Love is a Battlefield (a Game of Thrones fanfic)

Double Lives

Renly

"Does it ever bother you," Loras asks as they lean up against their idling cab, "That your date to these functions always ends up leaving with another woman?"

Renly cracks a small smile, nudging at Loras' shoulder with his own.  They're looking up at the illuminated windows of Sansa Stark's apartment, waiting for Margaery to come back down from escorting Sansa to her door.  "Not particularly," he says at length.  The arrangement he has with Margaery suits both of their purposes nicely, and Margaery has kept their secret without complaint.  She like to tell them that they're good for each other, and Renly wishes that Robert would get out of politics so they could be themselves and not have to hide like this all the time.  "Goodness knows she's getting nothing from this arrangement save a chance to schmooze all the governmental big-wigs whose jobs she's got designs on."

Loras laughs, fiddling with his phone.  He pulls a face, half a second later, and drags his thumb down over the screen.  "I thought you saidBattlefield got updated."

Renly blinks, thinking of Margaery's excited whisper about how the conclusion had been fantastic in his ear as they'd danced at the exhibit opening earlier.  He'd been more intrigued by Loras leading Sansa Stark of all people out of a side corridor on his arm like some knight of old than what Margaery had said at the time, but Margaery had shown him the update, he'd pulled it up on his phone...  "It did," he says quickly, pulling out his own phone.  It's still on his browser and Renly is very careful not to do anything to refresh the page.

There's a tapping sound and Brienne, who's sitting in the passenger seat next to their irritable cabbie, rolls down the window.  "The driver wants to know how much longer you think you'll be?"

"Depends on Marg," Loras says, glancing towards the building's door and rather intimidating-looking doorman.  "She seemed quite taken, didn't she?"

Brienne makes a noise that sounds like something between irritation and amusement.  "They were flirting quite a bit, especially once she got over her shock about you two."

Renly looks up from his phone.  He still has Love is a Battlefield pulled up in his browser, so he passes his phone to Loras who makes an excited noise and goes to start reading.  "I think Margaery secretly enjoys telling people and watching their reactions."  He doesn’t mind that secret being told, it's the other one that can't be told.  Margaery has her own, after all.

Loras lets out a quiet guffaw of laughter, "It didn't help that you decided to make sure she knew by giving yourself finger antlers when she asked you point blank if Margaery was having her on."  He shakes his head, "We could have passed ourselves off at really good at covering Wolfgirl.  Like, really good."  His eyes flick over Renly's phone screen as he reads.  "This is so tragically beautiful," He turns to Brienne.  "Have you read theBattlefield update?"

Shaking her head, Brienne makes a sound to the negative.  "I still think it's really weird that you read it at all.  It's about you, it's bizarre, whoever wrote that has a deranged mind."

"I think you mean a wonderful mind for history. It isn't about us, Bri, it's about the stag and the rose - Ryan and Tyler.  They're not us; they're totally original, just borrowing our imagery.  Trust me when I say that there's some really gross stuff out there about us, this isn't that.  It's just..." he runs a hand through his hair and Renly rolls his eyes.  Loras is a hopeless romantic at times, "It's beautiful."

"Well," Brienne says, throwing up her hands, "If you say so Loras."

Renly smiles at her, arms folded over his chest.  His tux jacket is discarded with Loras' in the backseat.  It's a warm night, after all, and he'd rather wait outside than in the odd-smelling cab with Brienne judging him and Loras for being into a fan work about their band.  At least Margaery gets it, but she's off probably kissing Sansa Stark goodnight and it's all so impossibly awkward.