Who: Renly Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell When: Backdated Saturday, June 15th. Early Afternoon Where: The Mall What: Marg is helping Renly buy a gift for Myrcella Rating: Family Friendly Status: Complete
Around Christmas, Renly had still been unpacking and thinking about what would happen when he saw Loras and then he’d gotten sick and he and then after that, he and Loras had been working things out so Renly had sort of forgotten to get his niece and nephews Christmas presents and he felt bad for that. However, now that they were living in the same area, he wanted to make up for that. Joffrey and Tommen were fairly easy to shop for, because he’d been a teenage boy before himself so it was a little easier. However, Myrcella was a different story. He had absolutely no idea what to get for a teenage girl and he had been thinking about asking Portia if she would help him, but he knew she was busy on the set of the movie she was working on, so when Margaery responded to his recent post on Valarnet, he’d gotten the idea to ask her. Not only did she seem to have good taste, but it could give them a chance to get to know one another a little more. In the last six months, they’d only really spent time together twice and one of those times they’d both been rather sick and the other they had only randomly been in the same cafe.
They had decided to meet at the mall at the entrance and that was where Renly was waiting at the moment.
Margaery had been delighted to help Renly out, jumping at the chance to shop with him. Especially as it was for his niece, she loved shopping for girls. There was always so much to chose from and even better was that it sounded like she was into makeup and beauty. She was also looking forward to talking more to Renly, he hadn’t yet had the dream about their marriage so she was grateful for the chance to become his friend before the dream appeared and he, no doubt, became embarrassed. Men really were odd creatures.
“Renly” she greeted him as she saw him waiting, “How are you?” she asked happily as she kissed his cheek.
“Hello, Margaery,” Renly smiled as she approached and since Marg had done it first, he felt comfortable kissing her cheek in greeting as well, “I’m quite alright. How’re you?” He asked, turning to open the door for her, “Thank you again for helping me with this. She used to be much easier to shop for, but then she became a teenager and it got a little more difficult.”
“Oh, I am fine. So glad it is almost summer” she smiled her thanks as she entered ahead of him. “It is absolutely my pleasure. Teenage girls can be difficult if you have never been one I imagine. But that is why you have me” she grinned.
“I haven’t attended school since I finished high school. I actually ran away that summer because I had no desire to attend Uni.” Renly told her as they entered the mall. “And I’m glad my accidental text from the other evening didn’t cause you to change your mind.” He still couldn’t believe that he’d accidentally sent that text to everyone on his contact list. Thankfully, somehow it had skipped Myrcella and for that he was eternally grateful. That could have been extremely bad. It was bad enough that it had been sent to Margaery, Tywin and Gendry, of all people.
Margaery laughed, a light and bright sound, “Oh Renly, do not worry. It was an honest mistake and really rather entertaining” she teased him. And it truly had been, she had not minded really. Though it did make her wonder once more exactly how Renly would react to their ‘marriage’ when he had that particular dream. “So what do you know of your niece’s interests?” she asked, already leading him to a popular girls clothing and accessories shop.
“I just still can’t believe I did that. You hear about things like that happening to people, but you never expect it to happen to you.” If Margaery had known about Gendry then he would have mentioned how his nephew had taken the piss out of him for it publicly, but so far only Loras and Portia knew about Gendry. Of course, he didn’t think that Margaery would go spilling the beans to Cersei, so he was probably safe, “My nephew has been taking the piss out of me ever since. I don’t know if you saw, on Valarnet, the other day.” When she asked about Myrcella as she led him towards the store, he shrugged a little, “All I really know is that she wants to go into beauty. She’s also very into most things girly.” Yes, he knew that was quite vague.
"Oh I didn't" Margaery admitted, "You have to expect a bit of teasing though, it was very amusing. For others of course, not so much for yourself" she smiled at him, "I shall try not to tease you too much"
Nodding she listened, "I can work with that, it is actually easier for me that she is girly as it is easier than a girl who is not. The phrase escapes me right now"
Renly knew that he was going to be teased about it for awhile and while he’d been pretty mortified when it had first happened, he could at least see a little of the humor in it now. Sure, knowing that people like Tywin or Cersei had received that kind of text was enough to make him never want to leave the house again, he knew that he couldn’t hide away and would have to face everyone at some point. “I don’t think I’ll get the same promise from your brother.” Loras had found far too much amusement in the situation.
“I feel like I’ve asked the right person for help then,” He smiled at Margaery as they entered the store, “So, what would you suggest then?” He was going to trust Margaery to help him find the perfect gift for Myrcella.
“Well you have a few choices really, there’s obviously the beauty kit you can get; so bag with makeup in and things like that which would be nice but we’d need to work out colors and things or clothes because most girls love clothes or a summer beauty course, she may enjoy that or maybe a bracelet - they do some beautiful charm bracelets now and then Christmases and Birthdays you can buy a new charm. That might be nice, as it could be something between the two of you” she mused, glancing at Renly to see his reaction.
Renly listened as Margaery listed off the various things that he could get Myrcella. When she mentioned the bracelet, it stuck out as something more personalized than makeup or clothes, which he was sure she had more than enough of, “I do like the bracelet idea. I think that would be easier than trying to judge sizes for clothes or anything like that.”
Margaery nodded, “It would certainly be a beautiful gift, I am positive she would like it. Any girl would” she replied, “In that case jewellery shops are the order of the day” Which was rather wonderful as Margaery loved jewellery shops.
Renly nodded, “Alright. I suppose we should find out where the jewelry store is then.” As luck would have it there was a mall directory just outside the store they had gone into and they located the jewelry store easily, “So, what do you plan on doing with your summer?” He asked as they walked in the direction of the jewelry store. He decided that the best way to try and get to know Margaery better was to make small talk about more than just why they were there today.
“Well I have been thinking about interning at a law firm if I can” she told him, “Part time anyway. My professors suggested it would be a good way to get practical experience but I am only just finishing my first year so I’m not sure. I think I would like to just enjoy summer. Doing what is the part I am not sure about but I miss skiing so maybe I need to find another summer weather hobby” she smiled at him, “What about you? Do you and my brother have any plans?”
“Nothing beyond what we normally do at the moment,” Renly knew that he needed something to take up his free time when he wasn’t with Loras or any of his other friends, but he was still having a difficult time figuring out what that thing was. Perhaps he would talk to Portia about modeling. It was certainly something that he knew he was good at. “Perhaps we’ll plan a trip somewhere or something. When he isn’t quite so busy. You ski? I’ve never actually tried that before.”
Reaching the jewelry store, Renly started pursuing the cases of charms. There were so many of them, but somehow a few jumped out at him as ones that he thought that Myrcella would like. By the time they left, Renly had a charm bracelet with a Red Glass Bead, A Pink Dangling Watch, An M, A Dangling Purse, A White Flower and An American Flag to commemorate her move to America.
“Then we’ll have to have fortnightly coffee dates or something” Margaery told him when he revealed he had very few plans too, “Or we could search for a hobby for you. I could take you skiing, there are a few indoor slopes. They aren’t as exciting as the real ones but they would be a good introduction for you. I’ve been skiing for years, I love it” she told him with a smile, “I’m sure Loras would love to go away with you, you should definitely suggest it to him”
Margaery approved of all of his charm choices, and she suspected the fact that her Uncle had gotten her such a thoughtful gift would be very much appreciated by the young girl. “See, that was less painful than you believed it would be, was it not?”
Renly smiled and nodded, “It was much easier than I’d expected, but trust me, if you hadn’t been here, I never would have thought of this.” Picking out the charms had been easy, because while he might not know what teenage girls like, he knew his niece and knew what she liked. “Lunch is on me as a thank you. I insist.” It was the least he could do for her help and lunch would give them more opportunity to continue talking and getting to know one another.
“Well you’re welcome, it was fun and you have to let me know if she likes it” Margaery instructed, she’d enjoyed spending time with Renly and hoped they were on their way to becoming fast friends. “Lunch would be lovely” she smiled in response, “Thank you Renly”