[Vorkosigan Saga] becoming habit [1/3] - 1,367/6,403
Rating: T
Summary: in which a life is lived (more or less)
i. in which Xav Vorbarra learns to live in sin (or how to move in without meaning to)
The first time Xav visited their apartment it was two days after Ro skipped class to show an awkward foreigner in a coffee shop how to catch his train. It wasn't a class that she had enjoyed very much but she still hadn't been be that surprised when she found herself lurking outside the very new Barrayaran Embassy (a few cramped rooms on level fifteen with a hastily attached sign wasn't even the worst embassy she'd seen). After all, lying to your, even lies of omission, wasn't very Betan. Xav looked a lot more surprised to see her but also rather pleased and faintly red (and not just from his sunburn) and very cute in his uniform. She looped an arm around his waist and announced that he was coming back to her place for some lunch. He held himself stiffly, walked weirdly and his uniform was far too thick for comfort but he followed and he smiled and that was good enough for a second meeting.
By the time they had arrived at the apartment, Lucy had already picked up a pizza. That first afternoon Xav stood in the doorway and examined everything. He looked at the cramped apartment saw the piles of data chips and the disorganized stack of boxes and Lucy. Later (after she learned a lot more about Barrayar and Xav and their certain expectations of Beta Colony) she realized that he had thought they were going to have sex. This is such a ridiculous idea that when she first understood what his confusion had meant she almost out loud. She hadn't known anything about him then. He could have liked men or hermaphrodites or no one or just not been into her. Beyond that, he was a Barrayaran and as such unlikely to have taken even the most basic class. Still, they ate pizza (which Xav had never seen before and insisted on slicing into thin strips with his belt knife, Ro thinking of how hard it must of been to get that through customs) together. Lucy told funny stories about her customers, Ro defended philosophy as a major and Xav managed to ask whether they would both like to go out to dinner someday soon with only the slightest hint of awkwardness.
Food became a theme for their meetings. They went out to dinner the next day and ended up laughing so hard that Xav accidentally spat out some of his wine and they staggered out of the restaurant choking and spluttering. Ro took him to her favorite coffee shop (three levels lower than the one they'd first met in and with much better lighting) and taught him how to read earrings without blushing. Lucy carried him off for several hours on each of her days off and on Ro's birthday she was surprised with a hand cooked breakfast in bed which they ate together in their pajamas. They went for a picnic at the zoo and Xav told them what it was like to stare out over unlimited stretches of water. Food was also why Xav's things began to show up in their apartment.
First to arrive was the apron. Ro had found it in a bazaar and she bought it because it was decorated with giant pink hearts and Barrayaran ideas of masculinity always made her laugh. She liked Xav because he laughed too and he wore the apron, even if he left it hanging on the back of the kitchen door when he left the apartment. The he brought over a change of clothes because Lucy insisted that however well he filled out his uniform it was not the proper outfit for eating curry, especially for someone with as bad hand eye coordination as Xav (which led to a pillow fight for Xav's honor and then to the three of them lying together, exhausted, on the carpet) and student loans meant they shouldn't be wasting money on the absurd cleaning fees of ancient garments. It didn't get serious until the uniform.
Xav had a strange relationship with Barrayar. Personally Ro thought that everything to do with Barrayar, especially the people, was strange and Xav represented the strangeness at its utmost. They had known each other for five months for five months before he had even told them who his father was. They had been relaxing in the living room when Lucy had asked why Xav was part of the diplomatic envoy to one of the more important planets. Ro had been the one to wonder about it first. Xav was nice but even a newly rediscovered planet had to have some actual diplomats. Ro had mentioned her thought to Lucy who had, as always, gone for the direct approach and just asked him. Finding out they had barbarian royalty in their living room was made much funnier with the direct application of alcohol, followed by half an hour of listening to Xav trying to explain his family tree. It was still slightly odd. Ever stranger were Xav's self-deprecating remarks about diplomats versus soldiers and bastards and his 'Betan habits' (a comment she had a sneaking suspicion she should smack him for). It would take far more than the basic required therapy classes to try to figure out his issues, even if at times they seemed rather obvious, but it would take a lot of effort to miss how important the uniform was to him.
Lucy had suggested that it was because the uniform was representational of everything that made what should have been simple about their relationship complex. That had been after Ro had suggested that they set fire to the uniform. Of course, the whole line of their conversation had been prompted by the not-argument with Xav. That had started when Ro had pointed out that it had been a year since they met. Lucy had, of course, suggested (only half jokingly) that the one year anniversary was the perfect time for him to move in. Xav had then told them a long and involved story that basically boiled down to that fact that if he was on Barrayar, which was obviously the right place to be, his marriage would probably be arranged at that very moment to a woman who would never even talk a male unless five other women (and possibly her mother) were present. That had been when Ro had suggested that it was time for him to go back to work.
Xav had said many stupid things before that argument. Most of the time, Ro was just glad he said stuff to them instead of to, for example, the president (sometimes she was pretty sure he knew exactly what they would think about what he said but still wanted to get a Betan reaction). Occasionally it was worth it for the pure ridiculousness of his statements, like when he had seriously assured them that Barrayar just didn't have lesbians or, in fact, any women with sexual interests that didn't dovetail with tall men in very snazzy uniforms. Still, it was very hard to have a relationship argument with someone who seemed half in denial to the fact that they were in a relationship. Burning the uniform wouldn't really have helped but Ro thought it might at least make her feel better. Then Xav had brought it over.
It was about a week after they hadn't had the argument (a week where they just happened not to talk with Xav or eat with him or even seen him) and Ro was considering the cost of kicking down the door versus the fact that her day had been far too long to deal with their ancient lock. That was when Xav appeared and opened the door for her, making him a semi-hero in her eyes despite the fact that he was still wearing a shirt and pants under his sarong. He was also toting a cart with a large wrapped object and several parcels. He never ended up apologizing but the parcels turned out to contain his uniform (and an ironing board which he insisted was better than the crisper) and a spare pillow for the sofa, so this time they let it go unsaid.
Chapter 2
Summary: in which a life is lived (more or less)
i. in which Xav Vorbarra learns to live in sin (or how to move in without meaning to)
The first time Xav visited their apartment it was two days after Ro skipped class to show an awkward foreigner in a coffee shop how to catch his train. It wasn't a class that she had enjoyed very much but she still hadn't been be that surprised when she found herself lurking outside the very new Barrayaran Embassy (a few cramped rooms on level fifteen with a hastily attached sign wasn't even the worst embassy she'd seen). After all, lying to your, even lies of omission, wasn't very Betan. Xav looked a lot more surprised to see her but also rather pleased and faintly red (and not just from his sunburn) and very cute in his uniform. She looped an arm around his waist and announced that he was coming back to her place for some lunch. He held himself stiffly, walked weirdly and his uniform was far too thick for comfort but he followed and he smiled and that was good enough for a second meeting.
By the time they had arrived at the apartment, Lucy had already picked up a pizza. That first afternoon Xav stood in the doorway and examined everything. He looked at the cramped apartment saw the piles of data chips and the disorganized stack of boxes and Lucy. Later (after she learned a lot more about Barrayar and Xav and their certain expectations of Beta Colony) she realized that he had thought they were going to have sex. This is such a ridiculous idea that when she first understood what his confusion had meant she almost out loud. She hadn't known anything about him then. He could have liked men or hermaphrodites or no one or just not been into her. Beyond that, he was a Barrayaran and as such unlikely to have taken even the most basic class. Still, they ate pizza (which Xav had never seen before and insisted on slicing into thin strips with his belt knife, Ro thinking of how hard it must of been to get that through customs) together. Lucy told funny stories about her customers, Ro defended philosophy as a major and Xav managed to ask whether they would both like to go out to dinner someday soon with only the slightest hint of awkwardness.
Food became a theme for their meetings. They went out to dinner the next day and ended up laughing so hard that Xav accidentally spat out some of his wine and they staggered out of the restaurant choking and spluttering. Ro took him to her favorite coffee shop (three levels lower than the one they'd first met in and with much better lighting) and taught him how to read earrings without blushing. Lucy carried him off for several hours on each of her days off and on Ro's birthday she was surprised with a hand cooked breakfast in bed which they ate together in their pajamas. They went for a picnic at the zoo and Xav told them what it was like to stare out over unlimited stretches of water. Food was also why Xav's things began to show up in their apartment.
First to arrive was the apron. Ro had found it in a bazaar and she bought it because it was decorated with giant pink hearts and Barrayaran ideas of masculinity always made her laugh. She liked Xav because he laughed too and he wore the apron, even if he left it hanging on the back of the kitchen door when he left the apartment. The he brought over a change of clothes because Lucy insisted that however well he filled out his uniform it was not the proper outfit for eating curry, especially for someone with as bad hand eye coordination as Xav (which led to a pillow fight for Xav's honor and then to the three of them lying together, exhausted, on the carpet) and student loans meant they shouldn't be wasting money on the absurd cleaning fees of ancient garments. It didn't get serious until the uniform.
Xav had a strange relationship with Barrayar. Personally Ro thought that everything to do with Barrayar, especially the people, was strange and Xav represented the strangeness at its utmost. They had known each other for five months for five months before he had even told them who his father was. They had been relaxing in the living room when Lucy had asked why Xav was part of the diplomatic envoy to one of the more important planets. Ro had been the one to wonder about it first. Xav was nice but even a newly rediscovered planet had to have some actual diplomats. Ro had mentioned her thought to Lucy who had, as always, gone for the direct approach and just asked him. Finding out they had barbarian royalty in their living room was made much funnier with the direct application of alcohol, followed by half an hour of listening to Xav trying to explain his family tree. It was still slightly odd. Ever stranger were Xav's self-deprecating remarks about diplomats versus soldiers and bastards and his 'Betan habits' (a comment she had a sneaking suspicion she should smack him for). It would take far more than the basic required therapy classes to try to figure out his issues, even if at times they seemed rather obvious, but it would take a lot of effort to miss how important the uniform was to him.
Lucy had suggested that it was because the uniform was representational of everything that made what should have been simple about their relationship complex. That had been after Ro had suggested that they set fire to the uniform. Of course, the whole line of their conversation had been prompted by the not-argument with Xav. That had started when Ro had pointed out that it had been a year since they met. Lucy had, of course, suggested (only half jokingly) that the one year anniversary was the perfect time for him to move in. Xav had then told them a long and involved story that basically boiled down to that fact that if he was on Barrayar, which was obviously the right place to be, his marriage would probably be arranged at that very moment to a woman who would never even talk a male unless five other women (and possibly her mother) were present. That had been when Ro had suggested that it was time for him to go back to work.
Xav had said many stupid things before that argument. Most of the time, Ro was just glad he said stuff to them instead of to, for example, the president (sometimes she was pretty sure he knew exactly what they would think about what he said but still wanted to get a Betan reaction). Occasionally it was worth it for the pure ridiculousness of his statements, like when he had seriously assured them that Barrayar just didn't have lesbians or, in fact, any women with sexual interests that didn't dovetail with tall men in very snazzy uniforms. Still, it was very hard to have a relationship argument with someone who seemed half in denial to the fact that they were in a relationship. Burning the uniform wouldn't really have helped but Ro thought it might at least make her feel better. Then Xav had brought it over.
It was about a week after they hadn't had the argument (a week where they just happened not to talk with Xav or eat with him or even seen him) and Ro was considering the cost of kicking down the door versus the fact that her day had been far too long to deal with their ancient lock. That was when Xav appeared and opened the door for her, making him a semi-hero in her eyes despite the fact that he was still wearing a shirt and pants under his sarong. He was also toting a cart with a large wrapped object and several parcels. He never ended up apologizing but the parcels turned out to contain his uniform (and an ironing board which he insisted was better than the crisper) and a spare pillow for the sofa, so this time they let it go unsaid.
Chapter 2