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"Leave a missive, but be brief about it."

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[There is a small, approving smile on Richard's lips. While Silco might not be aware of the severity of the anguish that is eternal torment of the hell's flames, he still appreciated the bold words. It was the defiance against the holy and good that had caught Richard's attention the first time they met. And it was no doubt the reason why he could also see beauty in Richard, making the man able to embrace him.

Richard listens carefully to Silco's words, allowing a brief and thoughtful silence fall between them. He knows immediately who that "someone" was to Silco. There was no one else it could be than his daughter. In theory, he could definitely understand the want to protect family. After all, an heir was essential for a king. Without a legacy he'd be nothing but a forgettable smudge on the pages of history. But at the same time.. Had he not already sacrificed the royal blood for the sake of the crown? If the situation was dire enough, would he be able to protect the boy he had claimed as his own? Or would he also throw him to the altar like he had done with George...]

Do you not believe in solitude then? [Quite interesting contrast, considering how he had talked about love before.

Richard takes a step closer to Silco, reaching out to place his hand on top of the wrist that is holding the strawberry. ]

Yes. Of course he is. [He says, voice light as if he was stating the obvious. Of course Whitey was welcomed to his bed. Then, he cranes his neck down and brings Silco's palm closer so that he can pick up the fruit with his teeth.]

[Silco knew anguish, and he cared little to avoid temptation for those around him. They had a right to indulge in their own desires at will, especially with life being as cruel and painful as it normally was. His own indulgences were subtler, but he was no more or less able to escape them as anyone else.

He looked at Richard, the corner of his lip twitching at the question. He had believed in solitude for a long time - since Vander - and he had been content to focus on his life goal forever. He had the focus and the cruelty to see it done, building his little drug empire deep below and then striking when Vander was weakest to wrestle control. He had done all that on his own, in relative solitude. The Jinx came into his life, and she had weaseled her way in beyond his defenses. He had been... okay with that, even as things went off the rails and both of them lost control of the situation. Even with one hand on the wheel, he could steer when she was off on the limb. Then he found a piece in his world he wouldn't be willing to give up and the dream of independence momentarily put on pause.]

One can be in solitude and still be surrounded by people. [He met Richard's step with one of his own, as if using physical closeness as part of his point.] Don't you it would be better to rule over all your aspirations with someone else who shares your grit and determination? Someone who knows all your dark secrets and embraces you still, pushes you up to the necessary highs only for you to turn and pull them up with you to bask in that success? [He leaned his face closer to Richard's.] Someone to watch your back and you theirs? Someone you'd burn the world down for?

[He rolled his eyes and turned his face aside, not minding the pig in the bed. Whitey was important to Richard.] I accidentally spooned him the other night searching for you in the bed. [Normally he didn't have to search far for Richard who latched on like a barnacle. His thoughts ground to a halt at Richard's antics, and he turned the strawberry over in his fingers to allow easier access to the fruit.] I think you like being a tease....

[What Silco paints in front of him with his words is a perfect, ideal picture. There is no use denying that the scenario described to him isn't exactly what Richard has earned for his entire life. Someone to love and accept him, unconditionally with his darkness and all while still shining their own light to his path.

It is the exactly the dynamic that his heart hoped to share with Buckingham. The man who had truly seen right through his defenses since the day one, speaking to his suffocated desires and never stopping until Richard was free from the thorns that tied him down -- pushing him to reach and grab the light that had always been denied of him. The man had become a demon with him and laid with him... So surely...

But then again. It was all for the crown. And without the crown in sight Richard was once again left alone with the harsh reality.]

It matters not what I want. I am a demon. [Who would stand by his side if they knew the truth? He and Silco might have found solace and comfort from each other, but they both knew that any union beyond this point would be impossible. You do not lock two monsters in same cage and expect both to live for long.

But the thought of Silco cuddling with Whitey, accident or not, brought a smile on his lips. The boar must have enjoyed it.

Richard traces the faint trail of which the fruit had moved on Silco's palm with his tongue, briefly licking all leftover juices before raising his head to look at Silco. His fingers curled around the man's wrist.]

Do you feel the temptation?

[There was no mistaking the longing for the picture that he pained, the scenario that perhaps men of their ilk wanted but never expected to have. After all, why would people like them deserve to find a kindred spirit that would stand with them and burn together with them? He expected that before they ever reached that point that one or both of them burn to the ground, and any familiar feelings would burn with that betrayal.

For a fleeting period of time, he thought he had had something like what he described with Vander. How many men had he watched Vander beat to death? How many times had he skittered up walls and balconies to allow for entrance to his accomplice? How many passionate conversations had they had had and equally furious arguments about how to go about their freedom, to break their chains and prove to their worlds and people that they were capable. Oh he had dreamed back then, settled into a loyalty that was betrayed on a single rainy night when he had gone expecting a completely different scenario.]

I disagree. Demons and monsters want things for themselves, perhaps more than they should. They can covet, and dream and scheme and take just like everyone else. [The looming threat of Richard's true suitor remained like a sliver in his brain, a reminder at how fleeting this tryst was. A part of him wanted to grab it in both hands and refuse to let go, to force Richard to consider enduring...

...but then it would be little more than another trip to the river, wouldn't it? He'd go with an hope and expectation and then drown, only to rise with life-changing scars. So he said nothing to try to convince them both off of that path. Instead:] I suppose we'll enjoy it until your Duke comes.

[He shook his head as sensation traveled along his palm and up his arm at Richard's antics. He didn't fight the hold on his wrist.] It would be lying to say that I didn't. You have a knack for stirring reactions.

I do not hope anymore.

[Hope was a dangerous thing. It was a might that moved people, allowed them to push through the despair towards the light. However, it was also a chain, keeping one tied down in the anguish as they waited in the darkness for the salvation that would never come. 'Once you stop placing hope in others you'll be able to find it from yourself.' Yet another lesson given to him by Buckingham. No one will want to stand by a demon. Stop hoping for a miracle to happen. Seize it and be the miracle yourself, even if it damns those around him.

But yet... Here he was. Finding himself filled with that maddening yearning and hope that made his chest swell and ache under the pressure. 'Until your Duke comes.'

The corners of Richard's lips curl up, the smile transforming to a knowing and satisfied grin. He then moves Silco's hand up to his face, pressing the palm against his cheek.]

Why resist it, then? I heard that temptation can be enjoyable. [He purrs, mimicking Silco's own words back to him]

Then you're little more than a dead man walking, and you don't come across to me as someone in complete despair.

[Hope was a necessary motivator, providing a push to step forward into the light and take it for themselves. They had to believe they could, that everything they were as individuals would be enough to fill that space, to achieve their goals. Silco did not put his hope in other people generally; people were liable to fail and betray, but himself? He knew what he could do with the strength of his character and will, and that was where his hope resided. A free nation of Zaun. Now perhaps a controlled Aldrip.

He did not resist his hand being moved, even going so far as to step in closer despite the oppressive heat of the greenhouse. His other hand dropped the greenery of the strawberry to the planter nearby so he could wrap his other arm around Richard's waist to pull the younger man against him. He leaned his face down as if to whisper a tightly guarded secret.] Until then, I will fill the void of your Duke for as long as you'll have me there. We can endure hope a little together.

[He snorted at the mimicry, amused and softened to Richard's antics.] Why would I bother to resist? Though, perhaps my office would be a better choice for exploring the temptation, hmmm? [His fingers stroked Richard's cheek, and he did not actually release his grip to let them move somewhere else. No, he'd enjoy temptation right here for longer.]

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