The morning had been a busy one, spent tediously listening to the various complaints of the smallfolk as they droned on about stolen wagons and diseased sheep and other such prattle Renly found he cared very little for. He could only be glad that he had Penrose to keep him company. The older man would always sit beside him on such occasions, entertaining him through the tedium with his dry comments and sarcastic remarks.

The smallfolk went away happily enough though and Renly smiled as he made his way back to his chambers. Loras would probably still be there and he was looking forward to a lazy afternoon lounging across his bed and doing very little.

Loras was where Renly had left him, lying across Renly's bed in his small-clothes and flicking now through a book he'd evidently pulled from Renly's bookshelves.

Renly yawned and lay down next to him, playing absent-mindedly with one of Loras' curls in lieu of a greeting. It was unlike Loras to be reading Renly thought. In almost four years of him being Renly's squire, Renly didn't think he'd ever seen Loras even pick up a book. "What you reading about?" He asked, twisting a silky strand around his finger and leaning over Loras' shoulder to peer at the book.

"The sword of the morning." Loras replied simply, tilting the page to show Renly the sigil of Ser Arthur Dayne, a field of purple emblazoned with a falling star. "I wanted to know how old he was when he was knighted."

Renly laughed. "Come lets do something fun." He tugged on Loras' sleeve. "Books are dull, they're for septons and for maesters, for dull people really." He grinned. "Not like us."

"Not all books are." Loras said, smirking. "For instance I found one just now at the back of your bookshelf that most definitely isn't for maesters."

Renly grimaced. He thought he knew what book Loras was referring to. He'd found it himself years and years ago, buried deep in the main library of Storm's End, evidently confined to some dusty dark corner for the crime of being indecent. It was a heavy bound volume with illustrations of the sort that might turn a septon blind. He'd illicitly pored over the faded pages in his younger years, shamefully aroused by the pictures it showed, before eventually casting it guiltily to the back of his shelves, vowing never to look at such things again. He'd renewed his efforts with women after that, and he smiled wryly as he remembered how he'd tried to flirt with one of the serving girls. He'd been twelve at the time and looking back at it, Renly suspected his attempt had been laughable.

He feigned innocence. "Is that so Loras?" he asked mildly.

"Oh yes. It was a most illuminating book." Loras grinned. "A very very interesting read. I can't understand what it was doing pushed to the back of your shelves and hidden away like that."

Renly sighed. "It's been there for a long time now. Since before you came." He looked away. "I put it there to try and stop myself having indecent thoughts."

Loras raised an eyebrow. "Well that turned out well for you." His eyes gleamed with amusement, and he shifted so that he was sat almost in Renly's lap. His eyes flicked down to Renly's crotch. "I'd hardly dare to think how indecent your thoughts of late have been."

Renly rolled his eyes, shaking his head in fond exasperation as he tried to stave off the very same indecent thoughts Loras was teasing him for. He refused to prove Loras' point for him by giving in to his squire's seductions now. Loras would never let him live it down and his indecent thoughts would be brought up for the rest of eternity. All the same, Renly felt his cock stir slightly and he pushed Loras gently out of his lap, searching for some distraction.

His eyes fell on the half eaten plate of pastries at the side of the bed- the remains of his and Loras' breakfast that morning. "I was er.. thinking of having a feast soon" He told Loras animatedly, as if he'd had the idea in mind for a while. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

Loras raised an eyebrow and blew a lock of hair out of his face. It was just about long enough now for him to do so. "If it pleases you." He shifted as if to move back into Renly's lap, smirking slightly as if daring Renly to stop him.

"It does please me." Renly said, nodding vigorously and moving up the bed. "It pleases me very very much." He added when he was out of Loras' reach.

"Is that so?" Loras leant back over, running his hands up Renly's thighs and resting them on his hips. "Quite how much does it please you?"

Renly gulped. "A lot." he said lamely. He had a feeling Loras was about to win this particular game of theirs, but he also had a feeling that he probably wouldn't mind all that much. At all really. Still he was determined to hold out a little longer if just to prove a point. "I love the food, the wine, the dancing." He gave one last ditch attempt at distracting Loras. "Can you dance Loras?"

Loras snorted, his thumbs tracing small circles against Renly's hips. "Obviously I can dance."

"Well it's just that I have never seen you dance is all." He batted Loras' hands away and tried to keep a straight face. "If you can dance so well why didn't you dance at the tourney then?"

Loras raised an eyebrow and sat back down on his heels, distracted it seemed for the moment. "I did." he said dryly. "You just weren't around to see it."

Renly cringed. That had quite slipped his mind and now he was going to pay the price.

Loras smirked. "You didn't really think that one through did you?"

Renly laughed sheepishly. "I guess I did leave early at that particular feast. In retrospect though, I would much rather have seen you dance."

Loras raised his eyebrows again. "As lovely as my dancing is, if that is the case, whatever that dornish boy was doing he was most certainly doing it wrong."

Renly laughed, fidgeting anxiously with one of the fastenings on his doublet. He loathed it when Loras brought up this particular topic and he cursed himself for walking rather into it this time. "He wasn't good at all." He agreed, hoping that that would end it. His words weren't strictly true Renly thought though. If he remembered correctly, the boy had been rather skilled, and he'd done quite the most wonderful things with his tongue. He didn't imagine though that Loras would share his enthusiasm.

"What exactly did you do with him?" Loras asked, glancing up at Renly with a wry smile, somewhere between annoyance and curiosity.

Renly sighed. "I don't know. The usual? He used his mouth."

Loras frowned. "How generous of him." he commented dryly. "To give so willingly and yet expect nothing in return?"

"I didn't say that." Renly laughed nervously. "He insisted afterwards that we go up to my chambers."

"And did you?" Loras eyed him, looking rather unimpressed.

"Briefly." Renly admitted. He did have a hazy memory of coming up one of the back staircases with the boy and going the rest of the way up to his chambers. It had however been a very brief encounter and if his memory wasn't failing him, the boy had left shortly after, rather disappointed. Renly remembered being quite relieved the morning after when he woke up alone.

"Did you fuck him?" Loras' voice brought him out of his thoughts.

Renly startled, glancing back up at Loras in surprise. "What?"

"I asked if you fucked him?"

"I heard you the first time." Renly muttered, still rather taken aback at the question.

"Well?" Loras pressed.

"No." Renly said slowly. "He wanted to, but I said no."

"Why?" Loras asked. His face was impassive and Renly couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. The question surprised him. Of all the things Renly had been expecting Loras to ask, it had not been that. Especially in such a direct and crude manner.

He shrugged. "I guess I didn't want to."

Loras bit down on his lower lip as if in thought. "Would you want to fuck me?"

Renly winced. "Do you really have to put it like that Loras? It sounds so vulgar."

Loras raised an eyebrow. "Fine I'll rephrase. Would you like to lie with me? Go to bed with me?" He laughed and pressed a kiss into Renly's hair. "Is that more to your taste?"

Renly rolled his eyes before considering the question. Quite honestly he wanted to do everything there was to do with Loras but glancing at the thirteen year old next to him, he was rather unsure quite how appropriate that would be. He supposed that for all intents and purposes Loras was more or less fully grown. But if you looked closely, the tell-tale signs of his youth were still there. He was still some way off his final height Renly thought and his jaw had never felt the bite of a razor.

He glanced down at his hands and away from Loras' gaze. "It's not something I was thinking about doing any time soon." he said eventually.

"Well why not?" Loras demanded darkly, glaring at Renly. "Do you not want me?" He made to turn away from Renly, scowling.

Renly sighed and grabbed his shoulder, pulling his squire gently back to him. He should have known that Loras would take such a statement personally. "Don't sulk Loras." he implored. "That's not at all what I meant."

"Well what did you mean then?" Loras batted his hands away, still staring moodily down at the bed.

Renly bit back another sigh. "It's just that you're so young Loras. It wouldn't seem right somehow." He smiled. "Of course I want you though. What kind of sane person wouldn't?"

That placated Loras and he seemed content enough to let Renly wrap his arms around him. He even leant into Renly's touch slightly, a small smile playing at his lips.

Renly grinned. "More importantly perhaps, would you want me to?"

Loras grinned wickedly. "What's to say that I wouldn't rather fuck you myself?" He smirked up at Renly. "Would I be too young for that too?"

Renly laughed. He'd never given much thought at all to the matter, but thinking about it now, he thought he would have assumed that, being the older one of the two, it would have been him in the more dominant position. Knowing how stubborn and wilful his squire was on the other hand, he supposed he ought not to be surprised at Loras' words. "Do you think you would prefer it that way round Loras?"

Loras shrugged. "You know what I really don't know." He leant his head against Renly's shoulder, deep in thought. "Probably not." He said eventually. "Not for the first time at least."

"Why is that?" Renly leant down to kiss his curls absent-mindedly.

"I don't know." He glanced up at Renly suddenly amused. "Maybe it's because I'm so very young for such things and because I need someone wise and endowed with years I could only dream of to show me how it's done."

Renly laughed, rolling his eyes. "In all seriousness though you'd want to?" He looked at Loras and frowned.

"Yes." Loras said as if his answer ought to have been obvious to Renly. He wrapped his arms around Renly's neck, leaning in to kiss his collarbone. "Why wouldn't I?"

Renly sighed, pulling Loras closer and leaning his forehead against Loras' own. He moved a hand to Loras' hair, brushing a stray curl from his face and leaning in to kiss him, It was soft for once with none of the desperation that their kisses often had.

Loras shut his eyes and leant heavily against him, tilting his head to deepen the kiss.

Renly pulled away after a few moments. "I wouldn't really know what I was doing though." he said, sighing. He was probably as clueless as Loras was on such acts. Aside from peeking at a few dusty books, he had very limited knowledge of such things.

Loras laughed softly. "It can't be that difficult can it?" he grinned. "I'm sure that book of yours has plenty of useful illustrations to help you out. And besides, I'd be there to help you figure it out."

Renly joined in his laughter. "Well I'd hope you'd be there Loras. Any attempt would be rather doomed to failure if you weren't."

"So..?" Loras looped his fingers around Renly's wrists and glanced up him hopefully. "Do I take that as a yes?"

Renly sighed. He couldn't deny that he wanted to. Quite the contrary in fact, he wanted to more than he probably ought to. But he couldn't shake of the thought of how young Loras still was. He wasn't quite sure if his conscience could deal with it, especially if he ended up hurting him as seemed likely Renly thought. "When you're slightly older." he said, more confidently than he felt.

Loras raised an eyebrow, not impressed. "We shall see about that."