Who: Renly Baratheon and Portia When: Backdated Thursday, November 14th. Afternoon Where: A restaurant What: Two Friends Catching Up and Talking Wedding Planning Rating: Family Friendly Status: Complete
Renly had been extremely happy when Portia said she’d design the tuxes for the wedding. They could have just gone out and bought or rented tuxes, but there was just something about having tuxes made just for them and by a friend that would make their wedding even more special. When he’d texted Portia he’d realized that he hadn’t seen her since she’d come by when she’d broken up with her boyfriend and not only did he want to tell her all about the planning they’d done so far for the wedding, but he wanted to see how she’d been doing since the breakup, so that meant lunch.
Portia had been working an awful lot, too much possibly but she was missing Alex and their closeness more than she had anticipated. Work kept her mind from dwelling on it too much and if she accidentally skipped a few meals or nights sleep here and there it wasn’t too bad. She was lucky enough to be skilled with make-up techniques so it meant people didn’t ask too many questions. Whether they would stand up against Renly’s scrutiny remained to be seen. But she was looking forward to catching up with him and truly looking forward to his wedding to Loras.
They had made plans to meet at a restaurant not too far from his house and Renly had shown up first. After giving his name to the hostess, he stood aside to wait for Portia. It was hard to believe that a year ago he had still been in England, wanting nothing more than to get back to California and back to Loras. And now here he was, engaged to Loras and actively planning his wedding. A lot had changed in almost a year.
A lot had definitely changed but Portia was so glad it had all been for the better in the case of one of her best friends. She spotted Renly immediately as she made her way from where she had parked to the restaurant, “Renly, I hope you’ve not been waiting long” she said as she made her way to him and gave him a hug, “It’s so good to see you”
Renly smiled when he saw Portia and returned the hug, shaking his head as they parted, “Not at all. I just got here a moment ago.” Portia did look tired, but as far as Renly was concerned there were probably a number of reasons for that and he didn’t want to get too nosey, “It’s good to see you too.” He caught the attention of the hostess who gestured for them to follow her and she led them to a table, “How have you been? Busy with work?”
“Busy is a good way to put it” Portia smiled, glad Renly hadn’t seemed to notice anything too out of the ordinary. “It’s good though, you know me I like being busy. Got all sorts of projects on the go at the moment. There’s one for next year that I’m more excited about than all the rest combined though” she told him with a bright smile.
Renly smiled, she was obviously extremely excited at the idea of designing their suits and he was glad that she was so excited about it. He was also happy, because it meant they would be spending a little more time together just like when he was modeling for her show a few months earlier. “I’m really glad you said yes, by the way. It’ll be nice to get married in one of a kind suits.”
Portia was very excited, it was already the thing she was looking forward to the most. Even before he had asked her to design for them. “I’m honored that you asked me” she told him truthfully, “So have wedding plans been taking up your time?” she asked.
“Somewhat, yeah.” Most of Renly’s time as of late had been spent with Loras moving in and wedding planning. “We’ve decided that it will be in the spring and we’re thinking of having the ceremony on the beach just behind the house.” It really made the most sense, considering that spot was part of his property. “And we’re asked Loras’ friend Obi-Wan to officiate that wedding.” It had seemed like the best choice and less complicated than trying to find a priest or minister who would marry them. All Obi-Wan had to do was get ordained on the internet.
“Oh that sounds lovely, using the beach by your house is a wonderful idea” Portia nodded, “And having a friend perform the service will make it even more meaningful too”
Renly nodded, “We just want to include our friends as much as possible.” Yes, it was their day, but there were those few people that meant so much to them that they wanted them involved in any way possible, “And as long as it doesn’t rain, the beach will be the perfect place. So, when I saw tuxes, I’m not really thinking of the traditional kind, because I think that would look rather silly on the beach, don’t you think?”
Portia nodded, “Yes, I agree” she said, “I can draw up some designs and then you and Loras can let me know what you like, what you don’t. I mean we have time to get it perfect for you both”
“I think that’s a great idea.” Renly said as their waitress returned to take their orders. After he ordered, he waited for Portia to place her own before speaking again, “So, how have you been?” He was concerned about her, especially seeing how tired she looked and he wanted to make sure that she was alright.
Portia placed her order and gave Renly a smile, not as bright as normal but a good try. “Oh, I’ve been getting on with things. Busy, busy. You know me” She was determined not to bring any of her self pity or sadness into Renly’s happy thoughts, though she appreciated his concern.
Renly reached across the table, covering one of her hands with his own and gave it a light squeeze, “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” Renly wasn’t trying to get her to talk if she didn’t want to, but he wanted to remind her that he was there for her whenever she needed him and she certainly wouldn’t bring his mood down if she did choose to talk about it now.
She nodded his touch having his intended effect, “I...I’m struggling more than I thought I would with Alex leaving” she admitted, “I know it takes time and I’m sure I’ll be okay. Working is helping a lot”
If his own leaving wasn’t such a sore subject with Loras, Renly would have suggested she talk to him, but even now, almost a year after he’d come back, it still hurt Loras to think about when Renly had left, so it probably wasn’t the best idea for her to talk to him about a significant other leaving, “You know you can come by or call me up any time. I’m almost always home, Portia. I don’t want you to have to go through this alone.” Renly would gladly spend time with Portia when she wanted some company, because she was his friend and he enjoyed spending time with her.
“Thank you Renly” she said, turning her hand to squeeze his, “That’s very sweet of you” and the smile she gave him this time was a lot more genuine. She’d hidden away so much with her pain since Alex had gone that it was nice to remember people cared for her and that she had good friends like Renly to help her.
Renly returned her smile, happy to see that this one appeared to be much more genuine, "If I were Loras, I'd give you a rose," Even in the waking world Loras kept some traditions from the dreams and one of those was giving roses to girls at his matches and even outside them. "So what are you working on now?" He wanted to know more about what was going on with Portia than just how she felt about her breakup.
That made Portia chuckle, “I imagine that has cheered up many sad people” she said fondly. “I’m designing for Glinda’s fashion house but mostly I’m working for the film studio. They’ve made me a permanent Lead Stylist so I have a team of my own and we co-ordinate hair, make-up and clothing for anywhere up to five characters. It’s hard work but a lot of fun. I’m a bit of a stickler for continuity”
“That must be a lot of fun. Getting to be in charge and helping to bring these characters to life.” Renly was glad that Portia was doing what she loved to do. He’d enjoyed the times he’d gotten to model for her and had thought about going into modeling, but right now with Loras moving in and the wedding planning it had been cast to the wayside for the time being, “Remember, if you ever need a model, I’m here to help.”
“It is. I have a great team as well which is nice” Portia replied, “Don’t worry you are still number one on my list” Renly was a wonderful model, he had a great body for it but he also had the right attitude. It was much nicer to work with him than some of the so called ‘professionals’ she’d dealt with over the years.
Renly smiled, “Good. Maybe once everything is settled, I’ll hit you up for some tips on how to get into this business.” Renly knew that there were other models on Valarnet, but from the sounds of it a lot of them worked more in photo shoots; Renly enjoyed being on the runway and getting to see everyone’s reactions to Portia’s designs.
“Of course” Portia practically beamed at him at that, “You know I’ll help you as much as I can. You’d be wonderful Renly. Any designer would be lucky to have you modelling their clothing”
If there was one thing Renly ate up, it was compliments. People could call him vane if they wanted, but he couldn’t help it. He worked hard to look as good as he did, “You’re too kind.” He’d love to work exclusively for Portia, but he knew that probably wouldn’t happen, but he’d definitely always model for her if she asked. “I’ve been wondering a lot lately what my parents, especially my father, would think about the way my life has turned out this last year.” He knew that Steffon wouldn’t approve of his engagement and he probably wouldn’t have been too happy about the modeling either.
If her own situation had been different and she had been designing full time Portia would have jumped at the chance to have Renly as her exclusive model. More often than not whenever she did design she had him in mind anyway.
“I can’t tell you they would have approved but then I’m not sure you would have sought their approval anyway” she said softly, “I hope they would have at least been happy for you. Have you spoken to your brothers recently?”
“I think my mother would have approved, because she would have wanted me to be happy,” While it was true that Renly didn’t remember much about his mother, he did remember that she had always been kinder than his father. In response to her question, he shook his head, “I haven’t. I know I should, but it’s been almost a year since I last saw them and it’s difficult to get a hold of either of them.” If he were honest, he’d much rather speak to Robert than Stannis.
Portia nodded, “The people who care about you in your life now approve” she offered with a kind smile. Honestly she wouldn’t be surprised if there was a bit more reluctance on Renly’s part than he was saying, they had pulled him away from his life here after all and jeopardized his relationship with Loras. “Do you want them at the wedding?” Portia asked, “Your niece will be there won’t she? And nephews?”
Renly did have a difficult relationship with his brothers and always had, but at some point he wanted to try and fix things. What made his relationship with Robert all the more complicated was Gendry. News like that wasn’t the type to be given over the phone, but it didn’t seem like Robert was going to be coming to Orange County any time soon and Renly wasn’t sure if he wanted to go back to England in the near future. It was all very complicated. “I know Myrcella will since she stayed out here. I don’t know about the other two. Gendry will be though. I’m actually planning on asking him to be my Best Man.” He didn’t know how Gendry would react to that, but he hoped that he’d say yes.
“You’re closer to her than the boys thought, aren’t you?” Portia said, remembering how excited Renly had said she was upon finding out about their engagement. He hadn’t mentioned his nephews as much, even when they had been here with their sister. “Ah of course, that’s a lovely idea Renly. I’m sure he’ll be honored that you’re asking him”
Renly nodded as the waitress came back with their food, “In a way yes. I mean, I’m not that much older than Joffrey and we got a long a lot better when he was younger, but since he’s gotten older it’s very hard to really hang out with him. Tommen is younger than Myrcella and the polar opposite of Joffrey, but again, he’s younger. It’s much easier to find things to do with Myrcella.” He wished he had the same kind kind of relationship with Joffrey and Tommen as he had with Myrcella, “I hope so. We’ve gotten a lot closer over the last few months.” He recalled how closed off Gendry had been when they had first found out that he was Robert’s son.
Portia thanked the waitress then refocused on Renly, “Understandable, and she sounds like a nice easy going girl” That would definitely make it easier to relate to her and, of course, it sounded as though she adored Renly anyway.
“I’m so glad, I know you were worried at first” she said, sipping her drink, “It’s good that he’s got you as family now”
Renly smiled and nodded, “Me too. He and Myrcella are getting to know each other too.” He knew it had been a surprise to Myrcella and Gendry the day his niece had shown up unexpectedly at his house while Gendry had been there, but he was glad that they were getting to know one another now.
“Well that’s very good” Portia smiled, “Family is important and having you is more than he could wish for” Renly was a very good and loyal friend, he was a great person to have in your corner.
“I agree.” He might not get along well with his brothers, but at least Renly had some family that he got along with, “Speaking of family, what are you doing for the holidays?” As far as he knew, he wasn’t doing anything for Thanksgiving, considering he, nor Loras were Americans, but there was still Christmas.
“Apart from working you mean?” she joked, “Just staying at home I guess” In all honesty she hadn’t thought much about it, she hadn’t felt too much like celebrating lately.
“Well, you’ll have to come by ours on Christmas.” Renly said after taking a bite of his food. Yes, it was still quite a few weeks away, but he’d hope that by then she was in more of a celebrating mood. “Can you believe it’s been almost a year since I came back?” This time a year ago he had been making plans to come back and now here it was almost a year later.
“Thank you Renly, that’s very sweet of you” Portia said, touched at the offer. She was determined to be more cheerful by then, hopefully the Christmas spirit would be with her. “My goodness really? Well I have to say that I am certainly glad you managed to get back to us”
Renly smiled, glad that Portia hadn’t turned down the offer, “I’m sure we’ll have quite a few people over. I mean there’s Margaery then Loras will want to invite Obi-Wan and his girlfriend. I’ll invite Gendry, but I’m sure his girlfriend will be inviting him over as well. Myrcella of course.” After how he’d spent Christmas last year, he’d be happy to have everyone around this year, “Yup. Came back right before that freak snow storm. You were determined to catch up so you borrowed your friend’s truck in order to drive through the snow.” He recalled their conversation about him wearing one of those antler headbands to get into the holiday spirit, which now seemed extremely ironic considering his sigil as well as crown both had antlers in them.
“Sounds busy but in the best possible way. It’s nice to be around so many people at Christmas time” Portia smiled, she’d have to start thinking about it more since she would have to make sure she saw Fleur, Haymitch and her other friends too.
“Of course you did” she nodded remembering, it was strange to think there was a time that he hadn’t been around, “Hopefully there won’t be another freak storm this year. Driving in it was somewhat daunting”