[Fic] "Aim High" -- Vorkosigan Saga
joyeuce01 said: Mentors - Vorkosigan - Alys, Ekaterin, Laisa. Or Gregor and the next generation (250 words)
Note: I am not 100% certain the timeline checks out for this to be set at the end of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, but I think the twins should still be toddlers at that point.
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Aim High
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"It occurs to me," Gregor said to Alys Vorpatril as he watched Miles's children giggling and poking at each other as they clambered around his office, "that being an uncle or aunt is a different skill set from being a parent."
"Not entirely different," Alys said. "But yes, one does get to return them at the end of the day. That's much more restful than having sole responsibility for their futures!"
Gregor hummed in agreement. "However, I can't decide whether that distance makes it more or less vital to act as a good example. On the one hand, I'm not around them nearly as much as Miles and Ekaterin. On the other, I serve as an important data point that either reinforces or contradicts whatever lessons they attempt to teach."
Alys shrugged and bent down to nudge Helen Natalia away from her attempt to dismember the cords to Gregor's console. "Be yourself and that will mostly take care of itself. That was my approach, and I dare say you and Miles turned out at least as well as Ivan."
Gregor considered his cousin, who'd managed to find happiness and escape Imperial politics as close to completely as possible for a man with his genealogy, and allowed himself a wry smile. "To have my nephew and niece turn out at least as well as Ivan sounds like a decent goal to me."
Then he knelt and scooped up Aral Alexander before he could succeed at the cord-destruction his sister had begun.
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End of Ficlet
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And now back to pretending to work. *wry*
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