[ It's gone fuzzy like white noise on Gregor's end of the link. He's processing but not sure he's coming up with the right result. Yet every time he runs it through, it comes out the same.
Aral... approves? Of him? Of him with Miles. His (real) son. And he'd known already, which is maybe why he hadn't much reacted when Gregor had told him. It'd just been confirmation of an earlier knowledge, that must have seemed like an inevitable slide into reality, no matter their protestations otherwise. So he'd known and done nothing to stop it or try to divert Miles. Which surely wouldn't have been too difficult for someone with as much sway over him as Aral Vorkosigan. That means it hadn't just been professionalism in dealing with Lucifer he'd been leaning on, it had been...
Camaraderie? Acceptance? Gregor's a bit numb imagining that. Enough so that he's completely lost the thread that's surely more meaningful to Miles here, whether or not Gregor thinks he can be happy, or even come close. ]
I-- sorry. [ He's in public. This isn't the place for this. Gregor composes himself with a familiar wrench, his brain abruptly snapped back into practicalities. The words run through him one more time. ] I'm not sure if it's possible either, but I'd like to try. And I keep landing on the damnable thought that I'm not much of an Emperor here after all, am I. So perhaps it is achievable. [ Right, focus on that and not his weird mental blip at hearing Aral approves of them. ]
no subject
[ It's gone fuzzy like white noise on Gregor's end of the link. He's processing but not sure he's coming up with the right result. Yet every time he runs it through, it comes out the same.
Aral... approves? Of him? Of him with Miles. His (real) son. And he'd known already, which is maybe why he hadn't much reacted when Gregor had told him. It'd just been confirmation of an earlier knowledge, that must have seemed like an inevitable slide into reality, no matter their protestations otherwise. So he'd known and done nothing to stop it or try to divert Miles. Which surely wouldn't have been too difficult for someone with as much sway over him as Aral Vorkosigan. That means it hadn't just been professionalism in dealing with Lucifer he'd been leaning on, it had been...
Camaraderie? Acceptance? Gregor's a bit numb imagining that. Enough so that he's completely lost the thread that's surely more meaningful to Miles here, whether or not Gregor thinks he can be happy, or even come close. ]
I-- sorry. [ He's in public. This isn't the place for this. Gregor composes himself with a familiar wrench, his brain abruptly snapped back into practicalities. The words run through him one more time. ] I'm not sure if it's possible either, but I'd like to try. And I keep landing on the damnable thought that I'm not much of an Emperor here after all, am I. So perhaps it is achievable. [ Right, focus on that and not his weird mental blip at hearing Aral approves of them. ]