher and his witch of a wife. Right? That'll be good for his cover someday. If he ever uses it, if the Komarrans come back. Every piece of information is advantageous... ]
[ ...Funny. When he was making up a backstory for this persona of his, Peter, he didn't think about his feelings towards his family. He's left groping now, trying to figure out his relationship to them. These fictional people. Finally he settles on: ]
You know. They're good parents. They spend a lot of time with me, as much as they can. They have enough money that we live comfortably. They put me in school. All of that. My father is sometimes a little bit stern, but I know he loves me. And my mother is very affectionate. I come home at the holidays, and it's always nice and peaceful. I never doubted they love me. And they gave me a good life, growing up.
[ He fights the urge to elaborate further, to make it sound more believable by adding details. My father sometimes had a temper. A little bit of a temper... ]
That's another question. I don't think you've earned that.
[ Shit. He hasn't thought about what he's going to say here. On the one hand, his bones aren't all that breakable, which might become evident if he ever has to engage in any action, but on the other hand - how to explain the synthetics...? ]
That's another question. You owe me an answer on how being some feudal Lord or whatever is complex.
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Yeah. Let's hear about them.
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Didn't he have work to do?
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Oh, yes. Ridiculous amounts. But he still made time for me.
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Things got neglected, then. Just for that.
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All right, my turn. How do you feel about your family?
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They're fine.
[ ...nailed it? ]
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You know. They're good parents. They spend a lot of time with me, as much as they can. They have enough money that we live comfortably. They put me in school. All of that. My father is sometimes a little bit stern, but I know he loves me. And my mother is very affectionate. I come home at the holidays, and it's always nice and peaceful. I never doubted they love me. And they gave me a good life, growing up.
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That's another question. I don't think you've earned that.
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Lord Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, of the planet Barrayar.
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Lord? Your planet has lords?
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... And I really don't see many men my height either.
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[ But he is morbidly curious. Deeply so. ]
Teratogenic then? ... Are your bones affected as well?
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That's another question. You owe me an answer on how being some feudal Lord or whatever is complex.
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