Come Back to Bed
"Come back to bed," Loras told him.
It was an enticing suggestion, one that was near impossible to resist – which was exactly why Renly couldn't allow himself to look at Loras. The messiness Loras' curls took on from sleep somehow made him even more attractive, especially as he was stretched out naked in Renly's rumpled bed. Sleeping furs covered him from the waist down but that was worse, serving as a reminder of just how easy it would be to push the furs away and have Loras completely bare before him…
Renly couldn't think about it. The matters of the day beckoned, and abandoning them was already tempting enough without thinking of the gorgeous creature he was leaving behind.
"I'll come back to you later," he promised. Even now he could feel his resolve to leave weakening, having returned to sit at the edge of the bed after getting only his breeches on.
Loras reached out to run a teasing hand over his stomach. "You don't have to go. How about you stay in bed with me all day?"
It was such a tempting prospect, especially when Renly thought of the day that awaited him. The council this morning would be only he and Pycelle, and there was no way they could get through it without one or both of them falling asleep. That was only the start of the day. He sighed. "As much as I would rather stay with you, I really must go."
"Will you be thinking of me the whole time, then?" Loras asked.
"You know I will be."
"Of all the things you want to do to me."
"Loras..." Renly said warningly.
Loras smirked and fell back on the bed. "I'll be waiting here when you get back," he said, his back arching deliciously and his muscles pulling taut as he stretched, "Or you could just have me now?"
Renly forced himself to his feet. "Loras," he said again flatly. He couldn't say quite where the annoyance was directed - at having no option but to attend to the dreaded matters of the day, at Loras' attempts to foil his resolve and the skill he seemed to have at it, or at his own easiness to be won over when Loras was concerned.
Loras just laughed. "I know, you really must go. Only one more thing before you leave, then." Mischief twinkled in his eyes as a slow grin spread across his face. "Tell me, what's your favorite part of my body?"
Reluctantly, Renly met his eye. "And you'll really let me go once I tell you?"
"Of course," Loras agreed. He shifted as he spoke so the furs fell away, leaving him completely bare.
The move was so artful that Loras could only have planned it, arranging the furs to move with that purpose, but that did not diminish the effect. Renly had to close his eyes and take a steadying breath against the wave of arousal that threatened to overwhelm him. It was clear that Loras had not given up on his attempts to woo Renly back to bed. If Renly could just keep his composure and resist a little bit longer, however, he was sure he could win this round.
He sat down at the edge of the bed again and ran a hand up Loras' thigh. His favorite part… Loras was so astoundingly beautiful that it was near impossible to choose a part of him that ranked above the rest. There was perfection in every inch and angle of him, and the way Loras all but purred as Renly stroked him somehow improved upon that perfection.
After admiring him toe to top, Renly climbed onto the bed to brace himself above Loras and better admire his face. How was it possible for anyone to be so handsome? Women young and old, noble or beggar all fell in love with this face. Just a simple smile from the Knight of Flowers was enough to make them swoon.
Loras was smiling now, pleased to have Renly above him and clearly under the impression that he was winning. The smile was not the same as the one that won hearts on the tourney fields, though, and that was where its charm lay.
"I've decided on my favorite part of you," Renly said.
"Yes?" Loras asked expectantly.
Loras was still grinning, so Renly barely had to poke his finger under the edge of Loras' lip to touch it.
"Your crooked tooth," he answered.
Immediately Loras' expression turned to a scowl and he batted Renly's hand away. He tried to squirm out from under him, but this time Renly was the one not letting him escape.
"I don't have a-" Loras started to protest. He stopped himself in the lie and glared at Renly furiously, hand clamped over his mouth as if it would deny the existence of the offending tooth.
Loras' teeth were otherwise just as perfect as the rest of him, but this one tooth was noticeably out of line. It had started to grow early, before Loras had even lost his milk teeth, and now sat higher than the rest. Loras, unsurprisingly, took it as a deep personal offense.
"It doesn't show when I smile," he grumbled.
"Yes it does," Renly said gleefully, "Go on, smile for me."
Loras continued to glare at him, but after several long moments he removed his hand and smiled like the Knight of Flowers. His eyes sparkled and dimples formed in his cheeks. There was no trace of the tooth he was so embarrassed about, as his lips parted only enough to show a straight, gleaming row of teeth. It was beautiful, charming, confident… practiced.
While Renly was not immune to the charms of this smile (and there were in fact several occasions when it had made him weak in the knees), it wasn't the smile he had fallen in love with.
"Not like that. Give me a real smile," he said.
"That is a real smile. My – tooth," and Loras said the word like it was the foulest abomination, "doesn't show." He glared at Renly, then added, "I've practiced."
Renly laughed, though he'd known of this before. Loras spent so much time sculpting his image that practicing his best smile in front of a looking glass was perfectly believable. The polished result was a beautiful smile, but Loras couldn't make himself smile like that all the time.
Leaning on one arm, Renly touched Loras' hip and ran his hand up, fingers light and teasing as they brushed over the sensitive skin of Loras' side and ribs. A laugh burst forth from Loras as he squirmed away from the ticklishness of it, a loud, uninhibited sound that revealed the crooked tooth.
"There, see?" Renly poked at it with his other hand, and Loras slapped him away again.
"Renly," he snapped, "Fine. You've made your point. Now leave."
Laughing, Renly leaned down to kiss him. He was unsurprised to find Loras' lips pressed tight together and unresponsive. "Not until you smile for me. Let me see that crooked tooth."
It was half a sneer now, but the Knight of Flowers smiled again. "There. See? It doesn't show."
"Then why do I see it all the time? Why did I see it just now?"
"You were tickling me," Loras grumbled, "I couldn't help it."
"Exactly," Renly said.
Clearly not understanding, Loras just continued to glare at him. "Is there anything else you want to mock me for, or are you done?"
Renly brushed his fingers teasingly over Loras' side again, though Loras caught his wrist before he could move it.
"Don't," Loras warned him.
"I'm only touching. I don't need to tickle you to see that tooth, most of the time. As much as you hate it, it shows when you smile because you can't help it, when you're happy and it just happens." Renly leaned in to steal another kiss. "And you smile at me like that all the time."
Loras' expression softened as he finally caught on. "Is that what you mean?" he asked.
Renly nodded. "You can hide it all you want when you're winning hearts on the tourney fields, but when you're truly smiling, it's not the practiced one everyone else sees. So when I see that tooth, I know..."
"... that you make me truly happy," Loras finished for him.
This time Loras did not pull away when Renly leaned down to kiss him. His lips parted softly against Renly's own and he brought his hand up to cradle Renly's face, fingers warm as they brushed back through his hair. He blinked up at Renly when they parted.
"It's not so bad when you put it like that," Loras said.
"Have I answered the question to your satisfaction, then?"
Pleased despite his lack of success in convincing Renly to stay with him in bed, Loras nodded. Renly smiled down at him and gave him another quick kiss before rolling off to continue preparing for the day.
Finally clothed and on his way out the door, Renly allowed himself one last glance at Loras before leaving. Naked Loras was always a pleasing sight, even without the seductive stretches and sultry stares from earlier. Warm morning sunlight bathed him as he lounged comfortably in the bed, and a bright, true smile came to his face when he met Renly's eye.
Renly was no fool. He closed the door without leaving. "You know what?" he said, smiling and kicking off his boots as he returned to the bed, "The day can wait."