The drive back to school was quiet. I tapped my fingers against the wheel of his car; half listening to the radio and half wondering why Renly was so quiet. He was staring out the car window, his face half pressed against the glass, expression completely stoic. When I exited the highway, only about a half an hour away from King's Academy I spoke up.

"You okay?" I asked, my voice sounding awkward after the hour long silence. I cleared my throat and watched Renly out of the corner of my eye. He nodded slowly and we fell back into the silence. All I could figure was that he was upset about having to go back. We still hadn't reached a firm agreement, but the thought was that we would keep our relationship underneath the rug. Renly didn't agree with my views of how we should conduct hiding it. I respected him for being polite enough to follow my views for the time being.

"Do you think we can win the championship game on Thursday?" I asked him again, trying to start up some kind of conversation. Renly piped up a bit at that and turned to look at me. He looked tired, bags underneath his eyes. Which I assumed must have been because I had woken him up several times last night when we had laid next to each other.

"I hope so," He answered dryly, "But it's supposed to rain so we probably won't have the game," Renly added, reaching over the switch the radio station. I sighed.

"Well if it rains that would give us another week for practice," I said, trying to sound happier then I felt. Renly's crabby mood was rubbing off on me. I pushed a curl of hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear. Renly watched my movements.

"The teams throwing an end of the year party on the back field on Friday." Renly stated. I snorted.

"You mean an end of the year let's-get-drunk party right?" I laughed a little bit, turning onto another road. Renly shrugged, but I saw a hint of a smile tug at the corner of his lips. As upset as he must have been about going back to school, our normal banter could still make him smile a bit.

"We should go." Renly stated. I shrugged rolling my shoulders.

"And drink?"

"Yeah, sounds like a good time," Renly looked at me and I met his gaze.

"Maybe," I finally said after a moment of silence. I saw Renly smile again, this time a real and true one. "Just don't go kissing my sister on me again." I threatened. Renly batted his hand.

"Please, I've got a new Tyrell to kiss," He said, teasing me now. I laughed a little through my nose and Renly leaned over to plant a kiss on my cheek before he returned to looking out the window. We fell back into silence, but a much more comfortable one. When we reached King's I parked Renly's car where he always left it and stepped out. It's was Sunday afternoon, so most of the students where either returning from their weekends away or just laying around in the afternoon sun. Renly tossed my backpack to me once I got out of the car and we started off down the path we had walked hundreds of times together towards the dorms.

This time it felt different though. I knew that I could reach over and take Renly's hand if I wanted to. I didn't want to, so that changed things. But just knowing that I had the options to declare myself as completely gay with Renly at my side made me smile a little bit. We split at the pathway to the senior dorm and I waved goodbye to him. I slugged up the steps to my dorm, surprised to find the door unlocked when I got up there.

Pushing it open carefully, because I could hear voices muffled behind the door, I stepped in. Much to my surprise, Jaime was sitting on his bed. Well, Jaime wasn't surprising, but the fact that Sansa Stark was sitting across from in was a little bit of a shock. I don't think I had even seen the two interacting. Sansa had her hands tucked in her lap but was giggling when I pushed open the door. Her face transformed into a large smile when she saw me. I placed my bag down slowly as Jaime leaned back onto his pillows.

"Sansa was looking for you," He stated, motioning to her. Sansa stood from my bed, brushing off her skinny jeans, "You weren't here so I entertained her,"

"Yeah, I just got back," I mumbled. Sansa knew that I was off with Renly, and by the look on her face she was excited to talk to me. "You want to walk?" I asked her, motioning towards the door. Sansa nodded, saying goodbye the Jaime politely, who raised a hand in a goodbye. Once the door was shut behind us she grabbed my arm, spinning me so I had to look at her.

"Tell me everything." Sansa said firmly, reaching up to press her fingers against the edge of one of the hickey Renly had left in his wake that was peeking out from underneath my tee-shirt. Blushing I pulled it up to cover it again but Sansa had already caught it. I kept my mouth shut about to her till we were a way from the dorms, walking off down towards the woods path that led to the abandoned back fields.

"He tipped a jet ski over on purpose." I mumbled, rubbing the mark behind my ear and covering it with my hair quickly after. Sansa looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "And then we kissed." I think Sansa actually screamed a little bit before she flung her hands around my neck, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back.

"Yes! I knew it! I knew it this whole time that he was gay!" She proclaimed, pulling back to look back up at me, "So I can tell everyone that I was the main encouragement between Loras Tyrell and Renly Barentheon's relationship?" Sansa asked, looking far too happy with herself. I scratched at the back of my neck.

"Well, the thing is, you can't tell anyone," I said softly. Sansa raised her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want anyone to know. I mean, Renly wants everyone to know, but I want to keep it a secret. I haven't told anyone besides you. Not even Margaery," I stated, stuffing my hands into my pockets. My stomach clenched a little bit at the thought of having to talk to Margaery. It was the ever present thought in the back of my mind.

"Everyone knows, you should just come out," She said bluntly. I shook my head furiously.

"No, I don't want too-"

"Loras, closets have very little ventilation. Pretty soon the heat is going to get to you and you're going to have to open the door," Sansa said. I rolled my eyes.

"Tyrell's have a surprising tolerance to heat." I muttered. Already we were back to discussing how I needed to come out of the closet. We fell into silence for a little bit, me scuffling my heat in the ground and her staring at me as if she expected me to say something. Sansa sighed and slowly she smiled at me.

"Please at least tell me he was a good kisser if you refuse to tell everyone that you kissed Renly Baratheon."

At practice two days later I was glad that we were going for a run again. It meant that I wouldn't be distracted by the eyes Renly had been giving me all of yesterday. While I enjoyed the way he would wink at me in the hallways and made my stomach to flips, I really wanted to win the championship game. And having Renly wink at me when he stole the ball from me or did a push up that really showed off his biceps was not helping me focus on winning. Robb Stark's constant beating feet beside my own where a good replacement to thinking about Renly.

It had clouded over by then in the day, and I could see a threatening storm looming in the distance. On the news they had said it was going to thunder, but that hadn't stopped coach from wanting to practice none the less. I watched a lightning strike flash down in the clouds and I could practically feel the weight of the impending rain on my shoulders.

"We should really head back," I advised Robb, as the thunder shuddered through the ground. Robb stared ahead silently for a moment and I wasn't sure he had heard me till he spoke up.

"We can make it back," He muttered, as stubborn as ever. I snorted and watched a rock approach us, cleaning stepping around it.

"Sure, you and I can. And maybe Jon, Jorah and Rakharo. But what about Renly, Stannis, Jaime, Gendry and Theon?" I questioned him. I saw the look of worry flash across his face before his eyebrows creased back together in the middle of his forehead.

"We can make it." Robb said stubbornly and I rolled my eyes.

"You're insane." I growled but let my feet continuing their constant pounding. Nervously I glanced over my shoulder and felt the rain start leaking down on my head. For a moment I was worried that my hair would look stupid if Renly saw it but then I realized that if Renly got struck by lightning it wouldn't matter. Thunder boomed above us and I flinched and grabbed Robb's arm, hauling him to a stop. The rain picked up to a pour and Jon half slammed into me because he and Jorah were right on Robb and my heels.

"We need to stop." I said firmly. Robb pushed his wet hair out of his face and for a moment I thought he was going to challenge me again before thunder clapped above us again. Robb nodded solemnly and we waited for a moment for everyone to catch up to us. I surveyed the area we were in while Robb explained that we need to get shelter because he didn't want to lose another player to lightning right before the biggest game. I held back my snort of laughter because he wasn't the one who made us stop.

As I looked around at the trees I realized that we couldn't have been more than a mile from the school. But that was a mile more to run or walk in the pouring rain and lightning. Robb caught my gaze and must have seen my look of desperation as I realized that there wasn't any place for shelter. I took a step backwards, right into Renly who I hadn't noticed was there when a lightning bolt hit a tree near us and the thunder shook the ground. He caught my hand which I immediately took back. Renly looked hurt for a second. But he needed to understand that I did not want people see us.

Not that anyone could see much through the pouring rain. Softly behind my back I took his hand back in a silent apology, rubbing circles with my thumb before I dropped his hand again.

"We have to keep going," Jon piped up, all of us a little shaken from the thunder bolt. Robb nodded and everyone else agreed with silent head nods. Having lost our positions with our partners I made sure to stay towards the back of the group to encourage Jaime and Renly and Theon. Just to make sure they were at least somewhat keeping up with the gruel pace Robb and Jon where setting.

Renly hung back with me and I matched my stride with his all the way back to the academy. When we hit the fields (careful not to slip like Robb and I's previous collision) coach was no were to be found so we just hit the locker rooms, cringing as another lightning bolt streaked down to touch the ground near our soccer field. We found coach inside and he yelled at us for not turning back when the cloud showed up but let us go on our way after that.

Renly caught me by the back of my hair, running his hands through my hair. I checked around us to see if anyone was watching. Jorah and Gendry were the only ones left beside Renly and I but they were packing up quickly. Gently Renly pulled out a tangle in my hair caused by the pouring rain. Gently I pushed his hands off.

"Not here, we agreed on it," I mumbled. Renly sighed and collapsed back onto the bench beside my locker. I watched Jorah and Gendry leave the room before continuing the conversation. "You agreed to not do that kind of stuff in public. No hand holding, no touching hair, and especially not winking at me in the hallway!" I snapped, slipping my running shoes off and into my locker. Renly groaned and rubbed at his eyes.

"Why do you care?" He wined, sounding like a child. I tensed a little bit. I wasn't sure even I knew the answer to that question. Why did I care so much about people not knowing that I was gay? I flashed back to my thoughts at Renly's condo. Because Margaery wouldn't like it, things would get awkward on the soccer team and my family would frown heavily upon me for the rest of my days. It seemed silly when I thought about it then. I was so worried about what other people would think of me that I hadn't bothered to think about what I wanted.

"Because," I answered softly, closing my locker with a bang. Renly must have spotted the expression on my face change from frustrated to upset and he stood up, folding me into his arms. I let him now that no one was looking. Renly's hand rubbed at my back gently and I stretched a little bit.

"Loras, I want to tell everyone that you are mine, please just let me." He whispered, "You're everything that I've been after for a while now and I want to show it off." Renly added his breath ghosting against my ear. He kissed the mark he made, "Please." For a moment I was ready to give in and tell everyone that I was utterly in love with Renly. It felt so right to just say yes when he kissed at my neck and let his hands slip underneath my soaking wet tee-shirt. I leaned up to kiss him softly, smiling gently.

"No." I said firmly, hoping I sounded stronger about my opinion then I truly thought about it. Renly frowned and pursed his lips, beginning to pull his hands away from me. I grabbed his hands quickly, still desperate for him to hold me. Gently I put his hands on my hips and carded my hands through his hair. "But I still like you a lot. I just don't want other people to know that I like you a lot," I said, kissing him firmly and holding him close to me. Much to be expected Renly melted into the kiss.

"But I want people to know," Renly said against my lips.

"Shut up," I mumbled in between the kisses I placed on his lips, savoring the feeling of their softness against my own. Using Renly's own trick against him I caught his lower lip between my teeth and sucked gently. Renly gasped a little bit at my sudden aggressive movement which gave me the chance to slip my tongue into his mouth, running it along his own.

"Make me," He answered once we broke apart and his words went straight to my groin. Reluctantly I pulled away, looking up at him. Renly tried to seal the gap between us but I turned my head to him.

"Jaime's out for the evening on a date, I can make you back in my dorm room," I said softly, knowing fully that I was offering Renly what I had denied him for the last few days. Renly perked up a bit at this and I pulled completely from him to shoulder my back pack and head for the door, knowing that Renly was hot on my heels. "On one condition," I stopped before I reached the door, turning to look at him. "Don't ask about telling people about us again for tonight," I stated firmly. Renly looked torn for a second. Torn between getting to go farther with me or pressure what he wanted me to do. Slowly he nodded.

"Okay. Fine. But you have to agree to tell at least one person by the end of the week," Renly said, pushing open the door. I shrugged, a smile playing on my lips.

"One step ahead of you." I said simply and Renly asked me to explain but I kept my mouth shut on our way back to my dorm in the pouring rain. I wasn't about to tell him already that Sansa had been the main reason I had ever even come close to kissing him and that she already knew. I would keep that secret up my sleeve.

Now, when Renly kissed me it was full of passion and heat. Much like the first time we had kissed, about a week ago. His hands fumbled with the lock on my dorm room and I kissed at his collarbone, grinning as he cursed at me and struggled more.

I caught Renly's hand and did the lock for him, my hand steady and sure compared to his own slightly shaky one. Grinning, I pulled back from him and pressed against the door, watching his green eyes skim over my body. He smiled back, grabbing hold of my hips and pulling them to meet his own. I carded my hands through his hair, holding the hair on the nape of his neck as I pulled him to kiss me.

What we had going on now worked for me. I could have Renly, without all the drama of everyone else. It was everything I had dreamed of. Renly was not as excited about our arrangement as I was. He wanted to show me off to the world and hold my hand in public. I found it sweet I guess, but I couldn't deal with it. Renly's teeth on my lower lip spooked me out of my thoughts as his tongue pressed against my teeth willing them to open.

Grinning against his lips I allowed my mouth to open for a second before I nipped lightly at his tongue. Renly squawked in disapproval and pulled back. He was still smiling when I slipped underneath his arm looked out the window at the pouring rain. The rain always soothed me in an odd way. It was constant, like how running was. I could always relay on rain to be the same, feel the same, and look the same. It was nothing like people. I knew Renly would be behind me before I felt his hands warp around my hips. I hissed as he kissed at my neck and hooked his thumbs into my belt loops pulling my hips against his.

"You're inconceivable," I mumbled even as I smiled and tried to push away from him. Renly growled into my neck, biting lightly and holding tight to my hips.

"Is that so?" He whispered into my ear, sucking on the skin behind my ear.

"If you darken that mark I will hurt you," I warned even as the smile stayed on my cheeks. Renly mumbled that he wouldn't when he obviously already had and tried to cover it with my hair. He rested his head on my shoulder, his hands rising to lie on my stomach.

"You think we can win the game on Friday?" He asked softly. I sighed, not really wanting to think about the pressure of the championship game right now. Sure, we had Jaime back in for goal so our chances where much better but my stomach still fluttered with nerves at the thought of the game.

"I hope so," I said, pressing my hips back against his to hopefully get his attention back to the task on hand. Renly went back to kissing at my neck. His hands slipped downwards, resting on the sides of my hips and I forced myself to not gasp as the contact.

Renly pulled my hips to meet his as he kissed and sucked at my skin. I turned my head so I could see him and he looked back before leaning over to catch my lips. I let his tongue find itself inside my mouth this time. He skimmed around my teeth before meeting my own tongue. Renly groaned gently into the kiss which sent shivers down my spine. I tangled my tongue with his, pressing against him hard all of the suddenly. Twisting in his arms so we could face each other I pushed him backwards. We pulled away from each other so Renly could make sure he didn't trip over anything as he sat down on my bed.

For a moment I admired him. He collapsed backwards, his hand supporting himself behind as he watched me. Renly's smile was what always struck me as his strongest feature, but it could just because that was the one I saw the most. At that moment he smiled gently at me and I watched as his eyes glided down to my hips and back up.

He's checking you out.

I laughed a little bit which seemed to catch Renly off guard before I hooked my hands on the bottom of my soaking wet shirt pulling it off over my head and tossing it haphazardly to the side. Which I knew deep down Jaime would have disapproved of in our dorm room. Especially because the shirt was damp with water. Though I doubt he would have approved of Renly and me making out either. Renly's smile widened as his eyes ghosted over my chest. He looked back to my eyes and made a twirling motion with his fingers. I turned on his command and flushed a little bit.

When I turned back to face him Renly was tugging his own shirt off. He leaned forward to grab me by my belt loops and pull me onto his lap. I straddled him, letting my hips hover above his own, taking the moment to admire the way his shoulder muscles curved as his hands fell onto my behind. I rested my head on his, breathing in the scent of his shampoo as he kneaded my behind. Slowly I let my hips drop down to meet his. Renly groaned at the contact his hands ghosting back down to touch my thighs. As much as I wanted to go slowly, the feeling send shivers through my spine and heat spiraling down to my lower regions.

I rocked slightly, taking his lips back onto mine and kissing him. Sharp and jarring but what felt right at the moment. Renly pulled me with him as he fell back onto his back his head hitting my pillows. Briefly I wondered if they would smell like him after he left, which I sure wished they would. He pulled away suddenly, which spooked me a little bit, and stared up at me. Renly's hand rose to my cheek, stroking across my cheekbone. I leaned into his touch, taking his hand from my cheek and kissing the pads of his fingers. Renly smiled.

"I want to tell everyone," He said quickly and I huffed with disappointment, his smiled faded as mine did. I sat back on his thighs, taking away the contact of our hips. Renly wined in disappointment, pulling at my hips in a weak attempt to bring me back.

"Well I don't," I muttered stubbornly, holding my ground with Renly's gaze, angry that he had brought it up after I asked him not to. Why couldn't he just except that I didn't want to tell everyone? He collapsed back onto my pillows his hands moving to rest on my knees.

"What are you so scared of!?" Renly snapped. I gritted my teeth and swung off his lap, sitting on the edge of my bed. Everything, I wanted to tell him everything I was scared of. I was scared of being teased, of being alone, of commitment. I was scared of so many things having to do with Renly. But, aren't most people scared the first time they do something?

When I was six my father taught Margaery and I how to ride bikes. Since we were so close in age, almost Irish twins, we did everything together. When she had clambered on top of the bike as excited as she was about everything and then had promptly fallen and scraped her knee on the pavement I was much less willing to get on the bike. It seems silly now, to be scared of something like a bike. But it took my father weeks to get me on one. Long after Margaery's knee had healed and she was pedaling off down the road. I was terrified of a bike, because of something someone else had done. It was pathetic.

Renly sat up when I didn't answer him, looping his arms around my shoulders and kissing at my bare collarbone. I tried to shrug him off, not in the mood anymore, but Renly pulled me with him. Flipping our positions and pinning me down onto the bed sheets.

"Renly." I growled, pushing at his chest and turning my face to avoid his lips. He caught mine anyways, nibbling on my bottom lip as I tried to move away from him. I put my hands on his face, pushing him away from me. He frowned down at me. "Stop." I muttered, and now that his grip had lessoned I pushed him off of me, standing up and retrieving my shirt. "You broke our promise." I said, shrugging my shirt on. Renly watched me coldly. "I think you should go,"

Renly scowled but got up and put his own shirt back on. I didn't turn around till he was out the door.