There were a number of things Renly liked about Loras Tyrell; he liked the way Loras agreed with him wholeheartedly on every important issue, he liked his almost boyish enthusiasm that was slightly endearing, at times – when it was appropriate – and he liked the fascinating things Loras would do with his mouth. He had never had such a compliant lover.

In most issues, at any rate.

Eyes half closed lazily against the sun, Renly leaned his head back against the trunk of one of the peach trees and eyed Loras, still smiling. "Something needs to be done about Cersei," he said, eventually.

Loras looked up. He probably wasn't aware of the way his eyes looked, that vaguely glazed look that Stannis probably got when talking about his gods. God. Whichever. It amused Renly; another of those slightly endearing things. "Of course."

No, not getting the hint yet. Renly ran a hand through his hair and shook it out, smiled at the sky. "If I could get my fool of a brother to set her aside – we would need due cause, of course, but the proof of her incestuous ways seems almost certain now, and if that is not due cause – and then we could replace her with a queen of our choice, one less…volatile."

Loras bent his head again, losing interest. The boy had no head for politics, which was really just as well; if he had, he might have been a rival. Loras would never be that, though; never a threat to his power, no matter how little he had. Perhaps he could call Loras his Cat in mockery of Joffrey's Hound. Renly let his smile widen. "Maybe a southerly queen. One from Dorne might appease them…" He watched Loras' shoulders stiffen and continued, "But they have no ladies of the proper age. Who, then…"

Loras looked up, frowning just a little, and for a moment Renly thought – was afraid – that he had gotten it. No, though, he shook his head. "Don't ask me riddles about that kind of dance. There's a reason I chose knighthood instead. Willas is far better at that sort of thing."

Renly sighed, heavily, pretended to think. "What of Highgarden? Your sister is close in age…"

Loras shot upright so quickly Renly thought he heard the boy's neck snap. "No. Margaery, wed to the King? She is too young, and…" He trailed off. Renly knew how that sentence finished. And too fat, and too much of a drunkard. Not the kind of husband Loras wanted for his sweet little rose of a sister, king or not.

"Yes," he explained patiently. "And so will likely outlive Robert, and be free to remarry. And her children would be kings."

Loras shook his head stubbornly. "No. There must be other eligible ladies." His father would agree to the match, of course, in a heartbeat, but it wasn't really Mace Tyrell that mattered. Loras was the wild card, and if he could bind the Tyrells to him with a boy in his guard and a daughter as his wife, they wouldn't dare defect, no matter how political alliances shifted. But Loras wouldn't think.

He dropped his head down, chin nearly to chest, and let his eyelids lower. "Surely," he agreed, affably, "I'll think on it more. I only thought it might please you – you could come with her, back to court. Be closer to me."

He laid the emphasis on the last words. It got Loras' attention, but he could see the boy's mouth was in a stubborn line that was too close to defiance. It exasperated him. Unsubtle, foolish, blockheaded. Handsome and endearing, though. And such a willing lover. "Loras, Loras," he murmured, "Come here. Sit with me, please."

"Margaery loves Highgarden," Loras said, almost sullenly, but he came, and knelt beside him in the grass. "How can I ask her to leave it?"

"As I do," Renly murmured, pitching his voice low and reaching out to twine a finger loosely in one of Loras's curls. "I adore everything about it. The peaches, the smells, the sensations…" He let the smile curve his lips. "The Tyrells should be the envy of the Seven Kingdoms." He didn't wait for Loras to respond to that verbally, letting the way his chest swelled gleefully be a cue, and leaned forward just enough to kiss Loras's lips lightly.

When he drew away, the boy's eyes had that slightly glazed expression, again, almost awed. It was gratifying. Renly slid his hand more deeply into those rich brown curls to cradle his head and kissed him again before the boy could speak. He let it last a little longer, until Loras's hands slipped down his chest to begin undoing his breeches, starting to bend down. Renly caught his head and drew him upright.

"Something else," he murmured, and predictably, Loras's eyes widened and his breathing hitched. Renly let himself smile because it wouldn't look like amusement, even if it was, and kissed him again, more playfully, easing his lover down on the grass, slipping a hand inside his tunic to slide up the bare skin of his chest, fingers finding the places where muscle was defined. He waited until he felt Loras quiver and moan softly under his mouth before rolling off and stripping his tunic away, watching Loras do the same.

Side benefits or not, Loras was handsome. Even if it weren't for the political advantages of keeping him around, having the willing and handsome partner was more than worth it. Renly waited until he knew Loras's eyes were on him to finish undoing his breeches and slide out of them. By the time he looked back, his lover was naked as well, holding his own cock and staring wide eyed and hungry.

Renly eased the boy's hand out of the way and let his own replace it loosely, rubbing his thumb lightly over Loras's cock-head, in small circles. The boy's hips arched and another moan squeezed from his throat.

Moving his thumb in another small circle, he reached for one of the peaches on the ground and crushed it in his hand, let the juice run down his fingers before rubbing it on his own cock, then drawing his tongue along his fingers, eyes falling down.

The boy was, as always, a pliant and gratifying lover. He cried out but by how quickly he came Renly would have guessed more with joy than pain. After, running his finger through the brown curls with lazy disinterest, he brought it up again.

"Your sister…"

Loras sounded dazed, his eyes entirely closed. Worshipful. What an amusing boy. "What about her?"

"What if she were to marry me?"

Loras seemed surprised, and rolled over to face him. "What?" His voice was utterly blank. Renly kissed his lips to keep him from thinking too much. "But you're…"

"In name only, I should say. No one would wonder about my keeping you close then. It would be only natural for you to guard your sister." He smiled a wry and amused little smile, and then drew back. "Think on it. That's all I ask."