Chapter 1
"Today is the 15 year anniversary of the death of Aerys II Targaryen, former King and Head of House Targaryen. Known as the 'Mad King', Aerys and his Dragons wreaked havoc on the city of Westeros for over 30 years, before he was murdered by Jaime Lannister, of the Lions. Our current King, Robert Baratheon, of the Stags then married Sersei, the daughter of Tywin Lannister, Head of the Lions. This marriage join two of the most powerful Families together in a Treaty of Love-"
"They repeat this same boring bullshit every five years, it's so stupid.." Renly muttered, turned off the TV and rolled onto his side to smile at the person lying beside him. Loras Tyrell smiled back, shifting himself closer as Renly wrapped his arms around him.
Renly had slept over at Loras' again, never liking to go home to his oppressive, hostile family home. Loras and his sister, Margaery, lived together in their own flat, so there were no worries of parents walking in. Lying in bed with a completely naked Loras was a luxury Renly never took for granted.
Loras kissing him softly. Renly chuckled and kissed him back, licking his full lower lip to ask for entry which Loras, of course, obliged. When they parted, they were both smirking.
"You're just annoyed because they still use your old school photo." Loras said with a grin.
"Yeah, which is horrendous – I've got a bloody monobrow! The one they use of you is adorable." He said with a smirk and Loras rolled his eyes.
"My grandmother chose which photos they used, my father bribed the network to even get us into the programme, with the condition that they show us looking beautiful." He said, making Renly smile and they kissed again, deeper this time. Loras moaned quietly, feeling Renly's hands go around his waist and down to grab his arse.
"Difficult not to, to be honest.." he said with a grin when they parted, making Loras blush, and they kissed again.
Just then, there was a knock on the door before it opened. Renly broke the kiss to look round, seeing Margaery in the doorway, smirking at them. Loras sighed from beneath him.
"Can we help you, Margaery?" he asked, propping himself up slightly, Renly still hovering dumbly above him. The beautiful girl smiled at her brother and shrugged. She was wearing a dressing gown and a towel wrapped around her head.
"Just thought I'd remind you of the party tonight, perhaps you should start getting ready?" she said.
"We have plenty of time.." Loras said, impatiently. Margaery levelled his gaze, one perfect eyebrow raised.
"May I remind how long you take to get ready, dear brother?" she asked, a small smirk on her lips. Renly chuckled and looked at Loras, who squared him with an unimpressed pout.
"She has a point, my love, you do take ages." He said, kissing him before sitting beside him, pulling the duvet up to cover them both.
"The limo will be here to pick us up at 7. You'd better be ready." She glanced at Renly and smiled. "You can always leave early." She said before blowing a kiss and leaving again, closing the door behind her. Loras sighed, sitting up too.
"Sorry…we have discussed boundaries but she doesn't seem to get it." He said, smiling. Renly chuckled and they kissed chastely this time.
"That's alright, I should probably go home and get ready too. I'll see you tonight." He said. Loras nodded, looking vexed.
"Yeah, when we can't even talk for too long around all those people.." he muttered. Renly smiled and hugged him around the waist.
"I'll come over afterwards, if you want?" he asked, smiling. Loras continued to pout, glancing at him.
"Will you be able to get away?"
"Sure, Robert will be too drunk to notice I'm even there to begin with, and Stannis will want to leave as much as me…" he said, pushing Loras' hair back off his face to kiss him. They parted, Loras now smiling. Renly grinned, rubbing the small of his back. "So, um…what are you wearing tonight?" he asked, attempting to be casual. Loras laughed and kissed him again, then stood up.
Renly watched with a grin as the naked, slender boy walked over to his wardrobe and opened the door, pulling out a hanger on which draped a long dry-cleaning bag. He then returned to where Renly was now sitting on the edge of the bed and handed the hanger over as he sat down beside him, resting their shoulders together. Renly chuckled and unzipped it, looking inside.
"It's tailored." Loras added with a smile, watching Renly feeling the material. It was a suit, silvery-grey with a black collar, a black button-down shirt underneath and a thin, dark green tie. A small gold rose was pinned to the left lapel.
"Stand up." Renly said. Loras frowned slightly but obeyed, standing in front of him. Renly removed the suit from the bag and held it up against Loras' naked body, leaning back as he did so to survey it. Loras smirked at him, standing still, watching Renly.
"What do you think?" he asked. Renly made a considering face.
"Very, very nice…" he said, then shrugged, laying the suit down on the bed, then grinned at Loras. "But I still prefer this one.." he said with a grin, holding his hands and pulling him to lean down for a kiss. Loras laughed, bending forward, kissing him back.
"What are you wearing?" he asked when they parted, standing between Renly's legs, arms loosely over his shoulders as he stroked the thick blank hair.
"This." He said with a shrug, gesturing to his own naked body, smirking. Loras snorted and they kissed again, Renly's hands on Loras' jutting hipbones.
"Renly, your cab's here!" Margaery's voice rang through their skulls and they parted, sighing. Renly rested his own forehead against Loras' flat stomach for a moment before looking up. Loras looked slightly pissed off at his sister killing the mood yet again, making Renly chuckle and pull him down for another kiss.
"You have to give her credit for efficiency." He said, rubbing a hand over the small of his back before pulling him to lie on the bed, lying beside him. They grinned at each other and Renly kissed his nose before standing up to look for his clothes, patting his arse as he did so.
Loras sighed, pulling on his silk dressing gown. He crossed his arms grumpily as he stood and watched Renly get dressed, like the worse strip tease ever, feeling glum.
Once he was dressed, Renly grinned at Loras and pulled him up for another hug, kissing all over his face until he smiled.
"What time shall I come over later?" Renly asked, grinning with victory as Loras' resolve finally broke.
"My father will want us to stay until at least 10, but I'll try to get away as soon as I can." He said.
"Ok, I'll leave 20 minutes after you then?" he asked. Loras smiled and nodded, kissing him before they had to part again. Loras walked him to the front door. They kissed one more time before he opened the door, watching Renly leave with a sigh.
He went and showered, did what he could to his hair, and got dressed. He liked his suit, it accentuated how slim he was without making him look scrawny, which clothes had a tendency to do. It wasn't that he was skinny – though his family told him he was every chance they got – he just had a slight, delicate-looking frame, like his mother and sister. His brothers were both tall and much broader in the shoulders and back – like their father. This, in his case, however, would be more apparent had his stomach not been the largest part of his anatomy.
Margaery came down five minutes before their limo was due to arrive. She was dressed in an exquisite shade of green, almost a nude colour with a jade hue which darkened ever so slightly towards the floor. The dress gave her just enough cleavage for her décolletage to be sexually appealing without being vulgar, and it hugged her figure perfectly, the fabric flowing freely from her hips to the floor so it was not cumbersome to walk in while still being formal. She had explained this all to him when it arrived and, though he hadn't cared at the time, he understood what she'd meant now – even if he still didn't particularly care. He knew if she'd explained it to Renly they would have talked about it for hours.
Her hair was pinned up in numerous loose braids, cascades of curls coming down her neck and over her bare shoulders, a thin gold headband giving her a classical Grecian look. Her make-up was naturally beautiful as always, choosing a rather beautifully understated shade of green eyeshadow which really complimented her light brown eyes.
They assessed each other's appearances as always and both concluded they looked 'pretty bloody good' as Renly would say.
"So, will we have a guest for breakfast tomorrow?" the girl asked her brother as they waited by the door, fixing his tie quickly. Loras blushed and smiled slightly.
"I hope so." He said, making her smile.
"I like him." She said.
"I'm glad. So do I." He said and she grinned fondly, rubbing his arm. "I'm starving." He said with a sigh. Margaery smiled.
"I'm not surprised. Renly was here all day." She said with a sly smirk, making him blush. "Don't worry, I'm sure there will be food…unless Cersei has decided to blow the budget on her outfit." He said, making Loras laugh.
Just then, her phone rang and she answered. "Hello? Hi! Ok, we'll be right down, thank you." She said and hung up, grabbing her bag before they went downstairs. The limousine was waiting outside, a slick black number driven by their favourite chauffeur, Guyard, who was standing by the end door to let them in. He smiled when they appeared and opened the door, commenting that they both looked very nice and they greeted and thanked him warmly.
Margaery got in first, followed by Loras. The door then closed and a moment later, the engine started.
"How are you, Guyard?" Margaery asked through the PA system which allowed them communication with the driver.
"Very well, miss, thank you. And you both?"
"We're good, thanks. Not overly excited about tonight." She said, smirking at her brother.
"I'm sure it will be fine, miss – dancing makes any party better." He said and they both grinned.
"You're probably right!" She replied then turned off their microphone.
"How awful will tonight be, do you think?" Loras asked, looking at his sister.
"Scale of 1 to 10, 10 being excruciating?" she asked and he nodded. "About an 8.9." she said with a smile. He laughed, nodding as he sat back.
"Great. There'd better be wine."
"It's a Baratheon party, of course there'll be wine." She said, smiling. "I bet Renly's looking forward to this..." she said, her smile fading a little. Loras sighed and nodded.
"Even less than we are, which is difficult."
"You'd better not have too much wine then." She said a cheeky smile. He rolled his eyes with a smirk.
They chatted all the way to the party, then the car stopped and Guyard opened the door. Loras stepped out, thanking him and gave him a crisp £50 note as a tip once he'd helped Margaery out, making him grin and shake his hand.
"Thank you very much, sir. Shall I wait for you to come out?" he asked them.
"No, thank you, you can go home, Guyard – we'll get a cab home." Margaery said with a stunning smile, gently touching his arm. He smiled and thanked her, bidding them goodnight and telling them to have fun, knowing how much they hated these Family parties.
Margaery then took Loras' arm and they made their way up towards the huge, ridiculous Baratheon mansion. There was a large amount of paparazzi outside the doors, all immediately turning to take pictures and attempt to interview the beautiful Tyrell siblings.
"Loras, is it true you are having a secret romantic relationship with Renly Baratheon?" "Margaery, which of the King's sons would you rather go out with?" "Loras, who are you wearing tonight?" "Margaery, what diet are you on?"
Loras' eyes immediately locked with Renly's and they exchanged a small, silent greeting. Renly was wearing all black like his brothers, as was their House's traditional colour. He was by far the best-looking if all of them, however; suit tailored to his broad, powerful frame. His ink black hair was combed back nicely and he'd even shaved. He looked incredible, Loras' face heating up just from looking at him. They both gave each other hungry looks as they took in the other's appearance.
"Loras and Margaery of the House Tyrell." Someone announced as they walked towards the line-up of Baratheons and Lannisters. It was like a wedding or funeral line-up, except equal parts terrifying and dull.
"Your greetings should be respectful but not too generic, and above all, make eye contact with each person, remember their names and smile. If you can't think of anything to say, compliment their appearance. Just don't do that for all of them. Gods know their egos are big enough already." Their grandmother had taught them.
The line-up was as always: the King, his wife and their children in age order, then the King's brothers, then the Queen's. Tywin, Cersei's father and Head of the Lions, never came to these stupid things, for that Loras envied him. Robert was already red-faced and swaying slightly, and Cersei's eyes said 'die in a fire' to everyone she spoke to through her smile.
Margaery went before Loras because she was a girl, which he hated – she always stole the good things to say.
"Robert, thank you for inviting us.", "Cersei, what a beautiful necklace.", "Joffrey, well done in that last match!", "Tommen, you're even taller than last time.", "Myrcella, you look radiant. We must chat later.", "Stannis, excellent speech the other day.", "Renly, it's been too long.", "Jaime, handsome as ever.", "Tyrion, it is lovely to see you again."
Loras' greetings, however, tended to be more smiles and less words. He always liked to keep one hand in his pocket, giving them just enough disrespect so as not to inflate their egos any more than necessary.
He was alternating between 'good evening' and 'nice to see you' when he got to Renly. Their hands touched and Loras felt the sparks. Their eyes locked and Loras lost himself for a moment before springing a charming smile.
"Renly, nice to see you." He said, watching Renly's eyes sparkle with amusement as he nodded, shaking his hand, before moving onto Jaime Lannister. "Jaime, good evening."
"Good evening, Tyrell." He replied with a strange smirk, catching Loras completely off guard – he even saw Renly glance over quickly out of the corner of his eye. Jaime kept hold of his hand longer than he expected, letting go just as Loras started trying to pull his hand away.
Jaime grinned at him but Loras ignored him as he smiled at Tyrion, who'd also looked round curiously. "Tyrion, nice to see you." He said, ever so slightly breathless. His heart was pounding and his cheeks were hot and he didn't know why.
The Imp smiled at him, something in his eyes making Loras wonder what he knew, shaking his hand, and he joined Margaery, who was waiting by the door.
"What was that about?" she asked him in a whisper as they walked towards the party itself, which was being held in the huge dining room.
"I don't know..." he replied, frowning slightly.
They arrived at the main party, instantly spotting their parents and eldest brother, Willas, standing together, watching the people around them.
Mace, their father, spotted his youngest children first and grinned, waving them over.
"Here we go…" Margaery said soft, both equipping their stunning smiles as they went over, kissing and hugging each person as they greeted them. Their father's round cheeks already held a bright wine glow.
"Margaery, Loras! My darlings, you both look so wonderful!" Their mother, Alerie, said, smiling approvingly at her beautiful children. She kissed them both on each cheek, smoothing the shoulders of Loras' suit and gently touching her daughter's hair.
"So do you, mother, what a lovely dress." Margaery said, holding her hands as she looked at her. She was also wearing green, a solid, refined emerald shade, the colour of fresh rosemary. Her sleeves were long and flowing, following the length of her dress as it all ended in exquisite gold embroidery. Her long, silver hair was loose and elegant, reaching her waist in waves and she wore a delicate gold circlet, the Tyrell rose sitting proudly in the centre. Her necklace, however, was a plate of glass with the turret of her father's House, Hightower, emblazoned in grey and red.
"Loras, skinny as ever." Willas said with a smile, hugging his little brother fondly with his free arm – the other hand resting firmly on his walking stick.
"Hello, Will, how are you?" Loras asked with a smile as they parted, hand on his shoulder.
"Oh, I'm fine, thank you. How are your studies going?" he asked. Loras resisted the urge to roll his eyes, they both knew Loras was a serial underachiever.
"Good, thanks, just started a new module." He said. Willas smirked, knowing he was bullshitting, but he didn't question him further. "Is Garlan coming?"
"Yes, he said he and Grandmother would be a bit late."
"I thought Grandmother was in France?" Loras asked with a slight frown.
"She's back tonight, Garlan the Gallant is picking her up from the airport." He explained, grinning. Loras laughed, nodding.
"He's such a suck-up." He said, Willas laughing too.
"Loras, let's go get some food." Margaery said, tugging on his arm. He turned to her and nodded.
"Where is it?"
"It's the table over there, by the ice sculpture." Willas said, pointing over to the glaringly obvious sculpture of a huge stag, cut artfully from an enormous chunk of slowly weeping blue ice. Loras exchanged a look with his brother before allowing his sister to pull him along.
It was a buffet style spread of some of the most pretentious food Loras had ever seen: stupidly small hors d'oeuvre including caviar, devilled quail eggs, smoked salmon, figs in port, and pieces of serrano ham cut into perfect squares, decorated with sprigs of rosemary.
"Why can't they ever serve, like, crisps or something?" Loras muttered, glaring at all the tiny, tasteless morsels, making his sister laugh.
"Cersei must have chosen the menu." Margaery commented, picking up two plates, handing one to her brother. "Just get four of everything."
"Where's the wine..?" Loras asked, looking around. Margaery pointed to the end of the table, where a plethora of every kind of wine sat, along with at least a thousand glasses. "Ah. Do you want one?"
"Um, I'll have a glass of rosé if it's cold." She said, selecting a piece of chicken, which was stuffed with a hard-boiled egg and cut in half, with a frown. He nodded, going over to the alcohol. He found a Shiraz he liked and poured Margaery a glass of Château Riotor from an ice bucket before returning to her. She smiled, taking the glass and smelling it before tasting it.
"Mmm." She said in approval.
"How's the food?" he asked, putting his glass down as he looked over the selection.
"Ok, actually – tastes like self-importance. You'll like it." She said with a teasing smile. He stuck his tongue out at her and started picking from the dishes, glaring at each item in turn.
"Hmm…we might have to go to Burger King later." He said, piling whatever onto his plate, suddenly starving. She laughed, nodding.
"I like the way you think." She said. With their plates full of stupid food, they returned to their family. As they approached, they saw that Garlan and their grandmother, Olenna, had joined them.
"Grandmother!" Margaery greeted her with a grin, hugging her.
"My darlings, hello." She said, smiling at the two of them. She hugged Loras, approving of his suit with a smile.
"How was Paris?" he asked her. She rolled her eyes dramatically and sighed.
"Lovely as always, such a dull place though." She said. He smiled. She leaned up and stroked his cheek. "You look thin, are you eating?" she asked.
"Yes, Grandmother, I'm eating." He said with a smile, holding up the plate he was holding, piled high with various pointless items of food. She looked over the array and rolled her eyes again, shaking her head, her curled white hair bouncing around from the confines of the gold hair cuff which held it from her face.
"For goodness sake, those Lannisters have no idea what they're doing when it comes to hosting. More money than sense…" She said, accepting the glass of wine Mace gave her, having gone to fill up his own.
"Mags and I are planning to eat later anyway." Loras said, smiling, and she nodded her approval. He loved how honest she was with her opinions, in the appropriate company of course. Garlan finished speaking to Willas about something and came over to them, peering at Loras' food with great interest.
"Well, little brother, you seem to have something in your hand."
"Get your own pretentious foodie rubbish, Garlan." He said, moving his plate out of his brother's reach. Garlan laughed and they hugged, the taller ruffling the shorter's hair, which earned him a golden-eyed glare.
"I missed you, Loras." He said and his little brother smiled.
"I missed you too. How's Leonette?" he asked, noticing his brother's wife wasn't with him.
"She's good, thanks – out with friends."
"I'm jealous." He said honestly, and Garlan laughed.
"Me too." He said. "I'm going to get some wine, shall I top you up?" he asked, gesturing to his suddenly empty glass. Loras didn't even notice finishing it but he nodded, thanking him.
"Loras, let's dance!" Margaery said with a grin, putting her own glass down to grab his hand, Garlan taking his plate with a grin as they went. Margaery pulled him out onto the dancefloor, in amongst the mass of people already there. He usually hated dancing at these stupid things, it was always with some young woman that fancied him and he felt nothing for.
He wished he and Renly could dance in public, like they did sometimes in private. He enjoyed dancing with his sister, however, they used it as a chance to be alone as well as to spy on others. Nobody paid attention to them when they were dancing, they could look and talk without being seen or heard.
"Will Renly be joining us?" she asked him quietly as they danced gently.
"Here? I doubt it, he'll be stuck with his family."
"What did Jaime say to you?"
"He just said good evening to me, but it really caught me off guard."
"He looked quite pleased with himself.." she said, both frowning. He nodded.
"Yeah…I don't know, it was odd.." he said.
They danced for a little while before a slow, romantic dance started and they parted, heading back to their family. Loras' heart ached as he watched all the couples dancing close, holding each other as they swayed to the music.
"Loras, this is Alyson Umber. She'd love to dance with you." His mother said, bringing with her a pretty young woman wearing dark red, looking at him with excited adoration. Her hair was dark brown and woven into a long thick plait over her shoulder. Loras smiled and took her hand.
"It would be my pleasure." He said and they walked out onto the floor. He held her hand gently and rested the other on her waist, her hand landing on his shoulder. He made sure they weren't too close, started an easy, gentle rhythm in time with the music. She was grinning at him, her cheeks a little pink. He smiled.
"You are very pretty." He told her and she giggled, looking down. Loras shot a look at his sister, who was watching them with a grin. She made the shape of a heart with her hands and he glared at her, instantly resuming his smile when Alyson looked back at him.
"Thank you, so are you." She said, then her eyes widened and her blush intensified further. He grinned and laughed softly.
"Thanks, I appreciate that." He said. She smiled, relieved he hadn't taken offense. "So you are Jon's daughter, right? Greatjon Umber?" he asked. She nodded.
"Yes – luckily I didn't get my father's height." She said with a smile. He chuckled, glancing over to where her father, Jon, was bellowing something across the room, his giant-like stature dwarfing his petite wife, Daphne, from whom her daughter clearly got her looks.
"That does seem lucky, to be honest." He said, and she giggled.
"I could have ended up like Brienne of Tarth." She said jokingly, and he felt a stab of annoyance, though didn't show it. Brienne was a very good friend of Renly's, and he was constantly aggravated by people's rude remarks about her size and looks despite the fact that she was an extremely kind and loyal person who didn't conform to what society expected her to be. 'If she were a man, no-one would bat an eyelid. She would be attractive if she were a man, but because she's a woman she's disgusting? Fucking ridiculous.' he ranted sometimes, fiercely defending his friend.
They continued talking about fairly boring things like the party and the other guests until the song ended, and they parted.
"Thank you, Loras, I had fun." She said, smiling. He nodded, smiling back.
"Me too, thanks. Enjoy the party." He said, kissing her hand. She said goodbye, blushing, and went off. He returned to his family with a sigh. "Why do I have to be the one to dance with everyone?" he asked, his siblings grinning at him.
"Because, I'm married and Willas is crippled. Plus you're the prettiest, all the girls want to dance with you anyway." Garlan said with a grin, Willas laughed, nodding.
"It's true, Loras." He said. Loras rolled his eyes.
"Oh, look – the Starks are here." Margaery whispered, leaning forward to nod in the direction she was looking. They all unashamedly turned to see Eddard Stark, Leader of the Wolves, entering the room. He was accompanied by his wife and children, including, Loras noticed, Ned's son, Jon Snow, who was generally seen as an outcast of the family since he wasn't Catelyn's son too.
They watched with trained eyes as Arya, Rickon, and the paralysed boy in a wheelchair, Bran, rushed off to the buffet table while the three older children and the parents stood off to the side, Catelyn frowned disapprovingly after her youngest children while Ned looked as disinterested as always.
They were all dressed in grey and white, to represent their House. The only real splashes of colour in the whole lot was the beautiful auburn hair of Catelyn, Robb and Sansa, their high cheekbones glowing in the lights over the dancefloor.
"Sansa looks lovely!" Margaery said, grinning. She'd always been fond of the eldest Stark girl, Loras just assumed she wanted her as some kind of protégé/personal dress-up doll. "Let's go over and talk to them – Mother will be pleased." She said to her brother, tugging on his sleeve. He sighed, rolling his eyes.
"But she'll just stare at me until I ask her to dance..." he complained. Sansa had always been somewhat infatuated with Loras, even when they were young, and she showed this by staring at him in awe most of the time she was near him. Admittedly, she had recently been able to actually speak to him, instead of giggling and blushing, which was an improvement.
"Then ask her to dance quickly." She said before getting up, waiting patiently for him to stand too. Loras looked at his brothers, who both gave him sympathetic, but no less smug, smiles, and he stood up, walking across the hall with his sister to greet the Stark family.
"Mr and Mrs Stark, you both look wonderful!" Margaery said with a radiant smile, which the couple reflected, though somewhat half-heartedly in Ned's case. Loras shook hands with each of them, greeting them politely.
Margaery greeted Sansa with warm enthusiasm, hugging her with a grin. "Sansa! I've missed you, we really must meet up more. Your dress is just beautiful, did you make it?" she asked, looking down at the lovely dress: light grey with a gentle hint of pink, the neckline was scalloped, embroidered beautifully with waves, and the sleeves were overly long and flared at the ends, which was her signature design. The girl blushed as red as her hair and nodded, smoothing the fabric over her hips.
"Yes, I did, thank you for noticing. You look absolutely amazing..." She said as she smiled at her friend, her blue eyes flicking to look at Loras before blushing even more, smiling meekly at him. "So do you, Loras." She said. He smiled charmingly at her.
"Thank you, Sansa – that means a lot from you. It's always a pleasure to see you." He said, taking her hand and planting a gentle kiss on it that actually made her shiver a little. "I wondered if you might care for a dance?" he asked, straightening up. She was tall, almost as tall as him, and he rather liked that. Her blush was verging on explosive when she barely contained a grin and a possible squeal before nodding.
"Thank you, I'd love to." She said, trying to regain her composure. He grinned and nodded.
"Great. If you don't mind, of course?" he asked Ned, who looked surprised and shook his head, gesturing them towards the dancefloor. Loras thanked him, offering his arm to Sansa, which she immediately took, holding it slightly too tightly as they walked onto the dancefloor. A new song was just beginning so they easily fell into the rhythm.
Margaery was dancing with Robb, which he knew she'd be pleased about. He may not be a Prince, but his father was the King's best friend.
"So, enjoying the party?" Loras asked Sansa as they danced, smiling at her. She blushed again and nodded.
"Well, we've only just arrived but I am so far." She said, grinning. He chuckled.
"Sorry, yes, I forgot." He said and she smiled kindly. "How's school? You're in year 11 now, right?" she nodded.
"Yes, I'm starting my GCSEs soon." She said, smiling with a slight eye roll. He smiled.
"Ah, the dreaded exams. I hated exams at school, just abhorred them – but that's probably because I'm rubbish at them." He said and she laughed.
"I'm sure you're not that bad. You're at uni, aren't you?" she said, as if that meant he was good in school. He did the bare minimum to pass everything.
"Yes, I suppose, but not because I'm clever – my father said if I didn't go to uni, I'd have to get an actual job." He said, rolling his eyes dramatically and she laughed again. "Are you planning on going to Sixth Form?" he asked. She nodded, her eyes fixed on his face.
"Yes, I'm hopefully going to King's Landing, it's got a really good fashion course there."
"Oh, great! That'll be fun." He said, smiling and she nodded. "You'll definitely get in, don't worry." He said. She blushed. Again.
"I hope so." She said. "What are you doing at uni?"
"Well, it's called:" he said then pretended to be asleep. She laughed. Again. "It's very boring, it's basically just glorified biology, but it's more about sports and physical therapy, stuff like that. It's less interesting than it sounds." He said.
"No, that sounds really good! Do you still do all your sports? You used to be on every team at school, right?"
"Yes, yeah, I still do fencing, hurdles and long jump but I gave up football." He said with a smile, decidedly bored of the conversation.
Sansa was pleasant enough and easy to talk to, but she wasn't Renly.
They made more small talk until the song ended and he excused himself politely, thanking her and kissing her cheek for good measure – which honestly nearly killed her – before heading back to his brothers, Margaery on his heels.
"Hey, how was dancing?" she asked him.
"Fine, how was yours?" he returned, sitting down and taking Garlan's glass of wine out of his brother's hand and drained it.
"Loras!" he whined, snatching it back. Margaery laughed, retaking her own seat.
"Good, thanks, we talked about all sorts of important and meaningful things."
"Did you happen to mention hairdressers? Recommend one to him, maybe?" he asked sulkily, officially in a bad mood. She rolled his eyes, their brothers chuckling.
"Says you." Garlan said, pulling one of Loras curls to its full length – which was past his collarbone – before letting it go, watching it ping back into its natural shape with an amused smirk.
"Just because you can't dance with the person you want, doesn't mean you can make fun of Robb." Margaery said good-naturedly. Loras sighed and sat back, watching the merriment with thinly-veiled disdain.
Two more forced dances set up by his mother later, Loras was getting distinctly anxious, feeling cooped up and restless. He was just feeling like he couldn't breathe when he stood up with a sigh.
"I need some air, I'll be back in a minute." Loras said to his sister, who squeezed his hand and nodded, before he headed out of the dancehall. The mansion didn't have any kind of garden, just fenced-off grounds and the occasional tree to shade outdoor seating areas. He went straight for the courtyard down the corridor, desperate for cool air and the smell of plants.
There was a low-walled pond in the centre, pathed stone spanning the area except one corner, where a large cherry tree stood, its pink blossoms in full bloom and it was breath-taking in the warm glow of the lanterns. He sat down beside the water and took a deep breath, listening to the rustle of leaves in the light breeze, dipping his fingers into the cool pond. Eventually he closed his eyes and pretended he was somewhere else.
"Loras!" he jumped at the sudden hiss and turned to see who had spoken.
Renly was standing by the trunk of the tree, attempting to be inconspicuous despite his height and stature, his eyes sparkling in the soft light.
Loras grinned and stood up, going towards him, but didn't move into his arms immediately, even though that's all he wanted to do. "I knew you'd be here." Renly said, smiling at him sympathetically. He knew Loras sought the quiet of nature when he was feeling agitated, and this party was very agitating.
"Hey, are you free?" Loras asked, trying to control himself. Renly sighed and shook his head.
"No, Stannis will be hunting me down any minute."
"Is it awful?" Loras asked, glancing around to check they were alone. Renly sighed and nodded.
"It's certainly not great. I just really needed to see you – I'm losing my mind…. So, are you ok? That thing with Jaime was really weird…" Loras nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine… Did he say anything else?" Renly shook his head.
"Not a word." He said.
"Maybe he knows.." Loras said nervously. Renly had to admit that could be it, but he knew Jaime would never say anything to anyone. Not when Renly knew so much about him.
"I'm sure it's fine, he's not the type to start spreading rumours. He's all tease and no climax.." he said with a grin, making Loras smirk with a slight blush. "Anyway, how many girls have you been forced to dance with?" he asked, grinning, knowing how much Loras hated the awkward couplings his mother forced him into. Loras sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes.
"Four, so far – not including Margaery, who keeps pulling me away from the wine table before I can get any." He said, looking annoyed. Renly laughed and had the overwhelming urge to pull him into a kiss. He grabbed his waist and kissed him, pulling him in close, so they were both in shadow.
Loras impulsively leaned up and wrapped his arms around his neck, kissing back. They pulled apart at the same time, stepping away from each other, looking around to check they hadn't been seen, but they were quite well hidden in the tree's shadow and nobody was around.
"S-sorry.." Renly muttered, panting slightly. He was hard and desperate to touch Loras.
"Yeah, me too, I just…I really miss you…" he said, looking away, his face flushed.
"Um, I'm gonna go…I-I'll see you later, right?" he asked, his voice shaking, running a hand through his hair. Loras nodded, fixing his clothes and scrubbing the back of his hand over his lips to get rid of any kiss evidence, tucking his hair behind one ear. Renly had to look away. "I love you." He whispered.
"I love you too." Loras replied, his head down, and they walked away in different directions.