another utterly outstanding instalment to your brilliant Baekar modern life (my favourite Baekar fics of all time, truly). Two questions, if you’ll indulge me:
- does Jena know about Baelor and Maekar? In this most recent chapter, she’s not at all surprised to hear that her husband won’t be coming to bed with her after his father just died. I know Baelor believes that he’s kept it all very well concealed and secret, but is she aware that whatever goes on between the brothers is beyond a normal sibling relationship?
- as a noble pervert (much like Baelor) the throwaway line about piss drinking made my ears prick ALL the way up. do you think Baekar are engaging in watersports? (I’d be on board. Just to be clear.)
ahh wow thank you so much!! what a lovely thing to hear! To answer your questions:
I shall be getting into this more in the final chapter (I never want to spell anything out too much but maybe that's a problem of mine) but a major part of why Baelor is in such a bad place at the moment (which obviously the death of his father has exacerbated) is because he's been in this marriage of convenience for the majority of his adult life, mostly out of duty and partly to facilitate his actual "marriage" w/ Maekar, and is feeling the strain of living that kind of lie. With this marriage, I considered what level of a lie Baelor could have stomached easiest (as although he is able to put on the ‘politician’ face, I don’t think he actually enjoys lying, especially in his own home), who Baelor would want as a platonic life partner, and who Jena would be as a person to allow it. Obviously their canon marriage was arranged but that wouldn’t be the case even with aristocracy in the 90s but lavender marriages still certainly existed. And then there's Baelor’s need for the constant attention and time he gives one brother and his brother’s family, so there has to be a level of understanding that this will always be a priority to him. So before they were married Baelor laid all his cards on the table (probably with a few legal documents signed beforehand so Jena couldn’t say anything even if she didn't agree to it). Again, this is the British aristocracy, they do have a history of this sort of thing. It was probably quite clinical and matter of fact (and brought some relief on Baelor’s part for being able to share this major part of himself with *someone* but not that much), and in which he also laid out all the benefits their partnership and marriage would provide if she agreed and all his ambitions. Jena, who is very similar to Baelor in the ways that count, always treated it in the same way and understood this for the business proposal that it was, she just never wants to know any of the details. And after that one discussion, they never addressed it directly again (this is both relief for Baelor and part of the suffocation). It's just one of those unspoken things they both know about each other and pretend they don't know. She lets Baelor get on with his little indulgences as she gets on with hers. Then they have a very congenial dinner together with the children.
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