perfectlyportia (perfectlyportia) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-04-22 22:21:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, loras tyrell, portia, renly baratheon |
Who: Loras, Renly and Portia
What: Dinner Party
When: 22nd March
Where: Portia's place
Rating: Low
Status: Complete
Renly had been looking forward to dinner with Loras and Portia for awhile now and was glad that it had finally arrived. Renly had let Loras pick out his clothes, despite the fact that he’d insisted that Portia wouldn’t care how he dressed as long as he was there, but Loras had insisted as well and Loras had a tendency to win out most of the time. He was rather persuasive. Once they were both dressed, they climbed into Renly’s car and headed to Portia’s house. Renly hadn’t been to her new house despite the fact that he had been meaning to since he’d come back, but considering he’d gotten sick and then had been spending quite a lot of time with Loras and also finding out that Gendry was his nephew, well he hadn’t had much extra free time and he felt bad for that. But now, he was going to make it up to Portia.
In Loras’ defense, a knight couldn’t arrive with his king looking like a raggamuffin. Renly was a handsome man, more handsome than Loras himself if you asked the Knight of Flowers, and Loras enjoyed seeing him dressed up. In Loras’ hand was a bouquet of flowers, and in his free hand was Renly’s hand, their fingers laced together. They’d stayed hidden for so long that it felt almost surreal to hold hands with Renly Baratheon outside the bedroom. Before either of them could knock, Loras turned and pressed his lips to Renly’s. “That’ll hold me for now,” he said softly. He licked his lips, then let go of Renly’s hand to rap his knuckles on the door.
Portia was very much looking forward to Renly and Loras coming over. She had been so busy since moving in before Christmas that the only people she’d had over were Haymitch and Fleur so she was excited to get the chance to show off her home to other friends.
Once everything was sorted and cooking nicely in the oven she went to get changed, she would never get fed up of walking into her walk in wardrobe which was pretty much its own room. It was in fact her favorite part of her home, except possibly her studio which was currently covered with sketches and swatches of fabrics. Choosing a cute blue and white dress with a scooped neck and pleated skirt she decided on simple white flats before skipping back to the kitchen. It wasn’t long before she heard the knock on the door and swiftly moved to open it, “Hello, hello” she said cheerfully, “Come on in”
Not having to hide their relationship was one of the best feelings as far as Renly was concerned. Not that the sneaking around they had done in their dreams hadn’t had a certain thrill to it, but being able to hold hands in public or kiss Loras when he wanted to was that much better. “And what if it’s not enough for me?” Renly smirked as Portia opened the door and he turned a bright smile at his friend, “Good evening, Portia.” As he stepped into the house, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and moved into the entryway to give room for Loras to follow. He was looking forward to spending this evening with his boyfriend and best friend.
Portia was a lovely woman in a lovely dress that told Loras he hadn’t overdressed. Her skin was a smooth tone that he was sure straight men loved to touch, and even Loras had a little urge to do so as she looked like she knew a lot about moisturizing, something he was sure only a queer man would notice. Loras stepped inside and presented Renly’s friend with the bouquet of flowers in his hand. “It’s good to finally meet you,” he cooed, his smile as gallant as you please.
Both Renly and Loras were looking dapper which she suspected Loras had a lot to do with knowing Renly as she did. Had Loras asked her she would happily share her moisturising secrets, having returned to the film industry she had quite a number of tricks, old and new.
She closed the door behind them before accepting the flowers Loras presented her with, “They’re lovely, thank you” she replied with a smile, “It’s great to meet you too. I’ve heard so much about you”
Renly smiled as he watched them, "Yes, I have a tendency to talk about you often," He turned his smile on Loras for a moment then back to Portia. "Should I make formal introductions or will this do?" Renly had talked about both to the other often enough that he didn't think formal introductions were necessary, but if they wanted it then he would do it.
“I think we’re set,” Loras assured Renly. It was sad, in a way, that Loras wasn’t entirely sure how to act now. Here, at least, he didn’t need to hide affection from Renly, but out of sheer habit, he kept his hands to himself. He wanted very much to take Renly’s hand or slip a finger into his belt loop, but there was that gnawing voice in the back of his head that told him not to, that any display would be detrimental. “Something smells good,” he commented. “Do you need help with anything?”
Portia would have reassured both of them had she known the train of Loras’ thoughts. In fact she would have found them completely adorable, well even more so than she already did that was. Looking at them it was clear to see they made a good pair, they were both handsome and complimented each other well. Loras with his fair skin and hair in contrast to Renly And she already knew enough about their personalities from Renly to know they were a very good match.
She smiled, “Thank you” she said, “The food is all fine but you would you mind setting the table while I check on it?” she asked, leading them through to the kitchen. She was immensely proud of the job Haymitch had done on it and it had encouraged her to spend more time there. It was kind of retro and cool but still in keeping with the rest of the house and her red color scheme.
“I think we can handle that,” Renly gave Portia a warm smile and as they followed her into the kitchen, Renly bumped the back of his hand against Loras’, rubbing the backs of his knuckles against his hand. He would have taken Loras’ hand, but it wasn’t a long walk to the kitchen, but he’d needed a little bit of contact. “You’ll have to give us a proper tour after dinner.”
Renly’s subtle touch was reciprocated. Loras’ own fingers discretely stretched to Renly’s palm, only briefly before he began to pull dinnerware from cabinets. He had to look in a few spots before he found everything; Loras knew a lot of things, but setting tables had never been his forte. He did notice the colour schemes, only because his own kitchen was so plain, just a place to keep his dishes and food. Maybe he ought to decorate it, though. “How long have you two known each other?” he asked, making polite conversation to fill the air around them. Meeting someone new was always awkward.
“I will” Portia promised, “Wait until you see my closet” she said with a grin over her shoulder. It truly was her pride and joy and she knew Renly would understand. Just as he would when he saw her studio which was miles better than using her living room as she’d had to in her old apartment.
“Oh my” Portia said, “Quite a while. Renly, you were eighteen?” she double checked before continuing, “He’d just run away for the first time” she informed Loras with a grin, “I was in Europe for a 6 month placement while in Fashion school and I somehow talked him into modelling for me. You know I have those pictures somewhere, I’ll look them out for you Loras” she said with a wink before removing the lasagne from the oven.
Renly’s fashion sense wasn’t quite at the level in the dreams, which was why Loras had taken to choosing Renly’s outfit for the evening, but he could recognize good fashion when he saw it, which was probably one reason he and Portia were such good friends. When she mentioned how they’d met, Renly chuckled, “Oh god, you don’t.” While Loras got the plates out, Renly got glasses, “When she says the first time I ran away, she means when I decided I didn’t want to go to University and backpacked through Europe for awhile.” When Renly thought about it, he really did have a tendency to run away and this most recent return to California had been the third time.
Gods. Loras had drifted into some other world, that had to be what this was, a world where normal queers could walk around and meet their normal friends and have a dinner party where they talked about decorating and modelling. While he didn’t want to be rude, Loras didn’t much care to see modelling photos as he saw Renly in real life and that was far better if you asked him.
Instead of saying so, Loras asked, “How about some wine?” Yes, that would loosen him up a bit and get rid of the surreal feeling all of this brought on. It was overwhelming to say the very least.
Portia was thinking more that it would be amusing for Renly’s boyfriend to see pictures of him taken when he was younger, they weren’t professional by any means. She’d just managed to convince him to wear the clothes she had designed to put in her portfolio. But if he didn’t want to see them she wouldn’t push the issue.
She smiled as Renly explained to Loras, “And I’ve always been incredibly glad that you decided to do that” she told him.
Nodding at Loras’ suggestion she pulled down the nice wine glasses from the cupboard and removed the wine from the fridge, “Could you pour while I plate this up?” she requested with a smile.
Renly had placed the regular glasses on the table and took the wine glasses from Portia, “Of course.” He began pouring the wine and turned to hand one to Loras. He could tell that the younger man was a little uncomfortable, but he hoped that by the end of the night he and Portia would be friends and their next get together would be different. “It’s too bad you can’t see some of the things I’ve worn in my dreams. I seem to have a better fashion sense than anyone else. Aside from Loras, of course.” He smirked at his boyfriend.
The wine would serve to loosen things up, especially with the overwhelming sense that none of this was really happening. Everything was filled with far too much normalcy for Loras’ tastes and despite being a rather good actor, Loras didn’t think that he’d be able to play the domestic queer. When he had a glass of wine in his hand and a few swallows down his gullet, Loras smiled and said, “Hush or I’ll have her break those photos out.” Yes, that was much easier.
Portia laughed, “Oh I’m sure you both look very handsome” she replied with a smile, “As a king and his knight should” she found the idea terribly romantic if the truth be told even more so now she had actually met Loras. He seemed nice which was good as Renly deserved someone who made him happy and Loras seemed to do that.
Dishing up the lasagne she brought the plates to the table and placed a bowl of salad in the middle should anybody want it. “It’s nothing special” she told them as they all sat, “But I’m slowly learning” she smiled.
Renly smiled as he took a sip of his own wine, "Too bad you can't see Loras' armor. I've never seen anything like it before." He recalled the armor from various dreams, but especially from the Hand's Tourney. As they sat down, Renly smiled over at Portia, "It looks great, Portia. Better than what I could make." Renly could cook, but it was mostly the basic things. Nothing as fancy as this.
Food was always a dubious subject for Loras, but to keep up appearances, he seemed glad enough to have it in front of him. It did look delicious, and smelled the same, making his stomach send a signal that he must eat, and he must eat a lot of it. Later, he would pay for it in his work out. But it was really the charming king and knight statement that was making him smile, his pale cheeks turning a rosey pink. King and Knight. Stag and Rose. Yes, that was the order things. When they sat, Loras placed a hand to Renly’s thigh, palm up, inviting. “Renly never said,” he remarked, “but are you seeing anyone?” It was an easy subject and one that did interest him, but he vaguely wondered if she prayed before eating and felt a bit unknightly for not waiting.
There was no need for Loras to worry, she was definitely not the praying sort. Portia felt herself blush slightly, “Oh well I guess you could say I kind of am” she told them. Explaining what she meant as she knew she had text Renly in a panic but obviously Loras didn’t know. “When everybody was hit by the singing incident I met someone. We did this whole routine then got ice cream. We’re going out tomorrow night for dinner” Renly and Fleur had assured her it would be fine but she hadn’t had a date in so long she was terrified she’d somehow mess it up.
Renly took Loras’ hand as he listened to Portia gush about her upcoming date, “I’m glad that I didn’t sing at all. I’m pretty sure I’m quite tone deaf.” He glanced over at Loras, smirking, “Loras on the other hand...” The fact that Loras had actually sung about bondage still amused Renly quite a bit.
Loras rolled his eyes at the thought of his own little impromptu musical, then, a bit tentatively, he brought Renly’s knuckles to his lips and pressed a kiss to them. Portia knew. Loras was sure almost everyone who cared knew as well, and maybe he was time to stop worrying about what the rest of the world thought. This was not King’s Landing, this was California, where queer was the default in some places.
Portia gave them both a smile which only increased when Loras raised Renly’s hand to his lips, she of course knew and thought it was lovely. She wasn’t the sort to view same sex relationships any differently to any other relationship and didn’t understand those who did. “Was it terribly romantic?” she asked, having no idea what Loras had sung about.
No one had ever treated Renly the way Loras did, but then again before California Renly had no idea that in another time and place he'd been King. It was all still rather new, but felt right at the same time. In response to Portia's question, Renly snickered slightly, but there was no denying the loving look he gave Loras, "Oh yes, quite romantic."
“Are we calling that romance these days?” Loras teased as he brought both their hands to Renly’s lap. He had another drink of wine, loosening up that much more. “Has Renly told you, Portia, that he’s a king in our dreams?”
Loras was in the mood to brag about it. He loved power, or rather, he loved being the one behind that power. Renly was a lot of things in Loras’ dreams, but there was that one thing that Renly was that Loras wanted to avoid, so he tiptoed around the subject as lightly as possible.
Portia had a feeling there was more to that story but refrained from asking. At Loras’ question she nodded, “He has” she replied, “But I’d love to hear more. It sounds like an incredible world” she added smiling. Much preferable to her own dreams at least.
Renly had known that he was King in the dreams practically since the first time he'd met Loras, before he'd even begun having his own dreams. He also knew that Robert was King before him, but he didn't know exactly what happened in between. However, being British, he knew how these things worked and that meant that something happened to Robert. Why Renly and not Stannis or Joffrey had become King after Robert, he didn't know. "Well, I'm still not quite as caught up as Loras is. While I know I become King, in my dreams, I'm still just the King's brother and Lord of Storm's End."
“I won’t spoil it for you,” Loras said, but he already had, hadn’t he? He took another drink of wine and banished the thought for the time being. When he set the glass down again, he looked at Portia and gave her a smile, all red lips as charming as any rose, was the Knight of Flowers, especially when it came to addressing lovely ladies. “And you?” he asked. “Do you have dreams as well?”
Portia could well understand how people could fall for Loras when he turned on the charm, not her but she understood anyway.
She grimaced at the thought of her own dreams, "Mine are less than pleasant" she told him, "I dream about children fighting to the death, and I dress them up for it" she explained in a nutshell.
It was very easy to fall for Loras, but it hadn’t been his charm that had hooked Renly, nor had it been because of the dreams since he had yet to have any when they’d first met. There was just something different about Loras as opposed to any other guy that Renly had been with. Had anyone else told him, upon meeting him, that they had been in love and that he died in a dream, he would have told them they were mas and that would have been the end of it, but not Loras. Loras was different.
Renly frowned slightly as Portia spoke of her dreams, “That’s awful. Why would anyone do that?” Of course, in his dreams there were jousts and other games where there was always a possibility of death; however, they never involved children.
Who indeed. Interestingly enough, the world where Loras dreamed of almost every night wasn’t above the very same thing. Loras himself was still a child when he became a Ser. Rather, he would have been considered a child in this world at least. Those who would give him that title weren’t so blatant, though. To actively place children in harm’s way was unfathomable.
“Control and entertainment” Portia told them, “Though in my dreams I’m part of a group who were plotting to change things and stop the ‘games’ from happening. I don’t yet know if it worked out though” she admitted. Her dreams had stopped for a while, which she was extremely grateful for though she was also left with questions as to what had happened to Peeta and the others. “I do know a few others who have the same dreams though, it makes it a little bit easier to handle”
“I hope you’re able to stop them. How anyone can see that as entertainment is beyond me. We have jousting in our dreams, but it’s not at all the same.” At that last part, Renly smiled, glancing over at Loras and squeezed his hand before turning back to Portia, “I know exactly what you mean.”
“That was my choice, too,” Loras added. He’d not placed his life in danger without thinking about it first. No, that was a lie, he often placed his life in danger without thinking about it, but Loras was of the mind that he would live forever. Death had never been a thought in his head, not until...Loras squeezed Renly’s hand, lacing their fingers together under the table at Renly’s thigh. He cleared his throat. This was a lovely topic for dinner and all, but he was rather losing his appetite. “I think you should still use Renly for modeling,” he said, releasing Renly’s hand to raise it to the man’s chin. He cupped it and turned Renly’s face to the side. “Just look at him,” he said. “That’s a money making face, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Oh absolutely” Portia nodded smiling, very grateful to Loras for the change in conversation. It was never an easy topic when asked about her dreams, there wasn’t really a way to make it sound at all good and it had very few redeeming qualities. “But you know, the two of you together would be even better. You’re both extremely handsome men” she told them, matter of factly. “I imagine there would be very little you couldn’t sell”
Renly laughed and playfully swatted Loras’ hand away, grinning, “I don’t know. Then even more people would realize just how handsome Loras is and then I’ll have to beat them off with a stick.” When Renly had modeled for Portia in the past, it was just to help her out. He had never actually thought about modeling professionally, not because he didn’t think that he was good looking enough, but because he just never knew the first thing about getting into it. It was definitely something to think about while he tried to decide what he was going to do.
“All the more reason to do it,” Loras put in, taking Renly’s swatting hand into his own. How easy it was to fall into normalcy here, to forget that somewhere in another universe, their lives weren’t so easy going. Loras smiled, though. It was...well, it was nice, to be perfectly blase. “We could take cheesy ambiguous photos.”
Portia smiled, they could both make a career out of it if they wanted to. She wasn’t lying when she said they were handsome, she imagined they were extremely photogenic too - well she knew Renly was. Even the not-quite-professional shots she had taken of him looked great, and she had been trying to highlight the clothes. She couldn’t help thinking that pictures of them both like this, relaxed and so very adorable would be worth so much more than posed pictures though, at least they would to her. Renly looked so happy and Loras had even lost some of that stiffness in attitude he’d had earlier on.
“You’d both be fending attention off with a stick” she told them, “All those poor people not realising how hopeless it would be” she grinned, because let’s face it, they were besotted with each other.
Besotted was an understatement when it came to the two of them and it should have been obvious to just about anyone who knew them; even in the dream world it was obvious that they were more than they were supposed to be despite keeping their relationship secret. “What do you think?” He asked, Loras, smirking. He knew that Loras had his MMA Fighting career, but didn’t athletes model all the time?
Loras shrugged, chewing on his next to last bite of his dinner. It was a delicious treat that he’d need to work off later, but he was sure Renly could help with that. The thought of it made him smile as he swallowed down his bite, then chased it with water. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done photoshoots and it wouldn’t be the last. At some point, he’d need to come out and he was starting not to care that he’d be known as the gay MMA fighter. “I think I’m going to be losing some sponsors soon,” he answered, then added, “And that’s alright by me.” With that, it didn’t matter that Portia was in the room, and she’d in fact be the first person to actually see it when Loras stretched a little toward Renly and kissed him on the lips.