ASOIAF: Modern!AU
Fawn
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING.
Summary: Renly wants a baby. Loras is…hesitant.
Ch. 6—And So The It Begins…
Six months after finding the adoption adds on Renly's computer, Loras finally concedes defeat. He swears he had never seen Renly smile so wide for anything.
"Are you serious?" Renly asked excitedly after dropping his fork in surprise at Loras' words. "Are you sure?" Loras simply nods, not trusting to take it all back if he opened his mouth.
Despite everything, he's still afraid of parenthood, not that Renly needed to know that. Looking at his boyfriend, seeing him so happy, Loras knew he would feel like a monster if he took it all back. He'd be a dream-crushing monster. He'd be Joffrey.
So Loras kept his mouth shut throughout the remainder of the meal, smiling and nodding at everything Renly said, covering his sudden mutism by always having food in his mouth and taking long drinks of water from his glass. He listened to Renly list off things that would need to be done now that they planned on having kids. One being contact a social worker or adoption agency, another being find a house or apartment with more space, and of course telling their families.
At the next Tyrell Sunday dinner, Loras took an Advil in the bathroom just before dinner was brought out. He exited the bathroom to find Renly outside in the hall waiting for him with a serious expression. "Are you certain you want this?" He asked. Loras hesitated a moment before nodding his head. Renly noticed. "Loras," He whispered, striding towards him and rest both his hands on his shoulders. "You don't have to do this for me. I mean, I know you have your reservations and I'm okay with that. We don't have to do this now—maybe in a few years we could—" Loras silenced him with a quick peck on the lips. "I'm fine, Ren. I can do this." He said determinedly, and for the first time in awhile, he felt confident. Wow, that Advil was fast-acting!
Renly didn't look quite convinced, but he nodded nonetheless and the two of them journeyed downstairs and into the dinning room, hand-in-hand.
Everyone was already seated. Loras' father sat at one end of the long rectangular table, mother on his left, his sisters on his right. Next to Mom were Willas and his wife, who was sporting a tiny bump, next to her was Garlan's wife, who was separated from her husband by a little ball of energy named Jack. Margeary sat next to Grandmother Olenna. Two seats, the ones across from Marg and Garlan, were the only ones left open.
Loras and Renly sat themselves down quietly. A moment later, the maids came out with the first course.
Three courses and two bottles of Dornish Red later, desert was served. Loras tapped his foot and shook his leg under the table anxiously. He had left the breaking of the news to Renly, but his boyfriend had yet to even attempt it. He was completely absorbed in a conversation about the newest fashion trends from Essos with Margeary. Loras gave him a sideways glare, knowing what he was playing at.
He wanted Loras to announce it.
"Something wrong, Lory?" Garlan asked from across the table, chewing at a strip of bacon. Loras really didn't understand how anyone could think bacon and ice cream was a good conversation. It sounded like a recipe for diabetes and/or heart disease. "Nothing, GarGar." Loras replied. Garlan rolled his eyes and laughed at him. "Seriously, the table is shaking. What's wrong?" Garlan asked with genuine concern. Loras sighed. Best get it over with, he thought. "Just…I'm nervous." He began. Garlan's wife Leonette raises an eyebrow with curiosity. "About what?" She asks as she wipes some ice cream from her son's face.
Loras took a deep breath and stood up. "Everyone," He called and the table hushed. "Renly and I are…going to adopt." A split second of silence passed before the Tyrell family exploded like a nuclear bomb of love. Everyone, save for Olenna and Jack of course who couldn't care less, hopped to their feet, all smiles and congratulations pouring out of their mouths. Within a few minutes, Loras' back hurt from being patted by his brother Garlan.
Like a tide, his family pulled him and Renly into the living room where they sat them down on a couch. For the next three hours, Loras sat with his family discussing things like whether he wanted a son or daughter, what names he liked, and how deep in the process they were so far. He didn't realize until he climbed into the car with Renly late that evening that his cheeks hurt from smiling.
Their first meeting with the adoption counselor was in their own home. Her name was Ashara Dayne. She was Dornish, she was beautiful, and she was charming. No wonder Captain Barristan had been in love with her.
She knocked on their door at noon on a Saturday, almost a week after Loras and Renly had told his family about their plans (they'd told Renly's family through a very curt email—the only reply they got was from Renly's nieces Shireen and Myrcella saying congrats and how excited they were to have a new cousin). Loras had been the one to answer the door and escort her into the living room. She sat down on the couch next to Renly and sat a file on the coffee table.
"It's best we just get started with the basics. One being, introductions. Hello, I'm Ashara Dayne, but you must have already known that." She said, sticking out a hand for them to shake. They did already know that. She was the owner and founder of the adoption agency they were using. "I've been working to put children in loving homes for twenty plus years, since I wasn't much older than you actually." She continued, smiling at Loras. "And you two are the infamous Loras Tyrell and Renly Baratheon." Renly raised an eyebrow. "Infamous?" He asked.
Ashara waved a dismissive hand. "You are Robert's younger brother, correct? I knew him as a girl. Dated his best friend for a little bit." Suddenly, realization dawned on Renly's expression. "You're Ned Stark's ex!" He exclaimed, and Ashara smiled and nodded. "That I am."
"But enough about me," She said. "Let's focus on you two. Specifically, details."
"Details?" Loras asked nervously. Ashara nodded. "Your line of work, your hobbies, ties to the community, etcetera. Things we can show to the birth mothers when they start looking for the best parents for the baby." Loras nearly rolled his eyes. "So we're going to be, like, put in a catalogue like a cake or piece of clothing?" He asked, and sadly for him, Ashara nodded.
"I know it's demeaning, but think of the mothers. They want to be able to have the piece of mind that the people they're giving their child to are people she trusts to raise her child right." Ashara said, patting him gently on the back. "Now," She said, flipping open the file on the table and pulling out a pen seemingly from thin air. "Let's get started."
The first house they checked out was a brownstone on the lower East side in a great neighborhood. Their realtor showed them around, pointed out the craftsmanship in the woodwork and the character in the creaking floorboards. Loras had to admit…he liked it. A lot. He liked the fact that nothing was in need of being renovated, that the walls in the living room were the same exact shade of green as his favorite throw pillow, and that their was a backyard, small as if may be, where he might actually be able to plant a small garden. He always wanted a garden.
When he was little, his mom had helped him and Margeary plant a vegetable garden in their backyard with seeds given to them by their grade school teacher. They planted lettuce, carrots, and peppers, and tomatoes too, and even potatoes and squash. He and Margeary had kept that garden into their teens, but then it fell into disarray when they went off to university. Loras hadn't had a garden since.
Sadly, the brownstone had a dark side. That dark side being the black mold they found in the basement and rat droppings under the kitchen sink.
The second and third houses their realtor showed them were literally right next door to each other. They were in a small suburb in the Riverlands borough. They were very…American Dream. White picket fence and everything. They were even in a cul-de-sac, in a neighborhood with sprinklers running and dogs parking, and kids playing baseball in one another's yards.
It made Loras afraid. Very, very afraid.
So he jumped on the first faults he found in the houses the realtor showed them. The first one, a big blue house with not enough storage space and some problems with the foundation, was easy to steer Renly away from. The second one, however, a pure white house that was virtually perfect in everyway except for being located in suburgatory, was hard for even Loras to find fault in.
Until, of course, they met the neighbors…
Loras and Renly were not taken with the Frey's, to say the least.
Five houses and seven apartment complexes later, they found it…
It was a brownstone on the lower east side like the first one they check out, but with no rats or mold, and with Brienne (and Jaime, but that wasn't really a plus) right next door, a gym just a few blocks away, not far from Loras' family (nor Renly's, but that wasn't really a plus either), or either of their jobs, and a park near by.
It was perfect.
The only problem was the bidding war that ensued for the property. It was back and forth for weeks. Raising and lowering stakes, cursing every time the other guy made a better offer to the owner. Loras prayed for the man's demise no less than twenty times in the month and a half it look him and Renly to finally lost the bid.
Loras gave that smug snake Oberyn Martell the middle finger the next time they saw each other.
In the end, they found a nice ground floor apartment not to faraway from the brownstone—that Loras would never admit he would be bitter about for years to come—that had four bedrooms, a nice big kitchen, plenty of closet space, and a yard just big enough for Loras to start a garden.
A/N: Well, here it is!
Updates may get a little sporadic—in fact I may not be able to update again until the weekend. But no need to fear, this story will be complete soon.
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