The Afterparty
Posted on Thu Apr 29th, 2021 @ 4:11pm by King Aethan Velaryon & Ser Renn Baratheon
Mission:
The Great Council
Location: Seasmoke Hold
Timeline: After the Engagement Party
Renn Baratheon was stirred from his internal thoughts, face pensively cast. His gaze lifted and turned to the young boy who extinguished the torch that lit the hall. Its crumbling red embers had been weak for over an hour, its oil long since burnt and its wicker kindling gave up its fuel. Renn nodded to the boy who went on tiptoe to slip the torch out of its cast iron hold. He couldn’t quite reach. Renn smirked.
The tall one stood to his full height and stretched. He walked over, “Here, let me,” he murmured. He pulled the torch free and exchanged its exhausted hulk for the fresh one in the boy’s hands. Renn fitted it in place, knowing it was not meant to be lit until the next night. The page bowed respectfully, “Night mi’lord,” he said in the uneven warble of early puberty.
Renn didn’t say anything beyond a nod and he went back to his perch but didn’t sit down again. The party was over. Joanna Hightower, soon to be Joanna Velaryon. A beautiful girl, and intelligent too. So why was Renn a little ill at ease near her? He was around all strangers. He was over cautious socially. Maybe it was because somehow, her intelligence held some sort of higher virtue in his mind. Not descended from banal politics and money, but in the shadow of the Citadel. Renn had once considered being a Maester himself but his father stomped that out before the boy was even ten years old.
But were they about to enter a time when words failed and swords rose? Renn had been pondering that since meeting with the Tullys. Soon after, on an impulse, Renn sent a raven to Braavos and another to Storm’s End. He hoped he was being overly cautious. But he did not want his home to be caught off guard.
Renn blinked- unsure of how long he’d stood in the moonlight of the window. But he sensed a presence. And he was out of place. The party was long over. “My apologies,” he said, “I’ll be on my way shortly,” he said to the shadow.
"No need to run off so quickly." The voice of Aethan permeated the moonlit dark of the gardens. He was surprised to see the Baratheon man hanging about.
Renn perked at the voice of Aethan Velaryon. He smiled his small smile and pushed his hair back behind his ear, “Lord Velaryon,” he said formally but his voice had a warmth of familiarity. He turned toward him. “Did you enjoy your party?” He asked.
"Not as much as I think I was supposed to." Aethan said candidly. A smiled traced his lips.
Renn took a closer step, face cast in the moonlight, “Too much scheming?” He asked. “A lot of masks on tonight...”. He smiled into his cheek at that.
"Were there?" Aethan asked, he was always a bit taken aback by Renn's curious choices of words.
Renn nodded slowly, coming to stand in front of Aethan. “I had to wear one... it was hard seeing you in your finery and not feel a reaction.”
Aethan sighed. "We all do what we must." He paused. "I daresay you made a lasting impression on Lady Joanna. Which bodes well for the future."
“She’s beautiful,” Renn acknowledged, “And being from Oldtown, part of me hopes she is as intelligent as she is comely,” he said softly. “I wasn’t near her long enough to know,” Renn cocked a smile as his hair dislodged his ear, swinging back into his face, “I don’t know what to say to people I don’t know. But, in time...”
Aethan nodded and came in close to Renn. "She's very intelligent. Probably more so than any man I've ever met." He moved in closer yet, placing a hand on Renn's waist and pulling him in until their bodies were pressed against each other.
Renn’s erratic smile was one of relief, feeling the sameness of form between them, the heat exchanged. He angled some, just enough that their chests touched. “Some men are very lucky,” he said, teasing a finger on Aethan’s arm. “Some women too.” Renn’s hand moved and wrapped Aethan’s waist. His mouth hovered near the Velaryon’s, slightly open while he drank in his companion in the pale moon. Renn tucked his nose at Aethan’s and tapped their lips together as if tentatively asking permission for such an embrace from a Lord.
Aethan pressed his lips to Renn's. The scent of drink mingled between them. Aethan wanted badly to guide Renn to his chambers, to consummate their attraction for one another or at the very least exchange warmth during the cold of the night. "Will you spend the night with me?" Aethan asked, his mouth still very close to Renn's.
The Baratheon knight blinked, and nodded his assent as their noses brushed. His breath was soft in caress, but only slightly softer than the caress of his fingers up the Velaryon’s butt. His breath chopped as fingers cupped cheek. “I would like that. Very much.” He said with a nervousness.
Aethan looked around to ensure they had a clear path. He took Renn's hand and led him into the manse. Luckily his chambers were on the opposite side of the house from both his uncle and his grandmother. "I'll have to get you out quite early tomorrow, as my family will be getting ready for the council." He opened a dark wood door and led the way into the well appointed chambers. The fire was lit, throwing a warm glow about the otherwise cold looking interior.
Renn turned a soldier’s attentive gaze to the darknesses, for lingering pages and maids, on the way to the Manse. And he did, out of habit, look for a necessary escape, albeit in vain. He did not know the terrain, the corridors. It was a relief when they came behind the dark wooden door of Aethan’s sanctum. It was far more well appointed than Renn’s at the Baratheon manse. Gendry had an eye for function when he’d had it commissioned less than beauty.
And as pleasant as the warmlit torches cast of shadow and fire was against the cold stone, Renn’s attention was on Aethan. Renn smiled and pushed his hair behind his ear. He took slow steps toward Aethan until they could reach out and touch one another. He shouldered off his coat and let it drop on the floor, pooling around his boots. His eyes on Aethan, he tugged loose the strings that kept his collar tight. Renn swayed close, “Do you prefer My Lord, or your true name in here?” Renn asked.
This question struck Aethan, as if he noticed for the first time they weren't of equal footing. He was lost in thoughts, and then again in Renn's eyes. "You can call me whatever you'd like."
“You can call me what you like too,” Renn said, tracing delicate fingers down the Velaryon’s arm. “Aethan Velaryon... siren of Dragonstone...”. he smiled as shy smile and blinked. His hand shifted to Aethan’s waist. They were very much not of equal station and Renn was keenly aware. But at that moment what we saw was not a rank or any kind of a means to power. It was a brother, in a secret society, in a hopeless search through the masses. Whether it was a candle that burned for a night, or an eternal flame, Renn had no idea.
His fingers shifted and he pet Aethan’s angular face. He touched his lips with a swing of his thumb. Renn closed the difference of space between them to push sameness together, the stir in his trousers pressed to Aethan’s thigh. His warm mouth found Aethan’s neck near his ear and with soft audible clicks he kissed down his throat.
"Me? A Siren?" Aethan wanted to laugh but only smiled. He let himself get lost in the sensation of Renn's mouth on his neck. "I think I shall call you..." He trailed off, thinking for a moment. "Fawn."
Renn’s fingers were gentle at Aethan’s neck and he also smiled, “This fawn wants to drown in your wine dark seas,” he said, his gaze on the Valyrians eyes. Renn slipped his hand to undoing the tie that kept Aethan’s shirt collar done. When it was displayed, pale and shapely, Renn, his eyes on Aethan until the last moment, moved to kiss along Dragonstone’s collarbone.
A moan escaped Aethan's lips. His hands searched and found his Fawn's rounded bottom and slid both hands inside his pants to grasp the flesh tightly.
The fawn’s sound was more muffled to his Siren’s bone. His hot breath rose up and he kept Aethan’s eyes as Renn, flourish a hungry flourish, pulled Aethan’s shirt out of his trousers and over his head. Hands on his seat and pressed to Aethan’s front, the Baratheon untucked his own. His gae was gone in a breeze of cloth and then renewed. And for the first time their chests could touch unhidden by society’s demanded threads. Renn touched Aethan’s ribs with a warm, slim hand.
A shiver ran down Aethan's spine as his fawn caressed his ribs. Without a second thought Aethan seemed determined that they both be free of all their clothes. His hands came up slightly to slide Renn's trousers down letting his bottom contact the warm air of the room. The first thing he noticed was a distinct lack of hair on the Baratheon's naked body.
There they stood. Naked in front of each other. Somewhat larger, fuller than they’d come out as children. Renn’s eyes too grazed Aethan’s fairness as well, touching his chest and stomach with the Velaryon’s own relative lack of hair compared to men he’d seen like his brother, some of the others of the Knightly Orders. “You’re beautiful to me...” Renn offered softly. “Am I... what you hoped I’d be?” He asked.
"More than." Aethan brought a finger to Renn's lips, and then allowed it to trace the length of the the slender mans body. Both of his hands found Renn's waist and he pulled him in, pressing their fully naked bodies on one another. He let their manhoods rub again one another. The sensation was near euphoria for Aethan.
Baited breath grew from Renn who, as Aethan had him by the hips, Renn took the ground of wrapping arms atop Aethan’s shoulders. They ground and were grinded into, pushing against mons of hair and against soft, firm skin. “Aethan,” Renn said with pleased groan. Undressing another man had seemed strange before but what came to mind now was stranger still. Renn moved to kiss Aethan’s neck and licked his jawline. He kissed his chin. Then his sternum. Over to the rosiness of a nipple, and then back. And with a glance upwards, the hard wooden floor met Renn’s naked knees as he knelt before the Lord. His forehead rested to Aethan’s stomach, lips kissing.
By reflex, Aethan threw his head back with pleasure. His hands found Renn's head and he let his finger grip the black hair. His breath was held and then exhaled with a slight shudder. He wanted so badly to thrust himself into the warmth of the Stormlanders mouth, to have his fawn taste him in the most intimate way.
Renn shuddered his own cocktail of feelings- lust, naivete, willingness. It was heady, as was the pheromonal waft that came from Aethan’s skin. His hands cupped the Velaryon peach for stability. First the sensation was wet. Then so warm. Sliding down. Renn felt hair tease his nose with a burst of smoky flavor. His eyes fluttered. Naivete broken. Ghiscari pleasures, attempted. With a soft cluck of his jaw, Renn drew back up until his suction crackled. His hands squeezed and sunk fingers into Aethan’s crevice.
The excitement was overcoming Aethan. Part of him never wanted this to end, another wanted it badly to come to a conclusion, another part yet wanted to reverse their roles. To know Renn as Renn now knew him. That thought took hold and Aethan pulled Renn up to meet him face to face before assuming his former position on the floor, and following what his fawn had done to him. He took in all of the wonderful scents and took ahold of the Baratheon's firm rear, probing as far as his fingers dared.
He met tension, the virginal kind. And gasp of breath as the stomach before Aethan’s forehead tensed into its subtle pack. Renn’s hands tensed on the slope of fair shoulders. Those shoulders were stability. What he’d done, was being done to him. It was a sweet bliss- and it didn’t take the hard red clays of Slaver’s Bay to feel it. It was at home- or nearly home. His knees wanted to buckle, his stomach swimming with a tense electricity at Aethan’s deep finger.
Ren pet through blonde hair, his evenly tanned fingers coming through it like it was pale, satin gold. Renn moaned downward toward his chest and his partner, and what was in Renn grew with his want. He too wanted to be selfish and feel this through. But after a moment his own hands took his Siren by the underarms and pulled him up. He kissed him deeply. As deeply as he could.
The kiss fulfilled a desire Aethan didn't know he had in that moment. His hands reached his Fawn's waist again and he used force to push Renn onto the bed before jumping on top of him. He let his hands run down Renn's thighs. He want to flip his companion on his stomach to explore his rear further, to know him like a husband knows a wife. But instead he returned his lips to Renn's allowed his tongue to wrestle with Renn's.
Tongues danced, the plushness of a bed and linens was soft compared to the ground. The gravity of it was deep: he was in Aethan Velaryon’s bed. He’d been welcomed here. He wanted to be here. Renn kissed his Siren back with the same depth of passion, the twirl, wrestle and caress of tongue and tongue. Baited lip brushes, teased embraces. Renn stoked the fire, and celerious fingers found the spit-damp Velaryon horn and rubbed it to rigid life. Young, alive, energetic, ragged breath in desperately aroused liplock. He pumped what was in his hand, the texture and shape.
Renn dashed tongue into Aethan’s mouth and pressed up, slenderness to slenderness, pec to pec, treasure trail to treasure trail. He took Aethan by the hips, swept thumbs in his hip grooves. He laid back and pulled Aethan’s waist against his. Abs flexed. Arms taut. He scanned Aethan's face with a calm aggression and gentle spirit. "Take me..." he growled.
Hours passed and the pair only now began to tire. The silken sheets of Lord Aethan's bed were wrinkled from all the activity. A light giggle escaped Aethan's lips. Tonight, he and Renn had known each other as married couples did. It had felt immensely wrong and invigorating all at once. Now they lay, their sweaty naked bodies still touching. Aethan lay on his side, fondling his fawn's black hair as the light from the fire cast shadows on the young man's face. "This has been absolutely beyond description." He said in a hushed tone.
Renn's nod was slow, the warm and pleasant fatigue of afterglow. He ached in places he'd not thought to ache before, as Aethan and he had coupled. Renn dashed a wetting tongue between his beestung lips and chuckled. "I don't think I could find the words." he mumbled, soft air puffing across Aethan's cheek. He leaned up on an elbow, resting ear to shoulder. He circled a warmed, puffy nipple on Aethan's chest with his finger. He remembered its taste and texture. He smiled at the reality of their naive bodies- they were no longer so naive but hardly expert, "I wonder if women ache after... like this." He mused, flopping back with his hand rested behind his messy hair. He reached down with a slight wince and a chuckle.
Aethan smiled warmly. He was still uncertain what they were to each other, and the uncertainty of Aethan’s future only compounded that. He brought a hand up and ran it through Renn’s dark hair. “We should sleep.” He kissed the Baratheon’s soft lips. “Tomorrow we decide the future of the Realm.”
Renn chuckled, "Well, you decide. Brannis decides." He touched the hand in his hair, "I just sit, listen, and hope it doesn't turn into a war." He sighed and uneasily drew close. He lingered into a kiss with Aethan. He didn't want to taint the pleasant glow with politics or the apprehension he felt- particularly about the Greyjoy's fleet. "So maybe King...." he said as he moved his leg over Aethan and settled his cheeks against Aethan's hips, "Then married to a Lady of the Hightower," his hands braced on Aethan's chest and he leaned down, "Maybe the start of a new Dynasty..."
Continuing to run his fingers through Renn's hair, Aethan was slowly nodding off. The decisions of tomorrow swimming through his mind.
Renn bent down and kissed Aethan's neck, the young Prince of Dragonstone not rising to his bait. Renn lamented and moved alongside the frail velaryon. Hos breath was soft across Aethan's angular cheek, his own thoughts falling into the deep, fixated pensiveness of his nature.
The soft glow of the just rising sun poured through the open windows of Aethan's chambers, replacing the fading light from the embers of an untended fireplace. Aethan's eyes opened with a flutter, and as he came into consciousness he became aware of his companion still by his side. He lay, staring at the face of his sleeping fawn for a moment. All at once the reality of the day ahead hit him, he reached over and shook his companion awake.
"I'm already awake," Renn admitted. He'd slept very lightly, as was very normal for him when in unfamiliar surroundings. He sat up, the covers slipping off his back and shoulder. He twisted back to look at the blonde.
"I hate to say so, but you do have to go." He leaned in and kissed the end of Renn's nose. "The servants will be coming around to wake us up soon."
"I know..." Renn said with a knit of melancholy at his nose bridge, his brows furrowing. He stood up in his nakedness, back to Aethan, and stretched. He strode to his pants with a newfound stiffness and stooped to fish them up with a couple of fingers.
“Will you return to me?” Aethan asked from his bed. “Tonight?”
Renn smiled, tied the strings of his pants and then moved to sit on Aethan's side of the bed. He fingered his hair into some semblance of its usual wave. "Yes," he agreed. He walked Aethan's chest with his fingers, circling a rosy nipple. He leaned in to kiss him. Their lips locked and while Renn enjoyed it, the press of time- and a tenuous attraction to the danger- had him linger for only a little longer. But in the end, he pulled reluctantly back.
“There’s a servants stairway, to the left of my chambers. It will take you to the courtyard.” Aethan paused thoughtfully. “What will you tell your family if they ask where you’ve been.” This inquiry was part curiosity and part fear.”
Renn had never considered himself a practiced liar, and he realized then that he'd need to come up with something, "They're used to me disappearing... off hunting. I'll get a lecture for being unfocused on the Council... for spending too much time with my birds or at the stables." He drew close again, "They don't know... and I doubt they have enough information to guess." he kissed Aethan's nose and then lips. Then Renn rose. "Through here," he pointed to where he thought the servant's access was.
Aethan simply nodded. Aethan stood and turned away from Renn. "Until tonight."
"Tonight." Renn confirmed with a nod. He was silent as he gathered the remainder of his things and found his way through the servant's corridor.
